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rabbits not being cared for properly - advice please UPDATE

Hugbut

Mama Doe
My colleague mentioned she had rabbits & today she let me see them as i was passing her house.There are four divided 3 cages, all beautiful, but i fear they aren't being cared for as well as they deserve.I'll list the things that i think are cause for concern.
1.) All the cages seem to be small, in paticular the ones that house single buns - i'd say they couldn't stand up in there.
2.) i noticed at least one of them didn't have any food & hardly any water in his bottle.
3.)they all needed a good clean out - they weren't in a terrible mess but were a day or two overdue a clean out imo.
4.)one of them had very runny eyes.
5.)there were two females housed together (i was told they were mother & daughter) but one was humping the other - do females do this?

It was a bit of a shock because my colleague is a very nice person & always speaks highly of her animals, so i was expecting their conditions to be far better - maybe i just expect too much?
I need advice on what to do next - i did point out that they needed fed & watered but she brushed it off, saying that they'd eaten all their food from this morning.I hope i haven't painted the picture worse than what it was because i have seen buns in worse conditions but their situation is far from ideal.
I don't know what to do - this person, although friendly enough, is very opinionated & is not going to like someone like me telling her she is not caring for her buns properly - i'm not sure about informing the authoroties as she'll know it's me...what should i do? Perhaps i caught them at a bad time? That doesn't excuse the small cages though.....
:cry:
sorry for the long post
 
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Hiya, going from the cage size alone purely because that is proveable I'd say they sound like they are being mistreated.

The one with the runny eyes needs to be seen by a vet by the sound of it.

Does anyone back onto her garden? That could be blamed for reporting her other than you?

Something needs to happen though it sounds miserable.

x
 
Female buns do sometimes mount each other - its a dominance thing. If the females were both intact (unspayed) their hormones could be causing this behaviour.
 
It's good that you're asking advice on what is a difficult situation, don't feel bad.

Runny eyes aren't necessarily a sign that a bunny is neglected. A lot of bunnies suffer from runny eyes for various reasons, including my Dillon who is always having his teeth and eye checked out (monthly).

Humping is quite normal even for females as long as the other bunny didn't look too stressed. If it is causing her a problem she could get them spayed if not already.

Maybe she doesn't realise that they can have an unlimited supply of hay - you could always ask her where she gets her hay from as you were looking at changing your supplier? If she say's she doesn't feed it you could educate her nicely.

As for cage size, its difficult to tell without dimensions. A lot of the pet shop bought indoor cages don't seem high enough to me.

Lian x
 
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It sounds a bit more like your colleague is a bit misinformed or doesnt know all should could about bunnies, but does care. I dont think theres bad intent there. The two females are most likely unspayed (did she say if they were or not?) Our girls never mounted after being spayed when living together...And the smalle cages...Im afraid it seems to be taking a few years for the old fashioned "keep them in a little hutch in the garden" or "they have few needs" view to be changed...Perhaps shes one of those people who genuinely thinks they are happy being cooped up, or maybe they do get letting out time

Maybe you could show her your bunnies if you have them and how they live, or if not try and gently slip a few words about care into conversation? Id try and bring it up gently
 
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I would suggest discussing it with her. I know it's an awkward situation but if you are friends you should be able to have a reasonable discussion re hutch size etc. Mention the new welfare bill maybe.

As for the other things... My rabbits never have any food if someone was to look, since they scoff their pellets right away. Could you see if they had any hay? Perhaps she intended to clean them out that day? Best to talk with her before making judgements. :)
 
I don't know exact sizes of the cages but the smaller two looked around the size of a basic P@H guinea pig cage - possibly *slightly* bigger.
 
Best to talk with her before making judgements. :)

I'm not judging, that's why i'm asking everyone for advice. Maybe i was just shocked because i expected better - the cages are deffinately too small though.I didn't want to make any rash decisions about what to do next (if anything) without getting opinions from other bun lovers & i do understand that it could've just been a bad time to visit :)
 
I'd suggest working on things but in a way that doesn't come across as critizing. For example, get some leaflets from the RWA and then pass them on to her "I got these sent to me, I've read them and I thought you might like to read them too'.

I'm going over to the farm to pick up a bale of hay today, I can't store a whole one do you want to split it with me....

