How long can you leave rabbits alone?

[paper_crane2]

I was wondering how long you can leave rabbits alone. Can I leave for a day-trip and came back late, just making sure that they have their food for the day and fresh water? I know that if it is hot out then you would have to have someone there to keep them cool (putting in frozen pop bottles in for them to lean against and such). But how long can they be by themselves without someone watching them?

 

[dayna]

I guess it depends on where you live. Where I am in Hawaii, the answer would be 8 hours or less. The weather changes soooo fast. It might be 60 and raining when I wake up and two hours later its sunny, 85 and no breeze.

So I am all day, moving tarps to keep the sun off or rain off, putting ice bottles when it's too hot, etc etc.

 

[Ivory]

Like Dayna said, I too think it depends a lot on the weather.

I used to check and feed my rabbits at least twice a day every day.

This last winter, due to circumstances way beyond my control, I was only able to get to them once every third day. They didn't come to any harm at all.

So long as they have plenty of feed and water and protection from the weather I'm pretty sure yu could safely leave them for 24 hours.

 

[Secuono]

If they have water [bottles need to be changed daily here] and an automatic food dispenser, then a week? But just fed/watered that morning, you leave that morning, you'd have to be back the next morning to refill water at least. You could come back at the end of the day if you had enough water.

 

[annie]

I am in Hawaii too, not too long because some of my cages are outdoors with roofs, tarps over the back and wooden sides that come off. I am always leaving with the sides on or off depending on the weather, and rushing back because it started to pour or got super hot and sunny.

 

[paper_crane2]

Thanks for the responses. Do any of you use automatic feeders/waterers? Are they pretty reliable?

 

[dayna]

One quick thing about water bottles. They can and do sometimes drain. So if you are going to be away from home for a long period of time I would also hook a quick loc crock or something untippable and also fill that with water. I've filled up a half gallon water bottle and gone out 2 hours later and it's empty and there is a puddle of water under the cage. Maybe I didn't screw it on tight enough, maybe the bun shoved something in the spout, I don't know. But it's happened a few times with different water bottles.

 

[grumpy]

Thanks for the responses. Do any of you use automatic feeders/waterers? Are they pretty reliable?

yes......they are.

However, as with anything, they're not fail-safe. THINGS do happen that could put the entire rabbitry in danger. Especially with an auto-watering system. i.e. a valve could get stuck open and drain the entire system.

I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving them unattended for over 24 hours.

grumpy.

 

[SatinsRule]

Something I've done is fill half-gallon Gatorade jugs with water and rig them to the sides of cages with springs where the opening of the jug goes about a half inch into the water already in the crock, such as to provide an extended supply of water. The water won't run out until the water level in the crock goes low enough, and the bottle refills it to the proper level automatically. It generally provides enough water to last 3-5 days, depending upon the weather and the individual rabbits' consumption rates, and works exceptionally well for the times when I'm gone for extended show trips. It's also the only time I will do anything resembling free-feeding with adult rabbits. I also make sure everyone has plenty of hay to subsidize their diets.

Of course, it's always a good idea to have someone you know and trust to check in on them and top off whatever needs to be topped off.

 

[ladysown]

as long as they have adequate food, water and protection you can leave them for an entire weekend. If you are concerned, have someone stop in to keep an eye on them.

Mind that weather plays a role in this. ie...I would not leave them for more than a day in the winter unless you had heated water bottles. In the scorch heat of summer I'd want someone there twice a day to make sure they have water.

But spring/fall when the weather is nice with no storm forecasted....no issues.