Keeping Bunnies warm in this cold weather.

It's very very cold during the day at the moment and even colder during the night and for those of you with outside sheds, or hutches or even inside cages/hutches you may need a little extra warmth for your bunnies.

Lots of extra hay that they can hide in or cover themselves up in, a heat pad (Snugglesafe) is always welcome and they do use them, a lot will sit with their two front paws on it. A square of vet bed is also nice and warm for them to sit on. Newspaper on the floor of the hutch with lot's of hay on the top of it will keep them extra warm.
Straw is also good to use as it doesn't flatten and keep's the warmth in.

You can buy shed heaters but the safest ones are the circular ceramic tube heaters which you can buy from 'Tool Station' and you can also get a guard to go over it , but you just have to be careful the rabbit's can't get near the cable. These heaters make a big difference to a cold shed and less than a light bulb to run.

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Heating/Electric%20Heaters%20&%20Dryers/Tubular%20Heater/d230/sd3168/p32265

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Heating/Electric%20Heaters%20&%20Dryers/Tubular%20Heater%20Guard/d230/sd3168/p48989

Make sure shed's and outside hutches have no hole's anywhere or they will let the cold or damp in so just check them for repair.

Make sure outside hutches are raised off the ground so the bottom of the hutch doesn't get damp. If your hutch has no legs on it get 4 house bricks and put them at each corner.

You can cover outside hutches with tarpaulin, put an old duvet over first and then tarpaulin for extra warmth but make sure you leave some ventilation so the rabbit/rabbit's can breathe.

I'm sure most of you know all this but I do worry about bunnies in the Winter in outside hutches and especially now as we are suppose to be having an icy cold Winter. Also if where you live is prone to flooding then you must raise your outside hutch well off the ground at a height that the rabbit's would be safe.

I almost lost bella through the night, I didnt realise she ate all her bedding, going out in the dark didnt help, I couldnt see inside it. Last night it was -1. Charlies house is warm & cosey, rosie & smokey have each other to keep cosey plus i fill the bed area in the rose cottage hutch, but bellas heap of rubbish playhouse just cant keep heat in. So I went & filled the dogs crate with straw inside the psyhouse stuffing straw down the back & the sides. Will check on her in few hours make sure its still warm. Then again before bed. So yip its very important & I nealy lost my litle angel.

It's actually warmer outside here now than it was at noon!

We still have the thick white frost/light snow that hasn't lifted since Friday

It has been freezing all weekend. Brr!!

It's raining here - just for a change.

- 5 here, has been for about 24 hours now. I'm warming the heat pads up very 8 hours. I've never seen a bunny show interest in them before, but just as you've described, Maysie, Binky had his front paws on it for warmth.

Brilliant advice Maysie xxxxx

Ideas how to stop water bowls freezing? A friend has asked.

Put warm water in it if its in a bowl & change it regularly.

Its SNOWINGGGGGGGG

Sue_pawz wrote:Ideas how to stop water bowls freezing? A friend has asked.

Really there is no answer as there isn't anything that really stop's it completely from freezing, warm water is good like Lynn said but even that will freeze overnight when it's really cold.
The best thing is to just have an empty dish on standby and refill with fresh water.

I was watching a video the other night on You Tube about looking after feral cat's in the Winter and the rescue used heated water bowls which I thought were a brilliant idea if you could hide the cable but they are in America and I haven't seen any here.

Some people say a few drops of glycerine in the water work but we haven't tried it as I would be worried that the rabbit didn't like the taste and wouldn't drink the water.

I used to put a snuggle safe under the water dish last year as Shadow used to drink a whole bowl of water in an 8 hour period so I worried about him not being able to drink during the night if it was really cold. It worked really well but not sure it lasted for the whole night.

I've found of the 3 water bowls I've got for the outdoor bunnies that the two ceramic ones seem to be always frozen and the plastic one (touch wood) hasn't frozen over yet, I don't know if it's coincidence but the ceramic is so cold that it can't help and might just maintain lower temperature of the water.

Big Ears wrote:I used to put a snuggle safe under the water dish last year as Shadow used to drink a whole bowl of water in an 8 hour period so I worried about him not being able to drink during the night if it was really cold. It worked really well but not sure it lasted for the whole night.

