Food & winter time prep.............

[Jennie]

Hello,

I am slowing changing buns food since she is over her sickness *TG*& doing much better now. I am going from LM Farmsbrand to Manna Pro *red, white, & blue bag*. I hope Ibought the right food to switch to ? I was told on here thatis was much better. Thing is, can we freeze it & forhow long ? What to put it in to freeze it ? It's ahuge 50 lb. bag & she sure won't eat all of that very fast! What to put some of it in to keep good & how longdoes it really stay good for when not froze ?



Also, this is our first winter having a bun & not sure aboutbringing her in or not. Thought maybe in thebasement. If so, is there any certain time she needs to bebrought in so she don't get confused about getting ready for winter? She has been kept outside in a hutch all summer.Not sure how they do outside in the winter ? Her hutch isawesome & would be nice & warm in her hide house withstraw & all. Didn't know how tuff bunnies were ?



Also,it doesn't matter about switching brands of timothy hay *this won'tmake her ill like switching foods? Thanks much forany info.



Jennie

 

[missyscove]

I can't really give you any advice, but youmight want to mention where you live and how cold it gets during thewinter so others can help you better. I know where I live ithardly ever drops below freezing, but obvioulsy it gets alot colderelsewhere.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Well bunnies handle cold a lot better than heat.I'm in Alberta, Canada and we get -22*F/-30*C a lot for a few months. Inormally bring them in the garage if it gets any colder then that butwe avoid bringing them in at all costs. The problem with outsiderabbits are that if you are in an area where it dips below freezing alot, you have to be concerned about water. If it freezes, then theycant get any source of moisture and licking it is not enough. Somebunnies will break a thin layer of ice while others wont (my doeinsistes on warm water only). I think, on average, I change water 10times a day in the winter.

If at all possible to bring them in, I definitely advise you to. It's alot less stress for you and a lot of people have rabbits who areoutside in the summer and inside in the winter. As long as you bringthem in before it gets too cold or before they start growing a thickwintercoat. If you do it when it starts getting rather coolat night, then my advice is to bring them in to the coolest room. Itshouldn't throw them off to bring them in before it gets too cold.

 

[Jennie]

We are in SE OH. & it does get cold attimes here. The last few winters have been pretty mildthough. We are having a cold spell now. Don't feellike summer at all ! I just didn't know about letting herstay out though Oct. or not. Like I said, don't want to messthings up letting her stay out too late & really didn't know ifthis would mess with a bun ! I would keep her in the basementif brought in. We need to find a wire cage for insidethough. Any suggestions on nice ones for the money? Just wondered about lettingher stay outside forthe winter & if shewould handle it fine ?Do I need to do anything different food wise for winter time? Feed a different food if staying out that will provide moreof this or that ? Was hoping to stay with this big bag ofManna Pro. Anyone ever try a dish warmer to keep water fresh? I do this with our dogs. If no dish warmer, thenany tips on water keeping otherthan changing 10 X's a day ?Thanks.....................



Jennie

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Well, be warned if you leave her out much later,you should definitely not bring her in at all this winter. It's toomuch of a shock so really it's up to you but I would not leave a rabbitoutside here any longer than mid September if I wanted to keep theminside over the winter.

The problem with leaving her outside this whole winter and thendeciding that next winter you want to bring her inside is that it willbe very stressful for her. My bunnies have always been outside bunniesand the few times that I've had them in, they get so stressed out. Oneof my bucks will hold off on going to the bathroom even if he's insidefor 24 hours but will rush to go to the bathroom the second I put himback outside. So there may be a problem trying to convert her to aninside rabbit if she's been outside for too long but if this would beher first winter outside, then it should be easier on her to adjust.

In the winter I increase feed because a chubby bunny in the winter isok. They need the extra weight in the cold. I also add oats and blackoil sunflower seeds to help keep them warm and add weight.

It's important that an outside rabbit has a totally enclosed box wherethey can go and the rest of the hutch must be able to keep the weatherout. A wet bunny is very bad. I fill the enclosed box with straw to actas in insulator (straw insulates better than hay).

As for a dish warmer, I don't trust them. I'd be too worried the rabbitwould get at the cord or even the heating element and I'd never forgivemyself if they did. And trust me, my rabbits can manage to do things Ican't figure out so fastening it to the cage probably wont work formine. There's also the chance that it could malfunction and burn yourpet. Also, water bottles are no good because the nozzles freeze. Otherthan that, really you have no choice but to change the waterfrequently. Some put little ping pong balls in that will help keep icefrom forming but that only works for so long and for temperatures thatare not that cold.

Other than the care, it's also essential that an outside rabbit havelots of human interaction. I spend a good 4 hours outside in thewinter, even at very cold temperatures. They also need a lot of time torun, especially if you have a small cage. And oversized hutch is thebest for an outside rabbit because it means they can get a lot ofexercise without leaving the hutch.

