Accidental rabbit litter in my chicken/rabbit coop

[MacMamaof4]

Hi! I raised two female (ha) mini rex bunnies with four female chicks, and they've all lived happily together in my in outdoor coop and run.

Apparently more happily than I realized, because almost a week ago I found a nest of fur and four babies in the rabbits' private den.

Everything has gone well so far- the chickens can't reach the nest, and teen mama bunny is doing a fantastic job, but now we're about to have a heat wave of nearly 100 degrees.

The coop has a solid roof so it's shaded, and then the whole thing is in turn shaded by trees. I also added a sun shade because there is an hour or two in the late afternoon that sun does hit the coop, so now that's shaded as well. Mama also seems to be really great- she removed a lot of the fur as temps have warmed up. Do you think this setup is safe in such warm temps? We drop to the 60s at night here in Portland even in hot weather, but we'll be near 100 in the day for the next week.

 

[MissE]

100 degrees is pretty hot for rabbits. Adults can be given a frozen 2 liter pop bottle, but that would chill the kits too much if they couldn't move away from it. Since does only feed once or twice a day, you can bring the kits in the house in the morning and put them back out in the evening.

 

[EverythingDucks]

I agree with @MissE
Rabbits are most comfortable in temperatures under 75°F, much kire than that and they could doe of heat stroke. I would bring the babies in, and if possible the mama too. You can setup a dog playpen or large kennel for them and put the nest in a box.

Have you separated the buck? If not shes likely pregnant again. Bucks find does giving birth attractive for some reason, so they mate again.
You'll need to get him fixed too u less you rehome him or house him separately. And I would get the doe fixed after this too.

 

[MissE]

You'll need to get him fixed too u less you rehome him or house him separately. And I would get the doe fixed after this too.

Or start raising meat rabbits, but even then they need to be housed in separate cages so you can keep track of breeding and have nest boxes available at the proper times. Mini rex make for a smaller meal, but they can be pretty meaty for their size.

 

[MacMamaof4]

I agree with @MissE
Rabbits are most comfortable in temperatures under 75°F, much kire than that and they could doe of heat stroke. I would bring the babies in, and if possible the mama too. You can setup a dog playpen or large kennel for them and put the nest in a box.

Have you separated the buck? If not shes likely pregnant again. Bucks find does giving birth attractive for some reason, so they mate again.
You'll need to get him fixed too u less you rehome him or house him separately. And I would get the doe fixed after this too.

I did read that after the fact, and I assume she's pregnant again, though I never witnessed any mating. :/ They're bonded, and since what's done is likely done, I don't want to separate them now. He's been caring for her while she cares for the babies. He has a neuter appt. next week.

 

[MacMamaof4]

100 degrees is pretty hot for rabbits. Adults can be given a frozen 2 liter pop bottle, but that would chill the kits too much if they couldn't move away from it. Since does only feed once or twice a day, you can bring the kits in the house in the morning and put them back out in the evening.

I'm not super worried about the parents, because they're acclimated to the weather and are great about digging in the cool sand to make themselves more comfortable during warm weather, and I did put some ceramic tiles in there as well to keep them cool, but I'll add the frozen bottles as well.

I was hoping not to remove the kits because she's in there quite a bit fussing over them and rearranging their nest- she seems to be a more attentive mother than I read that she should be, and always jumps into the nest when I check them each morning. But I don't want to lose them to the heat, so maybe I can just take the nest in for the hottest several hours each day.

 

[MacMamaof4]

Or start raising meat rabbits, but even then they need to be housed in separate cages so you can keep track of breeding and have nest boxes available at the proper times. Mini rex make for a smaller meal, but they can be pretty meaty for their size.

It was hard enough for me to humanely euthanize a peanut kit that was starving to death- raising meat bunnies isn't in the cards for me. I managed okay with quail, but the cute factor is off the chart with these sweet little things.

 

[EverythingDucks]

I'm not super worried about the parents, because they're acclimated to the weather and are great about digging in the cool sand to make themselves more comfortable during warm weather, and I did put some ceramic tiles in there as well to keep them cool, but I'll add the frozen bottles as well.

I was hoping not to remove the kits because she's in there quite a bit fussing over them and rearranging their nest- she seems to be a more attentive mother than I read that she should be, and always jumps into the nest when I check them each morning. But I don't want to lose them to the heat, so maybe I can just take the nest in for the hottest several hours each day.

She sounds like a great mama!

Good luck with the babies. What are you going to do with them when they're older?

 

[MacMamaof4]

She sounds like a great mama!

Good luck with the babies. What are you going to do with them when they're older?

I'll adopt them out when they're old enough. Our coop is in the front yard and the bunnies are much beloved by our neighborhood, so we won't have trouble.

 

[MacMamaof4]

100 degrees is pretty hot for rabbits. Adults can be given a frozen 2 liter pop bottle, but that would chill the kits too much if they couldn't move away from it. Since does only feed once or twice a day, you can bring the kits in the house in the morning and put them back out in the evening.

What do you think of this solution? I expanded the nest so that the babies can move away from each other if they're overheated, and I covered multiple hard freezer lunch packs with the gray towel so that they can get cooler if they need to. Today it will get to 93 but we only spend about three hours in the 90s before it cools quickly, so it felt like a safer day to experiment.

The sand below the hutch is nice and cool, and that's where the adult rabbits and chickens were chilling. I did add ice to their water and sprayed down a section of the sand to cool it further.

And that's protective mama in the photo, who actually raced upstairs and nursed them for a minute while I was moving things around. The tiny girl isn't even three pounds or five months old yet, but she gets an A+ for parenting skills.