I've found of the 3 water bowls I've got for the outdoor bunnies that the two ceramic ones seem to be always frozen and the plastic one (touch wood) hasn't frozen over yet, I don't know if it's coincidence but the ceramic is so cold that it can't help and might just maintain lower temperature of the water.

That's a brilliant idea

If anybody is wanting to order Snugglesafes Amazon is the cheapest so far that I have found at £12.90p with free delivery.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B0014LJKUA/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

Excellent advice Maysie/everyone. Would microwaving a crockery bowl until it was HOT then placing a plastic bowl that nested in it but covered it and that filled with warm water work for overnight? the outside of the crockery bowl would cool fast enough so as not to burn them. I found a number of bowls that had wire-wrapped, chew-resistant cords.....but my Rory is defeating our cord covers! I've had several buns that were energetic chewers and they never got through them. He actually chewed through the hard plastic grating of our baby gate! My son was unable to cut through it with the little saw he pinched from his dad's tool box!

I found a microwavable Pet Bed insert. Nuke it and then place it under the hay where they sleep. Supposed to last up to 12 hours. Since some bunnies are given to chewing, if it were me I'd put it under a vet bed or blankie.
MICROWAVE HEATED PET BED INSERT


*edit: Did I mention it is 7:45 PM here and it is 26 C that's right Celsius not F

I wouldnt make it hot tbh, I was thinkingog warming the bowls plus wam water, will freeze but wont as quickly so just kep swapping it for fresh dishes & water.

Believe it or not, warm water can freeze faster than cold water: The Mpemba Effect.

Humum doesn't remember there being an issue with the outdoor bowls completely freezing last winter, perhaps because the inside of the shed didn't get cold enough with the buns body heat in there.

If there is an issue this winter, she is thinking of popping one of our plastic playpit balls in each bowl to help prevent the ice forming on the top in the first place.

I thought I had heard something about warm water freezing faster than cold, but couldn't remember it it was right! Thanks Sparky the Intellectual Ban

A friend tried putting a ball in the bowls recently, and it worked brilliantly. She did a compare and contrast - one bowl with ball, one without!

Sparky wrote:Believe it or not, warm water can freeze faster than cold water: The Mpemba Effect.

Well I just read the link and as I read it was like the voice of Dr Sheldon Cooper explaining it to me

Big Ears wrote:

Sparky wrote:Believe it or not, warm water can freeze faster than cold water: The Mpemba Effect.

Well I just read the link and as I read it was like the voice of Dr Sheldon Cooper explaining it to me

me too!!!!

Would a fishing cork work too? The little plastic ones that sit ha;f in and half out of the water.

Hi,

Just ordered a tube heater (1 ft 60W) the first one broke really quickly. I have ordered a guard too.

Heat pads are good but I find they are cold in the morning.

I worry about leaving the tube heater on unattended - is there any fire hazard associated with using them?

paullp wrote:Hi,

Just ordered a tube heater (1 ft 60W) the first one broke really quickly. I have ordered a guard too.

Heat pads are good but I find they are cold in the morning.

I worry about leaving the tube heater on unattended - is there any fire hazard associated with using them?

The tube heaters are suppose to be the safest to use, I've just found this about them

They can be used in a variety of environments:

Greenhouses, Garages, Cloakrooms, Offices, Workshops, Conservatories, Spare Rooms, Sheds, Boats, Toilets, Villas, Airing cupboards, Pet enclosures, Utility rooms, Porches, Wardrobes, Caravans, Offices, Lofts!

]Please note: The surface temperatures of the tubular heaters exceed >60C! We would always advise customers to purchase a tubular heater guard (see related products) if the heater is to be used in a confined space or where they are required in close contact with people / animals or for areas close to clothing such as wardrobes and small cupboards!

The snugglesafe heat pads are about the best for the hours of heat they give, but yes they are cold by morning we have quite a few snugglesafes and we just reheat them as soon as we get up. We buy them when they are on offer as they are not cheap.

Thanks! If they are safe in wardrobes then it should be ok in the hutch. Its -6 outside now, they have their snugglesafes but they are getting noms from their eggbox at the moment so are out in the run!

It is absolutely bitter today - and I just can't stop thinking of all the poor bunnies who don't have loving homes and are freezing cold