Ex just bought 6yr old DD two bunnies

[Birkenshock]

It's her birthday tomorrow - he has bought her two 8 week old bunnies as a present (to live here )

What do I need to know? He bought them off gumtree, doesn't even know their genders or if they have been vaccinated or even what type of rabbits they are. Hugely irresponsible, I know - but I know nothing about rabbits, and now I'm about to be the owner of two - what do I need to know?

I think saying they were sick is a brilliant idea. 'I don't know where daddy got them from but they were very very poorly. We'll get you a pet when you're old enough to take good care of them and learn all about how to look after them properly'

I don't. Why ruin a six year old's birthday, not to mention devastate them rather than deal with the actual issue?

What's to stop him buying more if he really just wants to upset the OP.

After your last post OP, I am going to change my view. You seem determined to take them and be a responsible owner, that’s all what the rabbits need (and plenty of time).

Nowhere in your posts you have said you cannot afford them or give them the time they need

If after checking insurance, vet and weekly costs you can afford to have them, have the time to care for them and you want to, go ahead 🙂

They don't have to go to the vet the same day, in a couple of weeks. As soon as DD gets bored or possibly gets bitten.

Can you get some help to deal with your ex better?

What would he actually do if you said no?

Do they need to be in the garden? Mine has a two tier large condo plus she comes out for better exercise. You just have to ensure any wires are covered etc

People telling OP to say no to her ex and/or stop him bringing them over how exactly do you think she can do that?
This is an abusive controlling man who is doing this purely to wind her up, she literally can’t stop him doing it so she will have to figure out a plan to keep them or (better idea) rehome them quickly
OP I know you don’t want to be the bad mummy but the welfare of these animals is more important than that. A vet friend told me she hates working with rabbits because “they like to die” . I have had most animals and rabbits aren’t easy at all

Sounds really controlling too , putting you in a position which would upset your daughter to say no and him telling her mummy said no to the bunnies darling . Not fair at all

This is an abusive controlling man who is doing this purely to wind her up, she literally can’t stop him doing it does she not live in a house with a door?

I had rabbits as a little kid. They bit and scratched and up until my twenties I was terrified of rabbits. We ended up rehoming them in the end, but I can still only stroke a rabbit that's jumping around freely, I wont pick them up if you paid me.
I've also seen how negatively a rabbit can he impacted by someone not having the time or effort to really put into them. A friend owned rabbits for years, who were always "ill" and not quite right, really antisocial. They eventually rehomed them after lots of pestering from everyone and the latest pictures are of the rabbits LOVING life, completely perked up and became for the most part friendly. I absolutely agree rabbits are not good first pets for kids, specially if the parent(s) are not experienced rabbit owners. They are hard work.

And please DO NOT under estimate how expensive pets really can be.
It's all good saying you will demand additional maintence for the rabbits upkeep, but if he has a history of DV its very very unlikely you will get the money from him, as ultimately if its above the cms amount he really dosent have to pay it you. Insurance/food/bedding/litter/constant replacement of toys/monthly flea and worming/regular vet check ups + teeth and claws/replacing hutch and runs/insurance/insurance excess/anything insurance wont cover (often wont cover routine things eg dental that isnt caused by accident or illness, recently had to pay £400 for dental on a fully insured cat). That's without the cost of time which once the novelty wears gets tedious, weekly changing the entire hutch + daily changing of litter which if you work or have busy lifes feels like it takes forever. Plus what do you do with them when you go on holiday/weekend away. Can you really keep them cool outside in this heat? Baring in mind it's meant to be the hottest summer on record, or keep them warm in the winter when it's raining etc, or will you have 2 rabbits that have horrifically died from heat exhausion/freezing. Honestly it's not fair on the animals if you cannot commit to their needs, and from seeing it happen with friends, it would be much kinder to take then to a rescue unless you heart and passion is into caring for them and you can hand on heart say they wont become a inconvenience (which if you felt like that you would have already considered getting some yourself).
As others have said a Guinea pig is a much more child friendly pet (I had one) and loved it! But ultimately for many young families pets dont work.

You say that If you get upset or angry your ex has won. But by manipulating you into smiling and taking the rabbits your ex has still won. Hes controlled your ability to have holidays or go away. Hes controlled your finances as they cost ALOT. Hes controlled you emotionally by blackmailing you into accepting pets you had no intention of owning, and feeling unable to not own them/forcing you to keep them knowing it will probably became a problem down the line.

@AskingforaBaskin

This is an abusive controlling man who is doing this purely to wind her up, she literally can’t stop him doing it does she not live in a house with a door?

