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Do house rabbits need the rhd2 vaccination?

NixNax said:
Just got back, she's now been vaccinated with filavac at local vet. The vet did it slightly lower down away from the scratched bit on the back of her neck, vet didn't think the scratch was anything serious as she's not scratching at it very often. As soon as the vet put her carrier on the table and I loosened my grip of her she hopped straight into the open top of her carrier, she obviously wasnt impressed. She's eaten pellets and hay since we got home and looks like she's grumpily hopping around the room. My kids are trying to make her do tricks but she's hopping away from them at the moment, obv in a little huff with us. The vet mentioned again about us being in a 'safe' area and the closest case to us has been Cambridge (approx 40miles) away. I said I had heard st Albans (which is approx 8 miles away) she looked surprised. She said it must have been fairly recent and I said I think a couple of weeks. They're obv not getting updates often enough.
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Well done!

I am in a safe area too, but I decided to get mine vaccinated, as if the area becomes 'unsafe' then they have no protection at that point!

Immunity will take 7 days, and by that time she will be fully covered :)
 
daphnephoebe said:
Glad she got seen and they're not worried about the scratches.

Immunity will kick in soon so you can feel more confident about things. She'll forgive soon enough about the vets. Normally a night for mine.

Glad she's got Nine Lives for the spay - I drove Daphne 1 hour and 30 mins to have her spayed by them at 5 months old as I didn't have any vets in Cambridge I felt I could trust. :oops:

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Think shes getting over her huff quickly, she was sitting quietly so i stroked her and she grinded her teeth a bit then licked me a bit later after that. I'm trusting they're good there as she's not actually had an appointment there yet. I drove to both of their clinics to suss out journey time and to 'get a feel for the place'. My kids thought I was mad! Least they had some time out the house on a rainy day! 😁
 
NixNax said:
Think shes getting over her huff quickly, she was sitting quietly so i stroked her and she grinded her teeth a bit then licked me a bit later after that. I'm trusting they're good there as she's not actually had an appointment there yet. I drove to both of their clinics to suss out journey time and to 'get a feel for the place'. My kids thought I was mad! Least they had some time out the house on a rainy day! [emoji16]
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Awh she is such a sweet girl :love:

I drive to places too just to see how far it is, what the road conditions are like etc

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NixNax said:
Think shes getting over her huff quickly, she was sitting quietly so i stroked her and she grinded her teeth a bit then licked me a bit later after that. I'm trusting they're good there as she's not actually had an appointment there yet. I drove to both of their clinics to suss out journey time and to 'get a feel for the place'. My kids thought I was mad! Least they had some time out the house on a rainy day! 😁
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Vaccinations is a good way to 'try out' a new vet.
 
MightyMax said:
Well done!

I am in a safe area too, but I decided to get mine vaccinated, as if the area becomes 'unsafe' then they have no protection at that point!

Immunity will take 7 days, and by that time she will be fully covered :)
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Yes i think thst too. My concern when I was told that house rabbits are low risk and that we are in a safe area (esp after reading some of the links after posting ) was that if it did come here and she wasn't vaccinated and I was to take her to the vet and there was a rabbit there with it already then surely she could catch it from them. I know the chances might have been small for that to happen but not impossible, surely it's best all rabbits are immunised.
On another note she's def back to normal now as she's started to be naughty!
 
NixNax said:
Yes i think thst too. My concern when I was told that house rabbits are low risk and that we are in a safe area (esp after reading some of the links after posting ) was that if it did come here and she wasn't vaccinated and I was to take her to the vet and there was a rabbit there with it already then surely she could catch it from them. I know the chances might have been small for that to happen but not impossible, surely it's best all rabbits are immunised.
On another note she's def back to normal now as she's started to be naughty!
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That's good to hear! :)
 
NixNax said:
Yes i think thst too. My concern when I was told that house rabbits are low risk and that we are in a safe area (esp after reading some of the links after posting ) was that if it did come here and she wasn't vaccinated and I was to take her to the vet and there was a rabbit there with it already then surely she could catch it from them. I know the chances might have been small for that to happen but not impossible, surely it's best all rabbits are immunised.
On another note she's def back to normal now as she's started to be naughty!
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In an ideal world yes. But we cant control what other's choose to do or who's opinions they choose to take. I am glad that you went with your gut instinct and made sure that your Rabbits are vaccinated. All any of us can do is our best for our own Rabbits.
 
When I was there the vet mentioned again about reviewing their vaccinations for rabbits. She said they're looking into whether the myx vhd1 combined then the rhd2 2weeks later is the best option and they're seeing if there's better combinations to use. Has anyone else heard about this?
 
NixNax said:
When I was there the vet mentioned again about reviewing their vaccinations for rabbits. She said they're looking into whether the myx vhd1 combined then the rhd2 2weeks later is the best option and they're seeing if there's better combinations to use. Has anyone else heard about this?
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In the current climate re RHD2 I'd want the Filivac given first. Filivac actually covers for BOTH RHD1 and RHD2. A full immune response to Filivac is established after 7 days.

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/media/documents/filavac.doc

I think each case needs to be dealt with individually, but as I have said I would be very, very anxious about having a Rabbit who had not received Filivac and I'd want to have the vaccine done at the very first opportunity.. This is just my personal unqualified opinion
 
NixNax said:
When I was there the vet mentioned again about reviewing their vaccinations for rabbits. She said they're looking into whether the myx vhd1 combined then the rhd2 2weeks later is the best option and they're seeing if there's better combinations to use. Has anyone else heard about this?
Click to expand...


To be honest it doesn't really matter which way around they are done (unless you're in a big risk area for either) so long as they are done, and as your vet suggests, two weeks apart.

You can read up about the facts on RHD2 here and perhaps make a judgment yourself on what you'd prefer:

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/owners/frequently-asked-questions/FAQRHD

This is what Frances Harcourt Brown has written:

Get your rabbit vaccinated. Vaccination is the most effective way to protect your rabbit against RHD, RHDV2 and myxomatosis . The second thing to do is to get the risk of RHDV2 into perspective. Although it is scary that these viruses are out there in the wild rabbit population, the risk of a pet rabbit dying from any of them is very small if they are vaccinated. Even unvaccinated rabbits have a good chance of survival if they meet RHDV2 infection.


And answering your original question (for the vet and not for you!)

If I keep my rabbit indoors and never take it to the vets or boarding kennels and disinfect everything, will it be safe from infection?

The answer is no. The only way you could shield your rabbit completely would be to keep it in a room that only people wearing protective clothing could enter. The virus can survive on plants and it is not possible to disinfect them so few diets are completely safe. Extruded nuggets are cooked at a high temperature should be free from the virus but are not ideal as the only food for rabbits. They are fattening and are designed to be fed alongside hay.

 
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