Rabbits and Heat - Dock - Climate - Rabbit and the Well

Hare of the rabbit podcast

English - June 05, 2017 09:00 - 24 minutes - 24.9 MB - ★★★★★ - 5 ratings
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This week we are going to explore keeping rabbits cool in the Heat.

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With summer heat on the way, raising rabbits can be very frustrating. Humans sweat. Pigs wallow in mud. Dogs pant. Rabbits don’t do any of these when they get too hot. In the wild, rabbits disappear into brush and burrow into the dirt in order to avoid the sun. Their entire bodies are covered in fur with the exception of their eyes, which means that finding shelter is their only option to keep cool. If you’ve adopted a pet rabbit, be sure to keep it in a relatively cool environment. Room temperature is fine, but anything hotter has the potential to overheat your bunny.
Rabbits with thick or long coats of hair, overweight, and young or old are at an even greater risk. Temperature, humidity and air ventilation are all factors that contribute to heatstroke in a rabbit. Rabbits are individuals and could respond to these conditions somewhat differently. It is important to check your rabbits consistently to insure they are comfortable and do not overheat. Each rabbit will tolerate heat differently and it is important to observe your rabbit daily. Early detection of heatstroke and proper corrective steps could mean the difference between life and death for your rabbits.
Keeping your bunnies cool during summers brutal heat could be a challenge. As bunnies don’t possess a natural cooling system like people, they don’t sweat, it makes it even more important for you to ensure your bunny’s health in extreme hot weather.
Before we venture into prevention and treatment, let us look into the signs and symptoms that will help you recognize that your rabbit has or is beginning to get heat stroke.
-The rabbit is fully stretched out. The feet are sprawled apart and the tail is limp.
-Wetness around the nose area
-Eyes are half closed. The rabbit has a sleepy or dazed appearance.
-The rabbit’s tongue is hanging out. His breathing is rapid and possibly labored.
-Fast, shallow breathing
-The rabbit is reluctant to move.
-The rabbit refuses to eat or drink.
-Hot ears
The summer heat can cause your rabbits stress and health problems.
-Bucks can go sterile for several months if they are kept in a too hot of environment it takes up to 3 months for them to get back to normal fertility.
-Rabbits can lose condition and eat less food.
-Many times your bucks will go into molts and temporarily lose most of their hair.
-Lastly when a rabbit gets too overheated they can die from heat stroke.
Preventing heat stress is the key. Ways to help your rabbits survive the heat include. Looking at the makeup of the common domestic rabbit, one sees that he is completely covered from head to toe in a thick fur coat. This leaves no way for the rabbit to perspire. There are virtually no means of which the rabbit can cool his body temperature other than their ears. The ears of a rabbit act as a temperature control mechanism, to warm themselves up or cool themselves down, they are able to do this because their ears are filled with blood vessels which run close to the surface of the ear. When the animal is too hot the blood vessels are able to cool the blood down from the cool air around the ear, the blood vessels are also able to warm the blood by the ears being in the sun, warming the ears and in turn the rabbit
Rabbits and heat are never a good combination, and heat stroke is one of the leading causes of death in rabbits. Fortunately it can easily be avoided, even if you do not have air conditioning.
1. Water,
The first element is plenty of clean cool water. Cool water is important. Make sure they have cool water to drink to cool themselves down. If their water is hot, it not only causes them to drink less, but also keeps them from cooling down when needed. You may need to change their water 3 or 4 times a day during the hot months. And if you have an automatic watering system, make sure you have some way of flushing the system to get the hot water out of the lines and cool water in several times a day. Water is the single most important thing you can give your rabbit during the hot summer days. In the summer, water can evaporate quickly, so check on your rabbit and the amount of water in its bowls several times throughout the day. You may want to provide water in both a crock or bowl and a bottle on particularly hot days. Recent studies have shown that rabbits may drink more water if it is provided in a bowl rather than a bottle.
I recommend spill proof crocks in the hottest part of summer over water bottles as the crockery holds the cool temperature of the water making it less likely that your rabbit will have to drink warm or even hot water.
2. Misting.
The second thing you can do to keep you bunny cool is Misting your Bunny. Misting your bunnies can help them stay cool. You can do this periodically using a standard handheld spray bottle. Some bunnies can adapt to misting more easily than others. If your rabbit runs away, discontinue misting (you’re probably stressing him more). Never do misting directly on your bunny’s face as this might cause respiratory problem. You can mist his ears. This dissipates a lot of heat. If your aisles are 4’ to 5’ wide, place the mister down the middle. If you use “J” feeders, you may need to cover them to keep the feed dry. Do not let the water mist on the rabbits. Misters will lower the temperature 10-15 degrees in dryer climates.   Some rabbits take to this spraying of water better than others. Do not drench your rabbit in water because rabbits do not particularly like getting wet. Misting with too much water too often could lead to respiratory problems in your rabbit.