This. I wouldnt open the door to him. If hes bringing rabbits then hes not allowed over. End of. Then it's up to him if he values his relationship with his children enough to rehome them and not bring them over, or if his ambition to upset OP is so important he will forsake his childs birthday to get one up on the OP.

Hi @Birkenshock I have two bunnies, two females. Got them when my dd was five but explained to her that they she couldn’t pick them up as they didn’t like it and she was fine with that and very gentle and sweet with them. At that age I supervised her with them constantly. Now at ten she’s often alone with them. They don’t like to be held but if we sit on the grass they’ll come and sit on our laps (especially if we have food!). One of them likes to be stroked, the other doesn’t. It’s funny how they have completely different personalities.
They are definitely a lot of work. Cleaning them, feeding them, spending time with them. Their litter tray needs emptying every day and the hutch fully cleaned once a week.
A hutch isn’t enough and they’ll get miserable pretty quickly stuck in one all the time. We have a hutch inside a big chicken enclosure (we’ve rabbit proofed it) and they get to come out every day. We recently moved and at our last home we had a different set up, their cage was in the garage (no car in there, can’t have them in with a car due to exhaust) and they had run of the garage and when we were home access to a run connecting the garage to the open back door where they’d have access to the kitchen too. We often would let them have run of the whole garden (as long as we were watching them - cats) but this was a totally enclosed garden. We now live rurally and not fully enclosed so we bought the chicken enclosure. I can dm you the link to it if you like. It was around £100 and huge.
We don’t have insurance but instead put the equivalent money into a savings account each month. They need vaccinations every year (around £30 each) and they need neutering even if they’re female as they’re susceptible to health problems otherwise and they’re more likely to fight if you don’t do it. Ours somehow managed to catch scabies 🤢 so we had to pay quite a bit getting that diagnosed and treated (one of them had a huge lump on her cheek and had to have xrays, turns out it was scar tissue from the scabies but the X-ray cost £200 😭). Other than that (touch wood) they haven’t cost us too much in vet bills.
They need nuggets and lots of hay. Veg - can only eat certain things, not lettuce and carrots as we’re always taught they like! They’re really delicate little animals and susceptible to bad tummies.
When we go on holiday we pay a lady £8 per day to come and clean, feed them and let them in and out of their hutch.
Toys, don’t spend a fortune. They like treats hidden in cardboard (make sure no ink/glue/sellotape) and they like to jump on things, dds garden chair, upturned recycling box. We did get some some cheap tunnels that they love.
They’re hard work but worth it for us. Really lovely enjoyable little things.

My neighbour has two bunnies in the last two weeks one has been to the best for stopping eating then they both go spayed then bunny went BACK to the vets for not eating and is on a knife edge there is also one nice one and one nasty one

Tell her your only borrowing them if you don't want to keep them

No way, would I accept this, tell him to take them back.
Stupid twat (ex, not you)

We got rabbits when my youngest was 8 and she's still nervous about handing them although she love them. The older two frequently have bad scratches on them from when they've carried the rabbits down the garden.

We've got a large hutch but they do also need to get onto grass and run around. We put ours in a run which we used to have chickens in and which is very secure.

Rabbits are surprisingly unsuitable pets for young children - don't like being picked up, scratch a lot and live for a long time. We got rescue ones but they'll still probably be with us after the children have left home.

And re the sexing thing - my best friend at school thought it would be fun to put her rabbit in with a friend's rabbit at a school pet show to see what would happen. Her mother was very surprised when the first set of baby bunnies arrived, got caught out by the second set too............!

Oh god no you can't agree to this. You need to be really committed to take on such high maintenance pets and understandably you are not. Rabbits live a long time and you'll be the one doing everything. I know you'll feel terrible but not half as terrible as looking after 2 rabbits from totally unknown sources for the next 12 years.

I get it now you’ve said about the abusive ex. Remember to check their claws as they can get overgrown and dig in to their feet. Then if it doesn’t work out you can rehome them once it’s settled down. What a pain for you through

Sorry but you need to set some boundaries down with your ex. It sounds like he hasnt understood your not together and should not be buying pets that will stay in your home. What are you going to do if he buys a dog next time? I dont know how long you have been separated but you seem to be very passive in amongst his choices and accepting of taking on two rabbits that will require care and treatment and vet fees

I cannot add to the good advice you've had here .
But if you do decide to keep them:

You'll need more than a security light to deter a fox they are relentless ,especially when they have cubs . They are vermin, that is the only name for them.
You do not want to come downstairs one morning and find your pet rabbits shredded across the lawn.

Rabbits are ££
Apart from housing, neutering , Vet visits for claw clipping and dental checks , they'll need vaccines .

