Rabbit breeds for outdoors in Texas

[Matthew Smith]

Hello. I've really been considering getting some rabbits for the last few years. The catch is, I don't have the space indoors to keep them in my current living situation, but I have ample space in my backyard. I live in North Texas, and am looking for a breed that would be able to handle our heat (110+ at times) as well as our winters (<32 at times). Often times we stay more mild than either of those extremes, but we are capable of reaching either one. I'd love to find a breed that can handle living outdoors year round here.

Thanks in advance.

 

[promiseacres]

The first question I have for what purpose? Meat, show or pets? Then look at appropriate breeds for the purpose in your area. Look locally, may be harder to acclimate a rabbit from the north. Also are you considering cages or a colony group?
And what predators do you have? Coons, foxes, minks, dogs, weasels ect can be detremintal to rabbits even in cages.
They will definitely need shade, possibly fans. Rabbits do better with cold than heat.

 

[animalmom]

Hi Matthew! Welcome to BYH! Glad you found us!

I'm in North Central TX and raise California rabbits outside in a 3-sided barn. Rabbits need protection from sun, rain, cold wind, and predators.

In the summer shade is your friend, and the sun is your worst enemy. The bunny barn has two barn fans (one for the top row of cages and one for the bottom row) and a misting system in the front of the barn to keep the barn below 100 degrees F. You do not want the misting system to wet the rabbits. Your bucks will go temporarily sterile when the temps stay 80+ but once it cools off they regain their fertility. Translation: don't bother to breed in the summer. I normally breed in late fall/early winter... but you can breed as long as the temps are cooler. Translation: you got 3 seasons for the rabbits to do their thing.

In winter you want to make sure you do not have any cold wind/drafts coming on the rabbits. You don't need to heat their barn, but you have to make sure they have unfrozen water to drink. On days that freeze I give them warm water in the morning and then again in the evening.

I've not lost any rabbits during winter, but did lose a rabbit during a summer when I first started with the rabbits.

There is a breed called Altex that was developed to handle hot temperatures. You can "google" to get more info on the breed if you are curious.

Let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Are you planning on individual cages or a colony set-up. I do individual cages but others have been successful with a colony notion.

Pictures! We here at BYH thrive on pictures, and you really should go over to New Members section on the Social page and introduce yourself. We love new folks... and last request is to ask you to put your general location on your personal info. Something like North Tx is good as sometimes responses to questions can be location dependent.

 

[HVans]

I live in the Austin area and I have TAMUK rabbits, they're the Texas A&M variety. The woman I bought them from has raised them for years outdoors and swears shes never lost a single one to the heat. I previously had New Zealands and Californians and last year I lost some of each on an especially hot day so I'm switching my hole meat herd to Tamuks only.
I keep them in hanging wire cages in an open shed with a shingled roof that we built just for them. In the summer I keep fans on them and bring them big bowls of ice water for the hottest part of the day. In the winter I put up sheets of plywood on 3 sides to shield them from with and give them hay stuffed cardboard boxes to hunker down in. Be aware that you wont be able to breed them all summer because the bucks go sterile. Rabbit meat is seasonal in Texas.