In need of rabbit nesting advice

[Nicks_Chicks]

Hey, so im starting in breeding netherland dwarfs, and I'm wondering if I can keep them in an insulated garage in winter in Nebraska with the babies. What is the best nesting material for warmth and some nice nesting box ideas. TIA

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Unless that insulated garage is heated, I don't think they would be safe. In cold climates they are basically house pets.
Insulation means very little in unheated spaces. Eventually, the inside will be the same temperature as the outside.
I think the sweet spot for them is about 55F. They can handle cold for short periods but not overnight. You could insulate the hutch for added insurance. Lots of straw bedding, bubble wrap around the hutch covered by blankets or cardboard.
This applies to adults but definitely not for the kittens - if they 'breed like rabbits'.

 

[gtaus]

Hey, so im starting in breeding netherland dwarfs, and I'm wondering if I can keep them in an insulated garage in winter in Nebraska with the babies. What is the best nesting material for warmth and some nice nesting box ideas. TIA

I raised hundreds of rabbits in northern Minnesota when I was a young kid. I had them in an unheated shed. Winters were hard on them. The problem I had was keeping fresh water available for them. On the really cold spells, the water would freeze almost as fast as I poured it into the water troughs. If the rabbit does not have fresh water, they stop eating, get weak, and die. I would try and give them fresh water about twice a day, but sometimes that is still not enough.

Last time I had rabbits we had a really cold winter, I could not keep enough fresh water in the cages for the rabbits before it froze, they all ended up getting weak and dying. It was heartbreaking for me and I decided not to have rabbits again unless I have a sheltered, minimally heated, space for them where the water will not freeze.

I used pine shavings and basic wooden nest boxes for my rabbits. That was never my concern. I just had no good solution for keeping the water from freezing.

Contrast that to my winter setup for my chickens...

I have used that metal base heater underneath my metal water fount for 4 winters now, inside the unheated coop, and the water has never frozen even down to -40F outside. I have never lost a chicken to the cold winter temps, because, I believe, they always have fresh water and feed available.

Yes, they only advertise keeping the water ice free above +10F, but inside my sheltered coop, out of the wind and weather outside, my water has never frozen even at -40F in the unheated coop.

But I keep all my chickens together in one coop, not in individual cages like I housed my rabbits. I don't know if you can raise rabbits in the winter in a colony with a heated water supply, like a heated dog bowl. I never tried to raise my rabbits in a colony, but it might work. In any case, I never had a way to heat the water in 50+ individual rabbit cages. That was my main problem, not nesting materials.

 

[ChickyWhicky]

I raised rabbits in Iowa for years when I was younger. I have kept them outside. I would bring the hutch inside my garage during winter. Provided straw in their nesting box to keep warm. Used an electric heated water bottle. So to answer, they can be kept in the garage.

Also as reference, I had a pretty flimsy prefab hutch totally outside one winter. Provided straw for warmth and would cover with a giant thick quilt at night to keep more warmth in. They survived.

Many people do breed and keep rabbits totally outdoors, so its not outlandish or unheard of by any means.

Provide warm bedding (straw is my go to) and if possible insulate their nesting box for added heat retention.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Put a layer of wood chip bedding down then chopped straw on top for warmth and nesting. Heated water as said above is crucial otherwise they WILL die when it freezes. I used to raise my rabbits outside and would also bring them inside the insulated garage for winter. Since my hutches were not moveable (built like a brick) I kept my rabbits in a xl dog crates and then had a little fenced area that I let them out in during the day. I never had any die or get weak on me from the cold. I also built little plywood boxes that I insulated and then covered the inside with more ply wood so they couldn’t eat the insulation. Both the plywood and insulation were scraps so it was free for me to make. I would stuff the boxes it with chopped straw and made them big enough for the rabbits to get in/out, but small enough to be burrow like. Rabbits survive harsh winters all of the time in the wild as long as they have a decent burrow and water.