Hi! My name is Gale and I have been raising rabbits as long as I can remember. My grandpa taught me everything I 
know about rabbit care as his grandpa taught him and on back through the generations. Now the one thing I remember most is on the first cool morning of September, grandpa waking me up bright and early with a huge breakfast. As we ate and enjoyed each other’s company, he would tell me what all we had to do that day. “Well”, he’d say “son, we better get started getting ready for winter. It’s going to be a long one.” Then off toward the barn we’d go. Now, even to this day, I still practice his methods of preparation.
First things first, making sure we have plenty of straw to get us through until spring. Depending on how many rabbits I have at the time determines how much straw I’m going to need. In the worst conditions, I figure about a half bale per 
month, but I’m pretty big on cleanliness. After I have that figured out and the straw is stored away, it’s on to checking my feed containers to make sure they are rodent proof. We don’t want a bunch of mice eating up the feed I’m fixing to store. As far as feed containers go, I recommend they hold two 50 lb. bags, that’s the size that Buchheit carries. After that’s all done and the containers are replaced, patched, or whatever it takes to make sure the mice stay out, it’s on to water bottles. Back when I was helping grandpa, we would change out the crock water bowls, which have a tendency to freeze and bust, for heavy rubber bowls that you could beat around and get the ice out of. Another option that I use now is heated water bottles. Call it lazy or whatever you may, I’m a pretty big fan of going out, doing the chores, and getting back in where it’s nice and warm. Standing around and breaking ice just ain’t for me. After the bottles are hung up and ready to be plugged in when the temperature drops, I start looking at my cages to see if anything needs repaired. I’d much rather tear cages apart and put them back together when it’s not blazing hot or I’m not standing in snow up to my ankles after chasing my kids’ favorite rabbit across the country while I’m freezing to death. When that’s all said and done I like to go through my checklist: straw✓, feed✓, water bottles✓, kick back and look forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving with the wife and kids✓.
Everyone have a great fall from me and mine to you and yours.
