Difficult decision to re-home my buns.

Hi,

Unfortunately, myself and my husband had to make the difficult decision to re-home our outdoor buns Poppy and Barry a few months ago following my recent diagnosis of sjogrens syndrome and a thryroid disorder . We currently have 4 buns but last winter I found it increasingly challenging to look after both my young son and our pets and I struggled a lot in juggling everything while also looking after my own health. So I made the decision to find a good home for my much loved pets where they would get the care and attention they deserve.

The only probelm is that here in Ireland we dont have shelters for small animals and the DSPCA dont take care of their rabbits too well unfortunately as they seem to be a low priority pet and their homes dont get vetted and they no longer neuter or vaccinate the rabbits . It is very sad and for that reason I decided to try and find homes for my bonded pair myself as I know exactly what I am looking for in terms of finding a home where all their needs are met.

In the last nine months I have advertised my buns twice and put a lot of thought into their description and the type of home I was looking for etc but it was much harder than I thought to find them a home. I got so many calls every day and I was feeling very hopeful at the start but all the people that enquired were unsuitable and most people hadn't done their research and by the end of the whole experience I felt completely drained. My husband said I was being a bit fussy but I really wasnt, and when I asked where they would live people either got cagey or would say they had an extra large cage and most of the time when I pressed people on it , it was only 100cm's. To be honest , this really angered me. The other enquiries i got were from people who had a rabbit but were looking for a friend for it which was obviously a no no for me as I wanted them to stay bonded and didnt want anything to get in the way of that.

On my second attempt at re-homing I got a call from a gentrle man who told me he had been keeping rabbits all his life and had a massive pen and a huge garden that they could free range in every day and he also had 3 other rabbits. He sounded really well spoken, seemed to know his stuff and I got a good feeling and finally felt i had found them the right home where they would be with a knowledgeable owner who had good experience with buns. There was just one thing I wanted and that was to be able to come out and see his set up and have a chat with him before i handed over my beautiful babies to him and he was okay with this. All seemed good.

So myself and my husband set off with the buns to see their (hopefully) new home and I was feeling really positive about the whole thing. As soon as we pulled up outside the mans house , however, I got a bad feeling but my husband told me to be open minded about it so i took his advice on board and we headed on in. We met the man and he brought us out around the back and straight away I was not impressed and my heart just sank to the floor. He was right about the pen, it was big but it was filthy and inside it was a little dog kennel that was sitting directly on the ground and there was a carrot in the pen that was meant for my buns and that was the only food they would get. This was back in January when it was really cold and i asked him did he have bedding in the kennel and he said he did. when i asked could i go in and have a look when i lifted up the roof of the kennel there was a tiny bit of sawdust that was pee soaked (from his other buns) . To say I was horrified would be an understatement, I cant even describe how i felt, how could I have been so off about this guy??!! There was a pair of bunnies(un-neutered) in another hutch that was tiny and i just knew in my heart that if i had never come to do a home check on this guy and just handed over my buns that Poppy and Barry would have ended up in the tiny hutch and his original buns would prob have got the big pen. Straight away I told the guy I was not going to re-home them with him and I explained about their care and how buns should have access to an unlimited supply of hay etc and I just got out of there as quick as I could and went home and took my ad down and have not advertised them since.

The whole experience has really left me wondering can I actually find a good home for them here in Ireland because we are so behind you guys over in the UK with everything, we dont have rabbit rescues and we dont have cages bigger than 120cm's over here. If you want something bigger it needs to be ordered from the Uk. Anyway a few months have passed since that ordeal and every time i think of advertising for a new home for them I get that sinking feeling and think of all the calls i got that made me so mad and then the guy I nearly gave my bunnies to.

Myself and my husband have talked at length about this and we were hoping to find a home through Rabbits united. Obviously I would need to put up a post here at some point but I was wondering does anyone think this would be a good idea? We are willing to bring them over to the UK and cover all the costs etc if it means they will get the perfect home that I am happy with. All we would ask for is the standard adoption fee for two rabbits. They are both neutered, healthy and fully vaccinated and are a very cute couple who are very inlove. I would love to keep them but my health is very unpredictable at present and I experience a high level of fatigue which makes every day things quite challenging especially cleaning out the bunny shed and maintaining the standard of care i like them to have. Any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated.

