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Travelling Rabbits

JacknJess

Young Bun
Hello again :wave:

I am going to be moving house in a 2/3 months time. I'm moving from Aberdeen to the Midlands. How do I get 3 rabbits that distance without stressing them out?

Thanks
 
oh lol sorry i have no idea i thought u were gonna say 2 hours or sommat lol hmmm what about one of those dog traveller things in the boot then the buns can still move around oooo and (dont shout at me people and tell me i'd be an irresponsible rabbit owner as this is ridiculous but..) i'd once thought about this and thought hmmmm if i put them in a harness we could go for walkies at the service station on the grassy bits lol

Sorry i'm no help am i lol
 
Make sure they have decent sized carriers and put in something like vet bed which is comfortable but won't be all horrible and wet when they pee as it's absorbed in the lower layers and the top stays dry.
Have plenty of stops to let the rabbits have a hop about in the car and some food and water.
Keep hay in the carriers so they can have a nibble whenever they like and attach a small waterbottle to the carriers if you can but check up on them as they can leak when you go over uneven road surfaces.
Also makes sure the carriers are safe, either strapped in or wedged so if you have to break the carrier won't go flying. Don't keep food bowls inside the carriers whilst travelling as you don't want it to fly at your rabbit if you need to break.

If you can stop off over night to break up the journey that would help.
Generally I've found rabbits tollerate long journeys fairly well they just tend to dose off.


Also keep your windows shut as you don't want nasty fumes from the road in the car. If you've got it use air conditioning if you need to cool down or warm up the car or just keep the air moving.
 
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Eight hours is a bit of a way. Do you know how well they travel (or not) already?

Muppet regularly goes on journeys that last anywhere between 3.5 to 5 hours, and he's not a happy traveller. He settles down but looks a bit sick. On the plus side he does recover quickly. If I had to take him that far, I'd have to break the journey into two I think, have a break of one or two hours and let him stretch his legs/eat/drink/poo in the boot or something.
 
I did wonder about putting them in the boot, but wasn't sure if that would be cruel for them.

I had my partner going a few weeks ago about putting them in a harness. I told him I was expecting him to take the rabbits out and do their business at the service stations. I had him going for ages about it, he really wasn't relishing the thought of people pressing their noses against glass to believe they are watching a 6ft man take a bunny out for walk! :lol:
 
I did wonder about putting them in the boot, but wasn't sure if that would be cruel for them.

It's probably better to put them in them footwell or strapped in on the back seats, boots can get stuffy and sometimes a bit fumey. Depends what type of car you have I guess. They might be alright in a big hatchback or estate, but not a saloon.
 
Eight hours is a bit of a way. Do you know how well they travel (or not) already?

Muppet regularly goes on journeys that last anywhere between 3.5 to 5 hours, and he's not a happy traveller. He settles down but looks a bit sick. On the plus side he does recover quickly. If I had to take him that far, I'd have to break the journey into two I think, have a break of one or two hours and let him stretch his legs/eat/drink/poo in the boot or something.

Hello Muppet :)

Jack doesn't travel well at all and he's only been to the vet and back (15 minutes TOPS drive!), mind you, he may not like it because he associates it with the vet. I don't know about Jessica, I've not needed to take her out travelling so far. The third is only 3 weeks old so he/she hasn't discovered the joys of travelling yet LOL.

Breaking the journey up is a good idea, I could try and re-route myself to find a nice park half way and do actually put them on a harness for a while.

I've thought about flying them down, but I fear the noise, pressure etc. may be more stressful than driving.
 
Wispa is great on long journeys, we took her to and from reading to barrow with a space of 3 weeks inbetween, a 6 and 5 hour car journey. She just settled down and hardly moved the whole journey.

Im not sure id recommend giving them lots of space because Wispa doesnt move around and if you go around a corner they might feel unsafe if theres a long way to lean or if they slide. Wispa had hay and water for the whole journey in those secured bowls that come with carriers and she helped herself, we also stopped and gave her a carrot but she wasnt interested.

we have found that getting her in and out of the carrier really really stresses her out, but shes fine if shes not let out. call me mean or whatever but its what i thought was best for the bun
 
It's probably better to put them in them footwell or strapped in on the back seats, boots can get stuffy and sometimes a bit fumey. Depends what type of car you have I guess. They might be alright in a big hatchback or estate, but not a saloon.

Aww, I have visions of 3 rabbits sitting on the back seat with their seatbelts on shouting "are we there yet?" :lol:

I have a hatchback, so when the parcel shelf comes off, they'll be able to hear me at least.
 
It's probably better to put them in them footwell or strapped in on the back seats, boots can get stuffy and sometimes a bit fumey. Depends what type of car you have I guess. They might be alright in a big hatchback or estate, but not a saloon.

in a saloon id be worried that they didnt have enough air and that it was getting too hot in there for them, i certainly wouldnt want to travel in a boot!!!!!

with a hatchback or estate i'd say take off the parcel shelf so they arent actually shut in a boot
 
Wispa is great on long journeys, we took her to and from reading to barrow with a space of 3 weeks inbetween, a 6 and 5 hour car journey. She just settled down and hardly moved the whole journey.

