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Bunnies on a budget

Our local farm will split the bale and we pay about £1 for half a bale.

Megazorb works out to be very good value for money IF you find somewhere local thats stocks it, so cutting out the P&P. Our local horse supplier stocks it for £6.25. It is very absorbant so you only need to use a small amount.
 
*lily* said:
Our local farm will split the bale and we pay about £1 for half a bale.

Megazorb works out to be very good value for money IF you find somewhere local thats stocks it, so cutting out the P&P. Our local horse supplier stocks it for £6.25. It is very absorbant so you only need to use a small amount.
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Your so lucky! I need to look harder because hay is costing us a small fortune! We use the free newspaper we get every day and I have a friend who gives me loads off her sister who delivers them.
 
If you're going to try growing things for the buns again why not have a go at runner beans?

My boys love the leaves and stalks, and we get to use the beans :lol:

If you enjoyed the foraging last year then see if you can pick some extra this year for drying for use next winter - it's saved me a fortune this winter to have a supply of rose petal and leaves, calendula petals, brambles, apple leaves, hawthorn leaves etc.
 
Kittykat23uk said:
How big are the bags of science selective? You can get a 20Kg bag of allen and page for less than £8.
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its about about 6.50 - 7quid for a 3kg bag for Science select.:(

but she can't lift heavy things- though maybe could buy online and have delivered then just scoop from a big bag?

I use newspaper rather than wood litter -so much easier and so much cheaper- ask neighbours for their papers instead of them recycling them.

pick up a free metro or 2 or free newspaper whenever you can

sue:wave:
 
I live in Havant, Hampshire.

Getting hay by the bale would definitely save me a lot. With eight buns, six outside, I am spending an absolute fortune on the tiny bags of hay I am buying from pet stores as they have it for their food, their litter tray and their bedding. Although I wouldn't be able to fit a bale of hay in my car I am insured to drive a friend's car and so long as I don't get hay all over it, I am sure he would lend me the car for a hay trip. He has a disability following an accident so can't lift heavy things either.

Is there anything I can buy, that doesn't cost a fortune, to store hay in outside? I don't have room for a shed and couldn't put one up myself anyway. I've looked at some of these plastic container things for garden furniture in Argos but am not sure if they would make the hay 'sweat' and become useless.

SS usually costs me £7.99 a bag:( I have stocked up from the Range as they are doing it for £3.49 at the moment, but it is a fair drive from me so I have to balance out the cost of petrol - so have to make sure I have enough money to be able to buy a lot of bags.

A and P pellets do sound cheaper. Are they good quality? I use SS as that's what my BARC rescue buns were used to and they all like it and I believe it is a good brand.

Fortunately, my buns don't really like toys and are happy with boxes and toilet rolls:) and plastic stools to climb on. They have tunnels but mine are lasting for ages:) They have blankies to dig in and I just chuck them in the wash.

Will have a look at all the links - thank you. I just don't want my fur family to suffer because I am struggling financially. It's not their fault they have a poor Mummy and I worry they would be better off with someone else who could buy them lots of new toys and more expensive food.
 
I think A&P is very good quality, it's high in fibre and the buns love it. Its also good for buns with dodgy tums. Some say it's not the best for coat condition, but I've not noticed any problems in that respect.
 
Blackberry & Co said:
If you're going to try growing things for the buns again why not have a go at runner beans?

My boys love the leaves and stalks, and we get to use the beans :lol:

If you enjoyed the foraging last year then see if you can pick some extra this year for drying for use next winter - it's saved me a fortune this winter to have a supply of rose petal and leaves, calendula petals, brambles, apple leaves, hawthorn leaves etc.
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Oooh my Dad does runner beans every year (I don't like them that much myself so I don't grow them :oops:)
 
I grow my own herbs in pots for my bunnies and also use some in my cooking. Do you have a Poundland near you? If so they do 6 different herb seed varieties in a packet for £1 and you can also get pots, compost and other vegetable seeds. All the gardening stuff is coming back in the shops now.

