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Echo's PostMortem

Starlight

Starlight

Warren Veteran
She had acute pneumonia that the vet thinks must have been brought on by the severe cold snap we had recently with snow :cry::cry:

Her lungs were bright red :cry::cry:

She, overnight, had a duvet and tarpaulin over her hutch.
Please, anyone with rabbits, especially young ones like Echo, make sure they are wrapped up really warm at night. :cry::cry:
 
oh no :(
poor echo xx

My buns are in the garage, which has little heaters in there for the birds, so it also keeps buns warm too :lol: :)
 
Poor Echo :(

While I agree it is important to keep bunnies warm it is equally important to keep them well ventilated and air moving. we have had rabbits in the past develop respiratory problems because they were TOO well covered. The air under blankets and duvets can become moist with bunnies breathing and cause all sorts of infections to build up.
The hutches we do have covered by blankets or towels always have a small bit left open to let air circulate. It creates a much healthier environment :)
 
Hugo's There said:
Poor Echo :(

While I agree it is important to keep bunnies warm it is equally important to keep them well ventilated and air moving. we have had rabbits in the past develop respiratory problems because they were TOO well covered. The air under blankets and duvets can become moist with bunnies breathing and cause all sorts of infections to build up.
The hutches we do have covered by blankets or towels always have a small bit left open to let air circulate. It creates a much healthier environment :)
Click to expand...
Awww how sad:(
Yes this is my worry when i hear people have filled in air vents in sheds too:( Ive left both mine
 
bluebunny said:
Awww how sad:(
Yes this is my worry when i hear people have filled in air vents in sheds too:( Ive left both mine
Click to expand...

I drill extra holes in my sheds for ventilation, our vet says that covering bunnies over completely is more detrimental to their health than leaving them uncovered, although obviously they need some protection from wind and rain :)
 
Hugo's There said:
I drill extra holes in my sheds for ventilation, our vet says that covering bunnies over completely is more detrimental to their health than leaving them uncovered, although obviously they need some protection from wind and rain :)
Click to expand...

Mine has vents along the top where the roof is,Both sets of pairs have a catflap into the runs which porky usually manages to wedge open :lol: So more air flow:lol:
 
Hugo's There said:
I drill extra holes in my sheds for ventilation, our vet says that covering bunnies over completely is more detrimental to their health than leaving them uncovered, although obviously they need some protection from wind and rain :)
Click to expand...

My fosters have duvets over them for the night... what can I do for ventilation?!
 
Hugo's There said:
Poor Echo :(

While I agree it is important to keep bunnies warm it is equally important to keep them well ventilated and air moving. we have had rabbits in the past develop respiratory problems because they were TOO well covered. The air under blankets and duvets can become moist with bunnies breathing and cause all sorts of infections to build up.
The hutches we do have covered by blankets or towels always have a small bit left open to let air circulate. It creates a much healthier environment :)
Click to expand...

:thumb:
If they've got enough hay/straw and are out of the wind, they should be warm enough without covering them entirely. The duvet should just be insulation for the back/sides/top. You need bacteria to cause pneumonia, and thats more likely to infect the lungs if there is poor ventilation.
 
When i had my hutch (years ago!) I put a bit of board on the roof to make the overhang more, then i had an old carpet and tarpaulin on top but because of the overhang there was a gap along the whole front so air could still circlulate but the actual hutch stayed dry
 
I always make sure there is a gap so the duvet is not pressed to the hutch, and air can get between the cage and the duvet, and with all the fireworks and how skittish some buns can be, it was to dampen the noise.

Thank you for suggesting I killed her.
 
*Spider* said:
My fosters have duvets over them for the night... what can I do for ventilation?!
Click to expand...

I personally wouldn't use duvets at all. Not gto hang over the fronts anyway, I think the best use of them would be folded on the roof for insulation and then covered with a tarpaulin to keep dry, but even then I think they would get damp.

I only use blankets on 2 hutches which are particularly exposed and they are folded at one side so they don't go all the way across the mesh part. They then have a tarpaulin that fits loosely over the top of the hutch and run. The blanket still gets damp every night and needs to be brought in in the morning to be dried out. Covering hutches with a damp blanket or Duvet could cause so many problems :(
 
But the hutches are under cover and are not exposed to rain, I've never feel them get damp.
Will find something to cause a gap!
 
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