How do you guys work and have happy bunnies?

[NZminilops]

Right now I am trying so hard to find work. At the moment, my partner Mathew works full time, so he's gone from 6:30am until 5:30pm, and during the day.

I have an interview for a job today that is house cleaning, it's hard work but pays well. They've pretty much told me I'm 99% likely to get the job, so, now I'm worrying about the bunnies.

I too would be gone from about 6:30am until 5:30pm each week day. Then, when I get home I imagine I'll be tired, I'll have to cook dinner right away, then afterwards take care of some of the housework around here (which Mathew will help with hopefully). Then as it's summer, the garden needs weeding a few times a week, the lawns need mowing at least once a week, preferably twice, I do a workout 3 nights a week with weights and some cardio stuff, and I'll need time to myself to relax a bit and unwind, catch up on here etc.

So, where do the bunnies come into all of that? How do you guys figure it out?

With renting this place, having limited room or safe areas, really the only parts of the house I can let the buns out are the kitchen and the bathroom. I'm picturing me running around like a headless chook trying to do stuff, being tired and also having to let them all out for exercise every day. They are all so used to daytime exercise outside, I'm not sure what they are going to be like when that suddenly changes.

It doesn't help that they could ruin the carpet or wallpaper if left to run about, as well as Mathew liking things to look tidy and he doesn't like seeing rabbit pee and poo everywhere. Neither would the landlord I imagine.

I guess this is more of a rant than a question, but I'd still love to hear some idea on how people deal with working/going to school and pets . I'm just so worried they are going to be hot and bored all day shut up inside :?.

Michelle

 

[swanlake]

why don't you attatch a run to their cage? that way they could get some excercise when they want. also, since you have two buns they will always have company

my buns have an enclosure that they can run in, but i let them run around the basement when i get home, usually while i do ohter things.

 

[okiron]

Well, the flemmies are free roaming so they're out all the time. With Lumi and P, one gets free roaming of the balcony (with hay, water and a shady spot) while we're at work and the other gets free roaming of the balcony when we get home. Too cold to leave them out all night so one does get more roaming time than the other but we switch it up equally.

 

[NZminilops]

It's hard to explain, I need to take pictures. Plus I have four rabbits right now rather than just two .

I don't have enough room to put runs in anywhere at the moment. The room that Bailey is in, my brother is storing stuff in there, you can barely see the floor let alone see Bailey , That room is carpeted also, he's not allowed on the carpet (digs, pees, chews it). I've got enough coroplast to cover under his cage, which I stole from a sign someone stuck on the fence. yes bad I know, but they never asked if we minded it being there.

Sakura has just been spayed a week ago, she's temp living in the bathroom, which is kinda small, she's not in a cage so has an ok amount of room I suppose.

Onyx and Inca are in the laundry.

What I'm really worried about is their lack of outdoor time, and time with me. I'm a firm believer that my bunnies need to go outside. May seem strange to the hardcore housebunny fan, but it's how I feel. They even get angry with me if they don't get to go outside. I could leave them in their outdoor hutches all day, but then I worry someone will steal them or kids will harrass them as the backyard is visible to the road.

AngelnSnuffy suggested to me on MSN to let a bun out at a time in the kitchen while I'm cooking, that could work.

I guess I'm just sad, I will miss them a lot during the day, and I know they will slowly grow away from me as I'm not there all the time any longer. Just sad at the idea I guess.

 

[Michaela]

I leave at 8am every morning, school finishes at 3.40, but the bus doesn't come until 4.10, so I'm home at 4.30. Loads of time for bunnies. Not. :X

On a Monday I work after school, so I'm not home until after 7.30
On Tuesdays I have to stay in school late for french oral exam preparation, home at 5.30

On Thursdays I have to stay in school for maths, we do 11 subjects so there isn't enough time to do the whole Additional Maths course, so we have to stay in to try and cover it.

Wednesday and Friday I'm home at normal time, but that will change soon for other subjects.

When I get home I spend the whole night doing homework and coursework, I'm just printing a 12 page piece of english coursework. It would be so great if you just came home and didn't have to work. GCSEs in May, they keep telling us to start revising. Uh, when? :? Hard work seems to be paying off though, I got a crangratulatory card from my school today telling me I came first in my year in the GCSE mocks.

