too many rabbits. please help me.

[missmissi]

Also the space you have is huge, if you get the male rabbits neutered you should be able to have a group of 4 or 6 rabbits if you want, as long as they get along and you have equal numbers of girls and boys.

For now it might be better to make their environment as low maintenance as possible, even if that means they have a boring or smaller space. I'm assuming they are outside? My rabbits don't have towels in their cages, and if the bedding is placed in their litterboxes only it will encourage them peeing there. Also putting their hay above the litterbox. But with so many hormonal rabbits they will also poop and pee to show their territory :/

As for the costs I feed my rabbits hay for horses, I can buy a bale for €4. Rabbits should get limited amounts of rabbit feed (if you didn't know this already) but top quality food is pricey sadly. I really hope you can get in contact a rabbit rescue center that can take over some of your bunnies

K, what type of litter do you use? What type of litter do you all use? Ive used carefresh, shredded paper and also paper bedding pellets. Right now im mixing corn cob with brown carefresh, and i like it pretty well. Absorbency of cf has been great for me and the corn cob seems to make it go farther and help with odor, maybe. Unaltered bunnies have a strong smell any way.

No matter what ive used it works out to about $20-$30 per week in bedding costs. Maybe thats good for 12, for a while i changed boxes twice per day, 6-8 boxes each change (depending the size of the box), thats 12-14 litter boxes filled, emptied, cleaned with vinegar then hosed off and left to dry on our deck, every day awaiting the next 'shift'. Yes, i have i think 16 litter boxes. DH set up a filling station for me to make an assembly line for litter boxes! Its like living with the Duggers' !

I tried horse alfalfa once, note they are all less than 1 year old. It was sooooooo dusty, i had trouble breathing when i was filling boxes, they were all sneezing when in their box. I tried to get them to eat timothy, its less costly, but it wasnt the right thing to do and they werent eating the timothy but started eating the wood on their aviary walls and ramps.

I will keep some of them, any coat saving measure would be good to know.

Thx

 

[missmissi]

I guess the OP has this running in two forums now.

BBQ, I have this request running at multiple places on multiple sites, as you may see i need alot of advice or help very quickly. When my husband gets home from his business trip tonight, hes going to expect for me to have a decision for a solution. His solution is letting them go, he thinks its better for them and for me than putting them in carriers, driving them to the vet and signing a waiver for them to euthenize my pets - after my deciding which ones will get the death sentence.

 

[Hholly]

I once found a 4H show rabbit by the side of the road, abandoned. It was emaciated, all bones and fur. It was dehydrated. It's fur was matted. It was terrified. It didn't know how to fend for its self. I took it home and found it a home.
Releasing domestic animals into the wild is irresponsible, illegal, and cruel. Humane shelters are there for a reason. Humane euthanasia is kinder than abandonment. Don't take on an animal if you are not prepared to take care of it. They are not disposable. You should have bought a stuffed toy instead.

 

[Kroelies]

I use hemp fibre as bedding, it's more expensive than pine shavings but much better and dust free. But probably not available there. I buy big packages of food and bedding and get the hay directly from a farmer. It is not alfafa (My bunnies never got alfafa hay, I never read about it on Dutch forums either) but not dusty at all.

Rabbits will gnaw on wood, you can protect it with metal plates (dont know what they're called) or give them alternatives to knaw like willow branches.

Also, NEVER DUMP YOUR PETS in "nature", they will die and likely suffer before that. I can't believe someone from an animal forum would even suggest that!!! I understand your situation really sucks right now but don't abandon them

 

[donrae]

I once found a 4H show rabbit by the side of the road, abandoned. It was emaciated, all bones and fur. It was dehydrated. It's fur was matted. It was terrified. It didn't know how to fend for its self. I took it home and found it a home.
Releasing domestic animals into the wild is irresponsible, illegal, and cruel. Humane shelters are there for a reason. Humane euthanasia is kinder than abandonment. Don't take on an animal if you are not prepared to take care of it. They are not disposable. You should have bought a stuffed toy instead.

Did you actually read the OP's first post? She thought she was bringing home two males. She never intended to be inundated with rabbits. Granted, perhaps more research on sexing could have been done, but there was no malice intended here. It sounds to me like she was more than prepared to care for two pet rabbits, things simply are now out of hand. Your response is inappropriate for this situation.

 

[enola]

X 2

 

[enola]

The OP is in a difficult position for sure. Perhaps she "should" have looked for help sooner, but, she appears to be trying to correct the mess that has come from someone's mistake in selling her a pair of rabbits instead of two males.

 

[Hholly]

I was addressing her suggestion that she was thinking of abandoning them either on other people's property or in the wild.
I sincerely hope she figures things out for these rabbits.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Do you have access to a local humane society, that's where I would take them.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Did you actually read the OP's first post? She thought she was bringing home two males. She never intended to be inundated with rabbits. Granted, perhaps more research on sexing could have been done, but there was no malice intended here. It sounds to me like she was more than prepared to care for two pet rabbits, things simply are now out of hand. Your response is inappropriate for this situation.

X 2
OP, I second listing them and not asking questions as to their intended fate if them being butchered would bother you. Dumping them would not only be inhumane but is generally also illegal, as well as unethical - not saying you would consider the rather misguided suggestion that was made, but just putting it out there if you would.