-
Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
seeing bunny boarding place later...what to ask/look for?
- Thread starter LainiT
- Start date
catherine09
Mama Doe
I would make sure the accommodation is large and very secure, ask whether they fully disinfect between occupants, ask to see the hay if provided, check their general knowledge of rabbits just by talking to them etc.
As a general rule I will discount boarding places if:
They use woodshavings
Put bunnies out on grass (risk of cross-infection as you can't fully disinfect grass)
Have tiny hutches
Don't have bolts on hutches
Don't/have never owned their own bunnies
Don't fully understand how bunny digestion works, and how serious not eating is
Don't get the importance of hay!!!
I am very fussy with boarding, and currently only really have 2/3 places in the local area (40 mile radius) where I would feel happy leaving my lot.
I think you can tell a lot about a boarding site from their website tbh!
As a general rule I will discount boarding places if:
They use woodshavings
Put bunnies out on grass (risk of cross-infection as you can't fully disinfect grass)
Have tiny hutches
Don't have bolts on hutches
Don't/have never owned their own bunnies
Don't fully understand how bunny digestion works, and how serious not eating is
Don't get the importance of hay!!!
I am very fussy with boarding, and currently only really have 2/3 places in the local area (40 mile radius) where I would feel happy leaving my lot.
I think you can tell a lot about a boarding site from their website tbh!
Santa
Wise Old Thumper
Is the accommodation a size you are comfortable leaving your bunnies in?
Is it secure against predators and unauthorised entry? Are you happy with where the pens are located - safety, infection control, security, temperature etc.
Do they use separate exercise pens and if so what surface are they on (many good boarders either have hutches big enough for the whole stay without moving them, or use pens on concrete. Pens on grass aren't recommended as you can't disinfect grass between guests and there are a couple of nasty bugs which can pass between rabbits from grass, and rabbits can carry these without symptoms sometimes)
Can your rabbits see/get too near other rabbits (spread of infection and referred aggression risks)
Do they have other animals (e.g. Dogs) or board other species (e.g. Ferrets)
Do they require evidence of vaccination prior to boarding.
What are the arrangements if your bun needs to see a vet while you are away (e.g. Do they have access to a vehicle to go there anytime it is needed, what vet is it, are they any good)
What do they feed? What is the normal daily routine? Do they understand the importance of hay?
How do they disinfect pens between use and with what(I went to one place which had great accommodation but the lady could only tell me that the disinfectant was blue and definitely killed everything)
Chat about how much they know about bunnies, do you feel confident that they would pick up a problem early.
Is it secure against predators and unauthorised entry? Are you happy with where the pens are located - safety, infection control, security, temperature etc.
Do they use separate exercise pens and if so what surface are they on (many good boarders either have hutches big enough for the whole stay without moving them, or use pens on concrete. Pens on grass aren't recommended as you can't disinfect grass between guests and there are a couple of nasty bugs which can pass between rabbits from grass, and rabbits can carry these without symptoms sometimes)
Can your rabbits see/get too near other rabbits (spread of infection and referred aggression risks)
Do they have other animals (e.g. Dogs) or board other species (e.g. Ferrets)
Do they require evidence of vaccination prior to boarding.
What are the arrangements if your bun needs to see a vet while you are away (e.g. Do they have access to a vehicle to go there anytime it is needed, what vet is it, are they any good)
What do they feed? What is the normal daily routine? Do they understand the importance of hay?
How do they disinfect pens between use and with what(I went to one place which had great accommodation but the lady could only tell me that the disinfectant was blue and definitely killed everything)
Chat about how much they know about bunnies, do you feel confident that they would pick up a problem early.
Mrs. Bunnykins
Wise Old Thumper
Brilliant advice has already been given.:thumb:
Ask loads of questions and ideally the boarding establishment should be more than happy for you to go and visit them beforehand.
Do they take unvaccinated bunnies? If they do where would they be boarded?
Ideally all bunnies should be fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to their stay.
Can they accommodate special needs bunnies if need be?
What experience do they already have about bunny boarding?
How often do they check bunnies' bottoms? Nobody wants flystrike!!
If required any medication needs to be administered, are they happy to do so?
If a bunny/bunnies need to be separate from others for any reason, are they able to accommodate them elsewhere?
Do they provide toys etc for their mental stimulation?
Are bottles and bowls offered for water?
I hope this is of use.
