Your veterinarian can advise you about when to vaccinate your rabbit. One vaccination is normally given when the rabbit is 10 to 12 weeks of age, or as soon as possible after this age is reached.
One vaccination should protect your rabbit for approximately a year, although in some rabbits immunity may not last this long. You should take your rabbit to your veterinarian each year for an annual booster vaccination, to maintain the immunity for another year. This will allow your vet to give your rabbit a general checkup, and to attend to any other health problems, such as overgrown toenails.
Although the vaccine is effective in protecting rabbits against
RCD and has been extensively used especially in rabbits under
controlled laboratory or rabbit farm conditions overseas, its
use in pet rabbits is not without some risk. Side effects
may include -
(i) depression and loss of appetite for a day or so after
vaccination
(ii) skin reactions such as irritation and hair loss about a
week afer injection
(iii) death due to anaphylactic reactions or complications with
pre-existing disease conditions.
Fortunately these complications are rare. They are most common in dwarf rabbits or in rabbits vaccinated under conditions of stress or excessive heat. Rabbits showing signs of ill health from any other condition should not be vaccinated. If you are in doubt about whether or not to vaccinate your rabbit, talk to your veterinarian about it. When you do have your pet vaccinated, avoid doing so on very hot days, and do not leave your rabbit anywhere where he is likely to become overheated.
RCD is now present in wild rabbits in every state of Australia, except Tasmania. It is spread in the saliva, nasal secretions, and excreta of infected rabbits. It is highly contagious, and after becoming infected, the susceptible rabbit will become sick within 12 to 18 hours, and die within about 30 hours, due to cardiac and respiratory failure. The only species affected by RCD is the European Rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus). This is the common wild rabbit in Australia. Other rabbit species, hares, and Australian native fauna are not affected by the disease.
Australia & New Zealand Rabbit Calicivirus Disease Programme
Latest official information 25/2/97
on RCD release and distribution
Affected rabbits develop a severe conjunctivitis (inflamed swollen eyes with a milky white discharge). They become listless, lose their appetite, and develop a vever. The head may swell, especially the nose, lips, and ears. The anus and scrotum may become very red and inflamed. Most rabbits die within one or two weeks of first showing signs of the disease.
Because of the rabbit's status as a noxious pest in Australia, vaccination of domestic rabbits against this disease is illegal. To reduce the risk of infection, pet rabbits should be kept indoors or housed in mosquito proof enclosures.
Hares and rabbits are fairly closely related, but, whereas hares are solitary and nest in a shallow depression known as a 'form", rabbits are social and spend a considerable part of the day in a complex systewm of burrows known as a 'warren'.
The Brown Hare (Lepus capensis) was introduced into Tasmania from Europe as early as 1837 but initial attempts to establish wild populations were unsuccessful. It was first established on the shores of Westernport Bay, Vic., in 1862 and further colonies were set up on Phillip Island, Vic. From here, it was distributed to many other parts of Australia where it thrived on native grasslands and open woodlands, rapidly expanding its range. It is now widespread in grasslands, woodlands, agricultural and some urban lands in NSW, Vic., SA, and south eastern Qld.
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This page was last updated on 07/03/97.