I buy 10KG sacks of SS as it works out cheaper I pay £14.25 for this size.
I also buy hay & straw by the bale from the same farm/animal feed shop and they let me take my own bags (Megazorb) and bag it up to put in my car.

I have also found a great greengrocers in Cosham that sells sprout tops and kale and they work out very cheap and both my rabbits love them. I also always look in the reduced section of the veg in local supermarkets.
 
Rhianna, how many bales can you get in the car?

I'm not very far from you and could split bales with you in the future :wave: I'm not due to get any for a couple of weeks though :?

I also buy SS in the 10kg sacks so you could always have some of ours if you wish ?

Foofy said:
I buy 10KG sacks of SS as it works out cheaper I pay £14.25 for this size.
I also buy hay & straw by the bale from the same farm/animal feed shop and they let me take my own bags (Megazorb) and bag it up to put in my car.

I have also found a great greengrocers in Cosham that sells sprout tops and kale and they work out very cheap and both my rabbits love them. I also always look in the reduced section of the veg in local supermarkets.
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Foofy, where do you get your SS from? I completely agree about the grocers in cosham...they are great! :love:
 
Gem said:
Foofy, where do you get your SS from? I completely agree about the grocers in cosham...they are great! :love:
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I get it from Kitnocks Farm in Curdridge, along with Megazorb, hay & straw. They also sell all the different types of A&P rabbit food and Rabbit Royale and some more that I can't remember :cry:
 
Rhianna said:
I live in Havant, Hampshire.

Getting hay by the bale would definitely save me a lot. With eight buns, six outside, I am spending an absolute fortune on the tiny bags of hay I am buying from pet stores as they have it for their food, their litter tray and their bedding. Although I wouldn't be able to fit a bale of hay in my car I am insured to drive a friend's car and so long as I don't get hay all over it, I am sure he would lend me the car for a hay trip. He has a disability following an accident so can't lift heavy things either.

Is there anything I can buy, that doesn't cost a fortune, to store hay in outside? I don't have room for a shed and couldn't put one up myself anyway. I've looked at some of these plastic container things for garden furniture in Argos but am not sure if they would make the hay 'sweat' and become useless.

SS usually costs me £7.99 a bag:( I have stocked up from the Range as they are doing it for £3.49 at the moment, but it is a fair drive from me so I have to balance out the cost of petrol - so have to make sure I have enough money to be able to buy a lot of bags.

A and P pellets do sound cheaper. Are they good quality? I use SS as that's what my BARC rescue buns were used to and they all like it and I believe it is a good brand.

Fortunately, my buns don't really like toys and are happy with boxes and toilet rolls:) and plastic stools to climb on. They have tunnels but mine are lasting for ages:) They have blankies to dig in and I just chuck them in the wash.

Will have a look at all the links - thank you. I just don't want my fur family to suffer because I am struggling financially. It's not their fault they have a poor Mummy and I worry they would be better off with someone else who could buy them lots of new toys and more expensive food.
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Shedfeild :wave: I can take you on Sunday mayb if you like? I can get a bale of hay and a couple of bags of megazorb in my car if I don;t have Rosie.
I'll drop you a pm....
Shedfeild also do bags of hay which are about a section and cost 1.50 I think? The megazorb is about £7 a bag but I can check tomorro if you like.
I got a rreally cheap outside cushion box thing fopr my hay...ust about fits a bale in :wave:
With the SS I can pick you up a couple of bags on the way if I take you on Sunday :wave:
It's always worth speaking to your local market guys too and seeing if they will let you have the cuttings or something
 
Wow thank you guys. I had no idea so many of you were local to me.

A cheap cushion thing for hay sounds wonderful. Do you know where I can get one? I don't know how much a bale is but I am paying £2.59 for a tiny little bag which lasts no time at all with eight buns.