All in all, I suggest bringing her in. It's about half the work of anoutside rabbit and it's easier to interact with her in the winter. Youcould look into NIC cages. A lot of members on here build them and theyare very cheap to build in comparison to buying.

http://www.bunnylu.org/housing.html

 

[Jennie]

So it's not too late to bring her in ?What is a good time to bring in for winter & put out for thesummer ? You can feed black oil sunflower seeds *kind I buyfor birds* then ? How often can you do this ? Thecage looks good *link you shared* , but , would this add up to about$50.00 to build ? Seen a nice bun cage for aboutthis. What about my food brand choice ? I'm just upin the air about bringing in now since you said they dostress. She loves to be in her hutch. She hates foryou to try to take her out of it & when you go toput her backin, she kicks & tries to jump out of your hands to get in it.



Jennie

 

[Tatum]

Ok, this is my experience with outdoor/indoor rabbits

First all my rabbits get used to indoors before they are putoutdoor. I have 3 pairs of outdoor bunnies and one pair ofindoor bunnies.

i do use electric heated bowl in the cold weather. I justmake sure the cord is unaccesible and it is wrapped in coiled metel (itcomes with coils around it). Never had had a problem and sure is easierthan going out 10 times a day.

My rabbits enjoy cooked oatmeal in the coldest of weather. Icook it and cool it a bit before taking it out and they usually devourit right away.

Third, I have had no problems bringing bunnies in during the winter,although I really try not too because if I do,then they must stay inuntil the spring weather is decent at night as if you do bring theminside in the winter, then you can NOT put them back out, too much of ashock to their system.

Bunnies do better with cold temperatures than they do in theheat. You can freeze gallon jugs or 2 liters bottles from popand take them out for them to lay up against. Wedon't use our air conditioner very often, think we used it 3 days thisyear and I didn't bring them in, but usually when I turn onthe air the bunnys come inside in ex-pens. I find is issomewhat hard for them to come inside into cages after being in suchlarge deluxe accomendations.

One of my cages is 7 ft long x 3 1/2 foot wide with an upper deck andan enclosed hutch (which they only pretty much use as abathroom). the other 2 cages are 6 ft long x 3 ft wide anotherwise the same as the larger cage. On the outside I haveattached hardware (brakets)for each section so that I maychoose to cover the entire cage or just each individually sectiondepending on the weather. Unless whenit is stormingand very windy, I try to keep the south end open. I useplywood as the panels except for the side facing the house. Iuse plexiglass on the sides of the cages facing the house so that I cansee them from the windows. they like to look out too and letsthe light in.

Next, if you do decide to put her out you have to put rabbit out in the summer so they can adjust.

I have switched hay and it doesn;t seem to bother them.

I also reread your post and it sounds like you only have 1bunny. In that case I would definetely leave her in until youcan get her a companion. Both your buns should be spayed andor nuetered.

I would also suggest her living in your living areas instead of thebasement, she would not get so lonely if she can be around a busy area.Also instead of a cage, an ex-pen is a good idea, gives them much morespace.

I know what you mean when you say they like to jump back into thecage. I don't let mine do that. I like to hold themvery close and lean down so they are put down right on the flooring anddon't feel like they have to scramble and struggle to get intocage. My rabbits used to do the jumping back in thing ontheir own and I didn't feel that was a good experience for them so theway I do it now gives them more of a calming feeling with nostruggle.

good luck and please keep us posted on whatever you decide to do!

Tatum

 

[Tatum]

I feed Manna Pro also, it had more fiber than my old Tradition brand and they are doing fine on it. tatum

 

[Jennie]

Good info Tatum........

What is a ex-pen ? Homemade one ?

We just got bun *rescued* this summer *May* & have always hadher outside. Our hutch is about 5' X around 2' with a closedin hide box at one end. I thought about another bun , but ,afraid that 2 in this area might be too small & also THEFIGHTING/BONDING thing scared me away.

Is there only one type of Manna Pro ? I buy from TS &just found this one bag. Any suggestions on how/where tostore it & how to freeze it & for how long can this bedone ?

Do have the straw to add to her hide box soon , but , have her blockedout of it for now.......trying to get her to STOP potting inthere. :X



Jennie

 

[Tatum]

Jennie,

An ex-pen used to be used for dogs pretty much, but they are great forrabbit too. I have 4 of them. They are strong wirelike a dog crate and have 8 2 ft panels. You can put them inany shape you like and are great because it gives them so much moreroom than most cages. You can buy them at some pet stores, but orderthrough pet catalogs as they are so much cheaper, even with shipping.

My Manna pro is the select series for all rabbits. used to be calledDouble Duty. The bag is mostly red and white. As for storing that much,that a lot for 1 bunny, but keep it in a dark dry place if possible inthe warm weather, I keep it in the house, but when cooler weathercomes, I keep it in the garage. Best to probably freeze orrefrigerate, much not many of us have that much extra room. At the TSCI go to they have another Manna pro for breeding rabbits and babies,not really sure exactly.

Unfortunetely all 3 pairs of my outdoors rabbits use their enclosed hutch as their bathroom.. tatum