My motto is...........................if in any doubt , check it out!!!!
Best of luck.
I know how important bunny boarding is as this is me.....................www.hoppy-holidays.co.uk.
Ask loads of questions and ideally the boarding establishment should be more than happy for you to go and visit them beforehand.
Do they take unvaccinated bunnies? If they do where would they be boarded?
Ideally all bunnies should be fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to their stay.
Can they accommodate special needs bunnies if need be?
What experience do they already have about bunny boarding?
How often do they check bunnies' bottoms? Nobody wants flystrike!!
If required any medication needs to be administered, are they happy to do so?
If a bunny/bunnies need to be separate from others for any reason, are they able to accommodate them elsewhere?
Do they provide toys etc for their mental stimulation?
Are bottles and bowls offered for water?
I hope this is of use.
My motto is...........................if in any doubt , check it out!!!!
Best of luck.
I know how important bunny boarding is as this is me.....................www.hoppy-holidays.co.uk.
I'm going this afternoon. No accommodation is gonna be big enough in my eyes, they are free ranging in my kitchen atm til I can get the runaround tunnel fitted to join the hutch to the run permanently. Hopefully this aft too then they're outside full time woo hoo!!
according to owner they have a double hutch. My 2 have never done ramps before so might have to see if she'll let them visit make sure they know what ramps are for...other than that I'll be hitching up my dads trailer and taking my set up over there!!
according to owner they have a double hutch. My 2 have never done ramps before so might have to see if she'll let them visit make sure they know what ramps are for...other than that I'll be hitching up my dads trailer and taking my set up over there!!
Mrs. Bunnykins
Wise Old Thumper
In my experience of doing boarding for 10 years, even the most pampered bunnies quickly adjust to having less space than they normally would have.
They seem to thrive on seeing and playing with new things. An adventure for them.
I can honestly say that I have never had a bunny go home depressed due to accommodation being not as big as their usual set ups.
As I only do boarding on a very small scale, the bunnies get much more attention from me. Always plenty of cuddles if required.
The photo on my website is of a hutch that was made for a client. My hutches are bigger than that. The biggest ones are 8' x 2' x 2' and can be converted into a double hutch with ramp or two single hutches.
I'm very fortunate that my OH makes my hutches all from scratch.
They seem to thrive on seeing and playing with new things. An adventure for them.
I can honestly say that I have never had a bunny go home depressed due to accommodation being not as big as their usual set ups.
As I only do boarding on a very small scale, the bunnies get much more attention from me. Always plenty of cuddles if required.
The photo on my website is of a hutch that was made for a client. My hutches are bigger than that. The biggest ones are 8' x 2' x 2' and can be converted into a double hutch with ramp or two single hutches.
I'm very fortunate that my OH makes my hutches all from scratch.
Mrs. Bunnykins
Wise Old Thumper
Aaaw thanks Mrs Bunnykins, that's made me feel a bit better...be feeling LOTS better if you lived a bit closer to me!!
Thank you.
To a certain degree follow your gut instinct.
Just a thought, there may be somewhere else doing bunny boarding actually on your holiday route. You could drop them off en route and collect on your return. This may give you more choice.
Just thought of another thing!!!
Will they be happy to send you 1 or 2 texts messages to let you know how bunnies are getting on?
And another.................will there be any inexperienced people including children handling your bunnies? Could be rather an un-nerving experience for them......and you. Best to check! :thumb:
And yet another thought. What measures can they or do they take to keep the bunnies cool or warm? Obvioulsy this depends on what time of year they go to stay.
Last edited:
Mrs. Bunnykins
Wise Old Thumper
Oooh now then...never thought of that! We're going from notts to Dover so we definately have a long route there. Er...where are you again, and what you doing next Saturday!!
Haha.........I'm on Worcestershire. I'm fully booked!!!!! Sorry.
Best of luck in finding somewhere suitable.:thumb:
Santa
Wise Old Thumper
To be honest, if they are a general pet hotel, I would have serious doubts about their ability with bunnies. They are quite specialist creatures really and I have often seen people start off with various animals and then start taking bunnies as well without really knowing what they are doing...the sorts of questions we have given you here are a good start and I may be proved wrong! I would definitely check if they board ferrets though, I would not leave mine at any premises which had any ferrets boarding at the same time as my bunnies, especially not if the bunny accommodation is also used for ferrets at different times!
