Cold
Winter can be a dreadful season for outside bunnies especially. Newborn bunnies suffer most of the attack, since their fur coat is so thin. Even if you do have two bunnies to cuddle with one another, this may not be enough. If you are to breed year round and keep up the bunny business, the best go to would be finding a warm shed or a warm garage; even then the cold can still creep in. Since the cold weather is such an issue with baby bunnies, I don’t breed during the harsh snow. Even a light snow can be enough to kill a baby bunny. Baby bunnies are really sensitive to cold weather, especially at night time.
During the snowy season, and even in the summertime, your bunny should be supplied with lots of hay or straw to nibble on or snuggle up with. Greens should be part of your bunnies daily diet, if not eating hay, then they should always have the option of eating other shoots of green plants. Your bunny should be fed greens and shoots frequently and often. Your bunnies cage should be stocked with enough hay or straw to burrow into when the snow hits hard. Having hay is like supplying the bunny with a blanket to wrap up with. Fur isn’t always enough to keep them warm from the chilling cold. One time I had a rex bunny. When the snow hit, I noticed her begin building a hay structure. Her structure was amazing, like a tunnel of green tangled hay-strands. She was creating this for a litter to come, but since we didn’t want winter bunnies out in the snow, we moved her indoors.
Even wild snow shoe rabbits do not spend all their time out in the snow. Yes, they are out long periods of time to scavage for scarce shoots and roots, but their fur does not keep them warm forever. Their white fur works just like a coat, trapping their body heat inside like an insulator, but eventually like a coat, the trapped heat will exscape and the raw icy snow will begin to settle in and freeze them.
When a bunny is exposed to the cold weather, bunnies will begin to search for a source of warmth. If there is nothing, and they cannot burrow, they crouch and shiver, trying to keep all their heat inside them. If in a ventilated cage, wind can be very harsh. A cuddle buddy won’t be enough to keep the bunnies warm. A blockade for the wind is needed. Covering the hutch with a blanket, tarp, or some kind of protector sheet will barricade the wind from the bunnies and keep out a large portion of icy wind out.
One time I owned a colony of rabbits in a big fox run cage. One half was opened with only wire walls surrounding, while the other half was split into two sections of boarded wood. When the snows came all of them would head for the boarded side, snuggling up with one another to keep each other warm.
Another factor of blocking cold out is building a simple plywood box. Plywood boxes for bunnies are small, so don’t use a lot of wood, but serve as a big facter in helping the bunnies stay warm. In the severity of a snowstorm this small square box acts as a shield, blocking out the main force of the cold wind. Plywood boxes help keep the bunny warm as the sheet does, but also provides a toy the bunny can play with and chew on. I have a bunny who will sit on her little ledge whenever I come out. It is important to have wood inside the cage with the bunny to keep it’s teeth down.
When a bunny is freezing and shivering, a quick thing to do that will help warm a bunny up fast is filling a disposable glove with warm water. This can be used and re-used as many times as wanted, as long as it never breaks. Placing heated gloves on your bunny provides another factor of warmth to cuddle up with.
Whenever I get a new litter of bunnies and they are not doing well, I put a warm glove out near them so they have the option to snuggle up. Never put a hot glove on top of a bunny. The shock of heat can be bad for the bunny, the bunny should be warmed up slowly.
Another source of heat I have used on bunnies is heat lamps. Heat lamp works really well warming up, though not all bunnies appreciate the lamp’s company.
Once I had a bunny who had recently had a new litter. I was concerned with the bunnies well-being since it was snowy and cold, so I placed a heatlamp above them. Bad idea, the mother hated the heatlamp and kept trying to knock the lamp down. So, I ended up removing the heatlamp and moving the bunnies to the garage. Not all bunnies do good with heatlamps spacing up their cage. Some strategies for warming up your bunny might work better than others. Maybe your bunny doesn’t like wooden boxes for some reason, maybe all they do is nibble away at the waving blanket.
If in doubt, you can always bring your bunny into a well insulated shed a heated garage, or just inside your house. There are many different ways to keep your bunny snuggly and warm during a cold winters night. To prevent your bunny suffering from cold, take the initiative and start ahead of time preparing for winter. Build a box home for your bunny. Replenish your bunny with lots of straw, get a tarp. Preparing early will reduce future sufferings and help your bunny be the happiest it can be when winter comes.
