I'm a sucker for a cute face

Earlier this week, I read an ad in the paper that said "Female Lionhead - free to a good home. Comes with hutches." So I called them and inquired about it. Well, the lady tells me that the hutches are "not exactly new, but in decent condition." So this past Saturday, my fiance and I drove 1.5 hours to go get the bunny and the hutches.

We showed up, and were led to the backyard, where there were two hutches in the corner. They were all wire on every side (including the bottom), with no surface for the poor bunny to rest her feet. The only thing inside the hutch (besides the poor rabbit) was a food bowl, and a water bottle overgrown with algae. It was obvious the bunny wasn't used to being handled, and the lady admitted that she never really handled her except for refilling her pellets and water.

Of course, we ended up taking the bunny home, we felt so sorry for her. She's very skinny, and her nails are very overgrown. Here are some pics:





And here's a pic of the hutch she was kept in. It literally had nothing in it, except for the food bowl and water bottle. The poor bunny was kept on wire, with no shelter from the elements. What you can't see is that the legs of the hutch are each different lengths -- from being rotted off. The wire is also very rusty. The hutch looks much better in this pic than it does in person -- you can't see all of the rotted/chewed off areas in the pic.



I should also add that the lady originally had two bunnies. Sadly, her dog killed one of them.


OK, on to happier things:

Today I ran into a lady whose bunny had a litter, and she was looking for homes for the babies. I fell in love with one of them, so I ended up taking her home.

Introducing our new baby girl, Peanut:



Relaxing on my lap:



Exploring the furniture:



And sitting in her bed:

That cage looks awful and the poor bunnies feet must be sore from standing on wire all the time.......some people have no idea at all

Thank goodness you were around to save her. I often see these adverts free to a good home (as if they are in a good home to begin with!!) and wish i could save them all.

Doesnt the cage she is is in now have a wire bottom?

That is just disgustin, well done for rescuing her!

how old is little Peanut?

Oh Nienna they are both beatufil congratulations XXXX

Congratulations on your two new beautiful bunnies!

They are very cute buns

That hutch looks awful Poor buns bet they were pleased when you came and got them!

The first rabbit is like a slighty furrier sticky up earred Smudge

They are both utter cuties

Well done you for taking on these bunsters, nice to know they will now have a loving forever home.

As someone already mentioned here though - the newer cage also looks like its wire on the bottom - is that just a temporary homing cage Nienna or have we got our wires crossed (pardon the pun :roll: :!: ) :?:

Sending snuggle to your new bunster crew

Yes, the new cage has a wire bottom. I've covered half of it though, to give her a place to rest her feet. You can see part of the cover in the bottom-right corner of the first pic. When the pics were taken, she was sitting on the half that wasn't covered (the side the litterbox is on). I left that side uncovered so that any "spill" from the litterbox can still fall to the bottom...as sometimes bunnies have a habit of sticking their butt out from the side of the box when they potty.

Eeek!! Although I agree with what you've done rescuing her, please please buy her a proper new cage/hutch with solid floors!! You can litter train her to use one corner or go in a litter tray, those wire floors are SO bad for their feet, they can get sore, or get cuts on them which can lead to infections.

Eeek!! Although I agree with what you've done rescuing her, please please buy her a proper new cage/hutch with solid floors!! You can litter train her to use one corner or go in a litter tray, those wire floors are SO bad for their feet, they can get sore, or get cuts on them which can lead to infections.

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Cut me some slack here please. As I've mentioned, half of the wire flooring on the cage is covered for her comfort. She does have a litter tray -- the area the tray is in is not covered so when she sticks her little bum over the edge to pee, the pee falls down and under rather than onto her solid floor.

I am quite familiar with what happens when rabbits are housed on purely wire floors, which is why I took her from that horrible woman in the first place. I realize that you are just concerned for the bunny's safety, and I appreciate that, but there is a fine line between gentle concernedness and outright lecturing.

Please be rest assured that I've housed bunnies for years and my bunnies are extremely spoiled. There is no way that I would knowingly do anything to make them uncomfortable.

I agree with Caz the whole floor should be solid. having it half solid half wire means the bunny is only comfy on hal;f of the cage, where it should be happy on the whole cage.

cute pics though

*sigh*

Let me explain again. The bunny has a litter tray, and knows to use it. The problem is, when she sits in it, she sticks her bum OVER the edge, and the pee ends up on the floor of her cage rather than in the litter tray. I'm sure we all are familiar with how many times a typical rabbit has to pee during the day.

Now, rather than have her pee on the floor and then have to walk through it and get it on her paws (urine can burn), I decided that leaving the wire bare in that area would be the lesser of the two evils. I work full-time and cannot clean her pee up from the floor everytime she goes potty. This way, the pee is off of the surface she has to walk on.

Considering that she's been on 100% wire flooring for most of her life, I think that she will be OK with this arrangement.