3. Ice.
You can periodically provide your bunnies with a bowls or tubs of frozen ice cubes especially during the hottest part of the day. This could be just another way to keep them hydrated. Make frozen herb cubes by putting cilantro or other veggies/herbs in ice tray before freezing.
4. Frozen water bottles.
Frozen bottles are the best for them to lie against. Keep in mind that water frozen in a 2-litre bottle stays cold longer than that frozen in a 20-ounce bottle. Wrap around a paper towel or rag. Place this in your rabbit’s pen. This will last between four and eight hours before you will need to replace it with a new one. Place the thawed bottle back in the freezer so that you may use it again. Your rabbit will lay next to, or even on this bottle and get great relief from the heat. Do not fill the bottles all the way (as water freezes it expands which may lead to a busted water bottle). Fill around 80%. Put some ice packs underneath your rabbit cage. This will cool the bottom of the cage. Never apply ice directly to the rabbit's body. Doing so may lower your rabbit’s temperature too quickly.
4. Creating a Cool Environment and Placement of the Hutch.
Try to place the hutch in a shady area. Also ensure that shade is incorporated into the construction of the hutch. Another key element is airflow. Shady area and less natural airflow is also a wrong spot for the hutch. An example of such spot could be an open garage. Make sure your bunnies get plenty of wind & natural airflow.
Monitor the temperature. The ideal temperature for a rabbit is between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. They can tolerate temperatures as high as 85 degrees Fahrenheit, if absolutely necessary, but anything higher will increase the risk of heat stroke. Many days in the summer there are temperatures approaching 80ºF to 95ºF+. For rabbits outside in a hutch (even in a shady area) this can be a death sentence. If you keep your rabbit outdoors, pay attention to the temperature. Summertime is the most common time of the year to be concerned. Make sure there is enough space for them to stretch out to get cool. If you don’t have natural shade from trees, try using awnings, sun umbrellas or shade sails to help keep your bunnies out of direct sunlight, especially strong southern exposure or afternoon sun. A wire covered cage allows air to flow freely from all sides. If your rabbit is outdoors in a hutch keep them in the shade and allow for cover without compromising ventilation.
You could grown sunflowers, or pole beans on trellises to help shade the rabbits plus feed them! Natural shade is very helpful. If you have a shelter of some sort made of wood, which is then shaded by a tree, this is optimal. Being under a tree will make a big difference vs. being under a wood cover that is being hit directly by sunlight.
If your rabbit is inside, cover any windows with blinds and curtains if necessary. If this doesn't make a difference, consider moving the cage to a cooler part of the house, such as a basement. If you have a window air conditioning unit, you can close the doors to that room and keep the bunny there. If you have central air conditioning, you may want to close some vents and direct the cool air to the rabbit room to manage the electricity bills. You can also purchase standing air conditioning units for a particular room.
5. Keep your rabbit cage well-ventilated.
Use fans to cool your rabbit. Position an oscillating fan so that it blows in the rabbit cage, but not directly on the rabbit. This will create a breeze to cool your rabbit down. Make sure that your rabbit can escape the fan if it chooses. You can build a hiding place for the rabbit with a cardboard box. Fans can be used but not best to have them blowing directly on rabbits. Air flow is critical. Have a fan that is circulating the air. This not only makes the area cooler, but can help with the ammonia smell that can build up and increase in strength during hot days. And if possible, have the fan set up so that it is pulling the cool air in and not blowing against it. A circulating ceiling fan above the cage is another option. Used in combination with floor fans, ceiling units can effectively ventilate your rabbit’s area. Be careful that the rabbit doesn't chew on the cords. This can be quite hazardous.
6. Make a swamp cooler in the hutch
Staple a burlap bag to the roof of the cage and have it drape over front of the cages. Place a soaker hose upside down close to the front of the roof edge. Set the hose on a timer or turn it on manually. The water will run over the burlap and act as a swamp cooler. The rabbits will lay closer to the fronts of their cages for the coolness.
Take a normal sized shower towel (roughly 2.5' x 3.5'). Soak it in cool water. Wring it out and place it on top of the cage. Try to to cover the entire cage with the towel. You want to make sure that you don't obstruct the cage's ventilation. Make sure that the towel is not still dripping either. You don't want to soak your rabbit. Place a cold, damp towel over a fan directed at your rabbit’s pen. As the water evaporates it will help keep your rabbit cool. Evaporative systems like swamp coolers work in dryer climates.