I would also check with them that they have the right licence from the council, if they board cats/dogs then they should have an animal boarding establishments licence (places just for bunnies do not need this).
Your sticky bum issue is probably a good place to start to test their knowledge. Ask them for advice on it and see what they say. What is your bunny currently fed? Some foods seem to cause sticky bums, so small dietary adjustments can resolve it in many cases. It can also be caused by things like dental issues, obesity or arthritis. Has your vet had a look and checked bunny over? Obviously at this time of year in particular it is extra important to resolve these issues because of the increased risk of fly strike, but sticky bums should be resolveable anyway with a little tweaking so I would get onto that anyway regardless of what they say..but it will be interesting to hear their advice. Good luck x
I would also check with them that they have the right licence from the council, if they board cats/dogs then they should have an animal boarding establishments licence (places just for bunnies do not need this).
Your sticky bum issue is probably a good place to start to test their knowledge. Ask them for advice on it and see what they say. What is your bunny currently fed? Some foods seem to cause sticky bums, so small dietary adjustments can resolve it in many cases. It can also be caused by things like dental issues, obesity or arthritis. Has your vet had a look and checked bunny over? Obviously at this time of year in particular it is extra important to resolve these issues because of the increased risk of fly strike, but sticky bums should be resolveable anyway with a little tweaking so I would get onto that anyway regardless of what they say..but it will be interesting to hear their advice. Good luck x
I look for big accommodation and lots of experience.
With hutches, look for ones that give at least 12sft (the equivalent of a 6x2 hutch), as anything smaller says to me that they are either not aware or do not care about the RWAF guidlines. Even if they have one decent hutch, if they have many other small ones that they suggest your rabbit would be fine in, that indicates a lack of knowledge/research which may extend to other things like diet and health too. I'm quite fussy with boarding, but its because I want to be able to trust that the person they are with will a) notice an emergency quickly and b) know the right course of action and c) ensure my rabbits' time there is stress free with as much space as possible.
Also have a look at the runs available, not just size but as others have said what they are on due to cross contamination. Ask whether your rabbit gets its own run for only its use whilst it stays, or has to share with other rabbits. If sharing, is it disinfected between occupants? How long will your rabbit get in the run each day? 'It depends on how many other rabbits are staying' is not really an acceptable answer, what if there are loads of other rabbits there and yours only gets a couple of hours in the run? You want a guarenteed 'at least' time they will be in it.
I prefer aviary-type setups, as the rabbit will have sole use of its run all day, whilst being able to get back to its house area when it wants, and the size of these setups is usually very good, especially as the rabbit has permenant access to all of it. The same goes for hutches with attached runs.
And test them, ask them what will happen if your rabbit has such and such happen (isnt interested in dinner for instance). Ask lots of questions, and you will be able to guage how experienced they are and how up to date their knowledge is.
Ask about every detail - for instance, a place seemed fairly good to me until I picked up on the fact that if it was raining, the rabbits stayed in their hutches, alright that's not disastrous, although sheltered runs would be much better. Then the lady said they could run about indoors - great! When I enquired further I found that what she meant is that they could run about in the rabbit outhouse/room, where all the hutches were. They would take turns have free-run of the floor (not great as she had many at a time and so they wouldnt get long out) and from the pics of this place I could tell she meant they would be able to go right up to the other hutches. From the point of view of safety from injury, disease cross-contamination, and stress of interacting with rabbits unbonded to them, this was unacceptable and what seemed a very knowledgable place suddenly was revealed to be somewhere that did not know its stuff at all.
With hutches, look for ones that give at least 12sft (the equivalent of a 6x2 hutch), as anything smaller says to me that they are either not aware or do not care about the RWAF guidlines. Even if they have one decent hutch, if they have many other small ones that they suggest your rabbit would be fine in, that indicates a lack of knowledge/research which may extend to other things like diet and health too. I'm quite fussy with boarding, but its because I want to be able to trust that the person they are with will a) notice an emergency quickly and b) know the right course of action and c) ensure my rabbits' time there is stress free with as much space as possible.
Also have a look at the runs available, not just size but as others have said what they are on due to cross contamination. Ask whether your rabbit gets its own run for only its use whilst it stays, or has to share with other rabbits. If sharing, is it disinfected between occupants? How long will your rabbit get in the run each day? 'It depends on how many other rabbits are staying' is not really an acceptable answer, what if there are loads of other rabbits there and yours only gets a couple of hours in the run? You want a guarenteed 'at least' time they will be in it.
