rabbits in the winter

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sweet7895

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In winter, in Nebraska it get anywhere from 40 degrees to 30 below if not lower. Our 2 rabbits live in our garage. Our garage is not heated and is just a little bit warmer than outside.
Do we need a a heater for them? We would like to get more but they would have to live outside would they have to be brought in in the winter?
 
Can you close off an area of the garage so you don't have to heat the whole thing?

Hopefully someone in a similar situation has a suggestion. Someone not long ago mentioned they used some kind of heater meant for poultry. Maybe a search here for heater, insulation, etc would help.
 
Heat lamps are normally used for poultry. Drafts and wind are worse for rabbits than the temperature. Keeping the garage above 32F would keep their water from freezing. You could also cover their cages with a blanket. If you use a heater or lamp, don't set it too warm...rabbits are pretty tolerant of the cold temps.
 
I have an outside hutch for Filmore and here in the Pacific Northwest it probably does not get as cold as Nebraska. However, I have had success using two methods over the years keeping a warm spot in the hutch which also keeps the crock of water from freezing.
In my first hutch, I had a plywood floor in one section that I wedged the reflector of a clamp-on lamp with a 15 watt bulb up against creating a radiant heated floor. I could pull the chain on the lamp to turn on and off whenever I wanted; You can experiment with the wattage but don't let the bulb actually touch the flooring; there should be air between the bulb and the wood. Being under the floor and wedged up against the floor not much light or heat escapes.
Currently Filmore's hutch is more spacious and comfortable: He has an inside area with several levels to sit and inside one of the bottom steps I have put an outside light fixture and surrounded it with a plywood step. So when the bulb (now a 40 watt one) is on it radiates heat to the step and hence to the whole inside part of the hutch. This lamp is also on a timer and the plywood is only warm to the touch.
That all said, I don't see Filmore sitting on these warm areas but it is comforting to me to know that he can. BTW the inside of the hutch is filled with straw, something he likes very much and keeps extremely clean.
Dan
 
rabbits have fur coats. They will be just fine in your garage. I live in southwestern Ontario and my rabbits stay outside 24/7 and thrive.
 
I volunteer at a cat rescue and they use plug in heaters that they bolt to the floor and run off a pool timer. They are in a wood structure barn.
 

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