Wintertime- what's too cold?

[doggie0506]

Flurry lives in an old tree house (it's on the ground now) with an outside run. Since we use it as a storage shed she has a cage with walls. There is a 'room' for her litterbox with a built in wire floor for easy cleaning and a 'bedroom' that has foam around it for insulation, she has towels/blankets and some shredded newspaper. She can't come inside since my dads allergies are soo bad. The garage is insulated but our dog stays in there during the day and cars are parked there in the winter. Will Flurry be okay in the winter cold? Lowest temperature last year was -25C. What can I do to keep her warmer?

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Check out this library link:
Warming A Rabbit

I am also from Ontario, and I would be very uncomfortable with keeping a rabbit outside all winter (it gets down to -30/32C often [-26 F]) unless there was major weatherproofing involved.

Meaning, fully insulated building, absolutely no drafts or leaks, predator proof, a huge mountain of hay (with some straw around the perimeter) to burrow in and keep warm, and guaranteed fresh liquid water and plenty of food and hay available at all times.
Water is absolutely essential.

She cannot come immediately indoors to play or during a forecasted cold snap, as the dramatic change in temperature would stress her out: you would have to move in stages, over a number of days.

If you are devoted to going out there at least twice a day, and spending time with her even in the freezing cold, it could work.
Otherwise, it would be safer for her in your family home. A HEPA filter and frequent cleaning can go a long way to reducing your Dad's allergies.

If you could post a picture of her current setup, I'm sure we could come up with some precise recommendations together .

 

[doggie0506]

I'm going to try post pictures tomorrow, we have a hepa filter. And since we just replaced the flooring in the whole basement from carpet to hardwood there is almost no dust. I visit her at least twice a day and if she's not relocated by the time the snow comes then were going to plow trails to her "house". Thanks for the tips and I'll rmembet to post pics tomorrow.

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

If your rabbit is outside ALL year long it gets adjusted to the temperatures. It will grow its fur to be suitable for the temperatures. I wouldn't take a rabbit from say down in Ohio where I am and expect it to survive a winter where you are. And I wouldnt take a rabbit from where you are and expect it to not have a heat stroke down where I'm at.

Make sure it has an area to get into. I dont completely understand your set up, but I wouldn't want it on the ground, in a run. I think that would be a bit cold. But in a building with lots of straw in its sleeping area should be ok.

 

[doggie0506]

Heres pictures to help with better understanding of the setup:

This is her outside part you can see her 'door' to inside

Since we have no working cameras so theese picture are from when we first got flurry since then we put a sleeping box on the far left a sort of room similar to the litterlox area. The picture is of where her food water and toys are

 

[doggie0506]

This is a better view of the food/ water area the hay coming out of the dorway is now the litterbox with wire flooring and a pull out pan.

This is the what is now litterbox area, the picture is kind of distorted sorry.

This is the shed before Flurry moved in, it was really messy.

And for the heck of it, Flurry the first day we got her. Her eyes have turned more blue then they were there.

I hope the pictures are helpful. Any suggestions are useful!

 

[NorthernAutumn]

The first thing that I would point out is that without access to the outside, it looks like her living space is maybe 3 feet by 1 foot at most... for the entire winter, that won't work. (Especially for a big NZ like her )


The space will be far too small when you include the tons of hay and straw that have to go in around to insulate her.
Can you give us the exact measurements of the inside portion of her setup?

Any place to expand the cage into?

 

[doggie0506]

My dad said that he's going to put doors on the shed and the litterbox is a seperate part so it could be moved around. And since the only other thing that is in the shed is rabbit supplies and snow tires (they will be gone) she could have the whole shed. Any other suggestions about keeping her warmer? Or what to do to reduce dander so she could possibly live inside for the winter? I think in total the cage is only 5 feet by 1 foot (I know it's small ) plus about 1 1/2 by 1 for her sleeping area.

 

[doggie0506]

Anyone with suggestions??

 

[NorthernAutumn]

I wonder if you could try with Flurry in your room for a week or so, with the HEPA filter by the door. Vacuum her area and brush her daily, and that should keep the fur down. Also, your dad may be allergic to hay as well.. keeping hay in a big rubbermaid container would help a lot with that.

Sounds good that she could potentially have the whole shed to her self. You would have to weather proof it for her...

What are the exact dimensions of the shed?
If you were to buy large bales of hay (rectangular) you could stack the bales 3 high on each sides of the shed.
Flurry would be able to burrow in them for warmth (and food too )

In this case, bales of hay would be far cheaper than purchasing insulation... however, if your dad was planning to insulate the shed anyway, it would work out.

 

[luvthempigs]

When I had bunnies outside I used to staple sheets of plastic around their hutches to keep the wind out. It's really important that they not beexposed tothe wind in the winter months. I also made sure there was a lot of clean dry hay for them to keep warm in. I used plastic tupperware bowls for water and made sure to change them out twice a day (tupperware was a good choice because if the water froze it didn't break the bowl trying to get the ice out)

Using hay or straw bales for a barrier against the wind and cold is a good idea.

They can adjust to the cold so long as you keep them clean and dry and out of the wind.

 

[doggie0506]

That could work we could get extra hay bales since the person we het them from sells 2 for 8$. the shed is appox. around 6' x 8'. Ill ask about her living in my room for a week. We have extra nic panels left from her cage at the cottage so i could make her an x-pen type of setup. I dont think he was going to completly insulate it, just put doors on but the hay bales should do the trick. Any other questions or suggestions, let me know.PS: her hay is in a big garbage bin since it didnt fit in the rubbermaid i had it in before.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Yup, if the doors are on, and there are hay bales about 3 high completely around the perimeter, you should be good to go. Tarping the outside (as mentioned), would also go towards providing insulation!
When your dad puts the doors on, see if he can't install a deadbolt at the top of one door. That way, that door can stay shut all winter, and you would just open the one door (less heat escapes)

The bonus on this is that as she eats the hay, it falls down a bit, making it easier to burrow in. I would personally make a large pile for her to burrow in to start with... Maybe burying a cardboard box half way in the pile so she can crawl in there to start with?

Also, if you run the NICs across the threshold of the door 2-high, it would be like a baby gate before you manage to get into the shed (just a thought, as you don't want her to run out of the shed necessarily). I think she's going to love being a free range bunny for the winter!

 

[doggie0506]

Thanks for the suggestions. Im sure Flurry will be very happy with having the whole shed for the winter!