Is he okay in the rain?

Hi all,

My Buns has decided he prefers outdoors these days - doesn't come indoors much anymore. I was worried at first but he seems happy and healthy.

However, it is currently pouring with rain and he is sat outside, in the cold, behind his favourite bush in the garden!! Is he okay, am I worrying too much? I've tried to coax him in but he having none of it.

Being a first time bunny mum I do worry!

Thanks.

Sounds like he's loving it He'll come in when he's ready

Hiya, about 20 mins after I posted he popped up by the door waiting to be let in!!! I think I worry too much but can't help it - he was quite an indoorsy bunny for a while but if he happy out in rain....... good luck to him lol

I don't blame you - he looks a right stunner if that's him in your avatar :luv:

Mine do that too. They sit outside in the rain and snow. I was checking them when I came in from work. Both sat outside in what was almost blizzard conditions. I pushed my fingers deep into Wolfie's fur and he was really toasty warm. Gloria was the same. I tend to give mine a bit more food in the winter so they get a bit chubbier then cut back in spring.

aww thanks he is pretty cute - need to get some updated photos on here - he got so blinking big!

will have a feel in his fur when he goes outside again and check he is warm. i do worry. i hate the fact that some of his straw is wet he sits on but he doesn't seem to care!!!!

the majority of his gaff is covered in tight tarpaulin and he has got a massive car blanket over too. do you think he will be warm enough with winter coming? there is a small bit that is open to elements but considering he never goes inside to sleep (that I know of) should I be doing more, esp when the frost kicks in?? god I feel like i have another child tee hee

noted re the food - will bump it up on the food front!

Sounds like he'll be sweltering in there! But seriously, you'll be able to tell if he's not keeping warm enough and then you can add more straw/hay or give him a snugglesafe

snugglesafe - is that one of them heat pod things?

how will i know if he isn't warm enough though - will i see him shivering?!!!

sorry for the questions!

proudmummy wrote:snugglesafe - is that one of them heat pod things?

Yep, they're great even if bunny doesn't need it - I used to use it for my back before we got a sofa

proudmummy wrote:how will i know if he isn't warm enough though - will i see him shivering?!!!!

Like NickieM said he'll fell warm right at his skin - where warm air is trapped by his fur; if he doesn't feel (as) warm then you'll know he's not

thanks ladies.... am off to give him a poke ha ha

will get one of them snuggle things - seen them advertised.

xx

They have two kinds of fur. A kind of downy layer that traps air close to their skin and another layer of thick coarser hair - guard hairs. Their fur is very dense and doesn't wet easily. Their feet have thick pads of matted fur on the bottom which acts like carpet slippers. All in all, they are pretty well designed for the cold as long as they have been allowed to acclimatise.

My buns are outside all the time in winter even snow and frost. I make sure they have plenty of hay in their beds and put thick newspaper down underneath for insulation - then they pee on them!! I also cover their hutch with an old bit of carpet, some bubblewrap and a cover of vinyl to keep off the rain (which at the moment is torrential).

If your bun has been going outside a lot he will have a thick thick coat ready for the winter. The problems occur if a rabbit is not acclimatised to being outside and is suddenly put out. That's when they will be cold because their bodies won't be prepared.

proudmummy wrote:thanks ladies.... am off to give him a poke ha ha

will get one of them snuggle things - seen them advertised.

xx

That's really cute!!!! You're so good at the cute little icons.

has he just deleted my reply by running over the keyboard?!! bloody rabbit

proudmummy wrote:bloody rabbit

I think thats the mantra of the average house rabbit owner

try being a palace rabbit owner!!

I gave him a bit of a poke today...his fur isn't that thick but I think his skin felt warm :o He didn't like it much so didn't come near me again ha ha.

He been out in garden most of evening - I swear he loves the ice cold - bloody sadist I say! Have just seen if he wants to come in for a bit - always like to put him to bed late as I'm at work tomorrow and worry about him being in his gaff for 12 hours or more - even though he got loads of space. God I do worry what am I like?!!!

Am gonna put his grub in for night soon so hopefully he will trot in there without me having to chase him round the garden in the dark!

Oh the joys of a loose rabbit and a torch!!! It's like a game between Wolfie and me. Gloria has it sussed. She knows that the hutch has all the food in just before bedtime so she goes in pretty quickly - and eats all the best bits. Wolfie plays around like a norty bun and misses it all. If he can, he breaks back into his run and bolts down the burrow and refuses to come out. In that case he just gets locked in and misses his tea!

