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advice needed pls re: rehoming a baby rabbit

happypreso

Alpha Buck
bit of a story but when my original babies were 2/3 days old I approached someone to see if they wanted a rabbit or two. This lady said yes, she wanted two and even offered to pay money there and then. (I said no!). I do not know this lady personally.

I emailed several times over the next few weeks with pictures of the babies growing up and asked what ones she likes and what sex she would prefer. No reply came.

I then heard (finally) on Sat that yes she wanted one rabbit. No sex or colours discussed just that she would be happy with anything. She said that someone was making her a hutch and that it should be ready this weekend.

yesterday on freecycle there is an ad from this lady asking for a hutch. I emailed her and said I am guessing she either has lots of rabbits or the man that was making the hutch let her down. she replied saying the ad was for her niece and their home made hutch was ready and she would be collecting it tomorrow and would come and pick the rabbit up either tomorrow night or monday. fine I said.

Now today there is another ad on freecycle asking for a hutch as her son is getting a rabbit and the person that was suppose to be making the hutch has let her down!

so now I am worried! either she is lying to me or she is lying on freecycle. maybe a story to get the hutch for the niece or going else is going on?

so what do I do? hubby (who doesn't care about the buns like I do!) said give her until Monday if she doesn't collect Smudge then find another home. I know I can't keep Smudge long term - Star & Bugs have turned on her and I could well (fingers crossed) end up with Holly & Angel, my new 'blind' buns, as perm members of the household.

so what do I do? I dont like the feeling of just letting Smudge go without really knowing what is going on and where she is going to end up. Do I ask for a home check (can I do this?) what do I look for? or do I just say that Smudge has gone somewhere else (and then find her a home that I am happy with?).
 
Trust your instincts, from the sounds of her, there is NO way i would even bother emailing her after revealing her on freecycle, however if you DO go ahead, definately do a homecheck, making sure hutch is 6ft x 2ft with secure attached run. Why does she only want one now? Id be inclined to only rehome in pairs due to the fact they would have company
 
I would personally go to her house and do a homecheck before rehoming the bunny :D That way you know what the set up is like and if its nice and roomy.
 
I would also home check. I doubt very much she will get a decent hutch off freecycle, and I would be concerned about the welfare of this rabbit. She will probably end up keeping it alone in a little hutch.

I am terrible at rehoming any fosters I may have as I am so fussy about who they go to. I would never let one go unless I knew it was going to have a good knowledgeable home.
 
To be honest without going over and looking at her set up first I wouldnt want to home a bun to her. If she doesnt want to be homechecked then i think that gives you your answer? :?
 
Cheers everyone!

I have emailed her (again!) and asked her some questions and asked if I can deliver smudge to her instead so I can have a look and put my mind to rest.

I will keep you all update (and I knew you lot would understand - hubby can't understand why I am so upset!)
 
To be honest, the way youve explained it, i wouldnt want my bunnies going to her :? Its funny how she wants these cases from freecycle, if she cant afford the hutch, surely she wont be able to afford to look after the bunnies?!?

I agree with everyone else, if you do let her have them id take them to her house, and ask to see the set up. I really dont think she sounds reliable to care for the rabbit :?

Could you not put the rabbit in the rehoming section on here? xXx
 
To be honest, the way youve explained it, i wouldnt want my bunnies going to her :? Its funny how she wants these cases from freecycle, if she cant afford the hutch, surely she wont be able to afford to look after the bunnies?!?

I agree with everyone else, if you do let her have them id take them to her house, and ask to see the set up. I really dont think she sounds reliable to care for the rabbit :?

Could you not put the rabbit in the rehoming section on here? xXx

I have also put that in my reply, the bun needs to be vax'd and neutured (when old enough) and that rabbits need company and excerise etc so hopefully she will reply and either let me go and check or that will be the end of the matter and I can find Smudge a good home.

Am I allowed to put her on here then? It would be great if I knew where she was going :) .... the other two I rehomed - Smudges sisters - are with a friend of mine so I have had updates etc and they have only been gone a week! But my friend has bought a new hutch (bigger than the one she had), new run, tents, tunnels etc etc! We have nicknamed them the princesses :D
 
I think you better check first whether or not you can put in the rehoming section as if you are a breeder then I don't think you are allowed but I could be wrong:?:D
 
update: reply from lady

hi there wendy no worrys i can see why you are conserned, our friend is making a cage for us but keeps letting us down on dates so we thought we would just get a hutch on freecycle until ours is delivered as was promised to have it by last week and he let us down, and we keep letting our little boy down. and then we were gonna pass the freecycle one onto our niece as she has guinnie pigs. we are collecting a freecycle one tomorrow before i take my friend to the airport so i dont yet know the size but the lady did say was large enough for 2 rabbits. our cage being made is supost to be having a run attached but if our friend lets us down again we will be buying my son one for his birthday. as for run of the garden we have a large garden, and also will have time indoors as well as i used to have a house rabbit myself as a kid. we only have a hamster, i dont think they will be playing tho. I didnt realise they should come in pairs, i have always had them one at a time.wuld this be a problem. we would want to get her jabbed and spayed. you are more than welcome to bring her to our house, to settle your mind thats aposlutlly fine, i know i must have confused you slightly. monday afternoon is great with me anytime after 1pm really. i hope this has explained things for you. my address is (address supplied but I've not copied it here).

so what do you think?
 
