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Rspca

Katie1504

Young Bun
Hello all,

Not been on for a while been busy with the wedding and trying to move into our barn. We have nearly done now and nearly moved in. The rabbits have already made it home. We have outside 2 containers that were there from when it was a barn and we arent allowed to take them down yet. SOoooooo.... guess who made it into a new rabbit home!!!! :) I did it this weekend. Took the whole weekend and is very make shift but I love it and so do the rabbits. I spend all my time in the shead now and not decorating etc. I have hutches down both sides and it is rabbit proof so they take it in turns to come out for a run!!!!

Anyway.... my question is about the RSPCA....

Because of the move I have moved one rabbit into a new hutch that I already had there. He is a large rabbit and this hutch is slightly bigger. So I now have a hutch free and I was thinking of getting a rabbit from the RSPCA. I have never used the RSPCA before I have always just "taken my rabbits in". What is the process?? What are they looking for in the home visit?? How long will it take?? etc..... ??

Thanks in advance!! :)

Katie xx
 
It will vary Branch to Branch, so you need to be asking about the specific place you will adopt from. I could tell you exactly what we do, however it would be of no use because you wouldn't be adopting from us.

Good luck :)
 
RSPCA do carry out home visits but branch requirements vary. Lots of info on their site and a chance to see their
available rabbits. If you're near Derby they're having a Rabbit Awareness Day on Saturday as part of RAW. Sounds good!
 
I adopted my two from the RSPCA - you have to fill in a form, then talk to the rehoming team..... They ask you whether you own your home (if you dont you have to have a landlord letter signed sayin you can keep pets), what you will do if you go on holiday, what vet you're going to use, what size set up you have (they're quite strict with it). They won't rehome a rabbit singley - they will only rehome a single rabbit if its going to be bonded, or a bonded pair, or if they have two singles, they may bond (like they did for us).

We didn't have a home visit, because we provided photographs, but about 4 weeks after we brought the buns home, they did a home visit :D (ive never been more scared lol).

It took about an hour to convince them that our shed was big enough, and then they bonded my two (which took 3 weeks, not becuase they didn't get on, but because they wanted to make sure 100% that they were going to get on, plus, rupert was neutered in that time!). They say you need 6ft x 2 ft + a 6ft x 4ft (actually i think it might have been 6ft x 6ft) run... but they're quite flexible (we dont have a permanent run).

My branch (brighton) were lovely and the centre is sooo clean and friendly.

Just pop in and have a word with them x
 
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The one I am looking at is Macclesfield. They have a pair and they have one rabbit. I would love to have the one on his own he would be perfect with my rabbit timmy but I dont know if I would be able to bond them. I have just e-mailed them.
 
This is not intended to turn this thread into a "moaning about the RSPCA" thread but rather to offer a word of caution. Our RSPCA did not tell us Scarlet was a dental rabbit. They knew, they had treated an abcess and done her teeth 3 times in 10 months including between us reserving her and collecting her. They said healthwise she was fine and had no ongoing issues, they did say she had been treated for an abcess but that it was fine now and they didn't say it was dental related. I knew nothing until I read her veterinary notes after we got home on the day of collection. In 17 months she has cost us £1000 in veterinary fees. Don't get me wrong, we love her and she's worth every penny and luckily we can afford it, but if I were to adopt any animal from them again I would insist on seeing the veterinary records for that animal in advance.
 
This is not intended to turn this thread into a "moaning about the RSPCA" thread but rather to offer a word of caution. Our RSPCA did not tell us Scarlet was a dental rabbit. They knew, they had treated an abcess and done her teeth 3 times in 10 months including between us reserving her and collecting her. They said healthwise she was fine and had no ongoing issues, they did say she had been treated for an abcess but that it was fine now and they didn't say it was dental related. I knew nothing until I read her veterinary notes after we got home on the day of collection. In 17 months she has cost us £1000 in veterinary fees. Don't get me wrong, we love her and she's worth every penny and luckily we can afford it, but if I were to adopt any animal from them again I would insist on seeing the veterinary records for that animal in advance.

Thats shocking, did you complain? :shock::shock:
I wouldn't have thought that is something that happens very often at a rescue because it's so counter-productive. I guess if the OP is worried she can always ask to see the health/vet records before committing to adopt.
 
You might be better off going in to the centre, than emailing, I know ours get so busy that emails often don't get looked at regularly.

The dental bun - they maybe were unaware that there was going to be an ongoing problem with her teeth - they may have thought that it was treated and that was the end of the problem :( bless her.

I think alot of the centres are very understaffed and overwhelmed, when we got R&T they had a list of 30 rabbits waiting to be taken in :( its so sad. I can't praise our centre enough, but I've heard some terrible things about some branches.
 
The one I am looking at is Macclesfield. They have a pair and they have one rabbit. I would love to have the one on his own he would be perfect with my rabbit timmy but I dont know if I would be able to bond them. I have just e-mailed them.

Hi, I might be able to help you? I am Small Animal Co-ord at Macc Rspca. Is it Doc you are interested in? If you want to PM me your number I can give you a call and discuss, Doc is actually now bonded up but we do other have single males. And Yes, we will bond. :thumb:
 
Thats shocking, did you complain? :shock::shock:
I wouldn't have thought that is something that happens very often at a rescue because it's so counter-productive. I guess if the OP is worried she can always ask to see the health/vet records before committing to adopt.

Yes I did complain, when they came back to do the 3 month home check. It was the second complaint that home checker had had that week about an animal's health not being declared. In particular I pointed out that had we not been 1. decent people and 2. relatively well off it would be Scarlet that suffered and that they are supposed to be an animal welfare organisation. The only thing I can say in their defence was that they had kept her, and her terrible teeth, for 8 or 9 months when many rescues would have had her pts. Whether we would have picked her had we known I honestly couldn't say so it was the right outcome for Scarlet.

Rupert and Tia - sadly not, her notes say "long term dental issues, may not do well" and the nature of her issues aren't a one off. The whole left side of her mouth is awful, low bone density in the jaw, brown mottled teeth that grow at all angles. She has ended up having the teeth removed by FHB.
 
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Hi, I might be able to help you? I am Small Animal Co-ord at Macc Rspca. Is it Doc you are interested in? If you want to PM me your number I can give you a call and discuss, Doc is actually now bonded up but we do other have single males. And Yes, we will bond. :thumb:

thanks for that. I have sent you a message. It is Duke I was looking at I think. Still really unsure because I dont want Timmy to totally loose his bond with me but I cant spend as much time as I used to with him so I think he needs a friend.

Thanks for everyones advice! I am really excited that I may be able to offer another bun a new home.
 
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