Moving house with bunnies

Henxy · Aug 6, 2007

We are about to move home with our trio of lovely buns. Our new home is 82 miles away from our current home. We have a puppy crate (doberman-sized) which they love being in, and intend to transport them in.

Has anyone got any advice about the relocation process, and how to reduce thestress that our babies may experience, please?

Korr_and_Sophie · Aug 6, 2007

Try to have their cage up ASAP. Bring enough water for the trip and after as to not upset their gi tract. There may be different thinks in the new water. If you can, take a break or 2 on the way. 82 miles would be a day of travel right? If it has to be more than a day, bring a pen to excersize in at night. Keep hay and water avaliable at all times. Offer water every hour if you can. Special treats could help with stress.

Good luck.

missyscove · Aug 6, 2007

82 miles shouldn't be long at all, right. I'd guess maybe 2 hours. It should be fairly simple to actually move them. Acclimating them to the new house would be harder. I reccomend confining them to a small area if they're used to running free and enlarging it later. Maybe spread some towels and things out in their current area and move those to their new area so it smells the same.

Bunnys_rule63 · Aug 7, 2007

How are your bunnies with travelling in the car? If they travel ok then the journey shouldn't be too bad; however if they get stressed I'd recommend trying to get them used to travelling by letting them play in the car with the engine off, then with the engine on, then start taking them for short trips until they become used to it and stay calm. Also before and during the journey try giving them some rescue remedy and some other calming herbs to reduce their stress levels.

For the journey try to make their dog crate like a safe haven for them, give them plenty of hay to eat, water to drink, some veggiesor greensto snack on and a few favourite toys. It also might be worth banking up the hay against the sides of the crate in case they get knocked about a bit in the car so they don't injure themselves.

Good luck with the move!

Henxy · Aug 7, 2007

Thanks for all the replies...

The bunnies seem to really enjoy time in their crate, and don't seem bothered at all by travelling by car. I use the aircon as needed to help them stay cool.

They have made the journey once in between both houses, and settled happily enough for the week's stay before we brought them back, so all should be well when we do move properly next month, but I wanted to be sure that there was nothing extra that I should be doing to ease their stress.

gwhoosh · Aug 8, 2007

Rilee and I regularly travel 300 miles by car every month or so, 600 if you count round-trip. We've semi-moved (only moved out some stuff) for a 2 month stay and totally moved out last May until August, when we'll totally move again. She travels in a standard pet/cat carrier strapped in the front seat. She doesn't really enjoy car travel, but she tolerates it okay, highway travel is better than city. We only make one stop (it's about 4.5 hours) and sometimes she always has a water bottle, and sometimes I only offer when we stop, but she never drinks anything. Sometimes she might eat some hay, but never a lot, just a bite or two. But she will pee and poo, so make sure you have something down for that, as well as grip. When we arrive, if the cage is not already set up, it's the first thing I do. When I had to take apart her NIC cage to move it, I had a temporary store-bought cage for her.

So, as to reducing stress; in the car, I make sure the carrier is covered if I use the open-top one so she doesn't feel too exposed. I don't turn the radio too high and talk to her. Before we leave, I usually offer her a craisin, but she doesn't always feel like eating it. When we get there, the first thing I do is take care of her and get her out of the carrier so she can eat and drink properly. Then I take care of everything else.

The biggest thing I have to deal with is getting her in the carrier! While car travel doesn't stress her too much, it's not fun for her. She distrusts the carrier, lol, it might take her to the vet or a nail trim or a long, boring ride. That's all I can think of to say. I'm sure the move will be no big deal for your buns!