Help with vets fees

hi, i'm new here so be nice!!

i'm starting to re-home rabbits (one at a time till i see i can manage!) and was wondering if anyone knows how i can get help with vets fees?

My vets won't give me discount though there are a few other vets nearby who i still need to ask.

I picked up my first bun on Friday night and took her straight to my vets on sat morning as her nails were so long she couldn't walk. I asked the vets to check her teeth as was concerned about them and they are long and she has a spur to be removed.

She is not spayed and has no injections.

Obv the teeth are the first thing to get done and i have raised about £35 toward this so far (will cost approx £55) and if need be i will pay the rest myself. To get spayed and injections though, i am looking at over £100.

wondered if anyone else re-homes and if they had any suggestions?

Thanks!

All I can say is be very careful
Rehoming is a great thing to do..but you need a lot of financial backup..vets bills add up quickly..especially if you have one or two emergenceys and several people have started rehoming then found themselves in serious trouble.

you rarely get help with vets bills..you have to raise the money yourself and this is easier said than done.
Also have to plan for the unexpected ..such as buns being dumped on you or you take in a rabbit and then she has babies..or a bun turns out to be seriously ill and runs up a bill of £100 or more in a day..we recently had one bun who cost us £160 before he even reached the rescue:shock:

Well done for wanting to help rabbits..but I would advise if you have only got one rabbit and are worried about the money already, you should perhaps look at fostering for an established rescue rather than doing it yourself.

Firstly, welcome to the forum! :wave: Secondly, it's so lovely to see that you want to help rescue bunnies. However, I would like to add to what honeybunny said as I think fostering would be a fantastic solution - you can help lots of bunnies without getting into money trouble!

AMETHYST

i would say foster to if the vet fees are going to be to mutch as some bunbs can cost a lot so far willow has had a vet bill of over £400 in 12 days

Thanks for answers so far. i do agree with you, only im not setting up a big re-homing centre or anything, it's just one at a time for now, maybe going up to two. this might not seem a lot but i just wanted to do something to help the bunnies! i can afford to pay myself if necessary but just wondered if there was support out there?

out of curiousity, how do large re-homing places afford it?

i have set up an ebay auction site which has got £21 in two days and i have had a hutch and cover donated and pets at home have given me a large run for free.

my plan was to not advertise myself as re-homing, but search the classifieds and take free bunnies. My thought behind this was that they obv want rid of the bunny quickly (for whatever reason) and i was worried what would happen if they didn't give him on after a month - would they turn it lose or kill it? I thought i could help that way?

thanks

p_prod_uk said:

Thanks for answers so far. i do agree with you, only im not setting up a big re-homing centre or anything, it's just one at a time for now, maybe going up to two. this might not seem a lot but i just wanted to do something to help the bunnies! i can afford to pay myself if necessary but just wondered if there was support out there?

out of curiousity, how do large re-homing places afford it?

i have set up an ebay auction site which has got £21 in two days and i have had a hutch and cover donated and pets at home have given me a large run for free.

my plan was to not advertise myself as re-homing, but search the classifieds and take free bunnies. My thought behind this was that they obv want rid of the bunny quickly (for whatever reason) and i was worried what would happen if they didn't give him on after a month - would they turn it lose or kill it? I thought i could help that way?

thanks

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That's a great idea, and a very noble sentiment I'm amazed that P@H have donated a run though, as well as the other donation on ebay - after all anyone could say they're starting a rabbit rescue :shock: hmmm - maybe I should pay my local P@H a visit? :lol: You must be a very persuasive person!

The main thing I'd say is be aware that rabbits can live around 10yrs, and if you can't rehome them for a year you will soon be at maximum capacity, and financially stretched. You must be prepared for 'rescues' to become 'residents' or you risk getting so desperate to home them that you have to compromise on your original standards.

I would say you need at least £1000 in the vet kitty, and keep it topped up to £1000 every time you need to dip into it.

The other problem I can see with you rescuing is of course if word gets around that you rescue, you will soon find boxes of desperately sick or pregnant rabbits being dumped on your doorstep in the night - it's a common story from the rescues on this forum

Thanks for response Elve,

i was thinking to just literally do one at a time. Wait until the first one has been re-homed then look for a second one. like i say, i know it's not doing as much as the larger rescue places but it's the sensible way so i don't get into money troubles! i already feel like i've helped this one as it can now walk better, it's on a proper diet - not just muesli stuff - and it loves it's veg!! it's getting daily fresh air and exercise and lots of love and cuddles. my friends and family are all supporting me with it in various ways and i think as long as im careful it should be manageable.

with regards to pets at home - i was equally suprised!! i always go to the same one so they recognise me and i was paying for my bunny things when i said what i was thinking of and asked if they could do me any discount on a run or if they had a broken one that was repairable. they came out of the back with this £50 run, saying it just needed two screws!! it went up like a dream and Roxy loves it!

