Complex vaccination for rabbits

Rabbits are extremely susceptible to various diseases, which quickly become widespread.

And since most rabbit diseases involve high mortality, it is important to prevent their development in a timely manner.

And the main preventive measure in this regard is a complex vaccine for rabbits.

What are they doing it for?

Like any other living creature, rabbits are prone to illness.

The infection enters the animal’s tissues through the digestive system with food, by airborne droplets from other rabbits, and through equipment used to care for the animals.

Diseases are also transmitted by insects and various rodents.

The most common viral diseases that rabbit farm owners most often encounter are:

1. Rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD).
2. Myxomatosis.

Both diseases are dangerous because all age and physiological groups of rabbits are susceptible to them.

In addition, the disease, once it has taken root in the body, is extremely difficult to treat and is fatal in almost 100% of cases.

This is why it is imperative to vaccinate rabbit populations against such viruses.

Also, common and decorative rabbits often suffer from diseases such as:

• pasteurellosis;
• rabies;
• coccidiosis;
• rhinitis;
• salmonellosis.

Moreover, each disease requires its own type of vaccine. As a rule, monovalent vaccines designed to combat or prevent a specific disease are used to prevent them.

But in some cases, it is permissible to use a complex vaccine for rabbits, which produces immunity in the body against several types of infection at once.

At what age do they do it?

Quite often, rabbits are not vaccinated immediately after being separated from their mother, because the mother’s breast milk contains special antibodies that protect the offspring from dangerous diseases.

It is worth noting that the acquired immunity lasts for about 30 days after weaning the rabbits.

This is why experienced farmers do not recommend separating the female from her young early, because even during pregnancy she can continue to feed the rabbits from the previous litter.

Farmers now wean the mother rabbit from her babies approximately 30-45 days after they are born. Therefore, vaccination is recommended for young animals aged 7-9 weeks.

How often do they do it?

Vaccinations for rabbits are recommended every six months according to veterinary practice in our country.

In this case, you will no longer have to worry about your pet’s health, especially during epidemic periods. Vaccination also depends on the season.

For example, myxomatosis is most often carried by mosquitoes, so it is better to get vaccinated against this disease before the beginning of summer.

In winter this vaccine will not be required because there are no blood-sucking insects.

Vaccination schedule:

The need for certain vaccinations is determined individually for each farm.

It is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of keeping animals, as well as the presence of various epidemics in the region.

However, experienced veterinarians recommend that all novice rabbit breeders follow the approximate vaccination plan that we discussed above.

Types of vaccines

As already noted, all existing vaccines for rabbits (as well as for other domestic animals) are divided into monovalent and complex vaccines.

Moreover, the complex vaccination for rabbits also has several varieties.

So, it involves division into:

1. Divalent. It is used for simultaneous vaccination against two specific diseases.
2. Polyvalent. Immunity is developed against 3-5 diseases at once.

Both types of medications are relatively well tolerated by animals and do not involve severe side effects.

In addition, purchasing bivalent or trivalent vaccines is significantly cheaper than purchasing several monovalent vaccines.

Also, depending on the material used, all vaccines are conditionally divided into:

1. Alive. The composition includes live pathogens in small quantities. The body reacts to them more acutely. But, in contrast to this, immunity to the disease develops faster.
2. Inactivated. In such vaccinations, the infection is no longer dangerous and almost completely loses its properties. Rabbits do not experience vaccination so hard. Immunity develops longer, but also lasts for a longer period of time.

Popular polyvalent vaccines

Of all the combinations of complex associated vaccinations, the most common are bivalent ones against myxomatosis and hemorrhagic disease (VHD).

The most popular drugs in this regard are:

• “Rabbivac V”, which is produced in Russia;
• “Pistorin Mormyx”, Czech production;
• “Lapimoon Hemix”, which is produced in Ukraine.

Also in demand among breeders is the drug “Nobivac Myxo-RHD”. It is produced by one of the branches of the Dutch pharmaceutical company MSD Animal Health, which is located in Russia.

