Winterizing my rabbits & chickens - DIY clear plastic drop curtain 

**PLEASE READ** Some people were very concerned that I added foam insulation in my chicken coop, and I get that! I wanted to see if the chickens would leave it alone since it was on the roof, and they didn't, of course 😂 I ended up stapling rabbit feed bags over the insulation and it has worked out beautifully! You can see that in the video where I add LED's to my chicken coop (link in description!) Also, for the rabbit hutch curtains I found it very helpful to anchor it by drilling holes in the PVC and running the paracord through the holes. Hopefully this helps someone! It has done a great job keeping the rabbits out of the wind.

I don't want to tell you what to do, but I would rethink that insulation. If they find it, the chickens will peck and eat Styrofoam. For the glue, next time pick up construction adhesive. Silicone doesn't have enough tack to hold things in place, as you saw. But really, foam in a coop is a bad idea, imo. Just make sure the coop has good ventilation and it should take care of the moisture problems. The biggest mistake people make in the winter is trying to seal the coop up to keep the chickens warm. Coops need to be draft free, but still maintain a good air circulation. I always say that a coop should not keep the chickens warm, it should allow the chickens to keep themselves warm by keeping them dry and out of the wind and weather (hope that makes sense). And a sealed up coop holds moisture which leads to frost bite and other issues. The rabbit cages look great. This is the first video of yours that we've watched so I'm sorry for sounding like a critic. Great work. We moved from Indiana and miss it.

The whole set up in your back yard is really nice, Great job, it really shows what people should be doing now days.

I feel like you have been reading my MIND! We just had our first below 30 morning and I thought to myself "Welp, gotta winterize the rabbits this week." Thank you for posting this video!

Very nice bunny set up. 😊

Thanks for sharing! You inspire me!!

Great job and awesome creativity!!! Keep up the good work

So lucky to find you, followed!

Baby buns are getting so big! As always, your ingenuity is inspiring :)

Another great how to video. Glad I found your channel. Glad you are over the virus. many blessings.

I learned a lot and got an idea for my backyard rabbitry, i will support you❤️

You inspire me, thank you!!!

Looks like all the animals are gonna have a happy winter!

I'm so glad I just found your channel! I live around your area and I also have silver fox rabbits! We got our first last year as a meat breeder and we just recently got a pedigreed trio. Your rabbit hutch curtain is just what my husband and I need, we've been trying to make one similar and this video helps, thank you! I found your channelwhile searching for videos about showing rabbits and the one you did on that is very helpful as well. Blessings and thanks for sharing❤

I just found your channel and immediately subscribed. I so appreciate how you show your thought process, what worked, what didn’t, and what you would’ve done differently. Love it! ❤️

Before I added my roof I made a bed of hardware cloth on top I put a water heater insulation role that I had.then added the roof. In addition I insulated the top of the nest boxes with the same. I am not concerned about winter as I live in Fl. I used rubber carpet tiles in the bottom of the nest boxes. At one time I had a solar fan in each nest box, but they did not last even one summer. I elevated the floor of the coop 2 ft and wired around the floor and the width of the nest boxes giving them a 5 1/2ft. Dry and shady place to go. I used a Ryobi fan. On low the battery lasted all day. The girls loved it. Great rabbit build. I am considering rabbits, but only small pet verities. Enjoy. PS I am 78 and three years ago I did my first chicken house build. I had never used tools before, but with RU-vid I have 4 beautiful coops with runs. Thank you for you informative channel.

You did a great job winterizing your rabbits. When you were working on your chicken coop and you got all that glue in your hair, I actually thought it started snowing on you until you told us all it was glue! 🤣 I love watching Ronan and Aria playing in the background. 🥰

Its beautifull very nice and my favorite color thanks

I love your videos!

I love the effort your putting forth some ideas better than other lol but I just found your channel and looking forward to more homesteading videos in the North

Well done👍👍👍

Look at Joel Saltins : Rakken..he uses a hoop house to overwinter has rabbit and chickens and it creates compost. You could do a temp hoop house using cattle panels and plastic.. deep bed system. Less clean up.. more warmth.. and you would be protected from weather in the hoop house when feeding and what not ..thanks for all your videos!

I like your video.. So... Cute rabbit.... Your speach is very lovely... I dont no english... Little little... Iam in a kerala.... ❤❤

You are amazing. Wonderfull idea.👍

New subscriber here! Your rabbitry is awesome, and your idea for making the pvc curtain is brilliant!