Do you know how to bond two rabbits ? After they are neutered you will need to re-bond them.
Bucks need castrated , Does need spayed 80% of unspayed does will die from uterine cancer . So even if you have same sex pair (which isn't ideal in rabbit harmony) they need neutered .

Cleaning - constant
Flystrike
Do you know what they eat ? They are quite high maintenance .

He needs to set up a Rabbit Insurance . You might find a Vet who offers a package of Annual Review , insurance doesn't cover vaccines .
And you'll need a Rabbit Savvy Vet too.

Sugest he sets up an Amazon account for hay (loads) pellets, bedding .
And you;ll have bags of waste to compost or dispose of .

Your hutch / house and run will be the main expense .
They cannot live purely in a hutch . The Victorians kept rabbits in a hutch before they were slaughtered . Its a 'holding pen' not a home .

Are you sure you still want them?

Rabbits arent child's pets and your Ex was really irrresponsible to foist them on you .

And you'll need a Rabbit Savvy Vet too.

Also this. At out University vet school rabbits come under exotics and aren't treated or taught by the regular small animal practice

Okay so there have been a lot of negatives about keeping rabbits on here.

We've had a few rabbits over the years and currently have 2 boys we took on from a work friend who was moving.
We lost 2 to fox attacks(one dug herself a burrow and refused to go to bed so was out overnight), one died from complications from her Spey months after it was done.

Just because rabbits are siblings or are young together doesn't mean they will be friends when they are older.
Un bonded bunnies will really fight- I mean try and kill each other fight. It is possible to bond two bunnies but it requires separate pens and lots of patience. This is why I only recommend getting a prebonded pair from a rescue.

I paid around £70 for a playhouse from b&q that had been sat outside for a while so needed a bit of tlc, for a run I have penned in the underside of our 8ft trampoline with pen sides I ordered to fit on eBay and used cable ties to attach. I have insulated the playhouse and linked it to the 'run' with a tunnel so they have 24hr access to the run.

Our garden is 100% rabbitproofed- as I said we've had many rabbits over the years and learnt all the escape routes.
Rabbits can climb byw and are fairly intelligent- mine will actively show me where they've been planning an escape.

They have free run of our garden during the day and go back to bed on command before dusk. They can be trained but also like to misbehave.
All our flowers are caged to protect them and they eat anything they can reach. Our garden isn't a beautiful flowery one because of them.
We have never had problems with teeth as they eat grass, chew trees and the rest of their diet is hay. Same with claws.

They aren't very friendly and don't really want a fuss but will hop around your feet and they trust small children more than adults. The smaller the child the more strokes they will tolerate, I can hand feed them.
No one tries to pick them up though- that results in nasty gashes from their sharp claws.

I love having the rabbits free ranging in the garden, they are happy and will pop into the house when the doors are open to say hello, they play chase with the cats and are generally fun to watch. But they aren't the best pets as starter pets.

There are some rabbit forums around but the people on them tend to be quite rabbit militant and a bit mad away from the rabbit chat.

If you really don't have a choice then do some research. Prime your child to inform daddy the cage isn't big enough and he needs to get them a playhouse and run. Send him links to www.runaround.co.uk for warren lodgings.

You must say No. His place or nowhere. His problem. His present.

• they will need 2 vaccines each a year
• neuter
• a bottle of water in the freezer and then in their hutch for them to lie on
• a run with a roof is essential (keep cats out etc)
• find out what food they are on and keep buying that one and don't change it unless done very gradually
• lots of different veg, treats for their teeth etc
• vitamin drops to put in the water
• handled daily
• brush if they are lion heads

The op isn't listening. She's still allowing her ex to run her life.

@ Aquamarine1029 agree.
I wouldn’t allow it, he’ll keep controlling you.

Aquamarine that's a shitty thing to say. OP is handling it the way she thinks best and that's all anyone needs to know.

Anyway. Two words OP. Slow cooker

I got a bunny at short notice from Mumsnet a couple of years ago and had to learn v quickly! The Rabbit Welfare Association is very useful. The sooner you can book in at the vets the better. Get them sexed and split up if need be. It’s good he got two, as they need company above all, but two males can fight, so it’d be helpful if your fuckwit ex knew what he was buying! Add to your list second injections twice a year too. They need two types. Your double hitch is a good start, but they’ll really need a run to add on as well. You might need a mesh floor for the run to stop them digging out.

I use straw and hay in my hutch but also use shavings underneath to soak the pee and stop it smelling as much - which keeps flies away a bit too.

Good luck. Hope it goes ok.