Raising Rabbits in Winter Weather
Have you ever wanted to raise rabbits, but wasn't sure if your zone was too cold for rabbits during the winter? Fear not! Rabbits are surprising hardy if they are set up for success. Known for it's inconsistent and often dangerous winters, here in New England (Maine specifically), many productive rabbit breeders raise and breed their animals year round.
|
|
There are a few key things that you need to always have in place...
1. A wind break: This means that the rabbits are not exposed to strong breezes. Some people use feed bags to cover up the walls of a wire cage (if they house the cages outside of a barn or structure). Rabbits can tolerate considerably cold weather as long as they don't have to endure endless rushes of cold air. Conversely, you STILL need to make sure there's some kind of ventilation. Make sure the rabbits can be buttoned up from the cold winds, but also ensure that there's some means for air to vent from their housing. Ammonia build up and fumes from urine/feces is very real and applies to poultry, too.
2. Fresh water: Realistically, not everyone is going to have electric powered heated water bowls, and that's okay! We don't use them for rabbits either. What's realistic is to purchase some sturdy bowls (we like the heavy duty crocks made for pets by Van Ness found on Amazon). As long as they're not overfilled and left to freeze, you can take two crocks full of ice - bang them together to empty when frozen- and refill. If you do this twice a day minimum, and let your rabbits drink all they can, then they ought to be fine. Cheap bowls, water bottles, and other items may be prone to freezing and cracking so be careful. We've tried it all and find that heavy duty crocks are the way to go. The more chances your rabbits get to drink in the cold, frozen weather, the better they will endure. We bring out hot gallons of waters.
3. Monitor food intake: Rabbits cannot eat if they cannot drink. If you're watering adequately, and notice them leaving behind more food than usual, something is amiss. Rabbits do not produce saliva on their own, therefore need water in order to be able to eat their food. They also will need some extra calories to generate heat in the winter. Supplying fresh hay in addition to pellets, or whatever else you choose to feed, is a good idea. If they slow down in their feed intake, it's very hard to improve their body condition over winter so if you notice something wrong, you may have to entice them with oats or some sweet potato. Remember to feed them foods high in fiber and low in sugar.
4. If you breed them, supply plenty of nesting bedding and a box on time: Not all first time does will be great building their first nests for their young. Regardless of the rabbit being a first timer, it never hurts to set the does up for success with a nestbox a bit ahead of their due date (we start giving nestboxes on day 27 in case they want to build early). In our early years, we lost a lot of litters in winter by not timing the nestboxes soon enough so sometimes the does would kindle (give birth) a day or two before we expected and were too late: the kits were born on the wire and exposed. Now we rather change out the nesting material maybe once before they're born instead of chancing dead litters. Shavings/hay/ etc are great substrate to place in your nestboxes before your does pull their fur, for a nice fluffy and insulated nest. Kits are born without fur and the first few days before it comes in are critical.
5. Shelve your litters if you're worried: It took us several years to catch onto this habit. If you're wondering what it means to "shelve the litter", it means to bring your nestbox with the kits inside, into a warm insulated area (like a linen closet) and place it on a shelf. Once or twice a day, bring the nestbox out to the mother to nurse the kits. Rabbits are unlike cats and dogs and do not have to nurse their litter all day long. On a particularly bad weather day, you may choose to bring in the nestbox from the elements if you're worried and shelve the box. Sometimes does will leave their nestbox after nursing their kits, with a kit still attached to the nipple, and die on the floor/wire. The odds of the kit living before they're furred and with their eyes opened are low...much lower in winter...therefore, it may provide some comfort to shelve the box between feedings. It's completely up to you. Sometimes we would shelve litters with new does until we knew their habits (such as if they're good moms or negligent mothers) or maybe it was a prized litter we were waiting on.
We hope this helps those of you are considering raising rabbits in the winter weather! It can be trying at first, but with the right skills and supplies, it definitely can be done if you choose to do it.
This article was written expressly for Bunny Rancher. No part or whole may be replicated without written permission.
1. A wind break: This means that the rabbits are not exposed to strong breezes. Some people use feed bags to cover up the walls of a wire cage (if they house the cages outside of a barn or structure). Rabbits can tolerate considerably cold weather as long as they don't have to endure endless rushes of cold air. Conversely, you STILL need to make sure there's some kind of ventilation. Make sure the rabbits can be buttoned up from the cold winds, but also ensure that there's some means for air to vent from their housing. Ammonia build up and fumes from urine/feces is very real and applies to poultry, too.
2. Fresh water: Realistically, not everyone is going to have electric powered heated water bowls, and that's okay! We don't use them for rabbits either. What's realistic is to purchase some sturdy bowls (we like the heavy duty crocks made for pets by Van Ness found on Amazon). As long as they're not overfilled and left to freeze, you can take two crocks full of ice - bang them together to empty when frozen- and refill. If you do this twice a day minimum, and let your rabbits drink all they can, then they ought to be fine. Cheap bowls, water bottles, and other items may be prone to freezing and cracking so be careful. We've tried it all and find that heavy duty crocks are the way to go. The more chances your rabbits get to drink in the cold, frozen weather, the better they will endure. We bring out hot gallons of waters.
3. Monitor food intake: Rabbits cannot eat if they cannot drink. If you're watering adequately, and notice them leaving behind more food than usual, something is amiss. Rabbits do not produce saliva on their own, therefore need water in order to be able to eat their food. They also will need some extra calories to generate heat in the winter. Supplying fresh hay in addition to pellets, or whatever else you choose to feed, is a good idea. If they slow down in their feed intake, it's very hard to improve their body condition over winter so if you notice something wrong, you may have to entice them with oats or some sweet potato. Remember to feed them foods high in fiber and low in sugar.
4. If you breed them, supply plenty of nesting bedding and a box on time: Not all first time does will be great building their first nests for their young. Regardless of the rabbit being a first timer, it never hurts to set the does up for success with a nestbox a bit ahead of their due date (we start giving nestboxes on day 27 in case they want to build early). In our early years, we lost a lot of litters in winter by not timing the nestboxes soon enough so sometimes the does would kindle (give birth) a day or two before we expected and were too late: the kits were born on the wire and exposed. Now we rather change out the nesting material maybe once before they're born instead of chancing dead litters. Shavings/hay/ etc are great substrate to place in your nestboxes before your does pull their fur, for a nice fluffy and insulated nest. Kits are born without fur and the first few days before it comes in are critical.
5. Shelve your litters if you're worried: It took us several years to catch onto this habit. If you're wondering what it means to "shelve the litter", it means to bring your nestbox with the kits inside, into a warm insulated area (like a linen closet) and place it on a shelf. Once or twice a day, bring the nestbox out to the mother to nurse the kits. Rabbits are unlike cats and dogs and do not have to nurse their litter all day long. On a particularly bad weather day, you may choose to bring in the nestbox from the elements if you're worried and shelve the box. Sometimes does will leave their nestbox after nursing their kits, with a kit still attached to the nipple, and die on the floor/wire. The odds of the kit living before they're furred and with their eyes opened are low...much lower in winter...therefore, it may provide some comfort to shelve the box between feedings. It's completely up to you. Sometimes we would shelve litters with new does until we knew their habits (such as if they're good moms or negligent mothers) or maybe it was a prized litter we were waiting on.
We hope this helps those of you are considering raising rabbits in the winter weather! It can be trying at first, but with the right skills and supplies, it definitely can be done if you choose to do it.
This article was written expressly for Bunny Rancher. No part or whole may be replicated without written permission.
