Hi everyone,
I was hoping I could get some advice- this will be long so please bear with me.
I have recently taken on an unwanted bunny and I'm not sure what to do on so many levels so looking for some help, advice and guidance.
I will say, I used to have one bunny as a child- he had a large hutch and was placed in a run very early in the morning and taken in at night. Whilst I don't believe he had a bad life, compared to some, I realise now that things weren't done correctly, having read up recently.
So, my conundrum is as follows... I let my heart rule my head and took the little one home. I have had dogs, horses and (strangely) hamsters my whole life and I'm very much an advocate of making sure everything is done correctly- diet, housing, exercise etc. My Syrian is spoiled rotten. He is a rehome and has come from being in a small glass tank with no form of stimulation to now living in a ZooZone2 (complete with playpen) with all the toys, puzzles and burrows I could accommodate.
Back to the rabbit; I am unsure whether to keep her or not. I took her on as the family who had her, though they seemed nice, didn't have time and she was left in a small hutch (can I say dirty without sounding horrible? :-/ )after the kids lost interest.
My friend had said she was interested in taking her (hence why I went and picked her up in the first place) as one of the reasons I haven't taken on a rabbit before, is because my yard is very small, I have dogs etc. and wasn't sure I could give one everything it would need.
However, having just rushed out and bought a large hutch (she didn't come with anything so had to buy her one immediately) vs some of the things my friend has said, I do wonder if she'd be better off with me.
I shall try and explain the pros and cons of each home (neither of us are perfect and some may argue I was stupid to pick her up in the first place, but I couldn't leave her where she was).
The hutch she is currently in, is the biggest and best I could find (rather than ordering online)having trawled round shops. It meets the RWA standards for depth, is double height and is only just under the required length (it's 5 3/4 foot) set out in their guidelines. When I told my friend the price of the hutch, she scrunched up her face and said 'oh F off' and informed me she could get one from a supplier for £30 (but can't until after the weekend so she'll have to live in a cat carrier 'til then)- having looked on the suppliers website the only one I can see for said price are the tiny old-fashioned ones (I remember friends having rabbits in them when I'd go over for dinner after primary school) in the very light coloured wood, with the red plastic catches and the cartoon drawings of rabbits on the 'sleeping area'. This has put me off slightly, as far as rehoming is concerned, I must admit.
Secondly, my friend is very old-school. Whilst she has a small holding, so the bunny will ultimately have more space as they'll build a big run, she's very set in her ways and isn't open to change as far as care is concerned.
She said 'yeah, I've got plenty of straw there and old bits of wood...'. I mentioned I thought it was incorrect to bed them on straw, due to dust spores and them getting pricked/injured. My friend just replied 'naaaahhhh'. Everything seems to be a scrunched up face or an 'oh, don't be daft' look, when I try to mention what I believe are the correct ways to keep a rabbit.
So, the run down is as follows... my friend is very set in her ways; she will love and look after the rabbit and she does care for her animals as she sees fit but she has a no-frills approach. It'll be straw as bedding, hay occasionally and standard rabbit food. She will have a small, basic hutch but will be let out during the day into what I hope would be a very large run. She won't be vaccinated (she lives in an area with many wild rabbits) or have a friend (again, when I mentioned this she went 'ooohhh, nooooo, they'd fight!') but will have space to roam.
The positives of her staying with me are: she will be vaccinated yearly (I live in a suburban area with no wild rabbits), she will be spayed, she will be fed a variety of different hays, numerous activity toys/boredom breakers, she will ultimately have a friend (should I keep her, it's something I'd like to look into as soon as possible) and as soon as I get the funds together, I will look into putting runaround tunnels in various configurations around the yard.
The negatives are: I have dogs and whilst she came from a multi-dog household and doesn't seem too bothered, one of my dogs is becoming very distressed and constantly pacing/whining at the door and won't settle (though this could be because it's all new and she's only just arrived- I don't know) so is it fair on dog or rabbit?! My dog is very sensitive and admittedly, whilst he's used to various different animals, his uneasiness is concerning me (I didn't think he'd react the way he has).
