Outside buns + heat...help?

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Location
, Texas, USA
I have two outside buns, New Zealand whites, and I live in Texas. It's actually heat index of over 108 today. It's 90 and almost the middle of the night. It's pretty bad.

I give them cold ceramic tiles, ice bottles, they have two fans, a wet towel over the cage, and a dishpan of hay in a dishpan of ice. They've been moved to the garage, where it's about 80.

I have two problems.

1) Any other ways to keep them cool? There is a higher chance of my fish sprouting legs and growing to the size of a dinosaur than these rabbits coming inside((while my mother is here)). I'm going to be home alone for a week and I will probably move them inside then if I can do it without putting them into shock from temperature change. XD

2) They're in the garage in pens on a floor of hay. One, the male, is burrowing into the hay like an ice age is coming. He had about an inch over him last time I checked. Is this normal or should I be worried? Is it bad? The female won't do it, she just sprawls out and nibbles the hay.
 
I don't know what burrowing into the hay means but I am concerned for your rabbits. It has been horrific here and I have thought that my buns could never make it outside in these temps.

You are doing a good job ..maybe get a bucket of ice and let the fans blow over the ice towards the rabbit keeping the water bottles close to them

I will post an article from the library and hope there is something else that we both missed.

Misting their ears and keeping their ears cool


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=27899&forum_id=10
Please keep us updated on this as I feel very bad for you in this situation. overall heat will stress them physically over time. :nerves1
 
While the heat here doesn't get too terribly bad during the summer, the humidity makes it seem much worse than it is. We got Penny as an outdoor bun and the breeder said that during the summer they would put a couple of frozen water bottles in each cage and change them out for fresh ones during the day. They would also have an industrial size fan blowing through the barn.
 
I am also in Texas and my buns live outside .. You are doing a good job. I also mist my rabbits in the afternoon .. sometimes get them pretty wet. They seem to enjoy it and spend some time cleaning themselves once they cool off.

Just know that there are a LOT of people dealing with what you are dealing with and we do the best we can. I sit at work and worry about my rabbits .. (with bottles of water freezing the the work fridge .. *Grin*) I swap bottles out twice a day.

Also, I don't recommend that you bring them in the week your mom is out of town.. it will only be harder for them when they have to go back out ..

If this is any indication of the rest of our summer ... eeeeek!
 
Freezing bricks can be excellent, and they hold the cold for a long time. Takes up space in the freezer but its a great way to do it (this is what I use when my outside buns need cooling if they aren't in a run on the grass).

As for the hay, I have seen that twice. One with a rabbit would was cold, and so hid under it, almost like a guinea pig might.

The other time was just this last weekend. Friday night to br precise. That was my girl who had cancer, and she holed herself up, presumbaly because she knew she was going to die. She really hid in her hay. It seems to be an instinct; I've seen it before, but not in hay. I would be concerned for your boy, to be honest.

I agree with not bringing them in during the week you are by yourself because it will be harder for them to go back outside.

Something else you could try is freezing their fresh food into 'bunny popsicles'. Mine loved it when I did that. I used diluted apple juice and put pieces of their favourite fruits and veges inside and froze them. On hot days, in the middle of the day I would give them one and it would disappear faster than most things.
 
Just wanted to add about the bricks, when you get them out, make sure you wrap them in something to protect the buns from burns (like a towel, some fleece, etc). Putting them in the fridge can work just as well.
 
Flashy wrote:
Just wanted to add about the bricks, when you get them out, make sure you wrap them in something to protect the buns from burns (like a towel, some fleece, etc). Putting them in the fridge can work just as well.
Click to expand...
Freezing bricks sounds like a really good idea!!!:)
 
Flashy- Oh my! Now I'm worried for him. He seems to have stopped, and he's just stretching out against his ice bucket like the girly.

I have the frozen water bottles, and give two to each bun. They push hay over them and lay on that. XD

I'll do the frozen brick thing. I have a lot of those. :)

And yes, I remembered about the temperature thing after I had posted. I'll just work to keep them cool. :)

They have one big fan going over both cages, and then both of them have smaller moving fans they like to lay in front of. They actually seem to have gotten better, in terms of dealing with the heat. Their breathing is less heavy and their ears are a little cooler. :)
 
I don't know if it's a possibility for you, but we purchased a swamp cooler for our garage... Of course the darn thing broke just the other week, but it did do a good job when it was working. Quick way to cool an overheatedbun down is to run ice along the vein in it's ear; you can alsospritz them with cool water, and my bunnies like when I put ice cubes in their crocks, they lean up against them...

It sounds like you are doing a good job. I hope your bunnies hang in there!

-----

Annie

 
If they go back outside you could construct a pen (with buried fence so they can't dig out, and obviously a cover) where they have contact with the grass. Make sure the majority of the pen is shaded and they may dig down to cooler earth and hang out there to cool off. I don't know if simulating this with dirt in a kiddy pool or large bin would help.. I imagine that semi damp dirt tends to stay pretty cool.. and the rabbits would likely enjoy digging.. so it may be worth a try.

I can't stand the heat. My rabbits, rats, and ferrets are having a rough time indoors and it's only 82 in here.. but very humid.
 
It might be easier if you had a secure outdoor enclosure. I have a misting system set up. It was simple an inexpensive, but works wonders. I just bought a cheap misting system at the hardware store. I was actually able to break it up into two separate systems. I then bought a sprinkler timer for about 20 bucks. I set it to go off several times a day.
 
My rabbitry is under the shade of a huge Fir tree all day long, so it's relatively cool outside the shed, but inside it's quite warm. What we do is:

1. Open up both of the doors to let cool air in
2. Put a fan in the rabbitry next to the door
3. Give all the bunnies frozen water bottles and swap at least 2 times a day with fresh ones.
4. Mist their ears ever couple hours
5. Make sure they are drinking enough water; and they should always have cold water. We will put ice cubes in their water too, to make sure it stays cold.

I always worry about my buns too. There's only so much you can do for them when it's hot, and it just makes you feel so awful that you can't do more.

Emily
 
DazyDaizee wrote:
If they go back outside you could construct a pen (with buried fence so they can't dig out, and obviously a cover) where they have contact with the grass. Make sure the majority of the pen is shaded and they may dig down to cooler earth and hang out there to cool off. I don't know if simulating this with dirt in a kiddy pool or large bin would help.. I imagine that semi damp dirt tends to stay pretty cool.. and the rabbits would likely enjoy digging.. so it may be worth a try.

I can't stand the heat. My rabbits, rats, and ferrets are having a rough time indoors and it's only 82 in here.. but very humid.
Click to expand...

I am very heat sensitive - I am one of the few idiots on the planet who love cold weather - Snow Miser is my hero. While I do not do well with the reduction in daylight, I love cold weather. Menopause and diabetes do not mix well with heat.

I do the frozen water bottle thing here for my bunnies- luckily we do not get 100 F degree heat here often.

Denise
 
I put big flat marble rocks (about the size of a brick) in my frig for my buns. When the temp reaches above 80 I take one out and it keeps them cool for hours, I also put ice cubes in their water crocks...
 
my guys get a big fan and i've used larger, flatter peices of slat before that i had soaked in cold water and then put in the freezer or frig, but I only do that when it gets really hot. I have three tiers in my rabbit shed and my most heat sensitive ones(My Holland Lops and mini rex) are lower in the shed, my dutch are higher because they're tolerating the heat a lot better.
 
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