heat tolerant rabbits?

[carolinasculpture]

Hi All,
We are in the planning stages of meat rabbitry. We have done the chicken thing for a while now (hens for eggs, and 1 rooster became a roaster) and are looking to expand a little. After doing some research I have found that rabbits are not so good with the heat. We are in South Carolina, which gets quite warm, so I am interested in finding out which rabbit breeds are more heat tolerant than others. Any advise would be greatly appreciated! Also, and ideas on set-ups to deal with heat related issues. We are trying to come up with some geo-thermal ideas. Thank you in advance!

 

[animalmom]

A problem you may come up with, that I experienced, is light and shade. I'm presuming you are housing the rabbits outdoors so you would want to keep the hutch in a structure that is well ventilated. We use a three sided "barn" that is closed off to the NorthWest were we get our bad weather (rain and occasional snow) and open to the East for the morning sun.

Keeping the bunnies cool during the summer heat requires ventilation, and maybe a fan. We even put in a misting system to help... but even with ventilation, a fan, and the misting system we still have a hard time with the heat. Between you and me, I don't have air-conditioning in my house, so the bunnies are not likely to get it either.

The AlTex breed (new breed) is suppose to be more heat tolerant. I have a couple does and a buck and right now I'm having a hard time getting them bred... my first year with the AlTex, but I've been very successful with my Cali x NZ rabbits so I am optimistic.

AnimalMom

 

[InBox485]

Rabbits need light, but they don't need any direct sun light. Keeping them completely out of direct sunlight makes a big difference. Second, radiant barrier is amazing stuff. Standing under it is like standing under a concrete slab. Then there are a number of other gimmicks that help incrementally.

As far as the breed directly, my limited experience is to get stock from breeders that are successfully dealing with the heat, and do what they do. And find a mentor that has been doing it for a decade or longer and take their advice over anything you see on the internet. I have made a point to select for the biggest ears that remain upright as this is a major cooling mechanism, but I started with stock that has been in the heat for several generations, and I'm only 2 generations into breeding so I couldn't tell you if I'm really making a difference.