Hot
Ever seen a hot bunny? Do you know the signs of a bunny suffering from being too hot? Have you ever seen your pet bunny breathing much faster than regular? Well, breathing fast is one way bunnies try to cool themselves off. Some reasons your bunny may be suffering in the hot weather may be: Lack of shade, lack of water, lack of ventilation, or in need of some fruity ice-pops and a nice frozen water bottle to cuddle up with.
Ways to prevent a bunny from getting too hot is by: letting your bunny out for a run to stretch its legs and let the wind cool it off. A short run is important for bunnies. Bunnies need their exercise as much as we do, possibly more. Bunnies enjoy a run in the yard, your bunny should have at least 15 minutes to run every day. Toys to keep the bunny entertained while sitting in a small cage is important, toys include, or can be: toilet paper rolls, cat toys that make noise, bells, and logs to jump over or climb on. Bunnies love elevation, they love climbing and hopping onto higher ledges, like a chicken, when bunnies are higher they feel more secure and safe. One time I had a bunny that whenever I let into the yard he would come racing to a certain log, leap over it, then repeat the process several times. Keeping your bunny entertained is healthy for your bunny and keeps it happy.
Avoid housing your bunny in a air-tight garage or any other enclosures that are air deprived. Your bunnies need as much ventilation as possible to breathe healthy air and stay alive. Trapped inside a stuffy garage or shed can be very dangerous if not managed properly. Keep a fan generating at all times, or prop a window and door open to allow fresh cool air in. Back when I was first getting into bunnies, I bought some bunnies from one guy who was selling the last of his rabbits. Almost all of his rabbits had died due to exposure of the heat.
Your bunny should always have some way of breathing in clean air. If your rabbit is kept inside a closed garage or shed you need to have a blowing fan. A running fan in a hot garage can make a big difference in blocking out all the stuffy heat and will keep the room at a good temperature for your bunny to be safe.
Outside bunny hutches should be well ventilated with lots of airway passage. Never use a hutch that is boarded up on all sides, this can be very bad for the bunny. Try to oriente the cage into a well shaded area, so it is not directly under the sun. It is okay to have part of the cage boarded, but there should be a side of the cage with free ventilation.
There are several ways to cool a bunny off when you can clearly see your bunny is suffering from being overheated. Signs include: Lying down, breathing fast, hot ears, slavering, panting, and acting uninterested. If your bunny shows any of these signs, immediately start cooling them off. Bunnies can suffer from heatstroke by too much exposure to the sun and need to be cooled off as soon as possible if this happens.
A quick way to instantly cool a bunny off and bring the bunny from burning up to a cooler temperature is to pour water onto the bunnies flank. Pouring small portions of water onto the bunny will decrease risks of heat stroke give the bunny some refreshing coolness. Using cold water to splash in small doses, helps cool the bunny off at a faster rate than other cooling strategies. Dumping the bunny in water is not a good idea since it shocks the bunnies heart which can also be bad for the bunny.
Offering up an iced water dish is always a good idea. The bunny should always be replenished with lots of water. Never let your bunnies water dish empty. Without water, the bunny is much more prone to hydration which will only worsen it’s suffering under the sun. Providing cold icy water should prevent the bunny from getting too hot and keep the bunny happy and healthy. Water should always be available for your bunny. If the weather gets too hot, the bunny can lap up some cold water and be chilled.
In the heat of the summer, when the sun is always flaring the air and singing the tips off everything, a collection of frozen water bottles should be left out all day, then taken out as the air begins to chill with noon. You shouldn’t have to wait till you notice a panting bunny to place the water bottles inside. Pressing up a cold water bottle to a hot rabbit can help cool the bunny off, but it is better if the iced bottle is left out in the summer always as an option, rather than waiting until a desperate moment when the bunny needs the iced water. Never place an iced bottle on a baby bunny as the shock of the cold water can be as deadly as a heatstroke.
Frozen fruit or frozen vegetables serve as a delicious treat as well as keeping the bunnies temperatures even. Fruit should only be fed occasionally, not daily since these are treats, not part of a meal. Bunnies also need to be of age to be eating fruits and vegies(6 months old). It is dangerous to eat fruit or vegetables before the 6 months, since young bunnies digestive systems are weaker and sometimes cannot handle the fruits and veggies. Lastly, keeping your bunny well stocked with water, in a cool area(this can be shade, fan, ventilation), or where the bunny can get to someplace cool are some ways to help your bunny stay safe from problems that come from heat and high temperatures.
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