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Pet sitting vs. Rabbit boarding & how far to travel?

Jasperello

Warren Scout
Evening all :wave:

I am looking for advice & opinions on pet sitters vs. boarding please. I have never used either so I'm hoping some more experienced rabbit owners can share their advice?

In April I will be away for 2 weeks plus a day before either side to travel to & from Heathrow from Nottingham.

My living set up is this:
Me & my OH live with his parents.
The indoor bunny Zucc lives in our bedroom.
Our outdoors buns Jasper & Lola live, as you might have guessed, outdoors!

Indoor bun is going to my mums for his own mini holiday but she won't be having the outdoor buns.
Neither can they be looked after by OHs parents. And I don't know anyone else who could look after them.
In my mind I thought a pet sitter would be better because I thought bunny boarding & going in to a new environment would be fairly stressful? (& I know this is a human emotion but I didn't want them to feel like I'd abandoned them ) I'm quite an anxious person & I'm very very attached to my rabbits so I want the best for them while I'm gone as any one would :)

But im reassessing my options after reading a thread or 2.. So what's better for longer holidays? And how far would you travel with your buns to take them to boarding? And lastly does anyone have recommendations for the Long Eaton/Nottinghamshire area?

Thanks
 
I have done both but personally I prefer boarding for longer than, say, 4 days because I think rabbits benefit from having more regular attention than a once or twice a day check, particularly in terms of spotting potential health issues quicker.

However it's easy for me to say that because I have a friend who's been boarding my rabbits for about 6 years, so I imagine it's not as stressful for them as they're alrady familiar with the place. I drive about 45 mins to get there but I've done longer journeys too.

It also depends a bit on the character of your rabbits and how well they tolerate journeys and strange environments. My pair are (were :( ) pretty chilled but I'd be reluctant to make a long journey with a high strung rabbit or one who had health issues that might be triggered by stress eg stasis.


No local knowledge I'm afraid but if you do a forum search for alll threads with "nottinghamshire" in the title, it's possible someone might have asked before and received answers. :) good luck and enjoy your holiday!
 
Its been ages since I've been on holiday but previously I've only had friends bunny sitting. This year I'm going to board them. I'm really worried though...they've never been caged & I don't really know how Mouse travels (she has done a 45 min journeys & seems ok). Ideally I'd have bunny savvy friends who were happy to move in but thats hugely unrealistic. I'd only really trust a rabbity person to spot if they got ill though - & indeed to deal with it properly which is why I'll board them this year. I can't have them in a cage though. A nice playhouse with run maybe. I'd really like them to have decent space. boo gets bored easily & when she gets bored she is trouble :lol: I'd happily risk an hour or 2 longer journey for more space
 
For a short time I get a vet nurse friend to come twice a day to feed and check-she has a pet sitting business anyway.For longer they board locally at a rescue as I know the owner and know she will take very good care of them.If shes snowed under with rescues that's obviously not possible.
 
Thanks everyone. I had sourced out a registered vet nurse as a pet sitter to come twice a day but now I'm not feeling so sure because for her to come at 6am then not again until the night time that's a long time on their own isn't it :-/ and they will have only been bonded for 3 months by then so I'd feel a bit nervous about that too in case they had a fall out or something happened in general to one of them.
Jasper is not so chilled about travelling, Lola is more relaxed and lays down tho. So I probably wouldn't want to go to far..it seems there are lots of choices further south but not so many up in the East Midlands! I would take to one near Heathrow if it wasn't so far away.
 
Its been ages since I've been on holiday but previously I've only had friends bunny sitting. This year I'm going to board them. I'm really worried though...they've never been caged & I don't really know how Mouse travels (she has done a 45 min journeys & seems ok). Ideally I'd have bunny savvy friends who were happy to move in but thats hugely unrealistic. I'd only really trust a rabbity person to spot if they got ill though - & indeed to deal with it properly which is why I'll board them this year. I can't have them in a cage though. A nice playhouse with run maybe. I'd really like them to have decent space. boo gets bored easily & when she gets bored she is trouble :lol: I'd happily risk an hour or 2 longer journey for more space

Have you seen Tuckerbunnies indoor setups? They are very roomy. My free-range indoor buns have been going there for years. I realise they're not that close to you, but maybe just about within two hours?
 
Have you seen Tuckerbunnies indoor setups? They are very roomy. My free-range indoor buns have been going there for years. I realise they're not that close to you, but maybe just about within two hours?

I think they are my definite favourite so far ...I did make contact with Maysie a while back to check which vet they use. Its hard to see from photos though, how big are the indoor set ups? 2 hours away is fine I'd say :)
 
I wish I was flying from Manchester, Tuckerbunnies would be a perfect choice for me too But sadly I'm heading south & going up to then go down isn't ideal.. But if all else fails I might just try & do that!
 
