# Okay so I need more ideas to keep rabbits cool..



## Cece6 (Feb 21, 2009)

It was 93 today and only the beginning of June.Ive done about everything I can think of to keep the shed cool..I put up a tarp porch to keep the direct sun off one wall but let the breeze in the open windows(3 south side).I put in a fan in the rafters pointing out an opening up there to force out hot air.I put two more open windows on the north side.And a rotating fan to use at cage level.
I also used frozen water bottles and mist the rabbit a few times as well as wet down the tin roof(has wood on the inside but no insulations).By 4 pm the shed is in the shade but the rest the day its in full sun.

The rabbits are still uncomfortable and a few are panting.What if it hits in the hundreds( I am really worried about losing buns)...I used a temp gun to get accurate readings and its 91 in the shed as well as under the shade of the tree's outside so I dont know that bringing them out would do that much good either.
How hot is too hot? Are the frozen bottles enough, not all the buns will lay against them? Any ideas I havent thought of?


----------



## ladysown (May 3, 2008)

misters, dunking in tepid water, that's all I can think of.


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Yes, misting the buns, particularly their ears, seems to help. I use a spray bottle on very fine mist and shoot over their heads so it drifts down on them. With my buck, I sometimes dip water with my hand and soak down his ears. He's okay with that... he really hates the heat.

Instead of tarping to keep the sun off, try that foil bubble insulation. It will reflect more heat away from the rabbitry and because it is fairly stiff will allow better air circulation around it. Great stuff to have around!


----------



## Niomi (Apr 29, 2009)

I tried using a tarp for shade and discovered that the tarp absorbs heat and wasn't much help for reducing temperature. I found a cargo tarp works great for shade. It has a weave with holes in it to allow air flow. I found it at Menard's. I have heard that sheets work well for shade, but I haven't tried them. I don't have a shed, but my hutch set-up is 8 feet long, and the roof is about 5 feet wide. I took sheets of styrofoam insulation and layed it on top of the roof, and then covered it over with a tarp. It works great for keeping the heat out.


----------



## Jesse L (Nov 6, 2008)

Freeze water bottles and stick them in with them.

Put some old ceramic tiles in the freezer.

Let them go for a swim.


----------



## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

Hang a heavy wet cloth in front of the fan facing in. My dad used to do that with old burlap sacks.


----------



## bonnylass79 (May 31, 2009)

Are the water bottles staying frozen all day? You usually have to change them out multiple times a day when it gets this hot.

I would suggest either getting a misting system for the barn or a fan with a built in mister. It really does make a huge difference in the barn temp and the mist is so fine that it evaporates before it hits the floor. The misting systems can be set to automatically go off multiple times a day so if you aren't home, the bunnies are still staying cool.

Another idea would be to mount sprinklers to the roof. They can run for an hour or two during the heat of the day and it will keep that metal roof cool. Very common practice here in Florida and it makes a big difference as those roofs do get hot. Is the metal insulated at all? That would also help to keep the underside of the roof cool. 

Good luck. I raised Jersey Wooleys in Ohio and lost several bunnies to the heat. That's just about the easiest way to lose money in this business.


----------



## Buster (May 31, 2009)

Heat is probably the single factor for my reluctance to start my home meat rabbit enterprise. I'm really nervous about those humid 100+ degree days coming up end of July and in August.

I want to tractor my rabbits, but work all day M-F. I read somewhere many people in areas like mine put off raising little ones during the summer and concentrate on keeping the breeders comfortable (I don't plan to tractor the breeders). I'm finding this thread very helpful, but need more encouragement. Don't want them to fry.

I am wondering if I should build a well insulated rabbit house from scratch and put it in a shady area, but it would be small. Should I instead focus on insulating my large workshop and put them there? I know people raise them in Oklahoma and Texas, so they must have found solutions to these problems.

I certainly hope I don't have to resort to air conditioning. That would kill the whole purpose of the project, I should think. That would make for some expensive meat!


