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Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley - question about rabbits

paulinejoe

Mama Doe
We go a few times a year to Cannon Hall Farm in Cawthorne near Barnsley, it's a kiddies farm (with an award winning butchers and deli shop, their lamb and mint burgers are to die for as are their pies :oops:) and you can tell all their animals are very very well looked after and cared for, apart from the bunnies i think - I'm just asking if you think i'm being over soppy or if this isn't right - they are housed in these concrete/brick enclosures on the floor in barns, the brick walls are only a couple of feet high so all the visitors are looming over the top of them which i thought buns didn't like? There are signs up saying not to pick them up, and i've never seen anyone doing so. The enclosures themself aren't tiny but some of them aren't exactly massive either maybe 4 or 5 feet? (not very good at estimating sizes, sorry) They have got water bowls, but when we were there on saturday afternoon some of them were full of the sawdust :( I noticed they were being fed muesli too, and now i think about it i don't remember seeing any hayracks... There were some teensy tiny babies there this weekend that looked only a few days old which obviously attracted a lot of attention, it just didn't seem right to me.

I love Cannon Hall Farm and think they do a great job overall, but before i write to them about this i just wanted to ask other peoples opinions on whether they think i have a valid point or whether i am just being overly sensitive as i'm comparing what their buns have to what mine do?
 
:wave:Cannon Hall Farm claims on its website that it has spent millions of pounds on improving its farm facilities.

Improving life for the buns would only cost a fraction of that.

Cannon Hall Farm specifically invites feedback on their facilities and I support you in writing to them.

The buns deserve what they need for a good quality of life. Proper food (not meusli mix) plus hay, etc and adequate, suitable accommodation. After all, the buns are contributing to the Farm's income as 'furry employees' so they should be treated adequately.

It might simply be lack of knowledge of buns on the part of those that care for them.

Cannon Hall Farm specifically welcome school groups. So, facilites for buns that reflect the best standards of rabbit care would be a positive selling point for them and educational for visitors.

In my opinion, go for it to improve the buns' lives. No one can object to positive feedback and constructive criticism.

Good luck with it.:)
 
Dont even get me started about Cannon Hall Farm and their rabbits:censored:
Small enclosures, little to no hay, dirty water, kept with guinea pigs, not neutered hence the babies there all the time, low walls meaning does and bucks can mix quite happily by jumping the walls.

We visited in February and questioned them about keeping the guinea pigs and rabbits together. They said they dont - well I'd like to know what this is then, cos this was the photo we took to prove it:censored:
CHRabbitpig.jpg
 
Thanks for the encouragement :) I've sent them a message through their "contact me" bit rather than their message board, i mentioned the fact rabbits are prey animals so having all those visitors looming over them must be terrifying, that they should have water bottles and not dishes as they were full of sawdust, that each rabbit should eat it's own body size in hay per day, that mueslis no good as encourages selective feeding and that they should be on limited nuggets and also have some fresh veg.

We'll have to see what they say - holidayhutch i'm glad it's not just me, i'm kicking myself because that was the other thing i wasn't happy about, the guinea pigs! I'm going to send them a P.S. about it, and i'm not going to let it lie. Fancy telling you there's no guinea pigs when there are!! I notice they're selling rabbits too now so if they can't look after them properly themselves how on earth can they advise would be owners on what to do?

I'll let you know what response i get, and we will be going again in a couple of months so will take photo's next time too if things no different.
 
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We go to Cannon Hall several times a year. The rabbits and guinea pigs are ALWAYS mixed in some pens. We also have photos to prove it.

Usually there are some with no hay at all. Mostly they seem to be clean, fed and cared for. We have seen them refill all water bowls at the end of the day.

However, I have had concerns about specific rabbits in the past and queried it with staff. Previously there was an angora type female with an extremely dirty bottom - more than a day or two's worth of droppings caught up in her fur. Staff said she would be looked at later in the week (this was on a Sunday) when she was groomed. I was worried about flystrike as the pig (as in pork, not guinea) enclosure nearby was swarming with flies, and I was looking for a more immediate solution. I think I even offered to do it for them. Fortunately this bun seems to be better groomed now.

When we went a earlier this month, there were 2 or 3 rabbits in the run under the gerbils / chinchillas that had very weepy eyes. One looked particularly poorly and should not have been out on display. She was hunched up, gummy eyes screwed shut. Very miserable. Definitely in need of professional attention. Possibly would not make it through the night.

They do allow animals to breed to sell and have a fairly high turnover as far as I can tell. G Pigs are usually obviously pregnant or just had babies. Nearly all the rabbits this time were different from those they had in at the end of last year.

I wish they would keep the species and sexes separate, with hay and shelter in ALL pens. It wouldn't take much extra effort to set an excellent example.
 
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