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Please help with advice re rabbit rescue situation ... thanks

Please can anyone give me some advice as to what they think I should do?
We recently lost Barnaby and were considering getting a rescue bun for company for Bo, and to help a abbit in need.
Out of the blue I've got a FB message from my sister-in-law's friend saying one of her rabbits had died and would I consider taking the other one, if not she'd give it to the RSPCA as she didn't like the idea of having a single rabbit (it was her partner that got the rabbits but very quickly lost interest and left it to Stevie to care for them - in the loosest sense ofthe word).

Now, on the face of it, it would be the sensible thing to take their bun nd try and bond it with Bo as they have both lost their partners.
However, the problem is, is that she doesn't know what the other bun died of - she just said it had some fur loss on it's side, she doesn't know what sex it is - she thinks it's a boy (they were called Bill and Ben) and she doesn't know what breed it is (i'm getting a photo tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to work it out). So basically the only things she knows about the rabbit is that it is black and it's friendly (ugh - head desk moment)
Now, this to me is now fraught with difficulty. I could rescue the bun, without really knowing anything about it, if it might have something contagious which killed it's partner, whether it has any other health problems etc. I don't know whether it would bond with Bo or not ... if it doesn't then what do I do? I can't afford to have six rabbits (because then I would have to find partners for both Bo and it .... Three sets of bunnies, hutches etc! I would have to take this bun toa rescue myself which I would hate and would feel horrible about
We really wanted to get a rescue bun, but wanted to try Bo with a few rescue buns to find the perfect partner and at least to know some history etc, and wanted one nearer Bo's age (6) (this one is about a year old she thinks).
So technically I would be rescuing a bun which would be going for rehoming anyway, but without knowing any history or whether it would bond with Bo and I might have to take it for rehoming myself - which goes against everything I want to do but would have to do due to circumstances. Or do I tell her to take it to a rescue and continue with the original plan?
Oh, and the other thing is that I don't feel confident enough to bond them myself so I would have to find someone to do it for me, as I was rather hoping if we went to a rescue in the first instance they would do that for me too.

Aargh, so confused, please help!

Thanks, Tammy
 
Would she be willing to pay to get the bunny checked out by a vet and then you could maybe take yours to meet him/her?
 
Is Bo a boy or a girl? You need to find out what sex the other bunny is, if opposite to yours then he/she would need neutering before trying to bond them. Doubtful the RSPCA would take the bunny, and they don't normally carry anything contagious which can't be sorted out.
 
You're going to need to heavily quarantine this bunny if you bring it to your territory, probably for about 4 weeks or so. That would give you time to sex the bunny. Once the quarantine period is passed you can then look to spay/neuter and if they bond, that's great, but if not, maybe you could rehome him responsibly yourself. However, you're looking about 3 months down the line before you can try to bond, so 3 months of them living separately.

I'm not sure why tonibun says the RSPCA are unlikely to take him. I personally think it will depend on the Branch/Centre she uses and how full they are and what their policies are. Likely she will go on a waiting list.
 
Thanks for all your replies guys.
I don't think they've ever been to a vet before so not sure if she would take him. I spoke with my sister in law today re what Stevie had asked and when I told her that one had died and they didn't know what of, she said, oh probably they forgot they had them, it doesn't surprise me she doesn't know anything about the rabbit!
Well, that's just put me right off as she may not have noticed any warning signs for EC and to have not done anything about the fur loss ... I think it might be taking on a whole host of problems and I don't want my already poorly rabbits to come into contact with anything that could tip them over!
Thanks for warning me re the at least three months thing as well SkyO - really I would want a bunny for Bo before that and then at the end of it for them not to bond would be very sad.
Thanks for helping, think I'll just have to tell her no and rescue a bun who'll be happy with Bo.
 
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