TWO QUESTIONS

[Siren]

Hello everyone,

I have two 2 month old lops. When i first got them, they lived inside,but im weening them to live in the outdoor hutches that ive had fromprevious rabbits.(yes they are totally cleaned out) My first questionis.....it is October now.....do you think they have enough time to growthey're winter coat? They seem really happy outside, but its atnighttime that im worried about, as its starting to get really cold.But a couple days ago, i noticed some sneezing.....so maybe the in andout is really getting to them. I want to keep them outside, mainlycause they have more room to play, fresh air etc.....but im worried ifthey don't have enough time to prepare themselves for winter.

If they don't have enough time, and they have to stay indoors thiswinter......i want to know how to toilet train them...so they can runaround the house. They are used to getting hours of exercise runningaround the yard....so i don't want to deprive them of any activity. Ihonestly have no clue how to toilet train. I've had tons of rabbits,but i never toilet trained any of them.

Thanks for your help guys!!!

OH, is that true that if they eat those sunflower seeds in the winter, it keeps them warm??

 

[Buck Jones]

I can't really offer any advice regardingwhether they are fit to live outside for the remainder of the winter ornot because I have no clue what your climatic extremes maybe. In my case, if I have any doubts, I always try to err onthe conservative side, so would probably have them inside if I was inany way concerned about their ability to handle the weather.

Having said that, rabbits are hardy creatures if kept out of droughtsand dampness. They do, after all, have fur coats and are moreapt to suffer from heat exhaustion in the summer than hypothermia inthe winter. Some people cover their hutches with canvasduring really inclement and/or wintry, blustery weather. I,myself, have lexan "storm windows" that are cut to fit the screenedportions of my hutches that I install in such circumstances, but Iimagine my winters here are less frigid than yours. I wouldnot recommend "in and out" and vice versa to any greatextent. I think that could prove detrimental to their healthmoreso than being in one environment or the other, regardless of whichone you choose.

Sun flower seeds are often recommended as a "hot feed" in that theyhave a high fat content, which is easily converted to the metabolicneeds of a rabbit during low level temperatures. It doesn't"warm them," but helps them to keep themselves warm, if that makes anysense. I have started to feed my rabbits about a tablespoonper day when it appears as if it is going to be a chillyevening. The seeds to have a tendency to fatten the rabbitsup, too, which might, or might not, be a good thing, depending upon theindividual rabbit.

Toilet training is no big thing because rabbits are naturallyfastidious animals and like to do their duty in one area, usually acorner they can back in to. Even if you bring your rabbitsinside, they should have a cage or "place" they can call their own, towhich they can retreat to and/or get their food.

If a cage, you will most likely find that they will consistently, ormore consistently, urinate in one corner. That is the corneryou place their litter box, filled with suitable, non-clumping,non-clay litter. People often place some urine soaked paper,if one has a newspaper lined tray below the cage floor, underneath thelitter to reinforce what the box and litter are for.

The rabbit(s) should get the idea sooner or later. It seems"sooner" applies to older rabbits and "later" is more apt to occur withyounger bunnies who are too "busy" to be bothered with the niceties ofbunny behavior. Sometimes, one must move the litter boxaround, if the bun(s) move(s) the toilet spot, but the idea shouldgradually take hold.

Be content with urination in the box. Poops, may or may notend up in the box as well. Some buns seem to have morecontrol of sphincter muscles than others and buns poop for so manyreasons: elimination, territoriality, fear, excitement,insult, etc., so that one may consider one's self very fortunate ifyour bun(s) keep(s) even some of the poop in the litter box.

Some people will leave litter boxes in several locations throughout thehouse, once they are trained, to make it easier for the buns to accessthem. We haven't had the need to do that as we simply leavethe cage door open for our house buns and they return when they feelthe need to urinate or poop. Very little poop is strewn aboutthe house. Some, yes, but nothing considerable, and much lessas they get older and more comfortable with theirsurroundings. I must add, though, we only give themaccess to three rooms, one of which harbors their cage, andnone of which are particularly large.

I have found that my outside buns will revert right back to using thelitter box should I bring them inside due to extreme weatherconditions. It may take a couple of days for them to catch onagain, but they never seem to forget that training once it has beenimparted.

Good luck, regardless of which way you choose for them to live this winter.

Buck

 

[showrabbits]

Hello,

My opinion is yes it is too late. Rabbits dont just grow a coat for thewinter, they also put on extra condition and fat. I raise flemishgiants and they gain about five pounds for the winter. It has to bemonitored so that way they dont gain too much or all at once because itcan be too hard on them, and too hard on their heart. My rabbits livein the barn and I noticed them starting to get ready for winter about amonth or two ago. Since then the youngsters have realy filled out andpacked on a firm condition, and my seniors have already gained aboutthree pounds and I imagine them to gain about four more on most ofthem. I think that they start this when the days start to get shorter.The barn is heated to above freezing during the winter but they stillwill still sort of get winterized. I think that you are correct aboutbringing them in and out putting stress on them.

As far as litter box training goes, I like to use pine shavings forpets that you get from walmart. That is my favorite, I think it is thesoftest and the best sized for rabbits. Its called pets pick, or allpets pick. Its five dallors for a huge bag. Its not dusty so it doesntseem to bother them. The company also makes cedar shavings but cedarshavings is very bad for rabbits. Ive also tried things like rabbitlitter pellets, cat litter ect. but I found that those are too messy,and the rabbits dont use it like they do the pine bedding. It seemsalmost natural for them to use the pine bedding. I have always let themstay in their cage for the first three days and so they only go in thecage. I usauly do this when I first get a rabbit and only get therabbit out for a few minutes not enough time for the rabbit to go tothebath room but enough time to get attention. SO for thefirst three days they only go to the bathroom in the cage. Usauly oncethings calm down for them they pick out a corner. Let them use thatcorner usauly they will keep it. Then after a while of letting them usethe corner as their bathroom and they get into a habit of going therethen put the litter box there. Soon they will get into the habit of notjust going in the corner but the litter box as well. And then afterthey get into the habit of using the litter box and I mean after acouple of weeks of this, then you can move the litter box to where youwant it or add another one. Make sure that the only place where thebedding is is where you want the rabbit to go to the bathroom. If theypoop out of the box then put the droppings into the box, and if youcatch the rabbit doing itput the rabbit in the box. If therabbit wont go into the box or doesnt stay in the box long enoughduring bathroom breaks to go completely in the box try adding straw orhay to the box. They will put all of the sraw or hay into one cornerand go in the other part of the box. They seem to like to stay in thebox longer than because they will munch on the straw. Mine will munchon the straw in the box more than the straw in the hay rack. I guessmaybe because they are lazy and dont want to run back in forth they goteverything they need in the box.

I hope that this helps. Good luck.

 

[Carolyn]

Welcome Aboard,Siren!

I have nothing to add to the already very complete information alreadygiven to you, but did want to take a minute towelcome you tothe forum.

Jump in anywhere.



-Carolyn