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Newbie! Is it too late to move outdoors?

S

Sandi-C

Young Bun
Sorry in advance if this has been covered before. I have 1 baby girl (Scampy) at 5 months and 1 boy (Finn) at approx. 12 months. They are both rescue so I am not sure what set up they were previously used to but for the past 2 weeks they have been living in my bedroom while I bonded them. Recently I lost the girl's friend (also 5 months) during surgery so she was grieving. Until the surgery both of them lived outside. Large hutch and run, and they loved it. When he passed, I brought her indoors and we got the new boy a few days later.
My question is, is it far too late to move them back outdoors now? I would love to keep them indoors the entire time but I have a dog and 2 cats who would bother them. At the moment all animals are separated in different rooms and it's beginning to stress them all out. Ideally I need the rabbits outside, but I'm worried about them now the weather is getting colder. I have a hutch with run, but will get a shed and plan to move them into that as the hutch isn't the biggest and hard to insulate.
Even getting a shed, will this be enough? Do you still let them run outside when it's lashing rain? After losing my little boy I am terrified of my rabbits ever getting sick. I don't want them outside if they can't cope but the living arrangements are forcing me to.
 
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Personally I wouldn't move them back outside. But if you have an unused garage/shed that their hutch could go into for winter it might be doable with lots of insulation & heat pads.

When they have their own shed, I'd give them an aviary/run so they can chose between outdoors or indoors.

Hopefully someone else will be along soon with a more indepth reply x
 
I think it's now too cold as well to move them outside as guessing they haven't developed their winter coats. I also don't have a lot of experience about this as have an indoor bunny but I'm sure her coat is a lot less fluffy than outdoor rabbits are now.
 
Can you find out if they have been living outside before they came to you? If so a couple of weeks indoors should not make too much difference.

I bonded my quad and they were indoors for a couple of weeks, having been outside before that. They moved back out without any issues.
 
Sandi-C said:
Sorry in advance if this has been covered before. I have 1 baby girl (Scampy) at 5 months and 1 boy (Finn) at approx. 12 months. They are both rescue so I am not sure what set up they were previously used to but for the past 2 weeks they have been living in my bedroom while I bonded them. Recently I lost the girl's friend (also 5 months) during surgery so she was grieving. Until the surgery both of them lived outside. Large hutch and run, and they loved it. When he passed, I brought her indoors and we got the new boy a few days later.
My question is, is it far too late to move them back outdoors now? I would love to keep them indoors the entire time but I have a dog and 2 cats who would bother them. At the moment all animals are separated in different rooms and it's beginning to stress them all out. Ideally I need the rabbits outside, but I'm worried about them now the weather is getting colder. I have a hutch with run, but will get a shed and plan to move them into that as the hutch isn't the biggest and hard to insulate.
Even getting a shed, will this be enough? Do you still let them run outside when it's lashing rain? After losing my little boy I am terrified of my rabbits ever getting sick. I don't want them outside if they can't cope but the living arrangements are forcing me to.
Click to expand...


Hi Sandi :wave:

I think if possible you should try and find out how they were kept before they came to you. This will give some indication of their 'hardiness' and also what type of coat they may have grown in preparation for cold weather.

Has your bedroom been heated or is it pretty chilly in there? (like mine :lol:). If it's not heated then I think you may be able to transfer them to a well made shed if they've been happy outdoors before in cold weather.

Hutches are quite exposed and I guess quite cold unless extremely well made (I have a couple giant ones custom made). You can always provide snuggle safe pads for some heat if there's no access to electricity.

I would be careful with the weather being so bitter though. Good luck xx
 
Dear All,

thank you all so much for your replies and advice. I believe my recent rescue boy was an indoor rabbit, however the rescue I got him from had actually moved him into a shed. My little baby girl Scampy, she was outside until the recent trauma, and she loved it so much. I feel bad keeping her indoors! The vet recommended putting them out during the day and bringing them in again at night, but all the literature I've been reading here suggests that's actually worse for them? Mighty Max...my room is cold! I deliberately left the heating off as I knew this wouldn't help should I need to move them eventually. The other concern I had was that Scampy is still young and already had a small cold. You just worry about them so much, and after recently losing Rebel, my nerves are all over the place with worrying!
Out of interest how quickly do they become sick if they get cold? Would I recognise the signs? I believe rabbits are very crafty at hiding their illness.
I really appreciate all your support. I know absolutely no one else who has rabbits! (They don't know what they're missing!!)
xx
 
Sandi-C said:
Dear All,

thank you all so much for your replies and advice. I believe my recent rescue boy was an indoor rabbit, however the rescue I got him from had actually moved him into a shed. My little baby girl Scampy, she was outside until the recent trauma, and she loved it so much. I feel bad keeping her indoors! The vet recommended putting them out during the day and bringing them in again at night, but all the literature I've been reading here suggests that's actually worse for them? Mighty Max...my room is cold! I deliberately left the heating off as I knew this wouldn't help should I need to move them eventually. The other concern I had was that Scampy is still young and already had a small cold. You just worry about them so much, and after recently losing Rebel, my nerves are all over the place with worrying!
Out of interest how quickly do they become sick if they get cold? Would I recognise the signs? I believe rabbits are very crafty at hiding their illness.
I really appreciate all your support. I know absolutely no one else who has rabbits! (They don't know what they're missing!!)
xx
Click to expand...

As others have said, if you had a garage or something then that would of been fine, but I wouldn't want to put them properly outside at this time of year, especially if one of your rabbits has health problems. Outdoor bunnies would already be growing a nice thick winter coat by now, mine are indoors so still have their summer coat
 
Sandi-C said:
Dear All,

thank you all so much for your replies and advice. I believe my recent rescue boy was an indoor rabbit, however the rescue I got him from had actually moved him into a shed. My little baby girl Scampy, she was outside until the recent trauma, and she loved it so much. I feel bad keeping her indoors! The vet recommended putting them out during the day and bringing them in again at night, but all the literature I've been reading here suggests that's actually worse for them? Mighty Max...my room is cold! I deliberately left the heating off as I knew this wouldn't help should I need to move them eventually. The other concern I had was that Scampy is still young and already had a small cold. You just worry about them so much, and after recently losing Rebel, my nerves are all over the place with worrying!
Out of interest how quickly do they become sick if they get cold? Would I recognise the signs? I believe rabbits are very crafty at hiding their illness.
I really appreciate all your support. I know absolutely no one else who has rabbits! (They don't know what they're missing!!)
xx
Click to expand...


Yes you're right about the temperature changes being very bad for rabbits. They cannot adjust and it adversely affects their immune systems. Not to scare you, but in extreme cases of 'in' and 'out' it can actually finish them off fast. I don't think you're anything like in this situation please don't worry!! But if there's a hint of illness then it's wise to take extra precautions ....

I realise this is difficult for you living wise. Also, it's hard for you having to sleep in such a cold room!
 
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