Preparation for Autumn/winter

Hello there,

Well I have had my Rabbit Kym (was called Bun until recently) for 10 weeks now and am loving having her. Whe I adopted her, she had been living as an inside bun, but she now lives outside in a hutch in my garden. I am only beginning to learn all the ins and outs of having rabbits so please bare with me!

What tips do you have for rabbits in the Autumn and Winter? I have a hutch snuggle on her hutch at the moment which is meant to keep her cool in summer and warm in the winter and I think I will need a hutch hugger to keep her nice and dry. What else do you recommend I have/do etc to make sure she is a warm, happy bun?

Also, do buns sleep more in the winter? I'm a bit worried that I'm going to be at work during the daylight hours and I won;t be able to spend time with her until I come home in the dark! I'm going to be putting a light outside near her hutch that can be turned on/off when necessary!

Luckily I'm on the school hols at the moment so she is getting lots of attention! Just wish that it could stay summer all the time.

Thanks
Littlemissb

hi there,just make sure she as plenty of hay,mine were out this winter in that bad snow and frost and they were both ok, i dont know if you have heard of a snuggle safe you warm it up in the microwave it has a fleece cover on it and you just put it where she sleeps.rabbits seem to cope better in the winter better than summer,as long as the hutch isnt open to the weather so the rain blows in i wouldnt worry too much.

If she stays outside - she will grow a winter coat...as long as she has a warm dry - and out of the wind place to lay she should be fine.
Straw is a good insulator....make sure you dont bring her in on a winter evening and then out her out again...temp. change is no good from what Ive heard....and also the heating inside the house can make her hot with a winter coat,

I saw mine through a really cold winter by keeping them knee deep in straw - Straw not hay as hay flattens and straw is much warmer. Also, I don't know the size of her hutch but I put extra boxes in their run and stuffed them with straw as well. They were grand. Also when free ranging them I never had them in the house in the winter unless I left the kitchen door open as going from cold to heat to cold can make them ill. They enjoyed the frost and snow but I didn't let them get wet like they do in the summer as I didn't want them sitting damp and not drying for ages in the cold. Obviously keep them draught and damp free, loads of straw and if you have the space, an extra box to snuggle in. I got mine a shed to attach to their old hutch/run combo so that's a good option if space allows. That way if they don't get out in the wet weather they can still run around and play! I've put a small hutch in the shed and removed the door and I plan on stuffing that with straw for them this winter! The shed is great for you too to shelter and sit in to spend time with the buns when you cant have them in the house. :wave: