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I don't know what to do :(

vergo97

Warren Scout
I've got £100 to spend for my birthday, and after a bit of an argument with my mum she said I can spend it on whatever I want, including things for Freddy. The problem is, our garden is so small and I don't know how I could get bigger accommodation for him. I’m just struggling to be able to spend time with him, especially when it is bad weather and I can’t go and sit with him where he can come up to me, because I can’t sit in his run comfortably, and I obviously can’t get into his hutch. This is where he is at the moment:

P1030037.jpg


My mum said that if he is lucky he will live another two years (until he is 8 ), because dwarfs don't live long, and that it is a waste to invest lots in him as we aren't going to be getting another rabbit, but I think he will live longer.

My mum said that he has more than enough space, and that most people have their rabbits in smaller hutches, and that I am only in contact with a very small group of people on this forum that go OTT with rabbit care. She said that because I am young I don't understand a lot of things, like that people on this forum are adults who have their own house and a big garden and lots of money, and we don't have a fortune to spend on Fred, and that 99% of people keep their rabbits how we have Freddy, or worse.

I did mention re-homing, but my mum just said "who would be able to give him a better home?"

Should I just get him vaccinations and some nice hay with the money?


:(
 
To be honest, your mum has a point.

Freddy may live for another couple of years; he may live for another 5 - no-one really knows as ages are only an average. I know of a budgie which reportedly lived until it was 21 - the average age is 3 to 4. So every creature is different, including humans.

Your mum is correct - I believe from what I have read on here that the majority of us ARE in our own homes (away from our parents) and in that case can do what we like with the space that we have.

You have to honour the fact that you are still living at home and therefore your parents' rules MUST be abided by.

Where Freddy lives at the moment looks okay although it's a shame his run appears a bit small BUT it looks long enough for him to be able to binky in and ours dash about in theirs quite okay, going in squares around the edge when they have a mad 5 minutes.

If your mum normally foots the bill as regards vaccinations, then yes it may be nice for you to either pay for or go half on the next lot and perhaps get some hay too.

I take it from the argument you had with your mum she would prefer for you to spend the money on yourself and I can see her point; however, once you have it then really it is up to you how you spend it - but she is only thinking of you, you know and perhaps you've mentioned about wanting/needing something new to wear, hence her giving you money. Just a guess.

As for the re-homing issue, where did that come from? I think your mum can see how much you adore your bunny and if you've had him for a number of years then she may be more attached to him than she lets on!

So yes, spend some on your bunny by all means but I think your mum would be secretly quite chuffed (and relieved) if you also spent a bit on yourself, like a new top for the summer. I know I would if I was your mum (and I am a mum, by the way).

:)
 
I think space is more important that vaccinations. Have you thought about trying to find a bigger hutch second hand on ebay or the other second hand sites? If you just look in your area they tend to go quite cheaply because they have to be picked up. Then you could just attach the run you already have.

I would try and find a hutch with the £100, but that's just me. :wave:
 
Aww I'm sorry your mum isn't more understanding :( firstly, she is wrong about dwarf rabbits, they normally live longer than larger breeds!! And just because 'most people' do things in a certain way doesn't mean that is how it should be. The people on this forum care deeply about their rabbits and want to give them the lives they deserve, and to be able to behave as naturally as possible so they are happy bunnies! So it's great that you want to improve things for Freddie, well done :thumb: I'm not sure what would be the best thing to spend your £100 on, I'd have to have a think... You could look for a nice big second hand hutch so that he has more of a covered area to hop about in. Vaccinating him is a very good idea, you can get the new combined vaccine (that's both at the same time) for about £30 depending where you live. It's a shame you can't sit in with him much due to lack of space :( I hope someone else comes up with some better ideas for you :wave:
 
I think that it is very thoughtful of you to want to spend some, or all of your money on the bunny. :thumb:
I don't know about the financial situation of your parents, but it will not be wise to argue with your mother. Please try to spend as much time as you can with Freddy, because bunnies are not designed to be on their own. I don't think that rehoming him is a good idea; not only will losing him break your heart, but at the moment, due to recession, the rescues are full and rehoming is very slow. :(
 
you do have to go by your parents' rules as you are still living at home. It is different for adults who have their own income and can manage it as they want. Maybe you could buy something for yourself as well as contributing to something for Freddy? You obviously care about him lots :D:wave:
 
I would deffo spend some on yourself as I would imagine thats why people gave you cash?
but if you want to spend some on Freddy then I think I would buy a bit of cheap wire fencing to somehow fix across from the fence to the conservatory, then you could let him out and you could sit with him, I know this would have to be on a fair day but you would both have lots of fun :wave:
 
Hello :wave: I think it's lovely that you've put your rabbit first and allocated him some of your money. What a lovely thing to do :thumb: I'm afraid to say that I disagree with your mum with regards to him only living for another 2 years - no one knows, and like Angie said a budgie lived for 21! So you can't really put a figure on it. And I also don't agree that investing money in him is a bad idea because 'he won't last long' - his quality of life is what matters, no matter what age he lives to! I'm afraid I agree with the others in this thread - you do have to live by your Mum's rules as long as you live in her house. It's different for people with their own homes, as we make our own rules. But that time will come for you :thumb:

But what you can do is ensure that your rabbit has a lovely life! Which, having read your post, I'm sure you are doing. If it were me, I'd invest in a larger run. In an ideal world I'd try to find someway of making a little 'shelter' for you to sit under with your rabbit, so that you could still be with him in all weathers. You could find a large flat piece of wood and attach it to a wall near your hutch and attach wooden sides, so that it's big enough for you to sit under and whatnot. You would have to make it yourself though because I just did a quick search on Google and they're very expensive to buy!

You sound like a great, caring bunny mummy! :thumb::love:
 
Thanks for the help :love:

I mentioned the re-homing because I know that he will never be able to have the amount of space rabbits require, or be able to be with another bun, and some people have mentioned that maybe re-homing would be best for him. I wouldn't like to do that though.

There isn't really anything I want at the moment, the reason why my mum wants me to spend the money on me is that I was offered a place at the horse camp my stables are doing in the summer, but that is £150 so my mum would need me to put some of my birthday money towards it. I don't mind not going though, and I would much rather spend it on something for Freddy.

I'll keep searching for second hand runs and hutches and hopefully one might turn up.

My mum is insistent that dwarf rabbits have a much shorter life span, she thinks that I am just telling her what the average life span for a rabbit is, and that she knows that dwarf rabbits do not live as long :roll:

And just because 'most people' do things in a certain way doesn't mean that is how it should be. The people on this forum care deeply about their rabbits and want to give them the lives they deserve, and to be able to behave as naturally as possible so they are happy bunnies! QUOTE]
That's exactly what I said to her! I don't think it made much difference though :roll:

I'll see if I can fence off the area where his hutch is so that I can spend some time with him, in the holidays I should be able to do that lots.

Getting a bigger run would be really good, because then he would have more space and I could also put some things in there for him to play with. At the moment I can't put much in with him because it would use up too much space.
 
Although I don't live with my parents I live in a rented house where the landlord is quite picky about what we are allowed to do so any kind of permanent rabbit run would probably not be allowed (she said we were allowed our 10 rats and Misty the rabbit then told the letting agency we have too many pets) so I bought this run for Misty, it's 7ft long x 3ft wide so lots of space for her:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/RABBIT-ENCL...O8LK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1341791285&sr=8-3
You could spend half your money on this to give him more space to play and still have money left to spend on yourself.

Don't be too hard on yourself, you obviously give him lots of love and the best life that you can.
 
I totally empathise with you, my parents are the same about my bunnies and I'm 14 so i still have to do what they say :roll: any money I get I save for my 3 and my parents aren't very happy with it :roll: I think like others suggested it would be a good idea to split the money and use some for freddy but also save some for you :) i think space is more important than vaccs so a bigger pen or hutch might be a good idea :thumb: its clear you love him a lot, i don't think rehomign him would be a good idea :love:
 
That run looks good, and a good price. If I got it, how could I attatch it to Freddys hutch?

