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LittleEskimo

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I got my bun last winter but she lived inside as we didn't have a hutch ready for her. The snow that winter was horrible and it was very cold here in the UK. When it turned spring we got her a hutch and she's been living outside happily. But now autumn/fall will be on its way and then winter. I am a little worried because it would be her first time outside in the cold. And if the weather is as bad as last winter...what precautions can I take to make sure she stays warm in the winter? I don't know if I will be able to bring her back inside to live you see. I am planning on getting her a buddy to keep her company and hopefully they can snuggle up together. Ill probably buy a fluffy cat/dog bed for them (and any other snugly things I can get hold of) and I was going to buy a hutch cover to keep any snow and cold winds out. Is this a good plan to keep her and her buddy warm?? any other hints would be very helpful so I know I can relax and know my buns are warm and safe :)

Also she is a very fluffy bunny with dense fur which should help

And another also lol how are rabbits with snow anyway?? do they enjoy it?
 
Rabbits are great in snow. They handle the cold MUCH better than the heat.

I usually just provide my bunnies a nestbox (or any box, really) with some hay/straw in it for them to take shelter in from the cold and offer a little extra draft protection.

Really, as long as they're not getting wet, they're fine in the cold.

The real hassle is making sure they always have water available (I would make sure you have two water bottles, and swap the frozen one for the thawed one periodically throughout the day). Water crocks are also good, but it's still important to make sure that they don't just have ice to get their water from.
 
Just make sure they aren't wet and that they have a good non frozen water supply. They should be fine like that :)

My rabbit's hutch came with a peice of wood to "board up" the front through winter and I took that off only to feed him, check his water supply and clean the hutch. I put loads of hay in his bedding and gave him a little warm peice of fabric too.

Hope this helps :)
 
I am sorry I am bumping up an older post, but I found this doing a search. Can someone tell me what type of hay/straw to use? Just yesterday, we got a new bun (mini lop) that someone was getting rid of. He was a 4-H project that the child lost interest in. He has a pedigree and he was free, so my daughter decided it would be a great addition to her growing FFA rabbitry project. Anyways, he is an outdoor rabbit and the hutch we had was set up for a Flemish Giant originally and we got him in the summer, so we didn't have to deal with cold weather. So, we are making some adjustments, but the biggest question is how to keep him warm? We need to make a new nest box because the one we have in there is scaled towards the Flemish and seems way too big.
 
Honestly, a box of any size is ok for keeping him warm. It's only when you're giving a nestbox for kindling that size is really an issue.

I use just regular straw that you get from the feed store (big bright yellow bale), and fill the box. Given the crops in the area, it's probably wheat straw. He'll eat and rearrange whatever's extra. You can give him more periodically throughout the cold times to replenish the extra he eats.

Timothy or alfalfa hay work well, too, but you'll probably be replacing it more than the straw.
 

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