# what to use for bedding



## slightlyscrambled (Oct 1, 2009)

Whats the best thing to use for bedding for an outside rabbit?
Pine shavings
Straw
Hay?
**


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## chickenwhisperer123 (Oct 2, 2009)

slightlyscrambled said:
			
		

> Whats the best thing to use for bedding for an outside rabbit?
> Pine shavings
> Straw
> Hay?
> **


I would think straw would go the longest out of those 3 without molding, but I really dont know...


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## lupinfarm (Oct 2, 2009)

I use pine pellets for my ducks... They are impossible to accomodate and the pine pellets have held up great. I put them in unexpanded.


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## houndit (Oct 3, 2009)

I normally use straw for my rabbits when they are nesting.  That works a lot better tan shavings.  If it is really cold I might give them a little hay to keep warm in.  Straw seems the best though.  They also eat it just like hay.


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## trestlecreek (Oct 8, 2009)

To collect urine, pine shaving are your best bet.


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## kapfarm (Nov 3, 2009)

we had better luck with no bedding at all! Rabbits can tolerate cold better than heat. put a pan under the cage and your rabbits stay a lot cleaner, so does your cage! when your rabbit has babies, she will provide her own bedding with her fur in the nest box.


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## waynesgarden (Nov 4, 2009)

kevin said:
			
		

> we had better luck with no bedding at all! Rabbits can tolerate cold better than heat. put a pan under the cage and your rabbits stay a lot cleaner, so does your cage! when your rabbit has babies, she will provide her own bedding with her fur in the nest box.


I couldn't even consider not putting nesting material in the box. I've already lost newborns to the cold this fall. I have one doe that pulls enough fur to birth a horse in comfort but most others are pretty lazy and it would be a recipe for disaster.

I have a wire floor on the nest boxes. On top of that I lay a piece of cardboard. (The lid of the box our copy paper comes in fits perfectly.) In the cardboard lid I put a few handfuls of pine shavings and then fill it loosely with hay. The does seem to like to dig down to the carboard and shred and tear a bit of it. By the time she's ready to pull fur, she's mixed up the materials in the nest to her liking.

I don't worry abou anything getting moldy. I clean out any goopy bedding after the kits are born. Then, depending on how large the litter,  sometime from Day 7 to Day 9 I'll dump all the contents of the box (minus the kits) onto the compost pile and give all fresh bedding.

Wayne


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## GreenGoddess (Feb 23, 2010)

I was wondering about this too.. I've got an unlimited supply of newspaper from a friend of ours but I commonly use pine shavings for my chickens.. Everywhere I've read says NOT to use pine shavings.. But i notice many of you say it's ok.. What's up with that? Why would the "expert" sites say not to use it? I would love to mix both newspaper and pine shavings if at all possible.. Pine soaks up a lot of the smell from animals... 

Goddess :bun


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## SDGsoap&dairy (Feb 23, 2010)

GreenGoddess said:
			
		

> Everywhere I've read says NOT to use pine shavings.. But i notice many of you say it's ok.. What's up with that? Why would the "expert" sites say not to use it?
> Goddess :bun


Pine is OK, cedar is a big no-no.


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## Goatzilla (Feb 23, 2010)

If they're gonna be indoor cage bunnies, you can't beat pine pellets for bedding.


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## Rooster#3 (Apr 2, 2010)

for nesting i ues straw/hay mix with a couple of hand fulls op pine shaveing for an insulator


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## kelsystar (Apr 3, 2010)

We had respiratory issues when we used pine shavings. Bunnies were sneezing, so we got rid of the pine. Sneezing stopped.


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## MissDanni (Apr 3, 2010)

When we were raising rabbits we used shredded newsprint indoors and outside we used nothing. If there were kits we used a bit of shavings (not cedar). However, we didn't keep rabbits outside in winter.


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## CochinBrahmaLover=) (Jun 29, 2012)

waynesgarden said:
			
		

> kevin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That was SO funny for some reason.... I dunno why, but i laughed outloud readig it... 

Just thought I'd share


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## secuono (Jun 29, 2012)

Wire and a resting board. They need nothing else. 

If you're talking about nestbox material, shavings with hay on top.


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