# TAMUK variety?



## DustyBoot

We're looking at adding meat rabbits to our little ranch in the near future and I'm trying to figure out what breed. We're in central Texas, which means cold probably isn't an issue but heat certainly is. I'm wondering if anyone here has tried raising the TAMUK variety of rabbit that's supposed to be more heat tolerant, or if you have experience with another breed you'd especially recommend as best able to cope with the heat.

I'm interested in tanning hides as well as using the meat, so we may be raising roasters more than fryers, although that could change depending on the results. In general our philosophy is that we like animals that are hardy and more self-sufficient -- which is not to say we won't provide whatever care is appropriate, but given the choice between lower- and higher-maintenance animals, we'll probably take the lower even if it also means somewhat lower production.


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## Latestarter

I know @animalmom raises rabbits and she's S/SW of the metroplex. Not sure what breeds she has but she might could help. I can't recall if @Ferguson K ever raised rabbits & she's down in S TX... I think I also recall @AClark was raising rabbits while in TX though she's now in SW OK right over the TX border. Hope you find something that works for you.


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## Baymule

I had to go look up TAMUK rabbits. Interesting. Do I hear road trip to go get some?


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## animalmom

I think the Altex or TAMUK rabbit would be a great choice for our Texas weather.  Currently I'm doing California/New Zealand meat pen rabbits and they are doing just fine... but I have two big barn fans and a misting system in my bunny barn.

Here's a couple sites if you want to pursue the Altex:  https://rabbitsforsaleintexas.wordpress.com/tag/altex-rabbits/page/2/     This one give you options across the state and while the site doesn't look like it has been updated recently you can still message the various breeders and see what is available, 

and this one  http://www.cowtownrabbits.com/    is in the DFW Metroplex area... I think he is south of Arlington.  This second guy I have spoken with and he breeds year around (if memory serves me right) AND his rabbitry is NOT airconditioned.  I think he is an honest fellow.  He is not very good on email, so I'd suggest calling him instead.  He's not very computer oriented but boy howdy does he know rabbit. You can glean lots of great ideas from him.  I'm sorry I no longer have his name or I'd include that too.

You probably already know all this stuff, but... don't take the breeder's word as gospel especially over the phone, go look, see, smell and listen.  If you don't think something is right walk away, nay run!  If the breeder is offering you a deal that is just too good to pass, do so, pass it like it was the plague because that is exactly what you might be bringing into your rabbitry... the plague.  Several years ago I ran across a situation where a local fellow was selling his Altex real cheap, $15.00 each and I really wanted some Altex so I bought and got way more than I wanted.  The rabbits were sick, had pastuerella and it has taken me a good 5 years to finally get it out of my rabbitry.  A very expensive lesson, nevertheless I am still sold on the concept of the Altex and would really love to see someone here on BYH get into the breed.

In Texas light for your rabbits is never a problem.  Heat is your #1 problem.  Rabbits can do very well with the cold temperatures.  It is harder on you as you have to ensure they have liquid water to drink in the winter.  Mine get warm water in the morning and then in the afternoon when they get fed.  But heat will kill.  Shade, trees, ventilation, frozen bottles and such are your friends.

Ask questions, keep asking questions until you get answers you understand.  If a breeder is hesitant to answer your questions no matter how basic or advanced the walk away!

Please keep us posted on your progress, what you decided to raise, and above all pictures of your rabbits, and kits when they come along, please and thank you.


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## Bunnylady

TAMUK stands for Texas A&M University-Kingsville; it is the name of the facility, not a breed. It is one of the locations where the Altex breed was developed. Apparently the folks there are playing with other breeds, including what might best be described as a multicolored meat mutt that they call the Composite. Since their goal is creating rabbits that will produce even in the heat, if you are buying from them, they probably will do well for you.


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## DustyBoot

Ahhh, thanks for clarification on the name, Bunnylady! Guess I should have done better research. 

Animalmom, thanks for the links. I'll take a good look at both. I've not yet tracked down a breeder I want to buy from, and that's going to be important. We were thinking we could hang some wire cages in our big pole barn. It's well shaded and sheltered from bad weather, but it doesn't get hot in there during the summer and it's very well ventilated and not dark (shady, but not dark). Not too far from water or from the house. We'll probably start with a trio; we're just looking at producing what we can use ourselves. I'll definitely keep y'all posted and take pictures as soon as we have anything to take pictures of!  

