Need reassurance about cold weather!

hi :wave:

I need people to please tell me their buns have coped in minus two/three temperatures with no snugglesafes or anything, just loads of straw before!?

I'm going away tomorrow for a week, leaving buns to be looked after by a neighbour but it is due to get down to -2 here. It's freezing already and I'm getting myself in a right state! two of mine live in an aviary and although it has a hutch in it that has a bedroom with loads of straw, I keep thinking they're going to be freezing because it is VERY open The other one I am not so worried about because she's been outside in -6/-7 temps before with no problem, but it is alfie and roo's first winter outside and it is so so cold already We don't have any snugglesafes (no microwave) although Mum has said she'll buy a cheap microwave this winter so we can give them heatpads. I'd love for them to go to bunny boarding where they can be looked after by a more experienced person because although my neighbour is very responsible and had rabbits as a kid, she looks after them perfectly but I don't think she'd be able to spot the signs of stasis or anything :|

Reassurance please?!

Wish we had a bunny boarding place near us, can't seem to find one though

The temperature won't worry your rabbits as long as they have somewhere to get warm if they want to. You say you have lots of straw in the hutch - do they also, and more importantly, have lots of hay?

Have they been outside for the past few months? If so they should have winter coats to cope with the cold temperatures.
My bunnies have been fine outside with minus temperatures and just a lot of hay and each other to keep them warm. The little hutch filled with hay/straw should be great for them.
You will probably find they don't use it though! Mine would happily sit out in the frozen run at 5am when I was heading to work.
ETA just seen the last bit about your neighbour not being able to recognise stasis. I would personally put them into boarding if this is the case, winter or summer. Unless you could educate her. A week is a long time to be left with someone that can't recognise these things.

Agree with above replies! My rabbits have never had snuggle safes or anything just lots of straw and hay and cover over hutch. A couple of winters back it got to -9 or -12 if I remember rightly! They were fine, my guinea pig was out that yr too and he was also fine :thumb:

When you say you have lots of hay..Can i ask what depth of hay?.

Fee x

oOh they will be fine my lot chose to sit out in the snow last winter despite having a shed full of hay :roll:

Fee said:

When you say you have lots of hay..Can i ask what depth of hay?.

Fee x

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Like the others say the bunnies don't necessarily use the hay and straw stuffed beds anyway but I used to put newspaper then a good few inches of straw topped up with hay, pretty much filling the bed and kept topped up as they eat it. My pair currently don't have any part of the hutch stuffed with bedding and they're doing fine so don't worry :wave:

Last year Poppy and Daisy were only babies and they had been kept in an out building type thing so I wasnt sure they would have grown winter coats and I put them into the hutch...I filled their bedroom section of their hutch with straw and topped it with hay so they could burrow and snuggle if they wanted to :thumb: They were fine

Sorry to hijack your thread jemimaH but I have about 5" of hay, with newspaper underneath.

I should then add straw to the top of that?.. I also have a snugglepad and on front of the mesh part I have put insulated bubble wrap, leaving only his ramp to get into hutch open....

Its meant to be 3 degrees up here just now.... but with the biting wind its already freezing!

Poor Floppy he's nuts, he's sittting in his run just now and his coat is blowing in the wind!!,!

Mad?

I always put the straw on the bottom

Cool... excuse the pun:lol:

They always always have loads of fresh timothy hay. Straw wise I stuff it about halfway up to the ceiling (is a very tall bedroom, normally has a shelf in seperating it but have taken it out cus they wee on it:roll and let them make their own burrow in the corner. They always have loads

Regarding the neighbour thingy, she looks after them very well don't get me wrong, always have clean enclosures, loads of timothy hay, correct amount of food etc but I am not 'comfortable' and never will be 'comfortable' fully leaving them in her care.

The problem is as well as not knowing any boarding places near Stamford/Peterborough we're spending £80 alone on the cats (for a week i was pretty shocked at that!) boarding and add the petrol money, money for renting the house, food, booking meals out etc it is really expensive going away and we couldn't afford majorly expensive boarding places. Mum keeps saying 'they'll be fine' but another of my worries is the fact that when you go to feed them,Roo pushes the door open and tries to get out every time. she got out the other day and I was so lucky I managed to catch her again, if she gets out with E I dont think she could catch roo again

Do you have a puppy pen or mesh panel bits you can put around the door? This is what I have done for mine while they wait for the shed otherwise they'd be out and around the garden!

unfortunately not I want Dad to ideally make the door a little shorter so they have some solid wood up to about knee height on me but cus of the way the door is made i dont think its possible :?

Have you ever put your hand between your buns when they are snuggled up together? It is really suprising just how much heat they generate :shock: Bunnies cope with colder temperatures much better than the hot weather, i'm sure yours will be fine.

Lining the inside of nest boxes or hutches with cardboard always puts my mind at rest.It just adds that added bit of warmth and protection for them.

yeah they are so warm together! Dad (being the star he is) has managed to rig up a temporary barrier which means they can't escape out of the door so that's a bit more of a relief! Still going to worry about the cold though, the sooner I'm home to be honest the better and I've not even gone yet!

Summer&Skye said:

Like the others say the bunnies don't necessarily use the hay and straw stuffed beds anyway but I used to put newspaper then a good few inches of straw topped up with hay, pretty much filling the bed and kept topped up as they eat it. My pair currently don't have any part of the hutch stuffed with bedding and they're doing fine so don't worry :wave:

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I used to do the same as you, my old bunny used to be out there in very cold weather and was fine. Bedroom part full of bedding.