Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => Pets without Feathers => Topic started by: chickychick2409 on November 29, 2010, 18:30
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We're worried about our bunny.
First, we didnt want her to get cold so we bought a bunny hot water bottle.
Then, we had snow so we brought her inside and put her old hutch into the conservitary.
My cousin (who is a vet) said that moving her in and out of the cold could give her pneumonia.
Can it???
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HI
Not sure on the pnuemonia part, but it is not good to keep moving her from cold to warm & then cold again.
Animals adjust as it get's colder, thicker fur, eating more. If you bring her into the warm, she will probably moult her fur, then when the snow melts she's put back into the cold with a thin coat, having adjusted to a warm enviroment.
If she's indoors, I'd keep her in till spring & the weather warms up. :) I always make sure animals have aclimatised to the outdoors before winter comes, otherwise they stay in till spring.
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I used to bring my rabbit into the kitchen just to warm his ears when I was young !! Until he bit through the freezer wire and was no longer welcome. :ohmy:
I'd go with the not moving them in and out too - too confusing for the body, if you got that advice from a vet then I would go with it!
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Hi, when it becomes cold I put mine in the shed with alot of straw and put covers over at night, then they come back out spring.
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If a vet gave me that advice i think id go with the vet to be honest!!
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Ours always stayed outside - we added sacking over the hutch, increased the bedding and covered the wire front loosely again with a sack - this had a wooden batten to weight it down and stop the wind lifting it up over night.
If the hutch is out of the wind and mostly free of draughts the temperature inside should be cosy for a hardened wabbit. Make sure there's plenty of food and unfrozen water available.
Vets usually know best when it comes to animals ;)
Once in the warm that's where they'll have to stay........
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Ours stay outside all year round.
We move them to a sheltered area, give extra bedding and food and cover them.
This year we have babies so we're being extra careful.
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We bring our 2 rabbits and there hutches into the garage 4 the winter.Lots of bedding and a little extra food and all is well.
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we have four rabbits and two guinea pigs which we have re-homed from the RSPCA over the summer. They are in three hutches (2 rabbits in each and two guinea pigs in the other) the hutches face each other so they shelter each other from the wind and the guinea pigs have an outside run attached (the rabbits have two storey hutches). I have pinned plastic to the bottom of the hutches to protect them from side winds if they venture down stairs. The rabbits can run free during the day as they are behind an electric fence with our hens. Today I took a follow up call from the RSPCA to check I had moved them all in to a shed for the winter and said this was their policy. I do have a shed but this would mean they couldn't run free during the day which they enjoy (we leave the hutch door open and they hop into the warm whenever they want) An alternative is hutch covers which are £50 plus per hutch, but would buy if people think it necessary (any recommendations?). I have had pet shop bought rabbits previously that were out all winter, but we obviously want to do the best we can for our bunnies and pigs. Any advice appreciated please
Daisy
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Ours are outside, covered with plastic and at night on old 15tog duvet, they don't use the bottom runs atm and we have two 10 day old babies in one hutch with mum and sibling and mum with three 5wk olds in the other, all doing fine with extra hay and food :D
Personally I don't think they need to range in this weather and I know the RSPCA are a bit more cautious at this time of year.
When we had Angora rabbits they had the run of the 18ft shed in the winter but preferred to sit in their open hutches ::)
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thank you all!
I will get the vets advice- I need to know because I dont want her to be cold when she goes back outside
The conservatory is probaly the same temperature as a garage or shed- we chose the coldest place to put her.
Thanks
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we have four rabbits and two guinea pigs which we have re-homed from the RSPCA over the summer. They are in three hutches (2 rabbits in each and two guinea pigs in the other) the hutches face each other so they shelter each other from the wind and the guinea pigs have an outside run attached (the rabbits have two storey hutches). I have pinned plastic to the bottom of the hutches to protect them from side winds if they venture down stairs. The rabbits can run free during the day as they are behind an electric fence with our hens. Today I took a follow up call from the RSPCA to check I had moved them all in to a shed for the winter and said this was their policy. I do have a shed but this would mean they couldn't run free during the day which they enjoy (we leave the hutch door open and they hop into the warm whenever they want) An alternative is hutch covers which are £50 plus per hutch, but would buy if people think it necessary (any recommendations?). I have had pet shop bought rabbits previously that were out all winter, but we obviously want to do the best we can for our bunnies and pigs. Any advice appreciated please
Daisy
I've seen the hutch covers advertised but wouldn't a home made version do just as well and be considerably cheaper? ;)
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Apparently, rabbits can deal with very cold temperatures but not combined with wet weather. So, if they are kept outside make sure their hutches and bedding are always dry.
I keep my 5 rabbits in the summer house. It is cold out there but they seem quite happy hoping about and dont seem to be suffering from the cold at all.
As the others have said, you cant keep bringing a rabbit from the cold, into the warm and then out into the cold again. Its either one or the other.
Have you thought about getting your rabbit a companion as then he/she will have someone to cuddle up to on these cold nights. Rabbits are social creatures and are much happier kept with a companion.
