House Buns in the Snow?

[sidereus7]

I completely agree with Tamsin here. :thumb:

 

[VikkiVet]

by the same rule if you took them for a ride in your car on a motorway..stopped and opened the doors..they'd jump out
I know letting them in the snow doesn't have the same high risk..but it still does pose a slight risk to their health..so again I wonder why do it:?

Thats not a good comparison - a rabbit in a car on a motorway is stressed by its current circumstances so is looking for escape. Opening the door, particularly if you do this occasionally/regularly, gives them the opportunity to move from a safe, comfortable environment that they are familiar with, to a new(er), interesting environment, with every opportunity to return indoors as they wish.

As Tamsin says, there are some risks with everything we allow our rabbits to do, so you weigh them up and make a decision. in my case, for my rabbits, i feel the risk is minimal and the enrichment and stimulation they get is worth it.

 

[*lily*]

Does this also apply to not letting your dog or cat out in the snow either as they would also be going from a warm to a freezing cold temperature :?

 

[Hessen]

<snip>

Great post Tamsin, I completely agree.

 

[donnamt]

Does this also apply to not letting your dog or cat out in the snow either as they would also be going from a warm to a freezing cold temperature :?

Ralph has grew a winter coat... his summer fur has been falling out for months :wave::wave::wave:

 

[KarenM]

Thats not a good comparison - a rabbit in a car on a motorway is stressed by its current circumstances so is looking for escape. Opening the door, particularly if you do this occasionally/regularly, gives them the opportunity to move from a safe, comfortable environment that they are familiar with, to a new(er), interesting environment, with every opportunity to return indoors as they wish.

Ok, maybe Jill's example wasn't a good one - what if we were talking about the front door instead of a car door on a motorway? I *think* Jill was simply pointing out that a rabbit would probably go out of the door, rather than sit and contemplate whether it was a good idea or not.

 

[MopsyMops =]]

Does this also apply to not letting your dog or cat out in the snow either as they would also be going from a warm to a freezing cold temperature :?

You do have to be careful with the different temperature I think (especially older cats/dogs).
Now its snowy, even going out in the garden, Andy has his coat on and then has a rub down when we get back. But that might just be being paranoid :lol:.

I know at agility, nearly all the dogs have coats on whilst they are waiting in the car and after they ran.

 

[honeybunny]

Ok, maybe Jill's example wasn't a good one - what if we were talking about the front door instead of a car door on a motorway? I *think* Jill was simply pointing out that a rabbit would probably go out of the door, rather than sit and contemplate whether it was a good idea or not.

yep that was the point I was making
and I'll just have to agree to disagree with you who think its a good idea

 

[clutterydrawer]

Does this also apply to not letting your dog or cat out in the snow either as they would also be going from a warm to a freezing cold temperature :?

this just occurred to me today at work and I was going to post it when I got home, but you beat me to it!

I am not in favour of letting housebuns out in the snow but it did make me wonder :? as no one would think twice about letting out a cat or dog, and surely they would experience the same "shock to the system"...yet they seem to manage ok. hmmmmm.

 

[donnamt]

this just occurred to me today at work and I was going to post it when I got home, but you beat me to it!

I am not in favour of letting housebuns out in the snow but it did make me wonder :? as no one would think twice about letting out a cat or dog, and surely they would experience the same "shock to the system"...yet they seem to manage ok. hmmmmm.

incase you didnt see.. Ralph has grown a winter coat and has been since the end of summer, he goes out in winter regulary not just to play in the snow . theres deffo been no moulting with the buns this year tho as ive tried to keep a constant temp in thier room

 

[clutterydrawer]

incase you didnt see.. Ralph has grown a winter coat and has been since the end of summer, he goes out in winter regulary not just to play in the snow . theres deffo been no moulting with the buns this year tho as ive tried to keep a constant temp in thier room

True but I was wondering about the OPs bun cos she says that he has a winter coat :? so if a dog/cat would be ok, would he?

I'm still not risking it with mine though :lol: I am a great big wuss :lol:

 

[donnamt]

True but I was wondering about the OPs bun cos she says that he has a winter coat :? so if a dog/cat would be ok, would he?

I'm still not risking it with mine though :lol: I am a great big wuss :lol:

hmmm true enough.. i cant see why a bun with a winter coat would have issues either :? ..id love to see a bunny with a winter coat

 

[KarenM]

hmmm true enough.. i cant see why a bun with a winter coat would have issues either :? ..id love to see a bunny with a winter coat

Alfie gets a really thick winter coat, much thicker than Bubbles does - he looks like a lardball. :lol::lol:

 

[donnamt]

Alfie gets a really thick winter coat, much thicker than Bubbles does - he looks like a lardball. :lol::lol:

ive heard how beautiful they are but never seen one.. i think pearl still had baby fur when she came to live here and with her being a satin i didnt notice any special coat on her at the time..

i bet Alvins winter coat would be a amazing

 

[KarenM]

i bet Alvins winter coat would be a amazing

Awww, I bet it would too. Not that he'd let you feel it, you'd just have to admire it from afar. :lol:

 

[donnamt]

Awww, I bet it would too. Not that he'd let you feel it, you'd just have to admire it from afar. :lol:

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: too true

 

[clutterydrawer]

when I had outdoor buns I never really noticed them get a different coat in winter :? weird

 

[*lily*]

Well, I had outside rabbits in the past and Simba and Tinkerbell both had quite thin coats all year round and Sootys didn't seem to be any thicker than Louie's who is an inside rabbit :?

And the cats coat seems to never change at all :?

 

[Deelove]

When I had Rocky he used to get an awesome winter coat. He completely changed colour in the winter.

summer:

winter:

Not great pics, I didn't want to spend too much looking so just used the first ones I came across.

I've noticed with Faline since she's been outside she really moulted hugely and has quite a thick coat now too (for a rex), didn't notice it so much when they were house buns so I would too be wary about letting indoor buns out in the severe weather.

 

[Isis]

Wispa is a lionhead and he's winter coat is very noticeable. I will try and dig out some photos of summer and winter.