I know what you mean about them being locked in for a long time in the winter. I recently got my two a much bigger hutch so during the winter it would be sturdier as we get a lot of wind being at the top of a hill, and much bigger when they are locked in from 3.00 pm to 7.30 am at the peak of winter. But do they appreciate me! *sounds like a Jewish mum*

LOL am glad am not only one worrying! If he in for 12 hours or more I think I am being cruel esp when I let him out and he stretches for ages as if to make a point!

We have found it hard to pick him up so it is harder to get him in of a night...we were advised to keep trying to hold him so he get used to it but it is quite difficult and I got quite nervous when he struggled as I didn't want him to hurt himself.

He has been pretty good lately at going in when food is on offer but I feel tonight he going to play me about the cheeky sod!

I don't pick my two up at all - God the very idea!!! Wolfie shredded my bare arm in the summer when I had the temerity to touch his person. I looked like I had been self-harming. He then hopped off shaking his tail in annoyance like a cat.

I herd my two in using a stick. They are in a 20' x 15' outdoor compound so have lots of wiggle room! I can guarantee that they will go under the hutch and will generally lead me a merry dance - or rather Wolfie does. Gloria is a sucker for food so she's a doddle. Wolfie enjoys this part of the day the most. Just when you think you have him at the open door, he will stop and go under the hutch or just dart away. He is a total ratbag at night

When we were away recently my neighbour let them out every day and fed them, then another friend had the joyous challenge of putting them away at night (but that was OK cos I had to look after their rabbits and they are worse!) We had closed off their A-frame which is inside their compound and where the burrow is located to make it easier, but oh no, they managed to get in and led poor Jason a really bad time. I felt really guilty.

LMAO at ushering them in with a stick - I sometimes use a small tray to herd Buns or we trap him in his pet carrier and hoof him in that way oops

Glad somebody else who doesn't pick them up - sometimes feel a bit odd as rabbit owners are always telling me to persevere. He is my 4 yr old daughter's pet and whilst it would be nice for her to hold him, it doesn't seem to bother her that she can't. He can still be nervous sometimes, we only had him since July 08, but he sits with us, comes over to us and plays little games jumping round us so I think he is comfortable!

This is his hutch - the actual photo is of the hutch, not my garden or Buns!

I am putting off going out there cos it is so bloody cold!

this is a better one, this is our garden

That's the hutch that I toyed with buying, but I was worried that it would get blown over being to tall. Although we have a 16' hedge round the garden, we are at the top of a hill and it can get really stormy in the winter. Last winter we had to sometimes go out and lift the whole hutch with bunnies inside, and move it to an area less exposed when it was stormy. So far the new hutch, it's a Lavender Lodge is a lot more sturdy and seems much more comfortable for them.

I usually put my buns away at 6.00 pm or so because they are such a nightmare to put away. Sometimes it takes two of us to do it if Wolfie is in a particularly devilish mood. A stick is a good thing as you can put it between the buns and their bolt hole and encourage them out from under the hutch gently. Wolfie sometimes bites it and as soon as I pick it up, he knows that he is going to bed, so starts getting hyper and cheeky.

I thought I had them locked out of their run the other night, just to look out of the kitchen window and see Wolfie's bum disappearing through the fencing I had wired on!!! Maybe I should have called him Houdini.

We got the buns, or rather the original bun, Holly, for my 12 year old son who is animal daft. Sadly she died last year. Now we have one each, Wolfie is his and Gloria is mine.

Hi the hutch is fantastic. My DH did not complain once when putting it together cos he said it was so well built - coming from him that is a big thing!!!

We got it on zooplus.co.uk cos they were cheaper than other sites and we got a 10% discount on first order so only paid about £120 when it is normally around £180 or more. Buns loves it although it took him a while to go up the ramp! He hardly ever goes upstairs into the bit with the 'window', very occasionally and he just uses the 'bedroom' section as his toilet tee hee although there is a dent in the hay so he must sleep there occasionally.

Have tried everywhere to get the matching hutch cover - seems hard to get hold of. I did manage one company who took my company then left it 2 weeks before telling me it wasn't available. I got my refund, however they are still advertising it as available on their website so I sent them a complaint, but clearly they don't care!

Your bunnies are cute - I never realised quite how many different types there are!

I dont lift Buu or beau at all either I used a clicker to train them to come when called and check them over when they are flopped