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Going away for a weekend/week

V

VickyM_73

Young Bun
Hi there,

I'm really sorry if this is the wrong place to put this. I just wondered what everyone does about getting their rabbits cared for while they're away. How much do you expect friends to do etc.?

I usually pop in and give my bunnies hay in the morning and then give them more hay and their pellets and various other bits and bobs sometime between around 4 and 6pm. I clear all the poos out of their trays every day before adding fresh hay. I don't think I can ask my friend to come up more than once a day and I'm not sure they'd be happy to clear out poos either (she's my age and, like me had rabbits in the 70s when the general practice was to just clean the hutch out once a week so I dont' think she thinks its necessary and she's a bit squeamish I think). She's doing it as a favour so I don't want to push my luck.

Will it harm my bunnies to go for a few days without having their litter trays cleaned out. It worries me as that's where they get their clean hay etc.

We do go away quite a bit so I'm wondering whether its fair on my friend and my bunnies. Perhaps I should rethink whether its a good idea to have them at all.
 
I wouldn't leave mine for a few days and I've never bothered asking friends and family because they don't know my rabbits or how to look after them. I'd want my Rabbits to be treated the same way that I treat them or I'd spend the whole time worrying! Can you ask a less squeamish friend or family member?

I take mine to a lovely lady that has a small pet lodge :) I trust her with them and I can actually relax when I'm away because I know that they are being well looked after. I pay £6.75 per day for both of my rabbits. She has indoor and outdoor huts. Fresh hay, grass and seasonal fruit/veggies are included in the price. All I have to take with me are their pellets. The hutch sizes are excellent and she lets them out for play time and puts them outside in a run if the weather is nice. She even sends me text updates and photos :)

I found her by doing a simple google search and then visited beforehand to set my mind at rest!
 
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I usually get a "pet sitter" to come twice a day and feed/clean out etc.It costs £6 a visit which I think is pretty standard but I can ask her to do the jobs I normally do each day obviously condensed into the 2 visits.Alternatively you could find a local small pet boarding place which you will need to visit beforehand to check things like cleanliness,space available to the bunnies and general care.
Could you maybe fit a hay rack above their litter trays so that they have access to clean "uncontaminated"hay?This would need topping up twice a day though ideally.Maybe if you explain to your friend about your bunnies needs and offer to pay her alittle for her time and trouble do you think she would be open to this?Obviously don't do this if you think she may be offended-its just a thought!
Hope you manage to sort something out.It would be a great shame to have to give them up as they are clearly much loved and cared for.:)
 
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Personal friend whos house sitter,dig sitter, bunny sitter n guinea pig sitter lol. Hes a older man who again only believes in once a week clean out (his own house less so). Thankfully my buns are bombproof change in routine dosnt bother them n ive been away for 18 days at a time bunnies are always fine when I get back. He will clean tryas every few days but leaves a fresh pile of "eating hay" in a diffrent spot twice a day :) I think *sometimes* we can become a bit tooooo OTT with routine n perfection. Im sure ur buns will be fine xx
 
If its only for a few days I take them to my parents where they have my old room when its dark but otherwise they are outside in a hutch/run (they have dogs in the house and they worry about the dog getting into the room while they are out so garden seems safest option).

If we go away for longer than a couple days (e.g. we're going to Scotland for a week this month) we put them into a boarding establishment. We found her doing a google search and went to view her property. She has outdoor & indoor cages which are RAWF standard. The indoor cages have runs attached and she even helps with litter training!
She's £6 - £8 a day, she provides hay, veg etc we just supply their pellets and any special treats they like.
 
I only ever go on day trips so have never left mine in the care of anyone other than my daughter when she lived here!

I would prefer a boarding establishment over relying on a neighbour or friend to look after them.
 
For anything more than a night I would feel happier if they were in a boarding place, same as I would do for my cats.
 
