Question about cold tolerance of outdoor bun

[lagomorph]

Hi all,

I am interested in hearing from people who have kept rabbits outdoors in climates as cold as my New England (Massachusetts) climate. I have an almost 7 year old Netherland dwarf, whose lifelong friend, a female French/giant angora rabbit (both were neutered) passed away about a month ago. I was afraid that he would suffer from missing her because they were literally inseparable, even though they have tons of space. However, he seems to have adjusted quite well to her absence, and is generally in good spirits.

One thing I am not sure about is what his limit is, in terms of cold tolerance. It has been quite cold here, with night time temps around 0 degrees Fahrenheit, plus strong winds. In winter, he used to snuggle up to his big angora friend, to the point where you could hardly see him nestled in her luxurious fur. But now he has no one to snuggle with.

He lives in a 40 square foot unheated shed, which is totally closed up and protected from wind and precipitation, except for an always open pop door that leads out to his 80 square foot enclosure. The latter is completely predator proof, with fencing that goes deep underground. The floor of the enclosure is just earth, and he has dug an underground burrow. He has been using this burrow quite often, during this bout of extreme cold. In addition, each night, I have been placing in his shed a warm pad, which I make by folding an old towel around a bunch of hand warmers (those things that people put inside mittens). I do not know whether he is using this warm pad - I have never seen him on it.

I know that rabbits can cope well with the cold, but I also know that the wild ancestors of our domesticated rabbits live in groups, benefiting from the body warmth of each other during winter. So I guess my question is, what might be his limit of cold tolerance, under the conditions I have described: plenty of sheltered indoor but unheated space, and an underground burrow, but no other rabbit to snuggle with.

I cannot take him indoors - I have no cage, I think he would hate living in a cage, having lived his entire life with plenty of space, and I have four cats indoors, at least one of which would try to kill the rabbit if I let him run around the house. I also do NOT want to get another rabbit. These were my daughter's pets, and she will be going off to college in a year. While I do not want our current rabbit to freeze to death, I also don't want to commit to prolong my rabbit keeping years any longer than the lifespan or our current rabbit.

Any thoughts on whether my situation is sufficient for him to survive a prolonged cold spell, and/or suggestions for helping him keep warm, other than getting another rabbit or taking him indoors?

 

[mochajoe]

I am so sorry for your loss! I am your neighbor to the north in NH....where it has been even colder. I don't currently have outdoor bunnies....however I have in the past. As long as there is no draft in the house....and he seems to prefer his burrow....I am sure he is fine. Bunnies actually handle the cold MUCH easier than the heat! I definitely would NOT want outdoor bunnies in warmer climates! Much easier to make sure they are safe in the cold than keep them cool in the heat!!! Your set up by the way, sounds like the next best thing to being a free bunny! Awesome!!!

 

[lagomorph]

Thank you so much for responding!! When you had outdoor bunnies, did you ever have one all alone like mine is, or did they always have a friend to snuggle with? My two did just fine for all the past winters, but they always had each other. This little one is now all by his lonesome. But even all alone, you think he can still handle it?

 

[Blue eyes]

Mine are indoors, but you are experiencing unusually cold weather even for outdoors. I found this on a rabbit site:

If you live in an area that experiences cold winters, provide your rabbits with shelter from the wind, extra hay inside their boxes for insulation and, most importantly, adequate water. Use water crocks during winter because water bottle tubes freeze quickly and provide nothing but frustration to your rabbit.
Crocks need to be changed at least twice a day because they freeze solid within a short time. Water is essential. Rabbits will starve to death without water. They cannot eat without water. Heated crocks are available in "cold country" from the local feed stores.

 

[BinkyBunny]

I have read that an outdoor rabbit should probably have another rabbit it can at least see because that could get lonely. I don't know the truth of it or how others feel, but read that in a book on rabbits.

 

[Thumperina]

my suggestions are:
- to get the shed a little bit heated with the heater. Is there access to electricity there (sorry for the stupid question)? extension cord might help.
- do you have any other places to take him in except for the house? My rabbits come to attached garage nightly. I am using a fan to heat the garage.

