Hi again, I am looking for some advice on bringing outdoor rabbits inside for the winter. I have an outdoor rabbit who is sick, I have taken her to the Vet and she's currently on meds. However, her condition is worsening and I'm not sure if she'll make it through the winter. So, I'm wondering if it would be harmful to bring her inside for the winter. Her hutch is not adequate, but its only temporary until I can afford a better one. Anyways, I believe it would be beneficial to bring her inside as it would be easier to give her meds (She wouldn't have to make stressful trips back and forth from her hutch), She would get more attention (Not being isolated outside away from us), and she would be out of the cold. I am concerned about bringing her in long term as she's been an outdoor rabbit all her life (5.5 years), and I have heard that rapidly changing temperatures will affect a rabbits system and isn't good for them. So if anyone has advice to offer, please do. Thanks!
Winter Advice?
- Thread starter Nibs
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Ours are outside, but we keep a cage inside in case we need to bring one in for some reason. If the temp is drastically different, ie- more than 30 degrees difference, you may want to bring her in the garage (or someplace with a temp in between) for a few days before bringing her in the house. Do the same when you send her back outside. It sounds like you may need to keep her inside until the colder temps are passed.
My bunnies normally live outside and last year in early spring Smokey got sick and I brought him inside for about a month. It was definitely easier to give him his meds when he was inside and I also had to syringe feed him for a couple of weeks until he started eating on his own again. I kept him in our basement which stays around 60 degrees all year round. Since it was spring, I just waited until the outside temperature was close to that before I moved him back out. In your situation, I would probably keep your rabbit inside until spring. She might go through a big molt of her winter coat while inside, but if she is sick I think it would be best to bring her in.
Hope she is feeling better soon! :nurse:
Hope she is feeling better soon! :nurse:
Thank you majorv and Bville for the advice, I did end up bringing Nibs inside.
However, soon after I brought her in, I noticed a white spot in her eye. Over the course of a day the white spot covered her eye entirely, with a clear lump sticking out of the middle.
So we took her to the vet this morning and found out that her eye was infected, the infection was eating away at her eye. We had the choice to put her through a surgery remove the eye as she was already going blind and the eye had to be removed. The price of the surgery was steep, and it would only help her eye, not her other illness which was rapidly worsening.
She was also in a lot of pain, so we made the tough decision to put her down.
Nibbles is now running and playing happily over the rainbow bridge.
Thanks again for all your advice and well wishes. ~Nibs
However, soon after I brought her in, I noticed a white spot in her eye. Over the course of a day the white spot covered her eye entirely, with a clear lump sticking out of the middle.
So we took her to the vet this morning and found out that her eye was infected, the infection was eating away at her eye. We had the choice to put her through a surgery remove the eye as she was already going blind and the eye had to be removed. The price of the surgery was steep, and it would only help her eye, not her other illness which was rapidly worsening.
She was also in a lot of pain, so we made the tough decision to put her down.
Nibbles is now running and playing happily over the rainbow bridge.
Thanks again for all your advice and well wishes. ~Nibs
