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Does anyone leave their rabbits out at night?

Willowsmum

Mama Doe
For those who have rabbit housing with runs attached, do you leave your rabbits to run in And out of their run/house 24 hours??

If so how do you keep them warm in the winter?:shock:

I usually shut willow in about 10pm and he's let out by 7am.:wave:

There is a reason I'm asking, it's not random! ;)
 
Mine have 24 hour access. They have an insulated bed area in the shed so they always have somewhere warm to go if they want to.
 
Ours are kind of chalets which are boarded at back and roofed but with mesh at sides for two thirds of the way along and meshed fronts - there is a raised hutch area within this if they want to go in it.

We do leave them out in these - the chalets have floors and they are entirely covered in aubiose and hay bedding - if they felt cold they can snuggle at the back or go in the hutch or (as they do when its very cold) go up on top of the hutch which have flat roofs and act like a further level

The most important thing to keep them warm is each other and most of ours are in groups of 3/4 or 5
 
Mine are out 24/7 I give them somewhere warm and snuggly and they can use it if they choose. They normally do actually, soft buns! :lol:

Buns actually prefer the cold to the hot and are very good at keeping themselves warm, as long as they are healthy and have a dry, insulated snuggly place stuffed with hay or straw they will be fine. Plus if a run is secure enough for unsupervised daytime use then it is safe enough for night time too, or rather vice versa as foxes cats ect can visit at any time!
 
Oh!!!!! :shock:


Thanks for replies.

I shut willow in because I worry about foxes :shock: not that I've actually seen one in the garden :roll:
I thought that's what everyone did??!:shock:
I feel like a bad mummy now, should I let him have the access 24/7 then??
 
Oh!!!!! :shock:


Thanks for replies.

I shut willow in because I worry about foxes :shock: not that I've actually seen one in the garden :roll:
I thought that's what everyone did??!:shock:
I feel like a bad mummy now, should I let him have the access 24/7 then??

depends how absolutely fox proof your runs are.

Our 'chalets' (combined run and hutch all roofed) are pretty much 100% fox proof and have solid roofs and solid floors, large bolts and padlocks, but we also have all of these chalets (we have 7 of them) placed inside an area which is in turn fenced with 7-8ft high aviary panels with four runs of electrified fence wire running at ground level, part way up and around top, and fox watches placed around that. The area is not roofed as it is so large (11mx11m) but the combination of electris fencing (it oacks a punch) and foxwatches should keep them out anyway - so they dont get to come close to the chalet runs.
 
depends how absolutely fox proof your runs are.

Our 'chalets' (combined run and hutch all roofed) are pretty much 100% fox proof and have solid roofs and solid floors, large bolts and padlocks, but we also have all of these chalets (we have 7 of them) placed inside an area which is in turn fenced with 7-8ft high aviary panels with four runs of electrified fence wire running at ground level, part way up and around top, and fox watches placed around that. The area is not roofed as it is so large (11mx11m) but the combination of electris fencing (it oacks a punch) and foxwatches should keep them out anyway - so they dont get to come close to the chalet runs.

Wow, can I see some photos when you have time please? :wave:
 
Unless the temperature drops below about 8 degrees, Daisy and Digby can go in their run 24/7. They actually don't bother that much though, they're quite lazy :lol: if it gets colder than that, I close off the run, but only because they don't have a proper cat flap - they just have a fleecy flap made from blankets, as they were scared of the cat flap :roll: so it wouldn't keep the cold out :wave:
 
Ours stay out 24/7 and some of them are elderly or disabled. They have aviaries with playhouses inside. The playhouses are insulated and have built in sleeping areas.
 
yep, currently the shed door is wide open so they come and go, when winter arrives there will be a cat flap in the shed door so the shed will stay fairly warm :)
 
Poor old willow!

Reason I ask Is because the rescue centre said that him and his new wife (when we find her) need to have 24/7 run acces:shock: I'll never sleep with worry:roll:

What if cats have a fight in the garden and the rabbits run in and Hurt themselves? :shock:
What if a fox creeps up and bites them through the fence:oops:
How will they stay warm if the cat flap is always open:shock: normally willow is shut in his very large double hutch with double duvets over it!
However if he had a wife I would take the hutch out and set up the shed but I can't see how to keep it warm if the cat flap is open?
 
i think when a vet says 24-7 access to a run , its just a firm way of saying that they need daily access to a run. Our bunnies have an outside shed size bunny house with attached runs thorugh a catflap. At night we seal of the runs, it keeps the bunny house warmer, they fell more secure from any preditors, even though the run is secure , its still scares the hell out of them even if a cat goes up to the wire.

I think shutting them in at night is fine, especiqally if you have bonded pairs, thy just cuddle up together
 
I used to feel the same as you and close the run off at night but now I leave it open as it is on the patio now :)
 
My two have a runaround tunnel to their run and the door in the shed has a perspex disc which you can put over it to close it at night. I do go out at 11ish and usher them in and shut the flap, and go back out by 6.30am to open it for them. I'm sure they would probably rather be out all night as well but I sleep easier when I know that they are in the shed for the night. They do THUMP when I shut the flap :roll:
 
My two have a runaround tunnel to their run and the door in the shed has a perspex disc which you can put over it to close it at night. I do go out at 11ish and usher them in and shut the flap, and go back out by 6.30am to open it for them. I'm sure they would probably rather be out all night as well but I sleep easier when I know that they are in the shed for the night. They do THUMP when I shut the flap :roll:

Yes that's it's peace of mind for me too! Plus willow looovvvvvees his bed (too much actually ) so he's never bothered.
 
Mine stay out all night. Their hutch is inside a shed (which they don't have access to), and when it's cold the bedroom area gets stuffed with hay for warmth. However, if I ever wake up at like 3 am and check on them, they are pretty much always sat out in the run!
 
Mine have the run doors put on at night.. I like to know theyre in bed and warm.. but their accomodation is so roomy theres no need to leave them out.:wave:
 
to start with, we locked them up at night and let them out in the morning but gradually let them out 24/7 unless there was bad weather predicted (the run wasnt very weather proof)
 
Yup, 24/7 access to run and shed. Even when it's sub-zero, the bunnies prefer to be in the run at night. They do retreat to the shed if it's raining though.
 
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