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The Plumpkin Thread - Spay Tuesday 12th

Thank you everyone for your kind words and support! :love:

You'll be pleased to know that Plumpkin is doing well. She's eating plenty, her poops look sound and she seems comfortable and relaxed throughout the day. She does tend to keep to one corner of the hutch, and is very wary of me. I imagine that because she wasn't used to having any room to move, this new bounty of free space is very alien and frightening to her.

She's actually the most alert and happy when my cat pays her a visit. She really likes him and has run out of the hutch to greet him on occassion. She can see Hamilton and Beatrice across the garden and they're all intrigued by each other. There's a good 3 metres between them but it's nice that she can see there are other rabbits around. I hope it brings her some comfort if she's feeling lonely at all <3
 
That’s great to hear :love:

Could she be a future house rabbit perhaps? If she gets on with your kitty?

It has admittedly crossed my mind! I've never had house rabbits before though, and my boyfriend and I own quite a lot of antique furniture, so I don't know whether that could be a problem with nibbling wood?
 
It has admittedly crossed my mind! I've never had house rabbits before though, and my boyfriend and I own quite a lot of antique furniture, so I don't know whether that could be a problem with nibbling wood?

It depends on the particulat bun, is she chewing her current hutch? One of our (indoor) buns can be a demon chewer, the other would be fine.
 
It depends on the particulat bun, is she chewing her current hutch? One of our (indoor) buns can be a demon chewer, the other would be fine.

I haven't seen her chewing it, and the tiny hutch she was being kept in originally had no chew marks either, despite her obvious boredom. I think I'll have to read more into house rabbits, because I really wouldn't know what to expect!
 
Well done you for rescuing her.

I hope the rehoming or house bunnying goes well ;)

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I haven't seen her chewing it, and the tiny hutch she was being kept in originally had no chew marks either, despite her obvious boredom. I think I'll have to read more into house rabbits, because I really wouldn't know what to expect!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rabbit-Beh...preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

The above book has some fabulous photos and ideas re house rabbit set ups and protective bunny proofing - don’t know if you’ve seen it before but whenever I pick it up I want house buns. It’s my favourite rabbit book ever.

Whatever you decide will be the right thing, you’ve saved her from a horrible life whatever you do now :)
 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rabbit-Beh...preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

The above book has some fabulous photos and ideas re house rabbit set ups and protective bunny proofing - don’t know if you’ve seen it before but whenever I pick it up I want house buns. It’s my favourite rabbit book ever.

Whatever you decide will be the right thing, you’ve saved her from a horrible life whatever you do now :)

Thank you orangediva, I may have to invest in that! Haha daphnephoebe, don't let my boyfriend know that it could even be a possibility :lol:

To be honest, I am falling for Plumpkin. It wasn't very hard! She's so quiet, reserved and gentle. I want to show her what it feels to be loved so badly. I'm just not sure what is best for her. Here are the options in my mind...

A. Rehome her with someone who has another bun she could socialise with, someone extremely reliable who has a lot of space for her.

B. Bond her with Hamilton and Beatrice once their bigger setup is complete (probably summertime at the latest). The only thing is, she's only 1 and Ham and Bea are 4 and 5. The age gap would most likely mean she would end up sad and lonely at some point :( I don't think getting another rabbit is really an option though, due to how much the veggies cost every week. If anyone has any great tips for growing your own forage so I don't have to spend so much on spinach, kale and broccoli, I'd be much obliged! My bf and I are both vegan, so we spend a lot on vegetables as it is ;)

C. Make Plumpkin an indoor bunny. I have a cat who I already know she gets on with. She's just as big as him, if not bigger (she's a big bunny and he's a tiny cat) so I'm not too worried about that side of things. My concerns are how/where she would live and if any of the furniture would suffer as a consequence. Also, just because she's indoors and has the company of myself and the cat, would it still be unfair to keep her from having rabbit company?

I want to do the absolute best for her. Any advice is really appreciated :)
 
If it were me I would go for B.

A - If you acknowledge that you are already falling for her, you would be upset to let her go, even if you found a good home.

C- I would be nervous about an inside rabbit chewing your furniture. Other rabbit company is also an isue.

B - I don't think the age gap is any issue at all. My bereaved buck is just over 7 and I have recently bonded him with a doe aged 3 months. They both seem very happy with the relationship. Regarding ending up sad and lonely, well that would happen at some point to one of a pair of rabbits who are both the some age.

I have never bought vegetables for my rabbits. I buy herbs for 2 or 3 months during the Winter, but the rest of the year I feed forage and home grown herbs. We also have Kale and Spinach growing in the garden most months of the year. Both are very very easy to grow and low maintenance.
 
If it were me I would go for B.

A - If you acknowledge that you are already falling for her, you would be upset to let her go, even if you found a good home.

C- I would be nervous about an inside rabbit chewing your furniture. Other rabbit company is also an isue.

B - I don't think the age gap is any issue at all. My bereaved buck is just over 7 and I have recently bonded him with a doe aged 3 months. They both seem very happy with the relationship. Regarding ending up sad and lonely, well that would happen at some point to one of a pair of rabbits who are both the some age.

I have never bought vegetables for my rabbits. I buy herbs for 2 or 3 months during the Winter, but the rest of the year I feed forage and home grown herbs. We also have Kale and Spinach growing in the garden most months of the year. Both are very very easy to grow and low maintenance.

Omi, thank you so much for saying all of this...it's what I've been leaning towards and this gives me reassurance. Plupmkin let me give her a really big fuss this evening and properly looked at me for the first time. When I stopped smoothing her head she leant forward to ask for more. It filled my heart up so much :love:

Please can you advise me on any good books or resources for growing from home as a beginner? I'm lapping up Gardener's World (so glad the episodes are going to be an hour from now on!) but I've never grown any of my own veggies before so it would be good to have a guide of when to seed and harvest. I recently purchased the book 'Raised Bed Revolution' and my OH and I are planning on creating a colonial style veg garden with this as our guide.

