Rabbits care

I inherited 20 rabbits and not sure how to care for them. They live in the backyard, very happy, but now is cold tonight will be 38F and I worry that they will get cold and die, what can I do to keep them warm. I live the shed open so they can get in. And I can't catch them. Any comments will be appreciated.

Have they always lived outside? They should have grown a winter coat if so. You can give them lots of hay to snuggle up in too & lots of people here use a snuggle safe. Mine are all indoor bunnies so I'm not exactly sure what it is, I think it's like a hot water bottle for bunnies.

They cope pretty well with cold weather and 38F (which I think is about 3oC in UK temps) should be fine if they have shelter as it will stay a bit above that indoors.

Straw makes good bedding and if it's a big shed making sure they have smaller areas to snuggle up in - which can just be cardboard boxes etc.) will help keep them warm. If the shed has a big door then setting something up so they've got a smaller entrance to use will also keep it warmer eg a board across the doorway with a bunny size hole.

Hiya!!

Are they all neutered??? You might end up with loads more if not:shock:

Its a huge responsibility.

Best of luck to you

Fee x

Thank you all for your advise, is very helpful. And no they are not neutered, i don't even know which is male and which is female. I know is sad...... But i will learn

THANK YOU TAMSIN BEST ADVISE!!!!!! I'm working on it

MSOLARES said:

Thank you all for your advise, is very helpful. And no they are not neutered, i don't even know which is male and which is female. I know is sad...... But i will learn

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You may want to get a vet to sex and neuter them or you will end up with a lot more than 20. sounds like you've taken on a lot there, how did you end up inheriting them?

Well... it sounds funny, but I rented a house from this couple that purchase a ranch and moved there. So they rent me the house, only that I had to keep the rabbits, it was only two, in three months I had four more then in a few months I had more and now I have twenty, I gave away eleven. I agreed to keep them because they looked cute and harmless. I was also told that they don't eat much and they could survive of eating the lawn. Big surprise, not enough lawn, and water bill sky high. So I learn to feed them rabbit pellets and vegetable salad and plenty of water. Now come the housing problem, I don't have the resources to build houses for the rabbits so I live the shed I have open so they can go in and out which they do. You are the first persons who have given me the advise needed. People have suggested for me to sell them, but I don't know where or how much they sell for. I have posted on Facebook and CreggList, but no results. I love my bunnies, but they are a handful.

Oh dear, I think you might have got the short straw there. Unfortunately rabbits can have a litter of babies every 4 weeks and the youngsters can start reproducing themselves from four months old. They will multiply pretty quick and as you've found no one really wants them so it's tough to rehome the extras.

The best budget (and good for them food) for rabbits is hay - the same stuff you'd feed to horses. Particularly with the temperature dropping and less grass being available. You can just buy it by the bale and have it in the shed.

Are you in the states? There is actually an organisation that specialises in working with people that have groups of rabbits living together and I think they'd be perfect for giving you advice on housing a big group and could maybe point you in the direction of where you could get help with low cost neutering. They do a lot of work with feral populations and big groups that have got out of hand, I know yours isn't too big at the moment but I think it could become an issue for you long term if the population continues to expand. Anyway, here is their website: http://www.rabbitats.org/ and there are on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Rabbitats

They have loads of photos of colonies of bunnies too so lots of inspiration for housing ideas.

Thank you so much, I will get in touch with them

Oh I forgot to tell you, I am in the States, in Adelanto, California

I forgot to tell you, I am in the states, I live in Adelanto, California

It's important you get the male rabbits separated out asap, or you are going to end up with a whole bunch of bunnies, fast. You can try some of the rabbit rescues in your area to see if they have any suggestions on vets and neutering. You may be able to find a low cost spay and neuter clinic that can neuter the boy buns.
http://www.animalcarenetwork.org/rabbitresc.html

http://www.larabbits.org/spayneuter/rabbit-spay-and-neuter-clinics-southern-california/
http://www.catnipandcarrots.org/page/spayandneutercalifornia.htm