How long after death can we leave it to bury rabbit ?

[Isadora2007]

Friends pet rabbit died and they’re not home for 3 more days. Will it be okay wrapped in towel in a box in the garage til then? Temperature is 6/7 degrees overnight... 11/12 during the day...

I think I would pop it in the freezer.

Wrapped up and in the fridge perhaps?

Wrapped and freezer don't risk the garage.

Oh dear, that's unfortunate. I certainly wouldn't be putting it in my fridge or freezer though, very unhygienic! 🤢

I would just bury it for them personally.

From childhood experience, I wouldn’t leave it three days. I can remember my four-day-dead bunny... it wasn’t good.

Put it in a box and bury it? You or they can dig up if they want it.

If you go with keeping him for the owners to bury, I would strongly suggest bunny gets securely wrapped in plastic to prevent any flies.
DCat was not in a good way when we found him, but it was probably more than 3 days later.
But I think you might be best asking the owners where he should be buried, and dig the hole sooner rather than later.

Wrap it up well in foil or clingfilm and pop it in the freezer in a plastic carrier bag
This was someones pet . I'm sure (if you aren't a vegetarian) whatever you normallyput in your freezer wouldn't have started off as clean as a domestic pet .

If you put him in the garage he will stink (I've put guinea-pig corpses in out garage in sub zero as the ground was too solid , I didn't look but they didn't smell. This time of year though they'd stink)

I wouldn't bury it on their behalf though.

Were you looking after the rabbit for them? Huge for you .

Fuck me! Don't put him in the fridge or freezer, how awful!

Bunny deserves to be buried with dignity and it will be horrifying for the children to return to a week old dead pet.

Can you ask if you can bury it? It needs dealing with ASAP.

Bloody hell, OP, you'll never sign up to pet sit again. Big bottle of wine for you after all this!

Another vote for wrapping up securely and putting in the freezer. It's a dead rabbit, not a baby. They can then bury it when they come home. I would let them know in advance though, you must have their mobile no??

2020 whatever you do don't google what happens to dead humans before they're buried

@cosmopolitanplease

2020 whatever you do don't google what happens to dead humans before they're buried

I think being refrigerated sterilely in a morgue is very different than having the family pet stuffed into the bottom shelf of the fridge next to the ketchup, don't you?

How awful for them.

Do they know?

How did it die?

2020 you obviously have major issues. Who tf keeps ketchup in the fridge!!

@cosmopolitanplease

2020 you obviously have major issues. Who tf keeps ketchup in the fridge!!

The team at Heinz say, "Because of its natural acidity, Heinz Ketchup is shelf-stable. However, its stability after opening can be affected by storage conditions. We recommend that this product, like any processed food, be refrigerated after opening. Refrigeration will maintain the best product quality after opening."5 Mar 2020

It absolutely will not be ok! Sorry.
You need to bury him.

@cosmopolitanplease you keep it in the cupboard?! You animal! There's nothing better than hot chips with cold ketchup.

In this instance, make sure you brush the bloody rabbit fur off it though!

We keep ketchup in the fridge but that's cause DH always did so and I adopted his way of doing things. We never kept condiments in the fridge at my parents house.

Bury it in a box but put some bricks or something heavy on the top of the earth. It prevents foxes or other animals digging it up. I'll never forget seeing the orange and white spotted material I wrapped my gerbil in when I was a teenager fluttering around the garden

Of course you can put it in the freezer. I did that with one of my cats; wrapped her in a clean piece of old sheet, put her in a shoe box, tied it securely and put her in the freezer until the gravedigger (son-in-law) was available.

I’d take it to the pet crematorium and give them the ashes.

Take photos of it to show them it is dead - whatever you do. That may save them from digging it up if you bury it. Whose fridge or freezer would you use ? They may be angry if you put dead rabbit in theirs.

After 3 days it will stink.

I'd put it in a plastic bag in the freezer, and defrost before they get back.

Can you speak to them to ask what they want?

if you do freeze it, it will need defrosting before burial as the smell may attract vermin, i've had a fox dig up a frozen furry, not good.