Winterizing your outdoor rabbits hutch

 Do you live in cold winter climates? I live where the winter can bring any where from  the 60°'s to -20°'s. We have wind, rain, snow and friged temps.  I am not able to move my hutch inside a barn or garage, that is recommended.  This is my solution for  wintertime and outdoor rabbits. 

Rabbits live outside all year in the wild, they just need to find shelter, holes underground, and brush piles in well covered areas are preferred.  They like 60° weather down to 40°. Under 40° to 20° for short times they are ok if they have shelter that is protected by the  wind.  So it is totally fine to keep your rabbits outside, just give them protection from wind and cold.  I have saved bubble wrap to enclose and insulate my hutch, other recommendations are tarps or blankets, but with blankets it is recommended to cover with plastic sheeting.

It is important to leave a area open so there is always fresh air. It is common sense to leave your door area open for easy access for feeding.  I clipped the end with a reg office paper clip and stapled the wrap together to get the correct length.  I doubled for extra protection and stapled the pieces together.  Then tightly wrapped around and clipped again on the other side. I then wrapped the top of my hutch, I first covered  the open door using a hand towel.  I put a few blankets inside my hutch for the rabbits to nest in. Then wrapped the top with a simular method, with no wire I stappled the ends together and then stapled to lower wrap to keep it from blowing off.

I also will up my feed in the winter and add a 3 or 4 sunflower seeds 🌻when it will be extra cold.  Sunflower seeds are great to help with heating their internal temperature. They will need the extra calories to keep warm.

I hope this helps you to have happy bunnies this winter😉🐇🐇

Update, we had 3 days of temperatures below 20° and the rabbits did very well, the water did freeze, so it is important to check and give fresh water often. I also filled a milk jug with hot water to set beside the water bottle, this helped to keep the water unfrozen longer.

Exercise your rabbits

 Hello, Its been a few since I posted.  I recently attached a exercise pen to my hutch. The purpose was to make the living space larger, now that they have gotten full grown. It also gives them ample room to run laps. I was hoping they would have had fresh grass longer but within a few days they had munched ALL of it.  

I let them out into pen a few hours a day.  Anytime you can help your rabbit to stay heathy by getting exercise is so beneficial. When it is raining or snowing I leave them in the hutch. Rabbits are susceptible to respiratory diseases getting wet can lower their immune system. 

This is how I built my pen.  I started out trying to purchase just a pen to attach, but I was having trouble finding something that would be functional for my space.  So I seen this pen and ordered it thinking that it would work with no extra changes.

I put it together opened the hutch it seemed great, then Copper my male rabbit got his head and front paw through the openings!  OOPS! This is not for my size rabbits.  To fix this I got a roll of chicken wire.  With my husband's help we wrapped it around the outside of the pen. Then we secured the wire into place with some post.  It has been up for a few months now and has worked great! I hope this helps someone who is also looking to make more living space for their rabbits.

Please leave me comments and if you also raise rabbits and have a blog leave your link to your blog in the comments I love learning from others.

DIY 4 day Hay feeder

Hello, I am not the "inventor" type, however I am the "how can this be done easier" type. I need to go away for a few days and although I do have someone who can check on my rabbits I want to make it easy for them.

My hutch sits on the ground and the doors are low.  It would not be easy for my brother-in-law to get down and reach in to fetch the feeding pan. So I wanted to try to set up a feeding system that could last several days. I looked on line but very few hay feeders are for more than 1 rabbit and only for a day or two. Rabbits are social and they dont reccomend leaving them alone.  My 3 rabbits being together that is not a concern.

I needed something big so I went to the dollar store looking for a plastic type basket/pan that I thought would work.  I purchased 2 dish pans. I figured only a $1 each might as well have a back up it if made a mistake in my plan.

Next I drew approximately two inch circles where the rabbits would eat from. Then with a small paring knife I cut the holes and a smaller hole in the bottom .

Once it was cut I took a corrigated plastic sheet, they can be found at most hardware stores. Cut it the width and about 8 inches longer than my pan.  I had to trim the handle of the pan off to make it set flush. 

Next I used that handy ol' duct tape!

I taped around the bottom and up 2/3 's of each side. Then I bent the cardboard back to leave a hole to fill the pan.

With wire I put through the top hole on each side and bent it back so I could attach to the cage

Under I placed a wooden fruit container that I wired to the cage so the bunnies would not drag it around,or spill it.

I stuffed the pan with Timothy hay and then  sprinkle 3/4 cup pellets about 1/4 way up then repeated till it was stuffed tight. Then I folded the card board back up.  Now I left enough extra cardboard incase I needed to extend the pan. I then filled the box underneath. I have 3 rabbits in my hutch and I continued to give them about 2 cups of fresh grass or clover each day.  The feeder did not need refilled for 4 days !! I filled it on a Thursday morning and on Monday morning there was still a little hay in the box under the feeder.  I filled it again and had the same outcome. 

When I leave for my trip I will feel confident that my bunnies will not run out of food. I also have 2 large water bottles and a small drip pan under that last several days. 

