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Outdoors during Winter

G

Graeme27Uk

Warren Scout
Due to space restrictions we put our bunnies out at night in their hutches. They have LOTS of straw and hay to burrow into and we cover their hutches with tarpauline to stop the wind and rain getting to them.

I just worry that they might get too cold. Should I be concerned?
 
are they indoors during the day?.

I would not be happy having my buns indoors all day, especially if you have heating on, then putting them outside, especially during the winter.
 
mine are outside too....i think they are fine,they seem not to be cold in the mornings...the hutch i have has a roof space that i have put bubblewrap, a blanket and loads of staw in so its well insualted and I also use a tarpauline to stop the wind. coupled with lots of hay and straw its cosy
i think the main time you run into problems is if you expose them to big changes in temp.
 
I must have read Graehams post wrong then.

But i thought he meant he puts them outside at night in their hutch, hence my question about where are they during the day.

:?
 
Well if we are home then they are out in the house roaming about, but when we have to go out or at night time then we put them out in the hutch.
 
Its really not good in winter them being in out.They need to be permantly in or out:D .
Maybe they could be free range like they are inside when you are in and then in a dog crate when you are out:D
 
Graeme27Uk said:
Well if we are home then they are out in the house roaming about, but when we have to go out or at night time then we put them out in the hutch.
Click to expand...

It is dangerous for a rabbits body temperature to keep going up and down and this will happen very quickly if you have them in a warm house then put them back outside in the middle of winter.
 
Rabbits need to be either indoors 24-7 or outdoors 24-7 at winter. Not moved outside at night. For a rabbit to survive outside (particularly at night!) they would need a thick winter coat, if it moves inside then, the rabbits gets overheated and the winter fur falls of, then if it's moved back outside it falls ill because it's too cold.:?
So no, I don't think this will work.
 
I'd agree with the others - that would be ok in summer but at times of year when there's a large temperature differential between indoors and outdoors I think it's unkind. Imagine how you'd feel if you spent all day indoors and were then popped outside again without an additional coat - in effect that's what you're doing to them. By spending a lot of time indoors they won't grow such a thick fur coat that they would need and that would keep them warm if they were outside all the time.

If they really can't stay in overnight I would personally leave them outside all the time until the weather warms up and there isn't a lot of difference in temperature between inside and out. Maybe a couple of snugglesafes at night would also help them while their winter coats grow thicker over the next month or so.
 
I would love my buns to come inside and play for a few hours as they are outside buns - but this is the reason i dont do it - its really unfair as its obviously even colder through the night than the day time. They stay outside all winter (with plenty bedding and covering etc) for the reasons mentioned that they wil grow a full proper winter coat and be prepared for the cold weather.
 
I used too bring them in a couple of hrs at night but cant do it now as it wont be fair on the buns as they have too acclimatise when they go back outside,rick
 
Ok now I am feeling guilty.

There is no chance of bringing the hutches in at night as we dont have room in the house and they are quite large.

However, even though the hutches are fairly large, I don't like the idea of leaving them outside all the time as they would (a) miss the contact and (b) miss running about the place like loonies.

We have a plan that once they are bonded that we could leave them in the study or somewhere (bunny proofed obviously) over night in Winter. But until they are bonded there is not much alternative.
 
:wave: i have a 48" dog cage indoors with a shelf in (there is a really good thread on here on how to make it) for my two and they are in 24/7 in the winter and i love it coz i get to spend lots of time with them. If I were you I would get them neutered/bonded asap and then you can get them moved in.
 
Thats the plan. We have just collected Frosty back from the vets after his op so hopefully he will be less interested in humping Smudge which will make her calmer.

Now we just need to get them successfully bonded... oh the easy bit is here..... NOT.
 
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