I'm hoping this will be an endeavor the kids can be involved with, and that they'll do well with the fact that we're eating what we raise. We have our first goat coming back from the butcher this week and they were initially upset but seem to have gotten over it pretty quickly. This time last year they were suburban kids whose meat came in packages from the grocery store, so it's a learning process. For that matter, I'm assuming I'll be able to bring myself to kill and process the rabbits when the time comes, but I've never done anything like that myself. Read up on it, seen pictures and videos, and I'm fine with it in theory, but doing it myself will be new and probably not easy at first.


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## Baymule

I admire your willingness to wade in and learn how to do what needs to be done. The first one is always the hardest, but you can do it.


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## DustyBoot

We'll see how I do when the time comes. We tried processing chickens once when I was in high school. And by "we," I mean I hid in my room. But we didn't like the results, so we just kept layers after that. I'm hoping rabbits will work out better. As added motivation, I'm already looking at ideas for making rabbit-skin blankets.


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## AClark

I do still have meat rabbits @Latestarter but mine are "meat mutts", multi-colored who-knows-what breeds other than they are big and meaty, lol. They seem to do ok in the heat here in SW OK, but I also have them outdoors in the shadiest area on our place. We moved them to a colony over the summer due to the heat. We had 2 litters last month but not a lot of success, two were first time mothers, and one had dug a nice burrow but then it rained heavily and they were too far down for me to reach and we lost most of them (hole flooded out). 
We've since put in better drainage after I laid on my chest in the mud with my arm down a hole up to my shoulder to retrieve the ones I could reach. It was a pretty big bummer.


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## Bunnylady

DustyBoot said:


> I'm hoping this will be an endeavor the kids can be involved with, and that they'll do well with the fact that we're eating what we raise.



If you have kids involved with this, you might do better starting with white rabbits with pink eyes (whether that means purebred NZW's or just mutts that happen to be that color). If the bunnies are different colors, the kids will probably pick favorites and even name them. When the rabbits all look alike, it's harder to get attached, particularly with the "nobody home" look of the pink eyes.

You need to bear in mind that the Altex is intended to be a meat rabbit, not a multi-purpose one like the typical New Zealand. One of the things they are actually bred for is thin, poor-quality fur (the thinking is that the thin fur means less body heat retention, therefor better hot weather tolerance). While you certainly_ can_ tan those hides and use them anyway, the result may not be very good.

@AClark - Most people worry about predators when keeping rabbit colonies, but they forget about the weather. I had a friend who tried colony raising, and she lost litters due to those flash-flood-producing summer storms, too. On the other hand, litters born underground are less susceptible to freezing during cold weather, so I guess it works both ways. I'm wondering if it might be possible to make artificial burrows and build a mound over them . . . but I suppose getting the rabbits to use them might be yet another issue.


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## AClark

^ True story. My kids tend to get attached and don't want me to do anything with the "pretty" ones, that get names.

That's exactly what happened, we had a storm come in unexpectedly and it flooded part of their pen. Unfortunately, the hole filled up quick, and I only managed to reach 2 of the babies, the rest were really far back I'm guessing because it turned underground. I know there were more though. I'm not one to be keen on sticking my hand down holes either. Predators aren't really the issue, I haven't lost any to that...escaping before we figured out how to do it where they can't dig out was another story, I did lose 2 to that and not sure where they ended up. 
I did see where someone used PVC pipe and made fake burrows on YouTube, not sure how successful that was or is though. We are changing up their pen, with a full wire bottom to prevent digging and above ground nest boxes that are completely covered. Colony raising is definitely different, not knowing when you'll have babies or anything, but it is easier to keep them cool in the summer by far and they don't look stretched out and miserable in cages in the heat.
I'm not knocking cage raising at all, there are definitely some benefits to that, knowing when you'll have litters and being able to control breeding a lot easier.


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## DustyBoot

I did wonder if we'd better stick to less-cute uniformly colored rabbits. For that matter, I suppose uniform colors would be better for use of pelts.