Im not sure id recommend giving them lots of space because Wispa doesnt move around and if you go around a corner they might feel unsafe if theres a long way to lean or if they slide. Wispa had hay and water for the whole journey in those secured bowls that come with carriers and she helped herself, we also stopped and gave her a carrot but she wasnt interested.

we have found that getting her in and out of the carrier really really stresses her out, but shes fine if shes not let out. call me mean or whatever but its what i thought was best for the bun

If I go with putting them in carriers, whee can I get good sized carriers for them that have the bowl and water bottle attached? I only have 1 carrier (I only had one bun until a couple of months ago), and it doesn't have that mod cons as I only used it for taking him to the vet and back.
 
If I go with putting them in carriers, whee can I get good sized carriers for them that have the bowl and water bottle attached? I only have 1 carrier (I only had one bun until a couple of months ago), and it doesn't have that mod cons as I only used it for taking him to the vet and back.

not a water bottle because that will drip the whole way and everything gets very wet!

i have two atlas 30's from pets at home which are fine at the moment but if Zola keeps growing he's going to need a bigger carrier! they came with clip on bowls and we had two carriers before we had two bunnies so both bowls went on Wispas door, however if you only have one bowl per carrier you could do what i did on the way down there and have a tray in the bottom of the carrier fillled with litter and topped with hay, this stopped any discomfort if she weed, we were lucky that our litter tray was the same size as the carrier base
 
Aww, I have visions of 3 rabbits sitting on the back seat with their seatbelts on shouting "are we there yet?"

Actually Muppet is strapped in in his carrier in the passenger seat... and it's more of a moan than a shout. But otherwise, spot on ;)

Im not sure id recommend giving them lots of space because Wispa doesnt move around and if you go around a corner they might feel unsafe if theres a long way to lean or if they slide.

I agree. I think it's safer for them to be in a proper pet carrier during the actual driving bits. I would just turn the boot into a temporary pen/run during a break with food, water, litter tray.

I wouldnt bother about water in the carrier if you're stopping regularly - bowls are obviously rubbish, bottles always drip - just put water in when you stop. Foodwise, I leave Muppet a small pile of hay in the corner (it's unlikely that he'll touch it but it's there if he wants) and if you want to give yours food, just put it in without a bowl and let them forage for it.

he really wasn't relishing the thought of people pressing their noses against glass to believe they are watching a 6ft man take a bunny out for walk!
As opposed to being the mad woman who parks next to a random couple at the services and asks them to keep an eye on her car whilst she pops to the loo, cos she wants to leave the windows open so her rabbit wont cook in the summer heat... :oops: :lol:
 
not a water bottle because that will drip the whole way and everything gets very wet!

i have two atlas 30's from pets at home which are fine at the moment but if Zola keeps growing he's going to need a bigger carrier! they came with clip on bowls and we had two carriers before we had two bunnies so both bowls went on Wispas door, however if you only have one bowl per carrier you could do what i did on the way down there and have a tray in the bottom of the carrier fillled with litter and topped with hay, this stopped any discomfort if she weed, we were lucky that our litter tray was the same size as the carrier base

Thank you, Wispa, will the atlas 30 be big enough for a French Lop weighing in at around 13 lbs (though I'm sure the youngest won't be that big by that time)? I'll spend the extra few pounds to get a bowl for each carrier.
 
Actually Muppet is strapped in in his carrier in the passenger seat... and it's more of a moan than a shout. But otherwise, spot on ;)



I agree. I think it's safer for them to be in a proper pet carrier during the actual driving bits. I would just turn the boot into a temporary pen/run during a break with food, water, litter tray.

I wouldnt bother about water in the carrier if you're stopping regularly - bowls are obviously rubbish, bottles always drip - just put water in when you stop. Foodwise, I leave Muppet a small pile of hay in the corner (it's unlikely that he'll touch it but it's there if he wants) and if you want to give yours food, just put it in without a bowl and let them forage for it.


As opposed to being the mad woman who parks next to a random couple at the services and asks them to keep an eye on her car whilst she pops to the loo, cos she wants to leave the windows open so her rabbit wont cook in the summer heat... :oops: :lol:

There definately isn't enough room on the back seat for the carriers. I have a Hyundai Coupe, very small back seat but does have a large boot.

LOL @ asking the couple to look after the car! Well you gotta pee! :lol:
 
i only half filled the bowl with water and not one spillage as long as the carrier is secure. Wispa was wedged in!!! im not sure how heavy 13lbs is, mine are both french lops Wispa weighs 2.4kg and the carrier is perfect for her with lots of space whereas Zola weighs 4.9kg and although has a fair bit of space (he can stretch out) there isnt really any more room to grow.
 
i only half filled the bowl with water and not one spillage as long as the carrier is secure. Wispa was wedged in!!! im not sure how heavy 13lbs is, mine are both french lops Wispa weighs 2.4kg and the carrier is perfect for her with lots of space whereas Zola weighs 4.9kg and although has a fair bit of space (he can stretch out) there isnt really any more room to grow.


I just did an online conversion, Jack is about the same weight as Zola. Jack is the biggest of the adults. Thank you so much, I'll go to my local Pets at Home and get those carriers since they've been tried and tested by your buns already! Thank you so much :D
 
Aww i missed all the fun lol and i didnt mean lock them in the boot i meant like when u see dogs in service stations and they pop their heads up over the boot

Good luck with the journey xx
 
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