High heat and rabbits

[eeyore]

Came home from work last night and found that i lost 2 rabbits. We have two 100 degree days in a row and the night temps in the 80's. In the past i have rabbits that have handled it (or simular), not sure what happened. But the heat is deadly if precautions are not taken. Mine were in a opened on one side shed, with 3 inch air space around them. Really thought with the open front they would get the breeze and with the wide roof area (6 feet coverage for a 2 foot cage) would be sufficient to keep them out of the direct sun light.

Guess i will never know for sure. The third one is fine and in the house now, for the duration of the hot weather.

The only other observation i have is that the two that died, one was gray the other was black. The one that lived was white.

[Foghorn]

In the past, I've put frozen water bottles (trade out bottles a couple of times a day)in their hutch on the hottest days. It seemed to help.

Doug

[Matt In Oklahoma]

Neighbor has lost 6 chickens to heat. The first was that crazy rooster who ran everywhere chasing everything. He stroked out.
On a side note we are seeing more predators probably due to the lack of water and dwindling rodents from the heat, even that gopher i've been trying to catch has disappeared. The predators are having to move more to find food. Something to keep in mind.

[MustangGal]

Sorry to hear about your rabbits.

In the past, I've put frozen water bottles (trade out bottles a couple of times a day)in their hutch on the hottest days. It seemed to help.

Doug

This is exactly what I have been doing, plus I bring my kits (born 7-11) inside during the hottest part of the day. My older kits LOVE the ice bottles. The adults, not as much, but they get them anyway. I also put fresh, cool water in their bottles twice daily and if it gets too hot.... we have bunny swimming school. Some people say their bunnies love to swim, mine don't seem to like it much, but it cools them off. I'm fortunate I can be home during the summer.

My cages are on the south side of my goat house and are open on all sides (backed up to the wall of the goat house). It also has a metal roof that slopes from about six inches to twelve inches above the tops.

You might set up a fan to create a small breeze. I'm new to rabbits, but as I understand it, you don't want to fan blowing directly on them.

[Briar Wabbit]

Not from experience with Rabbits or Chickens but, as a student of sustainable architecture and a certified green-builder ...

I do know that solar-radiant heat penetrates corrugated aluminum (tin or galvalum) to a distance of TWO FEET, before that heat begins to rise and disperse ... so ... When designing/building a cage or coop, you want the roof to be, say, at least 3 feet above the top of the animal's head and for the exposed walls to also be that far from where they hunker.

... Obviously, you want the prevailing wind vector to face the open front, with sufficient over-hang (shade) and to have a vented gap of no less than 4" at the rear, along the eve.

I do not know if that will help anyone but ... may-be. Just extrapolating, based on thermal theory ... 's all.

[lcas-271]

My dad has raised rabbits for over 55years now. Every few years he loses one of two from the high heat. All of his cages are open on all 4 sides and placed underneath a couple of HUGE maple trees. He waters 2 or 3 times a day and they do fairly well. Granted none of them move during the day but that's fine as long as it keeps them alive.

[Echelleg]

I am new to chickens and I am considering getting into rabbits. I live in Az. So I find this thread very interesting. When I was building my chicken coop I took it's build and location very seriously. I asked myself where would I place my dog kennel. I decided on full shade under my 2 huge mulberry trees. I hope this works for my chickens as well as future rabbits.

[Fanderal]

When we lived in the City we used ice bottles during the hot part of the year, and just didn't breed the does from May to September. That got them through the heat and reduced the breeding stress on them.

Now we live Off Grid, and Ice bottles are not an option. The first summer we lost all our rabbits to the heat in spite of water sprays, and all wire open all around cages under the trees.

I'm going to try an experiment with earth bermed artificial dens starting later this year. (when it cools off enough I can work in the heat LOL)

FWIW
Fanderal

[eeyore]

I guess she is doing great compared to me

.... An anonymous Crime Stoppers hotline tip led animal control officers from the Jefferson County (Colo.) Sheriff’s Office to descend upon Bell’s one-acre farm at about 10:30 that morning and, before the day was over, remove nearly 200 rabbits from the property. The 59 year old was being accused of 24 misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals, including charges that she somehow mistreated two meat rabbits already inside her freezer. More on the hotline later.

Bell had purchased the 1.01-acre property 12 miles north of Denver nearly 40 years earlier with plans to raise as much livestock as she wanted. After all, it was zoned for agricultural purposes (“A-2”) and had everything she needed, including a four-bedroom, tri-level home and a 600-square-foot barn. It looked like a great place to raise a family.

About 15 years later, Bell formed Six Bells Farm Candle Company and Rabbitry as a licensed farm business. Launched as an offshoot of a 4-H project via which she taught her four children how to take care of something other than themselves, it grew into an operation that involved raising more than a dozen varieties of rabbits, primarily for personal meat consumption but also for use in educating children — including kids involved in 4-H — and members of the general public nationwide.

As the years passed, Bell’s expertise and reputation grew alongside her rabbit farm. Not only did she become president of the local Long’s Peak Rabbit Club, but she became known as the go-to “resource person” for 4-H kids in Colorado who were interested in rabbits. Her reputation as a top expert when it comes to understanding and caring for rabbits spread throughout Colorado and across the United States. But that was before the raid. ....

http://bobmccarty.com/2011/08/10/anonymous-call-to-new-animal-abuse-hotline-leads-to-raid-on-colorado-womans-rabbit-farm/

[Echelleg]

I don't understand how she can be charged with anything. If she is in an agricultural area, zoned for livestock, keeping her animals in sanitary conditions and meeting their needs. She has done nothing wrong. Sounds like BIG BROTHER out of control again. What does this mean for those of us trying to provide for our families and getting back to our roots?

[610Alpha]

I don't understand how she can be charged with anything.

You take the blue pill. The story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe

[Echelleg]

I'm guessing, because I don't watch many movies.... Alice In Wonderland :)

I know that this kind of thing is happening and I know that it is only going to get worse as our BIG BROTHER gets "to big for his britches" (as my grandfather would say). I agree with keeping quiet about your activities. I guess the nieve little girl in me is crying because this is not the AMERICA I was raised to believe in. People should be harolded for their knowledge and treated with respect, not lied about and stomped on. I guess in some ways my other personality is a idealist. Sorry for the venting and the "poor us" session, it just makes me so incredable sad. Thanks for listening.

[VINCENT]

we had rabbits in cali as a kid, during the summer it would exceed 110 and sometimes reach 120. we would freeze 2 liter bottles and put them in the hutchs. opposite of that was the winters wheen it would get well below freezing at night. we would heat the 2 liter bottles and place them in the hutchs after cuvering them with plastic to keep warmer air in. plus they had the laying beds with straw to huddle in.

[eeyore]

That is what the plan is in the future, thanks Vincent (and the others). It is just a nuisance now but in the future, it may literally be the difference between death and life.

[50BMG]

I tried something new this summer and it worked well for us. We had our rabbits in the typical cages but the heat in FL caused us to lose a few early this year. I decided to move the rabbits to a 10x20 moveable dog kennel. It’s made up of 6x10 fence panels you attach together to make a pen. At one end I buried 4 large clay pots in a row about 2’ apart, some round some were oval shaped. Then I boxed them in with cinder blocks filled with sand. Then I poured water onto the sand to wet it inside the blocks. Once all the sand was wetted a sheet of plywood was placed over it and heavy plastic with a 2inch overlap on the plywood to keep it dry. The remaining pen had chicken wire over the grass weighted down with brick pavers and pavers along the edges to keep them from digging out. Under the plywood the dens stayed cool all summer. We had no more loses and the rabbits produced like rabbits do.