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Advice when moving house (long distance)

Roarysbunmum

Young Bun
Hi all,

I'm moving from Bristol to Northern Ireland at the end of March. This will involve a 4 hour drive, 8 hour ferry and another 1.5hour drive to get to my final destination.

Roary doesn't particularly like being in the car and has never been on such a long journey. I'm just trying to get some ideas how to make it as stress free as possible for him.

I'm going to transport him in his own large cage complete with litter tray, toys, food etc rather than a pet carrier as it will be too small. I'm hoping that as he will be familiar with his own cage it will be a bit of a comfort for him.

Obviously I will let him run around as much as possible before and after the journey but he will be confined to his cage otherwise, he does have some room to hop around but limited.

Has anyone experienced this before who could give me some tips or suggestions?
 
Hi all,

I'm moving from Bristol to Northern Ireland at the end of March. This will involve a 4 hour drive, 8 hour ferry and another 1.5hour drive to get to my final destination.

Roary doesn't particularly like being in the car and has never been on such a long journey. I'm just trying to get some ideas how to make it as stress free as possible for him.

I'm going to transport him in his own large cage complete with litter tray, toys, food etc rather than a pet carrier as it will be too small. I'm hoping that as he will be familiar with his own cage it will be a bit of a comfort for him.

Obviously I will let him run around as much as possible before and after the journey but he will be confined to his cage otherwise, he does have some room to hop around but limited.

Has anyone experienced this before who could give me some tips or suggestions?

I've never been on a ferry ⛴ with my bunny but have travelled for hrs approximately 8 to 9 hrs drive, with my old rabbit who passed away a few months back but anyway he coped with the journey and just seemed to sleep he too hated car journeys but my rabbit now has done a few hrs in the car and isnt really bothered about car journeys, I understand it can't be put off so the best thing you can do is stop at most services to check on him make sure he has food and water and plenty of hay because you will find he will most likely eat that so he won't be bored , I wouldn't use toys apart from wooden chews as he will be stressed out and will feel uncomfortable and most likely not want to play with his toys as he will want to know what's going instead of toys get veg and put it in different places to stimulate his brain
Hope this helps 👍👍
 
Slightly off topic but I personally would dose my rabbit with panacur, starting a few days before you leave. My thinking is if it stressfull for your bun he will be more susceptible to E.C. if he is a carrier (& most buns are). Good luck
 
Your bunny should be fine with his hay but water will spill and he shouldn't need any unless he has just eaten. You could have some washed greens handy to give him a bit now and then. I would cover his cage so he feels more secure. Hope the journey goes smoothly.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice, much appreciated. Never thought about panacur so that's something I will look into. Last thing I want is trying to find an emergency vet once I get there!
 
When I adopted Noah and Skye we had a 5 hour drive to get them home - so not quite as long as yours! I had a big dog crate for them which was filled with hay, then I had some wetted greens to give them half way through and they were absolutely fine when they got here, happily hopped out of the carrier.

It sounds good what you are planning, the only thing I would worry about is where will the bunnies be during the ferry ride? As usually you aren't allowed to leave pets int he car and not allowed to go into the car area during sailing, but bringing them into the communal areas isn't ideal either. Something to investigate / think about as it's a substantial part of the journey.
 
I've never taken buns on a ferry, but on my move to NI I took 3 cats on the 3(?) hour Liverpool - Belfast ferry. I was a foot passenger, each cat was in his own carrier, but I wasn't allowed to take them into the ferry. Instead I had to buy 'kennel' space, which were large, plastic dog crates outside on the deck. I'd booked 3, but realised it wouldn't be safe to let the cats out of their carriers, so instead put all 3 carriers into 1 'kennel'. I'm not sure how you'd go about manoeuvring a large cage, and those kennels certainly weren't suitable for a rabbit, being exposed to the elements like that, and possibly next door to dogs. Def something to research the rules and regs for!
 
Hi Capable, I had a look at the ferry this evening and it seems to be ok to leave pets in the car as long as ventilation and the cage is adequate. They also allow you to check on your pet during the sailing but this has to be booked in advance. I agree that the on deck kennel wouldn't be a good idea especially if there is a dog next door!
 
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