Will my rabbits be okay in an outdoor hutch?

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

en16649

Active Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2021
Messages
27
Reaction score
3
Location
England
Hey there,
Trying to plan for where is best to keep my rabbits. I spent ages making a huge outdoor run for them and now I'm paranoid it'll be too cold for them, especially while they're still young. I know rabbits are good with the cold, but it gets around 2 degrees C at night and sits around 8 degrees in the day.

I've also thought about making a second hutch for the greenhouse (I say greenhouse, but really its a converted chicken coop, its walled on 2 sides and sits in the shade so really more like a shed with 2 windows). The greenhouse can get up to 20 degrees C (on a hot day, with a heater on) and 50% humidity, but thats with regular heating and misting. I'm mostly thinking about it as it seems a lot better protected from wind/rain.

Other options include the garage (which is kind of damp), or having them inside in a dog crate (which is their current arrangement, I'd just like them to have more space).

Obviously I want them to have the best life possible - just want to make sure the conditions are okay for them! I presume I'm just being overly paranoid, especially as they're still young.

Any advice would help!
 
Hi, can you give more details and post some pics of your bunnies and their setup and outside options as well so we can see.

What age they are, what genders, are they neutered? How long are they with you, were they indoor or outdoor last winter before you've got them?

With current low temperatures I would definitely wait if they were indoor I wouldn't house outside nights are going to be very cold this week.
 
ghouse.jpgrun.jpg

Heya, heres the greenhouse/shed situation (I'd probably clear out the back shelf near the door there and replace that with a 2 level hutch) and the run I made. They're 2x mini lops, both boys around 9 weeks, not neutered (yet). They were both housed outside in a hutch (undercover, I think) when I got them. I'm leaning towards making another hutch and putting in the greenhouse, and if it ever gets too hot in there (verrrry rare considering I live in southwest UK) to take them into the run outside, or crate inside. The heater also just has a fan mode too. That way I can leave the hutch open, close the greenhouse door and give them full run of the greenhouse (its about 2x the width of the photo) so they can have lots of room. I'll just have to make sure the plants in bunny reach are sacrificial bunny safe plants! I would just free roam them, but my dog can get a bit boisterous when playing so they'd have to be supervised 24/7.

I've read that rabbits aren't that fussy about humidity (considering they live in damp burrows in the wild) so that shouldn't be a problem.

Thoughts?
 
I like that green house, however i wouldn't say they like humidity, I would keep them dry.

If they are 9 weeks both boys I would separate them right away because they are going to become hormonal in the next week or two and there can and will be conflicts because of that. You are good for willing to neuter them both asap but bear in mind you will still have to keep them separately about 6-8 weeks after they are neutered because they still will be hormonal and can fight and mark territory by spraying urine all on the walls and you and it would be best if they don't start that because it can become a habit really quickly and they will need more time to forget it after neutering.
 
I like that green house, however i wouldn't say they like humidity, I would keep them dry.

If they are 9 weeks both boys I would separate them right away because they are going to become hormonal in the next week or two and there can and will be conflicts because of that. You are good for willing to neuter them both asap but bear in mind you will still have to keep them separately about 6-8 weeks after they are neutered because they still will be hormonal and can fight and mark territory by spraying urine all on the walls and you and it would be best if they don't start that because it can become a habit really quickly and they will need more time to forget it after neutering.

Thanks for the help! Yeah, that's partly why I'm thinking about making another hutch (to have more options). I was actually aiming for a boy and a girl but one of them was a surprise boy! I'll probably keep one of them inside in the dog crate with the other in the hutch while the weather is a little cooler. I quite like having them around inside, but yeah - got to make sure they've got space from each other cause I don't want any scrapping.
 
If it was my green house I would just add some additional ventilation to reduce humidity and as you said check the plants and all, it would be great place for them I think
 
If it was my green house I would just add some additional ventilation to reduce humidity and as you said check the plants and all, it would be great place for them I think

Thats what I'll probably do! The door can stay open and gets a good breeze too - I don't really think the humidity will be a problem honestly - at the moment I mist it a lot to boost the humidity for my tomato seedlings, but I'm sure they wont mind if I stop and the humidity will go back to normal outside levels.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top