----------



## quietstar (Dec 11, 2002)

Colony rabbit raising has enough pro/con issues to entertain rabbit keepers, however keeping valuable buns alive and productive in Texas summers tips the scale here for a colony with cool burrows...Glen


----------



## Cece6 (Feb 21, 2009)

I can get a sprinkler for the roof that might just work then going out and spraying by hand(thats tiring and it evaporates quickly). I cant afford those misting fans, I saw one and it was near 300 dollars and for that Id just get an air conditioner. 
My freezers can only hold so many water bottles at one time.By evening they still have some ice in the first ones I put out and they are still cold.


About the wet cloth in front of the fan.Should it be in front or behind? I was thinking of trying to make my own "swamp cooler" and see how that would work.


Colony style is a consideration but not till next year.I couldnt allow borrowing down so dont think it could work(I live in city limits).


----------



## mianpe (Apr 8, 2009)

My experience here in Central Texas is no breeding from May through September. I put my hutches under oak trees at the highest point of my lot. Full shade all day and the *best breezes possible*. During the 100+ degree days the rabbits are obviously not thrilled, but do fine. I really think that ventilation is the key here.


----------



## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

What about using a tarp with a shiny silvery liner on one side? Would that reflect the heat instead of absorbing it like a regular tarp?

I had long haired English Angora bunz and all I did was give them frozen bottles. I couldn't use mist because they were fiber bunnies. They loved the frozen bottles (it took a couple of them a few days to learn to lay on them) and would lay right on top the bottles. I used 2 liter bottles so they would stay cold longer and changed them out twice a day.

When I switched to meat rabbits I put them in a colony. You can dig tunnels for them to run in with some rooms for them to hang out in. I put tunnels going from colony to colony so they could be moved. When they had eaten all the goodies from one area, I waited until they all moved to greener pastures then closed off the entrance to the old colony until it regrew. It's rotational grazing in the bunny world.


----------



## Cece6 (Feb 21, 2009)

Today I had my hubby put a vent in the rafters on the east side.His shop is connected to the rabbit shed and has a wall but not in the rafters so his heat comes over to my side with the fan..I also bought some of that fiber roof coating for tin.Im hoping that might help as well.
I only have one doe due today and noone else bred but my sons little rex is due in July(the breeder bred her with her GC buck(YEAH!!)).
I cant really move the buns out under the trees.I have those open cages plus we live in town and having all those buns in the yard will attract attention.I think I will however bring my sons new rexs out.
Its supposed to rain tonight and cool down.


----------



## sd79 (Mar 21, 2009)

I have all these wild rabbits in the yard and during the summer heat they go underground. I wonder if digging out a small bunny cellar would keep them cool in summer heat?


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

sd79 said:


> I have all these wild rabbits in the yard and during the summer heat they go underground. I wonder if digging out a small bunny cellar would keep them cool in summer heat?


They do this in certain hot climates, making bunny cellars with huge terracotta pots underground. To access the nest, they just lift off the lid. I regret I don't seem to have saved the link.

Your rabbits will burrow, given the chance. So you can likely avoid having to dig the bunny cellars yourself.


----------



## Buster (May 31, 2009)

MaggieJ said:


> They do this in certain hot climates, making bunny cellars with huge terracotta pots underground. To access the nest, they just lift off the lid. I regret I don't seem to have saved the link.
> 
> Your rabbits will burrow, given the chance. So you can likely avoid having to dig the bunny cellars yourself.


This is actually incredibly helpful to me. I have plenty of room for this sort of setup. I don't want to just let them burrow anywhere (read horror stories of not being able to catch the rabbits when I want to eat them, and shooting them is out of the question), but I can see setting up a pen with a wire mesh flooring, with a few cellars here and there, at least for the hot season and when the forage is dormant in the winter. Other times I could tractor at least the bunnies during the few weeks needed to grow them out to meat size.

This takes care of my number one concern about rabbit raising, so thanks a lot! Next will be number two... parasites from living on the ground.


----------



## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I found the link to the underground housing article! :bouncy:

http://ressources.ciheam.org/om/pdf/c08/95605275.pdf


----------



## Cece6 (Feb 21, 2009)

That is really cool!!! I would love to do something like this.The key is low cost though.
Digging for me is a problem also I have a crunchy upper back.

