Is it ok to keep a rabbit outside?

[Leight0n]

My girlfiend has a rabbit which we keep outside. She says that we should bring it in now it is colder. What do you think? It's been fine so far, plenty of hay and it's cleanout out every other day.

[burnhal]

when our kids were little we had rabbits in the garden- they stayed outside all year round. Not sure that bringing a creature used to outdoor temperatures into a warm house is a good idea anyway!

[Leight0n]

Thats what I thought. thanks

[Illyria54]

Just so long as the rabbits hutch is fairly sheltered and the rabbit has plenty of hay as bedding, maybe a bit of straw as well it should be ok, if it was to get really cold with freezing winds as well, then the hutch could go into a garage but not into your house.

[divegirl]

Bunny will be fine outside as long as his hutch is; sheltered, clean and dry[inside], covered in wet weather and has a good deep bed, preferably of a straw and hay mix :o]

Lisa x

[pmjblue]

You can buy thermal covers to put over the hutch, other than that I have always moved them to the garage or shed.

[*ALFIE*]

...its fine to keep your rabbit outside, interesting to see if it freezes in the snow..

[louise jones]

We have two rabbits in a large hutch which is kept outside and have had no problems whatsoever. They are kept clean, dry and warm with plenty of sawdust and straw and toys to keep them occupied.

We bought a 'weather proof cover' on Ebay which is basically the same as a baby's buggy raincover - it has press studs along the top and two fasteners on the bottom corners and they are made to measure, they were advertised as four feet length but I emailed them the measurements of my hutch and they made one to fit and it was only �16 - well worth every penny as it stops me worrying about the rabbits in the cold weather.

Any one with experience of rabbits will tell you that during the autumn the rabbits develop a thick winter fur ready for the cold winter so it is not recommended that they be brought indoors as your home would be very warm and therefore when the rabbit goes back outside they would catch a cold/chill as they are going from extreme heat to extreme cold!

Hope your rabbit is as healthy and happy as mine are! xx