Aroma's new run, Zakura got one too!

Today I decided to fence in one of the rabbit hutches, giving Aroma some more space to run around. I know some of you have commented that my hutches are rather small, and by dad's being slow on building the new ones, but now at least Aroma can run around a bit more without having to put on a harness every time.

Taking a stroll outside the hutch.

She's exploring how much room she really has, and trying to dig her way under, unfortunately that isn't much use, since the ground is pretty much frozen and half the run is covered in ice and snow.

But Aroma is nowhere like Bambi on ice.

Who can't love this face?

Trying to dig through the ice.

And eating the hay that fell out of the cage.


Nice tail...

Why do you keep the hay here mom? No wonder my hayrack is always empty when you loose half of it on the ground:lol:

Snowclimbing!

Aroma is my only rabbit who jumps in and out of her hutch of her own, which is lucky since then I wouldn't have to make her a ramp (Well she kind of already has one, with the pile of snow and hay underneath the hutch) But now she's locked up again. I don't trust my run-building skills on ice to be good enough for her to be outside without supervision. :roll:

She looks like she's having fun. Wish we had snow over here!

My buns would probably be disgusted with me if i put them on snow,the little snobs what they are :lol:

Whats Snow???:lol:


Aww fantastic piccies xx

Vikkie_Ell said:

My buns would probably be disgusted with me if i put them on snow,the little snobs what they are :lol:

Click to expand...

Well for Aroma its either snow and ice, the tiny patch of earth underneath her hutch or she'll have to stay in her hutch 24-7:lol:
But she's used to it. Being a norwegian outdoor bun, she has too:roll:
We don't have that much snow now, last month making this run was impossible, because there was snow up until the hutch floor:shock: Now that is mostly gone...replaced by ice:lol:

Since I don't want my girls to be jealous at each other (they seem to have their own reasons to hate each other already...maybe it's Sasuke's fault:lol I had to make one for Zakura too.
But since their hutches are so close to each other I needed an extra wall between the runs, since they keep trying to bite or scratch each other through the bars, and I don't want them to hurt each other (particularly since Aroma is a show rabbit) and I've seen what damages two unfriendly bunnies behind bars can do

Here's Aroma's side, a bit smaller than Zakura's because of the hose pipe and various trash on her side. Evil glowing eyes:evil:

Dinner time for Aroma.

Zakura's run...only she hasn't figured out how to get out yet. :roll: I tried to put her transport crate there for her to jump on but no luck yet.

Here she's having a snack with her little pal. I call him Roger Rabbit, though I don't think he looks that much like Roger Rabbit, he's just been called that since I was a baby

Brilliant Very creative DIY It looks great. The snow/ice will be excellent enrichment. Lots of opportunity to dig and chew. I'm sure they have nice thick coats to cope with the temperature. Might even be a bit warmer jumping about than sitting still :lol:

Tamsin said:

Brilliant Very creative DIY It looks great. The snow/ice will be excellent enrichment. Lots of opportunity to dig and chew. I'm sure they have nice thick coats to cope with the temperature. Might even be a bit warmer jumping about than sitting still :lol:

Click to expand...

They've been outside since summer so winter coat is no problem
I hope they won't dig too much since there's nothing underneath But I've used these runs without floors in the summer too (back then they were just on the lawn) so I think they'll be fine At least under supervision

Well done! I bet they will love it!

My lot love the snow!

Looks good, and well done for improving their environment by giving them more space!:thumb: they may not use it much yet but i am sure they will gradually explore more and get used to being able to binky! x jess

buttons&thumper said:

Looks good, and well done for improving their environment by giving them more space!:thumb: they may not use it much yet but i am sure they will gradually explore more and get used to being able to binky! x jess

Click to expand...

Aroma certainly does, it's just Zakura who hasn't gotten out of the hutch yet:roll: Perhaps I need to make her a better ramp.
At least it makes me feel good that they now have an option
In the summer I would just put them out on the lawn and then keep them there for almost the whole day, but when it was raining I usually put them in, this way it can be used in any weather, since they can go into their hutches whenever they want to.
Also I've hated how they had to stay inside so long since it's so cold outside and the runs were taken away...also we had half a metre of snow in December, making run-building impossible. Now that there's less snow I took my chances. If it comes back...well...I'll probably have to take the runs apart again and clean them out:lol:

Out of interest how cold does it get there? My Dad has scared me by saying it could get to -6 here and I must wrap the bunnies up well (course I would, snugglesafes etc) but he's said they could die if they get too cold. :? How cold a temperature do Aroma and Zakura cope with? Thanks! :wave:

Fairy13 said:

Out of interest how cold does it get there? My Dad has scared me by saying it could get to -6 here and I must wrap the bunnies up well (course I would, snugglesafes etc) but he's said they could die if they get too cold. :? How cold a temperature do Aroma and Zakura cope with? Thanks! :wave:

Click to expand...

According to my dad it can as cold as -20 and even colder.. No idea how cold it is now.
The bunnies have lived in this cold since it started GETTING this cold and I've never used any snugglesafe or whatever that might be... Just hay...and then they eat it, and in my eyes, if they eat the only thing that's keeping them warm then they can't really be freezing that much. :lol: And the stuff they don't eat is trampelled to the ground.
Norwegian buns are used to cold temperatures and get nice winter coats, even the rex-rabbits. Most breeders keep rabbits outside all year round (or in sheds) and I once visited a breeder in Sweden who had a litter of baby bunnies in the middle of winter, without a nest box even. They were all well-covered in hay and their mother's fur and didn't suffer any problems at all (though personally I would have used a nest box at least, to prevent them from straying, I know quite a few young ones have frozen to death that way)
The biggest problem for buns I believe is the heat... I lost three (or at least two, not sure what killed the last one) baby bunnies to heat exhaustion last year (I hadn't really gotten them yet...they were at the breeder's place.)
Also they can get in big trouble if you take them inside, keep them in for a day or two, then put them back out. Then they will loose their winter fur and die from the cold
Of course if it ever went from 0 to -20 in one single day then I can imagine it would get a bit too much, even for my fuzzballs. :roll:

Nice run! Bet they're happy now

Rabbits can tolerate up to -20 C, but not alot colder. Although I would not recommend having a litter at this temperature. I once had a litter (young and naiv) during winter. My rabbit had a nice to storey hutch with a seperate "bedroom" with hay in it, and an attatched run. But the nest box wasn't islolated, and didn't really have that much hay in it either so poor rabbit plucked her entire little body to make her kittens a nest. We had to take her inside as she didn't have any fur left.. :roll: Only on her head, neck, paws and tale :roll:

Ida said:

Nice run! Bet they're happy now

Rabbits can tolerate up to -20 C, but not alot colder. Although I would not recommend having a litter at this temperature. I once had a litter (young and naiv) during winter. My rabbit had a nice to storey hutch with a seperate "bedroom" with hay in it, and an attatched run. But the nest box wasn't islolated, and didn't really have that much hay in it either so poor rabbit plucked her entire little body to make her kittens a nest. We had to take her inside as she didn't have any fur left.. :roll: Only on her head, neck, paws and tale :roll:

Click to expand...

A similar thing happened to an indoor rabbit at school too during a fake pregnancy She had nearly no fur left on the sides of her feet and belly:shock:

Thanks guys!
Ah well the bunnies were all wrapped up with hay straw and snugglesafes and theres no frosts even on the cars this morning :roll: But still, I'll keep an eye on them and They each have a friend to snuggle up to so you've set my mind at ease somewhat!
Thank you! :wave: