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How to tell a neighbour her buns need a run U/D

Fluffers

Wise Old Thumper
I went to see a lady in the village this evening who has offered a hutch for the rescue. She was out when I called but I noticed a nice new double decker hutch in the garden (a replacement for the one I'm being offered). Two beautiful bunnies inside with plenty of food, water and a stick to chew on. No run though, nothing at all :shock: Just the small open space below the hutch accessed via the ramp and the garden is definitely not bunny proof so they're not free ranging. The hutch is a 4ft double decker so far too small for two medium sized buns 24/7 :(

Should I say anything? I don't want her to get the ump with me (not that she's a friend or anything) but at the same time I feel I should offer information if I have it so that people can then make an informed decision. I now renowned for my tact & diplomacy.... straight talking, shoot from the hip kinda gal :oops::?

I thought about casually mentioning this forum and saying how useful it is in the hope she might read a posting relating to housing but I don't think she's very PC literate.... Any suggestions???!
 
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I went to see a lady in the village this evening who has offered a hutch for the rescue. She was out when I called but I noticed a nice new double decker hutch in the garden (a replacement for the one I'm being offered). Two beautiful bunnies inside with plenty of food, water and a stick to chew on. No run though, nothing at all :shock: Just the small open space below the hutch accessed via the ramp and the garden is definitely not bunny proof so they're not free ranging. The hutch is a 4ft double decker so far too small for two medium sized buns 24/7 :(

Should I say anything? I don't want her to get the ump with me (not that she's a friend or anything) but at the same time I feel I should offer information if I have it so that people can then make an informed decision. I now renowned for my tact & diplomacy.... straight talking, shoot from the hip kinda gal :oops::?

I thought about casually mentioning this forum and saying how useful it is in the hope she might read a posting relating to housing but I don't think she's very PC literate.... Any suggestions???!

it's awful being in this situation, my friend just got a rabbit and i'm always trying to casually chat about vacs and neutering to her.

I would maybe just say something like 'oh your rabbits are lovely, do they get the run of the garden? They're so lucky some rabbits don't even have runs' I'm sure you can come up with something more intelligent than that :oops: but try and make it sound like you're complimenting her.

or mention 'oh thank you so much it's nice that people are concerned, some people just shut their rabbits up 24/7 with no exercise', make up a general case.
 
haha im probably so transparent when i do this, my friend doesnt really talk to me anymore :lol: anything for the buns though!
 
Maybe they are only in there when she is out? Be careful about jumping to conclusions, maybe she has a collaspable run you couldn't see?
I do agree about jumping to conclusions, but if you are discreet and don't make any accusations she might pleasantly surprise you :)
 
I do agree about jumping to conclusions, but if you are discreet and don't make any accusations she might pleasantly surprise you :)

I'll be sure to ask a few polite questions before giving an opinion ;) 99% sure there was no run though, I had a good nosey and no signs of anything having been on the grass in front of the hutch. I saw the old hutch round the back of the garage and nowt there either - I am very nosey :lol:
 
Maybe you could ask her if she has any problems rounding up her rabbits when they have been freeranging, turn it into a story about your efforts at catching your own rabbits and see where it leads!
 
Say something like 'are you going to buy the run, or have one built?' then recommend someone/where good to get one from. Just sound really casual, as though it hadn't crossed your mind that she might not get one.
 
Well I've just been to see my neighbour only be to told they'd just burnt the hutch they were offering me :shock: Oh well.

I casually chatted about her rabbits, said how lovely they were etc. Turns out they were dumped on another lady in the village (along with 4 others) and she took two off her hands to help her out, so at least she's well meaning. The buns are both boys (brothers) and she has just had them neutered so that's something :) I mentioned a run and she sort of said she was thinking about getting one.... I said that I could recommend a few places to buy one from if she wasn't sure the best place to go and said how pleased I was with the one I bought off ebay. I also said "you have such a lovely big garden, you are so lucky - you could have a really big run if you wanted to!" and then grinned at her like some demented fool :D

She opened the lid of the hutch so that I could see the buns. They're very sweet but quite big and the space they have really isn't adequate. I gave her some advice re. a litter tray with hay inside & said that it would make cleaning the hutch out easier (I went with that theory rather than the "you should be giving your buns hay" lecture. She was very interested in that so I think the washing up bowl will be going in with some hay this afternoon :)

Next time I see her I'll try and mention the run thing again and ask how the litter tray idea went. I think drip feeding the info might be the best approach. I know from others she isn't the sort of lady who will respond to being "told" what to do....
 
Once, I saw a bunny in a tiiiiny little run, in a MASSIVE garden, and it made me so mad that the rabbit's run was so small. I climbed over the wall, and put a note on it saying "please give me a bigger cage!" :roll:

I have no idea if they did or not though. I'll have to go and check sometime.
 
Once, I saw a bunny in a tiiiiny little run, in a MASSIVE garden, and it made me so mad that the rabbit's run was so small. I climbed over the wall, and put a note on it saying "please give me a bigger cage!" :roll:

I have no idea if they did or not though. I'll have to go and check sometime.

That's so cool!!! I wish I had your nerve! :shock:
 
Why not get a copy of all the leaflets the RWA offer and drop them around.. they'll include lots of helpful stuff including diet and exercise :)
 
I usually offer to lend a decent rabbit book (I like 'The problem with rabbits', particularly for prospective owners because it is quite off putting:)).
 
Why not get a copy of all the leaflets the RWA offer and drop them around.. they'll include lots of helpful stuff including diet and exercise :)

I think I'll do that Tamsin. Ironically, whilst I was there the lady told me of another bun in the village being kept in poor conditions, apparently it's "nasty" so the owners can't clean it out :roll::(

This played on my mind so..... I went back an hour later to get more info. Pleased to say hutch was being thoroughly cleaned out and a litter tray had already been installed so some progress being made :) Anyway, got details of where the "nasty" bun was. Went round to see the owners, was awfully polite, smiled sweetly :D and explained that I fostered for a bun rescue & offered some advice. Chap was nice enough and listened while I explained that his bunny would probably be much happier if it was neutured (girl bun), I also explained re. the risks of not spaying etc. Suggested getting a friend for the bun too. He said they used to have two buns but one died of a heart attack, the fox tried to get in the hutch :( I said that the loss of her friend is probably partly the reason for her unhappiness. Unfortunately I didn't get time to talk to him about exercise and hutch cleaning as two of his friends arrived and he had to go. Ironically, it's the only part of the village I've yet to get to with my leaflet drop so I'm going to deliver one in asap. I've given him my no. and said to call me if he needs any help. Hope he/they do. Poor bun :(
 
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