I think they are my definite favourite so far ...I did make contact with Maysie a while back to check which vet they use. Its hard to see from photos though, how big are the indoor set ups? 2 hours away is fine I'd say :)

I am rubbish at sizes - Mark reckons maybe 8' x 8'? I think maybe a bit narrower :) I bet Maysie sees this and might reply. I think for me it's more that they're not in a cage - I don't like the idea of them having a 'roof'. Probably ridiculous, but just because they've never been shut in I don't think they would like it.

I wish I was flying from Manchester, Tuckerbunnies would be a perfect choice for me too But sadly I'm heading south & going up to then go down isn't ideal.. But if all else fails I might just try & do that!

We live in Leeds so when we fly from Manchester we have to drive an hour past home to get them and back again. :)
 
I am rubbish at sizes - Mark reckons maybe 8' x 8'? I think maybe a bit narrower :) I bet Maysie sees this and might reply. I think for me it's more that they're not in a cage - I don't like the idea of them having a 'roof'. Probably ridiculous, but just because they've never been shut in I don't think they would like it.



We live in Leeds so when we fly from Manchester we have to drive an hour past home to get them and back again. :)

Sounds really good. i'm with you on the cage. I did see an ace photo they'd sent on someones facebook page as an update (thats such a good idea!)-that was one of their indoor set ups. Thank You.
 
I'm looking at petsitters because I've got two relatively healthy buns and they get seen thrice a day (once morning, although you could count it as twice as me and OH see them at different times but it's within half-an-hour of each other, then again around 5-5:30pm, then again at 10pm-ish), and coped OK with being seen once a day for a week over Christmas. Mine are outdoors in a rambling setup and I wouldn't want them confined to a single area for any length of time (they have a tendency to get on each other's nerves if bored...!) so most boarding won't really work, plus Aboleth travels really badly (she gets very scared in a moving car, though carriers etc. are fine!), so petsitting is my better option.

We are also going South, to Stansted (via Braintree), in May for almost two weeks. Aboleth has terrible teeth but we've, touch-wood, had no issues yet (she's a fantastic hay eater!), and Lopsy's got OK teeth for a lop, and they've both been fine so far! However, over Christmas I could come back as I was just 2hrs drive away, but that's not really possible from Austria! I had the same worries when I was in Russia and the OH was looking after them XD All unfounded :)

Petsitters might be able to do multiple visits? Say, two 15min visits instead of one half-hour one? Worth ringing and finding out. The people on the 'findapetsitter' search thingy who're around this area (I'm south Nottingham City) all seemed competent (not necessarily bunny-savvy but experienced enough to know when something was wrong and do the responsible things). I'd recommend my friend in Long Eaton but she's been put off bun-sitting for life after Lopsy's Christmas illness last year :mrgreen:
 
In my mind I thought a pet sitter would be better because I thought bunny boarding & going in to a new environment would be fairly stressful? (& I know this is a human emotion but I didn't want them to feel like I'd abandoned them ) I'm quite an anxious person & I'm very very attached to my rabbits so I want the best for them while I'm gone as any one would :)

But im reassessing my options after reading a thread or 2.. So what's better for longer holidays? And how far would you travel with your buns to take them to boarding? And lastly does anyone have recommendations for the Long Eaton/Nottinghamshire area?

Thanks

Hi,

I've used both options for my buns and other pets throughout the years.

If we're just going away for a weekend the buns will go to my mums where they'll be indoors at night & outside during the day.
Anything longer than a weekend and they'll be put into a boarding place.

This is the first time we boarded the buns, and needless to say I was worried about them feeling abandoned. But getting them back this PM and they seem fine. They were happy to see us and after 10 mins running around the house to re-establish it is their house they settled back into their usual routine of ignoring me and OH.

The good thing with boarding is they can keep an eye for any fighting etc as they'll often check on them many times during the day (our bunny boarding will stick to our daily feeding routine etc so not to cause too much extra stress, and will keep to our daily socialisation routine.) Our girls have only been bonded 2 months roughly and it was helpful to have someone monitoring them every day. She was able to tell us if anything happened and we could advise her on what to do. (Thankfully they only had a little mounting on the last day).

We travelled half an hour to get to the bunny boarders.
Its just over an hour to get them to my mums for a weekend.
 
Pet sitters can work out very expensive and, like you say, the bunnies are only seen twice a day.
I use a boarding place in Lincoln and the bunnies love it there. They've been 4 times this year and they always settle well. The lady who runs it loves animals and her set up is great. I'm more than happy to leave mine there and I don't trust my bunnies to many people!
I can give you details if you want? If it's not too far for you.
 
