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Those who board their bunnies when they go on holiday/away

Mackers said:
Things I look for:-

1) Decent sized accommodation (nothing smaller than 6x2x2).
2) Excellent bunny knowledge of things like stasis, fly strike, bloat etc and will happily administer any regular meds etc.
3) A good bunny vet nearby.
4) Someone running the business who actually 'cares' about the animals boarding with them and asks questions about their characterists so that they can tell if they're not behaving normally.
5) Somewhere that insists on vaccinations being up to date.
6) Somwhere that will allow you to phone/text/e-mail to make sure your critters are OK.
7) A 'nice' area - bit difficult really but I wouldn't be happy leaving my bunnies on a sink estate somewhere with burnt out cars and loads of yobs hanging around.
9) Somewhere that will let you visit prior to making your booking.

Wish list :-

Boarding that had a webcam set up on your bunny's accommodation so that you could log in and see if they were OK at any time of the day or night!!!!!!

............................

I've always insisted on visiting any prospective boarding premises before leaving my bunnies there and this gives you a chance to have a good look at the accommodation and a good chat with the person running the boarding. Gut feeling is a wonderful thing! I know when I went to visit Tracy at RNGP Welfare, the first thing that struck me when I walked in was every single rescue bun's accommodation was spotlessly clean and tidy - and there were a LOT of them! It gives you a good feeling that your bunnies are going to be cared for equally well. I also think that if a boarding establishment is prepared to spend a lot of time, effort and money in ensuring that they have excellent facilities, it usually means that they care and will do a good job looking after your pets. Anyone can go to P@H and pick up a dozen two-storey 4ft hutches, charge £3 per night per animal and call themselves a 'boarding facility'. But the person who carefully does their research and gets 6x3 'units' or has kennels made to order and charges a reasonable fee isn't in it just to make some easy money.
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We have CCTV so we can watch the boarding bunnies outside in the boarding shed on a television monitor in the garage when we are cleaning out our buns. Wouldn't be without it.
 
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Sky-O said:
Lovely, thank you :)

When you say 'good sized' what sort of sizes are you talking?

Would a permanent area of 8ft by 3ft (this would be a hutch- but obviously a large custom made one) be enough or would you want for more? (that's to everyone, I guess).
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That would be fine. I'm kind of spoiled just now because my bunnies' boarding lady lives on a farm and has a huge massive barn (which is as big as a house) and is completely given over to the buns/piggies so the space is very generous.

As long as the person really knew and cared about rabbits, I'd be happy with 8 x 3.
 
My personal preference is for accommodation that the buns stay in for the duration of their stay - so not hutches and separate runs where the buns have to be moved from one place to another. I think this is more secure, better infection control and more settling for the buns to stay in one place. For up to a week or so I'd be ok with something like 24 square feet so 6*4 or 8*3 or similar...if it was for much longer I'd prefer it to be bigger. I'd want the accommodation to be in a separate area which is set aside for the purpose, I've seen some places where the accommodation is dotted around the life of the household - I personally don't like that. I'm also not a fan of runs on grass, as that can't be disinfected between occupants, or where the animals get exercise by popping them on the floor of the accommodation block - where they can get too close to other occupants for my liking!

I went to look at a place near me a few years back which had beautiful 6*3 hutches in a purpose-built shed for which the central partition between hutches could be removed, making them 12*3 if you wanted bigger...but when I asked what they used to disinfect the pens between rabbits she could only tell me that it was blue and that it definitely killed anything. If someone doesn't know what disinfecting routine they're using, then I don't have confidence that they'd understand how to minimise risks from infections, especially things like ec and cocci.

I'd also want to reassure myself that they would be able to pick up on illnesses at an early stage; I'm not sure how you do that really other than chatting to them about illness, bunny body language, appetite, feeding routine etc and seeing what they say.
 
Santa said:
My personal preference is for accommodation that the buns stay in for the duration of their stay - so not hutches and separate runs where the buns have to be moved from one place to another. I think this is more secure, better infection control and more settling for the buns to stay in one place. For up to a week or so I'd be ok with something like 24 square feet so 6*4 or 8*3 or similar...if it was for much longer I'd prefer it to be bigger. I'd want the accommodation to be in a separate area which is set aside for the purpose, I've seen some places where the accommodation is dotted around the life of the household - I personally don't like that. I'm also not a fan of runs on grass, as that can't be disinfected between occupants, or where the animals get exercise by popping them on the floor of the accommodation block - where they can get too close to other occupants for my liking!

I went to look at a place near me a few years back which had beautiful 6*3 hutches in a purpose-built shed for which the central partition between hutches could be removed, making them 12*3 if you wanted bigger...but when I asked what they used to disinfect the pens between rabbits she could only tell me that it was blue and that it definitely killed anything. If someone doesn't know what disinfecting routine they're using, then I don't have confidence that they'd understand how to minimise risks from infections, especially things like ec and cocci.

