Rabbit/Cavy transport- does anyone do it?

[Starsider]

I belong to a few Cavy groups on FB where people are usually looking for transport for purchased animals from shows, and it's gotten me thinking. I happen to travel up to the NY/NJ area from South Central PA very frequently (2x a month at least) and I'm beginning to wonder if I could make a little extra cash doing transport from some of the bigger shows on the East coast for both rabbits and cavies. I also am close to several big reptile/exotics shows that I'm sure people could use transport to and from.

Has anyone done this type of thing, and if so how much do you typically charge? I see transport fees of about $25-30 listed on some of the groups. Do you require people to provide their own carriers, or do you provide them?

 

[AprilW]

Transport is almost always needed by rabbit people. It might take a while to build a reputation for safe and healthy delivery but once that happens, I think you'd get a lot of business. Many transporters use their own carriers because there may not be a return trip in some cases. $20 per rabbit is the most recent cost I've paid. You may want an adjustable scale if someone transports multiple rabbits or if you will need to feed/water or even clean the carriers during transport.

The reason I don't offer transport for others is simply the liability. Even if something wasn't my fault, I would feel bad if it happened on my watch. A good policy statement up front is important. For example, what happens if you deliver a rabbit that becomes ill or what if a rabbit dies during transit? Do you replace it, offer a refund of the purchase cost, or what? I have never had an issue with rabbits I have had transported because it isn't common, but it could happen so it's wise to cover yourself.

 

[alforddm]

Another thing to consider if what would happen if you go to pick up a rabbit and it sick. Of course you wouldn't want to transport it but generally the buy has already paid. You would need to have a plan in place.

Having a rabbit get sick during transport could be a real nightmare if you're transporting rabbits from/to multiple people.

 

[Starsider]

Thanks for the ideas and also the cautionary things, all good things to think about. I may talk to some other folks who do transport and see what they normally do in these situations, especially the sick animals.

 

[fhjmom]

I did transport when we went to a show in Ohio from Texas to help offset the cost. We were full just by word of mouth because so many people wanted transport, I didn't even advertise. I have also paid for transport several times. The average rate here to the big shows seems to be $20-30. I had a form I asked each person to fill out that had all the contact info for buyer, seller, and other transporter if applicable with details about rabbit, breed, variety, ear number and pick up date, time, location. That way everything was in writing and clear. I also had some policies stated such as I reserved the right to refuse transport if the animal showed visible signs of illness or was aggressive. I think I also had a statement about transporting animals was a risk and that I was not responsible for any illness or issues that developed while under my care. I made a detailed list so I knew which animals I was picking up and dropping off where and to whom with contact numbers. I even planned out ahead of time which rabbits were going in which specific carriers and how they needed to be packed in the vehicle so that we could get to those that were being picked up or dropped off along the way. My family laughed at me for being so anal about my lists, but being super organized helped a ton!! Another thing I did to make it easier since I was transporting from a coop show was to make cage tags I checked on all the animals I would be transporting as soon as I could and put our cage tag on their coop. That way when it was time to load, it was much easier to find all the rabbits we needed to pick up. Plus, if we did by some chance leave one behind (or someone thought it was left because we hadn't gotten it loaded yet), there was a contact number on the cage tag that someone could call us immediately; thankfully that wasn't needed but it gave me extra peace of mind.

I will say that I enjoyed transporting and helping others get some stock they would not have been able to get otherwise. the money did help offset our expenses a bit but certainly didn't cover the cost of the trip. I may do it again if we travel to a big show like that again, but it is a lot of work and it is stressful knowing you are responsible for other people's animals.

Oh, one rabbit I was picking up had a large ***** of hair just growing in on its back where it looked like it had been injured or something. I made sure and sent pics to the new owner and asked her to confirm that she knew the animal had a previous injury or issue before I took possession so she would not say that it had been hurt under my care. She was okay with it, but I wanted to be sure she knew what she was getting as well as covering my own rear.

I also learned that I should include "age of rabbit" on my form as one of the rabbits I was paid to pick up was very young, like ~5-6 weeks old. We don't wean our Netherlands until 8 weeks and then this was a stressful three day show, plus a very long drive back to Texas and I was very concerned about this little one making it. It did fine but I would add something about not transporting rabbits under 8 weeks old if I did this again, but that is just me and something I am more comfortable with.

HTH!!