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Do you worry about your outside buns too much?

Jenova

Wise Old Thumper
I keep reading about people worrying about their rabbits being outside in this weather.
Are you worrying too much?

Rabbits who are outside all year round get a lovely, think winter coat. I think as long as they have somewhere to go that is full of warm bedding and out of draughts they're okay. Mine have heat pads but I can't cover the front of my new hutch because the roof overhangs so much. Their bed area has a carpet and fleeces and the heat pads. They will go in there to keep warm but will also sit on top of the hutch instead, even when it's snowing or raining.

Do I not worry enough? I just keep reading about what people are doing to keep their rabbits warm and I just think it's over the top. :oops: (No offense intended at all). Is it me who's in the wrong or are people going over the top when their rabbits would be completely fine?

Genuine question. :wave:
 
I worry - but not about them getting cold (they have the option of literally mountains of hay, upper ledges and shelves inside the fully covered runs, could go inside hutch :roll::roll:) I worry about the foxes that this weather brings out . .
 
Yes, I do. I know they are fine, but I hate that they won't go to bed and snuggle up. They just sit in the snow to wind us up in an attempt to get food and attention! Cheeky bunsters!
 
for the whole not putting covers on, can u not put velcro around the outside and then velcroon tarp and stick it to it? This is what im going to do with my kennel, when I get it, as it will have a roof over hang :)

I worry ALL the time, every morning I DREAD opening the covers, praying their all okay! even tho they have extra bedding and covers and my older boy crunchie has a heat pad etc!

saying all that, my lot managed fine last year with just 1 layer of blankets and 1 layer of tarp, plus extra bedding, right down to -15!
 
yes I do, the bottles and bowls are already frozen and there are mountains of hay and places to sit in the shed but they decide to all sit outside on the concrete floor :roll::(

...and i hadnt even thought of the foxes so thats another thing to now worry about!
 
Im chuffed to bits that my kids are in the hutch in the shed!! It took me over 2 years to get that shed emptied after me and Him split up.He left his stuff in it.Eventually I got him to move it all.
I cant leave the buns free ranging in the hutch at night.Its warmer in the hutch with hay and snugglesafes and each other.Its cosy.
 
I don't really worry at all :oops:

Every time I see them they're sat out in the run so I figure they can't be that cold. The water's frozen twice now so I suppose that's slightly more of a worry but it's not like they're without water for long before it's defrosted and refilled.
 
see tbh your buns are fine. But as a loving owner you will worry just like me even though you should be more worried in the summer rather than the winter.

The only thing that gets me biting my nails is the wind, dunno if you heard about the wind in Scotland but it has been soo bad these past few month and i cant sleep through worrying about my bunny ): The first day of it being bad my hutch actually toppled over, if it wasnt for me being so jumpy and bringing bunny in the house she would have been in the hutch and i would have had a heart attack!!
 
I don't worry about them at all. They are hardy, and probably the ones out of all my animals that I worry about the least :lol:
 
I wouldn't say I worry, but I am vigilant with them. Thankfully my weather proofing is so effective that we haven't yet had frozen bowls this year so they have been ok. I just don't ever want to lose a bunny to something that was preventable again, so I make sure that I am as vigilant as possible, about as much as possible.
 
I used to have outdoor buns and I worried about them in the heat and the cold and with predators.

It's definitely more work and stress having outdoor buns, I'd have to remember to cover them with a tarp when it was raining, give them extra hay and cover them on cold nights, give them frozen water bottles in the summer, and there were times when they had to be brought indoors when there was a tropical storm or hurricane.

It's really nice that you don't have to worry about predators, temps, rain, wind, etc with indoor buns.
 
Yes I do worry too much but I can't help it!! :? Daisy and Digby seem fine down to about -5 but any colder and they look really miserable :(
 
I worry about Dylan as he is so old. He is the only bun I give a snugglesafe to - have just been out and put it in his hutch now. He is in the open part of the hutch rather than the covered part though so I guess he isn't feeling cold.

Faye and Furby have been in their run rather than in their hutch - even when it was literally freezing outside. They both have large thick coats and Faye looks like a little Womble now - she looks huge, but it's all fur.
 
It's definitely more work and stress having outdoor buns, I'd have to remember to cover them with a tarp when it was raining, give them extra hay and cover them on cold nights, give them frozen water bottles in the summer, and there were times when they had to be brought indoors when there was a tropical storm or hurricane.

It's really nice that you don't have to worry about predators, temps, rain, wind, etc with indoor buns.
I think it's a bit different here as generally we don't have temperatures that the buns can't cope with. Tropical storms and hurricanes aren't exactly a daily occurrence. ;)

My buns have an warm insulated bed area year round so no special care there, they can get out of the wind and rain by going in their shed. In the summer we take off a window pane but that's about the extent of it as never gets very hot in the shed.

I think the issues of indoors or outdoors is quite individual to the bunnies and their owners and it's not really possible to say one is always more work and stress because there are pros and cons to both. I frequently debate bringing mine in because I'd love to have them around all the time but I know the mess and damage would make me lose my mind and money. :lol:
 
Sudden coldness yes. The cold snap we just had was a big worry because they do stay out in the run all night and they do not have a full winter coat because of the unusually warm winter.
 
Sudden coldness yes. The cold snap we just had was a big worry because they do stay out in the run all night and they do not have a full winter coat because of the unusually warm winter.

That's another reason I dont really want to have outdoor buns again. Here we have very varied winter weather, usually it's quite warm. One night can get to freezing temps and then 2 days later it's 75F degrees. i think it's too big of a shock on them. We always used to take the buns indoors on cold nights because of that.

I think it's a bit different here as generally we don't have temperatures that the buns can't cope with. Tropical storms and hurricanes aren't exactly a daily occurrence.

My buns have an warm insulated bed area year round so no special care there, they can get out of the wind and rain by going in their shed. In the summer we take off a window pane but that's about the extent of it as never gets very hot in the shed.

I think the issues of indoors or outdoors is quite individual to the bunnies and their owners and it's not really possible to say one is always more work and stress because there are pros and cons to both. I frequently debate bringing mine in because I'd love to have them around all the time but I know the mess and damage would make me lose my mind and money.

Yeah, I agree it depends on the person and the bunnies, and it probably is a lot easier over there to have outdoor buns.
 
Well, like any parent you will always worry and try to make sure they are babied :lol: I don't worry too much about cold as it is usually quite mild. Never gets any colder then -5 at least. The coldest we have had recently is -2 I think. If it is too cold I just put extra straw if needed, snugglesafe, towel over the mesh to keep the wind out and a tarp over that incase it decides to rain. I worry more about rain then cold. I always feel that if a bunny gets too wet in the winter and it gets right into the fur then the water will freeze in their fur and it will be awful
 
i worry about my indoor bunnies getting too cold and leave heaters on (low) for them overnight, which i wouldn't do for myself.
 
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