I have been tossing this idea around allot. I have seen rabbits that are outside in hutches are healthier than the ones that are in a barn or shed ect. I was wondering if there is anyway to have kits all year round having them outside all winter. We do get -30 here at times. This is for commercial type. I dont think anyone that is a commercial does this. I am tossing the idea around as i see the rabbits more healthier outside then in doors no matter how much exhauste fans you have ect. The cold dosnt bother me or changing there water daily. It is the babies i dont want freezing. There must be a way to keep the boxes warm .

__________ Tue Jan 31, 2012 11:12 am __________

ANYONE..... Well i started moving some of the rabbits. It is a warmer day and is suppose to warm up over night. So it gives them a bit of a chance to settle in. I think i am going to move nesting boxes when kits are born then put them back in the morning and take them again. I am going to try that for the winter,and see how it goes. Alot of extra work.

You did just post this, I'm sure you'll get some answers soon. Those who are on right now may not know the answer to your question. I don't.

My rabbits are kept outside in a two-level hutch, attached to the north side of the house, and mostly screened in. I enclose the screened part in plastic sheeting when it starts going into the 30s at night (there's still open space at the very top and very bottom of the structure for fresh air). However, my climate is subtropical, so, while I can breed year-round without worrying about the babies (we usually have a few nights during the winter that go into the mid-20s, and we don't have much lower than that), they don't have to deal with temps like yours.

I would think that you could probably have litters in winter if you bring them in, and take them to their mothers twice a day for a short time to feed.

The hutches would need to be protected from the wind in winter.

Hi Mary Ann,

I saw your post earlier, but our temps rarely get below the teens. As Miss M mentioned, I felt someone with colder temps could advise you better, so I didn't answer because I didn't want to give you bad advice. But here are the thoughts I had earlier:

I would only move does out that make very good nests, and make sure to protect from the wind as Miss M said, especially when there is rain or snow. Put some extra layers of cardboard on the bottom and sides of the nests, and provide LOTS of bedding. If the nests stay dry, the kits will probably be okay, and if not, you could take the newborns inside, only bringing them out to nurse for the first week or so, until they have some fur. Or you could just wait until the kits are a little more developed before moving the doe and kits to an outdoor area.

Jack lives in Alaska, and has his rabbits outdoors, so hopefully he will see your post before long and tell you his experiences.

You would need solid walls of some kind, be it plastic, tarps, wood or w/e, from the top right down to the ground to stop wind from whipping out the air out from under them.

Thanks everyone. I have them very protected no problem there. I will see if i can post a picture. I left the moms with babies in the barn for now and moved all the fryers and moms to be and bucks. I think i will move the nesting boxes in the house for a piece of mind. I am liking it better already. I do get wind but it is pretty sheltered and i have a very large barn beside it that cuts most of the wind. The snow is on the bottom, kinda banked so there is no wind getting underneath. THere are in like a big car shelter . It is about 10 to 12 feet high.I have a radio playing in there and light on a timer . I go out 3 times a day for water. It isnt to far from my back door.

I'm curious about what it is that you feel is different in the health of rabbits kept outdoors that makes them healthier than rabbits indoors? I understand they may have thicker coats but other than that...? I believe my rabbits are happier outdoors but the ones I've kept inside or that have had freedom to go in and out were always just as healthy as the ones that stayed outside. If they are fed nutritious foods, always have clean water, a clean cage or hutch that shelters them and toys or other mental stimulus they should all be healthy (barring disease or injury).

I could see small building being less healthy from buildup of waste and respiration but I find mine in a 36x60' stable taking up 12x24' of it to be perfectly healthy. Aside from a few litters that were crowded all organs have been be perfect on butcher. The 2 exceptions were ever so slightly brown. I think trying to tarp or otherwise block off a small area outdoors would result in less healthy air and conditions than those who have a larger building they can use a portion of. Provided of course it has ventilation and we aren't talking about those who try to use unmodified garages with no windows.

Even inside a building certain does just don't raise through winter. They pull fur late or don't cover the nest right. For those that do nest through winter last year we just gave them boxes full of shavings and piled tons of straw around it for them to build a buried nest box out of. One doe will build 3' diameter if you let her. This year we built plywood boxes with one end half open and then either put a lip on it if it was small or for the larger ones sit the next box inside the plywood box. They range from 1x1, 1x2, and 2x2' cubes and rectangles. The rabbits have enjoyed them this winter. 1 doe still prefers a nest box and then lays in her 1x2' rectangle while one doe has completely claimed a 2x2 without nest box and just piles up the straw in front. Of course that size is not really something you can do in a cage but requires a pen or colony. We are also thinking of using those mortar bricks that are rectangle, not real thick, and hollow to build half buried nests in the colony and they could be stuffed with straw. Again more of a colony type solution since it's kind of heavy for a cage. Although half my cages have cheap vinyl floor over plywood bottoms rather than trays.

there is a gal on the meatrabbits forum that has her rabbits housed in wire cages. She had shelter over them and behind them but that's it. Her rabbits THRIVE. She breeds them hard all year round and they do just fine. She works her rabbits hard but she's also made a point of breeding for exactly what she wants in a rabbit.

