Rabbits!

[User395221]

there are vaccines for Calicivirus and Myxomatosis,

We are only allowed to vaccinate against calicivirus, not myxomatosis. Whether that's because there's no vaccine or there is a vaccine but we're not allowed it, I don't know.

 

[AxolotlLove]

The father is lionhead mom is actually I found out she isn't a rex she is a wild rabbit. The man who has them says they have very colorful different colored coats. And are really friendly, but they are only 1 week old. He has had these mixes before apparently.

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: The vaccine exists, you just aren't allowed access to it. I've heard speculation, but I don't know the reasoning behind that.

The father is lionhead mom is actually I found out she isn't a rex she is a wild rabbit. The man who has them says they have very colorful different colored coats. And are really friendly, but they are only 1 week old. He has had these mixes before apparently.

Since you spell "color" without a u, I assume you live in the U.S. - in which case, the mother cannot be a "wild rabbit," no matter what the owner believes. She may be a color that we call Chestnut (or sometimes Chestnut Agouti); what a lot of people think of as the wild-type color. She could be a mix of any number of breeds; if she produces babies in a variety of colors, sounds like she may be quite a mix. IMO, the most important thing in a pet is "friendly," of course, "healthy" goes without saying.

 

[AxolotlLove]

The vaccine exists, you just aren't allowed access to it. I've heard speculation, but I don't know the reasoning behind that.
Since you spell "color" without a u, I assume you live in the U.S. - in which case, the mother cannot be a "wild rabbit," no matter what the owner believes. She may be a color that we call Chestnut (or sometimes Chestnut Agouti); what a lot of people think of as the wild-type color. She could be a mix of any number of breeds; if she produces babies in a variety of colors, sounds like she may be quite a mix. IMO, the most important thing in a pet is "friendly," of course, "healthy" goes without saying.

Lol yes US. We have wild rabbits here but I'm just going off what the owner said. I've decided to get my rabbits at a rabbit show so I can get info from breeders.

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: A lot of people will tell you that they have rabbits that are "part wild rabbit," but evidently, that's not possible - North American wild rabbits can't interbreed with the domestic rabbit (which is descended from the European wild rabbit). Though lots of people may make the claim, there is no documented proof that it is possible. When people have tried to do the cross in scientific, controlled experiments, no young are produced; the only information I can find indicates that the embryos die within a few days of fertilization. There are a number of domestic rabbit breeds and mixes of breeds that resemble the wild rabbits to some extent, but it is illegal to own native rabbits, and since they can't produce viable young when bred to the domestic rabbit, the very fact that young are produced proves that the "wild rabbits" that so many think they have are, in fact, domestic rabbits.

 

[User395221]

The vaccine exists, you just aren't allowed access to it. I've heard speculation, but I don't know the reasoning behind that.

I suspect it's because the last thing we need is pet rabbits with immunity escaping or being released into farming areas. I haven't worried too much about the "why" I just know the "what" as an owner of pet rabbits.

 

[cassie]

I suspect it's because the last thing we need is pet rabbits with immunity escaping or being released into farming areas. I haven't worried too much about the "why" I just know the "what" as an owner of pet rabbits.

I don't get it. Why would rabbits with immunity to a given disease be a threat if released? Being immune does not mean they are carriers.

 

[User395221]

I don't get it. Why would rabbits with immunity to a given disease be a threat if released? Being immune does not mean they are carriers.

Myxomatosis was deliberately introduced to kill rabbits. European rabbits caused mayhem when they were brought here. It is not the threat of carrying the disease, but of not being killed by the disease /producing immune young that would be the issue from farmers' perspective. Until recently, we weren't even allowed to keep rabbits as pets here. They are considered noxious vermin here in farming areas.

 

[appps]

Myxomatosis was deliberately introduced to kill rabbits.  European rabbits caused mayhem when they were brought here. It is not the threat of carrying the disease, but of not being killed by the disease /producing immune young that would be the issue from farmers' perspective.  Until recently, we weren't even allowed to keep rabbits as pets here.  They are considered noxious vermin here in farming areas.  

Yes I remember them being illegal as a kid. You still can't have them as pets in Queensland because that's how we ended up with sooty, the breeder was moving to Queensland and couldn't take her bunnies.

I can understand the logic for not allowing a vaccine for myxomatosis and for letting us immunise for callicivirus. What I don't understand is why it's not the same rule for both be that allowing or not allowing. That's what seems strange to me, that one you can and the other you can't.


On a totally different subject I believe I've been feeding our rabbit all wrong. Saw something on Pinterest the other day about how 90% of their diet should be hay and only 10% pellets. Is that right? We've been doing it backwards.

 

[tracyjg]

Mine got toys.to play with today. They loved the ball and the rings off of canning jars. There having fun.