Winter shelter

[Emily]

This'll be our first winter with buns out in the raised cages and not in the barn. They're not out there now, they're in our barn and need to be moved asap. I was wondering what everyone uses to house their rabbits and keep them out of the wind. Is it completely enclosed? Do you just use nest boxes packed with hay? We are in North Texas, not far from Oklahoma (N. TX is not the panhandle) so the weather gets cold. We have several ice storms a year and get pounded by the arctic weather much like the rest of the southern plains.

The cages have roofs and are tarped on three sides, and will be bulked up in bad weather, but I need to find something for my buns to bed down in.

I'm also picking up a new 10 week old NZ trio this weekend. I'm going to house the does (litter mates) together through the winter, but I'm concerned about the lone buck.

I'm being a little of a worry wart. I lost three of my favorites last year in the polar vortex mess. I was heartbroken about that, and do not want a repeat.

 

[grumpy]

You've got a dandy headed your way right now.....

I've got all my herd inside the barn, so I'm not much help to you.
The main thing is keeping them dry, out of the wind, and no drafts.
If you could block off the lower area around the cages, along with what
you've already done, I'd say you should be pretty good.

Best of luck and try to stay warm....

BTW: Depending on "where" that trio comes from may necessitate a
different arrangement than what you're doing at the present.

grumpy.

 

[Miss M]

Yes, like Grumpy says, the key is to keep them dry and out of the wind. Whatever you can do to that end will be very helpful.

The one exposed side may need just a little wind protection (eastern exposure, for example) or it may need a lot. Figuring wind protection while keeping good circulation can be tricky.

Our rabbitry is made of fence pickets on three sides. The pickets are spaced mostly 1/2" - 1" apart, depending on their location and the curvature of the wood. The north side is wire, except the extension, which is pickets. In winter, we cover the wire with visqueen. The spacing of the pickets in the rest of the rabbitry gives the circulation the rabbits (and chickens) need, while not allowing any real drafts.

You can give the buns boxes of hay for added protection, if you feel you need to. They could get quite soiled, or you may have neat rabbits. It's safest to take the tape off of the boxes, and put them back together with hot glue. You can completely close the boxes up, and then cut holes in the sides about 6" in diameter. Stuff with hay, and they might love them. Or ignore them. :roll:

Good luck! :clover:

 

[michaels4gardens]

You've got a dandy headed your way right now.....

I've got all my herd inside the barn, so I'm not much help to you.
The main thing is keeping them dry, out of the wind, and no drafts.
If you could block off the lower area around the cages, along with what
you've already done, I'd say you should be pretty good.

Best of luck and try to stay warm....

BTW: Depending on "where" that trio comes from may necessitate a
different arrangement than what you're doing at the present.

grumpy.

Like said above, in the winter, all livestock should be 1 warm, 2 dry, and 3 draft free, if you can't have all 3 you must have at least 2
of the above, if they cant be warm, they must be dry and draft free. [rabbits will fail fast if they are wet]
in an emergency you can do as mentioned above, give them a cardboard box with straw or hay stuffed loosely in it, and a single 6 inch diameter hole for them to get in to it, they will move the hay enough to make a place to snuggle in.

 

[Silver Cloud]

These might be too small for you but we like to use paper boxes from Staples or Office Max ( the ones that hold reams of paper) for nest boxes and such no tape just glued and if a flap comes loose I use a cheap zip tie to hold them together.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

Our rabbits are in barns now but for years we kept them outside. On the south side of a large garage building. Used tarps to cover the hutches - weighted them down so they wouldn't blow all over the place. If it was a nice day, we'd leave the tarps up so long as the wind wasn't too bad. For bad days, we just let the tarps stay down - enough light made it through them.

Just make sure that your hutches/pens are protected on the north side or whichever side the wind is likely to come from. As everyone else has said: #1 Keep them dry. #2 Just as important - keep them out of the wind and/or cold drafts. #3 Give them a box in which to keep warm. Often, if #1 and #2 are covered, they can take care of #3 themselves.

Make sure they have plenty to eat (to generate internal warmth) and fresh water to drink. If it gets to freezing there, you may have to water them more than once a day. As your fingers grow numb from switching out frozen water crocks, just give thanks you don't raise rabbits in North Dakota or the likes.

I'm sure your rabbits are much more used to high temperatures rather than the cold and freezing temps. Good luck to you. Let us know how it goes.