Domestic rabbits and this awful heat

[Chicky2]

Anyone else raising rabbits where it gets really hot? I am having a heck of a time keeping the poor things cool lately. The other day wunderground said it was 116.8 F and then a storm thankfully came thru and cooled it down to 86 for a few hours. Then back up over 100. We have 2 a/c units (window) installed, use a mister and 2 fans too. Ugh, ugh, ugh! We had emergency butchering and put 20 in the freezer this last week. I have 7 more to go before we have to start butchering our breeders. I'd rather them be in the freezer than suffer and die that way, though. Our emergency plan is to butcher down to 4 breeders and keep them inside the house this summer. My dh does HVAC on the side and scored a 3 ton unit to put in our rabbitry, but he hasn't had time. Hopefully we can get started tonight.

[hildare]

hi! you have a huge operation, we just have 5 cages now - still haven't separated the babies we finally got from the mamas. ours are outdoors, and it's been around 100 here most days. our buns are shaded and under a lean-to that's open so they get a breeze, we just pay careful attention to their water. the mamas seem ok, but the bucks are very droopy and sad (that may be from no bunny lovin' action, too, is way too hot to breed).. they only perk up for a treat. we haven't lost any yet, and will probably look to process the babies in the next few weeks (after we move them out one by one). i feel as though the heat is making them sad but doesn't seem dangerous at this point. i feel bad for them, though. i really hope we get some fall weather soon. sheesh, the south. ick.
would moving your breeders outside be an option for you? i can send you a pic of our setup, i think they stay cooler with the open air..

[Chicky2]

I'd love to see a pic of your setup!

We have 5 big hutches outside for the cooler weather. And we have like 10 we could hang up. It's just so hot, and also humid, and I'm way too worried about their, um, sperm to move them outside. It's so important to keep your bucks testicles no hotter than 80 degrees in order to keep their sperm in good order. I mean, if a rabbit is panting at all, they are in distress, and mine would be miserable. I remember my mom losing several when I was a kid, and that was in a very dry place. And it was just awful for the rabbit who suffered that kind of death.

Speaking of rabbit, we just dined on a fine meal of oven fried rabbit, roasted butternut squash, and and okra/tomato/mushroom/onion/bacon dish. We had a guest over who was eating rabbit for the first time, and she had helped to butcher them the day before. She loved it!

[Isaac'sMa]

We used to keep rabbits and they lived outside year round. In the summer we get a lot of days right around 100 and very humid. We would freeze water in 2-liter bottles and put those in the cages on hot days. Our rabbits would just lay against them for most of the day and seemed pretty comfortable most of the time.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Isaac'sMa

We used to keep rabbits and they lived outside year round. In the summer we get a lot of days right around 100 and very humid. We would freeze water in 2-liter bottles and put those in the cages on hot days. Our rabbits would just lay against them for most of the day and seemed pretty comfortable most of the time.

I give frozen bottles and trays of ice, too. They love it! I will be so happy when it finally cools down. I would love a few 100 degree days, lol. Seriously, we are so looking forward to this weekend when it's only suppose to be 98. It's 109 right now...I can totally feel a big difference between the 100 degree days and the 106-109 days. We lost a quail last week. My neighbor lost 5 chickens one day recently when she was getting ready to butcher them. As she was setting up they were dropping like flies. It was horrible. Those were her cornish rocks, though, so they grow FAST, and she was even a week early on butchering.

We got the rest of our rabbits butchered down. We had 7 fryers left, and I am munching on a leftover leg right now, lol. MMMMMM! Now we are down to 5 proven does-3 senior and 2 junior, and 3 proven bucks-all seniors. I will need to replace one next year.