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The nursery's rabbit.... [Advice needed]

Kenno

Warren Scout
My sister works in a nursery and they (stupidly) got a pet rabbit. She's adorable though, she's called Betty. I look after sometimes on weekends, most the time she's left alone all weekend, but don't even get my started on that.

So she's about 6 months old now, she's kept in one of those pink p@h cages, she's never had any vaccinations and obviously hasn't been neutuered(sp). They got her from p@h when she was 8 weeks old and they told them she was a dwarf and wouldn't get much bigger than that.

The thing is I'm not happy at all with the way she's being looked after, they don't mistreat her, they're just not very well educated on rabbits. I've given them various leaflets and when I picked her up today I just wasn't happy with her living arrangements.

What I'm mostly worried about is that she's not neutuered and not vaccinated. I just want advice on what you think I should do. Should I step in and try and take control over the situation or just let them be?

P.S. Sorry about the essay. I'm going to get some photos of her now. ;)
 
I hate it when schools and nurseries get animals! It doesnt teach them how to look after them at all. They are often in tiny cages and have tp put with 30 5 yr olds poking at them all day!
 
if you jump in then its likely to start problems. how about offering to come in to the nursery adn do a talk on rabbit care as pets to the children.. make it fun and silly and you can do o ne seperatly for the adults if you like advising about how if she isnt nuetered a the high risk of uterine cancer will kill her early and make the children very sad... or b) once she hits sexual maturity without a spay she will get very aggressiv and might hurt one of the children causing them a law suit... i know this isnt the reasons you want ehr done but it might make them see a benifit to get her done. x
 
Hi,

I think you should step in because otherwise they won't do anything and potentially you could be helping the future rabbits that those children might get. You could tell them that the RSPCA guidence is a 6ft hutch and having a companion.

Good luck, you will feel better for helping her!

Ps just seen the other post, doing a talk is a good idea. :)
 
She stays in the room with 2-3year olds so she gets sprayed with water, poked. The last time I picked her up she had a peg attached to her.

It's a good idea to do a talk but I'm a quite a shy person. I don't think I could stand up in front of people.

I know its such a difficult situation, I don't want to seem like I'm being pushy and insulting their caring skills.
 
Betty's cage.

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And Betty herself. What kind of rabbit do you think she is?

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Perhaps you could just call the RSPCA for advice? They might be willing to contact the nursery. Since there are likely loads of people who see the rabbit I don't think they'll know it was you.

She is adorable too :)
 
She looks utterly adorable and I think she's got some harlequin in her.

Sorry but that cage is a prison and I'd be concerned about the long term effects on her muscles (or lack of) :(. So sad.
 
What a gorgeous lady :(
A nursery I worked in, had a pet rabbit. He was from a breeder (one of the parents was breeding rabbits) and he was very nervous and skitty :( he was called Rooney!
I always had Rooney over the holidays etc and knew the nursery life was no good for him - so convinced the teacher to take him home :D
They did have a run for him in the nursery garden, which is better than most nurserys would do, but still
I think the nicer approach talk etc would be the best - all guns blazing will just get there backs up
 
Sounds to me like someone needs to take responsibility for her. That age of child need careful watching around animals, they don't mean to hurt them but often are too rough.

If you can't do a talk are there any rescues who could do it for you?
 
She's lovely.

I would have to say something....in a nice way, just politely point out that it isn't suitable keeping a bun in a cage that size. I bet she gets no exercise either :(

Do they give her hay.... (sorry just I can't see any in the pic)
 
I wouldn't want to call the RSPCA with it being my sister and I'm pretty sure she'd know it was me. She knows how I feel about it all.

She is beautiful, she's really inquisitive and gentle. It actually breaks my heart her being in that cage. And I can't do much better for her either, we don't have a rabbit friendly house, my rabbits are outdoors so I can't let her out much cos I have to supervise her. I did ask the nursery if they would buy her a play pen so I could put it around her cage so she could have more room but they said no.

