Single Digit Temps and 2 & 3 Week Old Kits

stevin

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Tonights temps here in Mass is predicted to drop to 7 degrees, ouch!
i have 2 litters of kits, 2 wks & 3 wks old all outdoors in hutches. My hutches are closed on 3 sides with a wire front and floor. There's an enclosed nesting area with a solid floor that is stuffed with hay. I have also placed a plastic tarp over the front to help keep some of the wind out but the floor is still open. We have had nightime temps down to the high teens when the kits were 1 & 2 wks old and they all did fine. But now we're talkin single digits! The 3 wk old kits are out of the nestbox and spends some time out on the wire with mama and hiding out in the nesting area. The 2 week old kits are still in their nestbox tucked away in the enclosed nesting area which is stuffed with hay also.

Should i consider bringing the 2 wk old kits in for the night? What about the 3 wk olds?
Should i scatter some hay on the wire floor to help reduce any updrafts? I know that ventilation is still very important during extremely cold weather.
When bringing the kits indoors, how do i prevent the kits from escaping the nestbox?
Has anyone ever experience a doe "freaking out" or even rejecting the kits after they have been taken away overnight?
Or should i just chillax because at 2 & 3 wks old their bodies are built for these type of conditions?

Thanxs!!!
 

firedragon1982

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My only concern for you is that my 2 and 3 week olds were popping out of the nest box all the time... Is there a cage/crate they'd be in inside? LOL
 

stevin

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looking at the forecast now it will remain in the high teens throughout the night and then drop to single digits around 5am thru 10-11am. of course i usually leave for work around 7:30am. if i bring them in overnight and then bring them out around 7am and bring them back in around 7:30, would that leave the doe enough time to nurse the kits? And what if the doe doesn't nurse within that time frame, will missing a feeding be damaging to the kits? i plan on bringing the kits back out around noon when i go home for lunch where the temps will hover around the high teens for the rest of the day. and then up around 50 on saturday and 60 on sunday. yep, thats new england for ya.....
 

Baymule

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Wow, single digits! If it gets in the 20's we think we are an iceberg! I hope your bunnies are all ok in this cold!
 

Kaye

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I say bring them in. I just lost nearly an entire litter because it dropped down to 19, now I am in Alabama, so it was in the 50s the night before. I have mine in my room with mom at night and then mom is outside during the day because of the cramped brooder box (she has room to hop and move,but not much)
 

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