Apologies, this is going to be a very long post for a new member! But I'd like to know how many of you have had complaints from neighbours due to our furry friends?
I have 10 rabbits living outdoors in spacious hutches; they always have lived outside and I've had some of them for a good few years. I live in a semi, and the hutches are positioned against the fence of the house nextdoor attached to ours. It's the only practical place that is shelted away from direct sunlight, wind and rain. My brother came round about an hour ago, and said that his mate who works repairing boilers etc did a job next door a while ago; and it came into conversation that they said they were moving because although they got along with us fine; they could smell our rabbits and couldnt even open their back door because of the smell!
The neighbours in question did recently move!
Now I realise I'm a newbie here, but I am not a newbie to rabbits and have kept them for close to ten years. They are bedded down on wood shavings and lots of nice, warm hay in the bed part of their hutches. Most of them use a litter tray to both pee and poop in; and the ones that don't do most of the mess in a corner (one of two don't have such habits and make mess everywhere lol). I clean the litter trays (and corners) every day, and completey strip the hutch once every 5-7 days on average. If they need doing sooner, they got done, simple as. I realise the importance of hygiene to avoid flystrike, and in the years I've been keeping rabbits I've never had one with a messy bum, and obviously never had a problem with flystrike.
So, I can't smell a thing unless I've got a litter tray in my face, lol. I guess I would be used to the smell, and non-pet people could smell things pet people couldnt (they did have a dog that lived outside however, poor thing). We live in rented accomodation; and I'm extremely nervous that people can smell the rabbits and might make a complaint. Our landlord is very good (obviously as we have the pets) but I don't want to push it.
To be totally honest this has really upset me and makes me think people are talking about is as if we're dirty! I don't know what more I can do. In summer I always wash the cages to get rid of any smell anyway so as not to attract flies but in the winter thats a bit hard as the cages wouldn't dry out in one day. The neighbour in question never mentioned a thing to us, infact in the summer just gone she bought a hutch and was on about getting a rabbit! (she didn't, as it happened). I know if I was bothered about a smell coming from next door, I'd let them know before moving house, seems a bit dramatic :roll: I have a garage and would have moved them into there had something been said. (Obviously no cars get parked in there).
Sorry this is such a long post, it's just really upset, angered, and to be totally honest embarrassed me. I guess I'm hoping a fellow rabbit keeper could share their stories? x
I have 10 rabbits living outdoors in spacious hutches; they always have lived outside and I've had some of them for a good few years. I live in a semi, and the hutches are positioned against the fence of the house nextdoor attached to ours. It's the only practical place that is shelted away from direct sunlight, wind and rain. My brother came round about an hour ago, and said that his mate who works repairing boilers etc did a job next door a while ago; and it came into conversation that they said they were moving because although they got along with us fine; they could smell our rabbits and couldnt even open their back door because of the smell!
The neighbours in question did recently move!
Now I realise I'm a newbie here, but I am not a newbie to rabbits and have kept them for close to ten years. They are bedded down on wood shavings and lots of nice, warm hay in the bed part of their hutches. Most of them use a litter tray to both pee and poop in; and the ones that don't do most of the mess in a corner (one of two don't have such habits and make mess everywhere lol). I clean the litter trays (and corners) every day, and completey strip the hutch once every 5-7 days on average. If they need doing sooner, they got done, simple as. I realise the importance of hygiene to avoid flystrike, and in the years I've been keeping rabbits I've never had one with a messy bum, and obviously never had a problem with flystrike.
So, I can't smell a thing unless I've got a litter tray in my face, lol. I guess I would be used to the smell, and non-pet people could smell things pet people couldnt (they did have a dog that lived outside however, poor thing). We live in rented accomodation; and I'm extremely nervous that people can smell the rabbits and might make a complaint. Our landlord is very good (obviously as we have the pets) but I don't want to push it.
To be totally honest this has really upset me and makes me think people are talking about is as if we're dirty! I don't know what more I can do. In summer I always wash the cages to get rid of any smell anyway so as not to attract flies but in the winter thats a bit hard as the cages wouldn't dry out in one day. The neighbour in question never mentioned a thing to us, infact in the summer just gone she bought a hutch and was on about getting a rabbit! (she didn't, as it happened). I know if I was bothered about a smell coming from next door, I'd let them know before moving house, seems a bit dramatic :roll: I have a garage and would have moved them into there had something been said. (Obviously no cars get parked in there).
Sorry this is such a long post, it's just really upset, angered, and to be totally honest embarrassed me. I guess I'm hoping a fellow rabbit keeper could share their stories? x