Moving!

[Oliver The Bunny!]

Hello, every bunny! I own a 1.5-year-old Netherland dwarf rabbit! We are going to be moving to a farm soon, he will still be kept inside. He’s a pretty confident little bunny and loves to explore all over our house but I’m worried the move will stress him out. I would really appreciate it if anyone could share any advice they have! He has a hutch as his home base which has lots of blankets in it that smell like our current house and will be given lots of hidey-houses. He will be switched to free roam once he’s settled in! The past owner of our house did not have rabbits so I know there won’t be any smells that will make him too upset.

[DanaNM]

I’m sure he will be just fine!

I’ve moved several times recently with my rabbits, once cross country! They all did wonderfully.

Best thing is not to wash his blankets or anything right before the move. You can even keep a small amount of dirty litter in his litter box. When you get to the new place, let him hang out in his carrier for 30 min or so.

Then you can put him in his hutch/pen to chill out. If he seems really nervous, don’t be afraid to let him chill in his hutch for a week. He’ll prob let you know when he’s ready to explore. It’s also good to expand the space slowly to make sure litter box habits don’t disappear. Adding hides and tunnels around the new rooms will help too.

Having some favorite herbs for his dinner the first night in the new place is also great.

Also not sure where you get hay, but I got mine from a local source so I stocked up a bit before the move, just to make sure I had plenty of hay my buns actually liked when I got there.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

I second Dana, he’ll be fine! If he has his own stuff that smells of him, hidey houses, perhaps tunnels (cat tunnels or f ex cardboard concrete-casting tubes) plus his humans, he’ll most likely transition just fine. You will bring your scents and voices and stuff i e all the things that constitute “home”.

[Oliver The Bunny!]

Thanks for your advice! I get hay from chewy so I don’t have to worry about getting a different hay, we also are only moving 20 minutes away!

[LBJ10]

You would be surprised at how adaptable they are. As long as they have all of their stuff and the setup is kept pretty much the same, most bunnies do just fine with the move. Sometimes they take a little bit to want to explore. I like the idea of not washing anything. That way things still smell like him.

[GlennTheLionhead]

Just to add, I’ve moved mine around often and they have always been fine.

Glenn is particularly well travelled and we have lived in 3 different housed together and in his first 3 years we lived very far from family so we would also travel him to visit mine and my partners parents every summer and Christmas and he would stay in their houses for a 2-4 consecutive weeks…He always did really well and often excitedly explored and gave the houses binkies of approval.

Theres a chance you might see him eat a little less the first night from stress but just offer him lots of tasty thing 😊

[Oliver The Bunny!]

Thank you for the advice! 🙂

 

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