I've also been starting to consider that what makes the Altex heat-tolerant is probably not a prime pelt. So I guess the questions I have to consider are 1) How much more heat-tolerant are the Altex than the other meat breeds available? and 2) How committed am I to using pelts? As far as #2 goes, I'm really not sure. I don't have a market lined up for them nor have I decided on exactly how I'd use them, and whether or not I stick with using pelts would depend on a number of factors including how tedious it gets to be tanning the hides and whether or not I'm successful in coming up with either a marketable product or a practical use for the pelts.

We'd prefer not to have to rig up fans and other infrastructure if it can possibly be avoided. Frozen water bottles or frozen tiles to lie on, etc., no problem. And as I said, definitely a shaded and well ventilated location. We get a pretty constant breeze, possibly because we're near the river, so that helps a lot with the heat. If we can do that AND raise rabbits that will give us both meat and decent pelts, that would be my first choice. If not, then we'd choose the lower-maintenance meat-only breed.


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## Baymule

@DustyBoot just don't try to breed in the summer. Think pregnant, fat, HOT and wearing a fur coat. That's a recipe for a heat stroke, dead doe. Ask me how I know. That squeal of a dying rabbit stays with you. 

You might want to check into what a prime rabbit pelt sells for to a processor. I may be wrong, but it probably isn't much. Your best bet may be to get a trio of meat rabbits to raise for your own use. That will get your feet wet and you can take it from there. 

Your best set up, IMO, is hanging wire cages under a roofed structure with open or partially open sides--wired from the ground to the roof. In winter, plastic can be put up, but leave the south side open for ventilation. Use an open top nest box and on freezing nights those aluminum clamp on lights for working on automobiles can be placed over the nestbox to keep the kits all warm and snuggly. The aluminum flange works nicely reflecting the warmth down on the kits. A 75 watt light bulb works just fine.


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## DustyBoot

I imagine a summertime break from breeding could work well all around -- I don't see how we'd keep up with the meat from breeding rabbits regularly all year anyway. And I wouldn't wish summer pregnancy in Texas on anyone, let alone someone in a fur coat!

We were thinking just a trio for personal use. I don't think I'd try to sell pelts through a processor. I can't imagine it'd be worth the trouble. But I do some sewing and other crafting, so I might be able to come up with a simple product I could sell on Etsy or something. Anything that helps pay the feed bills, after all. I was thinking scrap bits could make good cat toys. Or I could put fur trim on knitted mittens or hats. Or even just being able to make gifts for friends and family. Bet my niece would adore a rabbit-fur muff. Still brainstorming. I don't imagine it'd be a lucrative venture, but I hate to see a potentially useful resource go to waste. If I try it and it's just not working out, it won't kill me to give it up. But I'm stubborn about trying things. Occasionally it works out for me. 

We'd be putting the cages under the pole barn, which has a good high roof and open sides. And we can do heat lamps if needed, although we don't get a whole lot of freezing nights here. Hopefully we'll have a good setup. A girl a few miles down the road raises Californians, so we might take a look at buying from her. Sounds like her setup is similar to what we'll have, and obviously we're dealing with the same weather conditions. Assuming what she has is healthy and decent quality it might make life simple to go that route at least for starters.


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## Baymule

DustyBoot said:


> We'd be putting the cages under the pole barn, which has a good high roof and open sides. And we can do heat lamps if needed, although we don't get a whole lot of freezing nights here. Hopefully we'll have a good setup. A girl a few miles down the road raises Californians, so we might take a look at buying from her. Sounds like her setup is similar to what we'll have, and obviously we're dealing with the same weather conditions. Assuming what she has is healthy and decent quality it might make life simple to go that route at least for starters.



Sounds like a good plan!


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## AClark

I think it kind of comes down to what you really want the rabbits for. They have to be roaster age to have decent fur, but by then they are a bit tougher and you have more feed into them than you would at fryer age. 
That's not to say you can't use the pelts, I have a couple in my freezer right now from older rabbits that died, and they aren't hard to tan or anything, but there isn't a ton of use for rabbit pelts. I sew as well and had a hard time finding any decent projects.