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Hi
Ive kept rabbits most of my life and they are pretty hardy creatures,but they dont like going to and from hot and cold places they are just like us and get colds.I make sure they have loads of bedding,hay and food.Ive got giants so they are on their own as they need space. I make sure their bottles arent frozen in this weather and i at least check on them 3 times a day.I put a plastic sheet over the front of their cages at night so it keeps the warmth in.
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We bought our bunny a hutch hugger, which insulated the hutch and kept it dry. That, lots of bedding and lots of food and they can stand some really brutal weather. My mum use to give her bunnies some sort of warm mash, can't remember what was in it but they wolfed it down. I'll ask and post again.
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I dont know too much about rabbits, but I would think that they are pretty hardy animals. Lets be honest the ones in the wild seem to cope well without kind humans giving them extra food, duvets and bedding.
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IMO It is important to give them extra protection from cold, wind and rain. My daughter's bunny died in the cold winter of '83, because I thought it would be able to cope with the weather :(
In the wild they will be able to hide out in a burrow underground, well away from freezing cold winds and snow and ice, something they cant do in a hutch.
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I think your probably right there mum, obviously not my best thinking day!
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I asked my vet when I went in with one of the rabbits on Friday, she said rabbits are fine up to -12 degrees provided they are out of direct wind and are dry, so once the hutch covers arrive our will be back outside- they are making such a mess in the conservatory I cant tell you!!
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I asked my vet when I went in with one of the rabbits on Friday, she said rabbits are fine up to -12 degrees provided they are out of direct wind and are dry, so once the hutch covers arrive our will be back outside- they are making such a mess in the conservatory I cant tell you!!
Don't forget they will have become quite accustomed to warmer conditions indoors.... perhaps you might begin by opening the windows during the day + closing again at night - after a few days leave the windows open full-time then a week later if the weather isn't too brass-monkeys put them outside again.
I was just thinking it might be a bit of a shock to them to suddenly be plunged back out in the very cold of winter. ;)
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good advice thanks. The order for the waterproof covers keeps being delayed I suppose lots of other people are having the same problem, so the rabbits are having a reprieve. We have put cat litter in their tray at the vets suggestion and that is helping no end!
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If you've got an electricity supply you can buy electric pet blankets for use at night. Our cat has one in his iglo in the greenhouse and loves it!
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we have always used a piece of old carpet with a tarpaulin over the top weighted down on our rbbot hutches and they always surive he winter! cheaper than a cage hugger thingy! and most carpet shops will either give you enough ie the off cuts for very little or nothing!!!
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If you've got an electricity supply you can buy electric pet blankets for use at night. Our cat has one in his iglo in the greenhouse and loves it!
We keep the fuel bills down - think green: no electric blanket for the cat or rabbit but the cat sleeps on the end of our bed - keeps my feet wonderfully warm for free!
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Hi we run a rabbit and guinea pig rescue, all the rabbits we have in are keeped in a large shed or garage over winter, we fill up bed area with hay, and give a little more fresh veg daily , also make sure water bottles are keeped ice free ,and we also put old thick blankets over wire side at night time to stop any drafts, rabbits can be quite happy in and up to -10;)
we have never had any problems or any die on us
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we have always used a piece of old carpet with a tarpaulin over the top weighted down on our rbbot hutches and they always surive he winter! cheaper than a cage hugger thingy! and most carpet shops will either give you enough ie the off cuts for very little or nothing!!!
Now I know Im getting onto level one of the allotmenters scale.... I wrap my wormery with old carpet!
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When i had guinea pigs i covered their hutches with s roll of bubble wrap and sacking, along with extra hay or straw they were fine, :happy:
Pamela
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With yet another winter on it's way I thought I'd ask how the rabbits coped through the last one..
We have a lop eared rabbit about to face it's first English winter.
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our special rabbit hutch covers never did arrive (apparently there was a backlog because everyone wanted them!) I bought three indoor hutches and brought them all inside through the worst of the weather, but they looked so miserable as they are used to running in half an acre! They did however keep healthy which is the main thing. Out two girl rabbits stay outside in even driving rain and cold, but the boys stay in their beds!
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We used to put our guinea pig hutch in the shed covered by a thick curtain when it started to get cold.
My friend had the brothers of my guinea pigs and they stayed outside all year round (I can't remember whether they were covered) and grew much bigger and got far thicker fur. They all lived to around the same age so can't have done them any harm!!
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Thanks for the up-dates Daisy and Raven81.
Having said, "I don't care. The rabbit is not coming indoors in the winter!!" I've now gone all soft on the thing. :blush: It follows me around and head butts my ankle when I haven't noticed it hop up close. Cute thing.
But I think it will probablly be healthier outside in its hutch as you say.
Thanks.
(Must sort out some additional winter-proofing for the hutch and order in some extra hay bedding)
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A cautionary tale.........
When my ex was a youngster they took their bunny (a big male) into the shed over winter and put it back out in the spring - but they put it out too early and when he went to let him out one morning he was frozen solid :ohmy:
I don't mean to upset anyone but I guess you just have to be very careful. :)