Heading to winter I guess many of us are considering the coming cold? It certainly isn't cold yet - especially not for rabbits. So long as they can move freely, cuddle up in a small space when sleeping and keep chomping hay and grass (and the odd autumn leaf) all day long!
Our bunnies are not the same age, one being on the way to 12 years and the other half that but the older one moves the fastest. When we move the run (which encourages them to explore, exercise and therefore get warmer) we can let them roam. They have more exercise being free and are pretty easy to catch now but usually they just trot back in if they know where they came out from.
It is a very pleasant thing gently herding Teddy and Polar home after a runaround in the garden. Of course when they go back inside their runaround it provides it's names-worth of connective exercise so its hardly encouraging them to stand still even then!
We must remember how quickly we warm up ourselves outside when we are moving and especially when wearing a fur coat (which I imagine we don't choose often). A rabbit is in a fur coat all day and it is naturally thicker in winter.
I have popped the clear sides on the 8x4 run so the wind won't blow across and rain in at one end and of course they have the roof cover too. The rest of their winter accommodation is varied between open and covered with views and without so it meets their special needs as a prey animal.
I am not telling them where to go but I watch with interest and if they are not using everything as much as usual and try to gauge why that is and make the right judgement call on their behalf. At present they are back in the dig, the mesh tunnels and the run with the tray at the end. I am happy they are all over it, every area. As it gets colder I expect to see them in the Top Box more and in the clear dig waiting for the watery sunshine to toast that area up.
Happy bunnies and happy owner learning every day.