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## DustyBoot

I'm thinking we'll try roasters and pelts, and if we don't like the roasters and/or don't find good uses for the pelts, then we'll simplify things and raise fryers. Realistically, we'll probably do some of both.


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## rude_mare

@DustyBoot we have TAMUK composites that do very well in the heat and humidity (I am in Alabama).  They do seem to do a little better than our New Zealands.  Our rabbits are in hung cages under a shaded open shed.  I turn on a box fan on the hotter days, and on the hottest they get ice chunks. I think they would be fine without either though. Our litters are mainly steel, black, REW, and reds, and that does keep the kids interest in them down.  When you have a pen full of rabbits that mainly look the same, it makes it hard for daughter to pick out a favorite. We let name and pet on the breeding bucks. As far as pelts go we have never tanned them, but I saved a bunch from the last batch and stuck them in the freezer with the idea that I could use them one day. Maybe after the holidays I will try it and see how it goes.


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## DustyBoot

Well, so much for careful research and deliberation. Petted some standard rex and decided I had to have that fur. I'm a sucker.  So I went to a rabbit show this weekend and found a breeder not far from me who raises them in similar conditions to what we have, so... now we have a trio of rexes. It'll be a good while before we have anything to put in the freezer or in a tanning solution, but in the meantime I can pet my soft rabbits and life is good.


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## Latestarter

Don't feel bad... that's how many end up with quite a few of the animals they have.  Awwww they're so cute/fluffy/soft/pretty/input adjective... Course that can also present a problem when it comes time to eat them, or use their hide for a purpose other than what it's presently being used for  Hope they work out for you and that yu'll share some pics when you get a chance.  Grats!


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## DustyBoot

I'll see if I can get some pictures posted a little later. Got the first doe bred today -- she's broken chocolate otter, and he's chocolate. Christmas-ish babies! We're waiting about a month on the second doe because she's a little younger and could stand to grow a bit more.


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## Bunnylady

I have had more people come here, looking for a Netherland Dwarf, get their hands on a Mini Rex, and they are sold. It's like they can't believe an animal can be that soft!

Congrats on your new buns; fingers crossed on the breeding.


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## animalmom

Pictures, Please and Thank youY


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## DustyBoot

I'm terribly delinquent in picture-taking, and actually I have to confess that these are from the day we brought them home. I'll have to get some better pictures soon, but things have been busy as they tend to be this time of year. I've done lots of rabbit-snuggling, but not much picture-taking. 






This is Petunia. She's due to have her first litter shortly after Christmas. She's a little grumpy and doesn't seem to appreciate being handled, but I'm hoping that's pregnancy speaking. 





This is Cornelius Fudge, or just Fudge most of the time. He'll be father of Petunia's litter. He's a sweetheart. 



 

And this is Lily. We're planning to breed her after Christmas -- giving her just a little more time to finish growing herself before breeding. She also seems to be pretty friendly.


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## Latestarter

pretty buns...


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## Dani4Hedgies

would love to see the kits that they produced if you have any pictures to share?


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## DustyBoot

I put up one photo of the entire litter here: https://www.backyardherds.com/threads/dusty-boot-ranch.36961/page-2

Here's a shot of just one at about two weeks old, I think. I need to get some new pictures now; they've gotten so much bigger, but it's hard to get them all together because they're busy little things! This is one of two broken chocolate otters, I believe.


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## DustyBoot

Should have listed the total color count. We have two solid chocolates, one chocolate otter, two broken chocolate otters, a broken black otter, a broken blue otter, and a broken lilac -- total of eight. And they're all adorable beyond belief. Next litter (from the broken black on my lap in the earlier picture) is due Friday!


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## Hideaway Pines

DustyBoot said:


> We're looking at adding meat rabbits to our little ranch in the near future and I'm trying to figure out what breed. We're in central Texas, which means cold probably isn't an issue but heat certainly is. I'm wondering if anyone here has tried raising the TAMUK variety of rabbit that's supposed to be more heat tolerant, or if you have experience with another breed you'd especially recommend as best able to cope with the heat.
> 
> I'm interested in tanning hides as well as using the meat, so we may be raising roasters more than fryers, although that could change depending on the results. In general our philosophy is that we like animals that are hardy and more self-sufficient -- which is not to say we won't provide whatever care is appropriate, but given the choice between lower- and higher-maintenance animals, we'll probably take the lower even if it also means somewhat lower production.


