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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be worried about the school rabbits? WWYD?

451 replies

lottieandmia · 13/05/2017 00:17

Dd's school acquired two very cute little rabbits recently. She has been very keen to sign up to take them home to look after for the weekend so today we collected them for the weekend.

I'm really shocked to see that they spend pretty much their entire lives in a tiny living space which does not allow them to move around or stretch out. My guinea pigs have a much bigger cage than they do. The rabbits cage allows them to only do one hop from length to length (if that)

We're animal lovers and I'm very worried about them. So much so that I'm willing to buy them a bigger hutch to donate to the school.

In my situation what would you do about this? We have never had rabbits but I do know they are intelligent, complex and are often rehomed due to a lack of understanding about their care needs. What would you do?

OP posts:
Original poster
lottieandmia · 13/05/2017 19:44

Can I just ask - is it best to avoid hutches that have ramps? A lot of them seem to have ramps but I would imagine they can result in injury?

OP posts:
Original poster
lottieandmia · 13/05/2017 19:47

Yes I agree Darth. The rabbits do stretch out so that their back legs go out in a kind of line. It must be awful for them to be squashed up like that and barely able to move :(

I've said to the children they are to leave them and not pick them up because they clearly don't like being held.

OP posts:
kali110 · 13/05/2017 19:51

You can't improve it if the school are giving them to kids every week, not giving them fresh for or getting them vaccinated!
What about their claws, are they clipped? Are they de flead?
They would not be returning monday and i would be reporting them.

fannydaggerz · 13/05/2017 19:52

Pets at home is having a big sale on hutches just now.

Some of them are huge. It's clearance so you would need to order quick.

fannydaggerz · 13/05/2017 19:54

That hutch is shocking. It's far too small, especially for 2 rabbits.

DarthMaiden · 13/05/2017 19:58

Ours has a ramp - she likes it.

It's good for her to climb iyswim.

Original poster
lottieandmia · 13/05/2017 20:00

Well I'm going to say that I don't think they should be going home with different people every weekend. I think if they have more space to be housed in it will not solve all the problems but it will be a start.

OP posts:
DarthMaiden · 13/05/2017 20:01

Here is our hutch....

Cost a fortune and we thought it would be enough. It's not.

That's why our rabbit gets lets out daily into a rabbit proofed garden.

DarthMaiden · 13/05/2017 20:03

Sorry- picture...

To be worried about the school rabbits? WWYD?
raviolidreaming · 13/05/2017 20:03
Sad
pudcat · 13/05/2017 20:05

My 2 rabbits were indoor. They had a hutch but spent most of their time around the house. They need space and careful handling. Please do not take them back.

Original poster
lottieandmia · 13/05/2017 20:13

Darth - that's the kind of one I was thinking of. My friend says that they go out every day into their enclosed area which is fenced off. But obviously on days where it's really cold they wouldn't be able to do that.

It's all very well to say don't take them back. And believe me I hate the idea of them going back into that tiny hutch for even a minute. But the children at school are going to think my daughter has stolen the rabbits aren't they? And wouldn't it be theft?

OP posts:
Tattybogle89 · 13/05/2017 20:14

This is awful.
If the school has pets the only reason should be to teach children love and respect for animals. To teach children how to care for them..
This is not teaching those things to children.
So they should not have the rabbits.

Please report them

Barbie222 · 13/05/2017 20:26

Not RTFT but I'm shocked that this still goes on. It sounds horrible for the rabbits and sounds as if they would be laying themselves wide open to a range of HandS and legal issues.

Original poster
lottieandmia · 13/05/2017 20:36

I will be on the phone to the RSPCA and also the rabbit specialists that have been linked to. If I keep the rabbits there is nothing to stop the school getting another two (and hating me) I think the best thing is to try to make them see that they haven't thought this through and try to and do what I can to change things.

