Exercising bunnies in the winter

Hi

Im a new bunny owner and was wondering what other people do to exercise their buns in the winter. ive two 10 week old buns, they have a double hutch attached to an 8ft x 6ft secure pen.Their hutch is fully insulated, with metal bubble wrap, hutch cover, tarpaulin, lots n lots of warm bedding, snuggle safe etc. i currently let them out of their hutch at 6am and lock them in their hutch at night about 11pm so they are out for a good 17 hours, its freezing tonight but they are still running round like loons, i do worry they still might get cold but im assuming they would snuggle up inside the hutch if they do get cold , do others leave their buns to please themselves in the winter?

Hi there, I've got my two in an aviary with their hutch inside, with same setup (therma wrap insulation, hutch snuggle, cover, snuggle safes, newspaper, cardboard, straw/hay.. Phew ;-) But I've found they are out and exercising very early mornings and early evenings so I fitted the tunnel to the mesh within the aviary so they can go out via that when they like. :-D

Well i bought a runaround tube and fittings but havent attached it to my hutch yet, im still paranoidabout foxes getting into the run, dont know why as its like fort knox lol, hubby is building me an aviary in the new year, cant wait. I may have to fit it as they hate being locked in their hutch

If your run is fox proof you could leave it open overnight it's up to you.

Personally with them that young I would continue to lock them in whilst it's very cold overnight.
Wild rabbits wouldn't be above ground overnight, so their instincts might not look after them.
I find that when the day warms them up a bit they will become very frisky and slow down again when it gets cold.

It's entirely up to you!

I don't shut any of mine up at night, two of mine are in a shed/run set up and they go in and out cia a cat flap and I often hear it 'flapping' throughout the night so they seem quite active at all times :thumb:

Weather wise, as long as they have free access to the warmer area then you can keep your current routine. Adding some extra shelter to the run area is a good idea though, a snuggly box down there or just something with a bit of top cover eg a stool/small table will give them a semi sheltered area that will stay a bit warmer.

Ok thanks, thats give me peace of mind.

10 weeks is very young to be out all night - they do not have the fat layers and ultra layered fur that adults have and can very quickly get chilled. If they came from a pet chop or garden centre where they were indoors I really wouldnt have put them out at all at this time of year - although I see you have put lots and lots of warm stuff for them to snuggle in I would still worry if we have extended cold snaps - sorry to sound over concerned but 10 weeks is so young. Foxes also get very very desperate when there are cold snaps as rats and mice etc tend to stay underground living of stored food - so the fox try much harder than normal to get into things - so check your mesh gauge is a very thick one, and the way it is attached should be on the inside with wood over the attachment points etc and the size of your bolts and hinges and the overall weight of the hutch itself.

Unfortunately i cant bring them in doors. I purchased them from a brc breeder and made sure that they had been kept outside before getting them. We've gone to extremes to keep foxes away, hubby has put spikes round the perimeter of the garden, heavy duty locks on the hutch, movement detector light, the pen is now doubled meshed and the hutch is covered with tarpaulin so foxes cannot see in. My dog is in the garden most of the time so thats a good deterrent. I am thinking of getting a shed and adding secure run on to it, think that may be a good option. In regards to the cold it was -4 here sunday night and it didnt appear to bother them at all but I do check on them regularly and warm their snuggle pad up last thing at night. Ill be watching them like a hawk xx