I just got my first Tamuk buck and have bred him to my California rabbit. I expect babies in a few weeks. I will let you know how they do, but I know a few people who have them and love them. So excited to add them to our little farm.
Did you ever get one? we like the rabbit and chickens ourselves, but are going to branch out into rooting/homesteading pigs. We want ones that are smaller in size, easy for us to butcher ourselves.


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## Hideaway Pines

Hideaway Pines said:


> I just got my first Tamuk buck and have bred him to my California rabbit. I expect babies in a few weeks. I will let you know how they do, but I know a few people who have them and love them. So excited to add them to our little farm.
> Did you ever get one? we like the rabbit and chickens ourselves, but are going to branch out into rooting/homesteading pigs. We want ones that are smaller in size, easy for us to butcher ourselves.


We have had our California/New Zealand rabbits for almost 5 years, they are in a mostly enclosed building with one wall being hardware cloth and goat panel for protection. We do have fans set to come on automatically if the temp gets above 80 and this along with the fact that the building is under a lot of shade trees so never in direct sun does keep them cool enough. Sometimes I also add pieces of granite slabs to their cages, these are cool for them to lay on - easier than trying to do frozen water bottles. But I have never lost a rabbit to the heat.


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## HornyToadAcres

Hideaway Pines said:


> We have had our California/New Zealand rabbits for almost 5 years, they are in a mostly enclosed building with one wall being hardware cloth and goat panel for protection. We do have fans set to come on automatically if the temp gets above 80 and this along with the fact that the building is under a lot of shade trees so never in direct sun does keep them cool enough. Sometimes I also add pieces of granite slabs to their cages, these are cool for them to lay on - easier than trying to do frozen water bottles. But I have never lost a rabbit to the heat.


Wanted to say hi. I got my first pair of TAMUK in December. Lucked into a lady who got a different color buck and she let me have her proven 2 year old. And a friend contributed a young doe old enough to breed. God is good! They had their first litter last week. Only 5 kits but all are doing well and she is a good momma. Very excited. I also got a trio that are 10 weeks old now. Busy getting infrastructure set up.


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## Hideaway Pines

HornyToadAcres said:


> Wanted to say hi. I got my first pair of TAMUK in December. Lucked into a lady who got a different color buck and she let me have her proven 2 year old. And a friend contributed a young doe old enough to breed. God is good! They had their first litter last week. Only 5 kits but all are doing well and she is a good momma. Very excited. I also got a trio that are 10 weeks old now. Busy getting infrastructure set up.


That sounds great!! I am expecting our first litter with the TAMUK male, Maverick, next week. Excited to see the baby colors. I bred him with my California momma. With our luck though I am guessing she will pick the coldest day of next week to deliver 😁


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## HornyToadAcres

Will absolutely be the coldest day!
The colors are fun and one (not the main) reason I chose this variety.


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## Hideaway Pines

DustyBoot said:


> Well, so much for careful research and deliberation. Petted some standard rex and decided I had to have that fur. I'm a sucker.  So I went to a rabbit show this weekend and found a breeder not far from me who raises them in similar conditions to what we have, so... now we have a trio of rexes. It'll be a good while before we have anything to put in the freezer or in a tanning solution, but in the meantime I can pet my soft rabbits and life is good.


Where did you find your rex rabbit? I am near Centerville Texas, wondered if it would be close enough for me to purchase one my self.


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## Baymule

A Rex fur coat would be the ultimate luxury! Who needs mink? LOL 

What colors do the TAMUK rabbits come in?


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## Kusanar

HornyToadAcres said:


> Will absolutely be the coldest day!
> The colors are fun and one (not the main) reason I chose this variety.
> 
> View attachment 81339View attachment 81340View attachment 81341View attachment 81342


Those gold ones are beautiful!


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## HornyToadAcres

Baymule said:


> A Rex fur coat would be the ultimate luxury! Who needs mink? LOL
> 
> What colors do the TAMUK rabbits come in?


Nearly unlimited colors because of all the breeds that went into the composite.

