What are your policies for taking back bunnies?

[Bea]

Hi all, I was wondering what you all do about the occasional buyer of one of your kits who calls back after 4-5 months after purchasing a pet quality bun from you and wants to return it due to "allergies" aka - the bunny isn't what they thought it would be, she is messy, makes noise at night in the little girls bedroom, poops and pees alot, hay is all over, she kicks and scratches when being held, etc. As much as I want to take the bun back, I don't have extra cage space, not to mention this bunny has been kept inside and can't be put out in my bunny barn. I get a little irritated when people want to return for reasons like this because I don't know how the bunny was treated by them, if her personality has changed because of its treatment, health, etc. I myself, would have a hard time rehoming her too. Thoughts?

 

[Celice]

getting back bunnies is hard! I usually have 1 or 2 what I call quarantine hutches that I keep empty for different reasons like if a bun gets a cold or if I buy more rabbits. I put them there to make sure they are okay to put them into my herd. So, if I have to buy or get back bunnies they go there until I rehouse them or butcher.

 

[Prisma]

I brought it into this world, I'll stand responsible for it if they want to return. However, I ask that all supplies they have (cage, waterer, feeder, etc) come with the rabbit if at all possible as I don't always have a spare cage for a return and it can take months or even over a year to find a new home (if I'm inclined to wait that long). I make it known up front that I will not give them their money back or pay for the things they've spent money on for the rabbit either. Once the rabbit is returned, the previous owner has no call on what happens to the rabbit. If I get a rabbit back that isn't fit to be re-homed for whatever reason, it isn't.

 

[ottersatin]

I will ALWAYS accept any bunny/Rabbit that was purchased from me
or even from others, rather than have it tossed into the forest etc.
I do not pay for or return the purchase price nor any part of.
I also make no claims or promises as to what will become of said animal.
It WILL be treated with respect and used for the best possible reason.
I am usually not in need of caging, but will gladly accept them if they come with the return.
I treat all Rabbits in a respectful way.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[akane]

Hey they raised some meat for me. Great. I'm not going to sit on a rabbit for months much less a year. Excess rabbits here are repurposed including netherlands to dog food. Perfect size for my dogs that need around 1lb of digestible food per meal since a ND is about 2lbs and you get about 50% of the live weight as meat, bone, and organ. Otherwise I have to go buy lower quality meat in some form for them anyway. It's not like they just won't eat meat if I don't use the excess rabbits.

 

[yolosenger]

I tell all my pet buyers (most are for children) that if they ever don't want them I'll take them back, children lose interest and for all they know there bunnies will be living the sweet life on the farm.

I try not to mention that they'll most likely be for the pot or dog as it will upset most people, but I'd rather that for them then spending the rest,of there days in a small hutch or cage.

 

[Bad Habit]

Basically the same as everyone else.

I will TAKE it back, I will not buy it back.

If it comes with a cage, I will usually give it a couple of months, see how it is doing and see if it will be worth my time to try and rehome.

If it does not come with a cage, then it's going to have to be something special to be allowed to stay in one of my cages for more than a week or two.

Most end up being dinner.

 

[Bea]

Yeah it is a hard call here, I don't have an extra cage as I have recently had 3 does kindle and and are full. I have a feeling that these people didn't realize bunnies can kick and scratch, are messy, and just aren't ideal for a young child sometimes. I know this bun was kept inside therefore, will have to live indoors because he hasn't been used to the low temps. I definitely can't have him inside as I have inlaws living with us right now. I might not be able to place him all depending on how his personality is and how he has been handled by them and the neighborhood kids who are quite rough as they said. Ideally it would be better to have him here, but I don't need another pet bun either. As far as butchering, well, that isn't an option either. I'm not sure what I will do at this point. People that don't take owning an animal responsibly really upset me. Sometimes I don't like selling bunnies to those whose children are the ones responsible for them. Of course that isn't all kids but just some. Thanks for the suggestions

 

[Prisma]

Things happen, lives change. Even the most responsible owner could wind up next week at your doorstep or calling wanting to return. Its one of those things that need to be considered and figured at some point its going to happen IF decide to sell any rabbits (or any other animal for that mater in my opinion).