Swamp Cooler Box
Having an air conditioner inside is easy, but your outdoor rabbits would also love some cool AC! It’s easy to make a homemade “air conditioner” using an inexpensive foam cooler, a small fan, a bit of pipe and duct tape. Cut a hole slightly smaller than the fan in the cooler’s top, secure the fan to the cooler lid so the fan is blowing directly into the cooler. On the other side of the lid, cut a hole for the pipe (this is where the cold air will come out). Fill the cooler with ice or ice packs and turn the fan on. As the air from the fan gets chilled in the cooler, cold air will come out through the pipe. Perfect for your outdoor rabbits (just make sure to hide the cord from them!)
If your barn is small enough to be closed an ac window unit can be used but again ventilation is stressed.
7. Grooming.
Always keep your bunnies well-groomed to remove excess hair. If you own long-haired bunnies, getting them a shorter “summer cut” may be a good option to help keep them cooler. Give your bunnies a trim. Remove as much excess hair as possible to help keep them cool. Step up your grooming schedule to remove loose hair often. Brush your rabbit's fur. Rabbits shed a lot. Normally, they clean themselves and remove all the excess fur and dander. If your rabbit is shedding and not cleaning itself properly, this extra fur can act as another layer of insulation. In the winter, this works well for a rabbit. In the summer, it can lead to heat exhaustion. Brush your rabbit from head to posterior. Keep your strokes light. You don’t want to remove too much fur or hurt your rabbit.
8. Ceramic Tiles, Bricks and Carpet.
Ceramic tiles can be provided for them to lay on, or small slabs of marble are one of the best ways to cool your bunnies. If you place the tile in the refrigerator for an hour beforehand it will provide even greater relief. Not only are they great for keeping cool, but they are super easy to keep clean.
Wet piece of carpet. Carpets cut into small pieces dunked in water will retain water throughout most of the day. You will have to watch for soiled pieces and change out for clean ones.
Wet bricks. Soak them in a bucket of cold water. The bricks absorb the water and retain the coolness for hours.
9. Shared space (in-case of multiple rabbits).
Avoid keeping multiple rabbits in the same cage. When you have multiple rabbits sharing a cage, their shared body heat contributes to a hotter living environment. If you own more than one or two rabbits, make sure the shared space is large enough for each rabbit to stretch out and lie down at a distance from each other.
10. Handling/Feeding your bunny
Limit exercise time to morning and evening hours when it's cooler both indoors and outdoors. Rabbits should get at least a couple hours of out-of-cage play time a day. Your rabbit won't feel like running and playing as much if he or she is very hot. Feed in early morning or late in evening. Leave them alone during hottest part of day. Handling your bunny during the heat of the day causes increased stress when heat stress already exists. Leave them alone during hottest part of day.
11. Fresh Greens.
Provide plenty of fresh greens. Wash the greens in cool water to help your rabbits get extra water and make them more appealing. Soak small carrots, celery stalks, and other vegetables that your rabbit enjoys in water and then place them in your rabbit’s cage. This way your rabbit will get additional water through its food.
12. Solar Fan.
Solar panels convert energy from the sun using wafer-based silicon to produce electricity. Making a solar fan is ideal for cooling rabbits. You can customize the system as your needs grow to add more panels and a bigger fan (I am constantly updating and changing these as i perfect the setup). All the fan parts can be bought from your local electronics store or found from old computers.
There is a link in the notes for full directions on building a solar fan.
I have also seen some solar fans on eBay i do not know how sturdy they are but they were very inexpensive and they also had larger more expensive ones .
When you are able to put most of these together; the cages being under a shelter which is under a tree, with cool water for them to drink, frozen 2 liter bottles in their cages, with air flow from a fan and a proper misting system, your rabbits can get through the scorching summer heat.
Treating an Overheated Rabbit
Check for common signs of heat exhaustion. Your rabbit's ears are the most important to pay attention to. When rabbits overheat, blood vessels in their ears swell and cause a general redness to appear. This is a great indicator of heat stroke in rabbits. An overheated rabbit may also have one or more of the following symptoms:
        Wet fur below the nose
        Heavy and fast breathing
        Flared nostrils
        Sprawled out on the floor
        Hot ears and feet
        Inactive and not as alert as usual (lethargic)
        Eyes half closed
What to do:
It is ok to dip its feet in water, but don't completely dunk it in it. Rabbits by nature are not strong swimmers. You may think that a quick dunk will cool them off, but in reality, it may exacerbate your rabbit's condition. Do not submerge your rabbit in icy water. The shock of the water may cause anxiety, which will elevate your rabbit’s core temperature.