The indicated preparations are sold in packages containing two bottles. Before use, the contents of each of them are mixed and only then introduced to the animals.

Immunization of rabbits against colibacillosis, salmonellosis, klebsiella and other diseases of bacterial origin is carried out by means of the “OKZ vaccine” vaccination.

This inactivated vaccine creates persistent and long-lasting immunity to the pathogens of the indicated diseases.

But when using such means, it is worth remembering that each of the vaccinations does not provide 100% prevention of the development of the disease.

It only helps to strengthen the animal’s immune response, thereby significantly increasing its protection and effectiveness in fighting infection.

How to vaccinate yourself?

What should I look for?

The selected product must be purchased exclusively in specialized veterinary pharmacies.

It is not allowed to use compositions purchased from other organizations, as they may not only be useless, but also cause serious harm to the animal.

It is also worth remembering that any vaccine is administered only to healthy livestock. Therefore, before implementing the procedure, it is necessary:

1. Treat the animal for worms and other parasites. Helminths greatly weaken the owner’s body, and administering vaccines can only worsen the situation. Therefore, a course of deworming is carried out for animals at least a week before the expected vaccination date. An exception is allowed only if a planned deworming was carried out 2-3 months before.
2. Observe the animals for 1-3 days. Special attention should be paid to signs of health problems. In the presence of depression, changes in the color and density of feces, diarrhea, deterioration in the quality of wool, vaccination is not recommended.

Vaccination is also not carried out if the animal’s body temperature in the rectal area is outside the range of 38,5-39,5 degrees.

In this case, they first look for the cause of such manifestations, eliminate it, and only then administer the drug.

Attention! It is not recommended to vaccinate rabbits that are unwell after being transported from another farm. It is better to keep such an animal in isolation for some time until it gains strength.

How to get vaccinated?

It is recommended to entrust the introduction of a complex vaccine to an experienced veterinarian. If a decorative rabbit lives at home, then, having bought the medicine, it is simply taken to a specialist.

If there is a large herd of rabbits, a veterinarian is often called to the home.

But if the farm is too far from the nearest veterinary center, you can do the vaccination yourself.

But at the same time, the following rules are followed:

1. Required composition are purchased only from trusted suppliers. In doing so, they must check the expiration date, the corresponding quality certificate, and the absence of signs of damage to the packaging and the bottles themselves.
2. Before the procedure Be sure to study the details of the instructions for use that come with the drug. The dosage of the active substance is selected either in accordance with the instructions or based on the recommendations of a veterinarian.
3. If the composition is sold in powder form, then it is first diluted with distilled water. If the kit also includes a pre-prepared diluent, it is better to use it. It is important to take into account the ratio indicated in the insert.
4. If a disposable syringe is used in the process, then it is replaced with a new one after each injection. The automatic syringe can be used without restrictions.
5. After the seal is established If the vaccine’s original packaging has been damaged, its use is permitted only for 2-3 hours. After that, its properties are quickly lost.
6. Vaccination should not be carried out, if the outside air temperature exceeds 28 degrees. Animals may feel unwell at this point.

The procedure for administering the drug itself is carried out according to the following scheme:

1. First injection is carried out when the baby rabbit is 1,5 months old.
2. Second introduction The drug is sold after the child reaches 4,5 months of age.
3. Later repeat vaccination every 12 months. This is how long the immunity provided by the vaccination functions. It is advisable to administer the injection at the beginning of spring, when the animal’s body is most susceptible to the disease.

The injection is made into the auricle, withers or thigh. Before the injection, the skin on the selected area of ​​the body is carefully treated with alcohol.

The vaccine is administered intramuscularly or subcutaneously. The specific method is selected in accordance with the recommendations of the instructions.

If side effects occur in one or more animals, it is better to stop vaccination and consult a specialist.

After the procedure, it is better to isolate the rabbits that were injected for 12-14 days from the rest of the livestock. This is the amount of time needed to develop immunity.

Attention! It is also necessary to adhere to the storage conditions of the vaccine. It is stored and transported only at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees. Freezing or exceeding the specified values ​​leads to the loss of the medicine’s properties.

