winter rabbitry advice needed

[bunnygardener]

I will shortly be moving to NC mountains. I have NZW bunnies that presently live in outside wire cages in GA. I am worried about cold during winter and what kind of rabbitry is best in cold winter areas. Any advice from cold dwellers?

 

[Zab]

Well.. concidered wire is illegal here I have no idea how that would work out.
But in sweden, a winter hutch must have 3 solid sides (and a floor and roof) and bedded with straw or such. They keep warm well enough with that.

I would say a colony would be a good way to have the rabbits keep their warmth and keepng it easy to clean and build. A predator proof large-ish pen with smaller and plenty of hideouts, straw (deep bedding works pretty well, the top layer is clean and that's it) and they'll insulate the hideouts with the straw as they prefer, or just cuddle together. Keping bucks (if not in the colony) in hutches with bedding and solid sides.

I personally wold not keep a rabbit in a shed or so below freezing without any sort of bedding. But I wouldn't keep rthem without bedding either way, so..

 

[grumpy]

I will shortly be moving to NC mountains. I have NZW bunnies that presently live in outside wire cages in GA. I am worried about cold during winter and what kind of rabbitry is best in cold winter areas. Any advice from cold dwellers?

Rabbits can withstand cold temps incredibly well. The main concern is to keep them out of a draft.

Personally, I prefer any kind of building, in lieu of outside hutches. However, that is for my own personal comfort, not the rabbits. Buildings also provide a degree of security for the rabbits no outside hutch could afford. Varmints can continually harrass animals in outside pens.

Your all wire cages, housed in a draft-free building, will be sufficient for your rabbits during cold weather. Our low temps here in the midwest have gotten down to minus 12 degrees below zero and the rabbits suffered no ill effects. Two does delivered that night and all youngsters survived.

grumpy.

 

[bunnygardener]

thanks, I put lots of straw bedding in their cages so they are warm now and have removable solid sides so I can prevent cold wind. My yard now is fenced in so I don't have to worry about preditors but in NC we'll have no fencing. So I thought I'd like a building/shed for safety/warmth but didn't know about design. Should it be completely closed in or 3 solid sides and a chain link front(preditor control). I worry about ammonia odors hurting bunnies in a fully inclosed building. I only have 3 does and a buck at present but intend to enlarge the herd once in NC.

 

[3mina]

I'm in Alberta, I raise Rex outside in wire cages. They have a roof to keep the elements off and I don't stuff their cages with hay or straw. They don't even shiver when it gets down to -40.
I'd like to put my herd into a building but not because it's too cold for them but because I'd like to breed year round, the days aren't long enough to breed without extra light up here.
Your rabbits are already used to weather and you're moving in spring, your herd will acclimate just fine. Personally, I'd worry more if I was moving from a cooler climate to a warmer one.

 

[UK-backyardbunnies]

UK based (currently enjoying Scandinavian winds and snow - thank you!). My lot are in cages now, but inside a brick building. It has a permanently open window, and vented roof tiles. All fine so far; their water bottles have frozen once all winter so that gives an idea of how much protection the building itself gives.

 

[Marinea]

We are not too far from NC in Virginia. Welcome in advance to our neck of the woods!

My rabbit is outside in a hutch. He does fine in cold weather with a roof and one side of his cage closed. He has more issues during the summer heat. There are lots of threads about enclosures people have outside here. They range from very fancy to simple. I would take a look through those threads to maybe get some ideas of what you can do.

 

[Mickey328]

Heat is the big issue with rabbits; they're made for keeping warm in the cold. As long as they aren't in direct wind and don't get wet from either rain or snow, they'll be fine in almost any cold.

 

[Dood]

I am in Ontario Canada,

My colony rabbits were in a 15 by 20 fenced area with several dog houses and a 6 x 6 shed they could shelter in.

My current breeding stock is individually caged a 10 x 10 section of a barn with 2 wire walls and 2 walls of cement block that goes up 4 feet with wire to the roof. In the winter I board over the wire to heat the room so I can breed year round and in the summer it comes down for better air circulation. My grow outs are in a colony pen with roof and a dog house for shelter.

A one sided run in shed would easily be converted to a rabbit barn. Position it so the prevailing wind is hits the wall and in the winter you can tack up some plywood to make it 3 or 4 sided, depending on the kind of weather you get, to hold heat and protect from the elements better.

As others have said, the main thing is to keep the rabbits cool in the summer, out of drafts, drifting snow, driving rain and keep them (and their food hoppers) dry.

 

[skysthelimit]

Keeping dry food is the hardest part about keeping buns outside. I brought all of mine into the barn for my comfort alone I have windows on three sides and the door on the fourth. The glass is in the bottoms of the windows but not on the tops.

 

[bunnygardener]

thank you all for the advice. I'll check out some of the designs of sheds and barns mentioned in other posts to see what I need to get built. Luckily heat won't be an issue. 80 is a heat wave in western NC mountains where we'll be.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

Be mindful of predators. Raccoons give us the most problems. I imagine you'll have even more critters to worry about in the mountains. Best of luck to you on the move and the new digs.