Ears, and heat.

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KatzNetherlands

KatzNetherlands

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I have read that rabbits ears will grow longer in the heat... how long does that last though? Our basement stays at 60 degrees all year round. Our house gets usually about 10 or so degrees cooler than outside(we don't use the AC unless absolutely necessary)...

I am just wondering if my little buns should be downstairs during the summer... they are 7wks and up....

So is there an age when the ears won't be affected by heat? If it will help keep my bunnies ears small, I will keep them downstairs.

Also, does it affect pregnant does? Not so much the does, but the unborn kits? Would they be more or less likely to have little ears if the doe is kept in a cooler area? Or does it not have much affect on them?

Sorry for all the questions, but in a breed where ears are such a big deal(being small that is) I don't want something preventable to ruin them!
 
well, ears are a way of venting extra heat...

And the length is something controlled by genetics...

so you have breeders that swear that hot (summer babies) have long ears and go so far as using minimum nest material and dumping the out of the box as quickly as possible.
Other say it doesn't matter, and I don't ever thing the two will ever agree.<br /><br />__________ Mon Jun 13, 2011 9:50 pm __________<br /><br />btw what breed?
 
I have read that rabbits ears will grow longer in the heat...

This subject can be debated even longer than:
Politics or Religion! I've heard it,
and at first believed it was due to the excessive heat!
But later I felt and continue to feel that it has
more to do with Genetics and proper breeding choices.
You see far too many Small eared Dwarf breeds bred
year-round which display the proper ear size regardless
of the month they were born. As always, JMPO.
Ottersatin. :eek:ldtimer:
 
I once bought into thatbeleif-- but the litters I have on the ground tight now-- different sized ears within the litter-- and each litter was exposed to the same heat/cold differences at the same time. Genetics more than temp-- though, over time, if a person established their rabbitry in a very hot area, and chose for heat tolerance, down the line, the ears could start to lengthen out-- but as a result of selection for tolerance, not because of the heat itself!!!
 
I think its both.genetics mostly. temperature partly.I Do not breed any rabbits in june, july or August.the rabbits with the shortest ears i have (same parents)were born in early spring.I dont think it matters about the pregnant does.small ears are easy, correct type is what you want.beginners think its all about the ears.the standard says general type70.ears 15.My black doe beats does with better heads and smaller ears because shes got awesome type.
 
It depends on who you ask, I don't believe it at all. I do not believe that weather can override genetic potential.

I believe "summer ears" (temperature controlled ear growth) was originally a term to describe rabbits who did not get a dwarf gene and in order to explain why said rabbit had long ears they said the heat caused the rabbits ears to become longer to help dissipate the heat better. They would state Jack Rabbit for an example, they live in the desert and have giant ears so obviously big ears are heat related, when the real cause for those big ears is in the desert there is very little cover to hide from predators so prey animals have to hear them coming from miles away and big ears act as a parabolic dish.

When you look at the different species of wild rabbits, the only species that have big ears are the ones that live in more barren places where there isn't very many places to hide from predators (Jack Rabbits, in the desert, Arctic Hares in the Arctic) And you would think an Arctic Hare would have small ears because it lives in lower temperatures however it doesn't (which is an argument against temperature controlled ears). Other species that live in tropical places, swamps, and places with very warm summers have very small ears.

Also if the case was heat causes ears to grow larger why does it only affect the rabbits who also become oversized (i.e. lacking a dwarf gene).

Why does it not affect adults? You would think if it was temperature related instead of genetic related adults with small ears would have theirs grow to help regulate heat.

How come cold weather doesn't stunt the ears?

Why don't all the rabbits born in the heat of summer have giant ears?

Ears you have to remember are the first thing to reach full sized in most rabbits, so they look freakishly big while the rest of the rabbit catches up. Weather has nothing to do with it. Genetics do. And you have to remember what you see in the parents isn't always what you get rabbits show one set of genes and carry another.

Just a few things to think about.
 
Oh, devon, haven't you ever seen and English lop, now tell me it isn't the tropical British isles that does it to their ears... :tease:
 
The only effect I've seen on rabbit ears brought on by heat is that they will tend to flop sideways in my young, growing rabbits instead of staying upright. They straighten up when it gets cooler.
 

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