I never work on a Sunday so that would be great.

I will investigate the greengrocers in Cosham too.

Yes, I have poundlands near me and will certainly try and grow some herbs. It actually sounds quite fun. My buns adore herbs but they rarely get them (I am a bad Bunny Mummy).

I am lucky that I often go shopping as part of my job (I am a mental health support worker) so I can try and find some friendly greengrocers to save me outer leaves and carrot tops.

Would be happy to share hay with you, Gem.

It does sound like A and P pellets may be a good idea too. Just hope the buns eat them.

Thank you all soooooo much.
 
Are there any suitable disinfectants that can be bought in big , 5L or even bigger, containers and used to refill spray bottles , rather than paying £1.60 a throw?
 
see karen....its amzing to have such wonderful bunny mummies on here:wave:

i have got some ice cream tubs and some soil and will soon be time to plant seeds i have..i have timmy hay seeds...and some organic hay wheat and oat seeds i think.....

i will be buying some herbs and seeds..it wont cost much for me to use a bit of soil from my compost bag and a few pots to share..if i ever grow it successfully!!:lol:

mm i have some a and p pellets left but i need to double check the dates...

i only gave up using it because of berties respiratory issues...he found it so dusty even when i sieved it..but thats cos a frenchie eats a whole lot of pelelts!

i buy the 10kg bag of ss....online though from hay experts or pet planet usually.

wilkinsons offer is 3 pks seeds for price of 2

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/browse...asource=wilkinsonplusen&setpagenum=1&perpage=
 
I've just skimmed through the thread so sorry if someone has already said it...

To cut down on our costs, we have started using megazorb for Selby's litter tray (our cat) and it has proved to be amazing! Has cut down soooo much on litter costs as we were going through a £10 of catsan a week as he's an indoor cat (he's agraphobic :/)
We also use dried food for him (tescos own) which is super cheap and then top it up a few times a week with cat tuna (I'll edit with the name) which is 5 for £1 at all times in Asda so works out really cheap for us!
As for the buns, we use lots of hay and megazorb for the litter trays... We're going to try and buy bales as right now are going through 2 large bags of hay a week.
We get veg from Tesco as they always have offers on (3 for £2.50) pre-cut veg bags and spring greens.
We use Excel so not much chance on cutting that down but they don't go through too much.
Growing your own veg/herbs sounds like a fun idea though!
 
Are there any suitable disinfectants that can be bought in big , 5L or even bigger, containers and used to refill spray bottles , rather than paying £1.60 a throw?
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Vinegar is a natural disinfectant. You can normally get it quite cheaply.


Rihanna, do you have the money for some lino? Sometimes you can even get free offcuts from carpet shops if you ask nicely. Your rabbits may be going to the toilet all over their hutch because the don't associate the difference between the trays and the rest of the hutch. If you try using lino and just putting litter in trays they should start to only use the trays which would mean less litter used, so less expensive.

My bunnies love A&P naturals but I def would not feed them to your bunny which needs extra calories. In winter mine have seemed to lose a little weight as I'm not sure it gives them enough calories, so I gradually change them to the breeder grower version in winter.
 
You can get get free veg scraps from farm shops, market stalls, allotments (try swapping rabbit poop for veg leaves). Also feed anything you don't use when cooking for humans eg carrot peel, apple core, brocoli stalk, etc. hough that will probably not go as far with eight rabbits.

You really need a lawn size grass patch for eight rabbits, then rather than mowing, hand cut a section daily in an organised way so you work your way along the lawn. Sprinkling rabbit poop over it will help fertilize it and keep it growing faster.

I use a plastic storage box for outside but only for storing a bag of hay/straw, tub of food etc. I haven't tried a whole bale. A wooden pallet (which you can probably pick up for free) covered in a tarp is probably cheaper even if it's not as pretty.

If you're not sure about swapping from SS, then mix half and half, that will still reduce your costs.
 
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