shava12000
New Kit
Hey there!
After living in the UK for 15 years and expecting to stay indeterminately, Brexit is now forcing me to consider moving back to Germany (Berlin) or France (probably Toulouse). This isn't something I want to do but feel pushed into by the way EU citizens here have been treated since the referendum. Nobody can live without basic rights and security. The question now is how do I get my two wonderful bunny babies, Maya and Ray-Ray, to the mainland in the least harmful way possible? They're a fully bonded pair of free range house rabbits with quite sturdy, bold temperaments at home but the second they go into a carrier and car (to take them to the vets or a bunny hotel) they seem super anxious and stressed. After each short journey it takes a good hour or two before they reappear from under the sofa or the favourite hiding corner, where they would have been lying around looking utterly traumatised with their little hearts beating like crazy. I'm probably being a bit overly dramatic about the short distance travelling since it clearly doesn't harm them long-term. It's just hard seeing them scared and distressed and it makes me quite anxious in turn. Hence, the idea of putting them through either a flight or a long car journey is pretty overwhelming and I wouldn't even think about it under different circumstances. As it is, I can't stay here and I can't leave them behind because I literally can't imagine life without them. Ultimately, of course their welfare comes first and if it really isn't possible to move them in a responsible way I may have to consider re-homing them or staying here til they leave me. The latter will hopefully still be years and years away though and it's not realistic for me to live in the UK post-Brexit. Sigh.
So what do you think? Have any of you transported/moved your bun(s) long distances? If so, how? Do you think a shorter journey by (much more noisy) plane would be preferable to a much longer journey by car/ferry? Do you have a vet/bunny expert who could provide advice? (My vet is lovely but says this isn't an area he feels comfortable giving advice on.)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - thanks a mil!
V.
Here's some more background info, which may help:
- Maya & Ray are mixed breed rescue rabbits
- age: 5.5 years (adopted at 7 months)
- size: 2.7 and 2.6kg respectively - in comparison to all the mini breeds around they're really pretty big
- health: generally very good but Maya has had some calcium sludge in her urinary tract recently so they're now on a pure lettuce and hay diet (previously it was greens and hay)
Travel by plane
- Lufthansa allows for small animals to be transported as additional cabin baggage, i.e. in theory I could take both of them onto the plane in a small carrier and have the carrier on my lap for the duration of the flight. In reality their policy is to only allow cats and dogs in the cabin and to put all other animals in the hold but I think there are probably ways to challenge/circumvent that since a friend of mine who regularly takes her small dog on Lufthansa flights says nobody has ever actually looked inside her carrier to check whether the dog is indeed a dog. (https://www.lufthansa.com/pe/en/animals-as-additional-carry-on-baggage)
- A flight from Manchester to Berlin takes ca. 2hrs, and if you add to that travel to and from the airport, security and passport checks and the fact that you have to present at check-in 2 hours prior to departure (just to make it even harder on the little ones, grrhhhh), etc. I reckon a door to door journey may take around 6hrs
- I've found some testimonials online from people who have moved bunnies from Asia to the US or similar (ie on much longer flights) themselves or through a pet relocation service and said it was fine. (But I'm not particularly reassured by that. Should I be?)
Travel by car
- Let's assume I'm moving to Berlin, which is ca 950 miles (or 1530km) away. (Toulouse is roughly the same distance.). That is likely to take between 14-18.5hrs if done in one go. I don't actually have a driving licence and would have to rely on a friend to drive so we couldn't do it in one stretch and would have to stay over at least once (which might be better for the buns anyway). That would mean two days of travel of around 7-9hrs each day.
- Assuming that I'd be moving my furniture, etc. at the same time we'd probably travel in a small van, which means they wouldn't necessarily have to be in a small carrier. I've got a 30x21 inch puppy crate that I currently use for some extra shelter (and a litter tray) for them in a corner of a hallway. It's large enough for both of them to be lying down fully stretched out and I've already covered the top half to make it more into a cosy, protected, burrow-type space. Indeed, going by how fast the litter tray in there fills up, it seems like a favourite poop spot.
