wire cages and winter (Michigan)

So I am starting a small rabbitry in Michigan, and I am raising New Zealands. I have wire cages designed to be suspended and I am putting them in a 3 sided roofed shelter out of the wind. I expect to have a canvas tarp or a door to close off the front so zero wind gets in. My concern is do the rabbits need a box with hay in the wire cage to keep warm at night?

The cage doors are only 11 inches by 12 inches so I am limited as to how big of a box I can get into the cage.

I would love to see photos of what other folks are doing to winter their rabbits in wire cages.

Photo of when I was building it:

Most people that have their rabbit outside in winter here stuff the hutches with straw. Not just a box but stuff the entire hutch. One friend that has theirs out in -20 F stuffs so much in when they know the cold is coming you can barely see the rabbits.

I have Californians outside in a similar setup. Too much hay, and the rabbits end up with pockets of frozen urine in it. Too little, and they get listless from the cold. My does have nesting boxes with hay in them and that's all. The buck, who has a smaller cage, gets a big slug of hay that he spreads out and sits in the middle of.

What I find more important with the open-bottom design is that you skirt the bottom and provide something for a rabbit without a box to sit on, like an untreated piece of wood. I made sure to seal the top up tight, but one night we got 20+ mph winds and snow. Turned the monitor (an old iPod I use as a camera to watch them) on to see how the rabbits were faring and it looked like a blizzard was going in there. Feeders and boxes were jammed with snow. Rabbits were surly and displeased. I had to move old lumber to the windward side to stop the indoor blizzard and then get their shelters dry. Now I have the bottom skirted with an old tarp. I'll try to get some pics today.

SoDak Thriver":3e9iaml9 said:

I have Californians outside in a similar setup. Too much hay, and the rabbits end up with pockets of frozen urine in it. Too little, and they get listless from the cold. My does have nesting boxes with hay in them and that's all. The buck, who has a smaller cage, gets a big slug of hay that he spreads out and sits in the middle of.

What I find more important with the open-bottom design is that you skirt the bottom and provide something for a rabbit without a box to sit on, like an untreated piece of wood. I made sure to seal the top up tight, but one night we got 20+ mph winds and snow. Turned the monitor (an old iPod I use as a camera to watch them) on to see how the rabbits were faring and it looked like a blizzard was going in there. Feeders and boxes were jammed with snow. Rabbits were surly and displeased. I had to move old lumber to the windward side to stop the indoor blizzard and then get there shelters dry. Now I have the bottom skirted with an old tarp. I'll try to get some pics today.

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Boy you bring back a lot of cold memories. That's why years ago I moved mine into the shop. When it gets nasty or I have a bunch of little ones I light the wood stove. I'm getting to old to put up with frozen water and feeders packed with snow.

This is only our second winter with rabbits and hasn't been really cold yet this year. But last year we had plenty of nights that went well below zero F and some days when it didn't get much above. Our rabbits are in wire cages hung inside a shed last winter, a barn now. So they don't have to contend with wind or with snow or rain blowing in. Each cage has a bucket hung and they seem to get in them when it is really cold. They eat more when it is cold but they don't seem to be uncomfortable or miserable in the cold they way they are in heat. I guess it might be different if you brought rabbits from a warmer climate or ones that had been kept in heated spaces and put them in an unheated barn in really cold weather, but if they are accustomed to the conditions and are protected from drafts and wet my experience is that they cope well.

Thanks everyone for your input, I went and picked up my new breeding stock from Connie at Maple Mesa Rabbitry and spoke with her about it and checked out her rabbitry and she is doing something similar with wire cages and just a resting spot with plenty of hay as long as they have a good wind break they should be ok.

So here is the nearly finished 4 hole hutch system, just needs the roof put on and the bi-fold doors that will allow me to close the front when inclement weather hits.


Tonight the new occupants get to tryout their new digs in the barn....

I put in a cardboard box a bit bigger than the bunns or one of my 3 gallon totes upside down but nothing more than that. Mine eat the straw or hay I give them and usually destroy the box too. I ended up taking the totes out because they were bugging the bunns this year for some reason.

Yeah, wind and moisture are the big concerns. We've been down to -11F here so far and the rabbits are active and happy as long as they're sheltered and dry.

Are there going to be dropping pans under the top row, or are the bunnies on the bottom just going to live with pee and poo from above?

Mine were in a building with solid floors and did not care about -30F. Outside with wire floors they probably need more help. Definitely a spot to get off the wire and good windbreak at minimum. The people I've visited in my area with outdoor wire cages give a box of hay/straw and put tarps on the side the wind is coming in and that seems to be it for many of them.

jimmywalt":1brflwy7 said:

Are there going to be dropping pans under the top row, or are the bunnies on the bottom just going to live with pee and poo from above?

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Of course there will be coroplast ramps under the cages for both the top and bottom cages to prevent the excrement from falling down on the rabbits or on the dirt under the hutch. We want to collect the poo for fertilizer and don't want the ground under the hutch to become saturated with urine and cause respiratory issues with the rabbits.