My personal experience. If you breed for it, they can handle it.

I'm in Ontario. We get a lot of snow and it gets cold where I'm at. I've learned that if the doe goes her job her kits will be just fine. I put straw in the box, and leave them to it. MIND.. I do bring the polish in to kindle since they will often have only two kits in a nest and two kits can't keep themselves warm in cold weather. Three can...so I breed them with other does and mix and match as I need to keep things warm. But they are in the house for two days usually max and then they go out and the babies come in at night for five nights only. Then I expect them to thrive and they do.

What you need is a dry place for the babies and does that pull sufficient fur for the weather. So the pens need a roof over head and some sort of wind blockage. They DO NOT need to be totally wind proofed, just a way to get out of the wind if they need to.

JUST AN UPDATE ON THE OUTSIDE TO COMPARE THE INSIDE. I sure do like the outdoors allot better than the indoors. It has been about awhile now. Last night was cold.
-20 with the wind it was -30.Rabbits had no problem with it or there babies. But they are shelter from the wind and snow and rain. I like it to when i do them. THey are healthier because of the fresh air all the time. I will never put rabbits in a building again.

I'm glad you have found an option that works well for you! Ideally, I would like a long roofed shelter with open sides, with enough width that the cages could be positioned far enough from the edges to stay dry except perhaps in the most extreme windy conditions when I could add extra protection if necessary.

I really think the building part is more for me than for them. I hate the snow and cold weather.

I second that-- a lot easier to care for the animals if one is fairly comfy! Me, If I ever build-- the animal housing will be attached to MY housing-- think Old Time New England!!

I know the lady LadySown is referring to and yes, her bunnies are in wire cages outside with minimal shelter from the elements. And, she breeds successfully all winter and summer. But, she has also spent several decades culling hard for these traits. The only does she keeps/breeds are the ones that prove to be very good mothers ... pull adequate fur, build adequate nests, and produce adequate milk.

So, while moving to the outside, you will need to be aware that some does may not perform and you will need to evaluate their value to your herd and goals.

I do agree that rabbits do better in open air conditions ... maybe because they are "exercising" their immune systems and living to the maximum of their health. Mine are also in an open air cage setup with just a tarp to help block the wind and a clear plastic 'rain coat' I lower over the front of the line of cages for inclement weather or windy nights in the low 20s. Just be sure to get out there first thing in the morning to open it back up as those buns put out about 4BTU each

It is nice to see that there are so many ways to house rabbits
and in my estimation each situation IS acceptable.
As always, one size does not always fit all!
What works for one does not always work for another.
I am glad that so many have found a way to house their
rabbits completely out in the open in all types of temps
and they are ALL producing and maintaining excellent health,
that speaks volumes for you choice and situation.
I have my Rabbits housed in a "for the lack of a better name"
rabbit barn. They are extremely healthy, breed year-round
and raise their kits to weaning. I enjoy the fact that I
do not have to be: Soaked to the skin in rainy weather,
covered in white in a snowstorm and frozen nearly to death
before I even finish my Rabbit chores. At one point I had 12 to 15
and maybe more rabbit hutches where I suffered the things i do not now.
It is a pleasure for me to spend time with my Rabbits
even in inclement weather. I would never go back to fighting the elements head on!
I am happy with my system and obviously so are my rabbits.
I do have a few outside cages which are used in the warmer weather,
and a tarp dropped down to protect during Rain.
Whatever works for one is the perfect choice for them.
Ottersatin.

We used to have an open-air summer rabbitry, a chain-link enclosure under a huge weeping willow tree. It was always a lot cooler there and the rabbits did well in it. We had partial walls and sometimes had to position tarps to protect them from high winds, but all in all it worked great.

Along about December we would move the cages into the goose house and the rabbits had good shelter during the coldest months. In April or thereabouts they would go back to the summer rabbitry.

A year and a half ago, we went to a colony setting in half of the goose house. The rabbits have done equally well there. There are good windows for air flow in warm weather and the goose pop-hole is open all day year round for ventilation. It's on the south side, so usually protected from wind.

Both systems worked well for us. We really like the colony and the rabbits have a nicer lifestyle there than they do in individual cages.