We are a Right-to-life Center, So we try everything in our power to save a rabbit. We are however, very conscious of the Quality of Life and do not allow any suffering.   We constantly have contact and appointments with our vets,  Our Specialist, Dr Susi, formerly of Eden Small Animal Hospital in George,  and our trusted vets,  Dr Henk and Dr Joané of Dana Bay Vets.  We also confer with Dr Tina in Riversdale.  Dr Stellouise of Strandloper Clinic is also a very valued vet to our Haven. 

We prefer not to do  terminate pregnancies in the final days of their term, when the babies have started to move down, because of 3 reasons: 1)  Transporting them again so soon after rescue, before they settled, is very taxing on their hearts at that stage, 2) we have moral and aesthetic in believing these babies already have souls, as well as 3) the fact that we have seen the despair and depression, as well as behavioral issues the moms had that undergoes this.  We do terminate if there is imminent danger to the mom, or in pregnancies where there is medical factors involved, or up to 3 weeks of pregnancy, before the babies start to move, if we are pressed for space etc..

intact males are immediately split from the females when they arrive, but in many cases we place them right next door to the female they came with, to minimize stress.   

Males are kept separate for at least 6 – 8 weeks post steri, or till after their last hormonal stand;  when done as adults.  This minimize humping a bit more.  

Cages vs Pens vs Camps.   We have all 3.  We do need cages for certain bunnies with medical conditions that can 1) Spread,   2) Cause other or themselves harm if not contained (eg seizures) or 3) need to be monitored very closely in poo, wee etc.

We have pens for esp our blind bunnies, with their bonded mates,  but also those that are too scared to be in with any other bunny due to previous trauma.   We do not believe they should die just because the are scared.  Rehabilitating them can take long, and we usually pair them in the end with those that live next to them.  

Camps:  We have 4 larger camps in the house for those that are compatible,  bonding them took some time, and we are always busy making things better and bonding more as they rehabilitate.    We also have the Playruns:  1 outside esp for the disableds, and then a huge run at the back, with 3 camps, that is covered with netting entirely to ensure their safety.

Having our bunnies cared for is very important, and we have learned a LOT these past years.  We made the mistakes and help all over, so others do not have to make the same mistakes.

We have Inside Bunnies, with supervised Outside Playtime.  It is very important that these bunnies feel what a proper home would be, a home where they are loved and treated like children and companions.  Each bunny has a name, and they do react and know their names. We are fully against the old “belief” that bunnies are lawn and street ornaments with no feelings or emotional needs.  

We feel that love and proper care (safety, food and medical care) is much more important than anything else.  Our bunnies are all very trusting towards us, but can go into terror when someone else comes in, unannounced. They react on their names, and we have created special ways of communicating with them, and they with us, in order to do the best from all sides. 

Our Bunnies goes outside in groups since just after the daybreak feeding, as we have different areas.   They are always supervised.  At about 10h00, depending on weather they come in for siesta and feeding.

In the afternoon, depending on weather, certain groups goes outside again, while others have inside Playtime and physio.   It is important to know that 90% of the bunnies in the Haven is special needs, and does not function and react as normal healthy bunnies do.

Litterboxes are cleaned daily.  Just about all our bunnies are trained to use their litterboxes.  Some have litterboxes that was adjusted for them to use.   Their pens always have to be arranged the same.  Even the same size of cardboard box is used to replace the old ones, as not to confuse the blind bunnies. 

We feed 5 times per day, to ensure that there are no issues.  The Special Needs work different than normal sensed bunnies, so we have to keep a very close eye.  2 sessions of treats are included in this feeding.

Medications for those under treatment is very carefully given in routine.  We do have bunnies on chronic medication, eg for seizures.

We are also very pertinent in prophylactic and quarantine procedures.  When you have the numbers as we have, one sick rabbit can be deadly to many.  and NOT treating your ill or diseased rabbits is gross neglect.    Thus, sick rabbits are quarantined according to illness, and treatment times.  We do Coccidiosis and other poop tests and treatments when rabbits come in, so that they cannot spread that, and we do de-fleaing and deworming every 4 months.  Rabbits that have had EC or are known to carry it, gets a prophylactic 9 day treatment every 4 months in order to contain it too. 

Sections:

We  have different sections in our operation, 

  1.  The Disabled and Special Needs Sections, where we take utmost care to love and protect the bunnies that have pain-free lives even though they may have medical or bodily issues,
  2. The Rescue Section where we have feral rescues, we usually are catching them colony for colony,  At this stage our operations are halted.
  3. The Quarantine Section  is where all new bunnies go into, as well as bunnies with active EC etc,  until we are very sure they cannot transfer diseases,
  4. The Rehabilitation section, where  bunnies are monitored closely for any issues they have.