rabbits in winter?

[scooby]

My daughter won a rabbit at the jr. rodeo a couple weeks ago and we have him in one of those little wire cages right now.we've never kept our rabbits outside before but i would like to build him a hutch outside by my chicken coop, but my dh doesnt think he could survive the winter outside here, so i'm wondering to what degree can rabbits withstand the cold/snow/and wind? it can get 10 degrees here at night, sometimes reaching - degrees. i want to build a partially covered hutch, just the backside , one side and top covered and then chicken wire on bottom, and other sides. can any one help me on this issue of cold vs. rabbit????? any advise
I would also need the hutch to be "shady and breathable" during the summer as temps reach high 90's during summer" which is how her other rabbit died- heat stroke"

 

[Sammimom]

Certainly rabbits have a harder time with heat then cold, but I'd have a heck of an insulated place for my bunny if it was only 10 degrees!

We "inherited" an elderly 8-year-old bunny one March, and got a young bunny in September to keep her company but also for body heat!! We wraped that silver sheet type insulation around the large huch on two sides, then packed straw around the "nest box" inside the hutch. Here in the Seattle area it doesn't get below freezing often, at least during the day, so when we had our cold spell last Christmas (in the teens) I brought them in the laundry room for about a week. They just hadn't had a chance to get used to those kind of temperatures.

 

[ksalvagno]

Don't use chicken wire for the bottom. That is very hard on a rabbit's feet. You want to use hardware cloth. Also predators have no problems getting through chicken wire.

 

[feathersgalore]

The thing you really need to be careful with is drafts. Rabbits can handle the cold if they are in a draft free environment. They also need water at all times - this is the "fun" thing about rabbits in the winter (frozen water)!

 

[ducks4you]

Do you have a pic of your hutch? I had my rabbits outside, facing West (grew up in the Chicago area) every winter, as a kid. We had an inside, wooden floored area with a hole that led to an outside, hardware-cloth floored area. THe hutch sat about 1 ft off of the ground. They had ONLY straw in the inside "house". Kept up with food, free-choice and broke up ice 2x/day. They're mammels and will grow a coat. Outside means good fresh air that helps to keep them dry.

 

[scooby]

so would he be ok outside this winter, hes fullgrown, and i just bought a bunch of hay bales i figured i would through tons of hay in the cage during winter for insulation, one side of the pen will be butted up against our little coop maybe some removeable boards on the other sides so they can be taken off during the summer and put on during winter? would that be better?

 

[scooby]

chicago!! i think you are way colder then here so i guess he should be fine, no i dont have pics, its not built yet thats why i'm trying to figure out if i should build one, cause i dont want rabbits in the house anymore.so i guess i shouldnt worry about the cold and go ahead with my plans!

 

[ducks4you]

Yep. Rabbits EAT hay, you know. It's always good to experiment, and make up your OWN mind. I like straw or pine shavings when they weather's fine. but hay is good, too. You'll want to store any hay or straw off the ground on either a wooden pallet OR say, a couple of landscape timbers--anything that will keep the air flowing. One thing I've learned, too, wire tired bales don't rot around the wire like they sometimes do around twine BUT don't choose your bales on that basis! HOWEVER, we in Illinois live in practically a year -round swamp!

Look for dry, fresh smelling bales,which indicate that they were cured correctly. Some livestock, like cattle can eat "rained on" hay, but other animals get sick from the mold. If you buy rabbit pelletted complete feed, buy and stored feed in a large, aluminum trash can with the lid. Mice cannot get into these. (You didn't say where you're going to keep their food, so I assumed, maybe...the garage?)

I truly loved my bunnies, but (and, I'm gonna get a shoe thrown at me for THIS one)--they were hopping behind the bush when the brains were handed out! I really think that my chickens are brighter! help

BTW, you can litter train your rabbit--I've seen it done.

 

[ksalvagno]

You will need to change out the hay on a regular basis. Hay will mold. It will also soak up liquid like urine instead of it going through, so the rabbit may have a wet floor to live on. Rabbits do need hay to eat but the straw will be better for bedding.

 

[mekasmom]

Quote:
If you build a cage with a hutch in it, and supply straw he will be fine. Rabbits do fine in cold temps as long as they have a place out of the wind. You do have to keep the water changed at least twice a day in cold weather or else use a heated bowl. And don't use chicken wire on the cage. Use 1" hardware wire.