Tons of pictures here if you are on FB (wish this breeder had a website). 
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						RoseOak Ranch: TAMUK Composite Meat Rabbits
					

RoseOak Ranch: TAMUK Composite Meat Rabbits, Campbell, Texas. 545 likes · 13 talking about this. The TAMU-K (Texas A&M University - Kingsville) COMPOSITE breed has the ability to produce year-round -...




					www.facebook.com
				



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## HornyToadAcres

Just sold my first two TAMUK babies oddly enough for pets. I posted a pic on a group and she fell in love. Some breeders don't sell these as pets but they seem very friendly and curious to me. I have told her all I know but they are soft and adorable and she is a serious pet owner (it's replacing pet rats she rescued that died of old age lol).


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## Hideaway Pines

On Sunday my California momma had 7 Tamuk mix babies. They are all black at this point, so curious to see how the fur color looks once they start getting fur. They are all fat and happy. But due to the extreme weather, we decided to move her into our guest bathroom to keep them all warm. we have solar back up here, so when we were without power, we had battery/generator/solar back up for all our things in our house.  I also had one new Tamuk doe I just picked up right before the temps dropped in there too. She is now down at the coop, and is doing well. I am looking forward to breeding my two Tamuks in a few months.


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## Baymule

Kudos on the bathroom babies! We all did what we had to do to get through temperatures many of us have never experienced in our lifetimes. I’m delighted for you and a healthy beautiful litter of kits. Congratulations on the new TAMUK doe!


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## Hideaway Pines

Thanks, this has been a rough winter, but happy to see warmer temps now. How did you all do in the past few weeks? We ran off batteries which we charged with our generator since the solar was under inches of snow and ice. We heated the house with our fireplace and were fine for days on end while our power was out. But having to haul fresh water to our animals three times a day was not fun! But all in all, we did fine. We are seeing stress damage on alot of our pine trees now though, I think the back to back storms may have been too much for some of them, and a few are very close to the house and will be bear to get down 😕


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## Kusanar

Hideaway Pines said:


> Thanks, this has been a rough winter, but happy to see warmer temps now. How did you all do in the past few weeks? We ran off batteries which we charged with our generator since the solar was under inches of snow and ice. We heated the house with our fireplace and were fine for days on end while our power was out. But having to haul fresh water to our animals three times a day was not fun! But all in all, we did fine. We are seeing stress damage on alot of our pine trees now though, I think the back to back storms may have been too much for some of them, and a few are very close to the house and will be bear to get down 😕


Weird, our pine trees seem perfectly happy with cold weather. Wonder what is different about those southern ones.


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## Hideaway Pines

the trees here have longer limbs that are not as strong as those up north. they are tall, lanky and somewhat frail, sadly we may loose some big trees, but we are waiting to see if the needles were just suffering from freezer burn basically. If so, they might recover...


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## Grizzlyhackle

Loblolly pines can get pretty long branches and with the needles snow and ice weigh them down. The tree I had was killed by lightning but we'd loose a branch or 2 if it was a snowy winter. Shorter ones did ok. I called it self pruning. 
So Tamuk rabbits are meant to handle heat, how do they manage cold. Summer can get brutal with high humidity and heat in the mid atlantic then get fairly cold Nov thru early March.
Even with good shade and ice bottles bigger bunnies suffer in July.


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## Hideaway Pines

I am not sure how they handle cold, my buck did fine, my doe was only 10 weeks so I kept her inside until it was not so very bitter cold. I would have to ask the people I got mine from for answers to that... but since this kind of cold is not normal (thank the lord) hopefully we don't have to worry about this going forward.


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## Grizzlyhackle

You've had a cold spell for sure. We used to get winters like that every year. Hasn't been below 20 yet this year( knock on wood).  Interesting thought with the cold survival. I've got no problem with bundling my hutches up , stuff in some straw, wrap with plastic. Mostly block the wind and keep them dry. Nobodies home thru the day and summer is just tough. It can spike 90 in May. That's how I lost one in 2017. 
Thank you though, something I'll have to study on.


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## Baymule

Hideaway Pines said:


> the trees here have longer limbs that are not as strong as those up north. they are tall, lanky and somewhat frail, sadly we may loose some big trees, but we are waiting to see if the needles were just suffering from freezer burn basically. If so, they might recover...


