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Opening a rescue

R

Raven Rexs

Mama Doe
Hi
I am now thinking very hard about opening a rescue after seeing so many unwanted buns about i feel that i could support and house them until they find a home i have 3 acres of land so i know i could give them the space.
I would gratefully recieve any infomation on how ppl started thiers so that i can make a desicion plz.
 
perhaps chat to you local rescue (Arc?) about volunteering for a bit first that will give you a good idea about how running a rescue works and best and worst of it.

Read the "starting a rescue" part of the forum

Pay very careful attention to the amount of bunnies you would be prepared to take in and the loss (you will almost certainly make one) on the rabbits that you take in, vacinating, mixi, feed, bedding & litter + any other unexpected bills and what you could rehome for. To give you an idea we have space for about 40 - 60 rabbits of which only a fraction are actually "good to go" at any one time. Our vets bills are just under 1k a month. To keep it going we have 6 trustees who help in different ways (finances, marketing, operations, events, fundraising, admin etc) and chloe who is in charge of operations spends most of her life organising vet trips, bonding etc. It's really a full time job which she manages somehow to fit around her already full time job....I'm surprised the girl has any hair left!
 
I think it's a great idea, but you'd need a lot of money to start with, or have to charge a lot for adoption (That's if you're making new hutches, and if you're going to neuter/spay and vaccinate each rabbit).

PS. Did you get my email? :)
 
Its a nice thought especially as you have the space
the only thing I will question..which I'm sure others will too
is breeding and rescuing do not go together, but if you have thought about the number of unwanted rabbits and decided to rescue instead of breed..then well done!:D
 
honeybunny said:
Its a nice thought especially as you have the space
the only thing I will question..which I'm sure others will too
is breeding and rescuing do not go together, but if you have thought about the number of unwanted rabbits and decided to rescue instead of breed..then well done!:D
Click to expand...
that was my thought to be honest, a lot of rescue rabbits are unwanted or not quite up to standard stock from breeders. Having said that I have just looked on your site and it does give a lot of good advice. Could you rescue instead of breeding?
 
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I think it's great you are thinking about it, I'm sure there are lots of us out there who would also like to start one but don't have the facilities to do it.

I don't agree with what others have said about breeding though. Although I don't support breeders, there is no reason why you can't do both, it's better than not rescuing at all.
 
Openng a rescue

You may like to speak to Val from grenwich Rabbit rescue:)she breeds to show and does lots of rescue:D
I am sure that she will be able to help you get started and give you lots of ideas too:)
 
timb0h said:
I don't agree with what others have said about breeding though. Although I don't support breeders, there is no reason why you can't do both, it's better than not rescuing at all.
Click to expand...

Because on one hand your are helping and the other adding to the problem
and before breeders say none of my rabbits ever end up in rescue..I say rubbish..we've had many rung bunnies over the years and so has everyone else

its like being a puppy farmer and then trying to home pound dogs..the two just don't mix

But back to OP the advice on the section here about starting a rescue is very good:D
 
I think to be perfectly honest it'd be a bad idea rescuing and breeding.
Firstly the two contradict eachother.
Also, what about if an ill bunny comes in and it has an infection would could wipe out all yours...
 
To be fair, the OP hasn't said she will be rescuing and breeding. Let's just wait for some facts, not speculate :)
 
*Spider* said:
I think to be perfectly honest it'd be a bad idea rescuing and breeding.
Firstly the two contradict eachother.
Also, what about if an ill bunny comes in and it has an infection would could wipe out all yours...
Click to expand...

I agree.

Noone will adopt if they are cooing over babies....
 
hmmm. here we have an experienced rabbit-owner with plenty of space, who cannot be unaware of the cost of keeping rabbits. she's willing to rescue... and we're putting her off? knowing how many buns are being abandoned at this time?

i am lost in admiration for those who fund and care for so many needy bunnies. i know i am not capable, financially or emotionally, of doing this. but the OP might be - at least give her chance to make up her mind.
 
Whether or not she runs a rescue, she's still breeding. So I think it's better for her to be doing both rather than just breeding. And who knows - maybe after experiencing life as a rescue she might reconsider breeding.

At the end of the day, it's a good thing if she can give some bunnies a home.
 
'Because on one hand your are helping and the other adding to the problem'

But that's better than just adding to surely?
 
I think some people are a bit dubious about mixing breeding and rescuing, because often the combined breeder/rescues just happen to get lots of 'rescues' in of the same breed that they happen specialize in breeding!

Some breeders do this to exploit the pet AND rescue market...leaving 'proper' rescues with less potential adopters to rehome to.

I'm not saying that Raven Rexes is intending to do this, just that it happens
 
hi just to clarify i would still breed my Hares and Rexs as i show but would never put these into the rescue i breed my rabbits to show and the ones i breed are hard to come by so would be very noticable in the rescue.
Im disapointed that ppl would suggest that im doing this to expoilt rescueing
I just am thinking hard about it as i have the space for them where others a full i have 10 acres in total and just though 3 acre would acommadate a few.
I wouldnt have any of the rescue bunnies near my show buns because of health and safety and i already have a quarintine area ive just feel that i have to consider hard weather i can do it hence why im looking into it not rushing into it.
 
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Raven Rexs said:
I would have any of the rescue bunnies near my show buns because of health and safety and i already have a quarintine area ive just feel that i have to consider hard weather i can do it hence why im looking into it not rushing into it.
Click to expand...

Is that a typo?

I have to say the type of breed the OP breeds is not exactly the type that ends up in rescue everyday. very few go into rescue, because they are such a highly specialist, adults rabbit. Which in most cases go on to another person as a show bunny.

However, I can see others point.

OP, you already know you can look after multiple rabbits, with care and respect, taking them for vet treatment etc. Personaly for me it would be the giving them up that I would find difficult. especially if they have come from a particularly horrendous life previous.

I do agree with the previous post about volunteering with a rescue. I would also look at the ways you would fund the rescue side. As we all know decent breeders make no money from breeding. So where would it come from, and what would happen if you had an accident/ money stopped coming in.

Your could always start small, with a couple then expand upwards to what you feel comfortable with.
 
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