Keeping Bunnies warm in winter

Hello,
I am moving up to Canberra with my two bunnies later on this month, the thing is, were moving from a warm climate (coast), to a place where it snows in the winter.....do you think my bunnies will be able to handle this when winter comes around? what are some precautions I should take to make sure they are warm enough?

Ps. they are male and female (neutered and spayed), one dwarf lop and one french lop cross

Hello!
How long will it be before it gets colder in the West?

If it’s a few months then they have time to grow coats for the colder weather although I'd recommend lots of straw and hay for thema nd if possible overwinter them in the shed.

If its snowy now they maybe try to overwinter them indoors in a spare room with the temp kept cool.

Hope that helps!

karen1980 said:

Hello!
How long will it be before it gets colder in the West?

If it’s a few months then they have time to grow coats for the colder weather although I'd recommend lots of straw and hay for thema nd if possible overwinter them in the shed.

If its snowy now they maybe try to overwinter them indoors in a spare room with the temp kept cool.

Hope that helps!

Click to expand...

Winter isnt for another *counts months in head* 5 months, so they would have pleanty of time to grow good winter coats I can do the extra straw thing, but keeping them in the shed is not really possible; the cage is a VERY heavy upright cage thats difficult to move.......Would putting carpet on the inside walls of the cage keep the heat in???

this link may help : http://www.rspca.org.au/animal/petcare_rabbit.asp

waggytailstina said:

this link may help : http://www.rspca.org.au/animal/petcare_rabbit.asp

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link I'm about to read it now

Can they come inside? Nothing like a housebunny to cuddle at night.

What are the aeverage temperatures on the coldest nights where you are going? If it goes significantly below zero then I think you will either have to bring them inside or invest in some fancy heating system for them, although that can be quite hard to do safely since hutches are usually made of wood.

I live in a cold climate, its freezing outside right now and mountain-heaps of snow, bellow zero the whole winter....and the rabbits are doing fine!
I don't use hot water bottles, heat lamps or anything...heck the hutches aren't even properly isolated. Its just wood.
The rabbits are doing fine with a proper wooden hutch and a house (built into the hutch) and lots of hay....which they eat in a short while so I take it they can't be that cold since they eat what keeps them warm:lol:Most of the time they still liked to sit out in the snow.
The rabbits get a thick winter coat in the winter, even the rexes haven't had a problem, Aroma gave birth while it was still pretty cold (well it was April so the snow had started melting by then) and buried her kits in a giant pile of straw:lol:

I wouldn't use heat lamps because the wood or hay may catch fire, and even hot bottles freeze eventually, which makes them more a liability than good use...

The biggest problem I've had with outdoor rabbits in the winter is that I'M freezing when I go out to feed them...also the water freezes so don't use water bottles, its better to use bowls in the winter, and change often!