Lost half the herd today

[Chic Rustler]

Today it wss 95°f with a heat index of 105°f. Very hot and miserable. So of coarse i had to work late and do those "just one more" airconditioning calls.

I came home at 6pm to find my two best does dead and 2 small kits gone as well. The does were a week or so away from kindle. I quickly hosed the herd down with a mist spray and took the other 3 small kits inside. They looked close to death. I think i got them cooled off and they might make it. Sad that my 2 best does died.

Is it possible for rabbits to heat stroke in these conditions? There are many people in my area with rabbits and they have the same types of cages as i do.......or do i need to look for other reasons?

 

[Denim Deb]

Heat is one of the biggest problems for rabbits. I know of many people who will fill soda bottles or milk containers w/water, then freeze them. Then when it's really hot out, they'll put them in w/the rabbits. The rabbits will use them to cool off. I've also heard of people sticking large tiles in their freezer and putting them in w/the rabbits. But, they don't hold the cold as well.

 

[samssimonsays]

They need air flow but not fans directly on them. Frozen water bottles or even frozen tile slabs worked well and stacked nicer in the freezer. My French Lops would drop dead at the slightest warm breeze and needed an ac in the barn. They were just that touchy. Normal rabbits need less. @Ferguson K had experience with meat rabbits in Texas heat i know.

 

[tortoise]

Losing animals is always difficult, but it helps me to think of it in terms of culling for more resilient stock. Do you really want to have a herd based on animals that barely tolerate living conditions?

I had angora rabbits, which are more sensitive to heat. Anything over 90 degrees was risky. I took mine out of cages and put them into pens on the grass and moved them to keep in the shade. I didn't have any heat losses, but I also understand how impossibly high maintenance this is for most people.

I would suggest to modify the area around your hutches to add shade. Shade cloth? Strategic plantings? I'd also suggest to buy from breeders who house rabbits outdoors in your area. Ask if what they do for cooling in summer, in order to avoid lines of rabbits which are overly coddled and managed. If you find someone who has rabbits who are already culled by nature to tolerate heat, you can take that line of rabbits and breed selectively for the level of production you expect.

 

[Chic Rustler]

The high is 82 today. It should be a little easier on them. I have one more doe thats bred as well.

Im gonna get something straightened out before the next heat wave for sure.

It does make ya feel terrible tho. Poor girls.

 

[Beekissed]

Losing animals is always difficult, but it helps me to think of it in terms of culling for more resilient stock. Do you really want to have a herd based on animals that barely tolerate living conditions?

I lean towards this way of thinking also. Though it's hard to lose stock, it's also a starting point for changing things in how you do so and what kind of stock you want to raise.

In the summer we moved our meat rabbits out to an open air situation and established fans, gave them frozen water bottles to lie on, provided shade and didn't breed them during the summer months, much like everyone else describes.

If I had to do rabbits all over again, I'd be raising them in tractors and moving them to fresh graze a few times a day, but I think I'd also provide them a den situation during the hottest months. A wild rabbit will den up during the heat of the day and come out to feed at night, so being able to provide that situation for rabbits would be my goal.

 

[baymule]

If you give them plastic bottles with frozen ice, bear in mind that they will nibble on them. This will put holes in the bottles and then you can't use them again. That's why I suggested filling plastic bowls and popping the ice out. yeah, it'll be a little wet, but you can refill the bowls and have more ice.

 

[Chic Rustler]

Thanks for all the help. It never crossed my mind that they might stroke on me. My set up much better than the other guys around me. I just never thought exposure would be an issue.

 

[sumi]

Yeah, it's an awful feeling when animals or birds in our care dies and we feel we could've prevented it somehow But looking at your set-up, you are clearly taking good care of them and the weather was out of your control..

 

[the funny farm6]

I {like others have said} have always frozen soda bottles and I have done the tiles, but they don't last long and have to be switched out more often. another thing I do is to freeze gallon ice cream buckets and set them in front of a fan blowing toward the rabbits. works kinda like an air conditioner. it is always hard to loose good stock.