Carrot Tops Rabbit Rescue

News

Sophie rabbit (not for re-homing)

Are your rabbit's claws in need of clipping?

We are able to trim your rabbit's nails at the rescue in return for a donation. If you are in the Forest of Dean area and would like us to clip your rabbit's claws, please e-mail us.

Rabbit rescue

The condition of this hutch, and one almost identical to it, were the reasons for another rabbit rescue recently. Both hutches were filthy, half-full with wet wood shavings, cutting down the space available to the rabbits by half. There was NO WATER or FOOD in either hutch, just a little straw mixed in with the shavings. The rabbits had kept themselves alive by sipping rain water coming through the leaking roof. In one hutch there was a medium sized rabbit and five six week old babies. The mother could neither sit nor stand and could only crouch. The other contained three medium-sized rabbits (two males and a female), and another litter of slightly older babies. All the rabbits are now in the care of Carrot Tops.

Volunteers

Volunteers are needed to help look after rabbits in the Carrot Tops Rescue. If you are local to the Forest of Dean and would like to help us, please let us know. We have set up a volunteering page on this site.

Freddie

This is Freddie, a small black rabbit, who through neglect, had massively over-grown front incisor teeth due to teeth misalignment. His previous owners should have have taken him to a vet for dental treatment well before things developed this far. When he came into the rescue, he (unsurprisingly) found it very difficult to eat. He went straight to the vet, who removed both his upper and lower front teeth. (Rabbits can cope well without their front teeth although they can't manage large pieces of hard food such as carrots, unless cut up first into small pieces.)

Freddie has made an amazingly quick recovery, although he must have been in some pain after the operation. His first priority was to make up for lost time eating! He has been constantly begging for food and is now very active. His dental operation cost the rescue £150.

Update on Bonnie

Bonnie, a baby French Lop is now also doing very well, and her left eye is making very good progress following her operation.  Once her fur grows back, she will look no different to her siblings and she should regain full use of her eye. If you would like to help us to pay for Bonnie’s operation please send us a donation however small.

Rabbits for re-homing

We currently have many rabbits that need new homes. We try to match animals to their potential new owners. Please note also that we always prefer, where possible, to re-home rabbits in settled pairs as this is makes for happier and more contented bunnies. We would also be pleased to hear from rabbit-owners who would like a companion for an existing rabbit.

ALL our rabbits for re-homing are neutered and vaccinated against VHD (rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease). In the unlikely event of them being unsuitable in your household, it is our policy to take them back for re-homing elsewhere.

Are you interested and in the Gloucestershire area? If so please contact us for further details.

Our re-homing policy

We decided that we would only let our rabbits be re-homed in pairs or as a companion rabbit to a rabbit that is already established in a home. We only do the latter when we've given as much advice as we can on the ways of introducing two rabbits to each other. We have even offered to do this on our premises for clients, because then we know the rabbits will be on neutral territory for the introduction.

We also decided to neuter our rescued rabbits prior to re-homing, not only to prevent yet more unwanted animals being born, but to make the rabbits more content and better pets. Many un-neutered female pet rabbits die from uterine cancer. The Rabbit Welfare Fund puts the percentage as high as 80% before the age of 5 years. Male rabbits can also suffer from cancer of their genitalia.

Rabbits and guinea pigs must have access to a large run, and the hutches provided should be as large and secure as owners can manage. We advise people that many rabbits are not suitable pets for children. Most children unfortunately soon get bored with the routine of feeding and cleaning for what they see as little reward. However, many people reading this site will, I'm sure, know how wrong this can be. It gives us great pleasure when we put our rabbits in their runs and they rush around, jumping with all four feet in the air, happy to be out of their hutch for the day.

We ask potential clients wishing to home rabbits to sign a declaration that the animals concerned will be returned to us should they be unable to look after them in the future for any reason.

We are very lucky to have the support of Teckels Animal Sanctuaries in Whitminster, near Gloucester, although we aim to finance ourselves through donations.

About us

Carrot Tops Rabbit Rescue is a non profit-making rescue aiming to re-home lost or unwanted pet rabbits and guinea-pigs. We are located in the Forest of Dean area of western Gloucestershire, UK.

The founder, Jane, looks after the rabbits together with several hard-working volunteers. They are dependent on donations from the public to pay for vets bills, animal food and bedding. Donations are very welcome, and on re-homing, a donation of at least £30 per rabbit is requested to help us continue our work. At any one time, only a proportion of rabbits in care are available for immediate re-homing.

How we started

Jane began by volunteering as a dog walker for an Animal Welfare Centre. As well as cats and dogs, rabbits were often left at the Centre for re-homing. Often, on entry, these poor animals were covered in mites; one we had was covered in fleas and mites. Many had experienced a dreadful life in solitary confinement in a hutch, with little likelihood of being let out. In March 2003, Jane was a joint founder of AJ's Rabbit and Guinea-Pig Rescue because, unlike many other parts of the UK, there were no dedicated rabbit and guinea-pig rescue centres in western Gloucestershire. In March 2008, she founded Carrot Tops Rabbit Rescue.