Surviving School With Bunnies

[MyBabyBunnies]

After thinking wrongly that it would not be ahuge problem to care for my trio whenI started university, Irealised that we do not yet have a post with tips on how to work thingsout so you don't have to find the bunnies new homes due to lack of timebecause of school.

I've had real issues for the last 3 weeks trying to fit in cleaningcages, so I finally broke down and wrote up a schedule. I didn't putdown hours, I simply put the days of the week, and different sectionsfor each day -- assignments due, school work that should be worked onor at least looked over on certain days, TV shows (to allow a breakfrom some of the chaos of school work and chores), and other things todo on specific days. So far it's working great, I scheduled in 4 daysthat I can clean cages as well as days that I need to be outsidecleaning up the yard, etc. I'm amazed at how well the schedule relievesstress of everything piling up (I know some of you future collegestudents may think I'm nuts but when you get a heavy course load likemine, you'd be amazed at how important and helpfulit is). Sothat covers the cleaning the cage part.

Ialso solved the rabbits being lonely issue, at least for 2of them. I had bonded Mocha and Zoey (I got Zoey to be friends withMocha specifically) so that means that if I can't be outside everydayspending hours petting him, it's ok. (I still do overall health checksevery 2 days though.) That leaves most of my 'spare' time during theweek for Spice, and I've made sure to encourage my parents to spend asmuch time with him as possible which is working out great for themoment.

So far, that's all I've managed to figure out but I've only beenattempting to solve this for 3 weeks so it's a post in the making.Anyone else have tips on managing time and fitting their bunnies intotheir hectic lives? I'm sure others who have to contend with this inthe future or those who are struggling with it now will find tips andsuggestions to be very helpful, no matter how simple the suggestionseems.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

You can do it, especially sp? if youhave 3! Just arrange time for cage cleaning, which you have,time out, feeding which they do on their own. They are in amuch better place than they could be if you had to give themup. Rabbits are creatures of habit. They do notlike change. It stresses them out. So, please dowhat you can and please keep us posted! Good luck w/ Schooltoo! :sweep:craziness

 

[Haley]

Nicethread MBB, Im wondering if we should PIN it in the rescue section?

For me, having a bunny made my life easier when I startedcollege. It made my apartment not feel so lonely, even thoughI had a roommate. It made it feel like home. To come back andhave someone so excited to see me was just awesome. Collegecan be sucha stressful time, especially if you're away fromhome, and having my bunnies made a world of difference.

Luckily, mine are indoors, so not as much work. I did make aschedule though, especially for cleaning so I had a set time.Also, I would try and stock up on food/hay/toys etc whenever I had abreak from school where I could work and earn more money. This is alsoa good time to save some money for vet emergency funds.

Also, having a bonded pair made a difference. I didnt feel so guilty if I couldnt always be around.

Anyone else have any good tips to add?

 

[naturestee]

I didn't have buns in college, but I did work 12hour night shifts for a while this last year. That doesn'tleave much time for taking care of buns and sleeping. Asidefrom drafting my hubby into service, I found that it helps to do a heckof a lot of bunny proofing and turn off the tv and music.That way I can do chores while the bunnies are out and they can't be asnaughty. If they are, I canhear them and stop them.

Saving for emergency vet funds is a really good idea, even for peoplewho aren't in college. But at least if you're working fulltime, you have a bigger check to look forward to.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Iknow how hard it is fitting in bunnytime around school, especially when they are outdoor bunnies! My schoolday runs from 8am to 6pm (excluding any drama/music rehearsals, theatertrips etc when I'd stay later) so I find it very hard to spend timewith my bunnies. For this reason I made sure that when I got rabbits Ibought 2 so that they wouldn't get lonely. On a morning I spend about20 minutes outside with them feeding them, cleaning out their litterbox, cleaning up any mess in their hutch, sorting out their toys and ofcourse giving them attention! Also their hutch is in their run so I letthem out for about half an hour on a morning so they can run around.Then on an evening I go out to see them as soon as I get home, I changetheir water, clean up any mess in their hutch, put out their run toysand let them out again. I then put them back in their hutch when it isnearly dark. Although this works well in the summer months, it's veryhard in the winter to find time to give them attention and enoughexercise because of the shorter days. I honestly couldn't write down aschedule of what I do, I just manage to cope somehow! (I also do a lotof my work outside in their run with them, hence why I have muddy bunnyprints over some of my files/books.:embarrassed:

 

[m.e.]

Schedules definitely help!

I find I forget to do even the most basic things, like scoopinglitterboxes or changing water bowls, when I'm back and forth toclasses. The rabbits aren't missing out on affection, in fact, I spendmost of my free time with the animals. But it's the little tasks thatseem to fall through the cracks (like the cats' monthly flea medicine:baghead).

Making a list of things to do in the morning before you leave, or things to do before bed, can also be useful.

 

[katt]

i guess i am lucky to have a younger brother asmuch in love with winnie and herman as i am. while i am downstate formy 3 days (i only have class on mon and wen, so i come home wenevening- 3 hour drive 2 times a week!- and leave sun afternoon) myrabbits get fresh food and water, not to much play time though.

yesterday was my frist day back as i have only beenin school 1 weeknow, and boy were the rabbits happy to see me! tonight winnie took acuddle in my arms for like 15 minutes. . .

i so far am not finding it hard to care for them, give it some time ithink! i have more problems missing them while down there then findingtime to take care of them when i am home. i can't wait for this quarterto be done with (i am transfering back up to a college 1/2 hour fromhome instead of 3 hours). they are my rock, my rabbits, it is hard tobe away from them.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Put it this way -- I am in class 25 hours a daywith an average of 10 hours a week that are 'free' blocks where I haveno class but I live too far to go home. On top of that I have 12 hoursa week of commuting. Then account for my homework time, I'm probablyspending 30 hours a week between homework and studying (and that's onlythe stuff that I don't finish in my time off in between classes).That's 77 hours of school and school workalone a week.

It takes half an hour to make their salads every day, and another halfan hour to make myself a lunch. Now take in to account that my bunniesare outside and it's dark at 8 pm. That leaves no time for them at all.my cages take 2 hours to do a 'quick' but decent clean (4 hours if Iwash and bleach everything).

And because I can't just do chores and homework 24-7, I've also takenup an old hobby of horseback riding (plan 3 hours for this everytimeyou ride).

Now that's not everything, I still have other every day chores that need doing and the yard needs cleaning, etc.

Somewhere in between all that, I have to manage to make meals and fitin some sleep (I'm already averaging 2 hours a day less than I usedto). My schedule is jam packed.

I wish I could only have school 3 days a week, unfortunately Engineering is one very demanding course.

But all in all, I never once considered rehoming them, I just thinkothers that end up in a demanding course may like some tips to helpthem through it.

 

[MaevePotter]

does anyone want to post their schedules so wecan get an idea? also include your personal stuff on the sched. so wecould look and sub. it with our own personal things. Thanks!

 

[m.e.]

Well, my scheduleis a lot lighter than MBB's. I'm taking four courses (12credits) which adds up to about 10 hours of classroom time and 9 hoursof travel time, Monday - Thursday. I work 16 hours on the weekends,third shift.Homework and studying isapproximately7-8 hoursa week, and I can usually manage 9 hours of sleepper night (less on the weekends).

That still leaves me a lot of 'free time'throughout the week. But if anyone's interested, this is what myschedule looks like (since it's so long, I figured a link would bebetter than putting it in a post)

http://emchelle.livejournal.com/117738.html