Hi,
I am a small pet boarder (sitter, etc) and I predominantly board rodents (hamsters, degu, rats, etc), and have just been asked if I could board a dwarf lop in just over a month's time (plenty of planning time, otherwise I wouldn't be here, asking this!), as well as a pair of guinea pigs. Usually, due to boarding rodents, I ask the client to bring the pet's cage with them, but I know how big bunny hutches can get, so this isn't a practical solution. Since rabbits are the larger of the two species, I'm focusing on space enough for them, and making sure it is convertible for both species as required. After some hunting, I have found a wendy house that is large enough to be split into two separate 'pens' (each just over 14 square feet, so bigger than the 12 square feet min requirement, plus the height to add in a shelf), and plan to include the ability to take out the separation if I ever have a group of more than 2 buns (or 3 guineas) to give them the whole lot. Combined with this, two outside runs of 8x4x2 with 1/2"x1" mesh (not sure if this is good or bad, but it is square mesh, not chicken wire), one for each side (chances are, using catflap-style methods!) to allow constant daylight access to outside (shut in at night - I don't trust the local foxes!).
Does this seem appropriate for bunny boarding? I'm somewhat obsessive over animal welfare when it comes to my own pets and their cage sizes, so I want to avoid the classic nipping down to Pets at Home and picking up their 'best' hutch (which looks hideously tiny according to the sizes on the web), and provide something that is, if not home, is suitable for the purpose, functional, easy to keep clean, and give a bit of luxury - obviously not bunny heaven, but freedom of movement inside and out during daylight is something that seems vital (I do love the 'Runaround' system a lot!)
I plan to put it on paving slabs, at least for now (we're moving in 6 months-ish, so digging up turf is unlikely to go down well right now), and I like the idea of using rubber horse matting on top of the slabs outside (if anyone has a link to the specific type they use, I would be extremely grateful - google has thousands of varieties!).
Inside, I'm a big fan of megazorb (wood-pulp, like small carefresh) and aubiose (hemp-based) for my smaller pets, as well as finacard/ecobed (cardboard based), so have all of these in stock. I'd prefer to avoid using shavings. Would any of the above be suitable for rabbits? Long/short haired as required? I have heard megazorb with hay on top is good for guinea pigs, so that is my plan for them.
Lastly, hay is a needful thing, of course, but what about straw? Is this a requirement, a benefit, or am I barking up the wrong tree?
In a vaguely unrelated not (although related to buns!), is there any books people would recommend? I read Fur & Feather, and through them acquired a copy of the Encyclopaedia of Rabbits & Rodents by Verhoef-Verhallen, as well as Green Foods for Rabbits & Cavies by Bell, and have the Rabbitlopaedia (the Hamsterlopaedia is a bit of a hamster-lover's bible, I presume the Rabbit version is similar?) and For the Love of Parsley by Wright in my basket on Amazon, but if there is any essential bunny reading, I do love my research (and outside of animals, book collecting is my passion - combining the two gives me the most delicious warm glow
).
Thank you very much in advance for any information and advice!
I am a small pet boarder (sitter, etc) and I predominantly board rodents (hamsters, degu, rats, etc), and have just been asked if I could board a dwarf lop in just over a month's time (plenty of planning time, otherwise I wouldn't be here, asking this!), as well as a pair of guinea pigs. Usually, due to boarding rodents, I ask the client to bring the pet's cage with them, but I know how big bunny hutches can get, so this isn't a practical solution. Since rabbits are the larger of the two species, I'm focusing on space enough for them, and making sure it is convertible for both species as required. After some hunting, I have found a wendy house that is large enough to be split into two separate 'pens' (each just over 14 square feet, so bigger than the 12 square feet min requirement, plus the height to add in a shelf), and plan to include the ability to take out the separation if I ever have a group of more than 2 buns (or 3 guineas) to give them the whole lot. Combined with this, two outside runs of 8x4x2 with 1/2"x1" mesh (not sure if this is good or bad, but it is square mesh, not chicken wire), one for each side (chances are, using catflap-style methods!) to allow constant daylight access to outside (shut in at night - I don't trust the local foxes!).
Does this seem appropriate for bunny boarding? I'm somewhat obsessive over animal welfare when it comes to my own pets and their cage sizes, so I want to avoid the classic nipping down to Pets at Home and picking up their 'best' hutch (which looks hideously tiny according to the sizes on the web), and provide something that is, if not home, is suitable for the purpose, functional, easy to keep clean, and give a bit of luxury - obviously not bunny heaven, but freedom of movement inside and out during daylight is something that seems vital (I do love the 'Runaround' system a lot!)
I plan to put it on paving slabs, at least for now (we're moving in 6 months-ish, so digging up turf is unlikely to go down well right now), and I like the idea of using rubber horse matting on top of the slabs outside (if anyone has a link to the specific type they use, I would be extremely grateful - google has thousands of varieties!).
Inside, I'm a big fan of megazorb (wood-pulp, like small carefresh) and aubiose (hemp-based) for my smaller pets, as well as finacard/ecobed (cardboard based), so have all of these in stock. I'd prefer to avoid using shavings. Would any of the above be suitable for rabbits? Long/short haired as required? I have heard megazorb with hay on top is good for guinea pigs, so that is my plan for them.
Lastly, hay is a needful thing, of course, but what about straw? Is this a requirement, a benefit, or am I barking up the wrong tree?
In a vaguely unrelated not (although related to buns!), is there any books people would recommend? I read Fur & Feather, and through them acquired a copy of the Encyclopaedia of Rabbits & Rodents by Verhoef-Verhallen, as well as Green Foods for Rabbits & Cavies by Bell, and have the Rabbitlopaedia (the Hamsterlopaedia is a bit of a hamster-lover's bible, I presume the Rabbit version is similar?) and For the Love of Parsley by Wright in my basket on Amazon, but if there is any essential bunny reading, I do love my research (and outside of animals, book collecting is my passion - combining the two gives me the most delicious warm glow
).Thank you very much in advance for any information and advice!
