Need help and advice for winterizing rabbit hutch

Beloved Turkey

Chirping
Apr 3, 2023
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My rabbit hutch is too small for a heat lamp and I have been told that it does not need a heat lamp if I winterize the hutch properly, so I was wondering if anyone has any ideas and if I should keep them up in a sleeping box that’s more and clothes or if they’ll be OK in more of a small run or if I should lock them up at a certain temperature and what I should put in the run should I put her only in the boxer in the bottom as well, and things like that if anyone has any advice that would be great. I have also heard that it would be good to have some thing covering the bunny hutch to keep it warmer maybe or dry. The sleeping box is the small top level
 

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Here in Ohio, the winters can be pretty nasty. My bunnies have a draft-free hutch to retreat to. It has an opening just big enough for them to get through. I always leave it open for them to move back and forth from hutch to run freely. I line the inside with straw and shavings. Their attached run is left open on 3 sides and lined the same way. I secure a thick tarp around the whole thing, leaving the one side of the run open to fresh air. I keep it near my quail building to serve as a wind break. I don’t use heat. I have extra waterers to change out during the day as well. In the event the temperatures were to stay well below freezing for days on end, I have the option to move the bunnies into a temporary small enclosure in the outer room of the quail building. I may not have been much help, but I hope something from my experience gives you some ideas. Good Wishes!
 
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Here in Ohio, the winters can be pretty nasty. My bunnies have a draft-free hutch to retreat to. It has an opening just big enough for them to get through. I always leave it open for them to move back and forth from hutch to run freely. I line the inside with straw and shavings. Their attached run is left open on 3 sides and lined the same way. I secure a thick tarp around the whole thing, leaving the one side of the run open to fresh air. I keep it near my quail building to serve as a wind break. I don’t use heat. I have extra waterers to change out during the day as well. In the event the temperatures were to stay well below freezing for days on end, I have the option to move the bunnies into a temporary small enclosure in the outer room of the quail building. I may not have been much help, but I hope something from my experience gives you some ideas. Good Wishes!
You are lots of help, and what temperature do you think I could put them inside of it is days on end
 
You are lots of help, and what temperature do you think I could put them inside of it is days on end
Well, I’m always one to err on the side of caution. So, if it’s consistently low teens to single digits here during the day, and my bunnies appear to be having a hard time (ex: not hopping around the run and staying huddled up in the hutch and shivering), I then move them until the freeze passes. I moved them for awhile last winter, but I still didn’t give them supplemental heat ( just extra insulation by way of housing them inside of my quail building). They welcomed it and made it through fine.
 
Well, I’m always one to err on the side of caution. So, if it’s consistently low teens to single digits here during the day, and my bunnies appear to be having a hard time (ex: not hopping around the run and staying huddled up in the hutch and shivering), I then move them until the freeze passes. I moved them for awhile last winter, but I still didn’t give them supplemental heat ( just extra insulation by way of housing them inside of my quail building). They welcomed it and made it through fine.
Awesome thanks
 
Rabbits are pretty hardy. They have a thick luxurious coat that will keep them warm. Block drafts if possible, and give them a thick bedding of hay or straw. They will make a little nest or depression to sit in when they are cold. We can get down into the -20's plus during winter here. My rabbits are kept inside a shed inside of their hutches or in a pen. They do fine.
 

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