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Bunny boarding - tiny hutch size

MichG

MichG

Mama Doe
So I emailed a rabbit boarding place just to work out some prices incase we wanted to go away anywhere... I emailed them asking if they had accomodation suitable for a group of 9/10 rabbits and this is the reply I got:

We are presuming that you would like all 9/10 rabbits living together in the same hutch. If this is the case, the largest hutch we have is our Family Hutch which is 6 feey by 4 feet. As we dont know the size of your rabbits we are unsure if this would be big enough. If you felt it was, the cost would be £4 for the first rabbit and £2 for each additional rabbit sharing the same hutch per night (so £20 per night for 9 rabbits or £22 per night for 10 rabbits.

It might be an idea to come and view our facilities and then you would be able to judge the size in relation to your rabbits. The family hutch is booked up to 12 th September but is currently free after that date.

We also have standard hutches which are 4 feet by 2 feet available, but again we dont know the size of your rabbits so not sire how many you would fit into one of those.

:shock:

I haven't emailed them back yet... I feel I should politely point out that 6ft by 4ft wouldn't be big enough for 10 tiny dwarf rabbits, let alone normal medium sized bunnies... and that the standard hutches aren't big enough for half a bun.... The only time I would let them be in a 4ft hutch is if it is attached to massive run, there are no more than 2 buns in there and they have 24 hrs access to the run!

I don't think i will be viewing but I will be writing an email to them once I have got over the initial shock of how small everything is...

Is this normal for a boarding place? Shall I complain to someone???
 
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Small animal boarding facilities don't need a council licence, unfortunately.

You could politely suggest that they visit the RWAF website for information on housing rabbits, and say that you won't be able to board with them as you would consider it cruel to house rabbits in the size of accommodation that they are offering.:)

(You might also get more response on here if you put more info on teh thread subject in the title :wave:)
 
A very large boarding facility near us also has 4 foot hutches for their indoor boarders, and even uses 2x2 foot hutches when they are busy! unfortunately I suspect many people will think that's fine for their buns, as they will keep them in similar conditions at home?
 
Blackberry & Co said:
Small animal boarding facilities don't need a council licence, unfortunately.

You could politely suggest that they visit the RWAF website for information on housing rabbits, and say that you won't be able to board with them as you would consider it cruel to house rabbits in the size of accommodation that they are offering.:)

(You might also get more response on here if you put more info on teh thread subject in the title :wave:)
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Good point :thumb:

I am going to point out the hutch is not enough stuff. They also use sawdust :evil: hate the stuff since it made my Charlie so poorly :cry:
 
Hold on, we're knocking a boarding facility that has 6'x4' hutches available??? That sounds pretty impressive to me. They didn't say that you should put 9 rabbits in, they said that's the biggest size they had and you should decide for yourself if that's okay. To me that sounds like they were being polite to a customer. For all they know you might keep your nine rabbits in that and didn't want to offend by saying it was too small. I doubt they come across too many people with nine rabbits, it might be they assumed it was a mum and babies or something.
 
Tamsin said:
Hold on, we're knocking a boarding facility that has 6'x4' hutches available??? That sounds pretty impressive to me. They didn't say that you should put 9 rabbits in, they said that's the biggest size they had and you should decide for yourself if that's okay. To me that sounds like they were being polite to a customer. For all they know you might keep your nine rabbits in that and didn't want to offend by saying it was too small. I doubt they come across too many people with nine rabbits, it might be they assumed it was a mum and babies or something.
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I agree with Tamsin. Not many boarding places will have accommodation for such a big group. They tried warning you politely that they didn't think what they had was big enough for your needs.
 
MichG said:
Is this normal for a boarding place?
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The sheds are of decent size for holiday accomodation in many places, the 4 footers are foudn in many places.

From my own observations on the internet there are many places which have a standard 4 foot hutch which by the look of them are not 2 foot wide which are not attatched to a run.

However I have also seen many far superior places which offer 7 x 3 foot or larger hutches with some access to a run on paving slabs, wendy houses and also 6 x 5 foot dog kennels with a day time 6 x 5 foot run. My own holiday boarding units are in excess of 36 square feet.

My suggestion would be to continue your search and I am sure that you will find something bigger than what they are able to offer. You could ask on here to see if anyone knows any where within reasonable travelling distance who may be able to assist you
 
Tamsin said:
Hold on, we're knocking a boarding facility that has 6'x4' hutches available??? That sounds pretty impressive to me. They didn't say that you should put 9 rabbits in, they said that's the biggest size they had and you should decide for yourself if that's okay. To me that sounds like they were being polite to a customer. For all they know you might keep your nine rabbits in that and didn't want to offend by saying it was too small. I doubt they come across too many people with nine rabbits, it might be they assumed it was a mum and babies or something.
Click to expand...

Totally didn't think about it like that and you are right, I just pictured my buns in something that small and had a heart attack.

It would be great to find somewhere that can cater for them all but am starting realise that is easier said than done, I think my standards are too high and even a place with a large shed and massive run setup wouldn't be good enough :roll:
 
I think the trouble is it's not good business to have a pen for 9 bunnies when you could have three pens in the same space for 2/3 bunnies and you'd get more takers so make more money.

Have you thought about having someone come in so they could stay in their current accommodation?
 
In my opinion it is fab having a 6 x 4ft hutch at a boarding place! :) I can't find anywhere with at least a 6 x 2ft! :shock:

To be honest, not many places will have appropriet housing for 9-10 buns as it's more common to have a pair or trio. ;) Out of curiosity, what size housing does your group live in? :)
 
Currently they are only in a 7x5 shed as they only started bonding yesterday but I have a 12 ft x 10 ft (approx) run attached for them for night/when I am working which will be extended in about a months time when they are settled in and OH has a few days off to build! When I am home mornings, evenings and days off then they will have the whole garden to free range.
That is for a group of 8. Not ideal at the moment but in a months time it will be bigger and better :D

They will have access to the run 24/7 as soon as I allow them into it after bonding... No idea how long to leave it until I increase their space significantly but will see how they are next weekend I guess...
 
The place I board my rabbits (Bunny Hop Inn) has 4ft x 3ft as standard and then 5ft x 3ft for larger rabbits. I always request the largest hutch for my two girls, but wouldn't have much trouble putting them in a 4x3 hutch for a week either (its the same sqft as their normal hutch).
 
I have now replied and thanked them for getting back to me but that my group are all medium/large buns and would not fit in to their hutches as I would need them to stay together.

I have found somewhere which will keep them in a large summer house with free range of the garden in the evening. So I am going to go and visit them:)
 
MichG said:
I have now replied and thanked them for getting back to me but that my group are all medium/large buns and would not fit in to their hutches as I would need them to stay together.

I have found somewhere which will keep them in a large summer house with free range of the garden in the evening. So I am going to go and visit them:)
Click to expand...

That's fab! :)
 
Our boarding hutches are 5ft wide, 2ft high and 2ft deep but we can take the partitions out to make them larger or smaller and the biggest is 20ft.
 
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