I did tarps with a 1x2 for weight to drop down worked great for years ;)

I love your videos. I recently started my rabbitry. I have 8 rabbits total with a new litter of 6. You’ve given me some really good ideas to improve my hutches. I’m going to use your design as a foundation with some modifications. Thank you!

I think it was a great idea.

Amazing

Love it thank for the idea 💡 😊

Brilliant!!!!!!!!

You can glue the plastic to the pvc later. I think it might hold on better than Duck Tape. I think those bunnies are just the cutest! P.S. I think your idea about plastic covering the rabbit hutch and the use of the crank is great! And, yay!, it works! Fantastic job!

You're awsome, great ideas!

Super mam

I wouldn't worry about the Tin roof and your chickens touching it or getting stuck to it, I'd be more worry about them pecking at the foam and eating it which they will do, so will rabbits and foam is not good for either. Also I wouldn't button their cages up to much as both animals need ventilation, the biggest thing to worry about is keeping them out of direct Cold wind and make sure they have plenty of dry bedding, and drinking water, and with Rabbits it is extremely important that they have food available to eat when it is freezing temperatures as this helps them to stay warm. I live in Iowa myself and we been known to have the craziest weather here, It can be 70 degree's one day, and -20 degree's and a foot of snow the next, So I know how your weather there can be too. Your doing a great job, keep up the good work, and don't pay any attention to the negative comments that some people make, Your proving super nice living quarters for your rabbits, and just by seeing them and their beauty and size, one can tell your feeding them properly. Good Job! If your Still concerned about your Chickens staying warm enough? Hang a heat lamp in one corner of your coup to generate some heat. Be blessed! Steve

I think everything turned out really cool :) I did get a good laugh though when the insulation fell on your head lmao

I use construction sand on the floor of the coop and run. It is a five minute clean up every day. I use a long handle child’s rake and sand shuffle and clean up first thing in the morning. If you wait the girls will Bury it.

I loved the idea of how you winterized. I want to add rabbits to my backyard homesteading. What is a great meat rabbit to have.

Soo butiful 💞💞

I made custom tarps for my hutch. Added grommets and 4" bungie ball cords.i wish I could add a picture. Grommets in the bottom corners of your roll down curtain would hold them in place

Im from india like this video very much and was very use full for me ❤️ Love u siisy i will support u

they sell metal rods(they look like coat hangers, but small straight) for holding installation in place it has pointed ends to stick into the wood, they come in different lengths.

Sell the design to pet stores it's very practical👍

Just an idea for if you ever want more bunny cages I use XL dog kennels for my bunnies in the winter we built a huge shed for them (my pets) but it works super well for winter in the summer I have huts for them but you can find some on FB or cregslist for around 25-30 dollars depending on how much you want to spend but they are awesome and come with a tray but if you don’t want the tray you can take it out and just have the wire bottom. 😊

NOICE!!!

Looks good! I thought, Oh No that caulk won’t work. Live and learn. Lol. Yes, expanding foam should work. It’s like duct tape, we keep both on hand. 😉

I enjoyed seeing the winterizing solutions you came up with - you've given me some good ideas. Have you considered using double-sided tape to secure the insulation panels to the roof?

Add eyelets in the middle and put some string horizontally to help hold everything down/still. Edit: take some plywood and attach the insulation to that.

If you sew you may be able to make a pocket like a curtain for both the top and bottom.

There are clips you can buy to hold the plastic. Or just cut a small piece of pvc and make a split in it and sand the edges smooth. If you round the corners off the will clip much easier

Looks great! How often do you have to shovel below the cages? And when did you get snow??!?! I'm not much farther south than you and we haven't got a flake this year!

Hey there I was just curious if this actually lasted the season and what you'd do differently? I am thinking about doing this for my bunny hutches until I build a barn in the spring. I absolutely love your design and would appreciate any advice to make it even more amazing @Teal Stone Homestead

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

We have 4 kits left, and the kitten formula saved the life of one last night. It used to be so big and chunky. Now it's the smallest one. We have 4 kits left. 2 of the kits have full bellies, but I think they are filling themselves with water and pellets, but I'm not sure. I took in the 2 smallest ones and we'll feed them with kitten's milk. Hopfully, this works out.

Happy bun buns bunnies do you put any heaters in the coops and hutches.

Liquid nails the best to use

Looks great.. Have the chickens destroyed the insulation yet. Mine did. You might want to cover it completely somehow. Also add eyelets to the bottom pvc to hold the rope to the pvc.

Thanks for your reply. The welfare recommendations apply to both in and out doors. I had a look at the ARBA site. Their space recommendations are very limited, I am struggling to see how you are exceeding these.

