just had this email :(

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She has failed to mention that rabbits can carry a bacteria that is not harmful to rabbits but can cause fatality in guinea pigs. I had a guinea pig who was brain damaged possibly due to being kicked by a rabbit and she never grew properly and died when she was 3 years old. Really, she was lucky - one kick from a powerful rabbit and the guinea pig would be dead. Not only this but guinea pigs should be kept with guinea pigs, rabbits with rabbits, etc etc. You wouldn't catch hens and rabbits being forced to live together in the wild, so what right does this woman have to force animals who may not get along to live together? How can she ensure that the guinea pigs are not eating rabbit food, that the rabbits are not eating the hen food? It's hard enough when you have a group of guinea pigs living together to make sure they are all eating properly. Adding another two species into the mix is just asing for trouble! If she was such a good owner she would be open to someone educating her. Then she adds she has a pond in the area - I suppose her previous guinea pig was psychic and knew to stay away from the area? How absolutely ridiculous. It's not your loss at all - as if you'd want to rehome rescued pigs into a house where they could be injured, malnourished or drown? malletheadmallethead
 
this is a very tough thread to read!

I have 2 beautiful, placid, neutured bunnies, who I've never let live freely with my guinea pigs because of the risk of those strong bunny kicks and the bacteria that can damage the guinea pigs.

Letting cats and dogs live together really isn't a similar arguement. Your average cat is faster, more agile, and with a great ability to reach high places. They are great at finding hiding places that puts them out of dogs reach. This is its natural protection from dogs.

Guinea pigs are pretty screwed when it comes to a natural protection from other animals. they can't run fast or far, can't climb, tend not to bite - and aren't much threat when they do, don't dig, don't fight - its a very long list of things they can't do to protect themselves. I can't think of anything they do that is a good protection.

Now I adore my guinea pigs - i own all of the pets I've mentioned, and the piggies are my favourites. But they are so vulnerable!
 
ummm, without being rude; I'm not sure that copying her emails into an open forum word for word is necessary right. What if she were to be a forum member? Or were to become a forum member when searching for further information; it might put her off seeking advice at a later date. Would it not be better to simply summarise the contents of the emails that have been sent to and fro, rather than verbatim?

This lady obviously still belongs to the 'old school' thought of housing rabbits and guinea pigs together; I am sure many of us (me included) had the same set up when we were younger, and I am sure there are many people who still do so today. While I can understand that you will not be rehoming to her, at least her first thoughts were to home a rescued guinea pig rather than just popping into her local pet store and she should be applauded for that. I do not feel that publicly berating her on the internet in such an identifiable way is necessarily the most appropriate way of addressing the matter

Not meaning to offend you Claire, I just think sometimes we all forget that the internet isn't as private a space as we think, and I would hate for any of my emails or comments to be replicated on the internet without my permission.

Meanwhile ... keep up the good work! I wish I set up a rescue the way so many of you have, I just know I would struggle with the heartbreak that you see, but also struggle to let any of them go to new homes! LOLL
 
Your rules are your rules! They are what makes you feel that the piggies are going to a better home! Stick by your rules they ensure every home is 100% safe for the guinea pigs.
 
ps ... all my chooks (all 16 of them!), my rabbits and my piggies arfe kept seperately and safely :) xx

pps ... I wasn't saying that I thought you should rehouse to her

ppps ... i think my knickers are now untwisted LOL!
 
I think redfrock's made a good point about privacy of the email. I hadn't thought it through that far.

I still think the decision not to rehome is the correct one and that claire's response was fair. :) Must be hard to be told that what you've always done is wrong though. I hope the woman takes the opportunity to reconsider her housing arrangements.
 
what i did is poss wrong by pasting her emails onto here,i haven't mentioned any names or the area she comes from so she is anonymous..
the reason i did it is i wanted peoples views on this what they would have done,if this person contacts another rescue ,,maybe a rescue on here..
I feel i acted in the proper way and wasn't at all nasty in the way i handled her email,i do think she would look after the guineas but i also had issues with the safety of them..
This is a first for me on the re-homing front and i thought asking other peoples views on what they would have done would have been interesting to know..

if this person is a member on here i do deeply apologise if i have upset you,as it wasn't intended to hurt anyone..if anything to educate people on different animals been kept together..

could i add that when i was a child I kept a rabbit and guinea pig together and bedded them on saw dust,times change and new things are found out and this is the only way people learn things through educating..
 