Also, please could you advise any weeds that I can forage which might be around and about but I haven't noticed? I have a lot of Herb Robert and Dandelions in my garden which is a good start :D
 
I also agree with Omi :)

Growing veg isn't that difficult - I'm currently doing it. Most of the seeds now are directly planted into the ground and all instructions of care are written on the packet :)

You can also grow Strawberry plants, thornless black berries, hedge bindweed, roses :)

Plantin should be starting to grow now, willow will be starting to bud as will hawthorn and apple/pear trees. :)

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Foraging - If you haven't got Twig's Way's Foraging Book from the RWAF, then I recommend you get it. It's small and light enough to carry outside with you and it covers all the plants that you're likely to need to know. Herb Robert and Dandelions are a good start. You should also be able to find Cleavers, Chickweed and Red Dead-nettle quite easily atm.

Growing Kale - If you've got The Range near to you, buy a packet of Westland Autumn Kale seed. There's about 200 seeds in a packet and it will cost you 49p. Sow the seeds in a tray, cover them lightly and keep them watered. They don't need heat and will germinate outside. Once they've germinated and you can see true leaves, rather than the initial seed leaves, pot them on into 4 inch pots. When they are big enough (about 4-5 inches tall) plant them in the soil about 16-17 inches spacing each way. When you pick them, take leaves from the bottom. If you don't remove the growing point, they will last you for months and months :)

If you decide what veg you want to grow, there will usually be loads of advice online plus You tube videos.
 
Hi Beapig, I hope you decided to keep her. Ive bonded a 2 year old nethie with 2 7 year old rexes and it’s fine! Age doesn’t matter. I have just got the foraging book so am reading it and also have an allotment so am trying to learn what weeds/plants are ok to give them. Your set up is good and will be lovely for her to be in. Im just having my newest bun bonded by an external person and all going well so far. It’ll be my second trio. If you find a lovely home forget (ie someone on here), that’ll be good too, so either option is fine and much better for Plumpkin than her previous life. Big hugs to you for rescuing her xx
 
My lot all adore fresh grass if you have anywhere that you can pick some. They also like brambles (thorns and all), willow, apple twigs and roses.

Hope the trio bond well when the time comes!
 
Thank you daphne, omi, comet and tulsi for the really useful information! I've ordered seeds and biodegradable plant pots and am planning on building some raised beds over the next couple of weeks.

I have a Plumpkin update: I took her to the vet today for the first time because she was going to need a check up anyhow, and I've observed that she's been grinding her teeth for no apparent reason. So the bad news is that she's going to need a dental operation. Her teeth are too long due to her inferior living conditions. She also has fur loss on her underside from urine scald.

It makes me so upset and angry that pure ignorance and neglect has brought her to this sad place. I'm just glad that she's in my care now so I can reverse the damage that has been done.

Does anyone have a rough idea of how much this dental is going to cost? I didn't even ask but I know she's going to have to be put under to have it. Poor Plumpy lady :(
 
Aww, poor baby. As you say, at least finally she has someone looking out for her.

Dental costs vary hugely but I've noticed vets increasingly seem to volunteer an estimate of costs before so I'd ask for this (though expect it to go over, mine often do). My current vets charge £50 for a rabbit GA (£60 with vat), filing her teeth should cost next to nothing (I've never been charged I don't think), if you opt for bloods expect in the region of £50, xrays about £50 then approx £20 for further ones, nursing & drug costs add up to. The least I paid was £60, the most £260

Gosh no wonder I'm feeling the pinch, Boo has had 6 in 6 months :shock:
 
Thank you daphne, omi, comet and tulsi for the really useful information! I've ordered seeds and biodegradable plant pots and am planning on building some raised beds over the next couple of weeks.

I have a Plumpkin update: I took her to the vet today for the first time because she was going to need a check up anyhow, and I've observed that she's been grinding her teeth for no apparent reason. So the bad news is that she's going to need a dental operation. Her teeth are too long due to her inferior living conditions. She also has fur loss on her underside from urine scald.

It makes me so upset and angry that pure ignorance and neglect has brought her to this sad place. I'm just glad that she's in my care now so I can reverse the damage that has been done.

Does anyone have a rough idea of how much this dental is going to cost?
I didn't even ask but I know she's going to have to be put under to have it. Poor Plumpy lady :(

It can vary so much depending on the specific fees charged by the Practice and the exact Dental treatment needed. I hope that all will go well for her xx
 
Thank you for the good vibes everyone <3 I did suspect that something was up, because everytime I caught a glance at her out of the window she would be grinding her teeth. Her op is in 2 weeks because she got vaccinated today, so apparently we have to wait a bit until she can go under.

No matter what the fee is, I see it as nothing (even though I'm a freelance artist and don't earn a lot!) in the sense that to be in good health and not in pain SHOULD be a priority for all living creatures, and if that animal is in your care then you should treat them as lovingly as a human child. I don't have children myself and have never had the desire to have kids, but my animals have always been like my children (or like my brothers/sisters growing up) so it does make me incomprehensibly sad and angry to know that Plumpkin is having to go through this because someone else didn't care enough. Someone with a fancy BMW on their drive at that - not someone badly off by any means at all.

It makes me want to do more for rabbits and be an activist about it. Because they're undoubtedly one of the most neglected 'pets' in the UK, from what I have seen and experienced.
 
She's lucky to have come into your care.

Our dentals cost around £300 each time without bloods.... Definitely give them a call and ask for an estimate so you know roughly what you're looking at.

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