Rabbit Tips - Caring during the Winter Season
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HOUSING
Your rabbit's hutch should have at least three solid walls and a slanted, overhanging roof so snow and rain can run off. Put your hutch in an area that is protected from strong winds and heavy precipitation.
Put straw or other bedding in your hutch for added warmth. Keep it clean and dry from rain, snow, and urine to avoid chilling, hutch burn, sore hocks, increased stress on the immune system, and other problems. Although you want your hutch to be well protected, make sure it still has good ventilation and allows for fresh air.
WATER
Making sure your rabbit constantly has fresh, unfrozen water available is the most important thing you can do. This could mean checking the water multiple times a day or getting a water heater. Also consider switching to a metal or plastic water bottle to avoid a glass bottle breaking. If you decide to use a heater make sure your rabbit can't chew on the cords and keep the water clean to avoid bacteria growth.
FOOD
Temperature influences how much rabbits eat. Before and during a cold spell, rabbits generally increase food consumption. Be prepared for your rabbit to eat much more, possibly as much as three times more than what they eat in warmer months. Purina Rabbit Chow Complete Natural AdvantEdge rabbit food provides all the essential nutrients for growth, maintenance and reproduction. Like all animals, rabbits have a thermoneutral zone. The thermoneurtal zone is a range of body temperatures at which a rabbit doesn't need to use energy to maintain. For adult rabbits the zone is 69 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit, for younger rabbits it's even higher. When their body temperature goes below the zone they must use energy from food to stay warm. Make sure your rabbit has plenty of food available so it doesn't get cold, sick, or lose weight.
LIGHT
If you're breeding your rabbits during the winter, keep in mind that fertility decreases as daylight decreases. Provide them with a constant 14 to 16 hours of light a day. Hang a 36-watt fluorescent tube light about 6 feet above the rabbits for every 55 square feet of floor space. Also, kits can't tolerate the cold as well as adults, so you may need to provide extra warmth; however, monitor the temperature to make sure it doesn't get so hot that the doe stops nursing.
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