Does anyone have any good advice on rabbit care in winter?
Hi, Rabbits can do well in cold weather, so long as they have been out at least a few months now so they have been able to grown in their winter coat. If possible move their hutch into shed or garage etc. If that is not possible keep them somewhere that isn’t exposed to the wind and rain. Shavings is not really a suitable bedding to use at this time of the year as it doesn’t retain heat. Use a layer of newspaper, then a layer or shavings to absorb urine and lots and lots of straw which is good for retaining heat. You can buy special covers for your hutch, or use blankets to cover the hutch with plastic over the top. Strong industrial bags are good for this. Make sure that you don’t cover the entire hutch as they need clean air to circulate the hutch to ensure they stay healthy. You can also buy snugglesafe heat pads (cheaper from a site called vetmed including delivery) which you put into the microwave and they work the same way as a hot water bottle except they are indestructible to a
im in the uk and all my rabbits and guineas are housed outside whatever the weather, the funny thing is i have a mum and daughter lionhead who have a huge hutch with run attached and in the winter i used to shut them in the hutch without the access to the run and they thumped and thumped till the ramp broke and now the stay out in the run wotever the weather even tho they have tonnes of bedding upstairs and theyve been like that for 5-6years, i do cover them over at night the only time they are not covered is in the summer otherwise they have a thick double blanket, kind of like a bed throw which is used to cover them at night with a plastic sheet incase it rains, the other hutch houses my netherland dwarf and 2 guineas , again they have a thick blanket and tonnes of hay they are checked daily in the really cold weather incase i need to put more hay in , as long as you provide sufficient cover by means of a thick blanket they will be finexx
