Winter, you are upon us.

It's starting to get chilly here in the NC Mountains. It's time to start thinking about how to keep the rabbits happy during the winter.

Crocks- I'm going to have to make sure I have a good supply of water crocks on hand, for when the water bottles freeze. We always leave a little air room in the bottles during winter, "grow" room as I call it, for when the water freezes. This way, the ice can grow up a little, instead of growing out and busting the bottles (as easily). Once we establish the freezing temp in the barn, out go the bottles and in come the crocks, which make watering much easier!

I'll be scaling back my breedings to 3-4 weeks apart, instead of 2 1/2 weeks apart. This way, nestboxes can stay with the babies a little longer, protecting them from colder night time temperatures!

We'll have to keep extra food on hand. At any given point in time, I have one bag partially full and another full bag waiting in the wings. During the cold times, I increase feed because of the energy the bunnies expend to keep warm. So rather than running to the feed store every few days, I'll store the food in a dry clean area. It also doesn't hurt to have the extra in case of a power outage or a bad snow! I know I don't want to try to buy food from a feed store in a blizzard!

We'll have to keep an eye out for more mice looking for a warm place to stay and free food! Note to self: More mouse traps!

The nestboxes themselves are going to have to undergo some winter-proofing- I think I'll discuss that tomorrow!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry