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How to convince my friend to do the right thing for her buns?

Candiflare

Mama Doe
I have a friend who got three dwarf bunnies (sisters) about 5 months ago from The Blue Cross at my suggestion. I sold them a 6ftx2ft hutch permanently attached to a 7ftx6ft run and all was good.

However, I also followed up with a few suggestions that they should vaccinate them and spay them when they were old enough...

Well I'm a bit worried now because I can see that she and her daughter are starting to go off them a bit - they can't pick them up, stroke them, cut their claws, anything... I went out to see them today and while they're doing everything I said (lots of hay, science selective, things for the bunnies to play with etc) they keep putting off vaccinating them and spaying them and I just don't think it's going to happen - certainly not if they think it's got to be every six months.

I noticed they were a bit disheartened with the buns and I suggested that I come round with some fenugreek crunchies and that she should sit in the run with them and feed them one each. Does anybody else think this is a good idea?

Also, how would you suggest I go about increasing the urgency of vaccinations/spaying? She is my good friend and she's got a very good heart. She was determined to rescue rather than buy from a pet shop or breeder and the buns have a very happy life.
 
Aww, its a hard situation :( deffo do the fenugreek thing, tell them is bunny magic biscuits! Lol! Shame the weather has turned, they are far less likely to spend time out in the cold and rain.
 
Perhaps show her the thread about the VHD outbreak at Hopper Haven? :( And maybe do a search for threads on rabbits who contracted Myxi? Sounds a bit harsh maybe, but reading people's actual experiences and what their rabbits went through may be more convincing than leaflets advising vaccinations.

Also explain how as well as the health benefits, speying will help calm hormones and may help make their buns a little easier to handle and interact with?
 
Yes sounds like a very good idea.

You could try getting some of the leaflets off the RWAF website to give to her.

But I think its real stories that really inform people.

Or get her to come on here, maybe to see all the cute buns, get her posting photos and stories up etc?
 
If she got them from the Blue Cross I imagine they have signed something that says they will neuter the bunnies and vaccinate :? Nothing else you can really do other than invite them round to see yours and let them see how much interaction they could get.
 
they have come round to see mine and that's what encouraged them to get bunnies in the first place. I know that the reason I have such a good relationship with my buns is that they get fed pellets at a certain time every day, associate ME with it and are all over me. They also get fenugreeks when they let me stroke them and hold them, so after getting into a habit of that over the years, now they're all over me. I think my friend expected hers to be like that straight away.

They keep saying they WILL vaccinate and they WILL spay but it just doesn't happen. They cancelled a vet appointment that they had to give them vaccinations too. They've come on here once and looked around but not posted anything. I'm not sure they're really into the forum thing. I was there when they got them from the Blue Cross and they did have to sign the form about spaying and vaccinating. The buns were babies, so at the time were too young to be vaccinated or spayed.

That's a good idea about real-life stories...
 
Show them the pictures of my bunnies and theor uterus's when they had uterine cancer, there are quite a few of them on here, if you need any let me know, if that doesn't shock them in to it then nothing will
 
Could you bring them to the forum? Sometimes people need to learn things for themselves, as opposed to being told.
 
I think real stories might be your best bet

I scared my friend into getting her rabbit vaccinated by telling her that when Heather hot myxi if she hadn't been vaccininated the vets would have put her down:( It sounds harsh but itt worked and the little bunny was much better off :D

Why did your friend cancel the vets appointment? :? x
 
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