Hi there

My partner and I recently (Aproxx 1 month ago) purchased 2 rabbits (Named Chilli and Pepper for those who care :P) We are going away for a few days over Christmas and have arranged for a neighbour to come over and feed them and let them in the run for a few hours so they don't get bored.

For future reference, I was wondering if it would be suitable to leave them for a day or so alone with a timed pet feeder? such as the ones you can get with cats, I only ask as we occasionally spent a night or 2 away from home and don't want to ask my neighbour unless necessary. A search on google gives conflicting advice on the matter so I thought I'd just ask directly! I was thinking of getting one with the Ice packs in so keep fresh vegetables as well as their daily pellets. Would this be suitable for 1/2 nights?

Any advice appreciated
Paul.

I personally hate those timed feeders. What if it stops working for whatever reason and the rabbit goes hungry? Rabbits cannot under any circumstances be left without being fed, if they go without food for more than 24 hours (I think, correct me if its wrong) they will go into gut stasis, which could potentially kill them.

If you can't be there for them when they need feeding you shouldn't have got them unless you have someone who can care for them when your away. When we go away I put my 5 into boarding at a local rescue where they get cared for and I have the reassurance that I will come back to healthy rabbits not hungry sick rabbits.

Are you giveing them a constant supply of hay as you don't mention anything about this?

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I actually wouldn't go away unless I put my rabbits into boarding with a responsible, reputable rabbit boarder or rescue. Rabbits can become ill within hours and your neighbours may not notice the signs of a rabbit in gut stasis, such as lethargic, bloated tummy, refusal to eat. They may just see it as the rabbit isn't hungry. Spotting these signs and getting the rabbit to a vet ASAP is essential.

And rabbits need to go into a run more than a few hours every day, more like 9 hours a day or constant access to a run. Also are they being fed hay?

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I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011

If you had bothered to read my post fully, you would have seen that I do have someone who is willing to look after them, and I know of a local place that boards rabbits for any lengthy period of time I am away. The question i posed was merely hypothetical and I don't appreciate someone telling me I shouldn't have got rabbits when they don't know thee full situation or haven't bothered to read and digest what information I did give.

As for the hay supply, yes they have an unlimited supply of Fresh hay and water, please do not assume that as I'm asking questions I am a bad pet owner, I'm simply learning the best way to look after my pets and working out what I can and can't do, this is how people learn.

In relation to the run, between my partner and I, they usually get a good 6-8 hours a day out, when we purchased them we were advised anything from 3-4 hours upwards was suitable, and any more was a bonus, the general rules is, if we are home and out of bed, they are in the run, they go to their hutch to sleep and on the rare occasions when our work patterns cross over so we are both out of the house.

I definitely don't think it's appropriate to leave rabbits alone with a timed feeder for 'a day or two'. This is too long for them to go without them being checked. And one timed food device wouldn't be enough for fresh feeds during this length of time anyway, so then it starts getting complicated.

I have actually used a timed feeder with my rabbit twice in the last six months - but this has only been when I knew I was going to be home a couple of hours later than usual and I didn't want him to have to wait. As soon as I got home I obviously went straight up and checked on him as I usually would. If we're ever away for longer, I'm lucky to have a brilliant mother-in-law who will happily pop round to check on him and feed him as often as needed. This is great for my peace of mind as well, because she texts me with updates!

I know it feels like a pain, but this is the deal when you take on an animal - their needs have to come first because they're relying on you and it's your responsibility! I find caring for my rabbit more demanding than caring for my cat....but it's worth it

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My beautiful boys...
Ozzy (Burmese Cross, b. Aug 2000)
Buddy (Red Rex, b. Mar 2010)

Thanks for the advice Hel_79. As I said, I have a neighbour who is more than willing to check and play with them etc while we are away so it's not a problem.As for cats...I've always found them to be very self sufficient! A cat I once had, who is no longer with us (Due to her inability to beat a car in a head-butting contest) would happily tootle off and catch a mouse if we missed her feeding time by anything more than about half an hour, now that was a creature of habbit!

I've considered one so that if I want a major lie in in the morning I can without disturbing their routine. However, the main problem with relying on them for 1 or 2 days is hay.
I need to give my rabbits new hay at 10.30am, 4pm, and then a whole bunch at around 9/10pm to last them until the next lot. You'd either need a huge rack that they couldn't get in to to last them 2 days, or you'd have to just put a huge amount down, in which case they'd undoubtedly toilet on it and it wouldn't be edible any more.

Plus, as has been said, they would really need someone to look in on them occasionally. You'd never forgive yourself if something happened and one was left in pain until you got back.

I ended up with my grandson's rabbit because he wasn't been looked after properly, no offense intended to you, as you do have a neighbour to feed them and look after them while you are away.

I was having to look after Barney that often they didn't like asking me. You are already considering future short break holidays. The difference is you are looking for a suitable alternative, in an auto feeder. My advice would be to either ask your neighbour to look after them when you go away or have them boarded.

I have had Barney for 18 months now, and only today did my step-daughter mentioned he was too much for her and that they enjoy lots of short break holidays as well as their main annual holidays. I will be honest I am annoyed with her because she wanted the rabbit and imo she should have considered her lifestyle before getting one. However Barney is very happy and doing well with us. The pet boarder I use charges £3.50 per day - claw clipping is free.

We don't tend to go away too often, maybe 3-4 weekends a year, so its not a massive problem. As for pet boarders, are there any ways of finding out how reputable they are before using them? We have a cruise booked next year and were considering boarding them, locally as the alternative for such a long stretch of time (17 days total) would be to take them to a relative who live approx 1 hour drive away, I'm not sure if that amount of travel would stress them? The short (10 minx approx) trip to the vet for the immunisations was quite bad as one of them was making a squeaking sort of noise on the way there and on the way back and it took him a good few hours to settle down and return to his usual playful self once we got him home again. On the topic of travelling, can they be trained to travel well? If so, the weekend breaks I mentioned won't be an issue as we can take them with us, we go to a family owned static caravan that has a fairly large outside area we could easily put a run and possibly buy a travel cage to keep them in at night?