Can i put rabbit into the coop at night?

[Nana Dilts]

Hi, I'm going to have a rabbit (one female). I've got 4 rabbit cages near the chicken coop, so she'd live in one, but as there wouldn't be any other rabbits for now i was thinking about putting her in some kind of cage in the coop at night, so nobody would steal her, nor she'd feel alone/scared. Would mites or chickens bother her? Or the heat (there is warm in the coop with 20 chickens i think?) Gotta buy a padlock for the cage. Btw everybody says that rabbits can handle being in cages outside in winter, as they prefer cold than warm. I'm talking about those mixed breeds rabbits that people keep for food, etc.

I'm new to this group and haven't introduced myself yet but had to answer and hope I'm in the right place. We had 3 4H rabbits with our leg horns for the winter. Ended up being a bit longer and we ended up with a few more as we trusted the sexing (not advised!) They did great and seemed very sad once the cages (4H projects) were finished. We are now down to 2 males but they cant be together. Oh! Good point! Never have 2 males caged together. Any amount of female ok, as long as they have space.

 

[KranK]

Well, figured out that those insects (mites?) that live on chickens can walk on rrabbit (just like on humans. I doubt they'd survive on rabbit). The limping hen living in the near cage is probably the reason. Guess i'll keep her in this cage, just padlocked. She's been vaccinated today, and maybe it's from stress but she is like more trusting me, she even let me pet her. She was also let on the garden for a while. But she's pretty stressed after the vet i guess.

 

[Nana Dilts]

Well, figured out that those insects (mites?) that live on chickens can walk on rrabbit (just like on humans. I doubt they'd survive on rabbit). The limping hen living in the near cage is probably the reason. Guess i'll keep her in this cage, just padlocked. She's been vaccinated today, and maybe it's from stress but she is like more trusting me, she even let me pet her. She was also let on the garden for a while. But she's pretty stressed after the vet i guess.

I have always kept our rabbits in an area of the barn that is the warmest with a space heater safely aimed at them. #1 keeps water bottles from freezing #2 gives them a little warmth. I also use empty feed bags and duct tape to surround them and keep a feed bucket with hay for them to rest. I'm a use what u can find kind of person.

 

[KranK]

I have always kept our rabbits in an area of the barn that is the warmest with a space heater safely aimed at them. #1 keeps water bottles from freezing #2 gives them a little warmth. I also use empty feed bags and duct tape to surround them and keep a feed bucket with hay for them to rest. I'm a use what u can find kind of person.

Any tips how to make her trust me and calm her?

 

[EverythingDucks]

 

[HorsesRMe123]

Hello! I’ve had over 8 years of experience with rabbits (all being pets). I recommend to house her inside. I used to have my rabbits in hutches before I understood that wasn’t the best choice. Keeping them in hutches can give them sore hocks and mites. Also, the heat outside can give them heat stroke because they can’t handle too much heat. It also makes them exhausted to be out in that kind of temperature all day. In the winter, they can handle it a bit more but they still end up feeling the cold and usually they don’t want to move around (just stay in a hunch) because it’s so chilly especially if there’s a -25 degree wind chill. They also end up with frozen water bottles (which I don’t recommend giving rabbits water bottles) or frozen water dishes. Please don’t buy a rabbit unless you know you can house him/her inside. We’ve had many issues with having past rabbits outside and learned our lesson well. We only have one rabbit now (harlequin mixed with mini lop) and his name is Oscar. He’s 7 years old now. He lives in my sister’s room with no cage. Access to the whole bedroom and the entire house if he wants to come out of the room. There’s no stench either. He’s litter box trained and it works out perfectly! We just have to clean out his litter boxes once each week. Of course, having a free range house rabbit isn’t the luxury every rabbit can have. So you can put them in a large enough size cage indoors for them to hop and stretch around in. A good cage size for a rabbit would be 30”x30”x24”. Wish the best for you!

 

[KranK]

Hello! I’ve had over 8 years of experience with rabbits (all being pets). I recommend to house her inside. I used to have my rabbits in hutches before I understood that wasn’t the best choice. Keeping them in hutches can give them sore hocks and mites. Also, the heat outside can give them heat stroke because they can’t handle too much heat. It also makes them exhausted to be out in that kind of temperature all day. In the winter, they can handle it a bit more but they still end up feeling the cold and usually they don’t want to move around (just stay in a hunch) because it’s so chilly especially if there’s a -25 degree wind chill. They also end up with frozen water bottles (which I don’t recommend giving rabbits water bottles) or frozen water dishes. Please don’t buy a rabbit unless you know you can house him/her inside. We’ve had many issues with having past rabbits outside and learned our lesson well. We only have one rabbit now (harlequin mixed with mini lop) and his name is Oscar. He’s 7 years old now. He lives in my sister’s room with no cage. Access to the whole bedroom and the entire house if he wants to come out of the room. There’s no stench either. He’s litter box trained and it works out perfectly! We just have to clean out his litter boxes once each week. Of course, having a free range house rabbit isn’t the luxury every rabbit can have. So you can put them in a large enough size cage indoors for them to hop and stretch around in. A good cage size for a rabbit would be 30”x30”x24”. Wish the best for you!

