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Will a pair of young rabbits (10 weeks old now) be ok outside through the winter

PeteHerts

New Kit
Hello!

We have two rabbits in a nice, large two storey hutch located inside a 2m x 2m run. They were bred outdoors.

It's been suggested to move them into a garage if it gets below zero but then they won't have access to the run 24/7; we would have to take them into the run now and again.

For that reason I would prefer to insulate the hutch (inside and out) as mentioned elsewhere and leave them outside.

But will they be ok outside being so young?

Thanks for your advice!
 
It sounds like you are doing all the right things - they should be fine in an insulated hutch as long as they have somewhere that is dry and draught-free and there is an enclosed area with plenty of bedding (eg hay). If they have always been outside, they will get a proper winter coat, and they have each other to snuggle up with as well.

I use a max/min thermometer on the mesh door to monitor the temperature daily. If it starts to drop to freezing, they get a thicker cover over the doors to keep the heat in (and wind / rain out). If it drops to below about -3'C, I add another loose cover and check daily that they have plenty of clean, dry bedding and dry litter areas. I also have snugglesafe heatpads for the worst of the winter weather - a quick blast in the microwave and 2 of them under the bedding hay keep it nice and cosy overnight. I only get concerned if the water bowls freeze, which is very rare.

My only concern would be getting them through a neuter before it gets too cold. You may need to bring them inside to an unheated room for a couple of days as they recover from the anaesthetic, as they can't regulate their temperature at that point. You also need to make sure they are eating and have normal output. Boys can be done from about 12 weeks, girls from 6 months.
 
I would also make sure they are in the hutch overnight. Do you know if foxes come into your garden and has the run got a roof?
 
thanks very much for the tips. Especially the advice about the neutering (we have one of each) is very important, I did wonder about recovery time but did not put together winter weather and neutering!

I'll get a thermometer...I do have a high tech data logger but actually an old fashioned max/min device is what I need here!
 
I didn't explain too well but the run is one from Eglu and more like a wire cage - it has a roof and underfloor mesh.

And yes we do have foxes hence the reason to spend so much on an eglu wire cage...better safe than sorry.

Actually Shimmer and Tonibun sorry to not reply sooner but I didn't see any notifications of replies so was not aware you had replied so fast! Thank you both!
 
If you have foxes, these are really effective [emoji38]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pestbye®-Repeller-Activated-Deterrent-Connects/dp/B0153BJ7NQ

Don't hurt them or anything.

We had foxes in the garden, I actually fed them because their mum died in our garden when they were a few weeks old.. But obviously can't have full grown foxes and rabbits in the garden.. So yea, we have two of these.. Because our gardens quite wide. But they're really effective :)

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
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