I see you have open space at the bottom of the structure. That will help remove ammonia from the area.

Here is a couple poor pictures showing the hutch in position under the overhang of the house (hutch is facing the house) and showing the excrement ramps that prevent the rabbits from being soiled by the ones above them and prevents the soil from becoming saturate. I still have to mount the gutters on the edges to catch the off fall from the ramps.

Nice set up! And, welcome to RT!

I have a question...how hot does it get where you are during the summer? That looks great for Michigan winters, but I would be concerned about a possible lack of air flow during the summer.

My buns are outside in open wire cages. They have handled multiple days of below zero temps with just towels secured over their cages, but during the summer, they get fans and ice bottles.

Marinea":dzop2ord said:

Nice set up! And, welcome to RT!

I have a question...how hot does it get where you are during the summer? That looks great for Michigan winters, but I would be concerned about a possible lack of air flow during the summer.

My buns are outside in open wire cages. They have handled multiple days of below zero temps with just towels secured over their cages, but during the summer, they get fans and ice bottles.

Click to expand...

Thank you for asking! So my plan is to make an identical structure and but the two structures at the roof peaks. I designed the structure with a 3 ft aisle way if two of them are butted together. Then in the hot months remove the sides and put a thermostatically controlled fan on them (over 80 degrees) and each cage gets a 12x12 piece of ceramic tile. When it gets really hot, I can freeze soda bottles for them as well.

So you don't give them nesting boxes or anything for them to warm up in?

The buns are under a roof, taking over our attached carport. They have a great windbreak in that the land sharply rises beyond the carport. So, really all they have to deal with is cold temps. And I haven't had a single problem since I've had rabbits.

As a matter of fact, I do most of my breeding between now and May. And no kit losses due to the temps. Mine are much more lethargic during the peak of summer. Right now, with temps in the teens, most are stretched out on their ceramic tiles.

If we were to get record type lows out of the norm, I would likely add heavier blankets over the cages. But, truly, summer is when I fret.

So the rabbits are all nestled in their new cages, I put a scrap piece of plywood in each cage as a resting area, tossed hay on the plywood so they can settle into it a bit for warmth. However they all are pooping and peeing on the board and hay, and then sitting in it, is this common? Do I need to remove the boards and let them just sit on the wire? Or maybe just some hay on the wire?

For the moment, I cleaned off the boards, flipped them over so the dry side is up and tossed fresh hay on them. Tonight the temp will be in the teens...

I like your set up. I wouldn't add the plywood and add straw not hay. Hay holds moister really well. Plus they will literately eat themselves out of a home. :x Where as straw is an excellent insulator. My rabbits are under a lean-to also. It's attached to our mower shed.

I added dog kennel panels to the front and back to keep the monster raccoons out. :x :lol: :lol:


During the summer the front and back are kept open. The wind comes right off the river and straight in through the back (east side) of the rabbitry. Great for summer. A complete nightmare during the winter.


So I added traps and added a tiny heater (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pelonis-Fan-F ... t/21804031). It stays right about 36* to 38* even when the outside air has dropped to 17* with winds at 12-25mph. Which, when it's right off the water, can be down right horrid. Water system has only froze up a couple times. Both when the temp dropped below 17* and the wind was coming from the East at 20+mph.

That's all my rabbits have. They sit/lay on the wire and are quite happy. I have even had to turn the heater off and open the front (west side) of the rabbitry because it has gotten warmer then they like.

I know it most likely get a heck of a lot colder were your at. Just wanted to share. Also :welcome: Can't wait to hear how your adventure is going. :lol: :lol:

In Georgia we don't get the extended cold nor the extreme cold you do in Michigan; usually it hits freezing for a couple weeks running in a row, warms up, drops again, then starts to prep for spring. But for what it's worth: for the past few winters, my buns have been outside in wire hutches on a rack under a tree with a plywood roof over their cages. When we get to winter, I cover the backs and sides of the cages with coroplast or tarps to keep the wind out. When it gets to the 20's and below, I'll do what 3mina does and add in a cardboard box just a bit bigger than the bun with a round hole cut in the side, stuffed with straw or hay. These serve as little huddle houses they can go into to conserve their body heat at night or when they need to warm up. (Like a bunny ice fishing shack.) I set them in the area that is the opposite from where they usually poop. Compost the whole thing when it's time to change out. I'll also sometimes just cover at least half their cage floor with old election signs that I will throw out when they become soiled. (It is especially satisfying if my buns pee or poop on the name of a candidate I don't agree with.) If it is really cold and I know I'm going to lose sleep about it, I'll move any currently nursing mamas cages into a small plastic storage shed to help them conserve calories. (It has poor air circulation and is hotter than hades in summer, so not a good solution permanently but can work for a couple days.) I have a small backyard herd so it's easy to do these things; for larger herds my suggestions would probably be too time-consuming.

Your setup looks good, especially if you can take the sides down for summer's warmth.