A complex vaccine for rabbits helps prevent a number of viral and bacterial diseases that are typical for this type of fur-bearing animals.

In addition, one drug creates immune protection against several diseases at once, which significantly simplifies and reduces the cost of vaccination.

But when using such compositions, you should strictly adhere to the dosages and recommendations for use.

Instructions for use of the complex associated vaccine

The packaging of this vaccine contains the following instructions:

• The vaccine is used intramuscularly, subcutaneously, intradermally for immunization of healthy rabbits in areas prosperous, at risk, and unprosperous for myxomatosis and VGBK.
• In safe and threatened areas, rabbits are immunized once, starting from the age of 1,5 months. Female rabbits are vaccinated at any stage of pregnancy.
• In areas where myxomatosis and VGBK are unfavorable, clinically healthy rabbits and young rabbits are vaccinated from the age of 45 days. Young animals are revaccinated after 3 months.
• It is prohibited to vaccinate sick animals. For intramuscular and subcutaneous administration, the vaccine in vials (ampoules) is dissolved at the rate of 1 cm0,5 of solvent per dose and 3 cm0,5 is injected into the thigh area.
• For intradermal injection, the vaccine in vials (ampoules) is dissolved at the rate of 1 cm0,2 of solvent per dose and 3 cm0,2 is injected into the subcaudal mirror or ear. Before vaccination, syringes and needles are sterilized by boiling for 3-15 minutes.
• The injection site is disinfected with 70% alcohol. Each rabbit is vaccinated with a separate needle. The vaccinated animal is observed for 20 days.
• For intradermal vaccinations, it is recommended to use a needle-free injector.
• Maintenance of the injector is carried out according to the rules set out in the passport.
• Before starting work, the injector head assembly, plunger, mandrels and spare nozzles are sterilized by boiling in distilled water for 15-20 minutes or treated with 70% alcohol.
• After assembly, pump the injector and 2-3 test “shots” are carried out into a cotton swab soaked in 70% alcohol.
• After each injection of the vaccine, the nozzle of the needle-free injector is treated by immersing it in 1 percent alcohol for 3-70 seconds.

Can this be done on pregnant rabbits?

Regardless of the period of pregnancy, females are allowed to be vaccinated.

The only exception is the lactation period – the antibodies contained in the drug have a negative effect on the body of the rabbits.

It is recommended to give pregnant females complex vaccines, but only under the supervision of a doctor.

Once the procedure is complete, you will have to watch closely for any changes in their behavior. If alarming symptoms occur, you should immediately contact a specialist.

Post-vaccination period

Vaccinated individuals are kept in a separate cage for two weeks after the procedure.

This is exactly the amount of time needed for the drug to begin to actively affect the body, after which vaccinated rabbits will no longer become infected from sick animals.

Usually healthy individuals feel great 2-3 hours after the procedure.

However, some of them experience side effects: inflammation of the mucous membranes; active secretion of saliva; rash on the skin; lack of mobility.

Most often, such symptoms occur as a result of an allergic reaction, so it will be necessary to inject 0,3 ml of suprastin subcutaneously into the pet.

In case of cardiac arrhythmia, an injection of Sulfocamphocaine should be given in the same dosage.

In what cases is the vaccine useless?

There are several reasons why no results from vaccination are observed:

1. The pet became infected several days or even hours before vaccination.
2. The vaccination schedule or dosage was violated.
3. The farmer did not follow the rules for preparing livestock for the procedure.
4. An expired medication was administered.

Experts recommend vaccinating all livestock without exception, even if there are no outbreaks of dangerous diseases in the region.

Any additional vaccinations should be discussed with your veterinarian.

Otherwise, vaccination will prevent losses for the farm and is not a complicated procedure, so it is better not to ignore it.

Conclusion

The survival rate of rabbits without vaccinations is low. The possibility of maintaining a rabbit farm without using vaccines is an irrational idea.

In the first two years of life, babies have virtually no immunity, which leads to instant death without resistance from the body.