catherine09
Mama Doe
Basically, to cut a long story short, my mum has two rabbits. She bought their hutch and run without me knowing at a trade fair about 2 years ago. It's a load of ****. I was so angry when she bought it as she hadn't listened to anything I said. It's a hutch over run type, hutch is 4ft long by 18 inches deep by 12 inches tall and the run is 4ft wide by 3 ft deep by 18 inches tall. No room for periscoping. The 'bedroom' part of the hutch is less than 1ft square.
The first winter they were in it, she didn't do any sort of weatherproofing at all apart from put a rain cover on the run (over the top, not down the sides). The mesh of the entire run was all open to the elements, and the mesh part of the hutch too. Bunnies would try to huddle together in the bedroom part but couldn't both fit. When I came home from uni in late December I went out there and sobbed. The bunnies were huddled together in the run, in a fierce cold wind. There was 6 inches of snow on the top of the hutch AND on the top of the cover, indicating she hadn't opened them for days. No hay, no food, but water. Toilet tray not cleaned out for at least a week. I sorted them all out, stuffed the bedroom with hay and fashioned a makeshift cover out of an old carpet and tarpaulin, gave them food and plenty of hay to eat. I worried about them all holiday but at least I knew they were protected from the wind and had me caring for them (I would come over every day especially as I don't always live with her). Last easter I bought an 8ft by 2ft run (it was all I could fit in the awful space they are in) and layed all the paving slabs etc with no help from anyone. I also bought perspex sheets and wood and enclosed in the bottom level, and the top too so at least this winter they were protected from the elements.
Pics after I've done all the adjustments to it (but you can imagine what it would be like with no wood/perspex:
Run:
Ever since then, I have been urging her to re-home them. It almost always turns into an argument as she just says they are fine and won't listen to me when I say they always need hay etc. There have been countless times where I have gone out to them and there has been no hay, no food, no water, disgusting litter tray. I managed to get her to agree to re-home them last summer, but only to a particular woman, who then because mum was dragging her feet so much the lady eventually got some buns from the RSPCA. Mum then said to me she doesn't want to re-home them to a stranger, but 'your dad can have them if he wants them'. Right.
So since last October I have been selling everything I can and saving money in order to buy a large hutch for them so that they can live with dad temporarily until I get my own place and can give them a permanent home, it got delivered last week and I have been painting it and laying vinyl flooring etc getting it all ready for them to move in. When I broached the subject with her last week she actually said that they would be better off here as they have a run?!?!? How can the home they are in now, be better than an 8ft x 3ft double hutch with a free ranging half an hour or so a day?! They can't persicope of binky in the run they have, and can't even really run in it either And the whole fact that she doesn't care for them.
The other day I went out and they had no hay, no food and the litter trays were disgusting. I got one of them out to check her over and she is matted and dirty underneath, alarm bells! I didn't get the other out as they were getting so stressed out by human contact, thumping really hard everytime I tried to pick them up that I left the other one and assumed he was the same. I sent her a long message telling her this, and urging her to consider rehoming them as it's in their best interests and that I had a wonderful home lined up for them with dad in this new hutch and they would get more used to humans (they are terrified at the moment) and get vaccinated (again at my own cost) and love. I'm just so fed up as I've basically spent so much money getting a home ready for them and it's made me so poor and I can't afford to even buy myself a new pair of leggins as the ones I have got holes in them yet she is saying the home I am offering is worse
Anyway, after this text she was in a real grump with me, so I thought I won't even mention the rabbits (this was last night) as it would just escalate and I didn't want it to. This morning (bearing in mind it's really hot) I went out after she had gone to work and the rabbits had no hay, no WATER and no food. I really feel like I am at the end of my tether and I will just take them and deal with the consequences of the aftermath. The only thing is, she did say that if I just took them she would call the police and tell them I stole her rabbits (which I really doubt she would do...) but she will threaten to, could I also threaten her with the RSPCA (especially with the fact they had no water today). They're not neglected really badly, not like some bunnies are (though I feel that if I hadn't improved their acommodation they really could be in a worse off position) but she gives them the absolute minimal care.
