• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Relocating 3 month old rabbits outside at end of October

FiOr

Young Bun
Is it too late in year to relocate rabbits hutch & run into a wooden summerhouse?

We’ve 2 boy rabbits - 3 months old today - mixed breed Dutch/English. We had them vaccinated 3 weeks ago & taking them to be neutered as soon as vets has availability.
We got them at 8 weeks old & for last 5 weeks we’ve homed them in cage indoors taking them to a run outside during the day on non-rainy days.
This is not ideal but I’ve children so not got space indoors for anything bigger than current cage (120x60cm) and house is open plan with toys etc everywhere so the rabbits can’t just be allowed to freely roam as it would be impossible to rabbit proof our downstairs. (Plus the bunnies are keen nibblers of carpet, sofa etc!)


We’d wanted them outside all along but had purchased hutch & separate run from Pets at Home that once we did proper research discovered wouldn’t really be the right way to keep bunnies long term. Also a neighbour’s guinea pigs got attacked over night by foxes so my daughter was not wanting us to allow the rabbits 24/7 access to the run despite me being pretty confident it was secure from predators.
In order to create a hutch/run environment that our daughter is happy with we have now purchased a secondhand summerhouse. However, due to illness & time constraints my husband is only finishing getting it put up & roof on this weekend (24 Oct). It’s totally dry inside but not been insulated as this would need another weekend to do.

Would really welcome advice from experienced rabbit owners as to whether we are able to move our rabbits into the summerhouse given it’s the end of October or whether they’d be better off staying in the less ideal smaller space until the warmer Spring weather?
Thanks
 
Depending where abouts in the UK you are, I would be Ok with them going outside now. They will be better off with more space. If they go outside now, they have time to grow a winter coat as well. It doesn't normally get really cold before Christmas in Yorkshire.

You can give them an enclosed bedding area with lots of hay to keep warm, and there are snugglesafe microwaveable heatpads if you are worried about cold snaps / early frosts. I wrap them in newspaper in pairs and put them under the bedding hay in the worst of the winter weather. It keeps one area a nice snuggly temperature overnight. They also have each other to keep warm - which is always te best option.

The only proviso is that they may need a bit of extra TLC and warmth for a few days when they are neutered. They won't be able to regulate their temperature properly straight after a general anaesthetic, and you need to make sure they are both eating / weeing / pooing normally. Other than that, you are on top of everything.

If you get the chance, insulating the summerhouse (eg with polystyrene slabs) and protecting it with sheets of ply would give a really nice home. I would paint the ply, and put lino on the floor. Any leftover house emulsion would do for the inside of the shed, and an offcut of lino. It makes everything so much easier to clean, and therefore also helps to minimise the risk of infection with the EC parasite.
 
Thank you so much for quick reply and useful suggestions.
We’re in the East Midlands so temperatures currently around 11 degrees by day and 6/7 by night.
Will attempt to buy some lino for the floor later today - it’s currently just paving slabs so had thought about getting some interlocking rubber tiles that are sold for garage floors.
Was planning on putting the hutch inside the summer house to provide double shelter for sleeping should the bunnies want it. It’s one of the 2 storey types that supposedly has sleeping space upstairs & a run downstairs. However despite that being the pet shop’s idea of space we now know that wouldn’t be at all good.

Off to research best place to buy the snuggle safe heat pads & polystyrene for walls.
Thanks so much for your help Shimmer x
 
Personally I would not be happy to put them out now as they will not have grown a good undercoat . My rule of thumb is that indoor Rabbits should not be moved outdoors at this time of year if the temperature falls below 10c. Also, as you have two bucks who are currently un-neutered they are going to fight now they have reached puberty. If they are outdoors and fighting starts with no-one around to intervene the outcome could be tragic :cry: Personally I would not do it.
 
I would personally leave them as it's turning cold and horrible and they also need to be neutered, after which they'll have to spend time indoors again anyway. As Jane has said, you'll need to monitor them closely any time from now really in case they start fighting. I understand your housing situation isn't ideal but I think they would manage as it would only be a temporary measure until spring. Unfortunately pet shops don't give you a true picture of what rabbits are really like! You could maybe get some panels and make a pen indoors for them. If you google Ellie bo dog pen that's the sort of thing that could work, and you can buy extra panels or move them around to make a configuration that suits.
 
I agree with both Shimmer and IM, the biggest worry is of your boys falling out (quite often around 12-14 weeks) and once they have a fight it makes it more difficult to re-bond them later on, ie after they are neutered. If they start mounting or chasing then this is your clue as to the change in their relationship, brought about by hormones. So you really need to separate them at this point. One suggestion is to keep one bunny inside and the other outside until many weeks after they have been bonded, preferably in the Spring when it has warmed up. This is not ideal but it will keep both Bucks safe from one another. You would not be able to swap them over due to the change in temperature, from inside to out. The other point is you shouldn't really put them out when it is cold, if they are living inside as they don't do well with temperature changes.
 
Thanks all for your thoughts - really helpful.
Our bunnies having their ‘op’ next week so hoping they stay friends until then. We are using a highly recommended vets who have a ‘rabbit specialist’ hence the longer wait for an appointment. (Plus the crazy price tag that I really wasn’t expecting!!!)

We’ve kept them in for now and will speak with the vet next week and get his opinion since he’ll know local climate and also will be able to see how thick their fur is. I’m desperate to give the bunnies more space as they are really getting fed up of being in a relatively small cage so fingers crossed they can go out to the lovely summerhouse we’ve bought for them. I’m going to read through the forum posts now to see if I can find an indoor option too as suspect they will be indoors until Spring. (I need something that I could leave them in unsupervised.)
 
Back
Top