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What Winter Protection is needed

Galilee

New Kit
this may be a bit of a silly question but i'm concerned about winter and cold weather protection for my rabbits, i have read and heard about keeping your rabbits warm and out of drafts during colder weather in particular and my rabbits are all outdoors and i was wondering what protection they will need, also what do you count as a draft? full blown gale or just any kind of wind blowing? i have also read on here about hutch huggers and they seem expensive and not very good i have also read about other materials used i was wondering what methods other owners use that can be easliy obtained and good for the job

i want my bunnies to stay healthy and will do anything to keep them this way so your advice will be apreciated thanks for your help.:roll::wave:
 
:wave: As long as your bunnies are outdoors all year, they will grow a nice thick winter coat to cope with the cold. I agree with your sentiment about the price of hutch huggers!

My lops are in a wendy house with a run attached; there is a hutch in the wendy house just to make a cosy area - I just put extra straw and hay in so they have somewhere to snuggle into.

My nethies are in a double hutch and run. I bought a sheet of perspex from B&Q and I just slide it over the mesh parts of the hutch. It just reduces the amount of draught (doesn't eliminate it totally but stops the harshest cold winds) and stops driving rain from getting into the hutch. Again I totally fill one area up with lovely soft barley straw that they can snuggle into. Before I had the perspex I just tacked a piece of plastic over the front with drawing pins and that kept the rain out too.

I think the most important thing is to keep it clean and dry; dampness is a real problem to their health so as long as you clean it regularly and give lots o cosy bedding, they should be fine.
 
The problem i have with the hutch huggers is i've found the windows are on the left side but mine are on the right side :roll: Now i've read this its given me some idea's thanks ;):wave:
 
If you really want a hutch hugger, there's someone on ebay who makes them to order, so you may be able to order something suitable from there. Hopefully someone will be able to find you the link!
 
My guineapigs live in a large hutch run combo and they have an old double duvet over the hutch to keep them warm.
Cheap and effective, also they get alot more hay in their sleeping compartment.
 
Thats great thank you just want i was looking for ;)

No probs. I have it bookmarked for when I have the spare pennies.:shock: At the mo I have a shield thing which hangs down and covers the front of the hutch which I bought from the pet shop and attached to the hutch and then I just bought a big poly sheet from B&Q and put that over it every night.

Also trillions of hay and a towel and blankie...Max tries to make out he is not interested in them but I caught him having a wee snooze on the towel the other day so am hoping he has the sense to drag it through to his bedroom if he's chilly at night.:lol:

He has finally stopped moulting though and has a beautiful winter coat. All thick and silky so that should keep him toasty cosy:love:
 
I hate this time of year! I always worry about my little buns being cold outside.

We bought hutch huggers and hutch snuggles for our hutches. They were expensive but I definitley dont regret getting them. The shelter the bunnies from the wind and the rain and they always seem really content in there hutches.
They were absolutely fine outside last year but I still wonder what more I could do for them.
I give them heat pads but I dont think they really bother with them.

Does anybody use that foil insulating stuff inside the hutches?
 
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