Sorry for such the long post, just don't know what to do and didn't even want it to get to the stage where I actually just go and take them without her permission, but I'm feeling it could get to that stage now.......I won't put up with the care she gives them and especially now at least one of them is at an increased risk of flystrike.......
The first winter they were in it, she didn't do any sort of weatherproofing at all apart from put a rain cover on the run (over the top, not down the sides). The mesh of the entire run was all open to the elements, and the mesh part of the hutch too. Bunnies would try to huddle together in the bedroom part but couldn't both fit. When I came home from uni in late December I went out there and sobbed. The bunnies were huddled together in the run, in a fierce cold wind. There was 6 inches of snow on the top of the hutch AND on the top of the cover, indicating she hadn't opened them for days. No hay, no food, but water. Toilet tray not cleaned out for at least a week. I sorted them all out, stuffed the bedroom with hay and fashioned a makeshift cover out of an old carpet and tarpaulin, gave them food and plenty of hay to eat. I worried about them all holiday but at least I knew they were protected from the wind and had me caring for them (I would come over every day especially as I don't always live with her). Last easter I bought an 8ft by 2ft run (it was all I could fit in the awful space they are in) and layed all the paving slabs etc with no help from anyone. I also bought perspex sheets and wood and enclosed in the bottom level, and the top too so at least this winter they were protected from the elements.
Pics after I've done all the adjustments to it (but you can imagine what it would be like with no wood/perspex:
Run:
Ever since then, I have been urging her to re-home them. It almost always turns into an argument as she just says they are fine and won't listen to me when I say they always need hay etc. There have been countless times where I have gone out to them and there has been no hay, no food, no water, disgusting litter tray. I managed to get her to agree to re-home them last summer, but only to a particular woman, who then because mum was dragging her feet so much the lady eventually got some buns from the RSPCA. Mum then said to me she doesn't want to re-home them to a stranger, but 'your dad can have them if he wants them'. Right.
So since last October I have been selling everything I can and saving money in order to buy a large hutch for them so that they can live with dad temporarily until I get my own place and can give them a permanent home, it got delivered last week and I have been painting it and laying vinyl flooring etc getting it all ready for them to move in. When I broached the subject with her last week she actually said that they would be better off here as they have a run?!?!? How can the home they are in now, be better than an 8ft x 3ft double hutch with a free ranging half an hour or so a day?! They can't persicope of binky in the run they have, and can't even really run in it either And the whole fact that she doesn't care for them.
The other day I went out and they had no hay, no food and the litter trays were disgusting. I got one of them out to check her over and she is matted and dirty underneath, alarm bells! I didn't get the other out as they were getting so stressed out by human contact, thumping really hard everytime I tried to pick them up that I left the other one and assumed he was the same. I sent her a long message telling her this, and urging her to consider rehoming them as it's in their best interests and that I had a wonderful home lined up for them with dad in this new hutch and they would get more used to humans (they are terrified at the moment) and get vaccinated (again at my own cost) and love. I'm just so fed up as I've basically spent so much money getting a home ready for them and it's made me so poor and I can't afford to even buy myself a new pair of leggins as the ones I have got holes in them yet she is saying the home I am offering is worse
Anyway, after this text she was in a real grump with me, so I thought I won't even mention the rabbits (this was last night) as it would just escalate and I didn't want it to. This morning (bearing in mind it's really hot) I went out after she had gone to work and the rabbits had no hay, no WATER and no food. I really feel like I am at the end of my tether and I will just take them and deal with the consequences of the aftermath. The only thing is, she did say that if I just took them she would call the police and tell them I stole her rabbits (which I really doubt she would do...) but she will threaten to, could I also threaten her with the RSPCA (especially with the fact they had no water today). They're not neglected really badly, not like some bunnies are (though I feel that if I hadn't improved their acommodation they really could be in a worse off position) but she gives them the absolute minimal care.
Sorry for such the long post, just don't know what to do and didn't even want it to get to the stage where I actually just go and take them without her permission, but I'm feeling it could get to that stage now.......I won't put up with the care she gives them and especially now at least one of them is at an increased risk of flystrike.......
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