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Bunnies In sheds in winter

XMissySJx

Wise Old Thumper
How do you keep shed bunnies warm in winter?

My trio have a 6 x 4 shed, with a second level, The second level used to be full of hay but domino pushes it all down every day and pooes and wees everywhere so makes alot of mess. There is now a snuggly bed up there and they all snuggle in it together.

Their litter tray is full of hay and enclosed with a little door. The little "cot" they had is now a wooden "block" as they couldnt get up from the cot thing.
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=190311&highlight=shed+jelly

I am struggling on how to keep them warm in winter, if we put loads of hay in just anywhere the whole shed will turn into a giant litter tray, so what suggestions do you have?

Thanks!
 
I insulate ours, including the floor. I then fill it with newspaper and hay. And yes they are turned in to giant litter trays :lol:
 
I am thinking about this too, its quite chilly in the shed. was thinking of building like a little house that they will all just fit in and fill it with blankies or something?
 
The shed is isolated and there's even an oven in there.
Not that I think it really matters, I have one rabbit still living outside and it seems he may have to stay there the whole winter.
The hutch isn't exactly isolated, but its above ground and he has a nice comfy house, that I fill up with hay and probably straw too as it gets colder.
None of my rabbits have shown any problems from living outside in the winter, Cloud spend half of last winter running wild all over the neighborhood while he still belonged to my neighbours, I adopted him mostly to keep him out of the street XD
Really the main reason that the shed is heated is so that the water won't freeze, which it does very quickly outside. (Water bottles are a no-no outside in the winter over here, as they just get clogged with ice almost instantly, and who wants to lick a freezing cold metal pole to get water?)
 
I've always just put a small hutch inside the shed, pointing away from the door so it doesn't get draughts, taken the mesh door off and packed it with straw/hay, then they have somewhere cosy and draught-free to snuggle :)
 
I've always just put a small hutch inside the shed, pointing away from the door so it doesn't get draughts, taken the mesh door off and packed it with straw/hay, then they have somewhere cosy and draught-free to snuggle :)

I think that's the best idea. I've only got one pair in a hutch/run all the others are in sheds, but when I open the hutch especially after the pair of them have been in there it's so lovely and warm in there!
My only problem is I'm pretty sure mine would use a hutch as a litter tray... so I've decided to try a big plastic storage tub or a small plastic dog kennel if I can get a cheap second hand one.
 
I've always just put a small hutch inside the shed, pointing away from the door so it doesn't get draughts, taken the mesh door off and packed it with straw/hay, then they have somewhere cosy and draught-free to snuggle :)

i think thats what were going to do, its annoying because the only small hutches i have are 4 foot long and very thin, ideally we want something about 3 foot and a bit deeper :lol: hmmm.

have to see what we can do.

If domino wasnt in the picture i could just put hay everywhere but hes ao atrociouslly messy we wouldnt dare :lol:
 
You don't really need to insulate the whole shed for healthy rabbits. The important thing is they have somewhere warm to snuggle as a small area will help them heat the area up and create a warm den. You might be better building a box so you get something a bit squarer as small, wide hutches are unusual. You don't want too much bigger than a cat carrier really. Just enough room to two rabbits to comfortably lie down with space from hay/straw padding around.

I have one of the run shelters from zooplus that's a nice size. The cat has nicked it to sleep in :lol:
 
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