I appreciate your concern, and honestly, I am tired of having to defend myself after saving a mistreated bunny and giving her the most comfortable home I can possibly give her. Her bunny companion was killed by a dog. Her owner was considering giving her to a man for snake food because she couldn't get rid of her. I saved her, gave her a loving home, plenty of food, clean water, and running space, yet for some odd reason your focus is on the fact that one small area of her cage is wire? Give me a break, really.

Two of my buns sometimes miss the litter tray i just line there cage with newspaper it soaks it up nicely
I dont need a wire base :?

Things are done differently in the US... it is alot hotter so wire bottomed cages are the preferred method of rabbit keeping. It works for alot of people. Alot argue that they are cleaner and even better for the rabbit.
I'm not saying that I'd do it, because it's bloomin' freezing here, but each to their own... it's not very nice to jump down someone's throat for not keeping their rabbit the way you think they should.
Especially after Nienna has saved Peanut from such an awful fate!
JMHO

Delphinum said:

Things are done differently in the US... it is alot hotter so wire bottomed cages are the preferred method of rabbit keeping. It works for alot of people. Alot argue that they are cleaner and even better for the rabbit.
I'm not saying that I'd do it, because it's bloomin' freezing here, but each to their own... it's not very nice to jump down someone's throat for not keeping their rabbit the way you think they should.
Especially after Nienna has saved Peanut from such an awful fate!
JMHO

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I'm with you there. People do keep their bunnies differantly, and even if some people may not agree, it works for them. I do think that wire on a very bit of a cage is okey, it helps a lot when the litter box is there too. You did a very good job rescueing that bun and bunny mummies know whats right for their bun, so keep up the good work!

Nienna neither myself or Caz wished to cause offence, and we are both thrilled you saved this bunny from the awful conditions she was kept in.

We simply asked and voiced our opinions, which we are entitled to do, the feedback was for your benifit, not to cause offence.

Two of my buns sometimes miss the litter tray i just line there cage with newspaper it soaks it up nicely
I dont need a wire base

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Well, thank you for that info. I'm glad you're so much better at lining your cage with newspaper than I am.

There is a difference between "sometimes" missing the litter tray, and having a rabbit stick her bum over the edge EVERY time she goes pee so that she pees on the floor. I don't know what they make newspaper from over there, but here in the US it isn't all that absorbent.

Here, I will explain it, step-by-step. Please take the time to read it before you berate me as a bunny-torturer:

1) The bunny is somewhat aggressive. She grunts/growls, and lunges if I stick my hand in the cage, whether it's to feed her, clean her litter tray, or anything else.

2) I work full-time.

3) Yes, the cage has a wire bottom. However, a large part of it is COVERED for her comfort.

4) The bunny sticks her bum OVER the edge of the litter tray when she pees. This means that most of her pee doesn't end up in the litterbox. Instead, it ends up on the floor.

5) I live in the US. Most of the cages sold here that aren't made of cheap plastic have wire bottoms.

6) Points 1, 2, & 4 make it difficult to keep the bunny from stepping in or laying in her own urine if the entire floor is solid.

7) Having paws and fur soaked in bunny urine can lead to Urine/Hutch Burn.

There you have it. Now, really, if someone insists on this being a "Well,
I can do so-and-so and I don't need a wire base" type of argument, I am through. I have done my best to try to explain myself and where I am coming from, only to have someone reply as if I am torturing my bunnies.

Yes, there are some pretty significant differences between how we tend to keep bunnies here in the US, and how you tend to keep them in the UK. In the US, for example, the majority of people I know who own bunnies don't keep them outside or in a separate shed. We keep them with us, in our homes. I personally believe that bunnies should be kept inside the family home if at all possible, yet at the same time, I UNDERSTAND that most of you who keep your bunnies in a separate outdoor enclosure are still taking great and loving care of your bunnies. This is why you will NEVER see me say something like, "Eek! I keep my rabbits inside my home so that they can watch TV! You should NEVER keep your bunnies outside as it subjects them to all sorts of parasites!"

Now wouldn't it be absurd if I said something like that? I would hope so.

Nienna neither myself or Caz wished to cause offence, and we are both thrilled you saved this bunny from the awful conditions she was kept in.

We simply asked and voiced our opinions, which we are entitled to do, the feedback was for your benifit, not to cause offence.

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Believe me, I understand. When the first two people mentioned it, it was no problem. I explained myself and moved on. Yet after still explaining myself, people *still* commented on it. This is fine, but in my honest opinion, being told the same thing 5 times is rather tiresome. Someone already mentioned it, I took the time to explain why I did things the way I did. Another person telling me the exact same thing person #1 said isn't going to help.

As I previously mentioned, I really do appreciate the fact that you had the well-being of the bunny in mind. However, I can read just fine, and don't need to be told in excess of one or two times that wire bottoms are bad.

My response was not directed at you specifically, and I apologize if it was interpreted that way. It is just not a great feeling to have gone of out of my way to rescue a bunny, just to be berated for leaving a little bit of wire on the bottom of her cage.

Thank you for your reply. And I should also say "Thank you" to everyone else who was thinking the same thing but didn't say it because someone already had.