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Cold Weather.....

chezza145

Young Bun
Hello. I'm worried about Fluffy in the cold weather. Someone at work said shes bringing her bunny in while we get past the cold weather that's forecast and I'm wondering if I should do the same. The problem is that while shes outside, she has free run of the garden all day and only gets locked in her hutch at night, if she came in, I would have to keep her in the hutch in the day while I'm at work. She would hate it. She's a very large rabbit so I wouldn't be happy keeping her in her hutch all day, and she definitely wouldn't be happy either. I can't leave her out in the house unsupervised because she chews anything and everything! She has toys and I make treat puzzles for her but she much prefers to chew anything she shouldn't!!

Are any of you bringing your buns in?
 
I think she will be all right if she has plenty of hay to sit on and keep warm. Has she got somewhere to shelter during the day or can she go back into her hutch if she wants to. I have many rabbits so can't bring them in and once in they would have to stay in until the weather warmed up.
 
I always left them outside during the winter.
Just provided loads of extra bedding and ensured they had somewhere windproof to shelter.

They always coped fine and as Tonibun has said... once in they'd have to stay in until the warm weather is here.

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If bringing her inside could you not use a dog pen ? Or if you are leaving her outside use a couple of microwave heat pads.
 
As she's used to being outside and assuming she's in good health, I'd leave her outside. I'd make sure that she had access to her hutch or other suitable shelter eg a shed and make sure that there was a box stuffed with lots of hay for her to snuggle into. I have several microwaveable snugglesafes and heat them up and swop them as often as I can eg. First person up will give her one. Last person out of the house will put in a second. First person home heats up another one and replaces the original, another one a few hours later and one just before the last person goes to bed. You could also heat up a brick in the oven and wrap it in a towel if you can't get hold of snugglesafes. I also give my bunnies a nice warm bowl of water in the morning as they seem to appreciate a warm drink after a cold night. You can always wrap an old duvet round the hutch and cover the duvet top with a tarp or plastic sheet to keep it dry and that will insulate it. Of course, if your girl is anything like the rabbits I've previously owned, you'll come home to find them happily sat on top of the hutch with a layer of snow on them!
 
given that it is below freezing outside, what is expert opinion with regards to ideal temperatures for bunnies ?

some people say 21 degrees C...but outside in a draughty hutch it won't get anywhere near that this week !

Their normal body temperatures is higher than ours and I would not want to be outside tonight

I also wonder about how they live in the wild, they live in burrows which can be really quite snug, which fits in with my experience of my warren...frequently the warren snuggles in a pile of 8-10 bunnies in the corner of the garage...the one in the middle is usually fast asleep and very contented...sticking my hand into the group the temperature is very warm


what are your thoughts ?
 
I brought my pair in last night because we've been issued a red weather warning in Wales and have blizzard conditions here :( I'm not sure what to do with them though - right now they're just in a 5ft x 4ft run in our outbuilding/utility room, which isn't ideal at all. I don't want to bring them into the main house though because I think the difference would be too much when they're put back outside again?
 
Ive got too many to bring in, so I just keep topping the straw and hay up. Water bottles defrosted twice a day, great idea to put a bowl of warm water in too, ill try that! Poor Dave was really thirsty when I went out this morning as their bottle was totally frozen. I think as long as the rabbits are protected from wind and rain, they should be ok if they have plenty of hay or straw to snuggle in. Im just going to go out every few hours and last thing at night and check them.
Next year I'm going to get some Perspex panels for the Boyles run attached to the shed to give it more protection. My set up is new this year so it's going through it's first winter. Perspex is expensive so ill keep looking out for bits over the year. But I'm so glad they're all in the shed this year. So much easier for me to feed them too in this weather!
 
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