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Over £1000 per year on one bunny?

catherine09

Mama Doe
The press release from the RWAF got me thinking today - there is no way I spend over £1000 per year on each of my buns (based on the £11,000 per bunny cost over it's lifetime). I worked out that, excluding their initial accommodation costs, I spend on average £400 per year, per bunny. That includes all vaccs, insurance, hay/pellets, litter, toys, accessories etc. We get hay from a farm local to us, to it's £7 per bale which lasts a month, a 2kg bag of SS pellets lasts about 2-3 months with the amount they are given daily. We use Megazorb for litter trays and use about a bag per month. Insurance premiums are about £100 per bunny each year. I do forage a lot and grow my own herbs etc as Sweep can't tolerate veg much. Vaccs are £60 per year.

It does make me feel a little guilty that I spend well under half what the RWA think is an average spend, but then again I know that they have enough space, a great diet, lots of toys and are very happy. Both rescues that homechecked me commented on how well they were cared for and how nice their home was with toys, blankets, good hay etc.

How much do you think you spend per bunny, per year on average?
 
I spent well over that in a year on my bunny :lol: And that was just on the vet :roll:

But yes, in normal circumstances it seems like a lot.
 
I spent well over that in a year on my bunny :lol: And that was just on the vet :roll:

But yes, in normal circumstances it seems like a lot.

I think the only way that figure could be reached is vet bills from an uninsured bunny or for treatment not covered under insurance!
 
We have all special needs/ elderly bunnies so our vet bills are higher than for the average bunny and I think our annual running costs are about £15,000 and that was for between 30-40 bunnies at a time so no where near £1000 per bun per year. Obviously we buy in bulk and they don't get lots of posh hays etc so some savings there but not much
 
I must admit I read it earlier and thought yeah right, I've just done a quick calculation based on my 4 and it comes to around £1500 per year excluding treats, there is no way I spend another £2500 on treats.

It would be nice to see there breakdown of the costs as it equates to nothing like that for me, I'm not mean with the treats either and they are pretty much spoilt :lol:
 
never really added it up but i suppose they want to get the message accross to impulse buyers that they are not a cheaper alternative to dogs or cats,
my costs would be feed, hay, veggies, treats, and direct debit payments of insurance, then any vetbills, ie excess to pay or dental treatment like mabel last year
 
While I agree with the message they are putting across for impulse buyers, I seriously doubt the figure is right, surely any research into cost should also provide the breakdown to make it credible?
 
£11000 over a lifetime does not necessarily equate to £1000 a year.

Have people factored in buying new accommodation every few years? Insurance excesses? Things not covered by insurance, i.e. dentals in the last of quite a lot of bunnies?

I think the £11000 total is a little overestimated, but not far off.
 
I only had my two bunnies for two years and they cost me thousands, what with vet fees, meds, accommodation etc.
 
Herbie is a relatively 'normal' bunny with not many issues so he costs me much less than that, but Inca costs probably over 1k a year, although I do get some of my vet costs back through insurance.
 
I suppose it's luck of the draw really some bunnies are going to be high maintenance whilst others can happily get on without ever having big vets bills
 
At the moment I pay less than that for all four. But I forage and grow food so I spend about ten pound a month on hay and food for four so food only costs me £120 plus treat hay and treats.

Vets bills tend to be around £500-600 a year for the four but I'm expecting that to go up as they get older. Plus costs where I have decorated rooms to accomodate them.

I guess it can only take one reoccuring illness to bump that up instantly so £1000 would be more an average.
 
I've got eleven buns - can see now why I am permanently overdrawn. Half my salary would be going on the buns according to that calculation:oops:
 
Parsley has spent several thousand pounds over and above his £2,000 insurance limit two years running now . . . .

But some of the other buns here are quite minimalist -

however you do have to take into consideration things like costs of housing and replacing housing etc
 
I've got eleven buns - can see now why I am permanently overdrawn. Half my salary would be going on the buns according to that calculation:oops:

Same here, except it would be 10K per year and more than half of my salary... knowing what I spend on DDs etc they definitely don't cost that much!

I spend a bit over £1k a year on insurance, probably about £300 - £400 on insurance excesses and a few other bits on dentals etc, maybe another £200 a year. With previous 3 vacs a year, I calculated about £50 per bun per year for vaccinations which will now be about £30 - £38 (haven't worked out what the discount will be yet)

Artie cost over £2k in vets bills last year, though the £68 spent on insurance got me £1k of it back :D


I have recently started jotting down when I buy bunny essentials and I am shocked how quickly I get through hay, Excel etc. .... approximately £365 a year on spring greens :shock: *gulp*

It would definitely be true that buying in bulk means that the cost for, say 10 rabbits is less per rabbit than the cost for 2. When I just had 6 rabbits I used to spend £50 - 60 per month at The Hay Experts but now buy bales of hay - £6 each, one lasts approximately 3 weeks. I would buy hay at £17 for 3kg = £51 a month, I now spend £8 a month on standard hay (this is for 10 rabbits - the £51 was for 6!!). I also buy timothy hay from Hay for Pets but could cut this out if finances dictated.

Too tired now to do a full calculation but I think the cost for my ten would be more like £300 each on average.
 
The rwaf page is interesting but some things can be done cheaper. £15 for hay for two - I pay half that for hay for four and it's great quality. And the RSPCA page says £20 a WEEK on hay for two!! That would mean I would spend £160 a month just on hay. Shows what a bargain baled hay is. Or rather how expensive shop hay is! Food, one 1.5 kg bag costs me £3 something and lasts a month for four. Bedding, free newspapers and cheap fleeces (Dunelm btw have huge fleeces for £2.99 at the moment). Veggies, well mine don't tolerate veggies so a few seeds, some spare ground and some time foraging and that's sorted. Yes they don't get greens every single day but TBH I find when they get greens every day they start leaving bits, especially the lionheads.

I definitely think these lists go towards the higher end of the scale which is probably a good thing for impulse buyers but not entirely realistic.
 
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