Warm boot recommendations please

[willowr]

Hello. We have just got a 2 year old rabbit from a rescue centre. She was a stray and had been there for 6 months on her own as she did not bond with any others. We brought her home and she seems to be getting happier every day. We need some advice though. Should we shut her in the pod at night to keep her safe and warm? Also, she has tried to take her plastic litter tray out of the pod! We have taken the tray out and just clean the tray daily. Any ideas? Thanks so much for your advice.

[mumblecheekyuggs]

I have a 3 year old lop and she is in a wooden hutch. By pod do you mean you have a rabbit eglu?

I wouldn't worry about her getting lonely as mine has been alone since we got her as she was the last of the litter. Along as you give her a lot of attention she will be fine.

[bigmommasally]

As long as your run is secure from predators then there is no need to shut your bunny in at night. Rabbits are often at their most active late at night and early morning so don't like to be shut away.

My bunnies spend most of the night sitting out in the run and only go into their hutch to sleep during the day or if it is raining heavily.

[willowr]

As long as your run is secure from predators then there is no need to shut your bunny in at night. Rabbits are often at their most active late at night and early morning so don't like to be shut away.

My bunnies spend most of the night sitting out in the run and only go into their hutch to sleep during the day or if it is raining heavily.

Thanks for your advice. I am worried about her getting cold in the night as she has no friend to stay warm with if I don't close the eglu door. Am I being crazy? Will she go in if she gets cold? Hate to think of her being cooped up if she wants to jump around but it is really cold here at night at the moment.

[bigmommasally]

When she was at the rescue centre was she in an outdoor hutch? If she was then she would have grown a winter coat, the only time you would need to worry was if she was a house bunny and you were moving her outside, but then the rescue centre should have told you she was a house rabbit and wouldn't be able to cope with cold weather.

As long as you provide plenty of hay & straw that she can snuggle up in in the eglu then she should be fine with the door open, she can then decide for herself. Rabbits cope much better with cold than we do, last winter in the snow my rabbits would sit out in the snow for quite long periods of time even though I provide a nice warm snuggle heat pad for them they ignored it for the most part

 

PS - I am presuming that you live in the UK and not in the arctic or somewhere equally cold!

[pagesguineas]

Want my honest opinion?

 

Sell the Eglu, buy a shed/ wendyhouse or if no room for one of those a 6ft hutch with 4 x 8ft run.

 

Eglu's really aren't great for rabbits at all, theres nowhere near enough space for them, and it is too draughty to leave the door open in winter, and if it's closed it forces the rabbit to habit a space a similar size to most carrying boxes at the times that they are most active (dawn and dusk)

 

Mine had an Eglu - I hated it so much! I sold it after a month, bought a playhouse off eBay and had a run custom made and link the two via a catflap (all costing less than the Eglu and giving them 4 times the amount of room. I'm actually quite surprised a rescue centre let you rehome in an Eglu as the majority of them would say a big no-no.

 

Both the RWAF and RSPCA recommend an minimum inside space of 12ft (ie a 6 x 2 hutch and outside space of 32ft (4 x 8ft run) giving a total space of 44 sq ft. Eglu inside space, erm....perhaps 4sq ft at a push and outside is something like 16 if I remember rightly.

 

Sorry if that wasn't what you wanted to hear - just my opinion.

[pagesguineas]

To add - re the loneliness, get another bunny.

 

I have never ever heard of a bunny so unsociable that it won't bond with other rabbits. Yes, it may take 10 attemps with different partners but he/she will find one she likes. Get in touch with a local rescue (not the one you got her from if they're giving you advice like that) and ask for some advice, they will most probably offer to take your bun and try him/her with various different partners for you and then bond for you too. Rabbits are very sociable creatures and the RWAF states that it is actually

cruel

to keep a bunny alone, not my words, theirs!

[Flit]

We have a shed/catflap/run setup, and it works well, though obviously it does require you to have the space.

 

I do find my chickens (currently solitary chicken, who like your rabbit seems uncharacteristically happy by herself) can push the Eglu door open by themselves if I don't push the handle down, so it might be worth experimenting to see if your rabbit is strong enough to do this too. Then you could close late at night when its cold, dark and (if) the rabbit has put herself to bed. But I do see my bunnies sitting out quite late at night, so I guess observation is needed...

 

Making the hutch part lovely and warm with plenty of hay will go a long way. It may also be worth putting a layer of Aubiose or similar in the tray at the bottom for insulation as well as its fabulous absorbent properties.

[Lewis]

If you are confident that it's predator proof, I'd leave the door open all the time - that's what we do

 

I know some people don't like eglu's for rabbits and guinea pigs but I think they're ideal. It keeps them warm in the winter, cooler in the summer and IMHO has enough room for them to live in. If they come out for a run around when being handled then they're even better.

 

Obviously if you can provide extra space with run extensions etc then thats great, but compared to the indoor cages and small hutches a lot of rabbits are kept in, an eglu seems luxury to me!

 

I have 2 rabbits, Sherlock and Watson.

Sherlock lives with me at Uni in a double storey indoor rabbit cage and Watson loves at home either indoors in a rabbit cage or outside in an eglu - I think he's happier outside in the eglu where he can sit in the run have more space all the time.

[Susie s]

Hi I’m really worried. I have a omlet go and will be getting 2 bunnies shortly when 3 months old. I live down a dead end lane with only 5 houses but my lawn is at the front. I am terrified that my bunnies will get foxes visiting every night yet people keep telling me not to lock them in the igloo at night? I am going to buy extra clips to make run more secure and I have the under run omlet mesh. But   Surely once a fox finds them they won’t leave them alone. I have 2 indoor death cats so I cannot have my bunnies indoors my house is open plan. Some reassurance is needed. Thank you

[Cat tails]

On 6/14/2021 at 1:18 AM, Susie s said:

Hi I’m really worried. I have a omlet go and will be getting 2 bunnies shortly when 3 months old. I live down a dead end lane with only 5 houses but my lawn is at the front. I am terrified that my bunnies will get foxes visiting every night yet people keep telling me not to lock them in the igloo at night? I am going to buy extra clips to make run more secure and I have the under run omlet mesh. But   Surely once a fox finds them they won’t leave them alone. I have 2 indoor death cats so I cannot have my bunnies indoors my house is open plan. Some reassurance is needed. Thank you

Bunnies are most active during dusk and dawn. So keeping them locked in their house during the night isn’t a great idea.

If you are really concerned, maybe invest in some electric fencing to keep foxes away. They most likely won’t be able to break in, but it might make your rabbits very stressed.

[Susie s]

Hi I ended up with 3 bunnies ( one was going to be left in a cage alone so had to take him too 😊) I moved my eglu and run to the back of my house on concrete ( keeps their nails trim. Connected it with tunnels to another eglu  and then more tunnels to a zippy run which will soon have an extra floor. Also have a wooden hutch in my shed ready for winter which I will connect through a hole in the shed to the outside run. They seem happy and I am relieved they are secure around the back . Love my eglu’s and accessories. Not the cheapest but my bunnies are worth it