Rescue centres needed to answer a few q's for welfare research...

Hi Guys,

Just wondering if any rescues would be able to spare 5 or 10 mins to help me with my dissertation. I’m researching rabbit toys and their effect on improving welfare. I’m testing 5 different toys to see which ones increase activity levels/promote natural behaviours etc and will then measure the overall success of adding toys to an enclosure. I need to justify what the benefits of this study could be-for example, a ‘happy’ rabbit is likely to have less behaviour problems/be less aggressive and therefore is less likely to end up in rescue or abandoned etc etc.

Would any rescues be able to give me a few pieces of information about their rescue?
Ie, how many (roughly is fine) rabbits do you take in each year?
What are the most common reasons people use as to why they are giving up their rabbit?
What type of enclosures have the rabbits lived in before coming to rescue? (again, just some examples is fine such as ‘we find most rabbits brought to use have been hutched for long periods without much stimulation’ or ‘most rabbits in our rescue centre are provided with a toy for stimulation’. What type of toys do you give to your rescue rabbits?
When rehoming do you advise new owners buy a toy? (‘toys’ can include plastic tunnels, jingle balls, willow sticks, hide houses etc...ie anything that furnishes the hutch that is not a bowl, bottle, litter tray)

Or you may believe that toys have little value. Are a waste of money and that hay and group housing is the best form of enrichment.

And finally, do you think this research could be beneficial/ is worth carrying out? Would you be interested in reading the findings?

If anyone can provide me with even a small amount of info that would be amazing-I will donate £5 to the rescue for your time, just write it on a word doc and email to mrskirijohnson@yahoo.co.uk, don’t forgot to put your address on top so I know where to send a cheque and your name on the bottom (like a letter please).

Thankyou!
Kiri
xxx

No rescues want a free £5er and help improve/promote rabbit welfare?

Bumping this up for you. Can I have a fiver for the bump?:lol:

I'm sure they will be along in a bit, just busy

If it can wait til after Thursday (when I go to Hopper Haven) I'll do it after I've checked the response with Lou the owner- I know the answers but I'd rather OK it with Lou first.

I have a feeling the RWA have done a similar piece of research - it's certainly ringing bells with me anyway

I suspect that the issue of toys will be more pertinent for owners rather than rescues; rabbits are (hopefully) at rescues for a limited period of time where life is primarily about a reasonable standard of care and preparation for a new home rather than full enrichment that you'd expect from a permanent home. My feeling is that most rescues probably don't have the time/space/resources to give significant emphasis on toys for buns in their care - but with homechecking to establish suitable owners, I would imagine that owners taking on a rescue bun may be more inclined to provide environmental enrichment in one way or another

From my point of view I'd say that Hopper Haven aims to offer the best standards of care for all our residents, whether they're with us for a few weeks or several years, and the best enrichment any rabbit can have is companionship and great accommodation where the rabbit can exercise freely and enjoy being a rabbit.

From a personal point of view I'd say that toys are almost pointless if space,companionship and good quality care aren't the priorities.

Our rescued bunnies get a variety of toys but they differ from ones we give our own bunnies. I think toys are incredibly important to keep bunnies well stimulated and also I'm always keen to show visitors the premium side of life and just what bunny care involves. However, they have to be toys that can be easily disposed of or disinfected in the case of rescued rabbits.

I find good old cardboard boxes and tubes filled with hay the best!! Digging trays always go down a storm too!

BB Mommy said:

From my point of view I'd say that Hopper Haven aims to offer the best standards of care for all our residents, whether they're with us for a few weeks or several years, and the best enrichment any rabbit can have is companionship and great accommodation where the rabbit can exercise freely and enjoy being a rabbit.

From a personal point of view I'd say that toys are almost pointless if space,companionship and good quality care aren't the priorities.

Click to expand...

I agree entirely; at Bunny Warren we don't like hutches - we really think that bunnies deserve the best standards and if rescues don't show that then can we really expect rabbit welfare to improve? Great work Hopper Haven!!

I'm not a huge fan of toys. It has always seemed to me that if a rabbit throws a toy it is most likely to be because it was irritating them and they are getting rid of it. I have seen a few exceptions where a rabbit used to being in a small cage will obsess with a ball and really seem to play with it. But then we had one rabbit who used to spin in circles because that was all he had in his life to do. A rabbit given enough room and a companion is not going to bother with toys. The exception to this is tunnels. Rabbits can't resist them. I have seen stunned sad little rabbits come to life when presented with a tunnel. Of course what they prefer to do is dig their own:lol: We have some serious diggers in residence here.
Pink bunny has been popular when we get an old buck in who needs rehabilitation before he can be neutered and have a real partner. But I suspect xrated behaviour may not be what you are researching? Poor pink bunny

Thanks for some interesting responses, I actually agree that some toys provide a lot more pleasure for the owner than the rabbit. Lots of toys promoted for rabbits in pet shops are a waste of money, and thats why Im testing each toy individually instead of testing the effects of enrichment as a whole. Owners might think that its ok to have a single housed bunny if its given a ball whereas in reality it may still have poor welfare compared to group housed rabbits with no toys.
Personally I think fresh hay and company is the best form of enrichment, with tunnels a worthwhile second. But my results might show otherwise-who knows!