OP posts:
BurnTheBlackSuit · 13/05/2017 20:37

My rabbit had a hutch that we attached onto his run everyday so he had indoors and outdoors during the day. I also gave him a supervised free access to the garden run for at least half an hour every day and went around with him. He hated being held, but liked (and chose) to sit next to me on the sofa. He wouldn't wee in his hutch so needed to get out everyday. When it was wet, I took him for a run round the garden - he'd hop at my feet and I'd hold an umbrella over him.

I hate seeing the way these lovely affectionate and intelligent creatures are treated.

Lostinaseaofbubbles · 13/05/2017 20:59

Decent sized rabbit accommodation is really expensive. The school would be better off investing in a cheap 4x6 (or bigger would be even better) shed and then kitting it out with low shelves (for them to sit on/under) and hidey holes. Or maybe put their existing hutch in as a bolt hole (with the door removed/lodged open) The other great thing about bun-sheds is that you can put in high shelves to keep all their stuff in there with them.

I've made mesh doors for mine so I have the door open all day (unless it's lashing down with rain)

I've never seen a hutch in a pet shop/garden centre which meets the RWAF minimum requirements.

ihatetosay · 13/05/2017 21:05

schools shouldnt have class pets - the rabbits will get stressed out in school and then passed around to anyone who will have them at weekends - wrong - on Monday go into school and see the Head

Original poster
lottieandmia · 13/05/2017 21:10

I've seen some on Zooplus which look a lot better. They will still need to be let out though.

OP posts:
Fragglez · 13/05/2017 21:43

Disclaimer - I know very little about rabbits and I've never had one.

However I do know this:

As prey animals they are very highly strung and can easily have heart attacks from stress. Moving them around every weekend will be incredibly stressful for the poor little things!

That hutch is appalling. Surely anyone with half a grain of common sense can see it is horrifically inadequate?!

One of their complex needs is they have to eat their own poo. It's part of the digestion process. They will be horribly undernourished if they cannot do this (i.e. if people think it is gross and clean them out constantly to stop it)

I would get my facts straight with what they need and how what they have is inappropriate and cruel. I would ideally get someone in an official capacity (rabbit rescue person?) to go to the school and talk to the staff and the kids about how they should be looked after.

I would buy the better hutch for them (very generous of you!) and not let them go back to the school until new hutch is in place and staff have been trained to care for them.

I would insist that a condition of their return is that they do not leave the school grounds, hopefully with backup from the bunny expert person.

Soubriquet · 13/05/2017 22:10

Re eating their own poo thing, it's not the round little pellets they eat

It's the soft runny ones that we rarely get to see because they are eaten so quickly

Original poster
lottieandmia · 13/05/2017 22:12

My friend who works at the school has told me that the rabbits were bought from a reputable breeder and that a RSPCA representative came to school to explain how to look after them. I find it hard to believe they would have endorsed this cage though even for two babies Confused

OP posts:
Tiggles · 13/05/2017 22:34

Our hutch had a ramp. The rabbits used it when they were little, they had no problems using it - used to bound up and down at a rate of knots, but now they are bigger they actually prefer to jump up and down so I took it away. That could just be my rabbits though.

Tiggles · 13/05/2017 22:35

I find it very sad if the RSPCA have said that hutch is anywhere near ok Confused.

Lostinaseaofbubbles · 13/05/2017 22:40

The poos that they need to eat are very different to the ones you see on the grass. They're strange little black gelatinous bobbles that they generally eat directly as they're coming out of their bottom (it looks like they're having a wash but they're eating their cecotropes). I've never known a rabbit to eat them once they're cold (some rabbits eat them all and some leave some), so cleaning them out at any frequency won't upset that particular requirement.

I honestly don't know what I would do in OP's position. I'm very much a bunny person. I've had bunnies most of my life. I'd be horrified at them living confined to the tiny hutch and handled by children (and parents at the weekends) who have no idea how to handle a rabbit, and I'd worry for them with all the travelling round.

But I don't think OP can just keep them. I'm also not convinced that calling the RSPCA on the school is a great idea. I do think that raising concerns in writing, including information from the RWAF and offering a donation towards more appropriate accommodation is a very good start.