Well, in my area winters and summers aren't that extreme + the hutch is in shadowed area. The roof doesn't gets hot. She isn't a special pet rabbit (small one)- she's bigger (in Poland they'd call her medium rabbit or something like that). She's been keeped in a bit worse conditions i'd say (not hutch, but big cage with 5 other females only with hay and wheat.) Currently she eats fruits and veggies (beetroots leaves, grass, apples and corn. Tomorrow i'm getting hay and gonna try to get oat, as i have only wheat right now.). She doesn't trust me that much yet so i could pick her up. When she'll trust me more i'll let her out on the garden. For now (second day) she doesn't run away from me and lets me pet her a bit but still hides in the corner of cage when i'm trying (yesterday she didn't let me pet her). When she gets to trust me grandpa will ask one of his friends to let his male mate her). I hope for her to trust me in a few days In very hot weather i may let her in some kind of improvised playpen in the basement, but it isn't much colder in my basement :/

 

[HorsesRMe123]

Well, in my area winters and summers aren't that extreme + the hutch is in shadowed area. The roof doesn't gets hot. She isn't a special pet rabbit (small one)- she's bigger (in Poland they'd call her medium rabbit or something like that). She's been keeped in a bit worse conditions i'd say (not hutch, but big cage with 5 other females only with hay and wheat.) Currently she eats fruits and veggies (beetroots leaves, grass, apples and corn. Tomorrow i'm getting hay and gonna try to get oat, as i have only wheat right now.). She doesn't trust me that much yet so i could pick her up. When she'll trust me more i'll let her out on the garden. For now (second day) she doesn't run away from me and lets me pet her a bit but still hides in the corner of cage when i'm trying (yesterday she didn't let me pet her). When she gets to trust me grandpa will ask one of his friends to let his male mate her). I hope for her to trust me in a few days In very hot weather i may let her in some kind of improvised playpen in the basement, but it isn't much colder in my basement :/

I still don’t think it’s best for your rabbit to be outside unfortunately. When rabbits are outside, they end up not getting as much attention as they would if they are inside. But it sounds like you got the rabbit, so whenever I get an animal I am determined to keep it and care for it the best I can since it’s my responsibility. At least the weather isn’t as extreme where you live and the hutch is in shade. Over here, we usually have at least a 100 degree difference in summer to winter. Summers can get up to over 100 degrees and winters can get down to -25 degrees with wind chill. I’ll help you the best I can with my experience in having rabbits outside. The best hay you can provide for a rabbit is Timothy hay. I feed my rabbit grass hay mixed with alfalfa which is also good, but Timothy hay is a common choice as well. Hay should be fed freely. Never let her run out of it. Don’t let her eat too many fruits, it can be bad on her GI tract and possibly give her GI stasis (I’ve dealt with this probably 4 times now and sadly lost my rabbit to it). Veggies are a more nutritious and safer option. Of course, you can feed fruits but not too many. Good veggie and fruit choices include Romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, spinach (not too much though), cabbage, bell pepper, cilantro (not too much), parsley (not too much), banana, strawberries, raspberries, etc. The one lettuce I advise you don’t feed is iceberg lettuce.

In the summer time, I would check on my rabbits about every hour to splash some nice cool water on them when it got hot. You can also provide them with a misting device that you can probably get at your local garden store if you’d rather. Make sure she has plenty of water and that she has a hideaway hut to go into (a cut out cardboard box will suffice). If she is on mesh, I recommend putting some tile slabs down, this will also cool her down and is much better for her feet.

In the winter time, water might get frozen so I refilled their water at least twice a day so they could have access to enough water without it getting frozen. You can also find insulators to keep the water from freezing. I would go to my local thrift store and get cheap fleece blankets to keep my rabbits warm enough and it’s easier on their feet as well. Provide her with a hidey hut as well so she can have an area to warm up.

For bonding with a rabbit, this takes time. You just got her, so I usually let my rabbit settle in for the first few days without too much stimulation going on. But once she’s settled in, try starting out with just sitting by her and letting her investigate you. Once she seems interested, start petting her and eventually you’ll be able to hold her. This would probably be over the course of several days or even weeks. It takes time! So don’t stress about it.