Vets often give rescues a discount- it's worth asking a few others.

Also, what does your vet charge for neutering and vaccinating? It varies wildly and you could save a lot that way.

Good luck x

Thanks mandy!!

My vet charges approx £70 for spaying although my rabbit Angel wasn't well afterwards so it ended up being approx £100. Jabs are about £30 for both VHD and Myxi.

i will definately phone around and see what's out there cost-wise.

i really appreciate everyone's input in this. I suffer from depression and it's really helped me. i'm so excited about doing it and all my spare time goes into research and anything bunny!! it's given me something to focus on and i want so much for it to work

Aww I hope it works out for you. You could always do fostering as other people have suggested if it gets a bit much- I used to and really enjoyed it.

I'm sure you could find a cheaper vet than that (although obviously you want one rabbit savvy.) As an example, I paid about £65 for a neuter at one vets, but my current one only charges £33.

I would say also contact your nearest rescue..they may need fosterers and you then wouldn't have the cost...and/or they may be able to advise with decent vets

What's that I remember about pet vaccination clinics? Not sure where they are but someone here used them - very cheap vaccs.

Do PDSA neuter rabbits? They are donation only, so it's worth asking. Often if you use a vet affiliated to a rescue they are so used to doing neutering they don't charge as much as inexperienced vets - are there any rescues near you that you could have a chat with?

Are you asking for a fee when rehoming the buns? Most rescues will do this, it doesn't really cover the costs but every little helps. Any owner who doesn't want to pay probably isn't going to be that great. Also conatct companies and beg for raffle prizes etc

Hello and welcome :wave:

It's great that you want to help out bunnies by rescuing them one at a time, I occasionally do a similar thing. It's so rewarding to know that whilst you can't change the world, you can change the world for that one bun!

I would say though that you will have to expect to dig into your own pocket to fund things - even well established rescues will tell you that the cost of neutering/vaccinating/other vet bills/general caring for each rabbit costs far more than you will get back in donations! And unfortunately the needs of rescue rabbits often mean that the vet is needed before the funds can be raised. There's no harm asking around other vets in your area - but please don't compromise the care for cost. I'd suggest that if you find a vet who will give you a discount, that you ensure that you are at least as happy with the rabbit knowledge and care as you were at your previous vet.

I would also suggest that you should set yourself some criteria which you will use to rehome them - for example many rescues won't allow bunnies to go singly but only as part of a bonded pair. Would you be prepared to bond bunnies, or would you let them go to single homes, or to an owner who will try and bond them? And what if the bonding didn't work out? Would you take the bun back? You'd need to make sure you hadn't already taken on another bun by that point if space is limited! Set yourself criteria like size of accommodation etc, and stick to it. If there's only one of you to make the decision on a bun's future home, you need to have settled in your own mind what you are and aren't going to accept.

I have to say, with only one rabbit at a time, it is really easy to get very attached to them and to find it hard to let them go. Which in some ways is great because it means that you'll be fussy about the home the bun goes to, but in other ways makes it very hard, and you may well have a sinking feeling for a while after each bun goes to a new home - however great.

I do also foster for a rescue and have to say that it is a totally different experience to rescuing them myself. Obviously the vets bills are covered by the rescue and I get the opportunity to provide additional rescue capacity or provide more one-on-one attention for a particularly needy bun (e.g. a very nervous one who is not used to people). With fostering I don't make the final decision on where the bun goes to live etc, so it is a different feeling to having rescued one and done everything yourself. But equally it's much easier on the pocket!

Both routes are equally rewarding and I guess it depends on your own individual circumstances, affordability and ability to support and sustain yourself and your buns, how you choose to do it. But in any case it's definitely a great thing to do and I wish you every success with rescuing and finding great new homes for needy buns!

I echo the sentiment about fostering for a rescue. You may think people won't find out about you rescuing but I guarantee it won't take long. It only has to be repeated a few times for it get out to people who are desparate to rehome. You soon get put in a difficult position when faced with rabbits needing to be urgently given space, so will you have the strength to say no?