 

[michaels4gardens]

I will never take any rabbit back into my herd once it leaves, if they just have to bring something back [or drop off an unwanted rabbit] it goes from quarantine cage to freezer . I don't sell rabbits anymore , but when I did ,I would try to get the "easter bunny crowd" to take their kids to "Best Friends" shelter and adopt one, because they will take the rabbits back, I will not. Over the years I have seen a lot of abused, / sick/ unwanted, rabbits coming to me from the "Easter Bunny " / "pet rabbit for their child" folks -- so I have a bad attitude toward them. --When I sold rabbits ,--I did not have any problem selling to adults, for pets, or to meat breeders... but I made it clear that the rabbit was not coming back after it left the farm.

 

[Honorine]

I'd always take the rabbit back- for free of course- with whatever equipment they want to give me with the rabbit. I must admit- I've even bought a rabbit back- she was a fawn Silver doe- and she went on to be the 'herd dam' for a large part of my Silver program. She was worth buying back. She died here at the age of 7, never snotted, was healthy as a horse. Otherwise if I take a rabbit back I will send it to auction- or give it away- or dispose of it in the manner I see fit. If it was snotty I'd tell them to dispose of it- or give it to my friend to haul to auction immediately. Your not a bad person if you chose not to take a rabbit back. I sell mostly to other breeders, only occasionally as pets for children, I don't trust my own son to care exclusively for the rabbits, I certainly don't trust someone esles child.

 

[Prisma]

...If it was snotty I'd tell them to dispose of it- or give it to my friend to haul to auction immediately.

Please do not send sick rabbits to be auctioned off! There are still some people that go there to get their start with healthy rabbits. There are still people that go there to look that have healthy rabbits at home that don't want to track illness back. I know its a risk taken every time some one goes out, but selling or giving a rabbit away that is knowingly sick is not good I can understand not wanting on property or any where around own rabbits, but sending to auction could very well condemn some one else's rabbits that were healthy before.

 

[Ramjet]

...If it was snotty I'd tell them to dispose of it- or give it to my friend to haul to auction immediately.

Please do not send sick rabbits to be auctioned off! There are still some people that go there to get their start with healthy rabbits. There are still people that go there to look that have healthy rabbits at home that don't want to track illness back. I know its a risk taken every time some one goes out, but selling or giving a rabbit away that is knowingly sick is not good I can understand not wanting on property or any where around own rabbits, but sending to auction could very well condemn some one else's rabbits that were healthy before.

Agreed , I find sending a sick animal to auction highly unethical. :evil:

 

[jimmywalt]

Rabbit auctions??? Really??? Where are they located?? It would be neat to attend one sometime.

I've heard of livestock (cows, etc), but never rabbits. How do you find them?

 

[HendricksHearth]

I haven't sold anything for a few years, but I used to take rabbits back provided they were outwardly healthy and their cage was provided. I only ever had pet-quality rabbits returned, once because of supposed allergies and a few other times because they were essentially bored with the rabbit that I can recall. I don't sell pets anymore- a lot of the people looking for rabbits were really wanting cats/dogs after finding that rabbits are prey animals and their attention-seeking behavior is a little different than other domestic pets. I also found pet owners to be the most non-compliant with my basic care instructions after arriving home. How many times and ways can I say not to get home and load the junior up on a mountain of fresh veggies.

 

[Prisma]

Rabbit auctions??? Really??? Where are they located?? It would be neat to attend one sometime.

I've heard of livestock (cows, etc), but never rabbits. How do you find them?

Different areas different places. I know here any where they sell livestock they will allow rabbits pretty much, you can call any auction on auction day or the day before and ask if they sell chickens/rabbits/etc. Usually they don't have very many, except for around Easter here when prices are highest. OH and PA seem to have more in numbers than WV...WV what few auctions there are left there are few rabbits that go. Once in a while one towards Ripley WV will have a small animal sale and have quite a few rabbits. Prices can go from 0.50 per head to over 20.00 per head, just depends on the crowd. I am a firm believer, if you can at all, any thing from an auction needs 30 days of quarantine just to be on the safer side. I no longer frequent auctions as much, felt too bad for one animal or another and always came home with some thing lol. BUT still go once in a blue moon to see how auction meat prices/price per head is to have an idea of the cheapest price per rabbit would be on average OR if some one asks me to go pick them up a few what look to be healthy/good meat mutts.