Cost so much!!

My lorddd, I dont know how some of you are coping at the mo with all this credit crunch stuff! I only realised yesterday just how much money Rhia costs me, Because she couldn't get out all day (rubbishy rubbish weather!), I put three new toys in for her - they were ALL destroyed by last night, thats about £12 in a day I ordered her some hay...another £50. Just little things you dont even notice you are buying, necessities. Ouch

There are ways to reduce costs though, even with necessities. If she needs a certain type of hay, you could get a bale of farm hay and mix it half and half with the expensive stuff to halve the cost, toys can be "home-made" stuff like loo roll inners, phone books, boxes, etc. or bunnysafe kid toys got cheap from charity shops/carboot, etc.

£12 on toys? Ouch! I'm afraid all toys in this house are made in the house these days, TBH if they don't involve food my lot tend not to be bothered anyway.

The worst thing for us at the moment is the cost of fresh veg. I'm going to be using the market from now on I think.

I agree costs can be cut. I have gone from £40 a month on dustfreehay to £4 a month on farm baled hay... rabbits all still munching quite happily.

Toys - loo roll insides are popular with Pickle... .they have plastic tubes that last forever.... carboard boxes from work with shredded paper in (all free from work).

The only "toys" I buy are the willow woven balls that they munch on

Hmm guess your right, as for toys the only thing she'll touch is a cardboard box. Aside from that its willow toys, they are the only things I buy these days, but like I said yesterday she got through one of those huge willow rings (£5), a big grass mat (£4) and the biggest sized vine ball (£3/4?) Wouldnt mind getting a bale of farm hay for bedding, it'd still cut costs as atm it costs an absolute fortune to fill her hutch with DFH - but none of the farms locally can afford to sell any of their hay because they are so short for their own animals. Wasnt complaining or anything She means the world to me & she can have what she wants, just saying how much I seem to spend on her

You can often get cheap wicker baskets etc from other shops, the sort made for decoration and that - just make sure they're untreated. Usually works out cheaper than the stuff made specifically for animals!

I use straw as a bedding instead of hay, they get hay in their hayracks (or bowls for those that will only eat ready grass/herbage/forage).

I have stopped buying DFH spending £40 now its £6 for a bale and i'm sure its bigger!
I also keep going to the supermarket leter in the evening, in fact just went there now and have stocked up on reduced veg even though the date on it is today it will last a few days, i got bag of mixed greens 10p, bag corriander 20p bag parsley 20p & bag celery 20p full price that lot would be £3.60!

Mmm I've just had a bale of DFH delivered this morning, shes barely eaten any of the last one - its been used as bedding, so wont order any more unless she starts eating it again. Remembered about a site I used to use when I was a very poor person that sells 6 bags of straw for less than £4 - Going to hunt that out again I think & start using it. Im always wary about using the wicker things from home shops, they dont usually say if they are treated or not Think im going to start thinking realistically about how much I do spend, as reading this im pretty sure a lot of it is un-neccessary costs

If you go to bigger places like Ikea etc (rather than the cheap poundy shops) I'm sure they can tell you whether it's been treated or not

I think when you just have one or two buns the temptation to spoil them is probably greater than when you have several. I sometimes feel sorry for mine hat as part of a large 'fur family' they dont get the very best of everything but to be honest they are happy, for the most part healthy, and thats what matters.

Sooz i definately think your right there, especially since Daniel has gone and i just dont want her to be bored X

Animals out number humans in my house two to one!! They get the best I can give them and if I can cut back on unnecessary costs then I have more money for fresh veg or vaccination costs etc which are more important.

Its just a case of getting the balance right.

My lot have a pile of apple tree branches that they have been munching on. Wicker toys are gone in seconds, so I tend to give them fruit tree branches instead.

NickieM wrote:My lot have a pile of apple tree branches that they have been munching on. Wicker toys are gone in seconds, so I tend to give them fruit tree branches instead.

Oooh, thats a good idea Dont know anywhere i could get them, but maybe if i called round some gardeners - Pretty sure they'd be cheaper than buying bunny-toys

It's frightening isn't it? I've been doing a budget on everything I spend to find ways of saving money, and I'm quite shocked at how much I've spent on the bunnies so far this year - and I don't mean on essentials like food and vaccs

My bunnies are going to have to go without the non-essentials, but then as they're as happy with a cardboard box as they are with the things I buy, I don't think they're going to mind

I've been doing some chucking out and decluttering this week and the attic stairs, which have been full of stuff I don't use any more and you couldn't get up them are now clear, and Bell and T have been having great fun racing up and down them - and it hasn't cost me a penny, in fact I'm going to have a car boot sale with all the things I've found that I don't need any more, so in a way it's actually the other way round.

I'm glad I only have one TBH, it is getting expensive. We get a bale of hay for £5, and mix it up with Herbage, but we also have a common near us, so he gets lits of fresh and different types of grass, and leaves. I suspect the hay will have gone up a lot when we need the next one.
I rarely buy any toys, just willow sticks every now n then, which I put in carboard tubes, or tie up with string, and I get veg from the F & V shop rather than the supermarket, cos it really expensive in the S/M, compared to the shop, and Bertie used to get a mix of museli and SS, now he just gets SS, with the Museli for a treat. I'm lucky that I don't have to buy bedding as well.

I was only thinking today how it costs so much more to keep the rabbits because not only do they get through several types of food but also so much disposable bedding! It is much cheaper to keep the dog & I think even the three cats!