Can bunnies withstand extreme cold weather inside a warren?

[ravioli]

We have a one-year-old rabbit (a Rex I believe) who has lived outdoors her whole life. However, she and her sister built a warren during the summer, and since it got cold we've left her hutch open all the time so that she can come and go as she pleases between her warren and her hutch (within an enclosure which surrounds both). During the winter she has spent 90% of her time in the warren and it seems to be serving her well in terms of staying warm (I installed a heated pad in the hutch bedroom but she hasn't been in there for months now).

So far temperatures have mostly been above 20ºF outdoors (-7ºC) with probably one or two nights where they dipped to around 5ºF (-15ºC). From tonight though there's a wind chill warning from the National Weather Service and temperatures are forecast to go to -2ºF tonight and then -15ºF (-26ºC) tomorrow night. We're thinking this means we should bring her inside until the cold subsides. Is that right, or might it be better to let her stay in her cozy warren? I've read that bringing her inside the main house could be too much temperature change, so we would be putting her in an attic that will probably be around freezing (it was 41º last night when I checked), perhaps adding a heat source for her.

 

[JBun]

I guess it would depend on the depth and exposure of the warren. If it's shallow or a short tunnel system, it may not provide adequate protection. So it's hard to know for sure.

Though if you do decide to bring her in, because she has developed a thick winter coat to protect her in the cold, suddenly keeping her in too warm of an environment could prove fatal. So it's very important to keep the temperature at a level somewhat close to what she's used to, and to monitor her for signs of heat stress if the temp is even slightly higher than what she's accustomed to.

 

[ravioli]

I guess it would depend on the depth and exposure of the warren. If it's shallow or a short tunnel system, it may not provide adequate protection. So it's hard to know for sure.

Though if you do decide to bring her in, because she has developed a thick winter coat to protect her in the cold, suddenly keeping her in too warm of an environment could prove fatal. So it's very important to keep the temperature at a level somewhat close to what she's used to, and to monitor her for signs of heat stress if the temp is even slightly higher than what she's accustomed to.

Thanks so much for the advice! You're right, not knowing the temperature inside the warren is what makes this so hard to judge. Sounds like you think that, if anything, the lower-risk option may be to leave her outside?

If she does come into the attic, I'd been thinking that if anything, temperatures between 30 and 40⁰F might be on the low side compared to her warren. But perhaps even 40⁰ could be too warm, by the sounds of things.