I hope this helps you to either ease the time spent on daily chores or like me be able to leave with less worries! If you have any tips for leaving your outside rabbits please leave them in the comments below. Have a great day!

The big escape

It was like any other morning. I went down to the hutch to feed and water the rabbits. I did not know how it could have happened, but the hutch door was open! I looked in the top of the hutch and no rabbits!!

 So I started to call their names.  Out from the pine trees here came Silvia, I had some romaine lettuce and a few blueberries for todays treat. She came right up to me to snack, so I gently guided her into the hutch. Wow that was easy!

Now where are those other 2 at?  

I started to look around and just about 10 feet away was Opal, now Opal has always been the most skittish of the three, this could be tricky.

I slowly walked up to her and she came towards me a little.  Then it was like she realized what my plan was and turned real fast and headed under a bush, of course in the opposite direction of the hutch😒.

Meanwhile my husband came out of the house and joined in the search for Copper, As he walked towards the pine trees Copper popped out. Silvia was in the cage, so he got her to go up the ramp, opened the hutch door and he was able to get Copper back in the cage to eat the goodies in the pan. 2 down 1 to go 🙃

Now back to Opal by this time she had decided to venture near our deck, of course I have flowers planted so she had a snack! She managed to stay in and under the deck ALL DAY!

She would come out close enough to eat from my hand but would not let me catch her.  My husband and I decided she had played long enough! We have to be able to outsmart her,  right?  Long story we managed to get her chased back down towards the hutch where she decdied the pine trees were her new home for the next couple hours.

  I knew Copper came in for blueberries so got a few more blueberries and placed them near a  inside the open door, I then got the other rabbits to come to the other side and was hand feeding them by hand and keeping them occupied.  It worked she wanted to have the sweet snack as she interned the cage I jumped to the other side and closed the door!!! 

Lesson learned always check the latches!!

Babies on the way ?

 A few weeks ago we suspected that one or both of our females had been bred. Without knowing for sure, I was given advice to observe them for any behavior changes.  Such as, were they drinking more water, or gaining weight?

Opal and Silvia were the same size when they arrived, Opal started growing faster. She is noticeably larger than Silvia now. I also have noticed her drinking more often. Is Opal pregnant? I'm still not positive, but wanting to be prepared, I purchased a nesting box.

Then I started checking into how to prepare the box.  The first step is to line the bottom of your box with cardboard.  This helps keep any potty messes pulled away from the kits, the strong amonia smell can be harmful.

Next, fill your box with as much hay as you can.  I had some grass hay that the bunnies  didn't care to eat.  I used that and added Timothy hay also. The female will eat and move the hay until she has made a nest. She will also pull her hair to make her nest extra warm for her kits.

Rabbits have a gestation period of 30 days. The box should be put into her cage around day 28 of pregnancy. Without being sure what day she was bred I decided two days ago to put it in.  This is about 3 weeks after my suspicions.  It is a few days early.  Many articles I read do not reccomend putting in that soon, because they may use it as a litter box.  But I figured better safe then sorry.

The last few days I've been checking for signs of fur being pulled.  So far no hair, but noticed the hay has been burrowed into a nest.  

Any guess of how many she may have? Or is Opal even pregnant? Or is Silvia pregnant ? I will keep you updated!

UPDATE: No kits, we were not pregnant this time. 

Rabbits and Hot summer days

 This weekend is going to be in the 90's, this means a little extra care for your rabbits is needed.

Give them PLENTY of fresh water, I have a second water bottle I put on my hutch along with a small tray underneath to catch the drops, so as not to loose any on the ground.

I also keep frozen water bottles  in the freezer to put in the hutch. I put them in a white 100% cotton sock tie the top and fold the extra down over the bottle.  My rabbits dont chew on the sock but some may, so you want a safe material. The frozen bottle is for them to lay beside to cool down.   

I also make sure they have plenty of shade. There are a few things that can be done.  My hutch sets where it gets plenty of shade nestled by some huge pine trees, but there is a bit of the day where the sunshine comes in. I put a hand towel clipped to part of the cage over the water bottles.  This serves two purposes, first to help keep water cooler and second it will blow and let any breeze in while blocking the sun.  

Hot days are a great day to give juicy treats like grapes and apple slices, only a few per bunny.  This will also give some hydration to your bunnies.  I hope these suggestions help you to keep your bunnies cool too.

What species of trees are safe for my rabbits?

 Hello, we had a huge storm come through the other evening and branches were all over our yard. So 5,6, pick up sticks, it was clean up time.  I saw a wild rabbit chewing on the pile I had made. It caused me to wonder, which trees are safe for rabbits to chew.   I have given my rabbits sugar maple but had not really checked out all types of trees.

So off to the internet to see what were the dos and dont's of feeding trees to my rabbits.  There are definitely some trees to avoid.  So I included a list of dos and don'ts to share with you. 