My sisters had many an arguement with management about someone taking responsibility for her and them having Betty as "their" pet but comes into nursery during the week, but no one wants to.

What I wanted to suggest to my sister is maybe I could come in once a week after work, clean her out make sure she's got the correct food (cos they keep changing it), plenty of hay and veg. I'd pay for it if they didn't want to cos I know they're on a small budget.
Also, to get her speyed and vaccinated. If I took her to my vets and paid for it they could perhaps pay me back monthly in small installments.

Do you think that sounds too forceful?
 
They don't give her alot of hay cos they only get a small budget which has to cover everything for the nursery like food, toys etc.

She does get a run around. That's one good thing! :) They let her run around the room when most of the children have gone home.
 
They don't give her alot of hay cos they only get a small budget which has to cover everything for the nursery like food, toys etc.

She does get a run around. That's one good thing! :) They let her run around the room when most of the children have gone home.


You have to stress the importance of hay to them. It is actually more important than giving her a bowl full of food, and if they don't give her enough hay she will end up with dental problems or GI problems that will cost her more in the long run.

It's wonderful that you want to help. Have you thought about ringing the RSPCA and asking for help with regards to the neutering. They have been running a neutering scheme up here where anyone can receive a voucher for their pet to be neutered. Obviously, there are people who take advantage of these schemes, and personally i wouldn't use it for my own animals, but they have helped me with two rescues, which has enabled me to help two more rabbits with that money. I think in this situation you should ask them.
 
Shes lovely, i cant believe a nursery got a rabbit :? we arent allowed to keep animals up here (apart from fish) incase of allergys etc? We can have animals in for talks etc but thats all. Id contact RSPCA and maybe the Care commission to find out proper rules etc about having animals xx
 
She is gorgeous, I love Harlequins :D

I think keeping an animal in such a small cage is giving out completely the wrong message to young children that it is acceptable to keep a living creature in such a habitat with no stimulation or regular exercise.

I really don't know how you will get round the problem but something really does need to be done for the wellbeing of the rabbit.
 
I have stressed to them many a time the importance of hay but unfortunately at the end of the day it all comes down to costs and staff time. This is why I want to step in and give them a hand. I have plenty of hay that they can have, I wouldn't mind buying food or veg. My mum's just come up with a new idea of doing a sort of fun laminated care sheet for them. I just can't leave them to it anymore it's breaking me! :(

That's such a good idea the RSPCA doing the neutering scheme. I will have to look into that cos that would help loads. Spaying is rather costly.

Obviously, the message it's giving to 2-3 year olds is the wrong one but my main worry at the moment is Betty and ensuring she's looked after correctly.
 
I have stressed to them many a time the importance of hay but unfortunately at the end of the day it all comes down to costs and staff time. This is why I want to step in and give them a hand. I have plenty of hay that they can have, I wouldn't mind buying food or veg. My mum's just come up with a new idea of doing a sort of fun laminated care sheet for them. I just can't leave them to it anymore it's breaking me! :(

That's such a good idea the RSPCA doing the neutering scheme. I will have to look into that cos that would help loads. Spaying is rather costly.

Obviously, the message it's giving to 2-3 year olds is the wrong one but my main worry at the moment is Betty and ensuring she's looked after correctly.

personally I would turn up every day or two with some hay and veg etc to ensure that the bun is getting the best possible care in that situtation. If you turn up with the goods then I would not have thought people would turn you away?
 
I'd be willing to go along and talk to them..I could tell them that I'd had an anonymous call..
 
But if they can't afford hay then they should not have a rabbit. I don't envy the situation you are in!! What would they do if the rabbit needed to see a vet for any reason :shock:

yeah, def give the RSPCA a ring regarding the voucher, You could put a post on preloved, adtrader, freecycle etc to try and find a larger cage for her...
 
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