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Sweetie

Sweetie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
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Location
Bremerton, Washington, USA
I am very sad to do this but I have hit some financial difficulties right now. This month I have to start paying my electric bill each month. I had energy assistance but it ran out and I have to see if I can get more funds. I know that my finances will get better in September 2010. I need to find a foster home for Prince from about now until the end of September 2010. I would prefer the Kitsap area, but willing to accept Seattle area. That way Sweetie and I can come visit Prince occassionally. I will explain more if anyone has any questions. One thing I will not do is put Sweetie in a foster home/rehome her. I cannot live without her!

If anyone in the Kitsap/Seattle area can foster Prince until September 2010, please let me know, it will be greatly appreciated.

I can supply a cage, food dish and water bottle, and litter box, and some hay, to go with him to the foster home.

Again, I will not put Sweetie in a foster home or rehome her. I cannot live without her!
 
I am not trying to be cruel to them. If I can come up with some alternatives, I won't have to split them up for a few months until my finances get better in September this year.
 
If they are bonded, it would be most appropriate to send them together to the foster home.

I'm sorry that you feel you "can't live without her".
But truly, you can cope better without Sweetie than Prince can without her.

You are her owner, but he is her very best friend. He would be devastated. Absolutely heart-broken. You would also be hurting Sweetie just as much :bigtears:.

I hope you can be objective, and put both Sweetie and Prince's needs before your own.

:pray:
 
Right now I am thinking of ways I can keep them. I was very upset when Sweetie had to stay the night at the vet's for her surgery. I literally will be very devastated if I put Sweetie in a foster home.

Plus I said that I would prefer someone in the Kitsap/Seattle area so I and Sweetie can visit!
 
Please see the two lists above for details.
Update with what actions you have taken, and we will see what else everyone can come up with for you.

Remember, Love is not cruel. Love means letting go of what you love most to save them the pain.
 
Well I will be going to Walmart to get a 10lb bag of rabbit food, it is just alfalfa pellets but it has the same amount of fiber as the food they are on now. I will also be getting another thing of Fresh Step cat litter, I have a cat also.

These are the animals I have

A cat
A bird
Two rabbits
11 fish and 9 snails

The fish are in a 55 gallon tank and the snails are in my one gallon tanks.
 
Have you really done everything on this list?
Supporting Your Rabbits In Tough Time$

Contacted local farmers, breeding clubs, asking for outer leaves from the produce section?
Did you actively search out and get a bale of hay for about $3?

These are all very do-able.

I remember that you got a lovebird spontaneously back in the fall for about $50, and the cage is worth another $50. Maybe see if you can sell the bird and cage together.
A 55 gallon tank is also sellable; the fish as well. That would reduce your electric and water costs a bit.

I am not minimizing the importance of these animals to you, but the facts are clear.
The lovebird has no bondmate to lose if you sell him to someone else who will love the bird
The fish have eachother, and won't be hurt by being sold.

It is really your rabbits that will struggle if they are split up. You must keep them together, at all costs... whether they are with you, or in a foster home. They must be together.

Put them first.
 
If you qualified for energy assistance and that's how you heat your house then they can not legally shut off your power during the winter months, no matter if you pay your energy bills or not. I suggest that you look up your state laws on this issue before re-homing your pets.

And if you do need to re-home then you should re-home both as a bonded pair. Breaking them up is not the way to go. And in the end, does having 2 bunnies really cost significantly more than having one? I grow my own herbs and romaine lettuce so if you did that in a few pots inside your house/apartment (full sun) then all you'd have to pay for is pellets and hay. Use newspaper or wood stove pellets (something like $5 for a 20 pound bag) as litter and just change their litter pans everyday.
 
Well I was at Walmart for the food, guess how much it cost for a 10lb bag?


It cost $5.52 for a 10lb bag, and it is just alfalfa pellets, does not have what is in the food that my rabbits are on now. It is high in fiber, 20%. It is cheaper than about $10 for a 3lb bag.

I grabbed two 10lb bags which should last them a month and a half.

If I have to I can buy 1 bag a month and I will always be able to get them food.

It looks like I won't need to separate my bunnies. I am so happy!
 
Bengal77: for food for one rabbit would cost me $10 a month and for hay would cost me about $15 a month.

So having two rabbits does cost more than having one rabbit. A 3lb bag of food that I have them on right now would last Sweetie a month, because I would only have to fill her dish every other day. Now that I have to buy 2 bags.

Now that I found rabbit food cheaper, I can get without worrying about not having enough money.
 
That's great! And if they get enough hay (from a cheap bale) you won't need to feed them that many pellets. Lily weighs four and a half pounds and she only gets 3/8ths of a cup of pellets a day. I give her unlimited Timothy hay, a handful of Oat hay, and a cup and a half of fresh veggies, lettuces, and herbs that I grow myself. That 20 pound bag of food should last you several months for two small bunnies.
 
If 2 three pound bags of Sunaturals will last my rabbits a month, then 10 lbs will last them a month and a half. I got two 10lb bags, which will last/should last 3 months.

Sweetie and Prince both get fed a handful (I have medium sized hands) a day. But I am going to have to feed them every other day to make sure they don't gain too much weight.

Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears: if this new food I got them isn't an ideal food for my rabbits, then what food is?

My rabbits are very healthy and I plan to keep them that way. The food I got is Small World Rabbit. I also saw that Walmart had Wild Harvest but it had seeds and other stuff that were not safe for rabbits, so I didn't get it. I got the Small World Rabbit food.

One point I will make: I will not go to Farmland for rabbit food. They have it in open bins and who knows how long the food has been sitting in the open.
 
Unfortunately Sweetie can't have it both ways. If cheaper pellets are necessary for her to keep the bunnies together, that will just have to be the case.

The expensive pellets she was feeding them previously weren't great either.

Note to Sweetie: Initially mix the two brands, they'll get used to it easier and it won't upset their systems.

If the bunnies get unlimited hay and grass supplemented by a few veggies, they'll be fine. They can get by with only a few tablespoons of pellets -- at the most.

Most important is still hay.

There's a few ads on Craigslist for your area, and anywhere there's a horse, there is hay. You'll probably be able to obtain and carry a big garbage bag with several flakes. Take a friend and carry two.

The horse people will probably let you do that for nothing, or just a few dollars, but Its cheaper to pay for a bale, take what you can carry and leave the rest.

There's an ad for $9 a bale of local grass hay (which is just fine). I emailed her, its stored inside a building and she's in the Long Lake/Port Orchard area.

There's also an equestrian center in Bremerton and I'm sure tons of other options close by. Check under riding lessons, horse boarding, etc. They'll all have hay.

Really easy to feed rabbits for very little expense.

If you can't find good produce stores now, by the end of April you can probably connect to the Farmers Markets to grab the veggie parts that will just be composted. That strategy is outlined in the link above.

And they can be supplemented with grass and dandelions, etc.

Until then, Wal-Mart will have to do.

sas :bunnydance:
 
Thank you Pipp for explaining my situation. Also thank you for emailing that person in the Port Orchard area. Let them know that I am in Bremerton and that I don't drive. Please see if they can deliver the hay, the more hay I have the better and I will save money.

Again my rabbits are healthy. If I see too much weight gain I will switch to Timothy pellets, but not until then.

Also Pipp: I know to mix the new with the old. How long do I do it for?
 
I understand about financial problems. I'm still having issues myself even though I work three part-time jobs. Go figure.

I would check with energy assistance again. Not sure why you didn't qualify this time around. Even with my three jobs I still qualify.

Some of the above suggestions I did myself. I stopped buying the expensive bagged hay and switched to local baled hay. It costs about $10 for 40 lbs. My rabbits like it just as much. My friends with rabbits do the same thing.

I switched to the cheaper version of Yesterday's news for litter. I got a 25 lb. bag for $10 at Petsmart. The cat litter you use is not safe for rabbits.

My rabbits don't get pellets. They get along just fine with hay and greenies. I go to local farmer's markets twice a week to get greens.

I agree don't split up a bonded pair.
 
My energy assistance money ran out. I have to get more funds. I do qualify. I had $340 in funds, they only covered a few months. So I have to go and talk to them about getting more funds. They only give out funds only once a year.

I do have Critter Litter, but only one bag. I am using Fresh Step right now. The rabbits have a litterbox with a grid on it, so they can't get any on them or ingest it.
 
I live in an apartment complex and my electric bill is $108.96 a month. I have electric heat! I already know how I can keep my bill down and I am talking with the electric company. I have very good credit with Puget Sound Energy.
 
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