Going to Holland for 3 weeks in May,

[hummer]

We are going to Holland in May for 3 weeks, my husbands little brother is getting married. The problem is Miffy, well really her litter boxes. We will have the neighbors come over to take care of the dog and cat but I am not so sure about having them clean Miffy's cage. It is not exactly a pleasent experience, especially if her aim is not so good:X. I was wondering if it would be ok if I put her in her outdoor hutch while we are gone. It is totally enclosed and she is used to being out there during the day right now. I would get her some more hay for warmth at night and I would have the neigbors feed her her veggies and make sure she has pellets and water along with my cat and dog. I live in San Diego County where the weather averages out at 60 degrees at night and 70 during the day.

Would this be mean to her, or with me putting her outside for longer periods of time until we go help her really get more used to it? What about bringing her back inside once we return?

Sorry if there are alot of questions but I just want to make this as easy as possible for everyone (including Miffy of course!) as possible. And have as little stuff to worry about while I am in Holland. Thanks!

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

If the litter box is the problem being outside won't help. My girls live outside all the time and I still have to clean out their litter box once a day and their whole hutch once a week. You'd probably be better leaving her inside.

 

[hummer]

There is no litterbox in her outside hutch, it never really occured to me to put on there. Is that a bad thing?

 

[Pipp]

I find thatmy cat box is always more gnarly than my bunny box.

Miffy girl, you shouldn't be so messy! :nonono:

I'd be a little concerned about predators, too. Not sure how secure your yard is, but once some beast takes an interest, they can be very persistant with no one to chase them off. Andtheshockof even a failed attack can be dangerous.

And then there's the chance of heat stroke. May has been known to get up there, temp wise in So Cal, and that can really be a threat.

Lots of bunnies live outside, I just wouldn't trust them out there with nobody around to deal with these things.

Maybe there's a bunny sitter in the neighbourhood? You've got time to ask around. Even if you find somebody who isn't all that rabbit savvy, as long as they have a computer, you can always introduce them to us. :biggrin

SAS and PIPP :bunnydance:

 

[hummer]

This is the first time that we will be gone for such an extended time since I aquired Miffy in March of last year. Our other vactions have been for a long weekend or so and that presented no problem for our neighbors. I am going to check with 2 of our neighbors who have teenage girls and see if they would like to earn some money with our animals. I checked with some pet sitting services and there is no way that hubby would pay $1000 for somebody to come by here 2x a day! (dog needs to be let in and out twice a day) I know one of the girls loves my cat, she can't have one so Hobbes is a good surrogate for her sometimes.:thumbup

I just talked to her mom and she sees no reason why not, the money she gets from us she will be able to use when her grandparents take her to Europe this summer. So it looks like my dilemma has been solved!

Thanks to Pipp and Bunny_rules63 for the help!

 

[naturestee]

Some vets and rabbit rescues/fosterers will take in bunnies for boarding. You could try calling them.

 

[thor]

Hi there! We've had Thor for 4 years now, and she remains indoors only during the cold months Dec-march. Usually when the temp is over 40F in the daytime, she goes out. We have a chicken wire enclosed area for Thor under the back patio, and my husband built a little wooden shelter for her. Her shelter is insulated with farmers hay, so it is warm enough, and she has a water bottle and gets fed 2xdaily. She has figured out which corner of her area is for pooping, and I clean out this area regularly. (It's only dirt, and after it's cleared, I add fresh dirt). I have hung up a little toy on a shoelace for her to play with, which only seems to keep her amused when it hold some yummy rabbit treat. She has an old baseball to nudge and chin rub, and a few deer antlers she chin rubs, and pushes about in her area to 'rearrange' when she sees fit. My husband has also put an old wheel well on top of her 'house', filled it with hay, and it provides a nice outlook for Thor; she hops on to the wheel well, and beds down in the hay. Sometimes she sleeps in there (in the daytime), and other times she just uses it as a perch to oversee the 'action' in the backyard. I, personally, if I were you, would not worry about keeping bunny outside. 3 weeks, relatively speaking is not long. We have left our rabbit outside (in the summer, though) for 4 weeks. The worst that happened, was she would not acknowledge me for 3 days (turned her back to me, would not come over, etc.). We also have neighbours with 2 little girls who adore the bunny, and we asked them if they could feed her 2x daily, and make sure she has water all the time. No poop cleaning required! The temperatures in your area sound safe enough for me. I think your rabbit will be fine. You know bunnies are always curious about everything...I think your bun will love it! Good luck!

 

[Pipp]

I don't think there's a problem keeping them outside, it's just the unsupervised part that bothers me.Quite a bit.

I don't know how secure the yard is, but predators may sense there isn't anybody living in the house, and if on the offchance there is a problem with heat or illnessor anything else, somebody checking on them daily may not be enough.

SAS :lookaroundand PIPP :brownbunny

 

[hummer]

Our backyard is totally enclosed with 6 foot fences but now that you mention it, our neigborhood has been frequented by single coyotes and small packs of them. I think just within the last month or so I saw walk across my neighbor's front yard in the middle of the day.

I have talked with my neighbor, she will confirm it with her teenage daughter about taking care of all 3 animals while we are gone. They have watched our cat and dog before, the daughter loves my cat as their dog does not so Hobbes becomes her surrogate cat while we are gone.:thumbup Since she is going to Europe in July and will be there in May, we are going to pay her $150 US which is $200 euro for the 3 weeks so she will have spending money.

I will have her come over a few times before we leave to show her how to clean the litter boxes and cage for Miffy. That way she will feel comfortable doing it and if she has any questions it would be a good time for her to ask me.

Thank you all for the suggestions, thor-it sounds like your bunny has a great setup with you, I hope we can be that creative when we are in NJ!