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Spending time with outdoor buns in winter.

Ailstar

Mama Doe
This may be a silly question, but now it's getting colder and darker I'm wondering how people spend time with their outdoor buns in winter time as I won't be able to bring them in the house for cuddles due to the temperature change. I love my cuddle time with Levi and Daisy, and I feel guilty whenever I miss it if I'm busy after work, so I'm going to have to come up with a plan!
 
Not silly at all. Last winter I had two baby rabbits (bought from the pet shop in November). I now have six (two pairs from two different rescues). All live outside. I really wonder how I will be able to comfortably interact with them.

Got Mottle and Peaches indoors atm (Mottle had a ga for his teethies) and it is soooo awesome watching them and just being able to clean/feed even stroke them. I spend loads more time with them cos they are in the house. Tricky one ...
 
I have a shed and run now, so that is much easier compared to the hutch and run combo they had before, providing they are happy to be inside the shed.

In the hutch it was a nightmare when it came to the rain, wind and snow. I would get too cold after a little while sitting in front of the hutch. With the shed though I get some reprieve from the weather. I have already been sat inside the shed with them when it was pouring down outside, so when the winter comes properly a warm coat is all that will be needed.

I will keep spending at least a few hours a day with them

It gets darker earlier so I have stuck some of those LED kitchen worktop lights onto the roof for when the days get shorter. In all honesty I will just be sitting on the floor with them and playing a few games (hiding their pellet allowance, playing chase with the balls, sitting down with hay over my knees to encourage them to hop on etc)

I think that if you work out some interactive games you will be just fine. It's hard when it's cold, especially if you have to sit outside in the snow, but just spend as much time as you can with them. They will appreciate it if you take the time to play a few games and give them a bit of a fuss.
 
Not silly at all. Last winter I had two baby rabbits (bought from the pet shop in November). I now have six (two pairs from two different rescues). All live outside. I really wonder how I will be able to comfortably interact with them.

Got Mottle and Peaches indoors atm (Mottle had a ga for his teethies) and it is soooo awesome watching them and just being able to clean/feed even stroke them. I spend loads more time with them cos they are in the house. Tricky one ...

I know right! I'm currently living with my parents but if I wasn't in all honestly I think I would have house bunnies. I had them in the kitchen for the day last Saturday and I loved it!

I might just have to fit a chair in the shed I keep their hutch in (it'll be a squeeze with all the shelves I've got in there for their hay etc) but at least then I can have cuddles. I was also thinking of getting them some decent harnesses now they are almost 6 months old and teaching them agility. Outside activities that will certainly keep me warm, as I've had them on a cheaper harness already and they literally have me running around after them!
 
Do you have any shelter that you can be under?

I have a shed, but it would be quite cramped due to the hutch and shelves being in there. I think a chair in there will be my best option though. I can't really sit in their run with them as it is on the patio and I'm guessing the floor would end up at least damp in the cold weather.
 
I have a shed and run now, so that is much easier compared to the hutch and run combo they had before, providing they are happy to be inside the shed.

In the hutch it was a nightmare when it came to the rain, wind and snow. I would get too cold after a little while sitting in front of the hutch. With the shed though I get some reprieve from the weather. I have already been sat inside the shed with them when it was pouring down outside, so when the winter comes properly a warm coat is all that will be needed.

I will keep spending at least a few hours a day with them

It gets darker earlier so I have stuck some of those LED kitchen worktop lights onto the roof for when the days get shorter. In all honesty I will just be sitting on the floor with them and playing a few games (hiding their pellet allowance, playing chase with the balls, sitting down with hay over my knees to encourage them to hop on etc)

I think that if you work out some interactive games you will be just fine. It's hard when it's cold, especially if you have to sit outside in the snow, but just spend as much time as you can with them. They will appreciate it if you take the time to play a few games and give them a bit of a fuss.

Yeah, I think I'm just going to have to adjust my idea of quality time with them. I think you are right, they don't care what we are doing as long as I'm fussing over them. :) my neighbours are going to have an amusing winter hearing me chat utter rubbish to Levi and daisy outside :)
 
I just go outside withbthem sometimes sigting or sometimes cleaning grass out from ij tge block paving which they come an nibble
 
Am I right in thinking then that it's bad for outdoor bunnies to be brought inside for any period of time in the winter? Also, ours are Rexs, will they be OK outdoors in winter too with some weatherproofing?
 
Bunnies are fine outside in the winter, they grow thick winter coats. The problem is if you keep bringing them inside and then taking them back outside to sleep in their hutch, the big difference in temperature can be a shock for them. It can also cause them not to fully develop their winter coats.
 
I put my coat on and sit in the shed with mine. I have some shelves in the shed full of blankets to lie on and wrap up in. The two I have left aren't cuddlers though :(
 
Mine aren't cuddlers either - I am trying to change that with the help of fenugreek crunchies. I would love to set up a camera in the shed so I could watch them from the laptop but the garden is soooooooooo long. Hmmm.
 
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