I prefer aviary-type setups, as the rabbit will have sole use of its run all day, whilst being able to get back to its house area when it wants, and the size of these setups is usually very good, especially as the rabbit has permenant access to all of it. The same goes for hutches with attached runs.
And test them, ask them what will happen if your rabbit has such and such happen (isnt interested in dinner for instance). Ask lots of questions, and you will be able to guage how experienced they are and how up to date their knowledge is.
Ask about every detail - for instance, a place seemed fairly good to me until I picked up on the fact that if it was raining, the rabbits stayed in their hutches, alright that's not disastrous, although sheltered runs would be much better. Then the lady said they could run about indoors - great! When I enquired further I found that what she meant is that they could run about in the rabbit outhouse/room, where all the hutches were. They would take turns have free-run of the floor (not great as she had many at a time and so they wouldnt get long out) and from the pics of this place I could tell she meant they would be able to go right up to the other hutches. From the point of view of safety from injury, disease cross-contamination, and stress of interacting with rabbits unbonded to them, this was unacceptable and what seemed a very knowledgable place suddenly was revealed to be somewhere that did not know its stuff at all.
Tuckerbunnies
Wise Old Thumper
We just board bunnies now as we know more about bunnies than guinea pigs and the boarding shed was built with rabbits in mind. Make sure if it's a boarding shed that they have good air conditioning in the Summer so that the shed is kept cool, we have just had to buy another air conditioning unit as the other was not working as it should. They are not cheap but a must.
Make sure there are fly mesh on open windows and security grids so that nothing can get in.
We have an alarm during the day that goes off in the house and let's us know if anyone comes down our driveway or gets over the fence at the back, at night when it's dark we have security lighting which comes on with the alarm.
We have bunny suites for indoor buns and again we have a fly screen on the window, we can open the window wide and pull down the fly screen.
Make sure there are fly mesh on open windows and security grids so that nothing can get in.
We have an alarm during the day that goes off in the house and let's us know if anyone comes down our driveway or gets over the fence at the back, at night when it's dark we have security lighting which comes on with the alarm.
We have bunny suites for indoor buns and again we have a fly screen on the window, we can open the window wide and pull down the fly screen.
Thanks everyone, you're being v helpful, she's gonna think I have some kind of rabbit degree the amount of questions I'll be asking this aft! :lol:
Little Tufty's bum I'm presuming is because I've been putting them out on the grass, in their run to prepare them for life outside after 6 months in the kitchen, I'm going to move the run onto concrete to see if that sorts him out, they're not gonna be happy though cos they love having a graze.
Getting scared now! I'm sure they won't have any other rabbits judging by what she's saying, suppose this could be a good thing as they'll get loads of attention but could be a bad thing if they don't know what they're dealing with when 2 bunnies come to stay.
I have a plan b which is why I've left it so late, my friend will have them at her house in my run and hutch, but with Tufty's bum as it is I need someone with bunny knowledge now really.
Little Tufty's bum I'm presuming is because I've been putting them out on the grass, in their run to prepare them for life outside after 6 months in the kitchen, I'm going to move the run onto concrete to see if that sorts him out, they're not gonna be happy though cos they love having a graze.
Getting scared now! I'm sure they won't have any other rabbits judging by what she's saying, suppose this could be a good thing as they'll get loads of attention but could be a bad thing if they don't know what they're dealing with when 2 bunnies come to stay.
I have a plan b which is why I've left it so late, my friend will have them at her house in my run and hutch, but with Tufty's bum as it is I need someone with bunny knowledge now really.
My smallest accommodation is 8x4 but with extra outside space so around 10ft x 9ft! I would say that is pretty reasonable for boarding
My smallest accommodation is 8x4 but with extra outside space so around 10ft x 9ft! I would say that is pretty reasonable for boarding
Thats DEFINATELY reasonable for boarding
...why are you so far away!! The hutch I was offered this afternoon was a double 4ft x 1.5high x 1.5 deep what do ya reckon??! :roll:
Aly&Poppy<3
Wise Old Thumper
Thats DEFINATELY reasonable for boarding
Okay for piggies :thumb: but even then I would prefer a bigger single hutch :lol: ...hope you can find somewhere you trust!
