Keeping Rabbits warm in the winter

[HIGH_HEAT]

Question for you all.. i want to know if its safe to put my rabbit in the garage for the time being. i was going to get a heater from costco to heat my garage .. right now its prob 40-45 degrees with out the heater, what else could i use to keep him warm and comfy. Reason i am doing this for now is to try and rule out my wifes allergy issue , if its really (chubby) or something else. Could i use Hay and blankets or something else. Right how he has a nice big cage that i bought from dr fosters , has a pan and his water set up. Currently the garage has a small space from the door not fully being flush with the wall. I was going to get some kind of weather stripping and tack it , to close that small opening. I just wanted some other thoughts or ideas on this matter, i really dont want him to freeze or anything to hurt him at all !

here he is .. 7yrs old heh.. had him since college

 

[PixieStixxxx]

If you do choose to put him in the garage:

Hay is very important... lots and lots of hay. I also learned yesterday that black oil sunflower seeds act as a warming food. Although not too much as sunflower seeds are very fattening for rabbits. Stay cautious about the water - you don't want it freezing on your poor bun. Yeah, I'd watch out for that draft - don't want the poor bun to catch anything!

I'm in Canada, so I don't know what 40 - 45 F would be over here. Is there another room in the house where your rabbit could stay?

 

[HIGH_HEAT]

oh ok great .. yes perfect .. oh its not going to freeze i just wanted it to be the same temp or near as my house 68-70F , ... 40F is 4.4C , 68F is 20C ... going to buy him a nice big heater!!


thanks again
mike

 

[gentle giants]

40F is not that bad for a rabbit, mine are out in the un-heated barn all winter and with lots of bedding and fresh water they do fine. BUT. If your rabbit is seven years old and has been in the house all his life, the abrupt temp change would be pretty hard on him. Have you tried changing/removing his hay? YOu can get hay cubes to replace it, at least temporarily. Then if your wife is still having problems with her allergies by the time the weather warms up, you can try moving him to the garage. I woud just be nervous about making that big a change for an elderly rabbit in cold weather.

 

[HIGH_HEAT]

I have never given him hay before .. he has always been in these type of cages
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6067+10431+11166&pcatid=11166

i could prob put hay inside the cage for him.. thats not an issue.

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Rabbits need hay to eat 24/7 as it is an important part of their diet for keeping their teeth trim and guts healthy; it can also be used for bedding, however I would personallyuse straw as it is more insulating.

Also provide a box or other kind of hiding place and fill that up with the straw as it will trap the heat and keep him much warmer. Apart from that just make sure he is eating well - although don't be tempted to overfeed him as it will do more harm than good.

 

[Speri]

Well, in my opinion, while you put your rabbit in the garage, that should be alright. When I used to have my two other rabbits, they had hutches outside (as my mom didn't think of taking them in to be part of the family just yet) we gave them a lot of hay and had to constantly keep changing the water so it didn't freeze. We didn't leave them out for real long though, the little guy came in after his sister passed on.

 

[maherwoman]

This thread might help ya.

Warming A Rabbit

Edited to add these threads:

Cages and Hutches: Housing Your Rabbit
Feeding Your Rabbit
Hay: All About It

Enjoy! And be sure to check out the Lagomorph Library, as it has LOADS of great information that every bun slave should read!

 

[PixieStixxxx]

Hay is the most important thing in their diet. They need to eat it 24/7.

I'm hope I don't come off as harsh, but being at a shelter, we actually discourage people from using those blue cages. There's not enough room, and the rabbit wouldn't be able to come in and out on it's own free will.

Have you tried a NIC cage? It's cheap (about $20 a box) and fun to build! Here's one of my bonded pair.

This cage used two boxes - I got them at SuperStore for $23 before tax. So with tax included this costed about $50. It's still much cheaper than what pet stores charge for a standard rabbit cage.