Natural heater?

[Gearmpr]

I've read about people making a compost pile under their rabbit hutch. The rabbit droppings provide good compost material and it gives off heat to warm the rabbits during the winter. Is this a good idea? I get the feeling that it could give the rabbits some kind of sickness.

 

[SA Farm]

I've done the deep litter method for my goats and birds, but I don't think it's necessary or wise for rabbits - I would be concerned about respiratory issues.

 

[Zass]

I had a problem with humidity, ammonia and mold, from keeping my rabbits too close to a wet dirt floor.

The result was making them more susceptible to respiratory disease.

Having worm beds underneath is supposed to help break down the droppings faster too, just like composting. "Hot spots" where that rabbits pee are supposed to be removed.

You would want to keep the rabbits pretty high up off the beds.

 

[Gearmpr]

Oh ok, well I might just stick with my original plan of collecting the poop with a gutter system . Especially since the "cold" doesn't seem to bother them much down here in southeast Louisiana lol

 

[akane]

I've done deep litter with rabbits but its not hot compost. You add lots of carbon sources as bedding like sawdust and straw so it keeps things dry and without mold. It composts the bottom layer very slowly without noticeable heat.

Wonder if a pop can solar heater would be useful.

 

[Rabbitdog]

Oh ok, well I might just stick with my original plan of collecting the poop with a gutter system . Especially since the "cold" doesn't seem to bother them much down here in southeast Louisiana lol

No worries. It's never been cold enough in La. to harm a healthy rabbit since the beginning of time .... probably not this winter either.

 

[Zass]

Several drops to -10 F didn't stop my buns from raising litters outside last last winter.

I didn't provide heat, but I did keep the wind off them, and gave them plenty of straw to lay on.

It takes some pretty serious cold to bother a rabbit.

 

[akane]

Not breeding and with a windbreak mine have seen -30 and lower with no ill effects except water freezes darn fast around here. Whether they can breed through it or not depends on your setup and rabbits. That creme d'argent we had could pop out litters year round and was a royal pain when not breed. She kept tearing my colony fences down to get to bucks.

 

[Saddl3bred]

I left about 3' between the bottom of the rabbit cage and the compost pile building underneath (lots of junk hay and straw too, making up the bulk of the pile); but i'm only dealing with 3 rabbits (first time breeder!). So far I haven't had any issues.

Maybe combine the gutter idea with a compost pile sitting on the end of the row for larger quantities of rabbits? I recently moved the compost pile underneath to a screened container for compost at the end of my row by just shoveling all the straw/hay/droppings/other scraps over for about 10 minutes, because after 3 months it was getting pretty big and unwieldy without a little structure. It's a substantial pile, and the screens and open top keep enough airflow to keep it smell-free. I'm trying it with mine, I'll let you know how it goes! Maybe a can-heater is a good addition to it too.