When to put baby bunnies outside?

[ChikenChik]

I am trying my hand at meat rabbits. I got 3 NZ...2 were SUPPOSED to be female. Guess what? They were all male.STORY OF MY LIFE! LOL Anyway. I got an offer for 3 rabbits and 2 cages for $20. I said sure even though the bunnies were lops the cages were worth it. One of the lops were female so I decided to try mating it with one of my NZ males. First litter didn't go so well. She is mean as HELL and freaked out through the whole thing.. She had 5 babies but left them all uncovered one cold night(It was last fall) and they froze. I decided to try her one more time against my better judgment( she is just so pretty and the babies were adorable). I came home and found 4 babies dead in the cage. She was growling and crazy so I just left her alone thinking all the babies were dead but a couple days later I realized there was movement in the nesting box. I decided just not to mess with things hoping she would be ok this time but one cold morning 4 days later I saw this baby bunny all uncovered and was afraid it was the only one and never going to make it. I decided to bring them both inside and soon found there were actually 2 babies. So they have all been inside for a week. Momma is feeding them fine but she keeps uncovering them and peeing and pooping in the nest box. I am wondering when I should move them back outside. They are super fat little things. she is NOT happy in here since we have 3 cats and a dog that are constantly sniffing at the closet I have them in. I am just afraid the temperature change might be too much, It is just above or at freezing at night and 40-55 during the day usually. They will be going out to the bunny barn which is a structure with tarp walls at this time. I also have tarps around the cages and hidey boxes for all the rabbits with straw to keep warm. But I want to make sure the 2 babies can keep warm, How long should I keep them inside?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

I am trying my hand at meat rabbits. I got 3 NZ...2 were SUPPOSED to be female. Guess what? They were all male.STORY OF MY LIFE! LOL Anyway. I got an offer for 3 rabbits and 2 cages for $20. I said sure even though the bunnies were lops the cages were worth it. One of the lops were female so I decided to try mating it with one of my NZ males. First litter didn't go so well. She is mean as HELL and freaked out through the whole thing.. She had 5 babies but left them all uncovered one cold night(It was last fall) and they froze. I decided to try her one more time against my better judgment( she is just so pretty and the babies were adorable). I came home and found 4 babies dead in the cage. She was growling and crazy so I just left her alone thinking all the babies were dead but a couple days later I realized there was movement in the nesting box. I decided just not to mess with things hoping she would be ok this time but one cold morning 4 days later I saw this baby bunny all uncovered and was afraid it was the only one and never going to make it. I decided to bring them both inside and soon found there were actually 2 babies. So they have all been inside for a week. Momma is feeding them fine but she keeps uncovering them and peeing and pooping in the nest box. I am wondering when I should move them back outside. They are super fat little things. she is NOT happy in here since we have 3 cats and a dog that are constantly sniffing at the closet I have them in. I am just afraid the temperature change might be too much, It is just above or at freezing at night and 40-55 during the day usually. They will be going out to the bunny barn which is a structure with tarp walls at this time. I also have tarps around the cages and hidey boxes for all the rabbits with straw to keep warm. But I want to make sure the 2 babies can keep warm, How long should I keep them inside?

I raise my rabbits on pasture, but because of the unpredictable weather (we have significant temperature swings and the forecasts are of negligible value), I always have does kindle indoors and I don't put them back outside until they're weaned (usually around 6 weeks old). That said, if the nighttime temps are reasonable (i.e., in the 50s), furred kits could probably survive if they're adequately protected from wind, but I wouldn't consider it until they're at least a few weeks old, to be safe.

Best of luck!

 

[ChikenChik]

Thanks. I am considering taking mom back outside and then just bringing her in to feed them ...or maybe them out during the day when its warm. She hates being handled but is actually fine with me touching her babies now. She really doesn't like it in here.

 

[Finnisher]

A rabbit pooing a peeing in the box some odd time is fine but she shouldn't be using the box as her litter box or her main point where she is posing or peeing. Try to remove the feces and put them in a different corner so she learns this is where she should poo.