For breeding rabbits, I personally don’t see anything wrong with it. I know many people out there who are strongly against it but I have had two litters of baby bunnies and one of the two mothers lived for 7 years and had a good life. But, I don’t recommend overbreeding her. This stresses a rabbit out and can even shorten their lifespan. They can also get poor health. So if I were you, I would probably only let her have a litter once every 6 months AT MOST. That’s my opinion and I know others think differently. Rabbits are in heat all the time, never ending heat cycle. But I do have to warn you, if rabbits go unspayed by the age of 5, they have an 80% chance of getting uterus cancer. So I spayed the female that had a litter along with her baby, and the males. So all my rabbits ended up getting fixed and I truly believe it lengthened their lifespan. So just take that into account as well. On a more positive note though, having baby bunnies was pure joy and so much fun! If you do end up breeding her, it’s an amazing experience with little kits (baby bunnies).

On a side note, about the feeding, just make sure not to feed too many pellets. Don’t free feed them if you do feed her pellets. We feed our mini lop about two handfuls of pellets once a day. The rest of his diet is hay and veggies plus some little treats.

I hope she warms up to you soon! Please keep us updated.

 

[EverythingDucks]

I still don’t think it’s best for your rabbit to be outside unfortunately. When rabbits are outside, they end up not getting as much attention as they would if they are inside. But it sounds like you got the rabbit, so whenever I get an animal I am determined to keep it and care for it the best I can since it’s my responsibility. At least the weather isn’t as extreme where you live and the hutch is in shade. Over here, we usually have at least a 100 degree difference in summer to winter. Summers can get up to over 100 degrees and winters can get down to -25 degrees with wind chill. I’ll help you the best I can with my experience in having rabbits outside. The best hay you can provide for a rabbit is Timothy hay. I feed my rabbit grass hay mixed with alfalfa which is also good, but Timothy hay is a common choice as well. Hay should be fed freely. Never let her run out of it. Don’t let her eat too many fruits, it can be bad on her GI tract and possibly give her GI stasis (I’ve dealt with this probably 4 times now and sadly lost my rabbit to it). Veggies are a more nutritious and safer option. Of course, you can feed fruits but not too many. Good veggie and fruit choices include Romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, green leaf lettuce, spinach (not too much though), cabbage, bell pepper, cilantro (not too much), parsley (not too much), banana, strawberries, raspberries, etc. The one lettuce I advise you don’t feed is iceberg lettuce.

In the summer time, I would check on my rabbits about every hour to splash some nice cool water on them when it got hot. You can also provide them with a misting device that you can probably get at your local garden store if you’d rather. Make sure she has plenty of water and that she has a hideaway hut to go into (a cut out cardboard box will suffice). If she is on mesh, I recommend putting some tile slabs down, this will also cool her down and is much better for her feet.

In the winter time, water might get frozen so I refilled their water at least twice a day so they could have access to enough water without it getting frozen. You can also find insulators to keep the water from freezing. I would go to my local thrift store and get cheap fleece blankets to keep my rabbits warm enough and it’s easier on their feet as well. Provide her with a hidey hut as well so she can have an area to warm up.

For bonding with a rabbit, this takes time. You just got her, so I usually let my rabbit settle in for the first few days without too much stimulation going on. But once she’s settled in, try starting out with just sitting by her and letting her investigate you. Once she seems interested, start petting her and eventually you’ll be able to hold her. This would probably be over the course of several days or even weeks. It takes time! So don’t stress about it.

For breeding rabbits, I personally don’t see anything wrong with it. I know many people out there who are strongly against it but I have had two litters of baby bunnies and one of the two mothers lived for 7 years and had a good life. But, I don’t recommend overbreeding her. This stresses a rabbit out and can even shorten their lifespan. They can also get poor health. So if I were you, I would probably only let her have a litter once every 6 months AT MOST. That’s my opinion and I know others think differently. Rabbits are in heat all the time, never ending heat cycle. But I do have to warn you, if rabbits go unspayed by the age of 5, they have an 80% chance of getting uterus cancer. So I spayed the female that had a litter along with her baby, and the males. So all my rabbits ended up getting fixed and I truly believe it lengthened their lifespan. So just take that into account as well. On a more positive note though, having baby bunnies was pure joy and so much fun! If you do end up breeding her, it’s an amazing experience with little kits (baby bunnies).

On a side note, about the feeding, just make sure not to feed too many pellets. Don’t free feed them if you do feed her pellets. We feed our mini lop about two handfuls of pellets once a day. The rest of his diet is hay and veggies plus some little treats.

I hope she warms up to you soon! Please keep us updated.

All really great info, I just would be careful about splashing water on them. They may go into shock and have a heartattack

 

[NatJ]

If the rabbit lives outside in the winter, I suggest using a bowl or dish for water instead of the water bottle. The reason: the little ball on the tube freezes very fast, and then the rabbit cannot get any water until you thaw it. With a dish, the rabbit can break ice to get some water, at least when the ice is still thin.

In summer, the bottle can work fine.