Rabbits in winter

Hey guys,

Our rabbits are going to face a very supposedly cold winter this year. My Dad has a soft spot for Socks so as well as his groundsheet, he also has a double thick blanket over his hutch and run, whilst our others have a groundsheet and extra straw for bedding.
They would be in a shed if we had enough room for one - of course when we're settled in our new home they will be getting a shed (more like a garage with the size of their hutches ) for them all mainly cos of the vast amount of foxes around in the area.

What do you do for your bunnies in winter?

And does anyone know how to stop water bottles freezing over - other than buying those cover things that I dont really find work?

I put a layer of bubble wrap then a layer of tin foil round my bottles and that seems to do the trick, if its extra cold i also put a sock over that. Then I just put in extra bedding really but I do know of others that use snuggle safe warmers and even some who warm up a brick in the oven then wrap it in a towel, although I can't say I've tried that myself!!

I never thought of Bricks - it'd just be freezing in the morning - we have those teddies that have a place in the back for hot water bottles - Socks used it as a toilet so it got took out.

Thanks for the tips on the water bottle

Since he has a hutch attached to a run he also has glass from double glazing we ahd took out (the older double glazing) around the ends of his run to stop the wind

Well I just found with mine that no matter what I put in to keep them warm last year they still sat out in the snow so I gave up and thought as there is 6 of them if they were cold they could snuggle up together.

Ahhh we have 8 - 7 at my OH and 1 at mine, non are neutered/spayed so we cant let them live together, I would love to put Mindy and Bambi back together as they came as two "girls" - hence the 5 extra but until we can afford it we cant

My Hare is in a dog "breeder" kennel, he is too big for a hutch. He has a shelf with a fitted cat bed underneath, the same as this one:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...cL._SS400_.jpg

The shelf has straw and hay on it, so does everywhere else and the bed is packed, he makes a nest in it.

Your hare is extremely lucky lol - dont tell my bunnies

Just wanted to say that rabbits are not solitary animals. They should always be kept in pairs.

Ali, your advice sounds spot on in terms of winter rabbit keeping!

Gosh, what a lot of hutches you must have!!!! Where on earth do you put them all? I have my group of six living in the shed then 2 foster buns who live in the conservatory and I'm off to collect a new bun on friday to live with my new little dutch (who wasn't supposed to be staying ) We had a similar incident a few years back with 2 boys that weren't and suddenly 5 new mouths to feed!!!

The easiest way to deal with the water bottles is to wrap them in something.Also I always have had two on the go....One on and the other ready inside to be popped out if I see the other has frozen. We just play swopsies....