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This has just made me think . . . my 2 1/2 week old rabbits are just leaving their nest now and hopping around. They're smaller than my 2 month old guinea pigs. If a rabbit can easily hurt a guinea pig they could easily hurt their own babies . . . Of course there's nothing I can do about that, but it's a bit worrying, if it's such a big risk to guinea pigs? Also because guinea pigs can run out of the way a lot easier than baby rabbits.
 
sorry Claire, I didn't mean to suggest you were being nasty to her in your emails. I hope I haven't offended or distracted from the well meaning of your thread x
 
CiaraPatricia said:
This has just made me think . . . my 2 1/2 week old rabbits are just leaving their nest now and hopping around. They're smaller than my 2 month old guinea pigs. If a rabbit can easily hurt a guinea pig they could easily hurt their own babies . . . Of course there's nothing I can do about that, but it's a bit worrying, if it's such a big risk to guinea pigs? Also because guinea pigs can run out of the way a lot easier than baby rabbits.
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I presume the instinct to protect her babies will help, although accidents still may happen. :( I have never a a rabbit whose had babies so can't speak from experience though.

When I worked with horses a mare who had twins accidently killed one of them by laying on it 8...
 
I feel like banging my head against a brick wall when things like this happen, you get so frustrated. Anyone else care to join me? mallethead

Sadly, it's those who have kept animals this way for years that are least open to new suggestions and ideas. And the ones that most frustrate you.

Best way to cut down the number of those sorts of stubborn people in the future is to get children involved and educated in proper care, then maybe it'll evolve into a better world for guinea pigs in the future.

(I suspect when the twins come across a schoolfriend who keeps guineas outside in a tiny hutch, the first thing they'll say is "They should be in a sheltered area, and that hutch is far too small for them!". And go on to lecture about proper diet, grooming piggies and also never, ever to go near them without a grown up.

See? Get them when they're young!)

Oh, and something else to add to the thread, if they do share one patch of grass there's some risk of coccidiosis to the guineas from the chickens.
 
i know what you mean laura we went to amerlton farm in staffordshires area and in the wild life rescue they also take in guinea pigs unwanted ,rabbits,foxes,birds,they had rabbits x2 in with a boar my 5yr old son went to the boss and said you shouldnt keep the guinea pig in with rabbits the man said why there his friends my son said because they could hurt him the man went on to say they wont the rabbits are females..
i found out they also sell the guineas so if anyone is passing it cost us 5 pounds for 4 of us to get in its worth checking out as the guineas in the back area which was closed to the public only had shreaded paper in with them and not one bit of hay none of the cages in the back looked that clean..
there was also a poor magpie that was in an aviry and it was trying so hard to get out but was used as a tourist attraction and a poor fox in a viewing cabin which was housed in a tiny 4ft by 4ft incloser it had just brick walls all around it about 10ft tall it was trying so hard to get out..i felt so sorry for it:(
 
clairelove said:
what i did is poss wrong by pasting her emails onto here,i haven't mentioned any names or the area she comes from so she is anonymous..
the reason i did it is i wanted peoples views on this what they would have done,if this person contacts another rescue ,,maybe a rescue on here..
I feel i acted in the proper way and wasn't at all nasty in the way i handled her email,i do think she would look after the guineas but i also had issues with the safety of them..
This is a first for me on the re-homing front and i thought asking other peoples views on what they would have done would have been interesting to know..

if this person is a member on here i do deeply apologise if i have upset you,as it wasn't intended to hurt anyone..if anything to educate people on different animals been kept together..

could i add that when i was a child I kept a rabbit and guinea pig together and bedded them on saw dust,times change and new things are found out and this is the only way people learn things through educating..
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For what its worth I don't agree that posting her email content is a breach of privacy at all. If you had posted her email address, name etc yes. But the email content simply outlines what is a tough situation. I think it was fine and correct to post it. Without it the thread and useful discussion it provoked is meaningless.

The only other option would to have summerised the emails in your own words. But that will inevitably lead to the writer putting their own slant on what was said. It can't be helped even if we try to be objective. When we feel strongly about something our own opinions are bound to show through. Wheras posting the word for word text gives us the clear unedited facts. Which is much fairer and does the lady in question far more justice than a summary ever would.

Personally if this issue is going to be posted on a forum, then it should be posted with the unedited emails. No names, no addresses. Just the simple facts. Which is exactly what you have done. In my opinion you have done the correct thing :)
 
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Ange17 said:
I presume the instinct to protect her babies will help, although accidents still may happen. :( I have never a a rabbit whose had babies so can't speak from experience though.

