Available Rescue: Rehoming clogged up with hard to rehome rabbits

We now have so many hard to rehome rabbits that we find it very hard to take more in. And this is in the rehoming section, leaving aside the nearly 100 permanent resident rabbits.

The ones that are sticking here are all healthy (they would be permanent residents if they weren't).

More desirable, friendly rabbits get snapped up quickly, leaving the same long termers over looked again and again and again But the numbers of these longtermers are growing so soon we won't be able to function as a rehoming rescue anymore but be all sanctuary, which I wouldn't mind except for all the needy rabbits that would be denied a chance of a new home.

Please please please consider rehoming the rabbits most in need rather than the most appealing ones, or the ones that get talked about a lot on here. I don't have time to push our rabbits forward as with 150 rabbits and 60 guinea pigs to look after all my time, usually 14 hours a day, seven days a week is spent on animal care rather than on admin.

You do need to be within our rehoming area so we can homecheck, but this is large extending from Coventry to Cheltenham, to Malvern and Leamington, all of the Birmingham area and West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, North Gloucestershire and mabe down to Banbury for a really good home.

All homes need to offer premium amounts of space, hoomans who can accept rabbits as rabbits not expecting them to be animated cuddly toys, and to be able to afford vet treatment if necessary.

Please look at all the rabbits we have listed and give them a chance. You will be helping not only them but a stream of other rabbits that we will then have room for.

I'm not in your rehoming area, but I really need an old gentle female rabbit as a friend for my 10-12 year old neutered male.

I adopted a 7-8 year old female for him a few months ago, but since she's been here she's become very lively and feisty, and is now too much for him. Obviously she'll stay here, but I've had to split them up.

Bit of a long shot...but do you have any suitable rabbits?

Hoping you find some new homes for some of your bunnies.

What would happen if you closed your books, temporarily, and embarked on a "rehoming campaign" to downsize your nos to make it more manageable? Are there alternatives in the area for people to "offload" their bunnies.

I did contact you a while back about doing homechecks outside your immediate area, but we never managed to get together, and its good to see you have widened your rehoming area - which must help.

Do you have volunteers, who could perhaps highlight some of your bunnies on rabbits in need, or to help you with the labours of 150 bunnies?

We are not in your rehoming area either

Its so sad they are getting overlooked they all look gorgeous to me. I'm quite far away but if there is anything I can do from a distance admin wise let me know.

abbymarysmokey said:

I'm not in your rehoming area, but I really need an old gentle female rabbit as a friend for my 10-12 year old neutered male.

I adopted a 7-8 year old female for him a few months ago, but since she's been here she's become very lively and feisty, and is now too much for him. Obviously she'll stay here, but I've had to split them up.

Bit of a long shot...but do you have any suitable rabbits?

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All our old ladies are permanent residents, not among those looking for homes. They are already in pairs or groups, and most are feisty anyway.

Good luck finding him a new partner.

raine said:

Hoping you find some new homes for some of your bunnies.

What would happen if you closed your books, temporarily, and embarked on a "rehoming campaign" to downsize your nos to make it more manageable? Are there alternatives in the area for people to "offload" their bunnies.

I did contact you a while back about doing homechecks outside your immediate area, but we never managed to get together, and its good to see you have widened your rehoming area - which must help.

Do you have volunteers, who could perhaps highlight some of your bunnies on rabbits in need, or to help you with the labours of 150 bunnies?

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We sort of have been trying to reduce numbers - we had to when the council were on us due to a complaint about our compost pile, since resolved. But it never really works with so many calls coming in.
We started the year with 150 rabbits and have taken in another 49 already:? We get calls from all over because people like our rehoming policy and because we can take ill rabbits and give them a good life in the sanctuary. Most weeks we get asked to take 20 or more rabbits, although things seem a bit better at present. It is so frustrating with all that need, knowing we could help if places weren't blocked by healthy but hard to rehome rabbits.

We do have volunteers come in three days a week to help, we have a really good team, but despite that I work non stop and never seem to do all I need to get done. There are always health checks outstanding and rabbits to groom and guinea pigs to bath. The meds round alone takes a few hours a day as we have so many sick residents, and I do all the rabbit feeding to make sure I know who is eating and who isn't, that is a couple more hours a day. And I clean all the rabbit hutches so I can keep an eye on the poo quality and quantity. Volunteers do runs and water bottles, cages in sick bay, the sheds and stables, maintenance work, homechecks, fund raising, sweeping, and a variety of other things. This is a large set up, an awful lot of work. There are many things I don't have time for.

have you tried the site animal lifeline uk looks really useful

Its a shame when rabbits seem to stick for no reason..we too have several that just get overlooked

I think for your own sake you really need to stop taking anymore in, pass people onto others rescues which you trust and have similar homing policies
If you don't cut your work down you will make yourself ill and then where will the bunnies be

Can one of your volunteers help with highlighting on here..it really doesn't take that long to post a bun in the In Need section

Hope some of your long termers find homes xx

Sounds like a large workload Louise. Hope you manage to rehome some bunnies now that you have highlighted.

Hi Louise,

You know me as MarthaAndMaud on TGPF. I can't take rabbits at present but if you wanted me to foster approx 10 -12 sows for you while you are so busy, to re-home them from this end I could as things are fairly quiet here at the moment.

Just let me know.
Claire
xx

Could somebody help to put some of your more longer term residents on the In need section here - to draw attention to them and perhaps give a little more information about them? I would be happy to help and Im sure others would too?