You can lightly mist your rabbit with water, but don't drench it.    Lightly mist your rabbit with water or a rubbing alcohol/water solution. Mix 1 part 50% rubbing alcohol and 3 parts water in a spray bottle; then spritz the solution on the outside of the rabbit's ears and on the top of the paws. Wet them well and the evaporation will cool the rabbit tremendously. (The alcohol just speeds evaporation.)
See your veterinarian. Try calling your vet first. He may ask you to try different cooling measures before you bring your rabbit in for an exam. They'll probably suggest many of the tips included above. If you’ve already tried all of these tips, tell your vet so and then proceed to bring your rabbit into the clinic.
-Wet rabbit’s ears with a cool wet towel
-Place cold packs against the body moving around slowly but do not leave there.
-If they are alert water given orally is important
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
# NEVER drench a rabbit in cold water and NEVER apply ice directly to a rabbit to cool him.
# If you plan to bring your outdoor rabbits inside during summer, do this in the beginning of the season before the hottest weather occurs. Doing so will help you avoid exposing the rabbit to sudden changes in temperature. Rabbits are highly sensitive to sudden temperature change. They become acclimated to heat and do not need to come inside only during the heat of the day.
#NEVER leave your rabbits under direct sunlight for long periods

Breeding<
If you breed during the summer months, you know how hard it is to keep those bucks from going sterile and keep those kits cool. Here are a few tips for those.
-Keep your bucks a close to the ground as possible. The cooler the better.
-Load the bucks up in carriers and bring them inside during the hottest part of the day.
– Bring the nest boxes inside to keep cool. Number or put the name of the doe on the boxes so you know where they go when returned. If the kits are likely to come out and explore while in the house, set them in your bathtub. If they are all the same color, you may want to number their ears so you know where they go later.
-If you need to breed your rabbits in the summer months I recommend that you use all wire nest boxes to help keep your newborn kits cool. Alternatively you can take your nest boxes indoors for the day and bring them back outside in the evening. If neither option works for you, simply be sure to keep your rabbits in a well shaded environment and maybe try running a sprinkler
Traveling with Your Rabbit
Rabbit owners may travel to shows or events with their rabbits in the heat of the summer. This practice can be particularly stressful because airflow in tents or barns at shows may be poor. In addition, the rabbit must adapt to each new environment. Plan ahead when you travel to shows during the summer. Be prepared with plenty of bottles of frozen water, bring extra water dishes, and bring a fan if possible. Also, make sure you have contact information for a local veterinarian in case of heat stroke in your rabbit.
Remember- an ideal temperature for your rabbit is in the fifty to sixty degree Fahrenheit range. Any day above eighty degrees is a potential problem for your rabbit. With care and prevention your rabbits will enjoy many productive comfortable summers.
Have I Missed Anything about Heat and your Rabbit? If you know something different, please let me know.   Do you have a story about heat and your rabbit? Do you have any tips or tricks up your sleeve for keepig a rabbit cool? Let me know, and maybe we can set up an interview?
https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/04/22/tips-for-raising-rabbits-in-the-heat/
http://bunny-stories.com/help-your-bunnies-stay-cool-during-summers-rabbits-in-hot-weather-help-rabbits-stay-cool/
http://www.thecapecoop.com/top-7-ways-to-keep-your-rabbit-cool-in-summer/
http://supremepetfoods.com/keep-your-bunnies-cool-this-summer/
https://www.saveafluff.co.uk/rabbit-info/summer-care
http://rabbit.org/faq-warm-weather-concerns/
http://www.catsandrabbitsandmore.com/keeping_rabbits_cool
http://articles.extension.org/pages/64501/hot-weather-care-for-rabbits
http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Pet-Rabbits-Cool
Plant of the Week:
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Plant of the week: Dock

Word of the Week: Climate

Our FolkTale:
Our FolkTale:
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/brer_rabbit_falls_down_the_wel.html
Brer Rabbit Falls Down the Well
A Georgia Folktale
retold by S. E. Schlosser
One day, Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox and Brer Coon and Brer Bear and a lot of other animals decided to work together to plant a garden full of corn for roasting. They started early in the morning and raked and dug and raked some more, breaking up the hard ground so it would be ready for planting. It was a hot day, and Brer Rabbit got tired mighty quick. But he kept toting off the brush and clearing away the debris 'cause he didn't want no one to call him lazy.