Don’t get in a hurry to take down trees. I feel confident that they will sprout with new growth. Live oaks are brown too, they stay green all winter. The new spring growth pushes out the old leaves, so they should be fine. We have several lightening damaged pine trees that need to come down and a cedar that needs trimming.

It was hard here. We had 17 baby lambs and 10 nursing ewes. Plus 9 hens, horses a steer and 5 dogs. Keeping water was a chore. I was exhausted, we are not set up with heaters and such to keep water from freezing. But we made it. Good thing that’s a 100 year storm, by the time another comes along, I’ll be gone. LOL LOL


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## Hideaway Pines

Grizzlyhackle said:


> You've had a cold spell for sure. We used to get winters like that every year. Hasn't been below 20 yet this year( knock on wood).  Interesting thought with the cold survival. I've got no problem with bundling my hutches up , stuff in some straw, wrap with plastic. Mostly block the wind and keep them dry. Nobodies home thru the day and summer is just tough. It can spike 90 in May. That's how I lost one in 2017.
> Thank you though, something I'll have to study on.


we get above 90 in the summer, and I have not lost any rabbits. We do have a fan system set up, but also I put large slabs of Granite in their cages which stays cool in any temp, they lay on these and seem to do fine in the heat. Mine are left over from a kitchen remodel a neighbor did, but you might be able to find some scraps from builder or friends. or just buy some from Lowes/home depot , either way it helps them handle the heat.


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## Baymule

Large ceramic tiles also make good cooling pads.


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## HornyToadAcres

Grizzlyhackle said:


> Loblolly pines can get pretty long branches and with the needles snow and ice weigh them down. The tree I had was killed by lightning but we'd loose a branch or 2 if it was a snowy winter. Shorter ones did ok. I called it self pruning.
> So Tamuk rabbits are meant to handle heat, how do they manage cold. Summer can get brutal with high humidity and heat in the mid atlantic then get fairly cold Nov thru early March.
> Even with good shade and ice bottles bigger bunnies suffer in July.


Where we are, the two coldest days got down to zero with wind chill worse than that.
My TAMUK rabbits are currently in the back end of a utility trailer that we are converting into a little house.
The part they are in is not insulated and has several holes in the floor and walls from one thing or another.
While it was getting into the teens at night, I closed that end up and ran a very small electric heater. It kept the water from freezing on all but the two coldest nights. The rabbits themselves seemed perfectly fine. I currently have a two yr old buck, a 10 month old doe who had 2 week old kits at the time and a trio of 10 week olds. Everything that I have read and been told is that you have to worry way more about heat than cold with rabbits but they do need to be out of the wind and dry when it is really cold.

I did put more hay in their pens and fed all as much as they wanted in pellets (the buck is usually measured out so he doesn't put on too much weight).

So far I am very happy with my choice of breed.


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## Grizzlyhackle

I use ceramic tiles and ice bottles. But it's a long day and nothings cold when I get home. 
I wondered if they lost cold tolerance by improving their heat tolerance. When I worked ten mins from home at lunch I could check. Now I'm 40 min away ,worry when it's really hot.
Thanks to all for the input.


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## HornyToadAcres

Grizzlyhackle said:


> I use ceramic tiles and ice bottles. But it's a long day and nothings cold when I get home.
> I wondered if they lost cold tolerance by improving their heat tolerance. When I worked ten mins from home at lunch I could check. Now I'm 40 min away ,worry when it's really hot.
> Thanks to all for the input.


Their fur is short and, I think, less dense than many other breeds. Their ears are large and upright to radiant heat out. So yeah, I would imagine they would be slightly less cold tolerant than some other breeds. However, they are still rabbits and rabbits tolerate cold fairly well. It's kind of like me saying that my leghorns, which are quite trim in body, do well in the Texas heat but so far they have also made it through the winter as well as the other chickens. Not much anecdotal evidence because it is hard enough to get hold of TAMUKs in the southern region. My experience in the last 4-5 months is demand higher than supply and travel is mostly required to get breeding stock.


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## Grizzlyhackle

Ok that makes sense. I just need to do something better for summer. 
Bell collars on bunnies that's a photo of the week I would think.
Thanks for your help.


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