If you could truly get a significantly cooler hole for them it might be worth doing.


----------



## a7736100 (Jun 4, 2009)

If you have room it may be easier just to bring the rabbits in the house on super hot days. 

I have a cement patio that's in the shade most of the day. Even at 100F air temperature the cement is 10 to 20 degrees cooler and the rabbits in a pen just stretch out on the cement.


----------



## jhuebner (Mar 29, 2009)

tall plants! moist burlap bags, frozen 2 liter water bottles, even a fan! ... 

but KEEP those bunnies cool! 

joel
Oldhaus Fibers & Rabbits
www.oldhaus.net


----------



## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

I have a large supply of bottles and plastic jars that I keep in the chest freezer. When it gets over 80, I start putting these out in the morning when I feed and water and I change them out at midday when I am checking waterbottles for refills. I ahve french lops which carry a med length coat and this keeps them cool enough in our weather and humidity. I never mist rabbits as I don;t want them getting flystrike. Only time I have had rabbits get struck was when I had an occassional one that liked to lay under the water bottle and drain it on themselves or when I had a colony, when one got injured in a fight.


----------



## Buster (May 31, 2009)

MaggieJ said:


> I found the link to the underground housing article! :bouncy:
> 
> http://ressources.ciheam.org/om/pdf/c08/95605275.pdf


Hey! I think I can do that! Thanks!

Although I'm starting to lean toward some sort of colony with wire fencing on grass and a tube tunnel to a cellar of some sort. The more I read, the less I like the idea of cages.


----------



## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

I also work during the day, M-F. Usually check buns at 6am and get home at 4pm to check them again.

I use the gallon-size plastic jugs that ACV comes in to keep everyone cool (because I use ACV for my dogs and my rabbits, I always have plenty of the jugs lying around). I tried using cleaned gallon milk jugs, but they always seemed to leak. The plastic ACV jugs are made with a thicker plastic, and I almost never have a problem with them leaking.

I fill the jugs 3/4 of the way with water, freeze them *solid *in my chest freezer, and put them in the rabbit cages during the hot days. It gets really hot here in Virginia, but even after being out all day on 100+ degree days I always see at least a small core of ice in the bottles when I go out in the evening to pull the jugs in. 

The rabbits can lick the condensation that forms on the outside of the jugs, and the evaporation from the condensation that gets on their fur helps keep them cool too.

The key for me seems to be to freeze the jugs for two nights - freezing them overnight doesn't get them "solidly" frozen, and then the ice melts faster. So you have to have two sets of them....again, not a problem because I always seem to have them coming out of my ears!

I also have 1/2 gallon widemouth water bottles that can be filled with ice cubes. I have two sets of water bottles, keep one set half full of water in the spare refrigerator, and give my buns refrigerator-cold water with ice. Once I add the ice, the water level goes up to full, and the water bottles stay cool longer because the water was cold to begin with.

So far (knock on wood!) I haven't lost any buns to heat. BUT I'm moving from Virginia to Utah and I won't have the spare refrigerator, so that's going to put a small kink in my current plan.... I am keeping the chest freezer of course so the ice jugs are still a go.


----------



## sewtlm (Mar 22, 2006)

I have little 4" fans for each cage.
They're all metal and I hang them on the outside of the cage with S-hooks.

Right now I am having problems with to much cold.


----------



## stranger (Feb 24, 2008)

freeze 5-1 gallon milk jugs and put them in front of a small fan, the cool air blowing on them will cool them off,


----------



## Cece6 (Feb 21, 2009)

I have just a little half size deep freeze.I cant fit that many milk jugs in it and the meat too.I wish I had bought the bigger freezer now.
BTW here is an interesting site I found, if you scroll way down to the very bottom it has links to some interesting rabbit housing ideas.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690e/t1690e07.htm


----------



## jhuebner (Mar 29, 2009)

we have one 5cuft freezer just for frozen 2qt bottles in summer, and "bunny-cicles" in winter... 
frozen bottles are for outside bunnies, 

FANS and more fans inside, I amd updating to 2 roof vent fans this summer, one's just not enough!


----------