I have a tiny yard (and I mean tiny!) which is very awkwardly shaped. I do have a large garden out the back and whilst it's good for the dogs to run around, it is shared between myself and another lady. I wouldn't be able to put the rabbit out there as the freeholder is a funny beggar and it's technically his.
She's been stuck in her hutch since arriving yesterday and is obviously bored or distressed or worried or something as she was thumping throughout the night- My friend is meant to be taking her ASAP, hence just buying the hutch as it was only meant to be a stop-gap for a day or two until both hutch and bunny should've been going to friend. If worse comes to worst and I'm left with a hutch and no bunny, I'll take a £20 knock and stick the hutch up as near-new on Preloved or somewhere.
She (and hopefully a new friend) will never have a lovely converted shed or wendy house as there just isn't the room to fit another large building in the yard; like I say, the best I'll be able to do is expand vertically with top boxes/pipes and small corner boxes or narrow runs around the perimeter of the yard.
I am often pushed for time/money and whilst I always have savings/money there for the animals, if things go wrong, it'll be another (2) mouth(es) to feed- though if it means getting up half and hour earlier each morning to feed/clean, so be it, I suppose.
I could go and buy her a run today, if she stays, but it'll be a standard pet-shop sized one which she will have to be placed in, rather than free-access and it possibly won't be until the New Year, before I have the money to start adding pipes/expanding and even then, it's never going to be as big as it would be if she went to my friend.
My housemate works shifts in the evenings so she has said whilst I'm out in the day with the dogs, she will let the bunny free-roam the yard (it's walled and secure but there are cats next door that share the large garden).
Ahh, I don't know! Tell me I'm being daft and I should stick to the original plan of getting the little thing out of the situation she was in, purely to rehome to my friend, knowing it would be difficult for me to keep one!
I was hoping I could get some advice- this will be long so please bear with me.
I have recently taken on an unwanted bunny and I'm not sure what to do on so many levels so looking for some help, advice and guidance.
I will say, I used to have one bunny as a child- he had a large hutch and was placed in a run very early in the morning and taken in at night. Whilst I don't believe he had a bad life, compared to some, I realise now that things weren't done correctly, having read up recently.
So, my conundrum is as follows... I let my heart rule my head and took the little one home. I have had dogs, horses and (strangely) hamsters my whole life and I'm very much an advocate of making sure everything is done correctly- diet, housing, exercise etc. My Syrian is spoiled rotten. He is a rehome and has come from being in a small glass tank with no form of stimulation to now living in a ZooZone2 (complete with playpen) with all the toys, puzzles and burrows I could accommodate.
Back to the rabbit; I am unsure whether to keep her or not. I took her on as the family who had her, though they seemed nice, didn't have time and she was left in a small hutch (can I say dirty without sounding horrible? :-/ )after the kids lost interest.
My friend had said she was interested in taking her (hence why I went and picked her up in the first place) as one of the reasons I haven't taken on a rabbit before, is because my yard is very small, I have dogs etc. and wasn't sure I could give one everything it would need.
However, having just rushed out and bought a large hutch (she didn't come with anything so had to buy her one immediately) vs some of the things my friend has said, I do wonder if she'd be better off with me.
I shall try and explain the pros and cons of each home (neither of us are perfect and some may argue I was stupid to pick her up in the first place, but I couldn't leave her where she was).
The hutch she is currently in, is the biggest and best I could find (rather than ordering online)having trawled round shops. It meets the RWA standards for depth, is double height and is only just under the required length (it's 5 3/4 foot) set out in their guidelines. When I told my friend the price of the hutch, she scrunched up her face and said 'oh F off' and informed me she could get one from a supplier for £30 (but can't until after the weekend so she'll have to live in a cat carrier 'til then)- having looked on the suppliers website the only one I can see for said price are the tiny old-fashioned ones (I remember friends having rabbits in them when I'd go over for dinner after primary school) in the very light coloured wood, with the red plastic catches and the cartoon drawings of rabbits on the 'sleeping area'. This has put me off slightly, as far as rehoming is concerned, I must admit.