Saturdays I work also, and Sunday is my day I try to catch up on work, it leaves me very little time with Maddie and Ebony. Maddie isn't so bad, she sleeps during the day, and I'm quite the insomniac so a spend a lot of time at night with her. Poor Ebony, she has such a crappy life right now. I bring her in as often as I can but it isn't enough. I hate my parents for making her live outside, it gets me so stressed.

You adjust to it, find ways of slipping in time to spend with them, it's hard though, so hard. I often wonder if they'd be better of away from me.

So to answer your question, how do I cope? I don't.

I cannot wait until June 20th (last exam) so I can spoil the girls rotten and make up for this.

 

[NZminilops]

I thought you might pop in Michaela, thanks, that is just how I feel. I wonder if they'd rather be living somewhere else :?.

I just feel mean caging animals up all day and night, when they so love to be running about, I see the wild buns leaping and scooting all over the place in the country and I get the major guilts!



I guess we'll all adjust, I might not even get the job anyway .

 

[Michaela]

No way would they be better off away from you Michelle!! :hug:

Could you get secure outdoor runs for them? I know you're reluctant after what happened to BunBun and Lucky, but if they were nailed down, padlocked etc, I think they'd be safe. A lot of people on RU leave bunnies in hutch//run combos 24/7, without problems. Wouldn't even have to be everyday, once or twice a week.

Will you be nearby that you could pop in an check on them? Get a neighbour to?

I know what you mean about them needing outdoor time, when Ebby gets out she just lights up! I only put Maddie out when it's warm though, she's not got a winter coat.

Good luck with the job, btw.

 

[HoneyPot]

One bunny out when you get ready in the morning for work, one out when you're cooking, another when you're working out, another when you're relaxing... Just take turns letting another one out and just go about doing your regular daily stuff. As long as they have a little time to run, they will be ok. And they have each other and just being in your company will be ok.

They might be miffed at first at the change, but they will get used to it. I think it will be ok. And then they can get their outdoor time whenever you're gardening? or on the weekends?

 

[swanlake]

:yeahthat:let them rn when you are doing other things around the house. they can still come up and see you, and they have your presence. it will also allow for supervised run time.

you can do this, the buns are sooo lucky to have a mommy who is s worried about their well being:hug1

 

[missyscove]

Well... here's my schedule.
I wake up at 5:30. After I shower and such Igo in and feed the buns. Then before I leave the house at 6:40, I empty the litterboxes and talk to them and the like.
I don't get home from school until about 4. Then I give out more hay and check water bottles and all that jazz.
My buns have fairly large cages. I usually let one of them out one day and the other one out the next.

I'm sure they wouldn't be better off with someone else. In fact, I can think of lots of places they'd be worse off.

 

[undergunfire]

I feel for you, Michelle :?. I am now working 40 hours a week, plus 5 hours of over time each week. I now work Monday - Saturday, by choice, so Ryan and I can save the money to rent a house in May.

So, that leaves me (well, and Ryan) with one day off every week. It's tough, and it sucks. Because Sunday is my only day off, I make sure I have NOTHING to do that day...as far as cleaning goes.




During the weekdays (Monday - Friday), this takes place...


When I clean the rat cage (a 2 hour project), I let the rats run around the bedroom while I do that, so they get exersice. I clean the rat cage 2 days a week.

I clean bunny litter boxes (three of them) 2 or 3 times a week, and then I use my shop vac to suck up all the extra poopies/hair in their NIC pens. Marlin and Morgan's NIC pen floors get whiped down once every 2 weeks with Clorox Anywhere spray. Brody's NIC pen floor gets whiped down once every week with the same spray.

I vaccum my bedroom floor (where the animals are) 2-3 times a week, in which I get down on my hands and knees with the little nozzle, to be sure I am getting all the hair and such up.

Every night I wash with hot soapy water the bunny's water and food dishes....then feed and water them. The rat's get their food dishes and water bottles washed with hot soapy water every 2 days, then refilled (rats have an unlimited amount of food).

Also, every night I give the bunnies a large amount of hay to last through the night and next day.....AND the rats need nightly dinners...inwhich I have to cook for them.


Ryan and I still live with his mom, but we mostly cook dinner and clean. Oh, I also clean our bathroom once a week....and I clean/organize our bedroom about every day because Ryan is messy. Ahhh..and laundry! ACKKKK....and shopping for food and stuff.

Time is limited :headsmack.


I can't wait until we get our own place, though, Ryan's mom is SO messy and his 32 year old sister always brings her "terrible" 2 year old neice over almost every night....so the darn house is always a disaster. Atleast with our own place, every thing will always be clean because I am a clean freak.


