Getting ready for winter

I have a few questions about winter for my two outdoor bun's.

As a new first time owner having only had the boys two weeks i want to get pepared for winter so not rushing around when the cold weather hits.

Whats the best way to keep the hutch and run covered in winter to keep them warm? I currently just use a ground sheet to keep the rain and wind out of the hutch and it covers the top of their run too.

we have this hutch. Not great i know but the best we could afford and will be updated next year. I have my eye on a nice playhouse for them.

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/summer-lodge-double-hutch-by-sharples-n-grant-%28available-in-store-only%29-38775

and this run attached to it

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=940&pf_id=55134

The boys do free range in the garden twice a day for a hour in the morning and three - four hours in the evening.

Whats the best bedding for them?

I was looking at getting them some sugglesafe beds. But noticed that Buster loves towels (one fell off my washing line). He digs throws them about and goes mad until he has burrowed his way into it. Would towels be ok for bedding for them? Was thinking of a bath mat over the lino and then towels for them to burrow into.

Sorry about the questions but want to make sure the boys are nice and warm for winter. As we live near Dartmoor it gets very cold here.

Any advice greatfully recieved

Foxy, Brownie and Buster

I was told to fill the sleep space with hay, then put in a snuggle safe under before bed.

Does that sound right?

Love the sound of snuggle safes. Would you use one per bun or one between 2?

I would let the buns have one each, lots of hay for bedding, or straw if you are really worried. And cover the front in towels or an old duvet and then the tarp to stop it getting wet. That should help insulate the front.

Thank you everyone.

Will get the sugglesafes for the boys. It gets very cold here. Talking -5 some mornings.

I have two water bottles so can swap them over when needed. Think i'll get some straw for them too just for my own piece of mind. May see if i can talk hubby into emptying his beloved tools out of the shed so the boys can go in there for a extra bit of warmth and out of the wind.

last winter i put in tons of hay and they had a snugglesafe each,when it got really cold,i put the highest king size quilt i could find and i put that on it,there were toasty warm in there cage,the cage i have,also has proper house insulation inbetween the walls

Personally I haven't had much success with towels for bedding as my two just eat them (along with everything else in their path) Heard a lot of people who's bun's weren't goats in a past life use them though. I have a snuggle safe which served us well this spring but will be getting a couple more for this winter as our set up has expanded considerably. Another alternative which is much cheaper is to warm house bricks really slowly in the oven and wrap them in towels. No idea how well this works, never tried it but I think you can get bricks in B&Q for about 50p.
I will be moving my hutch into our kids playhouse & lining the floor with straw. I'm also going to going to cover all but one end of their run with plastic sheeting and fill that with straw. The only exposed bit will be the mesh runaround tunnels leading from A-B but you watch, that'll be where they sit all day in the rain and snow :lol:

Copy of my thread I made last winter about winter care:

As winter is gradually drawing in and with the threat of snow as early as next month, i would like to remind you of ways to help keep your rabbits happy and healthy during the winter months.

Housing

If your rabbits is housed in a hutch or shed make sure you protect it from the wind/rain/snow. Here are some ways to do this:
Make hutch shutters. These are simply pieces of wood that are put over the mesh to reduce drafts.

Insulate the hutch/shed with insulation material. This can be bought from most DIY stores. You need to cover it with plywood so the rabbits don't nibble it!

Cover the hutch. No rabbit should be outside during the winter without a cover on their hutch. Covers do not need to be the expensive purpose made ones. A simple blanket over the hutch will suffice. I like to provide different layers to trap the air. I use Hessian sack and Tarpaulin as well as wooden shutters.

Snugglesafe heat pads. These are brilliant for single bunnies that cannot snuggle up to another rabbit for heat. However some rabbits are known to wee on them!

Cat flap. If your rabbit lives in a hutch, fit a cat flap between the two areas. If your rabbit lives in a shed fit a cat flap between the hutch and the run. The cat flap is to reduce drafts.

Food

I am going to increase my rabbits pellet intake this winter. The reason for this is they need to use more energy to keep warm.

Bedding

Make sure outside rabbits have a nice warm bed area. In a hutch this is the enclosed area. Some ideas for bedding are
Straw. The warmest of the 'throw away' beddings. It has hollow insides to trap air. However it is not as soft as hay. Use newspaper underneath to insulate.

Hay. Hay is more comfortable then straw. Rabbits will eat the hay so it will need to be topped up regularly. Also a lot of rabbits like to wee of hay, making regular cleaning essential. Use newspaper underneath to insulate.

Soft pet bed. I like to use these as they are fluffy and are the more comfortable than hay and straw! They are also cheaper in the long run as you they don't need replacing every week, like the other beddings! I use straw on top of the soft beds. However a lot of rabbits like to chew and wee in soft bedding.

You could use a snugglesafe with any of these beddings

Water

Make sure that you have a spare bottle so that you don't need to worry about de-icing the bottle every morning! If you want to use hutch shutters you will need a bottle holder for inside the hutch.. I bought mine of ebay and it is really good (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Inside-hut...item3f0dbf8806). If you use a bottle holder in the hutch, this will help prevent the bottle from freezing. Bowls will freeze quickly during the winter. If your rabbits don't chew i recommend putting masking tape around the spout of the bottle, this worked for me last year and the spout only froze a few times and that was during snow.

Hutch/shed life

Make sure the hutch/shed has had a recent coat of hutch stain. This will need to be re stained every few years. You will also need to make sure that the roof of the rabbits hutch/shed is water proof.

Exercise

Rabbits still need exercise in the winter. It is recommended that your rabbits gets at least 5 hours of run time every day. My rabbits have access to their run 24:7. I recommend you cover the top of your run with tarpaulin or plastic corrugated sheeting. to stop the inside of run from getting wet.

The pictures can be viewed on this sticky:
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...door-Housing&p=5208527&viewfull=1#post5208527