A couple newbie questions on shelters.

[Autumnarcher]

Im looking to get started on my rabbit shelter area this weekend, and then either build or buy cages. I live on a 2 acre parcel, with basically no trees, thus no shade. Summers here are typical, with some stretches in the upper 80's and 90's with humidity. Obviously, keeping them cool is gonna be a little work.

I thought is to build a shed type shelter, with a double layer roof, with a 4" air gap. Im going to build 8x16 feet, 8' high front, 7' at the back. My question is, should I build it sheeted with a 2' wide strip of lattice long the top, or just leave the whole thing opem. Its going to sit at the back of the yard, but we get a lot of wind from across the field. While this may be good in summer, should I enclose it in winter? I've also considered sheeting the back side(with the lattice at the top,and the windward end wall, and leaving the rest open.

As for the front, it will be south facing, should I sheet it like the back, or leave it open?

Ive seen it done several ways, but we get some wicked cold winter winds affthat field. Winter temps here avg in the 20's, but below zero isnt uncommon. Its not so much the temps Im concerned about as the winds.

I dont want to over build it, but I want to make sure theyre properly protected too.

 

[Peach]

For my rabbits I have made the set up optional to put up tarps to block wind/cold temps. I also give them a heater if I feel the weather was too drastic of a change for them. I'm going to be purchasing a fan to keep them cool.the place I keep them in the shade . I'd rather over build than underbuild if I have the option to

 

[AnnClaire]

Hi AutumnArcher, I live in NW Oklahoma where we get wicked winter winds with driving sleet and snow, or as now, 60mph winds driving rain and hail from all directions. Then, we are also having temps in the mid-80s now with summer temps regularly in the 100s. Our average wind speed is 25-35mph with low humidity most of the time and some 90% weeks along the way.

With that said, I would suggest that you build in as much versatility in your setup as possible. In my case, that is a sheet of clear plastic that covers the whole cage line that can be lowered and tied down to block precipitation. I do tarp the windward side of the cages with the option of being able to lift the tarp to allow air flow in the warmer weather.

You will find that rabbits can handle colder temps much better than warmer ones ... in fact, mine (and others write the same) revel in the colder temps, wind or not. And, no matter how many tarps I drape, there will always be cold air/breezes getting under the cages, so I also provide a solid wood resting shelf that I can turn the solid back to the winter winds so the bunnies have the option of being out of the wind.

With my angoras, I often find them face-on into the wind summer and winter In the summer, I also provide them with a 2liter bottle of frozen water (sometimes 2x a day) and while they may not lay up against it, it does cool the air in the cage and they definitely appreciate it.

One woman on another group had sheared her pregnant doe's belly and gave out frozen bottles on a hot day. This doe was one of the ones that drapes herself over the frozen bottle, but when the bare belly hit the bottle, the lady said she about jumped out of her skin :lol: