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Outdoor Bun Owners: How are you dealing with the snow issue?

Beapig

Mama Doe
I brought my pair into our single brick outbuilding last night, which is still very cold but doesn't have the same bite without the high winds. I've just put them back out in their run/hutch setup because the outbuilding is tiny and the run they were in is not suitable for long term/all day use - I didn't want them going mad with boredom!

I am of course, worried now that they'll be too cold. So far so good - they're enjoying digging in the snow and just having the freedom to run around again. I work from home so can check on them frequently. As soon as it gets dark I'm going to bring them back into the outbuilding for the night so that I know they're safe and warm enough.

How is everyone else with outdoor buns dealing with the weather? It's so hard to know the right thing to do sometimes.
 
I would agree.I think youre doing the best you can under these extreme circumstances.Check them loads as you are doing
 
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I’ve left mine out and, though I’ve worried about them constantly, they’ve coped admirably and seem to frequently choose to be out in their snowy runs when they could be snuggled up together in a pile of hay! My biggest problem is their water bottles, they are in insulated covers and I have spares and am switching them every 3 hours or so, but the spouts keep freezing even if the bottles haven’t.

What you are doing sounds good to me, I hope this doesn’t last too much longer.
 
The buns themselves are fine: they were sleeping on the windowsill when it was -2 on the house wall thermometer (so probably -4) and had gone when it went up to -0.5, presumably it got too warm for them and they went to sleep by the tube! So keeping THEM warm isn't an issue, it's making sure their water is liquid that is! Also cleaning them out today might not happen to the usual standard but they'll get their litter trays done and new newspaper when it stop snowing, or if it keeps snowing, about 4pm! In fact, it looks like it's stopped snowing now. It's also time for a new snugglesafe under their water :)

I don't recall it being this cold for this long since I lived in Nottingham (16yrs).
 
Thank you for the advice, everyone <3 Orangediva, mine have similarly been choosing to play in the snow rather than taking shelter in the hutch, which is piled high with hay. I'm sure that they have the common sense to snuggle up together if they're getting too cold. I will probably bring them in again tonight for peace of mind.

Luckily, Beatrice is very used to being picked up, and Hamilton is so much calmer about it these days too, so it was easy enough for me to ferry them back out this morning :)
 
Slightly concerned, but in the sort of way that I think it might have happened anyway and I wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't so blinkin' cold. When I was cleaning out the bunnies today, they didn't seem to have eaten much hay, really. They'd had two small round hanging baskets-worth since Sunday, which is much more than normal, but hadn't really eaten much of the second batch. Their windowbox, their main hayrack above their litter tray in the playhouse, isn't anywhere near as empty as it would normally be after 4 days in winter. It might just be 'poofy', so the hay spread out in it, I didn't press it down as I can't reach without going inside and I didn't want to drag snow everywhere. And their big square hanging basket in the house might have had a lot less in it but it's really hard to tell unless that's nearly empty. Plus they've easy access hay in their carrier which they haven't hardly weed in (I know, shocking behaviour! I usually need to clean it out every two days!) so maybe they're just eating that instead. They're smart enough to go for the easy pickings :lol:

I'm not worried as such, as everybun's poos are perfectly normal for them :) Just an interesting observation!
 
I have noticed this a few times when it has been cold and wondered if they keep it for warmth as it's in their litter trays. Maybe it isn't to do with them keeping warm but something else.
 
I have noticed this a few times when it has been cold and wondered if they keep it for warmth as it's in their litter trays. Maybe it isn't to do with them keeping warm but something else.
They seem to have spent the usual amount of time in their under-main-rack litter tray judging by how wet and poo-y it was, but there was a lot less hay pulled into there, presumably because of the presence of the stuffed carrier? Mine really haven't spent much time anywhere 'warm': they were both asleep on the windowsill when I went to see them and they spent a good hour eating bramble outside last night 9-10pm (we feel making them move is good for them :)), and it's below freezing in their house but sheltered, with some snow blown in through the door window but generally dry and plenty of things to bounce on, sleep under etc. They've not done much in their hutch, presumably because the water's often frozen and the only thing to eat is hay but also maybe because it's too warm? :S
 
It's rough isn't it, I'm struggling I must admit.

I've got 5 separate outdoor set ups, so it's impractical to move anyone, so I've been piling in the hay and making cosy bed areas out of boxes / hay. I've only got one snugglesafe so I'll give that to Skye as she doesn't have another bun to snuggle up to. It is concerning that when I went out earlier, there was frosty bits inside her playhouse and its taking the brunt of the weather at the side of the house.

I agree, the water is a major problem and it takes forever to re fill everyone's bowls / bottles, only for them to freeze again. I've started putting in slightly warm water in the hope it will stay drinkable for longer x
 
I'm so sorry TheThreeB's, that sound really rough! Having to constantly change the water bottles/bowls is definitely a huge pain. Just trudging across the garden in a full blizzard is bad enough. I'm sure your buns will be absolutely safe and sound if they're in sheds though <3

I work from home and have had the least productive day ever because I've just been constantly worrying about my pair, too hard to concentrate on anything!
 
I worked from home too and kept running out to the shed to check the water bottles. I went to P@H to buy them some treats too as I felt so sorry for them. Didn't get all my work done!
 
Absolutely, water is the biggest issue. Even with just one setup and snugglesafes we need to time it right to make sure we always have a warm snugglesafe under the big water bowl. The outdoor one is a lost cause and the hutch one is pretty much frozen all day too :S I can't imagine how much work it is, ThreeBs :S
 
I went to buy a snugglesafe today, but it was £22 in P@H!! I found one for £13 online so ordered 2. Im going to try them under the water bowls.
 
My biggest issue has been stopping it from snowing into the hutches. They're fairly sheltered against the house, but it's been blowing in from every direction, and the rabbit hates anything over the bars of his hutch. He sits in the same spot, rain, shine or snow. I've been building a wall of hay in front of the bars, but he tears it down. He tried to nudge me away when I went to clear the snowy hay from his hutch. I can't win :lol:

I'm very relived that the snow seems to have stopped near us, and it's a whole 5 degrees warmer tonight! (from -7 to -2!) The animals have so much bedding, they are very well insulated. We (Leeds) seem to be over the worst of it, so hopefully things will start to go back to normal again. For the first time in 3 days the water bottle wasn't frozen!
 
It's been a nightmare here too. My buns have an insulated shed and their water bowl was STILL freezing solid at night! I've covered the floor of their shed in hay to make it more snuggly, they have some fleece blankets, a hot water bottle wrapped in another blanket and lastly . . . the MOST brilliant bit of advice I've ever been given . . . two bricks, heated in the oven, wrapped in newspaper and put in the shed. They warmed the shed up so much that the water stopped getting any ice at all. :D
 
Ooo like the hot bricks idea. Mine have a heated (oil filled radiator) insulated shed and their water still froze. Put the bowl on newspaper in their (doorless) hutch last night and it was not frozen completely through today. Like the sound of heated bricks. Just need to get our oven repaired now!
 
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