What do you do when you go out of town?

[Desert Rose Rabbits]

So, in August of next year my husband and I, along with my mother and Nana (and their spouses) are renewing our vows in a three way ceremony. I'll be headed out of state for at least a weekend and have NO idea what to do with the rabbits. We can bring the dog with us, but we'll be finding a pet sitter for our elderly cats (1 of which needs meds). I just don't know how I'm going to be able to explain so many rabbits in my backyard that are obviously not show quality. We have a friend who might be able to do it, but he doesn't want to commit so far out (which I totally understand) so I want a backup. Oi...

 

[DogCatMom]

Trying to think of possibilities for you...are the rabbits legal where you live? That is, you're allowed to raise them in the yard and all that?

1) If so, then a member of Pet Sitters International should be able to deal with it. But!!! You'll want someone recommended by another rabbit raiser for sure. That way, the chances of the pet-sitter being an ARA go down a whole lot.

2) Do you have a vet for the dog and the cats? Many vet techs earn extra money by taking care of clients' animals during their hours off. A rabbit vet's vet technician might be a perfect person IF you could ascertain the "animal rights" attitude while at the clinic (this is all assuming the rabbits and their set-up are legal).

3) Do you have a rabbit-raising contact nearby? (within a 20 to 30-minute drive, that is) You could ask this person to cover for you in August and you could offer to cover for him/her during an equivalent period of need, either beforehand or in the future, after August.

If the rabbits and their set-up are not legal or are pushing legality (OK under some ordinances, questionable under others kind of thing) you might need to depend on automatic watering systems and feeding systems for those few days.

But don't give up! There may be 4-H kids or FFA participants who'd like to help out. Check out those avenues; if not the kids themselves, perhaps a mother or two would like some $ for taking care of rabbits who won't take a chunk out of her arms....

And heck, depending on where you are in Nevada (north?), I might drive over for a little knitting/crocheting/quilting weekend with bunnehs and mah own dog. I've taken care of elderly cats to the extent of subcutaneous fluid administration and oral syringing. So, if all else fails, we might be able to figure something out. I sure won't rat anybody out to the Law if the rabbits are well kept. (Good food, clean water, fresh air, sanitation, protection from sun/wind--the basics.)

So there are six options, right there. Hope some of them sound good to you!

 

[skysthelimit]

I have not been out of town for longer than 24 hrs in 10 years. I always watch threads like these to see if I can get any ideas that will work for me. My rabbits are legal, but I still don't want anyone I don't know going in and out of that barn full of bunnies, and city life is breeding ground for AR and AC types.

 

[desertcat]

Since the last of the ponies went to greener pastures, I feel positively gleeful at leaving town. My nephews live across the street and get to let the dogs out on their way to work. Really don't want to count on them for much more than that, though.
The 'problem' I have is more bunny sitters than bunnies! Not a one of them has any rabbit experience, but they fill the water bottles, (over)fill the feeders and make sure everybunny gets treats & snuggles. Oh yea, they also feed the dogs & cats (but they don't clean cages)

How did I find these folks? Easy...I talked about the bunnies until they had to come see them :twisted:
I do plan our new litters so the does are either not due or have a litter with open eyes when we leave. My sitter thinks I'm being nice, but I want to have the fun of popples!

I know we all get a little OCD in our critter care, but for a weekend, all you really need is a warm body that understands the idea of 'if it's almost empty, fill it'

Now relax & have a good time

 

[Wheels]

I have awesome neighbors who are well aware of my rabbits and they know just enough to keep them alive over a long weekend. I'm nit-picky about my water bottles (each bun has their own and I don't like mixing it up) and they always get them wrong but every bun has a full one when I get home

 

[Miss M]

I am blessed, as well. I have two sets of neighbors I could trust to take care of the bunnies if we went out of town. One of them we have cared for their animals when they've been out of town.

When we lived in the city, though... we were in stealth mode. If we had needed to go out of town for something, I don't know what I would have done.

 

[akane]

We don't. When we were thinking about visiting my family in Arkansas I planned to call a friend of mine who works just a couple blocks from where we live and see if she was off or staying in the area between christmas and new years. Otherwise if she had someone to recommend. Plan b was to call the vet office and see if they could recommend someone. Plan c was to contact some of the people who post to craigslist about pet sitting. Only for the caged pets though. In the past when we didn't have a bunch of caged pets in the condo his dog went to his parents and my dog and rabbits went to my mom's farm.

We decided to stay home though. Next summer if my husband has enough off time from his new job by that point we might take a vacation somewhere and test our plans.

 

[Desert Rose Rabbits]

Yeah... we're kinda in stealth mode over here. They're not technically legal, but our neighborhood is so old that half of the houses are running a small brood of chickens complete with roosters. Animal Control stays out of it as long as there aren't any complaints. If I had them for show, I wouldn't worry, but because I raise for meat I get paranoid.

My brother in law may be able to do it, but he's not responsible, and frankly, he's an idiot and I'd be concerned that someone would get out or that he'd OD the cat on her meds.

I'd hate to bring in another rabbit person as I have a light strain of Pasteurella in my herd (stupid irresponsible breeders/sellers selling asymptomatic buns). I'm working on herd immunity right now, but I'd had to accidentally infect someone else's herd.

 

[zee]

My brother and his wife house sits and feeds the dogs and the rabbits for me. I'm toying with the idea of making an automatic waterer and feeder utilizing a 5 gallon bucket (For water) and 4" pvc piping (For feed) to see how many days they stay fed and watered. If this experiment works, I could leave my brother alone should I decide to go on a 3 or 4 day trip.

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

I have awesome neighbors who are well aware of my rabbits and they know just enough to keep them alive over a long weekend. I'm nit-picky about my water bottles (each bun has their own and I don't like mixing it up) and they always get them wrong but every bun has a full one when I get home

I started color coding my water bottles and feeders to go with the same color cages. I just spray paint a big dot on each.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Could you ask one if your neighbors? Preferably one with a rooster? My neighbor used to own rabbits and chickens and such (he's a gazillion years old, lol, but super nice and responsible) but even if he didnt, he's a responsible guy and if I told him what to do, then I'd trust him. Generally, when we left town, I'd tell him 'well they take about a scoop of xx food... If they look too hungry than just give them more..' Lol.

So I'd vote for the neighbors. Can they fill water bottles, feed crocks, put some hay for munching, and clean out pens (assuming that's all you have- rabbits) then I'd trust them. Not sure about the cat though. Can you find a responsible neighbor?

You could always get a rabbit sitter and make it VERY VERY clear you have a strain of pasterulla. Some breeders won't mind and will just disinfect, disinfect, disinfect after going to your house.

 

[Heritage Homestead]

We have a wonderful family from our church that lives down the road that takes care of our animals when we are away. They may not do everything like we do, but we are never away for more than a few days.