I can't think of anything I want to get myself at the moment, I could get a few books but that's not going to use up £50. I would love to be able to get him a new hutch as the one he has at the moment, as well as being too small, is really awkward to clean out the bottom level. I have to tip the hutch over and try to reach into all the corners, but I can't clean it out as well as I'd like to.

I do have some pannels from a rabbit run my friend gave me, and I could use them to fence the area off. :D
 
That run looks good, and a good price. If I got it, how could I attatch it to Freddys hutch?

I can't think of anything I want to get myself at the moment, I could get a few books but that's not going to use up £50. I would love to be able to get him a new hutch as the one he has at the moment, as well as being too small, is really awkward to clean out the bottom level. I have to tip the hutch over and try to reach into all the corners, but I can't clean it out as well as I'd like to.

I do have some pannels from a rabbit run my friend gave me, and I could use them to fence the area off. :D

Hutch wise, if it was anything bigger than 3ft then it's great :thumb: I have seen a 5ft single hutch on eBay as a buy it now, not a bid one, with free postage. It was a small business one. Don't think it was too much, definitely within your price range. On the iPad though so can't send links. I think if you could find a new hutch then that would be brilliant :love: if you wanted to spend £99, then there is the 5ft double one from p@h :wave: with the run you have now and time in the corner fenced off I think Freddie would love it :love:

It would be more sheltered space to play in too if he had a bigger hutch, and it would be easier to clean! 2 years is still a long time! :D
 
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I have another idea for you - have you ever sold stuff on ebay or in the local paper? (sorry, dont know how old you are or have to be to sell stuff)? You could sell your current set-up, animal accommodation is snapped up quickly and u already have a photo. Obviously you'd have to sort out a new arrangement first including a wider run but with the extra money, you could afford a bigger run and maybe a 2nd hand bigger hutch. (your mum would probably have to give you a bridging loan to buy the new stuff - might be tricky).

just an idea.... You could also do with an outdoor chair near your run to sit down and hold your rabbit - a patio chair maybe you have one already or there might be one on freecycle if your mum can collect and is happy to do so.
 
I dont really have anything to add, but you're a very selfless young person. You should be very proud of yourself :thumb:
 
I dont really have anything to add, but you're a very selfless young person. You should be very proud of yourself :thumb:

I totally agree :thumb: you've done so much for Freddie so far and you wanting to do more just shows what a good owner you are! I was in the same shoes as you! We had Poppy when I was 15, not spayed, only vaccinated for a year and that was it. It was only this December just gone she was spayed at 4years old! Now I have a job she has all the vet treatment she needs etc, as do the others! It will get easier! My mom eventually gave in because of how responsible I was being. She loves them and even educates all the teachers at school that don't look after their buns properly.

Just have patience and do what you can for now :wave: one day you will have your own place and money to look after your animals however you want! :D I still live at home and have a small income but it goes on my car and bunnies! One day I'll be overrun with rabbits :lol:
 
Thanks for all the help and support, I'll keep searching for hutches/runs I can get :love:

I was talking with my mum about the money, and she really doesn't want me to spend it on Freddy, as apparently she knows exactly how long dwarf rabbits live for, and she doesn't know where I am getting my information from :roll: She really wants me to go to the horse camp, but I am not too keen on going. She thinks that I am being stupid and missing out on a great opportunity of getting to know everyone at the stables better, and that I don't want to go just because I am shy. She even said that she might have to re-think me having riding lessons as she is "not sure where it is all going" :shock:

And then, just to top things all off, she said that she might lower the money I will have if I'm just going to "waste" it all on Freddy. :(

If I can get a new hutch or run, I'll sell the old one which would help :)
 
:( how horrible for you :(

If someone can tell exactly how long a rabbit will live then they should go into business :shock: was it 2 years she said he has left? Just wait until the 3 year mark and do the whole "told you so" malarkey ;)

I know how you feel though! Took me 2 years to get anywhere with Poppy! Persevering is key :thumb:
 
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