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Need Advice: Someone Wants Rid Of A Devil Rabbit

SJ_R

Mama Doe
Okay, so, this is kind of a long story, starting last year and not yet finished. Please do bear with me.

Last September, my Pipkin died. He was the closest I will ever have to a soul mate, and I was very devastated. In October, my brother David, whom works at the Co-op (and is moving to Thailand shortly), came home and told me about his coworker Chelsea and her rabbits.

She had gotten her first ever rabbit, Bailey, from Pets At Home, then, a few weeks later, got another baby rabbit (both does). She didn't know if she could keep this other one (whom, for the sake of simplicity, I shall refer to as Bun), and hadn't started an attempt to bond her with Bailey. From what I could gather, they lived in separate cages (the plastic bottom ones, probably) in her room.

One day before work, Chelsea had Bun out whilst Bailey was in her cage; when Bun passed, Bailey reached out through the bars and bit her ear, grabbing on tight. Chelsea had to literally pick up the cage and shake it until Bailey let go; when she did, half of Bun's ear had been ripped off. She survived after being rushed to the vet's.

Hearing this, although it had only been six weeks since Pipkin had died, my heart went out to Bun, and I, through my mum's Facebook, offered to rehome her. Can't keep them both after that. Chelsea refused. Cue angry ranting about a :censored::censored::censored: irresponsible owner, with no real idea or understanding of how to care for rabbits, totally screwing up both their futures (what, was she going to keep them in separate cages for ten years?), comments from my mum about 'interfering', and general disgust and attempt. Knows that this will end badly.

December comes, I feel ready for another rabbit. I find Amy, and discover perhaps the best rabbit in the entire world. She is oh so sweet, oh so gentle and oh so loving. Generally well-behaved and laid back, gives me dozens of kisses each and every day, and loves to be snuggled, petted and fussed over. A real darling. I'm the luckiest bunny mama in the entire world.

Jump to yesterday. David comes home, tells me that Chelsea is struggling with Bailey, calls her 'mad' and now wishes to possibly rehome her. She remembers my offer from before, even jokingly suggesting we give Bailey David's room when he moves away. I feel smug, say 'I told you so' to Dave, and now feel rather sad over Bailey's fate.

Thing is, right now I'm not looking for another rabbit. If I'm honest, I could probably live with a single bun, and when I do get another rabbit, it will be purely for Amy; all she wants to do is love the world, and I do want to do everything in my power to make her happy. I figured in a few months to a couple of years I would go and find her a husbun that she could groom and snuggle and love, once everything was right.

Because right now, the kitchen is being remodelled, David is preparing to move away to another country, and I have yet to get Amy spayed. Mostly because I've been waiting for David to go, because he's a noisy :censored: that keeps getting delayed in moving (first it was Indonesia, then it was Singapore, finally now Thailand), and I want her recovery to be as calm and peaceful and easy as possible. And then, because Dave is gone, the three of us (myself, my mother and father) have to operate our B&B, working harder than ever.

And I don't really want another rabbit, not with all this, and not one with problems I don't know how to deal with. I've only had singles so far.

So, where will poor Bailey go? I think I'm going to see if I can meet this 'devil rabbit'; it's possible Chelsea is just misunderstanding her, and she's got spring fever, particularly if they aren't, as I suspect, spayed. If she isn't, I'll impress upon her the importance of doing so (and educate her in other areas), see if that will improve her behaviour. If she is spayed, and is quite badly aggressive, I think I'll suggest she give her to the Scottish SPCA, unless anyone here can think of something better.

Thank you for reading. I'm off to hug my rabbit.
 
She is just a hormonal female bun in need of spaying. And probably is very frustrated if she's being cooped up in a too-small cage with another unspayed female in close proximity. Are you able to take her short term? Spay, Vaccinate and rehome?
 
What a moron.
I don't think those cages should be sold for anything bigger than a guinea pig.
Likewise, I don't think hutches should be sold without runs, at the least.

I'm glad you're speaking to her.
I think people tend to go "ooh, cute bunny" or "how cool will people think I am to have pets"... Which ultimately is fine, IF the husbandry and care is spot on.

Unfortunately, she has a case of the dumb and ignorant... Can you cure her?

Would it be possible to foster her temporarily? Or maybe if you explain things to the current owner she may actually love her buns but is grossly misinformed and you may get her to see the right way of going about things, namely more space and being spayed?
 
She is just a hormonal female bun in need of spaying. And probably is very frustrated if she's being cooped up in a too-small cage with another unspayed female in close proximity. Are you able to take her short term? Spay, Vaccinate and rehome?

Exactly my thoughts; she was just being territorial, it was pretty awful that Bun got injured so bad but that was due to ignorance of the owner. I'm going to see what I can do to help and educate.
 
What a moron.
I don't think those cages should be sold for anything bigger than a guinea pig.
Likewise, I don't think hutches should be sold without runs, at the least.

I'm glad you're speaking to her.
I think people tend to go "ooh, cute bunny" or "how cool will people think I am to have pets"... Which ultimately is fine, IF the husbandry and care is spot on.

Unfortunately, she has a case of the dumb and ignorant... Can you cure her?

Would it be possible to foster her temporarily? Or maybe if you explain things to the current owner she may actually love her buns but is grossly misinformed and you may get her to see the right way of going about things, namely more space and being spayed?

:lol: I'll see about curing the stupidity; let's hope it's not terminal.

I'm planning on having a long talk with her at the very least. I'll try not to swear at her, though I make no promises.

Unfortunately, the only spare cage I have is one of those crappy tiny cages (just for a super duper temporary emergency); Amy has an XXL dog crate as her cage. I couldn't fit another one of those in my room, and even if I just get a smaller-but-bigger-than-what-she-currently-lives-in, still two unspayed does in the same room, because the only other place she could be kept would be my father's study/office, and even if only caged there/exercised elsewhere I can't imagine he would let that happen, unless I actually do put her in Dave's room. Outside is out; shed is used as a shed, don't want to just put her in a hutch and leave her of course, can't justify spending money getting one with a run attached when I'm only going to have Amy in a run with shelter and never outside properly, and besides the weather is far too rough right now.

There is a lady, Angie, whom along with her own buns sometimes takes in others to help and rehome. I might set something up between them, offer to pay for the spay.

I do want to find her a forever home desperately, even if it's not mine.
 
I think this is more a case of the girl not being knowledgeable about rabbits, rather than being a bad owner. She has an aggressive pet and doesn't understand her or know how to handle the situation. I really think you should try to keep that in mind when you speak to her, as offending her will not do any good at all.

I imagine that Bailey is just unspayed and frustrated. She's had Bailey for a good while, so it would be a good idea to suggest spaying, as it may mean that she can keep her. Bailey would likely calm down and if the other bunny was spayed in the future, then they could even be bonded, although it may be tricky because of their past experiences.

As for you taking Bailey, the girl would likely give you her cage, but you would need to find somewhere to keep her until bonding. It would be a good idea to get your bunny a friend, especially if you work, as rabbits do need company all day and night. If they bonded, they would both have better lives. However, there is a chance that they wouldn't bond, so you do need a back-up plan in case it doesn't work out.
 
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