I'd also want to reassure myself that they would be able to pick up on illnesses at an early stage; I'm not sure how you do that really other than chatting to them about illness, bunny body language, appetite, feeding routine etc and seeing what they say.
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You think like me in this respect. Thank you very much for your input :) (I can see why that lady didn't instill confidence!).
 
Sky-O, you have very good quarantine procedures with the fosters. Currently I havesolid woodbetween fosters and my own rabbits and theyare not allowed to sniff each other through wire. I have seperate dustpans and brushes for each hutch and these as well as the hutches are disinfected with Mikki disinfectant made upto boarding kennel strength.

What else do I need to do?
 
I like someone who know what they are doing and care about it someone who doesn't do it just for fun someone who thinks about what they are putting their selves in for and who will be easy to trust
 
aliduncan1 said:
Sky-O, you have very good quarantine procedures with the fosters. Currently I havesolid woodbetween fosters and my own rabbits and theyare not allowed to sniff each other through wire. I have seperate dustpans and brushes for each hutch and these as well as the hutches are disinfected with Mikki disinfectant made upto boarding kennel strength.

What else do I need to do?
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What's your plan for accommodation?
 
Mine go to a friend (Amy - AbbyMarySmokey) who runs a rabbit sanctuary. Their accommodation size is great and I trust her implicitly and know how observant she is about their health. That's what is important to me.
 
The current plan is stacked 6 x 2 hutches overnight and through the day, runs on our tarmac drive. We are fortunate that our drive is large enough to take four 7x3 runs and shelters as well as both cars. It's then easy to sweep up and scrub with disinfectants. I am making my own hutches though so having read the above I ask wondering if 8x3 hutches and no run time would be better.

My guys free range the back garden when not in their enclosure and the fosters have their own totally enclosed area.
 
Mmmm personally I'm not sure I'd be happy about buns in runs on a driveway. Aside from the fact that I don't really like the idea of my buns being carried around between hutch and run, what about fumes/noise/stress from cars starting up, risk of accidents, visitors to the house or anyone passing by could presumably walk up the driveway so it wouldn't be a completely secure area? If you are looking to start out and have options, I personally would prefer larger hutches where I wouldn't 'need' the buns to get out in a run.
 
My thoughts if I did this at any point, would be an 8ft by 3ft triple decker hutch and potentially either separate or attached, a specific area for the goods belonging to said hutch/owner/bunnies. They wouldn't come out at all but would be stimulated inside the hutch. Potentially would look to stretching to 9ft.

My bunnies are situated mostly up by my house, so I would put the boarders would be down the end of the garden totally away from all of mine on their own little patio-ed area.

Would use disposable or easy clean toys. Would use vet quality disinfectant probably asking my vets for a recommendation. Obviously disinfect, and potentially vinegar too, in between each resident.
 
Sky-O said:
My thoughts if I did this at any point, would be an 8ft by 3ft triple decker hutch and potentially either separate or attached, a specific area for the goods belonging to said hutch/owner/bunnies. They wouldn't come out at all but would be stimulated inside the hutch. Potentially would look to stretching to 9ft.

My bunnies are situated mostly up by my house, so I would put the boarders would be down the end of the garden totally away from all of mine on their own little patio-ed area.

Would use disposable or easy clean toys. Would use vet quality disinfectant probably asking my vets for a recommendation. Obviously disinfect, and potentially vinegar too, in between each resident.
Click to expand...

This has been great for hearing different ideas, especially before I start building hutches! I do think having them in one hutch with no moving aboutis better for so many reasons, not least because there is less time involved moving them all back and forth.
 
aliduncan1 said:
This has been great for hearing different ideas, especially before I start building hutches! I do think having them in one hutch with no moving aboutis better for so many reasons, not least because there is less time involved moving them all back and forth.
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Glad to hear this has been of use to you :) Shame the other thread got zilcho replies from people who board. :lol:
 
Just managed to catch up on this thread.

Many relevant issues have been brought up and discussed.

From my point of view in running my own small business I try to meet as many peoples' expectations as possible.

I can't suit all of the people all of the time, but having been in business for 10 years now, have found out what suits many.

I pledge that I will always have the care and welfare of the animals' foremost in my mind.

I've had fully disabled bunnies, poorly bunnies, emotionally damaged bunnies, shy bunnies, adventurous bunnies...................................the list goes on.

Nothing has defeated me yet and hopefully never will.

My heart is truely in the work that I do and endeavour to do my very best at all times.


Finding someone who is passionate, knowledgeable and caring in such a profession really does make the difference.

I hope this is of use to you all.

Di. xx
 
I board mine with Lyn at holiday hutches. It is quite a long way for me but I trust her 100% with them and she is very good with Snowdrop and her medical condition.
 
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