What is it that edging you have around the open door of your hutch cages . And where can I buy it?

I'm building a rabbit hutch similar to yours, how did you deal with the rain though? Worried about the feed and everything getting soaked.

Just curious, why are there no hutch boxes inside the rabbit cages, so they can snuggle down? BTW, Weldbond glue will bond glass, foam, metal, etc. Good stuff.

Add three boards up under the insulation

🥰🥰🥰🥰👍👍👍👍👍

do I need to add straw or a hide box in the winter for them ? they are in a tarp carport. we are in Ontario Canada

I like the way you did the roll up sides. Mine are much more primitive. I roll it up from the bottom and tie it up with a piece of rope. Did you use green house plastic? It is more UV stable. Plastic from big box store will not last long because it is not UV stable. Have you considered shredded cardboard as litter? It is nice to be able to reuse amazon boxes. It also breaks down nicely in a compost or worm bin. Probably doesn't smell as good as wood chips, Amazon Basics 12 sheet micro shredder works for me. Shredded paper doesn't work well because it clumps and when it spills out a little, that white color sticks out and makes it look messy and I think you like a clean look.

I know this is a late question but do the bunnies do well in extreme cold with just the plastic? Next week we are supposed to get single digit weather in Ohio. Im pretty worried about my Bunnies.

Thank you. I am free feeding her now, but we lost another kit. I'm laying the rabbit down twice a day so the kits can eat. However, by the way the kits are acting while trying desperately to feed... looks like the mom is out of milk. I hope her milk can come back.... I'll find out tomorrow....I wonder if pet smart sells milk and bottles?

I have no idea about which would be the best way to glue the insulation to the metal roof (that sounds like something really hard to do, metal and foam don't get along so well, especially if the metal starts to for condensation...) but if I can give you an hint, I think you could drill holes at the end of those PVC poles (the ones for weight at the bottom) and run the ancor line through them and to the eyelets, so it would keep them in place, and you wouldn't have any kind of problem with the wind blowing the curtains around. I don't know if you got what I mean, I hope my explanation makes sense...

Do you give the rabbits extra hay or bedding or anything else in the winter? I've seen some people give them nesting boxes to sleep in

@tealstonehomestead what can I give my rabbit .she has not been eating for 3days and am getting worried.

إشتراك و إعجاب من المملكة المغربية 🇲🇦 بالتوفيق

Wire for the floor did you use for your rabbit hutch and how big did you make them the size

Hi I’m in WI. How did this hold up thru the winter for you? Now that spring has finally arrived I’m considering this as a build for my rabbits

Thin strips of wood across would hold the insulation up.

i like the music for this video.Can you let us know who the artist is and song name?

This is two years late - how did the plastic sheeting hold up over the winter?

did you say that your silver foxes or the champagne d'argent were better mothers? I remember you saying this in a past video I just cant find it. Im getting new rabbits soon. Thanks!

I know this is a very weird comment but your bunnies have such great names! any ideas for my rabbits. Im stuck lol

How much do you feed your nursing rabbits? We just lost 3 kits at a week and a 1/2 old. I was feeding her a full cup and Timothy grass. Could this be why we lost the kits? I did some research and found that we should keep her feeder full while she's nursing. I knew we should when the kits get old enough to eat the pellets. The pellet bag didn't say specifically how much we should be feeding her....:( The kits are already jumping out of the box trying to feed for the past 3 days. I hope mama feeds then well tonight.

How did you attach the plastic to the back and sides?

I think it would've been easier to just lower the roost bar.

Sorry this happens... you needed adhesives for sticking stuff like that glue with silicone won't super glue would melt the foam

Pls cargo me some these breed to Pakistan 🤝

Screw the crank onto the PVC

Hello Can you guys send me New Zealand white rabbits to Pakistan pls?

HOT GLUE for the insulation.

May i know the size of each cage...

Duck tape or wood strips

Try the spray foam. It's sticky as hell.

Screw it to the metal

Ita called a tarp. Dahhhhhh

Your mean there not enough room in there cages for them

2 years old video OK play new video OK

Hello, I was wondering if you were aware of the rabbit welfare guidance. A pair of rabbits should have a minimum of 3m by 2m by 1m high. I understand your good intentions, I am a little concerned that keeping rabbits in such confined spaces to make money is being advocated on you tube.

Dont keep ur rabbits outside especially in the cold they r meant to be inside

Sorry but these cages r not good they r way to small and should never be wite bottom

gals,