Here are my snuggle buns Poppy and Barry. Poppy is the blue dutch cross (4yrs) and Barry is the sooty fawn mini lop ( 2yrs)

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Oh they are so gorgeous. How very sad that you have to do this that man sounded awful, thank god you went to check him out!!! Yes I think advertising them on here seems the best thing to do, maybe someone over here could do a homecheck for you too, before you make any trips. I hope you can find them a nice home x

I'm really sorry to hear you're ill and having to re-home your bunnies.
I hope someone on here can take them for you.

The only thing I would say (and maybe it's just me) is that I don't think you should ask for adoption fees if someone from here does take them. That person will be doing good by taking the bunnies and offering them a great home for life, I don't feel they should have to pay to help

Can you bring them inside at all? Maybe that would make it easier with cleaning? Can you and hubby agree to share cleaning duties?

Could you get any home help with your condition at all? Or afford a cleaner? That frees up time for your kids and your buns..

Sorry, just trying to come up with solutions because you clearly love them and they have a wonderful home with you.

Thanks for the replies. I will definitely take that on board about the adoption fee, I just want to follow protocol I guess but im also not a rescue so prob no need to apply the fee.

Unfortunately bringing the buns inside is not an option. We have Bobby and Rosie currently living inside and we are waiting to bond them and having all four of them in the house could break down Poppy and Barry's bond as it can cause referred aggression if they can all see and smell each other. My husband helps out with the full clean of the shed but its not fair of me to continue to ask him to do this as they are my pets and he is busy with two jobs at the mo.

It would be great if I could find them a good home. It would be a huge weight off my shoulders as we made the decision almost a year ago and I just want to see them happy and settled in their new home at this stage

Would it be better to bring the bonded pair indoors and think about rehoming the two singles? It's often much easier to rehome a single bunny as you'll find people trying to find a friend for a recently bereaved bunny?

Whatever you decide, I hope you find a good home for your much loved bunnies.

It is a shame to let them go as you obviously love them. I notice you said you were recently diagnosed so I wouldn't make any decisions yet, give yourself some time and see how you feel once you are on the medications and treatment and more used to your conditions. Also think if there are any ways you can change your outdoor setup so it makes it easier for you to manage.

I was diagnosed a year ago and made the decision to re-home shortly after that. There is no way that I can re-home Bobby my house bun. He has been a huge help in getting me through things in the last year and has been my constant companion always by my side. I just can't part with him.

luna said:

I was diagnosed a year ago and made the decision to re-home shortly after that. There is no way that I can re-home Bobby my house bun. He has been a huge help in getting me through things in the last year and has been my constant companion always by my side. I just can't part with him.

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Awww (((( hugs)))) x

Aw thanks, yeah I dont know what I would do without him. He can be hard work at times and quite demanding but we love our spoilt little Bobby I wouldn't have him any other way. Here he is posing for the camera, he told me he wants to be a model when he grows up

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It sounds like you've made a very difficult decision and want to do right by your buns! That's very brave of you

They are both absolutely gorgeous and I really hope that RU can help you find them a lovely home.

All the best!

If you are willing to make the trip over, the best option might be to find a good rabbit rescue in the UK that will take them. I expect you'll need to go on a waiting list but that way the rescue can do the home checking locally. You don't want to bring them over and find you don't like the home.

This is a really hard decision.... I wish you all the luck finding the best home for those cuties :wave:

I too am really sorry you've had to make such a hard decision, but I don't think asking for an adoption fee is really appropriate. As someone else said, whoever takes them on will already be doing you, and the bunnies, a huge kindness

Your photos made me smile, such gorgeous bunnies!

I think Tamsin's suggestion is a good one. At least with a good rescue they would be rehomed to high standards of care.

Really feel for you having to do this, must be very hard xx