What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[PrimroseMom1]

Great information regarding winter kindling.  Does anyone have experience successfully kindling in temps near to or above 100 degrees F?  Mine won't be 6 months old until the temp is close to that in my area.  If I get brave enough, I guess I could bring momma in the house close to and after kindling. 

As in most things, there are two schools of thought. The breeder I am closest to does not breed her does once it reaches 90's. It is very humid here which make it feel more like high 90's or 100. Too much stress. I am not a breeder and I do all the things Chocolate Mouse does in the summer for mine. Cool under the hutch. Hutch under big tree. Frozen water bottles that are changed out during the day and I even have fans. They stay right on those frozen bottles under the fan. It just always seems as though the heat is all they can manage without the added stress of pregnancy. But, like I said, two schools of thought. If I were a breeder, I would not breed in weather starting in low to mid 90's. IMHO

 

[ChocolateMouse]

It can certainly be rough on the does in the summer. We also get very high humidity here. I have heard horror stories from people about their bunnies in the summer not making it through much lower temperatures... But their setups tended to be inadequate. What was interesting to me was when my dog managed to find a wild rabbit nest in my back yard and nommed the kits (whoops) and they looked to be in about the same stage of development as my kits were... Meaning the wild rabbit had kits in the incredible heat too! Mind you, it probably had no choice being wild and all... But I really believe that rabbits are a lot hardier than anyone gives them credit for. Much like there are a lot of things that "can" happen to any animal (dogs CAN choke on bones, chickens CAN get gapeworm from eating earthworms, cats CAN get sick drinking from a puddle) there are a lot of things that CAN happen to rabbits... But I think a lot of people over inflate how sensitive rabbits are compared to other animals.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Beautiful day for bunny play yard today. They really kicked up their feet, jumping and twirling. I love watching that. I sat in the yard with them for a long time.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

That broken Rex is so pretty! I would love to have a rabbit like that!

 

[PrimroseMom1]

That broken Rex is so pretty! I would love to have a rabbit like that!

Thank you chocolate. That's the one I hand raised from 5 days old. He is so pretty and his fur is so rich.

 

[kacklinkelly]

I love seeing the growth of your broken rex. I have been lurking for a while and saw how tiny he was when you took him in. I brought our babes outside today for the first time. I created a temporary play pen. It was funny to see the chickens and our dog circling the play pen trying to figure things out. My old, one eyed dog found the bunnies first and got too interested and too close. She was sent back inside. Within about 5 minutes, one of the babes found an escape route. Within no time, my RIR was running after the bunny and I was running after the RIR. It was pretty nerve racking while I was running and pretty funny after it ended just fine.

 

[kacklinkelly]

Made a great score today. Went to the feed store and while I was looking for what I needed, my adult daughter struck up a conversation with someone at the store. By the end of the conversation, the person said they had a perfectly good wood/wire rabbit hutch they didn't need anymore that we could have for free. I was amazed. We went to the person's home and picked it up. 4 feet by 2 feet by about 3 feet high. Have to figure out how to sanitize it for my little girl. Now DH only has to build one hutch for the little boy. I was so happy with the condition it was in, no major stains or stink and the fact that it was FREE. I took it as a sign that I am meant to have these bunnies

.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I often use straight up white vinegar in my wood and wire hutches. Spray bottle of white vinegar, maybe a scrubby pad with some baking soda, done. Rinse, drain, and let dry for a few days. Alternately 1-2tbs bleach to 1 gallon water in a spray bottle is equally if not moreso effective! (This is the FDA suggested ratio for santiziation in meat processing facilities without rinsing between sanitizing and using tools. This much bleach is VERY effective and will kill EVERYTHING in a few minutes.) Dry time is really the important thing here. Enough dry time to actually GET the cage dry. Hard to do outdoors in the winter sometimes.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

I love seeing the growth of your broken rex.  I have been lurking for a while and saw how tiny he was when you took him in.  I brought our babes outside today for the first time. I created a temporary play pen. It was funny to see the chickens and our dog circling the play pen trying to figure things out.  My old, one eyed dog found the bunnies first and got too interested and too close.  She was sent back inside.  Within about 5 minutes, one of the babes found an escape route.  Within no time, my RIR was running after the bunny and I was running after the RIR.  It was pretty nerve racking while I was running and pretty funny after it ended just fine.   

Thank you. It was an awesome journey. He loves his mommy, too. And he's so beautiful. It's so neat to look at him bec he was doomed to not make it and he did make it. I love sitting with them in the play yard.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

I often use straight up white vinegar in my wood and wire hutches. Spray bottle of white vinegar, maybe a scrubby pad with some baking soda, done. Rinse, drain, and let dry for a few days. Alternately 1-2tbs bleach to 1 gallon water in a spray bottle is equally if not moreso effective! (This is the FDA suggested ratio for santiziation in meat processing facilities without rinsing between sanitizing and using tools. This much bleach is VERY effective and will kill EVERYTHING in a few minutes.) Dry time is really the important thing here. Enough dry time to actually GET the cage dry. Hard to do outdoors in the winter sometimes.

That's how I do it too. I use vinegar for everything. I put the vinegar in a bucket and I have a small hand mop. I dip the mop and soak every nook and cranny and also let it dry completely. BTW, vinegar is good for lots of cleaning. If One of my dogs has an accident in the house I wipe and clean with vinegar. No odor or stain left behind. I read that it also gets out the urine smell that only your pet snarls that causes them to return to that spot. Also, no better way to clean carpets. Any accident on carpet, get up the excess, then use vinegar on it and blot out. Stain out, no ordor, and no residue. No need to buy expensive cleaners!! Can even use it in your washing machine if any ordors have developed over time. Bec of allergies, I don't use washing soaps with scents in the washer so sometimes I add vinegar. I buy it in large containers. And it's cheap. Don't forget a little bit of apple cider vinegar in chicken and bunny water. I also use in chicken feed with water to make a form of FF.