Freezing Rabbit

[Marty McFly]

How do we keep our rabbit warm over the cold winter months?

He is in a brand-new double-decker hutch, but refuses to sleep in the enclosed area, preferring to sit out in all weather.
Don't really want him in the house. Dont know if putting his hutch in a damp-ish, but sheltered, garage would be the answer.

Can anybody help??? :confused

[unicorn]

How long have you had him, it may be that he has his warm winter coat already and is just fine with this, I have some that lay out to the elements. The main thing to do is just make sure he has deep shavings and lots of hay and straw to insulate him. Ensure hutch is not in any direct winds and is quite sheltered and always cover up the front on cold and windy wet days. The wind is the main killer in rabbits not the cold, as it parts the coat and allows the wind in. Also always check the water spout on bottle doesn't freeze up on frosty mornings, you can cover bottle with a sock to try to prevent bottle freezing up and only 3/4 fill to allow for expansion if it does. Feel free to pm me any time.

[pirateeye]

agreeing with unicorn here i have a rabbit that has sat out in wind rain and snow all his life and he is never bothered by it. he always has the option of shelter, which sometimes he uses but most of the tim eis out. i don't let him on soggy ground for long though that will let the cold into him and also matt his fur so he has to be forced in to shelter at times but rabbits don't mind the cold really, just make sure it has as much bedding as you can so it will be sheltered and i also cover the front of hutches in the bad rain and wind to stop it blowing in and making hay wet. also i change the position of the hutches according to wind direction as unicorn said. having the hutch in the shed will help with shleter i suppose but it messes up the natural lighting. all the winters i have been through i have never lost a rabbit to the cold, just take these precautions and he'll be fine

[Mik.M.]

agree with the suggestions, having kept rabbits previously. Always made sure that they had plenty of bedding and the front of the cage was covered up over the winter. With the last rabbit, the vet suggested putting him in the shed for winter as he was a dwarf breed and like yours refused to sleep in the sheltered compartment.

[unicorn]

the garage would not be a problem as long as you are not using it for the car also, but he should be fine outdoors as long as he has shelter, lots of bedding and is cleaned regularly. As I know others will be reading this thread I would just like to add a pointer in general Please do not take your rabbit in and out of house in winter as it will go into moult and lose the ability to keep itself warm thus it will freeze to death so it may seem like the kind thing to do giving it a warm but please please don't.

[sam]

when i saw the title of the thread i didnt take much notice of the section it was in, I thought some one wanted to know how to freeze cooked rabbit:eek:

[unicorn]

shredded office paper is good bedding also.

[neepnipper]

We sell hutch huggers at Pets at Home, they are a waterproof cover that goes right over the hutch with a clear thick plastic front, they fit really securely, I use one on my hutch as the rain kept blowing in to it, works a treat, bunnies quite happy as they no longer have the wind and rain blowing in but they can still see out.

A garage, shed orbarn is fine to take them in to, but as has been mentioned no where that will get fumes.

[unicorn]

hutch huggers are quite expensive though and it is very easy to make a cover for the front of your hutch from thick clear plastic and a wooden or metal frame at far less cost. Mind you I tend to forget that my hubby is super handy with his hands

[carasmam]

shredded office paper is good bedding also.

Some one has a black bag of shredded paper on the free stuff forum :D