what to use for bedding

[slightlyscrambled]

Whats the best thing to use for bedding for an outside rabbit?
Pine shavings
Straw
Hay?

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

Whats the best thing to use for bedding for an outside rabbit?
Pine shavings
Straw
Hay?

I would think straw would go the longest out of those 3 without molding, but I really dont know...

 

[lupinfarm]

I use pine pellets for my ducks... They are impossible to accomodate and the pine pellets have held up great. I put them in unexpanded.

 

[houndit]

I normally use straw for my rabbits when they are nesting. That works a lot better tan shavings. If it is really cold I might give them a little hay to keep warm in. Straw seems the best though. They also eat it just like hay.

 

[trestlecreek]

To collect urine, pine shaving are your best bet.

 

[kapfarm]

we had better luck with no bedding at all! Rabbits can tolerate cold better than heat. put a pan under the cage and your rabbits stay a lot cleaner, so does your cage! when your rabbit has babies, she will provide her own bedding with her fur in the nest box.

 

[waynesgarden]

we had better luck with no bedding at all! Rabbits can tolerate cold better than heat. put a pan under the cage and your rabbits stay a lot cleaner, so does your cage! when your rabbit has babies, she will provide her own bedding with her fur in the nest box.

I couldn't even consider not putting nesting material in the box. I've already lost newborns to the cold this fall. I have one doe that pulls enough fur to birth a horse in comfort but most others are pretty lazy and it would be a recipe for disaster.

I have a wire floor on the nest boxes. On top of that I lay a piece of cardboard. (The lid of the box our copy paper comes in fits perfectly.) In the cardboard lid I put a few handfuls of pine shavings and then fill it loosely with hay. The does seem to like to dig down to the carboard and shred and tear a bit of it. By the time she's ready to pull fur, she's mixed up the materials in the nest to her liking.

I don't worry abou anything getting moldy. I clean out any goopy bedding after the kits are born. Then, depending on how large the litter, sometime from Day 7 to Day 9 I'll dump all the contents of the box (minus the kits) onto the compost pile and give all fresh bedding.

Wayne

 

[GreenGoddess]

I was wondering about this too.. I've got an unlimited supply of newspaper from a friend of ours but I commonly use pine shavings for my chickens.. Everywhere I've read says NOT to use pine shavings.. But i notice many of you say it's ok.. What's up with that? Why would the "expert" sites say not to use it? I would love to mix both newspaper and pine shavings if at all possible.. Pine soaks up a lot of the smell from animals...

Goddess :bun

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

Everywhere I've read says NOT to use pine shavings.. But i notice many of you say it's ok.. What's up with that? Why would the "expert" sites say not to use it?
Goddess :bun

Pine is OK, cedar is a big no-no.

 

[Goatzilla]

If they're gonna be indoor cage bunnies, you can't beat pine pellets for bedding.