Pet sitters can work out very expensive and, like you say, the bunnies are only seen twice a day.
I use a boarding place in Lincoln and the bunnies love it there. They've been 4 times this year and they always settle well. The lady who runs it loves animals and her set up is great. I'm more than happy to leave mine there and I don't trust my bunnies to many people!
I can give you details if you want? If it's not too far for you.

When it was going to be all 3 my buns (as a pair & single) boarded when I initially thought about it months ago it was going to cost me a lot & having a sitter worked out cheaper as the one I found was same price for up to 4 pets, but now I've sorted family to look after 1, it's cheaper to have the pair boarded!
Ive been worried about finding a good reputable one with & would obviously prefer recommendations so yes please! It must be such a relief finding someone you trust to look after your animals! I Think about them while I'm at work let alone while I'm all the way in America so I definitely need to find someone I'm very happy with! I've made arrangements to go and view one at Melton Mowbray but the more the merrier please thanks :)
 
Hi,

I've used both options for my buns and other pets throughout the years.

If we're just going away for a weekend the buns will go to my mums where they'll be indoors at night & outside during the day.
Anything longer than a weekend and they'll be put into a boarding place.

This is the first time we boarded the buns, and needless to say I was worried about them feeling abandoned. But getting them back this PM and they seem fine. They were happy to see us and after 10 mins running around the house to re-establish it is their house they settled back into their usual routine of ignoring me and OH.

The good thing with boarding is they can keep an eye for any fighting etc as they'll often check on them many times during the day (our bunny boarding will stick to our daily feeding routine etc so not to cause too much extra stress, and will keep to our daily socialisation routine.) Our girls have only been bonded 2 months roughly and it was helpful to have someone monitoring them every day. She was able to tell us if anything happened and we could advise her on what to do. (Thankfully they only had a little mounting on the last day).

We travelled half an hour to get to the bunny boarders.
Its just over an hour to get them to my mums for a weekend.

Oh that's a relief! I'm worried mine will feel abandoned, good to know yours have come home alright! With mine only bonded a week, & by time we go away it'll be 3 months so I'd much prefer someone still keeping a close eye on them too. Think I've made my mind up boarding it is then
 
I'm looking at petsitters because I've got two relatively healthy buns and they get seen thrice a day (once morning, although you could count it as twice as me and OH see them at different times but it's within half-an-hour of each other, then again around 5-5:30pm, then again at 10pm-ish), and coped OK with being seen once a day for a week over Christmas. Mine are outdoors in a rambling setup and I wouldn't want them confined to a single area for any length of time (they have a tendency to get on each other's nerves if bored...!) so most boarding won't really work, plus Aboleth travels really badly (she gets very scared in a moving car, though carriers etc. are fine!), so petsitting is my better option.

We are also going South, to Stansted (via Braintree), in May for almost two weeks. Aboleth has terrible teeth but we've, touch-wood, had no issues yet (she's a fantastic hay eater!), and Lopsy's got OK teeth for a lop, and they've both been fine so far! However, over Christmas I could come back as I was just 2hrs drive away, but that's not really possible from Austria! I had the same worries when I was in Russia and the OH was looking after them XD All unfounded :)

Petsitters might be able to do multiple visits? Say, two 15min visits instead of one half-hour one? Worth ringing and finding out. The people on the 'findapetsitter' search thingy who're around this area (I'm south Nottingham City) all seemed competent (not necessarily bunny-savvy but experienced enough to know when something was wrong and do the responsible things). I'd recommend my friend in Long Eaton but she's been put off bun-sitting for life after Lopsy's Christmas illness last year :mrgreen:

Thanks for the reply!
I'm a worrier, Im certain I'll cry that first day I'm away thinking about them! They, especially my house bun, are my equivalent of babies and I'm very attached!! But you're right I'm sure all my fears will be unfounded too!
I had found a pet sitter who would do a very early morning & night visit which I was happy with but now I'm thinking its a long time inbetween if something happens. Its for 16 days as well so after reading everyone's advice maybe that's quite a long time just to have a sitter visit :-/
Haha oh dear put her off have you!
 
Haha oh dear put her off have you!
She learnt the hard way that bunny claw wounds scar :mrgreen: Lopsy's a terrible patient once he's feeling a bit better because he hates being picked up or restrained! Poor woman also had to take his temperature: she's had elderly cats so is well aware of general animal care and was very good at reading up and ringing the vets for rabbit advice, but I wouldn't want her to have the trauma again!
 
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