- If the trips to the vets and bunny hotel are anything to go by (longest journey they've ever taken would have been around 1hr one time we got stuck in traffic) they're unlikely to eat anything while driving and I'm not sure that taking breaks would help with that either because it always takes them quite some time to calm down after each trip. As in: I imagine that a break would have to be at least 1.5hrs to allow them to recover before hopefully eating something. Therefore, I'm wondering if it would be better to drive shorter distances spread out over more days so that they have one big stretch of driving each day but are in the same environment (i.e. a hotel room, airbnb, etc.) for the rest of the time. Maybe 4.5hrs over 5 days? Or 6hrs over 3?
- Some people online recommend taking critical care and feed them with that at regular intervals (every 2-3hrs) during the journey but that seems a bit over the top to me. Obviously I get the importance of regular feeding for rabbit digestion but both of mine have had the odd upset tummy where they didn't eat for up to 10hrs and then carried on right as rain. From those occasions I also know that they don't take kindly to being force fed critical care. Indeed, I've tried to on a couple of occasions (following all the usual tips re burrito-ing them in a towel, putting them on a table facing the edge, etc.) but failed every time. Even when unwell they're still surprisingly strong - and since they both detest being picked up that's not something I often do and hence quite stressful for them when it has to happen. Although maybe syringe feeding water throughout the journey is a good idea if they don't drink by themselves?
- Is it likely that they'd get used to driving after a while? Should I try to get them more used to it by taking them on car journeys now? If so, how long should they be? Or is that only causing them more distress now without much of a chance of it being beneficial later?
- Many moons ago when my childhood pet rabbit was ill we took him to my grandparents with us over the weekend. Clearly we had no idea what we were doing since we only took my bun but not their bonded mate and should have just left him in his usual surroundings, etc. Still, despite the fact that he seemed so poorly (difficult to remember details from 30 years ago but he was fairly out of it for at least two weeks and it then took another week or two before he was strong enough to hop again; before that he'd just flop to the side unable to keep himself sitting up) he made the 1h45mins journey there and back okay. While it pains me to think of how stressful that must have been for him, I find it kinda reassuring that a rabbit who was smaller than my current ones and fairly touch and go at the time survived that ordeal. Surely that makes it much less likely that Maya and Ray might not survive? I have to admit that anything happening to either or both of them on the journey is the stuff my nightmares are made of.
After living in the UK for 15 years and expecting to stay indeterminately, Brexit is now forcing me to consider moving back to Germany (Berlin) or France (probably Toulouse). This isn't something I want to do but feel pushed into by the way EU citizens here have been treated since the referendum. Nobody can live without basic rights and security. The question now is how do I get my two wonderful bunny babies, Maya and Ray-Ray, to the mainland in the least harmful way possible? They're a fully bonded pair of free range house rabbits with quite sturdy, bold temperaments at home but the second they go into a carrier and car (to take them to the vets or a bunny hotel) they seem super anxious and stressed. After each short journey it takes a good hour or two before they reappear from under the sofa or the favourite hiding corner, where they would have been lying around looking utterly traumatised with their little hearts beating like crazy. I'm probably being a bit overly dramatic about the short distance travelling since it clearly doesn't harm them long-term. It's just hard seeing them scared and distressed and it makes me quite anxious in turn. Hence, the idea of putting them through either a flight or a long car journey is pretty overwhelming and I wouldn't even think about it under different circumstances. As it is, I can't stay here and I can't leave them behind because I literally can't imagine life without them. Ultimately, of course their welfare comes first and if it really isn't possible to move them in a responsible way I may have to consider re-homing them or staying here til they leave me. The latter will hopefully still be years and years away though and it's not realistic for me to live in the UK post-Brexit. Sigh.
So what do you think? Have any of you transported/moved your bun(s) long distances? If so, how? Do you think a shorter journey by (much more noisy) plane would be preferable to a much longer journey by car/ferry? Do you have a vet/bunny expert who could provide advice? (My vet is lovely but says this isn't an area he feels comfortable giving advice on.)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - thanks a mil!
V.