 

[Thumperina]

you should be able to see how well your rabbit tolerates the cold. Does he seem to be all right? eating well?
My rabbits would not eat much when they are really cold. As soon as I take them in, they would eat veggies like crazy.
By the way, how do you feed veggies? they also tend to freeze.

 

[Thumperina]

Water is essential. Rabbits will starve to death without water. They cannot eat without water.

I have rabbits who don't drink their water or drink it very little.
I know it is not good but I don't know how to convince them. They probably get water from veggies and grass (which is not a good grass in winter)

 

[lagomorph]

All good thoughts; thanks. He normally does get a fresh salad of greens in the morning, but you are right, that it does freeze more quickly than he can eat them, so to make up for the decrease in greens, I have increased his rations of alfalfa hay, oat hay, timothy based pellets, and twigs from our apple trees (no pesticides used), and he always has more timothy hay available than he can possibly eat.

I have also noticed that he drinks more water, now that his diet is drier (no longer eating as much fresh salad). In his shed, he does have an electric water bowl, so it never freezes. However, I do need to be careful to keep the bowl full, because it evaporates quickly in this cold dry weather.

He appears to be totally fine, but I panicked a little this morning (hence my post), because he did not emerge from his burrow when we brought his salad. I tried reaching in with my hand, but it is so deep that I couldn't reach him. We thought he had died in there. But then we put a little alfalfa hay in the mouth of the burrow, and lo and behold, he came up to snarf it down.

I think, putting it all together, now, he is staying in the burrow a lot to keep warm, and it is probably warm enough, but he might be reluctant to come up and out to eat and drink, because it is colder out of the burrow. So I think what we will do is offer a little slice of apple at the burrow entry every morning, which will give him some needed moisture and calories after spending, I'm assuming, most of the cold night in the burrow. I also have a lot of hay piled at the mouth of the burrow, so he never has to emerge entirely to eat, if he doesn't want to.

I've noticed he does spend a lot of time out of the burrow and in his enclosure, sitting in the sun, while it is shining in there between late morning and early afternoon. During that time he drinks his water and eats a lot.

He did love his friend, and I am certain he misses her, but I have read so many threads about rabbits rejecting and fighting with new rabbits, so I am afraid getting another would just add more stress to the situation. He had lived with his friend from the time he was a baby, and I am not sure he would accept a newcomer at this age.

We do have electricity in his shed and could put a heater, but he doesn't even seem to use the warm pad I put in there, as described in my initial post. It seems so instinctive for him to go underground, even though he has the pad. I am hoping this means he knows what is best for himself, and that he is better off in the burrow than on the warm pad in the shed. Thanks!

 

[1357bunnylover]

Instead of keeping the door open all the time, close the door and make a small hole for him to be able to fit through because the winds will make him more cold.
I personally would not want my bunnies outside in such cold weather, i know buns can handle the cold more than the heat but IMO i think that is too cold.

 

[lagomorph]

Instead of keeping the door open all the time, close the door and make a small hole for him to be able to fit through because the winds will make him more cold.
I personally would not want my bunnies outside in such cold weather, i know buns can handle the cold more than the heat but IMO i think that is too cold.

Thanks - the "door" to the shed that I mentioned in my first post is just a little door that he can fit through, not a big human sized door. I do keep the people door closed, so it is not drafty. We have a thermometer in the shed, and it's a few degrees warmer in there than outside.

Also, I have been reading about underground burrows and learned that the burrow temperature in winter is usually warmer than the daytime temperature, and only drops a few degrees at night, even if the above ground temp drops a lot a night. The deeper the burrow, the warmer it is, and his is pretty deep. So he seems to be doing what's right for himself: spending most of night in burrow and most of day in the sun above ground. And he looks great - pretty active during day, and always eager when we bring him a treat.

I do like the suggestion someone made about giving him a box filled with hay to tunnel into, and I might do that, but from what I have read, the burrow is probably warmer.