How cold is too cold?

HI!My two buns live outside all year and have grown lovely fluffy coats for the winter. BUT.iv never been alive when the temps have dropped this low (-11 last night)and im really wondering if they will die. They live in an entire garden shed and have hay and straw, i tried putting hot water bottles in but they nibbled them and popped them, tried wheat bags-again nibbled them!so im not sure how cold is too cold. During the day they just sit in the snow!When i bring them in the house they are sooo stressed and are like glued to a spot for hours on end and i dont want their coats to malt too soon. Sorry for rambling, in short, how cold is too cold?1

I've been wondering the same myself.My bunnies are in a hutch in the shed-I've been locking them up as I reckon in the hutch they will snuggle up whereas if just in the shed they might not as each has their spot they like. Thought about sneaking out with a fan heater but dont want them to moult too soon. I've got 2 housebuns so bringing the outside ones in isnt really an option [ makes them squabble with each other ]

My bunny is outside, and I was very tempted to bring him in last night. Instead I just put in extra straw, some old towels, and wrapped the run (that's were he spends most of his time) up with an old blanket, old towels and a tarpalin. I've also got him a Snugglepad, which he is now getting the hang of.

He is fine this morning, happy as normal.

outdoor buns

It sounds like you are doing a brilliant job.

We've got taupaulins to drape overnight on our two hutches (buns and GPs), and we put extra hay. I'm going to explore these snugglesafes I have sen mentioned on here too, and apparently there's a way that a % goes to a rabbit rescue if you buy them off a website. I assume they are nibble-proof... yes?

It isn't good for outdoor buns to come in in winter - the contrasts do more harm than good, and can end up causing respiritory problems. We used to move the hutches into the stable, but it stressed our older-bun, hence swapping to the taupalin method.

Our buns still like to run free in the rabbit garden in the day, but there's a hay-stuffed kennel in their garden that they can snuggle in if they want. Only Sausage ever does, though. Buffy prefers to hide under a bush when she wants shelter.

Good luck.

Check out this thread http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=210817

Excellent price for Snugglepads, and yes they are hard so can't be eaten!

those snugglesafes do look good but when you say hard...filled with gel?or like hard plastic all the way through?its so hard not having them in a hutch as its a much bigger area to keep warm at 5ft x10ft. Nice to hear of some other hardy bunnies though.i just find rabbits so hard as my pair just wear the same expression all year round and act the same so its very hard to know if they are too cold or unhappy.:?

Please dont be tempted to take your rabbits inside even for a little while and put them back out , the fluctuation in temp is not good for them . If you give them some extra food , masses of hay , defrost water bottles regular and cover the hutches at night most rabbits should be fine

All 8 of my bunnies live outside free-ranging in a bunny shed and they are all fine. I have given them extra straw and hay when I've been cleaning them out and it's not actually that bad as the water bottles have never frozen or anything like that. I think they all huddle together to sleep as well so that woulkd help them and they all have lovely thick coats.

My 5 cats are way more wussy than my buns as they have hardly ventured outside at all lol

Snugglesafe

The snugglesafe packaging says that when you microwave it the outside stays solid but the insides liquidise. I've never heard of anyone having any issues with chewing. They generally come with a fleecy cover. My bun's a die-hard chewer but he doesn't touch his snugglesafe. He does love to groom it though - I have my suspicions he might think it's a furry frend :lol:

I'd definitely recommend them. I've heard varying reports but ours stays hot for 4 hours. My bun has one pretty much 24/7 at the moment with the weather being so cold. In fact I got up at 4am this morning to check and reheat because I am a massive fusspot :roll: Bun's not bothered though. I spent 20 minutes sat outside in my pajamas trying to coax him out of his run and onto the heatpad with a piece of cabbage. The neighbours must think I'm crackers!!