Then Brer Rabbit got an idea. "Ow!" he shouted as loudly as he could. "I got me a briar in my hand!" He waved a paw and stuck it into his mouth. The other critters told him he'd better pull out the briar and wash his hand afore it got infected. That was just what Brer Rabbit wanted to hear. He hurried off, looking for a shady spot to take a quick nap. A little ways down the road, he found an old well with a couple of buckets hanging inside it, one at the top, and one down at the bottom.
"That looks like a mighty cool place to take a nap," Brer Rabbit said, and hopped right into the bucket.
Well, Brer Rabbit was mighty heavy - much heavier than the bucket full of water laying at the bottom. When he jumped into the empty bucket, it plummeted right down to the bottom of the well. Brer Rabbit hung onto the sides for dear life as the second bucket whipped passed him, splashing water all over him on its way to the top. He had never been so scared in his life.
Brer Rabbit's bucket landed with a smack in the water and bobbed up and down. Brer Rabbit was afraid to move, in case the bucket tipped over and landed him in the water. He lay in the bottom of the bucket and shook and shivered with fright, wondering what would happen next.
Now Brer Fox had been watching Brer Rabbit all morning. He knew right away that Brer Rabbit didn't have a briar in his paw and wondered what that rascal was up to. When Brer Rabbit snuck off, Brer Fox followed him and saw him jump into the bucket and disappear down the well.
Brer Fox was puzzled. Why would Brer Rabbit go into the well? Then he thought: "I bet he has some money hidden away down there and has gone to check up on it." Brer Fox crept up to the well, listening closely to see if he could hear anything. He didn't hear nothing. He peered down into the well, but all was dark and quiet, on account of Brer Rabbit holding so still so the bucket wouldn't tip him into the water.
Finally, Brer Fox shouted down into the well: "Brer Rabbit, what you doing down there?"
Brer Rabbit perked up at once, realizing that this might be his chance to get out of the well.
"I'm a fishing down here, Brer Fox," says he. "I thought I'd surprise everyone with a mess of fresh fish for lunch. There's some real nice fish down here."
"How many fish are there?" asked Brer Fox skeptically, sure that the rascally rabbit was really counting his gold.
"Scores and scores!" cried Brer Rabbit. "Why don't you come on down and help me carry them out?"
Well, that was the invitation Brer Fox was waiting for. He was going to go down into that well and get him some of Brer Rabbit's gold.
"How do I get down there?" asked Brer Fox.
Brer Rabbit grinned. Brer Fox was much heavier than he was. If Brer Fox jumped into the empty bucket at the top, then Brer Rabbit's bucket would go up, and Brer Fox's bucket would go down! So he said: "Jest jump into the bucket, Brer Fox."
Well, Brer Fox jumped into the empty bucket, and down it plummeted into the dark well. He passed Brer Rabbit about halfway down. Brer Rabbit was clinging to the sides of the bucket with all his might 'cause it was moving so fast. "Goodbye Brer Fox," he shouted as he rose. "Like the saying goes, some folks go up, and some go down! You should make it to the bottom all safe and sound."
Brer Rabbit jumped out of the well and ran back to the garden patch to tell the other critters that Brer Fox was down in the well muddying up the waters. Then he danced back to the well and shouted down to Brer Fox: "There's a hunting man coming along to get a drink o' water, Brer Fox. When he hauls you up, you'd best run away as fast as you can!"
Then Brer Rabbit went back to the garden patch. When the thirsty hunter hauled up the bucket full of water, a wet and shaky Brer Fox sprang out and ran away before the hunter could grab for his gun.
An hour later, Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit were both back in the garden, digging and hauling away debris and acting like nothing had happened. Except every once in a while, Brer Fox would look sideways at Brer Rabbit and grin, and the rascally rabbit would start to laugh and laugh 'cause both of them had looked so silly plummeting up and down in that ol' dark well.

Every week I would like to bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience, and I have researched enough to recommend.



Today’s HOTR Amazon Item of the week is the All Weather Large Rabbit Water Bottle
I believe with some things to always buy the best you can afford. The All Weather Large Rabbit Water Bottle is easy to install fits most cages. Engineered for superior performance one piece tube/cap assembly with stainless steel double ball point tube. Filling Instructions: Water bottles work on a vacuum lock. When bottle is filled and first inverted, press the control ball and let water trickle out until vacuum develops before placing bottle in holder.
I have had it drip/leak before until the pressure equalized. I had the same issue the first couple of days, and I had the same issue with my old (smaller) one. The fix is easy.
-When you fill the bottle, make sure to fill it ALL OF THE WAY.
-then when you place it for use, press the ball in with your finger until it stops dripping. Equalizing the pressure will stop most of the dripping. I have also experienced algae growing the bottles before, so be sure you get a bottle brush.