Keeping baby bunnies warm.....

[Rabbit-boy]

I,m starting this form to find ways to keep baby bunnies warm because i live in Texas and it gets down to around 20degess in the winter time even in my barn its still really cold.
I have tried things like heat lamps and mini heaters and those work but i,m looking for cheaper and easier ways to keep my little bunnies warm.



Thank you for looking

 

[Gagroundhog]

I've done 2 things to keep my bunnies warm in winter

1. I used an electric bunny warmer from Bass equipment which is put into the bottom of the nestbox. Kind of inconvenient to run a cord to the rabbits if you don't have power right there.
2. If there is a cold snap the first week I just take the nestbox indoors. Returning them to their mothers to nurse 2 or 3 times daily which usually only takes a few minutes each time. Once they are big enough, they stay out.
I prefer option 2 b/c its easier to keep an eye on all the bunnies and you never have bunnies accidently being pulled out by the mother when she leaves the nest and losing the bunny to the cold. The weather determines how long I do this. Usually only the first week to ten days.

 

[Rabbit-boy]

Thank you......

 

[DianeS]

Lots of hay and fur. And a hutch that doesn't have any wind cutting through it. Other than that, a litter of at least 3 kits doesn't need anything else. I've had litters in the winter in Colorado - below zero - that were fine.

Are your kits actually dying (assumedly from cold) while in their nestboxes? Maybe you have something else going on.

 

[animalmom]

I second lots of hay and fur for the nesting boxes. I save all the fur I comb out during the year so I can pull out a handful to add to a nesting box that looks like it needs more. I put my combed out fur in a big ziplock bag and it seems to store just fine through the year.

 

[Rabbit-boy]

No,I don't know when i go out to my barn i feel all of my bunny s and some of them are warm but 2-3 of them are freezing cold and wont eat a thing....And my barn is wind proof.

 

[Bitterroot]

This time of year, I'm bringing mine indoors except for a couple trips outside to visit mom during the day. They typically will hop right into the box right after you put it back in, IME. Once the eyes are open, I leave them out the entire day and I bring them in at night. Once they're a few weeks old, they're out with mom 24/7.

Moms don't always get the "door" at the entrance to the nest put back on right, to give the kits enough insulation. I figure if I'm going to ask them to breed through the winter, I'm prepared to help them care for the kits.