When I worked with horses a mare who had twins accidently killed one of them by laying on it 8...
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I was thinking it must be about as common as a rabbit hurting a guinea pig (or more common since guinea pigs are bigger and run faster) if it was an accident. Because most rabbits wouldn't hurt a guinea pig on purpose either, if they knew it, and were a friendly rabbit.

I'm not too worried about it really, but if it was really common with guinea pigs being hurt by rabbits, then I would get worried.

I guess there's always a chance it could happen like with any animal
 
I suspect that probably the majority of injuries done by rabbits to guinea pigs are likely to be when they are kept shut in a hutch together. It's probably much less likely to happen when they are in a large outdoor area together with separate nighttime accomodation. It's not something I would advise and you're absolutely right to stick to your rehoming rules but I'm not sure this lady deserves to have her emails splashed online and such strong critisism.

To be honest the worst damage I've ever had one of my animals do to each other was two adolescent boars who fell out despite always living together. We were quite lucky that they didn't kill each other. It's really common to hear about this but no-one refuses to rehome baby boars together or babies to live with older boars despite this risk.
 
Group hug

Come on everyone we just love our Guinea pigs so much we ALL get passionate at times !
Lets all have big group hug xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>
Thats what makes this froum work so well we all accept each others opinions even if they differ and learn from one another.x>>
Helen xx
Say thanks if your in the group hug x
 
Maybe a Netherland Dwarf bunny and a giant guinea pig would be good together! I'd be a bit worried about the guinea pig bullying the bunny though :P
 
To be honest, I think you're being pretty harsh.... :( This person must be very caring. Especially if they have taken on ex battery hens and rescue rabbits. All they want to do is rescue a couple of guinea pigs also. :) They contacted a rescue for guinea pigs, didn't just buy them from anywhere! They are obviously experienced in keeping animals and just want to help them. ;) Personally, I wouldn't rehome guinea pigs to live with rabbits or hens but I really don't think you should have posted about that person on here. :( You made them sound like a total fool who doesn't care about the welfare of animals. Obviously they do becuase they rescue and don't buy! It seemed like you were slagging them, off in a way. mallethead I feel sorry for the person. :( This is something I personally would have kept to myself instead of sharing with the world. Someone who wanted to help sent a friendly email and was made sound irresponsible.
 
i was happy to rehome to this person IF this person was happy to give the guinea pigs there own space away from the other animals,BUT this person was unwilling to change anything in there set up and insisted they NEW MORE about the welfare of the guinea pigs, i asked the forum because i have never been faced with this situation before and wanted to check i had done the right thing as my gut tells me i did this person then through in the email that they also had a pond in the enclosure too...

that means there was chickens,rabbits,would be guineas and fish all in one enclosure and the rabbits and chickens and the guineas pigs this person had before all slept in the coup with the chickens..

I have said i was sorry for putting this email up but all of it wasn't word for word i removed this persons name and area they came from so they are anonimus,i think and maybe others have learnt from this email i do think she cares about animal ive never said she doesnt but they are unwilling to change i also felt it was a accident waiting to happen..
also when taking in a guinea pig from a uncertain back ground i do not want them going into a new home where i feel that there health or life maybe in danger..theres also the fact that this person MAY contact/ed another rescue who is a member on here..
 
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i also do in a way think this person was irresponsible as chickens can pass disease on to guinea pigs but like they said its a risk THEY were willing to take but NOT me..so in my eyes what this person was saying is they know that the guinea pigs could be at risk but THEY were willing to take that risk i know if it was me i wouldn't want to take a risk with my animals or any animal and if i wanted to rescue from a rescue i would change what ever was necessary so i could adopt...
 
I have friends who often kept rabbits with piggies. (This is before I got piggies). My friend asked me to watch her rabbit when she was on holiday. I had no idea how strong rabbits are. I was holding the rabbit on my lap when she suddenly leapt off dealing me a swift kick in the stomach. I was winded. I know this is just the nature of rabbits and that they probably would not deliberatley harm a piggie, but one kick from a rabbit could kill or break a piggies back..Also, a rabbit in season could inflict injuries whilst trying to mate with a piggie. In my humble opinion, animals of different species should not be kept together. Dietary needs for one thing and also diseases that might not harm the carrying species but that could harm the other. Thats just what I think based on stories I have heard since joining the forums. I'm sure there are many who have house different animals together with no problems at all. This is just my humble opinion (not right or wrong), just my personal throughts..
 
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