I'm struggling :(

I have had excellent advice from many of you guys since i've joined but now i must admit i'm struggling. I started with three females and a far too small hutch. I now have, thanks to the poor sexing by the local garden centre who I bought my three 'girls' from, 7 rabbits. I also cocked up by taking in an indoor bunny from someone who wasn't coping (ah the irony).

The problem is financial. My intentions were to neuture all my guys as soon as. (2 down 6 to go). Then after two run ins with myxi (thankfully not my own) i feel that should be a priority. Then one of my little boys got bitten by his brother (so had to get a new hutch to seperate) and developed an abcess, more financial shuffling.

so, should I rehome some of my rabbits so I can look after some properly? I kept all the babies because I could n't bare for them to be mistreated, but now I am letting them down.

Honest suggestions please.

I would rehome 2-4. I know it is a difficult decision, I would be heartbroken if I had to do it to my own. But 3-5 very well looked after buns is better than stuggling to give satesfactory care to 7, and the potential that there could be more(im sure you have sorted that after one mistake though!!)

Plus you never know what is round the corner, I would recommend getting your remaining buns insured. Although it doesn't cover vacc and general health checks it does cover the unexpected, infections, fights accidents etc

I really feel for you I can sympathise over the financial issue...bunnies can be costly to house and vet treatment is never cheap.

The most important thing is to ensure that all rabbits are now sexed correctly and the sexes are housed separately (if un-neutered).

Wales is a really bad area for unwanted animals, so good new homes might be impossible to find, and you don't have many small animal rescues either.

A temporary solution would be to get some free or cheap hutches from Freecycle, Ebay, etc.

If you struggle financially, then I would suggest that you rehome some of your rabbits. If you ask someone to put them in Rabbits in Need for you, then maybe people will see them and adopt them. You could go and do a homecheck, too. Not everyone will mistreat the bunnies.

The main thing at the moment is probably to make sure that you don't get any more babies. The males can still be fertile several weeks after their operation, so keep them well away from the girls. The girls should eventually get neutered, too, otherwise they might get moody and develop cancer. And the vaccinations are very important, too. There might be more fights and then you may have to separate again and need more cages or hutches.

Try to work out how many bunnies you can realistically look after. And how much space you have. I have 5 bunnies at the moment, and some foster bunnies, and that's the absolute maximum I can afford. No one will blame you if you say you want to keep just some of the bunnies, but give them a big hutch and all the health care they need.

:wave:

I honestly think if you are not able to keep them financially and thats not going to change then it is best to think about rehoming them. I know it sounds awful but vet bills can get very high especially if more than one bun got sick at the same time or you need to bring one to the vets in the middle of the night

Even if you kept some would you still struggle with possible vet bills? I know you must feel like you are letting them down, but if you were to find them good homes its better than keeping them and being constantly worried about the costs x

Hi there.

I am sorry that you are having to face this, especially after you have been trying to do the best by your bunnies. I wouldn't say that you are letting them down by not being able to afford everything immediately but it could be a bit risky to be honest.

Hard as it may be, I think I might try and rehome some of your bunnies.

The finances will always be a challenge with a few bunnies but if you are already finding it hard, then in your interest and in the interest of all of the bunnies, it might be better to concentrate on just some of them and allow some of the others go to new homes where they will be cared for.

Finances can really be stretched if any of the bunnies become ill so if it's already a problem, then you risk it getting much tougher. Vaccinations twice yearly for Myxo and annually for VHD for 7 bunnies is already going to be about £300+ depending on how much your vets charge. Also, if you don't already have boys and girls housed seperately, then you do risk more unwanted babies and the spiral will continue.

I think that giving a better life to a few would be preferable to keeping them all and not being able to cope.

It will be hard to let go (god, I have trouble everytime a foster bunny goes to a new home) but it sounds like it's something you might need to do.

All the best, whatever you decide.

Helen

Thank you for your quick replys. Boys and girls are seperated. I'm just sad because I really want to do the best for them ALL. They are all quite grown now, youngsters are 4 months. I just would like to to it all, vacs, neutures, treats and insurance. they've shown me I can't do that for 8.

Is there any way you could raise some extra funds, such as selling things on Ebay, carboots etc? Good idea to try Freecycle for a spare hutch, even if it's only temporary use.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

I think if you're struggling you should rehome some too. It's for the best all round and as others said, better to hae a smaller number well catered for than struggle with more.
The only other thing I wondered is if you have any stuff you could sell on ebay or similar to raise any money? Just that may buy some neuters for th eboys at least which would be good. The initial outlay of neuters is expensive, running costs of vaccs is a bit more easy to deal with, but of course there is the issue of unexpected vets bills too.
Dont feel bad about it, you are being very honest with yourself about the situation and are doing your best for the bunnies, even if that means rehoming some. Thats all anyone could ask for. Good luck x x x

You could also approach your vets and ask about discounts, with so many buns needing 2 jabs and a neuter each it would be hard to say no. If you are known there (like I am at mine), then ask if you could pay off over so many months, or give them money to save up, so they see you are serious.

I would explore trying to find them homes. Ask if you can put some of them on Rabbits in Need. They are four months and this would be a good age to try.

At the moment the buns are in a 6ft by 17ft out building. The two that are neutured are free range within this space 24/7 and the others rotate daily, but are in a hutch/combo within this space and I love spending time with all of them.

I think financially I could support 4. With insurance and vacs i think this would be around £40 ish insurance monthly, and I would need to save about £60 per bun for vacs a year.

People with large numbers of rabbits don't tend to insure them all, it would be too costly. What about putting £40 per month into a 'vet funds' savings account instead?

I think if you can ride this difficult patch, you may find that it gets easier...neutering is a one-off cost, so you'll never have to pay out for that again.

Even if your buns won't live together as a group, you've got plenty of space for them in your out-building. Metal puppy pens are a good way of dividing up space cheaply, much cheaper than wooden hutches and runs...make sure they're high enough to stop buns jumping over though!

abbymarysmokey said:

People with large numbers of rabbits don't tend to insure them all, it would be too costly. What about putting £40 per month into a 'vet funds' savings account instead?

I think if you can ride this difficult patch, you may find that it gets easier...neutering is a one-off cost, so you'll never have to pay out for that again.

Even if your buns won't live together as a group, you've got plenty of space for them in your out-building. Metal puppy pens are a good way of dividing up space cheaply, much cheaper than wooden hutches and runs...make sure they're high enough to stop buns jumping over though!

Click to expand...

agreed that if can weather the hard times then would be ok if you put money aside i would say myxi vaccs is a priority and many vets will do a discount for multiple buns too on this front i would ask. then i would try and do 1xbunny spey/neuter every month or other month to spread the costs... you could try differnet vets providded they are rabbit savvy as some are cheaper than others but jsut as good(do go rabbit savvy over cost though) eg i know my 70 for male neuter ... my newer vets are better with bunnys and 48 for neuter and 65 pounds spey old vets were 100 for female spey