Here's some more background info, which may help:
- Maya & Ray are mixed breed rescue rabbits
- age: 5.5 years (adopted at 7 months)
- size: 2.7 and 2.6kg respectively - in comparison to all the mini breeds around they're really pretty big
- health: generally very good but Maya has had some calcium sludge in her urinary tract recently so they're now on a pure lettuce and hay diet (previously it was greens and hay)
Travel by plane
- Lufthansa allows for small animals to be transported as additional cabin baggage, i.e. in theory I could take both of them onto the plane in a small carrier and have the carrier on my lap for the duration of the flight. In reality their policy is to only allow cats and dogs in the cabin and to put all other animals in the hold but I think there are probably ways to challenge/circumvent that since a friend of mine who regularly takes her small dog on Lufthansa flights says nobody has ever actually looked inside her carrier to check whether the dog is indeed a dog. (https://www.lufthansa.com/pe/en/animals-as-additional-carry-on-baggage)
- A flight from Manchester to Berlin takes ca. 2hrs, and if you add to that travel to and from the airport, security and passport checks and the fact that you have to present at check-in 2 hours prior to departure (just to make it even harder on the little ones, grrhhhh), etc. I reckon a door to door journey may take around 6hrs
- I've found some testimonials online from people who have moved bunnies from Asia to the US or similar (ie on much longer flights) themselves or through a pet relocation service and said it was fine. (But I'm not particularly reassured by that. Should I be?)
Travel by car
- Let's assume I'm moving to Berlin, which is ca 950 miles (or 1530km) away. (Toulouse is roughly the same distance.). That is likely to take between 14-18.5hrs if done in one go. I don't actually have a driving licence and would have to rely on a friend to drive so we couldn't do it in one stretch and would have to stay over at least once (which might be better for the buns anyway). That would mean two days of travel of around 7-9hrs each day.
- Assuming that I'd be moving my furniture, etc. at the same time we'd probably travel in a small van, which means they wouldn't necessarily have to be in a small carrier. I've got a 30x21 inch puppy crate that I currently use for some extra shelter (and a litter tray) for them in a corner of a hallway. It's large enough for both of them to be lying down fully stretched out and I've already covered the top half to make it more into a cosy, protected, burrow-type space. Indeed, going by how fast the litter tray in there fills up, it seems like a favourite poop spot.
- If the trips to the vets and bunny hotel are anything to go by (longest journey they've ever taken would have been around 1hr one time we got stuck in traffic) they're unlikely to eat anything while driving and I'm not sure that taking breaks would help with that either because it always takes them quite some time to calm down after each trip. As in: I imagine that a break would have to be at least 1.5hrs to allow them to recover before hopefully eating something. Therefore, I'm wondering if it would be better to drive shorter distances spread out over more days so that they have one big stretch of driving each day but are in the same environment (i.e. a hotel room, airbnb, etc.) for the rest of the time. Maybe 4.5hrs over 5 days? Or 6hrs over 3?
- Some people online recommend taking critical care and feed them with that at regular intervals (every 2-3hrs) during the journey but that seems a bit over the top to me. Obviously I get the importance of regular feeding for rabbit digestion but both of mine have had the odd upset tummy where they didn't eat for up to 10hrs and then carried on right as rain. From those occasions I also know that they don't take kindly to being force fed critical care. Indeed, I've tried to on a couple of occasions (following all the usual tips re burrito-ing them in a towel, putting them on a table facing the edge, etc.) but failed every time. Even when unwell they're still surprisingly strong - and since they both detest being picked up that's not something I often do and hence quite stressful for them when it has to happen. Although maybe syringe feeding water throughout the journey is a good idea if they don't drink by themselves?
- Is it likely that they'd get used to driving after a while? Should I try to get them more used to it by taking them on car journeys now? If so, how long should they be? Or is that only causing them more distress now without much of a chance of it being beneficial later?
- Many moons ago when my childhood pet rabbit was ill we took him to my grandparents with us over the weekend. Clearly we had no idea what we were doing since we only took my bun but not their bonded mate and should have just left him in his usual surroundings, etc. Still, despite the fact that he seemed so poorly (difficult to remember details from 30 years ago but he was fairly out of it for at least two weeks and it then took another week or two before he was strong enough to hop again; before that he'd just flop to the side unable to keep himself sitting up) he made the 1h45mins journey there and back okay. While it pains me to think of how stressful that must have been for him, I find it kinda reassuring that a rabbit who was smaller than my current ones and fairly touch and go at the time survived that ordeal. Surely that makes it much less likely that Maya and Ray might not survive? I have to admit that anything happening to either or both of them on the journey is the stuff my nightmares are made of.