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?

Go to vets first appt you can get & get them checked. Watch for cats, birds & foxes if they are living outdoors (in a hutch obvs).

Jesus... It is not that she is not listening, it is that she is ok with getting the rabbits even if the decission was taken for her.

She wouldn’t be the first person to get a rabbit who has not had rabbits before. Are you sure you are not judging her for being a single mother? she has not complained about not having the money or the time to care for them and has been responsible to ask for advice on how to prepare herself to care for them. Believe it or not, many of us single mothers own our own houses, have well paid jobs, time to devote to our kids and pets and can afford vet fees

Having owned house rabbits for many years, I absolutely agree with the chorus of “don’t do it”, but if you do......

Someone else has mentioned it, but watch for signs of fly strike, especially at this time of year. It can be really horrible for them. And teach your dd never to pick them up from above or behind. Rabbits are prey animals, with very acute startle reflexes, and will assume whatever scoops them up is a predator. They may well either die of a heart attack or lash out, hurting Dd and themselves. Oh, and they LOVE raisins!

I have rabbits and I love having them, but I got them for me, and the kids enjoy having them, but I take the responsibility for everything they need.

Whilst I agree that rabbits are not great pets for children as they have to be handled carefully and don't always like being handled, it does depend on the child. How old is your daughter? If she understands that she must be very gentle, and that it will take time to win the rabbit's trust then it may be fine.

Rabbits can be very costly, so I would either get a lump sum from your ex to cover future care or maybe he can take out an insurance policy. Last time I looked a policy for a rabbit was about £13 a month, but there will be an excess to pay and lots of things are excluded. I don't have insurance for my rabbits, I have taken the hope they don't need vet treatment, but I do have savings so can pay for it if they do. They haven't needed any vet treatment for the last year. But one year I spent £600 at the vets! I paid £100 for each rabbits to have vacs for life at my local vets4pets. This is a myximatosis vaccine and rhd1, but I then pay £30 per rabbit each year for them to have the rhd2 vaccine which is not cvered under the vacs for life scheme.

My biggest concern is that your ex may have just saddled you with a massive financial commmitment.

Rabbits cost £500-£1000 per year each to keep, plus all the set up costs. So you would do well to ask your ex for £2000 per year (paid upfront so you can get insurance etc), plus a set amount upfront to get kitted out with a decent run etc.

Good luck tomorrow

You really need to set your boundaries and tell him No.

So I don't really want advice on whether or not ExH is a controlling dick (he is, it's why he's an Ex), or whether or not to keep them (I'm keeping them and will do everything I can to be a responsible owner), what I want to know is anything I need to know about rabbits.

Sorry, but if you didn’t want people to comment on your ex then maybe you shouldn’t have given the details of how you became the new owner of rabbits. You could just have asked ‘what do I need to know as a new owner of rabbits?’

Your ex is a dick and like others have said, what next, a puppy? I really feel for you, your child and the animals involved.

rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-housing/why-hutch-not-enough/

You'd have still have got similar 'don't do it' responses posting rabbits even with omitting the details of how you came to have them anyway. We had planned to get 2, in fact my user name was a name change at that time and midnight and star were the names dc had chosen for them. I posted on here for rabbit advice along with researching thoroughly what they need and how suitable a pet there were for dc and by the end of it there was absolutely no way we were getting rabbits - posters thankfully, although many loved their rabbits, were honest about the challenges and the fact dc would not be the ones caring for these rabbits ad they just sent easy pets at all. Lots of people saying just don't do it. We now have a puppy instead and I'm really relieved I said no to them the more I learn.

Are you sure you are not judging her for being a single mother?

Eh? Bit of a leap there ?

In the opening paragraph , the OP has put the face after being told she has to look after two rabbits that her Ex has decided to buy .

2 rabbits for a 6yo child
That she will have to look after , settle in and be responsible for and aware of for the next 10 years .

Legally a child cannot be responsible for an animal . 16 yo is the minimum age to buy one . So should there not be some legalities about an adult buying one on behalf of

He didn't give her time to research . He;s presented her with something that will be expensive to run, LIVING and will make her out to be the villan if she quite rightly says "Your Circus Your Monkeys"

He's used this , not as a nice gesture but a Trojan Horse

And ...icing on this paricular cake . Not going to a Rescue (who would've sent him off with a flea in his ears and some reading mattter ) or a decent breeder (ditto)
No . Some seller off Gumtree.
Adorable baby rabbits . Just ready to leave Mum (barely) . Ideal kiddies pets

And I'll bet my spleen they aren't vaccinated .