Hey, did you know they're offering discount vaccs atm....

I'm thinking of upgrading my accommodation... email lots of links... what do you think about these?

First impressions aren't always the whole picture either e.g. an empty food bowl is fine as long as they have hay, a small cage for the day might be okay if they spend hours running around a night, a few days over due cleaning could be a once off or just people have different ideas of cleaning frequencies e.g. some do litter trays daily or some once a week.

Tam
 
I had a bit of a *ponder* on this one and concluded that, if this was me, I'd be inclined to "return the favour" and invite her around to see your buns (as MaxiandScottandbuns suggested)...I would think that she will see the clear difference in the way yours live to hers and (hopefully!) rectify the problem without you having to do much more...Worth a try maybe?

TP;)
 
The saga continues...
The two 'females' that were being housed together have performed a miracle & produced a litter of kittens :?
Despite my offer to temporarily house the buck while they found a new cage for him, they have kept both parents in with the babies - i dread to think that state they're in.I am seriously considering reporting them to the authorities but don't know what to do - any suggestions?
:(
 
ah well - seems like your criticisms were justified after all :shock: what a stupid woman if she can't see that keeping the buck in is bad - never mind breeding them in the first place. Not sure if the RSPCA would be bothered about cage size though - she could just say they're free range most of the time - although I would imagine RSPCA might be willing to send someone round to warn her about keeping the buck in - the female will be bred to death and the first litter of kits will starve when the 2nd comes along, or visa versa :( When IS she going to remove him? When the tiny cage is full to the top with rabbits, or when some of them die? :?
 
you have to do somethin!but i can understand it must be hard to without comin across as a nag or like ur tellin her what to do! maybe say u saw some big runs cages on an internet site and you could maye bring up how roomy they were etc....just a thought?
 
It's a hard one for you.

If it was me, and I have been in this situation in the past including with friends, I would voice my concerns, all you can do is hope that they take note and it sinks in!

My friends and work colleagues know that I will not keep my mouth shut when it comes to animals not being treated how they deserve to be and that I don't care if it makes them angry! :D And they know I never let them forget it either!
 
At the end of the day she should know better...its pertty obvious that rabbits with no room and being bred constanly is unfair.I do would do best by the rabbits as they cant voice there own troubles.Id report her or go round and have a word about your concerns? whats the worst that can happen if u do this? maybe she needs educating and ur the person to do it? well she obviosly does?! good luck anyway..keep us informed!
 
Hmm another litter will be on the way then- did you tell her that they can get pregnant immediately? She may not have known one was a buck, it does happen, unless she's had them a while which would then look like she was bred on purpose.

I completely sympathise with you I had a stinking row with someone quite recently about a similar situation, I started off being nice about it and just making little suggestions even offered to put myself out to help them but it got taken the wrong way when I suggested the rabbit could do with some more hay (apparently he didn't need it because he was warm enough :rolleyes:) and that he was underweight so a trip to the vets might be a good idea, it ended up in a huge argument and not speaking for a couple of months, and I got told I'm obsessed and its none of my business I just don't say anything about rabbits to them at all anymore and barely even speak, all you can do is offer advice but unless the RSPCA will consider it a cruelty case then there is nothing else you can do, it's rubbish but it's just how it is sometimes.
 
I've spoken to the woman again today & voiced a few of my concerns & tried to give her some advice - which she ignored, i suggested she should think about contacting a rehoming centre to help her rehome the baby rabbits but she refused.She is now saying that she'd like to keep ALL the babies aswell as the four adults she already has.By the looks of things, she can't afford to look after the rabbits she's got, let alone another litter.I asked her if she'd be willing to let me have one of the babies & she said she'd think about it.I've got the space but i'm not sure if it's a sensible thing to do - part of the reasoning behind it is that it'll be one less bun for her to have to deal with & Hugo will get himself a wife.I'm confused about the whole thing & don't know what to do for the best :?
 
what did she say when you told her the female would be dropping another litter in 4 weeks, BEFORE the first litter is weaned? :shock:
 
what did she say when you told her the female would be dropping another litter in 4 weeks, BEFORE the first litter is weaned? :shock:

She kind of laughed & said 'i know' :censored:
Still don't know weather it's a good idea to take one of the babies off her hands if she agrees to it :?
 
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