Weekend Vacation- bunny alone??

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

StarBunny

Active Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2021
Messages
33
Reaction score
24
Location
Northern Illinois
Hi everyone! I am trying to find out that if my family and I go on a 2-3 day weekend vacation, will my bunny be ok with several bins of hay and several bowls of water. I plan to enlarge his cage area while we would be away to make room for exercise. He has a 14 square foot enclosure that is a little over 2 ft high. I do not have anyone I can trust that’s always available to help. Can this be done safely? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
 
To be honest, I would just see if a neighbours kid or a friend or family member could pop in once a day for two minutes. To check if they bun is okay and hay or water top up if needed. I wouldn’t trust my bunny alone for three days by himself

if you don’t know anyone, if you Google “rabbit boarding near me” you can probably find some. The places near me charge only £6-8 a day
 
Rabbits can have health issues and decline very quickly, so it is risky leaving them essentially alone for two to three days.

That being said, I have left Lawrence alone for 2 full days during an emergency. As long as they have ample hay and water, they should be "fine". NOT IDEAL, but possible. Rabbits are survivors, and might hold it against you for a while, but should survive.

In the US, rabbit boarding or home pet checks aren't available in all areas, unfortunately. I am super lucky to have a rabbit-savvy boarder/vet tech who live mere minutes from me. I gave her a set of keys to my house, and can call her in an emergency...

Hope I don't get flamed too hard for this! 😂
 
I agree with everyone else, I would suggest getting a friend to come every day to check on him.
Rabbit boarding is not available where I live, so one of my best friends who loves rabbits comes and takes care of Theo when I'm away. I completely trust her with him, but I still write out detailed instructions, film a video of how to care for him, and have a pet camera set up just to be safe. Last year I was able to go on three different vacations (each one at least 5 days long) and didn't even have to worry about Theo's safety! I have left him alone for only a day before, but I gave him lots of hay before I left and made sure he had plenty of water.
 
To be fair, my bunny is left “alone” every fortnight for the weekend. My mum is in the house, but will usually just pour water in his bowl and throw his veggies on the floor (I always prepped them in storage containers for him). I will fill him a storage tote of hay, but there have been times that my bun has started showing signs of stasis or illness while I was gone.
 
Is it litter trained?
He is not neutered/altered yet so he is not the best at his litter. He uses it 85-90%. When he was younger he was awesome at being litter trained. Now he runs and plays and poops away while he does. I plan to take him in for the surgery in July. I want to be sure I am home for the next couple months after recovery.
 
Hi everyone! I am trying to find out that if my family and I go on a 2-3 day weekend vacation, will my bunny be ok with several bins of hay and several bowls of water. I plan to enlarge his cage area while we would be away to make room for exercise. He has a 14 square foot enclosure that is a little over 2 ft high. I do not have anyone I can trust that’s always available to help. Can this be done safely? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
[/QUOTE]
Hi everyone! I am trying to find out that if my family and I go on a 2-3 day weekend vacation, will my bunny be ok with several bins of hay and several bowls of water. I plan to enlarge his cage area while we would be away to make room for exercise. He has a 14 square foot enclosure that is a little over 2 ft high. I do not have anyone I can trust that’s always available to help. Can this be done safely? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Thank you so much everyone. I do think 1 day is doable occasionally with care but to have a person there after that. You have all been very helpful!
 
I went on a day trip my bunny was still watched by my sons but when I got home she was sad once she seen me she was jumping and running around so I don’t recommend it because they go into depression quickly my boys said the whole time I was away she didn’t eat or anything they were scared look into pet care some pet shops will house them for a few days for a small fee
 
My rabbit gets sad if she doesn't get enough attention. My rabbit stayed with my mother in law while we went on vacation. Lucy sounded like she had a good time and bonded well with grandma sitting near her on the couch etc.

We are going out of town in July for 5 days. My rabbit is staying at my daughters place. She is over regularly and she knows her. We can't take Lucy with:)
 
I went on a day trip my bunny was still watched by my sons but when I got home she was sad once she seen me she was jumping and running around so I don’t recommend it because they go into depression quickly my boys said the whole time I was away she didn’t eat or anything they were scared look into pet care some pet shops will house them for a few days for a small fee
I do think they can get attached to their person, almost bonded. Was your bunny always used to just you giving 90% plus of the care? Thank you for mentioning this!
 
Last edited:
My rabbit gets sad if she doesn't get enough attention. My rabbit stayed with my mother in law while we went on vacation. Lucy sounded like she had a good time and bonded well with grandma sitting near her on the couch etc.

We are going out of town in July for 5 days. My rabbit is staying at my daughters place. She is over regularly and she knows her. We can't take Lucy with:)
Do you move your bunny’s whole cage or have a travel one when he/she stays with your mother in law or daughter? And does your bunny adjust quickly to the new surroundings? I like the idea of this. I don’t think I thought of it before.
 
Do you move your bunny’s whole cage or have a travel one when he/she stays with your mother in law or daughter? And does your bunny adjust quickly to the new surroundings? I like the idea of this. I don’t think I thought of it before.
Well we brought everything over when she went to my in-laws. I do not have the same set up now. We recently changed from crate to free range but have a x pen at night....she has found the weak spot and broken out most nights. So I need to either build a bunny condo or get another crate. This is her area now. I think a crate or a bunny home would be best at my daughter's place. I had a bunny house but my husband got rid of it, I had used it for traveling in the car. I am sure he thought we were just hanging onto it and it was too small. I do think it is best to keep a similar set up but a little change for a weekend or a week is okay too. This is what Lucy's set up is now. The wooden perch covers her litter pan.20210517_073844.jpg
 
I do think they can get attached to their person, almost bonded. Was your bunny always used to just you giving 90% plus of the care? Thank you for mentioning this!
Yes I’m the only one that takes her out and she follows me around the house when I do this I also take her outside and she will run to the door for ppl to pick her out and let her out my kids basically just fed her and made sure she had water
 
Well we brought everything over when she went to my in-laws. I do not have the same set up now. We recently changed from crate to free range but have a x pen at night....she has found the weak spot and broken out most nights. So I need to either build a bunny condo or get another crate. This is her area now. I think a crate or a bunny home would be best at my daughter's place. I had a bunny house but my husband got rid of it, I had used it for traveling in the car. I am sure he thought we were just hanging onto it and it was too small. I do think it is best to keep a similar set up but a little change for a weekend or a week is okay too. This is what Lucy's set up is now. The wooden perch covers her litter pan.View attachment 55271
I think I will definitely consider bringing a cage to a relatives house.

You have quite the clever escape artist. I had a guinea pig that did that too.

My bunny set up is difficult to move. I have special NIC type panels I triple reinforced (zip ties on every joint on each 2 panels that touch) after using connectors. These panels have a 1” space which I was very particular about having. Eventually I want xpen attached for more running room. This is my set up and it’s hard to move. It’s big. The photo is when I first set it up. It has a billion poops in it now each day! Haha! So I’d have to build a smaller one for travel and I do probably have enough panels left to do it.
 

Attachments

  • FEF4C871-6F21-48C5-B90D-E4AEF5FC2D02.jpeg
    FEF4C871-6F21-48C5-B90D-E4AEF5FC2D02.jpeg
    389.9 KB · Views: 2

Latest posts

Back
Top