I have a bunny hotel not far from me, the couple have a house rabbit and kept my baby Jasper in the house with them as he is a house bunny with loads of outdoor play every day.
He settled so well with them he even snuggled on their lap the first night.
The couple have been doing this for years and even have a boarding place for hutched rabbits.
I did feel guilty using a bunny hotel but my sister couldn't bunny sit anymore for me. I shouldn't have worried Jasper loved the place, I ended up more worried about weather he would want to Come back home :)
I am going to be adding another bunny to our family very soon and will put her with jasper in the bunny hotel, piece of mind for when going away that they are cared for by other experienced bunny people.


sent from Xperia Z2
 
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We use a pet sitter twice a day for one or two nights away. More than that and they go into boarding.
 
I've got plenty of animal-savvy friends, thankfully! But if when I go for more than a week they'll get boarded. Anyone who I have look after them is advised of all the 'bad' signs and is certainly not so squeamish that bunny poo is a problem (or wiping up wee off the floor, the lovely darlings :roll:). Mine are outside and pretty adaptable: when I go away and leave them with the OH looking after them I come back to a hay-covered (not in a good way) playhouse floor and fat bunnies; I think they like it when that happens!
 
Do you know, I didn't even realize that you got boarding places for rabbits. I thought moving them or taking them with you when you go away was a real no no. I'm sure I read that somewhere!? Anyway, that is certainly something I will look into. Preferably before we go away for Christmas. I'll feel a lot happier knowing they are with professional carers. Thanks for all the advice everyone.
 
If you start a new thread stating your area and asking for boarding recommendations, you will probably get lots of helpful suggestions.
 
In the past I've used family, the local dog walker visiting and boarding. Comparing the 3 I think boarding was much better, although I did worry that it was unsettle my rabbit. I think family didn't go to feed her and clear up half as much as they said they will and the house was a mess when I got back and she was out of her routine. The dog walker went in twice a day and did a good job but I think she spent most of the day lonely and she was quite unsettled by the time I got home. At least at boarding they are checked frequently and have much more company. I also think if you find someone who specialises in bunnies then you know your pet will be well looked after. They will also be better if anything did happen and your rabbit needed a vet. A friend may not really knows the signs to look for.

Laura
 
I'm lucky in that my sister will housesit (paid) for me. Although her poop-scooping standards leave a lot to be desired, she'll make sure that my animals are fed, fussed and have all that they need. Do you have a younger family member who'd housesit?
 
I use a pet sitter who is also a family friend, she visits twice a day and all the animals get a lot of attention as her daughter is a friend of my daughters, she is more of an expert on dogs and cats but knows all about the different danger signs to watch for with Boots and the goats too, I always leave lists of numbers she can contact for the different vets etc, and our numbers too. I would struggle with boarding so it works out well for us :thumb:
 
esupi said:
If you start a new thread stating your area and asking for boarding recommendations, you will probably get lots of helpful suggestions.
Click to expand...

ThAt's a good idea. I'll try that. I've arranged for someone now for Christmas but we may be going away longer than I thought so it might be worth investigating whether a boarding house might be possible still. Certainly next time I'll try this option.
 
I always use a pet hotel for over 10 years after bad experiences asking family in the past. My sister looked after my buns once for aweek and didn't do a very good job so i found a wonderful place that boards and is involved with RSPCA rescue too. She loves rabbits and knows about their health intimately. I can go on holiday and relax knowing they are in safe hands. I found them on the internet. Here's a useful site: http://www.findpetboarding.com/smallpetboarding/

It would be good to have a thread on recommended pet boarders around the U.K

Regards
Linda
 
When we went away for one night we used pet pals http://www.petpals.com. They are franchises but we met with the people about a week beforehand and spent a couple of hours with them to make sure we would be happy with them. Then a day or so before they came round and we showed them what we did at feeding times and we weighed out the bunnies food ready for it to be given to them.

Over summer we had to go away for three days and thankfully two of our close friends house sat for us and took care of the rabbits. They have had rabbits themselves in the past and we left them three pages of instructions as well as details of the normal vet and the emergency vet.

There is also https://www.pawshake.co.uk.
 
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