Secondly, my friend is very old-school. Whilst she has a small holding, so the bunny will ultimately have more space as they'll build a big run, she's very set in her ways and isn't open to change as far as care is concerned.
She said 'yeah, I've got plenty of straw there and old bits of wood...'. I mentioned I thought it was incorrect to bed them on straw, due to dust spores and them getting pricked/injured. My friend just replied 'naaaahhhh'. Everything seems to be a scrunched up face or an 'oh, don't be daft' look, when I try to mention what I believe are the correct ways to keep a rabbit.
So, the run down is as follows... my friend is very set in her ways; she will love and look after the rabbit and she does care for her animals as she sees fit but she has a no-frills approach. It'll be straw as bedding, hay occasionally and standard rabbit food. She will have a small, basic hutch but will be let out during the day into what I hope would be a very large run. She won't be vaccinated (she lives in an area with many wild rabbits) or have a friend (again, when I mentioned this she went 'ooohhh, nooooo, they'd fight!') but will have space to roam.
The positives of her staying with me are: she will be vaccinated yearly (I live in a suburban area with no wild rabbits), she will be spayed, she will be fed a variety of different hays, numerous activity toys/boredom breakers, she will ultimately have a friend (should I keep her, it's something I'd like to look into as soon as possible) and as soon as I get the funds together, I will look into putting runaround tunnels in various configurations around the yard.
The negatives are: I have dogs and whilst she came from a multi-dog household and doesn't seem too bothered, one of my dogs is becoming very distressed and constantly pacing/whining at the door and won't settle (though this could be because it's all new and she's only just arrived- I don't know) so is it fair on dog or rabbit?! My dog is very sensitive and admittedly, whilst he's used to various different animals, his uneasiness is concerning me (I didn't think he'd react the way he has).
I have a tiny yard (and I mean tiny!) which is very awkwardly shaped. I do have a large garden out the back and whilst it's good for the dogs to run around, it is shared between myself and another lady. I wouldn't be able to put the rabbit out there as the freeholder is a funny beggar and it's technically his.
She's been stuck in her hutch since arriving yesterday and is obviously bored or distressed or worried or something as she was thumping throughout the night- My friend is meant to be taking her ASAP, hence just buying the hutch as it was only meant to be a stop-gap for a day or two until both hutch and bunny should've been going to friend. If worse comes to worst and I'm left with a hutch and no bunny, I'll take a £20 knock and stick the hutch up as near-new on Preloved or somewhere.
She (and hopefully a new friend) will never have a lovely converted shed or wendy house as there just isn't the room to fit another large building in the yard; like I say, the best I'll be able to do is expand vertically with top boxes/pipes and small corner boxes or narrow runs around the perimeter of the yard.
I am often pushed for time/money and whilst I always have savings/money there for the animals, if things go wrong, it'll be another (2) mouth(es) to feed- though if it means getting up half and hour earlier each morning to feed/clean, so be it, I suppose.
I could go and buy her a run today, if she stays, but it'll be a standard pet-shop sized one which she will have to be placed in, rather than free-access and it possibly won't be until the New Year, before I have the money to start adding pipes/expanding and even then, it's never going to be as big as it would be if she went to my friend.
My housemate works shifts in the evenings so she has said whilst I'm out in the day with the dogs, she will let the bunny free-roam the yard (it's walled and secure but there are cats next door that share the large garden).
Ahh, I don't know! Tell me I'm being daft and I should stick to the original plan of getting the little thing out of the situation she was in, purely to rehome to my friend, knowing it would be difficult for me to keep one!