I think you better check first whether or not you can put in the rehoming section as if you are a breeder then I don't think you are allowed but I could be wrong:?:D

No worries, just for the record though, I am not a breeder. The first litter was kind of planned (before I knew about this forum and all the other things I know now and honestly I would never do it again, this place has converted me into no breeding and rescues all the way!!) and the second litter was a pure accident (the dad escaped for a few seconds!!).

The dad has now been neutered, the mum will be done when I can (ie all the babies are off hand) so no further babies should be appearing in this household! If I do keep my special bun's Holly & Angel (2 of the 2nd litter that are blind) then again I will check the sex of them and have them neutered etc before they have any chance of having babies :D )
 
hi there wendy no worrys i can see why you are conserned, our friend is making a cage for us but keeps letting us down on dates so we thought we would just get a hutch on freecycle until ours is delivered as was promised to have it by last week and he let us down, and we keep letting our little boy down. and then we were gonna pass the freecycle one onto our niece as she has guinnie pigs. we are collecting a freecycle one tomorrow before i take my friend to the airport so i dont yet know the size but the lady did say was large enough for 2 rabbits. our cage being made is supost to be having a run attached but if our friend lets us down again we will be buying my son one for his birthday. as for run of the garden we have a large garden, and also will have time indoors as well as i used to have a house rabbit myself as a kid. we only have a hamster, i dont think they will be playing tho. I didnt realise they should come in pairs, i have always had them one at a time.wuld this be a problem. we would want to get her jabbed and spayed. you are more than welcome to bring her to our house, to settle your mind thats aposlutlly fine, i know i must have confused you slightly. monday afternoon is great with me anytime after 1pm really. i hope this has explained things for you. my address is (address supplied but I've not copied it here).

so what do you think?

Well i would personally home a single rabbit to be a house bunny, not an outdoors bunny.
Also many peoples view of what is large enough for two rabbits really isnt. So i would go armed with tape measure - and without bunny!! so you're not persuaded into leaving it there if you're not 100% certain_ and measure the hutch up. If it's 6ft by 2ft by 2ft great, if not i would quote the new RSPCA guidelines, even print them out. and if hutch is not that size then dont home bunny there until they have a sufficient sized one.

Its not that i think the woman would be a really awful bunny owner but bunny ownership and doing the right thing for the bun has really progressed from when some had them as a child and just cos- 'well we always used to' - doesnt mean its ok now.
If you know what i mean! x
 
oop just thought 6by2by2 is for a pair i think so 5by2by2 is what you'd be lookign for i think, or something with the equivalant useable floor space.
 
I think you better check first whether or not you can put in the rehoming section as if you are a breeder then I don't think you are allowed but I could be wrong:?:D

Sorry Kay, i thought this was an accidental litter which is why i suggested putting in RIN. I dont think this lady is a breeder...

As for the response you recieved, i wouldnt let bunny go to live with these people. The chances are the bunny will live in the freecycle hutch forever :? And if its for her son, surely he'll get bored? Especially if hes young. If i were you id rehome elsewhere. Id contact SOAD on here to see if you can list the bunny :) xXx
 
I wouldn't let her have one. If anything and you want to give her a chance then tell her you will wait till her hutch arrives and then go over and check it all out first.

Personally though, i wouldn't trust her and I wouldn't rehome to her.
 
I'd go see the freecycle hutch, without the bunny. If this woman cares about the bunny's welfare as she says she does, she will understand why you want to check out where he/she is going to be living. If the freecycle hutch is too small, tell her you're sorry, but the bunny will be staying with you until their hutch is built, and just explain that the freecycle hutch doesn't meet the new rspca welfare guidelines. Someone on here recently made an info sheet to give to new owners. She needs to understand that the hutch will need a run attatched 24/7 to enable the rabbit to have exercise. She should also know about how bunnies eat mainly hay, as I'm sure its changed a bit since she was a kid! You should also make her aware that if the bunny is going to be living outside, you would prefer it to be half of a pair, as an outside bun will not have as much human company throughout the day. A single bunny is ok as a house bunny, but even then they are happier as a pair. Also, that it isn't a good idea for a bunny to be going from a hutch/run to inside the house, because of temperature changes etc. I'd make sure she understands all of this before she even see's your bunny! especially as the bunny is a pet for her son! she needs to realise that most of the cleaning, feeding etc is going to come down to her! And I would also ask her what would happen to the bunny if her son was to ever get bored of it. I'm sure at the moment a bunny is the best thing ever, but will he always think that way? and if he doesn't, is she willing to have sole responsibility? If she hears all this before she gets the rabbit, it gives you a chance to see if she is a responsible pet owner
 
Well done for being concerned about this bunny. I agree with everyone else and say that you are arranging homechecks for your bunnies. I would also send a pm to Tamsin and ask if you can put on rabbits in need and explain about your litters.
 
I wouldnt rehome to her, not without checking and seeing the accomodation myself.

Also i would want the bunny in future to have a friend, if its not an option, maybe suggest house bun?

Doesnt sound right to me :?
 
I agree with the others - I would go and do a homecheck. And if you haven't already I wouldn't give them your home address because if you refuse to give them the bunny then gawd knows what they could be capable of doing!
 
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