Keeping warm over winter

Misty lives outdoors, but I'm worried about her getting too cold over winter. I can't keep her indoors as we have no space for a big enough hutch in the house. Hopefully she'll have a 6ftx2ft hutch soon, and I'll be getting her a friend at some point over the next couple of months so she'll have another bun to snuggle with. Our garden is pretty sheltered too.

What can I do to keep her warm?

Is it ok to bring her in for a couple of hours if it's too wet to put her in her run?

There's a couple of things you can do once the weather really starts to get cold (not yet though as their coat will become thicker naturally anyway).

Extra bedding. During the thickness of winter I use almost half a shop bought packet of straw for the bed chamber - they move it around and snuggle themselves into it quite nicely.

Buy a snugglesafe, one per bunny. You can get these off the internet (just google "snugglesafe" and they'll come up) and they're roughly £12 including postage. You heat them in the microwave - make sure you follow the heating guidelines for your particular make. Don't buy the first Snugglesafe you see though as there are a few places on the net which sell them and the price can vary quite alarmingly - I've seen them for sale for close on £20 where as I only paid £12. That's quite a difference!

Make sure the hutch is out of a draft. You can buy hutch covers which will ensure not much of a draft can get in it at night. Alternatively, buy an old blanket from a charity shop and also buy a bigger piece of good quality plastic and use those to cover the hutch.

I can't think of anything else.

Be very careful about bringing your bunny indoors. The temperature difference between a wintry outside to a centrally heated inside could make her poorly. If it's too wet to leave her in a run, then I personally would leave her in her hutch but let her out for a run 2-3 times a day. Most bunnies don't mind a bit of wet anyway, providing they're not too young.

I'm sure you'll get more advice than this, but that's what I'd do :wave:

Extra Bedding/straw, make sure theres no draughts plus try to keep the bedding as dry as poss.
Snugglesafe's are excellent! i would totally recommend them. i agree that you can find some that are reasonably priced, they dont take long to heat up plus the heat lasts quite a long time.

Thanks, I'll buy some straw as well as the cardboard bedding she has. She'll have an attached run when I get a new hutch so she can choose whether to be in or out. And I'll order a hutch cover as well.

I saw a thread on here where the bunny had a fleece igloo thingy in the bed part of the hutch as well, might have to get one of them!

This is a brilliant idea and works fab! :thumb:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/outdoor/insulating-rabbit-hutch.asp

Be careful of what she can chew....I would say just keep the hay and forget straw.xxx

Rach210 said:

Thanks, I'll buy some straw as well as the cardboard bedding she has. She'll have an attached run when I get a new hutch so she can choose whether to be in or out. And I'll order a hutch cover as well.

I saw a thread on here where the bunny had a fleece igloo thingy in the bed part of the hutch as well, might have to get one of them!

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I have a cat bed in my bunnies outside hutch. It pops up into a enclosed bed, or squashes down to make it more open. I thought it would give them some extra warmth and shelter from all the wind we are having at the mo, as well as making it more cosy! My husband thinks the rabbits are better looked after then him!!!

I've recently got some barley straw for my outdoor buns to keep them warm, it's so lovely and soft and very snuggly I think, apparently straw is warmer than hay, but ordinary straw can be a bit sharp I think people are concerned it could poke a bunny in the eye or something, but the barley straw is so soft.

Karen's said:

I've recently got some barley straw for my outdoor buns to keep them warm, it's so lovely and soft and very snuggly I think, apparently straw is warmer than hay, but ordinary straw can be a bit sharp I think people are concerned it could poke a bunny in the eye or something, but the barley straw is so soft.

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I agree with this, I use barley straw too, it's really soft. A friend of mine had a rabbit lose an eye after being poked by sharp straw. I'm sure it's rare, but better to avoid just in case

deffo get the snugglesafe. We have ours under their hay - every morning we can see where they've dug the hay out to lay on top of the snugglesafe. Like a little tunnel they've slept in. Bet they're toasty & warm all night!

Sorry, not sure if it has been said but putting a layer of bubble wrap with drawing pins (making sure they don't stick through) round the hutch and then cover with tarpaulin so it doesn't get wet. I have just put a fresh lot round my bunnies' hutch. It may be OTT but I also cover the tunnel with it!

Julialarubia said:

Sorry, not sure if it has been said but putting a layer of bubble wrap with drawing pins (making sure they don't stick through) round the hutch and then cover with tarpaulin so it doesn't get wet. I have just put a fresh lot round my bunnies' hutch. It may be OTT but I also cover the tunnel with it!

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Oooo good idea.