So keep your judgement on our judgement there Dilemmas because it isn't about her being a single Mum.
Its about being a Mum who has been placed in a situation not of her making

What an idiot. This it totally unacceptably without your express agreement. IF you’re generally up for it then he needs to pay for everything including vet bills and their holiday arrangements. Does he know how expensive it will be- you need to spell that out to him right now before they arrive. But even then it is going to be the hassle which is the bigger factor than the cost.

Thank you so much to the posters who have been kind or gave genuinely helpful information, which is why I posted. No, I wouldn't have chosen this, but now it's happened, I'm confident I have the time/money/energy to dedicate to this, and think the rabbits would be better off with me in a loving home than with ex/irresponsible breeder etc.

I just wanted the quickest possible crash course on things I needed to know, and I've got that, so thank you.

My garden is completely unsecured so the hutch and rabbits were outside by the time we all woke this morning, and DD is over the moon. The rabbits are TINY, but seem very happy to be held so far. DD is generally a very gentle and sensible 6year old, who has had to deal with an awful lot of not-nice things in her 6 years, and has huge anxiety generally, so I'm hopeful that pets could help her a bit. She sat with one on her lap whispering to it for ages.

Thanks for the helpful posts - I may well be back on here in future if anything crops up.

Your daughter sounds like a perfect bunny co-owner. And you sound like a great mother and a great pet owner. Bunnies are really lovely and make fab pets (as I’ve already said) and she might well find a lot of comfort in having some furry friends.

If you get yourself a litter tray you can train them to use it and they’ll be able to be part time house bunnies. Be very careful with electrical wires and any kind of flex (in general they love to chew, although our special bunny never did).

Good luck and hope you all have many happy years together!

I’m sure you’ve already planned to do so but please speak to a vet today and get some insurance sorted as well.

Happy birthday to your DD! 🎉🧁🎀

Ahem ....photos of bunnies ?

Find out what breed they are when they go to the Vet -you;ll have an ide then of their adult size .

Read up on tips of how to take them to the vet - they need to stay together so they don;t feel panic and will smel the same

When I took my guinea to the vet they went with one of their cage mates .Except when I had very new sows and my boar was being castrated . He wasn't bonded with them til he was sterile so he went off on his Big Adventure alone .

Hopefully your Ex won't be off thinking "Cor ain't I brilliant with my present . Got he bunnies , the set up , everyone is delighted)

Tell him he's on Rabbit Duty when youre not available and the rabbits won't travel so he'lll need to come round to the garden feed, clean, tidy up, let them out in the run, sit with them, catch them and put them to bed . Every day . .............. but not go in the house .

Definitiely be careful of foxes, my rabbit was taken by a fox. Be careful with two rabbits as when I had a pair of females one would bully the other and stopped her from getting food. So we had to let her eat separatly. So keep an eye out for weight loss of one of your bunnies

I would absolutely say no to that. Rabbits are hard work and quite honestly I think children easily get bored of them and that will leave you doing all of the work.
Don't accept this unless you really like rabbits and want to keep them.
My ex used pets to manipulate my son all the time with animals, he'd buy a hamster and then refuse to let it go between houses and my son would cry because he missed his pet and his "dad" would suggest he spend a lot more time over there so he could see his pet.
People are really bloody cruel.

Photos of the cute bunny babies OP? Your dd whispering to the bunnies sounds so sweet! Hope it all works out for you and dd and bunnies.

ok a good update. Please be sure to see a vet in the next few days. They may need to be neutered asap esp if a mixed sex pair. There is a reason that there is a phrase 'breeding like rabbits'.

Your ex is an irresponsible arse but like you say you will give them a responsible and loving home. you need to send him the bill for everything thought.

Glad your DD is pleased with her new bunnies! You sound like you will be a responsible owner, so ignore the negative posters on here 🙄
They will be better off with you rather than your ex. Enjoy!

I’m glad you are happy with the bunnies. Keep on handling them gently, and hand feeding them ordinary food (too much rich treat stuff is not good for them).

Ours liked to gnaw the bark off bits of apple tree bark.

Check a list of foods that rabbits must never eat: it has some surprising things on it. Rabbits have sensitive digestive systems.

Best of luck. Lovely update. My rabbits have never bitten or scratched me, although don’t like being picked up. I think if you start handling them from this young age they’ll be fine. The small pets page on here is quite good for help. And happy birthday to your daughter.

It does sound like the rabbits are lucky that you and your daughter are going to be responsible owners. If you have the time to dedicate to them I am sure all will be well. Rabbits are very fragile and sensitive creatures and because they are prey animals they do not show when they are not well in the same way a cat or dog would. Keep handling them and read as much as possible! Hope your dd has a lovely birthday.

No no no! Firstly he shouldn't have brought them off gumtree. ....why people do is beyond me. Secondly he should have asked you. Let him keep them as house bunnies on his studio flat.

Sorry, I know you have explained your reasons for excepting, but if you him do this next birthday it could be a puppy.