- 11 degrees c - are the rabbits okay tommorow night?

It is predicted to be minus 11 degrees c tomorrow night and I'm just wondering if i need to do anything else to help the buns or if they will be okay. I've run out of auboise, easibed and i only have ecobed left-(cardboard bedding)+ newspaper and hay. Will they be okay in a deep layer of hay? They have no covers on the hutches as i couldn't get them ordered in time made to measure and generally are in pairs or trio's, but i have one solo bun.

The water is freezing over really quickly- should i just stick with bowls now and let them drink that way - or is it too much of a risk having a bowl of water in the hutch that they can knock over and get wet in causing them to be cold or freezing.

Any advice appreciated. I normally have my lot in sheds and under cover so i'm a little worried especially with the temp drop due to arrive tommorow.They have all been alright to now. Am i just concerned over nothing, or is there anything else i can do to help them? Bringing them in is not an option at the moment unfortunately.

Thanks.

wow thats cold :shock: even thou its not that cold here, i use 2 layers of ground sheets (you can get from tent shops) and two big blankets over there hutch and run plus hay filled to the top of there bed and snuggle safe i cover there bottle with a human bottle cover and bubble wrap :lol: but they also have two bowls of water which i fill up but there bowls are quite deep and heavy so dont freeze over plus they are covered so frost does not form on them, they seem very cosey and happy and i never see them on there bed area! where its warmest! dont kno if this helps

I dont think it is getting quite as cold here as it sounds like it will where you are, but I am still worried about my bunnies despite them being in a shed (one pair) and in an aviary with solid panels covering the mesh at night (another pair) - in fact we've left the solid panels on all day today because of the wind chill. Even with this we put a tarpaulin over the front because there is still some gaps that drafts can get in.

We use straw as bedding as it is more insulating than hay, and they are less likely to eat it as well. They also have snugglesafes at night. We give them each a bottle as well as 2 bowls of water, the bottle has a bottlehugger thingy on as well. I like to give them both so that if one freezes/spills then hopefully the other will be ok.

I think if they have been used to sheds they may be feeling the cold more now anyway but -11 is very very cold and I would be extremely worried about rabbits being left in a hutch with no protection from the wind.

Can you get some tarpaulins and put them over the front of the hutch, weighed down with bricks to stop them blowing away? Or some kind of plastic sheeting? They still need a little hole for air, mind.

beccimarie said:

wow thats cold :shock: even thou its not that cold here, a hutch hugger, i also use 2 layers of ground sheets (you can get from tent shops) and two big blankets over there hutch and run plus hay filled to the top of there bed and snuggle safe i cover there bottle with a human bottle cover and bubble wrap :lol: they seem very cosey and happy and i never see them on there bed area! where its warmest! dont kno if this helps

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That sounds like a plan or tarpaulins from B & Q/ old duvets/towels underneath the tarp / a heated brick wrapped in an old towel/a sock with some warm (uncooked rice) round the water bottle inside the sock, I'd be inclined to say that the doubles will be warmer than the single but, they should all have proper covers of some sort to block out the cold if it's going to be that cold I think.:wave:

So are your hutches in a garden with absolutely nothing covering the fronts? or have I misunderstood?

Hugo's There said:

So are your hutches in a garden with absolutely nothing covering the fronts? or have I misunderstood?

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Spenser does have a proper made to measure cover yet (it's ordered) but he has thick plastic sheeting from B&Q covering back, roof and front, and a layer of bubblewrap on the sides. You could try something like this in the meantime. :wave:

None of ours have proper hutch covers, just heavy duty tarps

I use really cheap duvets from Tescos or Argos - the cheapest ones have strange sort of synthetic 'covers' so they drain really well as well - rather than the proper more expensive cotton covers which hold the wet if it rains.

they are only about £6 for a single or £10 a double - they are excellent!

Charity shops are a very good source for old curtains which work well . Although my rabbit has £200 ones on his hutch :shock: they are form my old house never used them here my daughter had them for a year then got new ones and these were sitting in a black bag in garage doing nothing . They are very thick and very heavy lined curtains i have covered them to keep them dry , i have 3 more of them so if it gets any colder he will get another one on top. Being such big curtains they cover the whole hutch sides etc have just left lower tier with a small gap so he doesn't feel to closed in and can see out .

You really need to insulate the top otherwise the heat they generate just leaves through the roof. It doesn't need to be made to measure any form of insulation will help, blankets, duvet, even a pile of newspapers. Then you want something waterproof over that to stop it getting wet eg a shower curtain or tarp. If the hutches have mesh fronts then covering those with just a small gap will help. Again, it doesn't need to be fancy, plastic, a bit of board, even an old sheet.

The above will help keep the water from freezing so quickly and you can also insulate the bottles separately by wrapping them in a sock and plastic or bubble wrap.

Tamsin said:

You really need to insulate the top otherwise the heat they generate just leaves through the roof. It doesn't need to be made to measure any form of insulation will help, blankets, duvet, even a pile of newspapers. Then you want something waterproof over that to stop it getting wet eg a shower curtain or tarp. If the hutches have mesh fronts then covering those with just a small gap will help. Again, it doesn't need to be fancy, plastic, a bit of board, even an old sheet.

The above will help keep the water from freezing so quickly and you can also insulate the bottles separately by wrapping them in a sock and plastic or bubble wrap.

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Would an old piece of carpet be good for this? Apparently it is to get colder here before the weekend and I'm sure I could unearth some from the parental store of off-cuts.

Tamsin- is the bubble wrap okay on it's own,i.e safe for the buns?

I can't do anything else at the moment, as a sock won't fit around the bottle with the bubble wrap and i have nothing to attach it with except for the wire that comes with the standard litre bottles.

I'll be getting some plastic sheeting am tomorrow, so that should cover tomorrow night. I think tonight it's only -3 degrees and they have been ok in this weather so far.

Might want to avoid bubble wrap if they have access to chew. If it's on the outside that's fine.

For insulation you want anything that traps air, so carpet, layers of paper, corrugated card, bubble wrap, polystyrene, foam, straw, fleece, wool, anything like that. You also need something to stop the insulation getting wet or it will be full of water not air, eg plastic of some type like tarp, plastic sheets, plastic bags, etc.

It was minus 19 here last night and all mine are fine. The huts and Carvan is filled with straw . There tarplins on the hutches what are out side . Bottles I have made my oown jackets from loft insulation on the sewing machine. I have one rabbit whats in a large hutch with a run attach and she is permit sitting outside trying to catch the snow.

Ive stuffed the bedroom with straw, and the bunnies have a snugglesafe. the top of the run has a reflective sheet on it ( the stuff you put on your cars in the hot weather). theres a waterproof plastic covering the back and the sides, and a clear plastic sheet weighed down by rocks at the front. we put two socks on the bottle, and it also has a bottle snug.
Hope this helps
xx

Mine survived it fine. Really pleased about that. Thanks for the info on them surviving minus 19 degrees- that is reassuring. Does anyone know how long it takes a water bottle to freeze without insulation in this weather?

Don't worry, they will be fine as long as they have lots of bedding to snuggle into, their coats are thick (if they have been outdoors all summer and autumn, they will have good coats), have extra food (I double mine in winter) and water and their hutch isn't damp. Cold isn't the problem, but being damp is.

It was -16 last night and my buns have been absolutely fine. This is their fourth winter and last year was a very long cold snap.

I have a couple of water bottles and change them morning and night. I put them into a small padded envelope then wrap more bubble wrap and then pop into a sock, twisted round and then folded back just leaving the spout.