WOOOOO :sweep!

 

[Marietta]

Hi!

I posted a similar question a few days ago under the title "bunny loneliness?" in the following thread:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=32177&forum_id=1

I leave for work on abt. 09.00-09.30 in the morning and usually get back from my office during afternoon and early evening hours, almost never earlier than 18.00-19.00.
In regard to the issue of the bun being left alone in the house, see what members suggested me in the above thread.
In regard to keeping the bun tidy, in my case it's easy, because it's only one rabbit, small in size (dwarf hotot), so there's not much time spent in cleaning. I clean his cage thoroughly, disinfect with white vinegar, change his litter-box contents and wash his bottle and bowls every 2 days. I either do it in the morning or late in the evening. It only takes me about 10 minutes (it's a small cage, as he is free roaming in the kitchen). I sweep whatever hay strands fall over from the hay rack to the kitchen floor every evening, 5 mins' work max. I feed him 2 times per day, a couple of mins each time to fill his bowl with pellets and wash and cut the veggies (very small quantity, usually once per day).

Of course you, having 4 big-sized buns, must dedicate far more time in the above ritual, but it can really be done without stressing or exhausting yourself, it just needs good organisation in the order of the works to be done. You could dedicate half an hour either before leaving for work or when you return back.

Marietta

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

I know Michelle - it's hard fitting in bun time. At my old school my school day ran from 8am-6pm which made fitting in rabbit time hard.:?Luckily the school I am at now runs from 9am-3.15pm which has made things a lot easier, although I still find it hard now I have Smokey to care for and ride after school as well as all my extra AS work.

In most cases you just manage to slip into a routine which works, although I know it's hard. I agree with Michaela's suggestion of an outdoor run - Millie is in her hutch/run combo while I am out/at school which works out well as I know she is still getting exercise while Ican't be with her.

Just remember Michelle that we all have busy lives, and even if you end up not having as much time for the buns as you'd like you are still giving them such a great life compared to what some poor rabbits get! Try not to worry hun, things have a habit of working out some how.:hug:

 

[Dragonrain]

I have a busy schdule too, and let my guys out when I get home while I'm doing other things. If you have a bunny proofed area, you could just let them out while your cooking/cleaning, or whatever, and just keep an eye on them. I let mine out at the end of the day, after dinner time, which is usually when I just spend time unwinding anyways. I can sit down and read a book or watch tv and keep an eye on them at the same time. Then when I go to bed, it's back to the cage for them. It helps to have them get out their energy before I go to bed though, otherwise they're up being loud all night when I'm trying to sleep.

I'm glad I have two bunnies, so they keep each other company while I'm gone. I also have a pretty decent sized cage, and I rotate their toys or give them new stuff, so they don't get too bored of them. They have plenty of room to play and run around in their cage if they don't get enough of that while they're out.

Your bunnies will get use to your new schdule though and I'm sure things will work out just fine

 

[Pet_Bunny]

I work every day (7 days), but start early and finish early (6 am - 1 pm).

My two stay in large cages in the dining room and are always in contact with people in the house. They are always getting picked up or given a treat.

They get separate run times for about 2 hours a day in our basement run, so they are content with staying in their own cages.

 

[Nelson_is_mine]

I know it's hard. I have about a million things going on in my life too and sometimes it just seems like you don't have the energy to get up and change the litter or whatever, but it has to be done so you just do it. Nelson is out most of the day. I let him out in the morning right away. I turn off the alarm, walk over and open his cage door. Sometimes my mom will put him back in and turn the radio on for him if she's going to be out a long time, and then when I get back from school I let him back out before buzzing off to work or somewhere else.

I guess the basic thing about attention is including them in everything. Just like you would with a child. If you're cooking, you might say to a kid"why don't you help me?" or "Can you play that game in the kitchen?" Just keep the buns near you. Sneak them bites of the salad you're preparing. Bend down to pat them when they asked to be scratched. If you want to relax, pick out a book and lay with them. I often do my homework or write with Nelson. Of course I'm frequently distracted while nibbles at my books or rips the pen out of my hands, but that's the fun of having a bun: to watch them play out of the corner of your eye, to have them binky over to you demanding kisses. It'll work out fine. You'll adjust, the buns will adjust, and eventually you won't have to make "bun time" because everymoment you're thereis bun time.

