How cold is too cold for baby rabbits?
by Brook
(NC)
We have a litter of kits that are 1 week old. They are currently in a nest box, with plenty of hay and fur, in a hutch with their mom. We have brought them inside a couple of nights though because the night temperature fell to about 32-34 degrees. The next couple of days are supposed to have high temps in the lower 40's.
What temperature is too cold for them and when should they be brought inside to prevent them from getting too cold?
Moderator Note:
Good question Brook. When the nest box is padded with at least 2 inches of wood shavings and stuffed with straw and/or hay, AND the doe pulls plenty of fur, meaning you can't see the kits at all under all the fur, then the babies should easily be able to survive sub-zero temperatures. At least, this is the opinion of rabbit breeders that live where winter temperatures regularly drop below zero.
Our temps got down to 13 degrees last winter, and there were no problems with the babies. Gotta say, though, I'd be tempted to bring my kits inside if the temps started dipping into the single digits. Or, we might stuff the cage full of straw for extra insulation.
Maybe rabbit breeders from the frigid reaches of Canada will weigh in with their experiences....
Good luck Brook, and thanks for checking in...
Karen
Double-Value Guarantee
Our policy is to always OVER-deliver
on value,
which is why your purchase is fully covered by our
Double-Value
Guarantee.
Go ahead - take any of our e-books
for a test drive. Peruse our detailed informational and educational e-books. Examine
our plans for building rabbit cages, runs, or metal or PVC hutch frames. Check out the Rabbit Husbandry info e-books.
If you aren't completely satisfied that your e-book purchase is worth at
least double, triple or even quadruple the price you paid, just drop us a note
within 45 days, and we'll refund you the entire cost. That's our Double-Value
Guarantee.
Note: When you purchase your
e-books, they will be in PDF format, so you can download them to any device that
supports PDF format. We advise making a back-up copy to a drive or cloud
account. If the books are lost, you can also purchase another copy from Raising-Rabbits.