Top Tips for Winter Rabbit Care: Essential Precautions

Winter Care for Rabbits: Key Considerations

1. Prioritize Warmth and Insulation

Before the onset of winter's cold spells, it's crucial to seal up any gaps where cold air can seep through, while still ensuring necessary ventilation. Rabbit owners should block all potential entry points for cold drafts and hang straw curtains over the windows and doors of the rabbit shed. On sunny days with more suitable temperatures, open the shed's windows to allow for air circulation. At night, use a heating stove to keep the temperature in the shed between 5°C to 10°C, providing warmth for the rabbits.

2. Increase Feeding Intake

With the cold weather, fresh green feed becomes scarce, and rabbits burn more energy to stay warm. Therefore, owners should provide more highprotein and highenergy concentrated feed, along with carrots, green leafy vegetables, and other fresh feeds. The feeding amount should be increased by about onethird compared to other seasons. If fresh green feed is hard to come by, substitute with willow or elm branches. Always ensure rabbits have access to warm water, around 35°C, for drinking.

3. Timely Hair Trimming

In winter, rabbits grow their fur quickly. It's best to trim the rabbits' fur on a sunny day, avoiding rainy or snowy weather, or when it's too cold. Trim the fur to a short length, leaving the undercoat intact, and avoid trimming too much around the belly to prevent the rabbits from getting too cold. Many rabbits can catch a cold after being shaved, so be sure to keep them warm for at least a week following the trimming.

4. Encourage Exercise

For rabbits housed in sheds, encourage movement within the space. For rabbits in cages, during calm, sunny days, let them spend two hours in a welllit, sheltered, and freshair exercise area.

5. Maintain Hygiene in the Rabbit Pen

While rabbits are less prone to bacterial diseases in winter, they are susceptible to parasites and viral illnesses. The cold weather can also lead to colds, constipation, and frostbite. Regularly clean and disinfect the rabbit pen, as well as their utensils and feeding bowls. Keep the pen dry and change the bedding in the cages every 3 to 5 days.

6. Prepare for Winter Breeding

In winter, both male and female rabbits should be of medium size to encourage breeding. It's ideal to house the males in a room with a temperature of at least 10°C. Breeding should be done during a sunny, windless noon. Provide the breeding does with some fresh green feed or add vitamin E to their diet to stimulate normal estrus. To ensure the survival rate of the newborn kits, make sure they are born in a warm and clean environment, ideally in a greenhouse with temperatures around 20°C.

Your guide to winter rabbit care from Oxygen Pet Doctor is now complete. We hope these tips bring you peace of mind and help your rabbits thrive during the colder months!