Rabbit People....how do you keep your buns cool?

[nurseshelly]

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My bunny was a dutch bunny, and you could tell when she was hot just looking at her (white) fur around her mouth and nose. It would get transparent when she was hot, and opaque when she was cool enough.

 

[dewey]

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Aren't our summers here in AZ...interesting?

Even though most of mine have evap cooling now, mine here always did ok in 100% shade (sunrise to sunset) in open air cages (not solid topped or enclosed hutches) placed in an area without any nearby reflective heat sources such as gravel, concrete, stucco siding, or block or metal fences, and lots of ventilation. A good soaking of the ground around the cages helps keep temps down throughout the day, too.

They really need the cages out of any direct sunlight even in temps much lower than the 90's you're having there. Direct sunlight can raise hutch/cage temps 40+ degrees. Your idea of putting up a tarp shade (that has several feet of clearance over the cage tops) is a good fix for quick shade. And like others have mentioned, a fan blowing through works great. A good amount of tarp headroom clearance over the cages gives enough space for the hot air to rise up off them and be blown out by the fan.

Lots of great cooling suggestions have been mentioned. Like nurseshelly's pool dipping bun

(that's so funny) they'll also appreciate shallow crocks of water to lay in if they feel like it.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Aren't our summers here in AZ...interesting?

Even though most of mine have evap cooling now, mine here always did ok in 100% shade (sunrise to sunset) in open air cages (not solid topped or enclosed hutches) placed in an area without any nearby reflective heat sources such as gravel, concrete, stucco siding, or block or metal fences, and lots of ventilation. A good soaking of the ground around the cages helps keep temps down throughout the day, too.

They really need the cages out of any direct sunlight even in temps much lower than the 90's you're having there. Direct sunlight can raise hutch/cage temps 40+ degrees. Your idea of putting up a tarp shade (that has several feet of clearance over the cage tops) is a good fix for quick shade. And like others have mentioned, a fan blowing through works great. A good amount of tarp headroom clearance over the cages gives enough space for the hot air to rise up off them and be blown out by the fan.

Lots of great cooling suggestions have been mentioned. Like nurseshelly's pool dipping bun

(that's so funny) they'll also appreciate shallow crocks of water to lay in if they feel like it.

Outside in the shade I don't think will work for french angoras - way too much hair.

 

[bossynbella]

Its 91 already here today, not the first HOT day but the first HOT day in a while, I was concerned for my satin doe and litter of 8 because they are in a hutch that is enclosed on three sides and top with wire floor and front, she and they seemed fine, though I took the top off the nest box (we use covered cat litter boxes for nest boxes) so the babies would get some air. All the rest seemed fine, except Alex my Mini Lop buck. I just got him in April, so this is our first really hot time with him. They are all in the shade, he has a open cage, All wire except the board over the top to block out rain, still had a half bottle of water, I emptied it and refilled it of course, and gave them all ice cubes, but he didn't get up even when I laid the ice by him, I splashed him with a bit of the cool water (not the cold from faucet but the cool from his water bottle and will be checking on him often today. We found the first year we had rabbits that there was only one place in the yard cool enough for them in the summer, its always a good 5-10 degrees cooler there then the rest of the yard, because of all the trees.

 

[dewey]

It's supposed to be 108 here on sunday. Although I've had various large and small breeds over the years, my cali's & nzw's are really good breeds for hot climates. If I had angoras they'd either be in the cooled rabbit barn or trimmed for the summer.

 

[Glenmar]

When I had rabbits, I froze large coke bottles. Put them in the cags. The rabbits layed next to them.

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

I only have one bunny who lives indoors...when it was super hot last summer I put a damp towel over his cage and put our humidifier under the towel. I filled the humidifier reservioir with half ice cubes half water. It put out a nice cool mist and lasted for the day when I was at work.