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I want to bring my rabbits in for the night. Am I over-reacting?

Zara

Zara

Mama Doe
So the temperature is dropping, the hutch has ice all over it, my little runt rabbit was shivering his little ears off and the straw has frozen. I want to bring the rabbits in for tonight, they're littertrained and love being inside, if I had my way they'd be full house bunnies but that won't happen until I move house in a few months. The problem is, I live with my Grandmother who is not a big animal lover, she thinks EVERY type of pet should be kept outside, and is adamant the rabbits do not come in for the night no matter how cold it gets. Even after the rabbits got snipped, the vet himself had to convince Gran to let me keep them in for the night.

I'm extremely worried about the rabbits being out tonight, am I over-reacting? I really don't want to cause them any suffering.
 
I would bring them in if I were you, I would feel exactly the same. Do you have a garage or a conservatory? Where it would be warmer but not too much of a temperature difference?
 
sadly the shed is too small for the hutches and packed full of storage stuff, I do have one room that isn't really warm but definately not as cold as outside, and it's where the rabbits slept after they got snipped. There's a giant wall-attatched unused wardrobe in there and after bunny-equipping it last time it was perfect for them, they liked it and felt safe and secure, but the problem is convincing my Grandma >_> I pay for the rabbits, their food, the vet bills, I look after them, play with them, clean them, etc I should be able to bring them in when their life is at stake.

I'm thinking of just going ahead anyway if I can't convince her.
 
As long as they have plenty of bedding and the hutch is covered they should be fine, You could always give them some porridge to warm them up. Most of my giants are still sprawling out in their kennels and don't go in to their shelters, I'm the one who is mithering about them and they are loving it, they aren't even sat huddled together keeping each other warm (I think they have lost the plot:roll:). You could do more harm than good bringing them in and then putting them out again (thats my opinion anyway:))
 
If you bring them into the house the temperature difference could be huge. You're best off trying to increase the insulation where they are, in my view, unless you can put them somewhere like a shed.
 
if you bring them in.. then you should keep them in until the weather warms up, as it will be unfair to put them back outside again while its still winter, the change in temperature will really effect them.

Im sure they will be fine outside, make sure they have plenty of bedding, food, water etc
 
kayj said:
As long as they have plenty of bedding and the hutch is covered they should be fine, You could always give them some porridge to warm them up. Most of my giants are still sprawling out in their kennels and don't go in to their shelters, I'm the one who is mithering about them and they are loving it, they aren't even sat huddled together keeping each other warm (I think they have lost the plot:roll:). You could do more harm than good bringing them in and then putting them out again (thats my opinion anyway:))
Click to expand...

I agree. I would love to bring mine in when it is really cold but after Inky chewed my dad's best dress shoes:roll:, they can only stay in for a few days at a time. If they come into the warm and lose their winter coats, they'll be in a worse situation than before.

I find tht cardboard is a good insulator, is there any way you could put a box in for them to snuggle in?
 
I agree that it could do more harm than good by bringing them in just for overnights - however I am concerned that you say that the straw is frozen? This implies that it is wet - how is it getting wet if they are well litter trained? Is there a leak in the roof? Is the rain getting at it from the front?

I think you would be better off finding out why the straw is getting wet, and then make sure your buns have somewhere very cosy and dry to snuggle into - even if this means putting a large cardboard box into the hutch with a hole cut out the front, and pack it full of straw/hay. If the front of the hutch is totally open you can get something like perspex or tarpaulin and cover over a good portion (but not all) of the front, to provide more shelter from the wind/rain but still allowing some fresh air. In the longer term, I'd go to somewhere like B&Q and get some foil insulation like the stuff you use for insulating behind radiators or boilers, and wrap the top, back and sides of the hutch in this. It will help to keep it warmer inside the hutch :)

You can also buy little microwave heatpads called snugglesafe which you can also pop in with your bunnies to keep them warmer on very cold nights :)
 
Santa said:
I agree that it could do more harm than good by bringing them in just for overnights - however I am concerned that you say that the straw is frozen? This implies that it is wet - how is it getting wet if they are well litter trained? Is there a leak in the roof? Is the rain getting at it from the front?

I think you would be better off finding out why the straw is getting wet, and then make sure your buns have somewhere very cosy and dry to snuggle into - even if this means putting a large cardboard box into the hutch with a hole cut out the front, and pack it full of straw/hay. If the front of the hutch is totally open you can get something like perspex or tarpaulin and cover over a good portion (but not all) of the front, to provide more shelter from the wind/rain but still allowing some fresh air. In the longer term, I'd go to somewhere like B&Q and get some foil insulation like the stuff you use for insulating behind radiators or boilers, and wrap the top, back and sides of the hutch in this. It will help to keep it warmer inside the hutch :)

You can also buy little microwave heatpads called snugglesafe which you can also pop in with your bunnies to keep them warmer on very cold nights :)
Click to expand...

I thought about the wet straw.There must be water getting in from somewhere.It may be pee if its too cold for them to nip into the litter tray.
 
The will have their winter coats now anyway so they should be ok. Just put plenty of straw in the hutch and keep an eye on them,
 
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