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Barnyard Buddies:  summer heat + rabbits = uh oh  |
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chickenladycris
True Blue Farmgirl
77 Posts
Cris
Prairie Farm
WI
USA
77 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 05 2011 : 2:32:08 PM
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It's decided to be hot and muggy this summer here in NW Wisconsin. Last year, it was cool and wet--before that, it was cool and dry. The garden is loving the heat & humidity, but my rabbits are not liking it so much. Last week, I came home from running errands to discover it was 100 degrees in the shade at my house, and my rabbits were all experience heat stroke. Yikes! Adding a fan, wet towels draped over cages, and periodic "rain fall" from a watering can pouring over the towels helped a lot. I had already been doing the frozen water bottle trick, which they love, and I've made a poor-man's air conditioner (large block of ice parked in a deep pan in front of the fan blowing across them). Their little shed is well ventilated, and I can't see adding an expensive misting system for my small rabbitry (I have five rabbits, two expecting litters in another week), but I wonder: Any ideas from experienced rabbit-raisers as to low tech/low cost methods to keep my bunnies cool? Should I do anything in particular for the kits when they arrive in about a week?
Oh! I also cut my two angoras very short, the remaining rabbits are short haired New Zealand or Californian breeds.
Thanks for any advice, girls!
"A farmgirl can never have enough chickens!"--me |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2011 : 3:26:17 PM
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a misting "system" doesn't have to be expensive. It could be as simple as setting a spray nozzle on the end of a hose to a mist setting and pointing it where you want the water to fall.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
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Lessie Louise
True Blue Farmgirl
1406 Posts
Carol
PECULIAR
MO
USA
1406 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2011 : 6:14:18 PM
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I used to freeze 2 liter soda bottles after filling them with water and put them in my rabbits cage. They love it, and will lay over the frozen bottles or lay against them. The bottles were hard for me to find because we don't drink soda. Every night I would put the bottles in a bag and refreeze them til the next day. I never had any problem with them nibbling on the plastic. Cheap and easy!
....it's what's inside a women, when she's up against the land.
Farmgirl #680!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lessielouise22 |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Jul 05 2011 : 7:22:24 PM
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frozen water bottles, fans and re-fresh water several times a day...do not use misters in humid weather, makes the heat index go up and will cause mold/mildew spore which can be toxic , also water getting on rabbit urine will release more gases, don't want your kits getting damp either, use a wooden nest box with small holes drilled all over for air flow, the kits will die real quick from heat...I never breed my does in the summer, only late fall, winter and early spring due to heat related deaths in does and kits, also if your bucks get to hot, their sperm count will drop real low until cooler weather, I have been breeding Californians/New Zealands crosses for about 25 yrs, they are a good, tuff cross for meat...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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homsteddinmom
True Blue Farmgirl
441 Posts
Brandee
bullard
tx
USA
441 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2011 : 07:25:34 AM
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our misting system cost $20! we refresh water daily. We also put crocks with water in them also incase a water nossle stops working. We also run a fan!We never breed in the summer as we end up with more dead than alive.
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
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Barnyard Buddies: summer heat + rabbits = uh oh |
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summer heat + rabbits = uh oh
