single bun out in the cold

Hi all,

We own a dutch-cross female who sleeps in a double decker hutch by night and has the run of an enclosed garden during daytime.(plenty of undergrowth, trees, bushes etc) Her sole aim in life is to get into our house, which we dont really mind but she chews all the wires, sofas etc so she's been banned recently, apart from the odd runaround. What is the best way of protecting her from this drop in temperature outside? She scratches at the patio doors constantly, we have a conservatory which is almost as cold as outside - should we move her into there for the winter, or should I be customising her hutch to keep her warm - she has hay, newspaper, shavings and an old cusion in there but is she still cold? She is about 8 months old and not been spayed. Any advice welcome

Could you move her into the conservatory for the winter? She may just long for company. We felt sorry for Fudge about 3 weeks ago and he now lives in our conservatory in a 4 ft dog crate. We let him out as much as possible and he seems to love our company.

I think a friend would be the best plan... she sounds lonely to me x

Aww it sounds like she just wants to be with you. Maybe if she cant come inside - like what has been said - a friend would be an idea. is this something you have thought of?

Have you thought about spaying her and getting her a friend? Spaying also prevents uterine cancer which is very common in rabbits so it's recommended for health reasons too. Having had single rabbits then bonded Pippa with MJ, it's made her so happy I would wholeheartedly recommend saving up to get her spayed then finding her a husbun

As far as winter goes, I wouldn't worry about her being cold.... as long as she's been out there to grow her winter coat she'll be fine. If you're worried you could get a snugglesafe heatpad and pop it into the part of her hutch she sleeps in and obviously again a friend would help to keep her warmer but she should be fine out there

I would say defo get her speyed and get her a friend - sounds like she is desperate for company and it would also keep her warm too.

Another vote for speyed and a friend.

Personally I dont think there's anything wrong with single bunnies but only IF you are able to provide them with company and interaction for several hours a day. I certainly wouldnt be doing that with an outdoor bunny - brr, too cold for me! So if you cant bring her in, she needs a friend outdoors with her.

And yes she does sound lonely. Get her a friend

i've always had rabbits out in winter and as long as their hutches and decent and kept dry there shouldn't be a problem. when it's very cold i put sheets/towels over the run (which is attached to the open hutch) and then a waterproof covering over the top:wave:

I have brought my boy into the conservatory for the winter- it is certainly cold enough out there to manitain his winter coat but he just loves the attention inside.
He is a pain to even put on the grass nowadays as his just sits in his run looking mournful and waiting to be brought back in again!

Thanks everyone, she is booked in to be spayed anyway - but maybe she does need a friend, she does spend a bit of time indoors with us and my little boy plays outside with her. he's an only child too which is why we got the bun (but dont be telling me to get HIM a sibling tho!)

There's also a couple of squirrels who she gets along with well- they even come into the conservatory with her! I was more worried about the night-times in this freezing weather! She is really easy to catch at nights as we just open the patio door and in she comes, I dont mind getting another I just dont fancy rounding the pair of them up at nights!

Thrushpuppy said:

Thanks everyone, she is booked in to be spayed anyway - but maybe she does need a friend, she does spend a bit of time indoors with us and my little boy plays outside with her. he's an only child too which is why we got the bun (but dont be telling me to get HIM a sibling tho!)

There's also a couple of squirrels who she gets along with well- they even come into the conservatory with her! I was more worried about the night-times in this freezing weather! She is really easy to catch at nights as we just open the patio door and in she comes, I dont mind getting another I just dont fancy rounding the pair of them up at nights!

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She might need to be kept warmer immediately after a spey though

:wave: I would defo get a friend coz if you think about it if you spend 2 hours a day playing with her that is still 22 hours she is on her own. I have got 2 buns and I am finding them no more work than 1. And coz they get on so well are together lots so rounding them up is easy as they follow each other and are sitting in the same place a lot of the time.