Cottonwood snack

Here is the Do feeding list.

apple

ash

aspen

bamboo

blackberrry

blackcurrant

cottonwood

crabapple

dogwood 

elm

hawthorn

hazelnut 

magnolia

manzanita

maple- sugar and silver

mulberry 

pear -  it is recommended to dry pear branches

pecan

pine - kiln-dried white

poplar

sycamore

willow (but not white willow) 

The Dont feed list

almond

apricot

beech

birch

black locust

black lotus

blackwood

box elder

buckthorn

cashew

cedar

cherry

chesnut

chokeberry

citrus woods - orange, lemon, grapefruit, etc.

cypress

ebony

elderberry

eucalyptus

fir

hemlock

holly - toxic also berries

honey locust

hydrangea 

juniper

kumquat

laurel

mesquite

myrtle

nectarine

oak 

oleander...these are HIGHLY TOXIC

peach

pine - fresh, pressure treated, red -- kiln dried is thought to be safe

plum

redwood

sandalwood

sequoia

spruce

teak

walnut

weeping fig

white willow

yew

If you have a tree not on the list assume it is toxic , better to be safe than sorry 😉

Giving your rabbit sticks to chew is so important in keeping their teeth filed down. If a rabbit's  teeth are long it will be hard for them to eat and causes many heath issues.

I know my bunnies will be enjoying more branches. I hope this will help you also! 

Have a great day!  Leave any comments or questions below.  

Bunnies and puppy beagles

My husband and I have had beagles for many years. We have raised several litters about 1 every other year.  I have been teased about having rabbits and beagles at the same time.  For those who do not know it is in a beagles nature is to hunt and chase bunnies.

 My husband goes to the trials and does well with our dogs. He has successfully made several into champions.  Beagle hunting is a sport that scores the dogs on their performance.  Rabbits are not harmed. Today I thought I would share some pictures of my puppy beagles and a few more rabbit pics of course:)

They found a perfect place for naps 🌻

The rabbits  are in a different part of our yard and so the puppies have not found the hutch.  Here are a few early pictures of Copper, Opal and Silvia. They have grown so much already.

What are the pets or animals you have?  If you are enjoying this blog hit Follow to recieve notifications. 😉 I hope you are having a great Sunday !

Nature's Toys

 I hope you are having a happy day!  It is important to give your bunnies a good day too.  I like to give them something to keep them busy. Have you seen the prices of bunny toys? $$$ Not in my budget!  I started thinking what about rabbits in the wild?  Off to Google and searched what can rabbits chew safely. Here are some of Copper, Silvia, and Opal's favorite things.

I found a long maple tree stick and stuck it across the cage.

The rabbits take turns tring to pull it, not only do they keep entertained  but it is fun to watch them go at it too! 

Grape vines.  Dry them out for a day or two for extra texture.

The bunnies will love the flavor of these and chewing on them.  I make sure I have one for each bunny.  I give these at a different time of day then feeding time. I want to make sure that it is a extra activity for them during the day.

A great treat is pinecones,  any type of variety is good.  Wash them first in warm water to remove sap, it could make a mess on your bunnies fur. Then dry them till they open up or you can put them in the oven on a low setting 200-215 for 1hr to speed up the process.

I hope you try these FREE toys for your rabbits. I would love to hear any other ideas you have leave in the comments please.  Sharing is always welcome!

Feeding clover

Feeding clover is great nutrition for your rabbits. They will eat it from your hand and this will help to build a bond between you and your bunnies.

Traditional clover found in your yard has the small white flowers and it is all edible, leaves, stems, stalks, flowers. Clovers are good source of proteins, iron, calcium, vitamin C, manganese, sodium, and vitamins A, C, K, among other nutrients.

We have also bought a pack of wild red clover seeds and made a patch for wild rabbits and deer. So I gather some of that also.

I like to feed all my bunnies in the same bowl this works well for me. I put fresh or treats on the bottom then add pellets and hay on top.

I hope you are enjoying my blog.  If you have any questions put them in the comments below.  I will find the answers if I haven’t already researched it 😄🐇

My journey raising rabbits

Hello,
  My name is Shelly I first got interested in raising Tennessee Redback rabbits when a friend of ours brought a baby bunny over. I thought they were so cute. 

I started researching. I watched many You Tube videos, the process of daily chores seemed manageable with my schedule. There were so many different views that I took notes and checked veterinary sites for definitive answers.  I really liked the way rabbits are raised in a colony so I wanted to do that, it was time to research  housing. 

What type of hutch would I need? I wanted it to look nice and be functional. This hutch is 36 sq foot, with a ramp to run and jump. Most sites recomended 6 sq foot per rabbit. So this is more than adequate. HIT BUY!

My rabbits were delivered to me on July 4th, 2020 (a year we are all going to remember). I have 1 buck, His name is Copper and he is about 4 weeks older than the 2 does.
Copper was friendly from the beginning while the young does were a little skittish.  The grey I call Silvia and the red I call Opal.
After a week Silvia began eating out of my hand and would let me pet her. Opal will eat out of my hand but doesn't care to be petted.

They eat mostly Timothy hay and a few pellets about 1/2 cup a day and about 1 cup of fresh foods. That ranges from clover, watermelon rinds, celery chopped, a little carrots, and wheat and barley fodder I have grown.

It has been a great learning experience and I hope to be having kits soon.