 

[karona]

This is my schedual:

Monday: Up at 6:20, leave at 7:20 school all morning

Home at 1:30, make dinner, do homework (some Mondyas I go out to my bf's so i dont get home until 11-12)

Tuesday:Up at 6:20, Leave at 7:20 school all morning, co-op at 1:30

Home at 5:30, make dinner, do homework, teach dog class from 7-9

Wednesday:Up at 6:20, Leave at 7:20 school all morning, co-op at 1:30

Home at 4:30, make dinner, do homework, work 6-8

Thursday: Same as Monday

Friday: Same as Wednesday

Saturday: Up at 10, work 11-5 here grooming, BF's for dinner out with friends and usualy home by 1-2

Sunday: Up at 8, church at 9, home at 11, work 11-3, BF here for dinner and out with friends usualy home by 12-1



In this Karona is fitted in for at least 3 hours a day. When I am showering and eating in the mroning she is with me, I shower she plays in the bathroom. I cook and eat she plays in kitchen.Mondays if I am home she and I do stuff like watch mvies or sleep.Wednesday and friday if I am working in the office or working from home I bring her to work or let her run in my home office. if I am animals care she is left here. Basicaly I let her out every spare minute.

 

[karona]

Keep in mind I also have one dog of my own who needs walks and attention to. I also can have none or allof my show dogs here any given time. It all depends on what shows are on the weekend. I do that aswell, go away all weekened to show dogs.

 

[Bassetluv]

My days aren't quite as hectic, but I do work fulltime...I leave the house around 7:00 and get back home by 5:00 (sometimes a bit later). I also have the dog that needs walking (I have two cats too, but they're pretty independent). In the daytime when I'm not here, Anna and Yofi are confined to their cage (I tried allowing them full access to their room for a while, but Yofi was just too destructive). When I come home they have free run of their room, the kitchen, and the living room (supervised). So while I'm making dinner, doing dishes and whatnot, I usually have a long-eared shadow constantly following me around (I've never tripped so much over a pet as I do this one!)

One thing I discovered with those two is that during the day they tend to prefer sleeping to running around. On the weekends when I'm home I will leave their cage open, and when I first open it Yofi goes exploring (Anna a bit less) but for the most part the two of them just wind up snuggling together and sleeping. It's first thing in the morning, and then the late afternoon/evening time that they like being out the most. So when I'm not home through the week, I doubt that they're really feeling deprived or bored...they sleep.

In the summer time, I spend much of my time outdoors in the backyard - tending to my veggie garden or just chilling - and the rabbits join me. And as much as I'd love to have them go outdoors in the winter...it's just too cold. So they are 24-hr house rabbits through the colder winter months.

Once you fall into your new routine, the rabbits should be okay so long as they still can have some time to get out and exercise. I'd say give it time and see how your bunnies do, and how you do as well. Usually everyone adapts fairly well to busy routines in a household, pets included.

 

[katt]

i guess my situation is different just for the fact that winnie is free range all the time.

but i still know what you are talking about. i work a full 40 hours a week, in the past 2 weeks i have worked 23 hours of overtime on top of that! i feel like i LIVE at my job.

first i would suggest finding lots of toys. rabbits do keep themselves entertained when alone. i have found that toilet paper rolls stuffed with hay take up large portions of their day. first they have to see what it is, then toss it around, then eat some of the hay, then toss it around again, then finish the hay, then toss the empty tube, then eat the tube. . . toys toys toys! winnie really isn't much of a toy bunny, but when herman was still around, i would rotate the toys weekly so that he didn't get bored with one group of toys.

but i really think that it is just making the adjustments. it does take time, but once you setup a system that works i think that everybunny will be perfectly fine

oh, and btw this is how my day goes:

wake up at 8 am, shower, then eat breakfast with winnie (we normally share fruit for breakfast)

get ready for work, leave house at 9:45

work till 7:15 ish, normally get home between 7:30 and 8:30 depending on any running around i do

clean house some, make dinner, ect untill about 10:00 pm. during this time winnie gets veggies, and all water bowls get washed out and refilled (she has one in my bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom)

we normally watch a movie, or whatever untill about midnight, then i call out "bedtime" to winnie, and we settle down in my bed with a book till i fall asleep.

but like said before, my daily routin is very different from most because winnie is out ALL the time so i don't have to factor in running time. and her cage gets cleaned out once a week depending on my day off