How to care for your rabbits during the cold winter months

If you’re worried about your rabbits being outside when it’s cold, you can bring them inside during the winter months. And to keep them happy and comfortable, we would advise keeping them in rather than bringing them in at night and letting them out again during the day. Quick changes in temperature can be harmful to rabbits.

Top tips for outdoor rabbits

• Make sure your rabbit has a buddy to snuggle up with to keep warm. If you have a single rabbit looking for a companion, we can help you with a bit of match making. Visit our website to find how to register your interest.
• Protect your rabbits’ run from the wind and rain with tarpaulin or fitted covers.
• Cover rabbit hutches with fitted hutch covers and blankets to keep the frost out.
• Keep your rabbits’ accommodation topped up with a deep layer of fresh hay for warmth and comfort.
• Make sure your rabbits can easily access their hutch and run so they can explore day and night, whatever the weather.
• On particularly freezing days, place pet-friendly snuggle pads in their hutch or shed wrapped in a towel.
• To prevent water in drinking bottles freezing, cover with bubble wrap and check water bowls regularly to make sure it hasn’t frozen over.
• Rabbits love snuggling up and hiding so make sure they have plenty of hiding spaces in their run like bunny boxes and carriers filled with hay.
• Rabbits enjoy playing in the snow too! They love to dig and run in it, so make sure they have lots of dry and warm areas to retreat to.
• Continue to check your rabbits in the winter months and monitor their weight closely. If you see any signs of them becoming unwell or not acting themselves, take them to your rabbit friendly vet.
• Continue feeding them fresh forage and vegetables every day, this will give them the nutrition they need to fight off any nasty colds and chills.

Bringing your rabbits indoors

You might want to bring your rabbits indoors during winter and that’s absolutely okay! It may offer you some peace of mind knowing they’re protected from frost in your cosy home and it might also benefit older or poorly rabbits. Before you choose to do this, it’s worth looking round and making sure you have the space for them to do everything they would outside. If you have a big enough garage which isn’t used for cars, you might want to move their hutch and run inside. Alternatively, you can dedicate a room or area in your home for them providing it’s a similar space to what they’re used to.

Top tips

• Have fun with their indoor area and provide lots of activities for them to enjoy during the winter.
• Place several grazing trays around for them filled with quality hay and dried forage.
• If you have wooden flooring, tiles or any other slippery surfaces, it’s worth placing down a non-slip carpet or mats to prevent injuries.
• Keep any toxic plants, chemicals or wires out of reach from inquisitive rabbits.
• You might want to protect your furniture including your sofa with sheets, rabbits love chewing anything. It’s also worth bearing in mind your bunnies may have toilet accidents on the floor if they’re not used to new environments. Rabbits can be litter trained, just make sure you have plenty of litters trays filled with hay in each room to help them.
• Whatever room or area you choose to keep your rabbits, make sure the heating is off or set to low. Dry heat from a radiator can cause health issues.