I cant believe some of your buns have been waiting for so long, you have some absolutely stunnning rabbits!!!

ok, i'm going to upset a few people here, and no doubt get shouted at but, i saw your appeal to take in your rabbits, and i have started to rescue bunnies myself. Now i understand that bunnies need loads of room, but i think what you are asking could be the reason people are not going to you for bunnies.

I have large hutches with runs attached, and my bunnies come out of the runs for a few hours a day, weather permitting. At present i have 4, one bonded pair and 2 singles, but i wouldn;t be able to help them if i needed 3 sheds, or 6ft hutches each.

I'm sorry if i've affended you, this was not my intention. The other issue i see is the price. Not sure how much your fee is but most rescues are asking £40. people won't pay this if they can get bunnies from breeders etc for half the price. again, not being funny, just wanted to pass my opinion on.

(I understand why rescues ask so much, i now how much it costs to keep them etc, but maybe, you could reduce your price, until you have reduced your rescue bunnies, surley in the long run, this would be better for your rescue as there wouldn't be so many bunnies using all your resources)


No upset intended

nickylowe40 said:

ok, i'm going to upset a few people here, and no doubt get shouted at but, i saw your appeal to take in your rabbits, and i have started to rescue bunnies myself. Now i understand that bunnies need loads of room, but i think what you are asking could be the reason people are not going to you for bunnies.

I have large hutches with runs attached, and my bunnies come out of the runs for a few hours a day, weather permitting. At present i have 4, one bonded pair and 2 singles, but i wouldn;t be able to help them if i needed 3 sheds, or 6ft hutches each.

I'm sorry if i've affended you, this was not my intention. The other issue i see is the price. Not sure how much your fee is but most rescues are asking £40. people won't pay this if they can get bunnies from breeders etc for half the price. again, not being funny, just wanted to pass my opinion on.

(I understand why rescues ask so much, i now how much it costs to keep them etc, but maybe, you could reduce your price, until you have reduced your rescue bunnies, surley in the long run, this would be better for your rescue as there wouldn't be so many bunnies using all your resources)


No upset intended

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6ft x 2ft x 2ft is the minimum hutch size for two rabbits, and i myself won't rehome to smaller. My own rabbits have a 16ft kennel and i can not imagine having them in smaller accomodation.

My adoption fee is £45.

I neuter, vaccinate and now microchip all rabbits.

The average rescue donation is £40.

Take it that for a vaccine is £16, say a rescue gets mxyi and vhd vaccines, thats £48
neuter- for a male, average is £50, for female is £70, so that makes is £98/£118 to get a rabbit ready for adoption. Thats if it doesnt need dentals/tear duct flushing/abscess removal or major ops such as gastrotomys.

£95, and we are asking £40/£45

If you get a rabbit from a breeder.

£30 initial price
£48 vaccs for a year
£50-£100 for neuter (depending on vet prices)

That is an average of: £158

So comparing that to a rescue fee, £40 don't seem that bad!!

Also, if someone is not willing to pay an adoption fee, then they are obviously not good enough for the bun.
If they are not willing to do the minimum requirements for an animal, then obviously it is not the animal for them.

nickylowe40 said:

ok, i'm going to upset a few people here, and no doubt get shouted at but, i saw your appeal to take in your rabbits, and i have started to rescue bunnies myself. Now i understand that bunnies need loads of room, but i think what you are asking could be the reason people are not going to you for bunnies.

I have large hutches with runs attached, and my bunnies come out of the runs for a few hours a day, weather permitting. At present i have 4, one bonded pair and 2 singles, but i wouldn;t be able to help them if i needed 3 sheds, or 6ft hutches each.

I'm sorry if i've affended you, this was not my intention. The other issue i see is the price. Not sure how much your fee is but most rescues are asking £40. people won't pay this if they can get bunnies from breeders etc for half the price. again, not being funny, just wanted to pass my opinion on.

(I understand why rescues ask so much, i now how much it costs to keep them etc, but maybe, you could reduce your price, until you have reduced your rescue bunnies, surley in the long run, this would be better for your rescue as there wouldn't be so many bunnies using all your resources)


No upset intended

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A Rescue Bun will be neutered (£50-£100) and fully vaccinated (£20-£40) so asking for a donation of at least £40 is perfectly acceptable IMO.

Unless the Rescue is supposed to cover those costs themself :?

Also, the new Animal Welfare Act means that Rescues DO have to have strict standards re the type of accomodation they provide and that they rehome to.

Rescues run at a permanent loss.

ETA Louise as you know I am a frequent poster on RU and would be happy to highlight some of you 'hard to home' Buns in my siggie and/or in Rabbit Chat (Tamsin permitting)
Just PM me if you would like me to do this.

Well said Starlights and Jacksjane!:wave:

I said i totally understand why the prices are what they are, it has just cost me nearly £160 for my 4 bunnies jabs - need to find another vet who will help me, so any suggestions please?

nickylowe40 said:

I said i totally understand why the prices are what they are, it has just cost me nearly £160 for my 4 bunnies jabs - need to find another vet who will help me, so any suggestions please?

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What area are you in? someone may be able to suggest somewhere cheaper. I wouldn't swap a good vet for a cheap one though

hi i'm in south staffs, he charged me £20 per jab, 2 each, then gave me a 10% discount.