Hi all i dont think i have ever posted in the bunnie section , so be gentle with me .

My question is , I have a dutch lemon rabbit she is called toffee she is getting on for 7 years old a really lovely gentle little thing she was one of a pair but we lost her sister a few years ago she escaped over night as a friends son had messed with the hutch and opened the latch which meant they opened the door and did a runner lol , i found toffee happily munching her way round the garden but Honey was no where to be seen ,
Anyway do you all still keep your bunnies outside when the temperature is as cold as it has been in the last few weeks .

I live in brum and over the next week the night time temperatures are going down to about -7 .
The hutch is very dry it has a big cover over the entire thing , she has a god 6 inches thick of hay and straw in her bed which she has ade a cocoon like structure from and she has a good 4 inches of wood shavings in the living area with extra straw on top . she is being fed on Excell which she has always been fed and has a daily shmorgas board of other fresh goodies carrots , cabbage , cucumber , etc . As she is 7 years i think maybe she has lost some weight so i am trying to feed as much fresh on top of her dry . Do you think there is any more i could or should be doing to get her through the winter safe .

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It sounds as though you're doing all the right things - just make sure that she has a nice large mound of hay in the corner so that she can burrow right into it to keep warm. Also make sure that she always has fresh water available - it can freeze over quite quickly at the moment.

Is her hutch in a sheltered area? The temperature can drop quite dramatically in the wind, so it would be sensible to make sure she's as sheltered as possible.

Have fun with that cold weather!!! :-)

Thanks nice to know im doing all i should be , I've had rabbits all my life on and off but this is nice to get other peoples views too .
Her hutch is sheltered its right next to our kitchen wall up against the fence , and if its windy or really cold i leave her cover down over the front too , i do check her bottle every day . thanks for the input .

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I've got three bunnies - sadly one had hypothermia and went to Rainbow Bridge just after Christmas but he had been snuffly for some time, despite having had weeks of antibiotics.

I have been really worried about keeping them warm and have just bought a snuggle safe and am getting another one today so I can keep one in the hutch constantly. I find they curl up around that so they seem to approve

I've also put sheets of cardboard around the hutch and plastic sheeting and a big blanket and filled the hutch with straw and hay.

I will be so glad when it warms up a bit but then once summer comes there is fly strike to worry about. Bunnies are certainly not a stress free pet to keep - but they are well worth it!

As long as theres a good layer of hay they dont seem to bothered. My rabbits fur use to be mega thick in the winter. He was a chinchilla mini lop.

I have a lot of Hay in my rabbits hutch, lots of fresh veg and water. She has tarpaulin over her hutch and has also got a snuggle safe which I put in her hutch aroun 9pm each night as it is meant to keep it warm for around 10 hrs.

Ive only ever had indoors buns, and i know buns that are used to living outside do cope very well, but i live in brum also and its absolutely freezing here. I would recommend a hutch cover, or maybe you could move the hutch to a garage/conservatory? In the wild buns will go underground in cold weather to keep warm but there domesticated cousins can't do that lol
Also keep an eye on the water bottle as it will freeze, you can buy a protector from pets at home

I have a really cosy cover over the cage air tight almost lol and her bottle is fine i filled it up earlier and it has a cover , the position of the hutch is quite sheltered too .

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