Hot weather and Angoras

[Harelady]

The weather here is going to be very hot for the foreseeable future. I have fans going in the rabbitry and give cold tile in the evening. However the Angoras are having a bit harder time with the heat. I would rather not cut them all down since I am growing coats for fall shows. But I can cut down the ones not going to be shown. I been thinking of bring them inside for a few hours to give them a break and rotate days between the other breeds. I been also thinking of getting water bottles to freeze since they will last longer than tile but don't have much luck with my rabbits not chewing on them.

Does anyone have any other ideas to help them stay cool?

 

[SixGun]

I'd give the tiles about 11am, to help keep the, cool through the warmest part of the day. Bottles are nice, I've also seen some people using frozen water balloons instead of soda bottles. Remove the balloon and give just the ice. I think the water in the tray even as it melts helps. A fan, a mister (although I really don't like getting my angora wet if I can help it) and an actual AC unit are all good ideas too.
The angora will help insulate. If you can keep them cool for most of the day, their wool will keep them cool if the heat spikes for a little bit. Direct sunlight is a big no-no. Warms them up really quickly.

 

[Winterwolf]

I raise French Angoras in Kansas. We've been having temperatures in the upper 90s F lately with heat indexes this week supposed to reach 110 degrees F and even nighttime has been in the 80s. My rabbits are currently located outdoors, under my carport and they've been doing fine. (They had a similar arrangement last year, too, and I didn't have a single case of heat exhaustion.) I just make sure they have a constant supply of water and I put some frozen bottles in their cages to help them cool down. I usually change their water midway through the afternoon, too, because their water bottles tend to heat up and I don't imagine the water tastes very refreshing that way. One of my bucks tends to go off his feed pellets during very hot days but I substitute his diet with tons of timothy hay and fresh greens so he still eats. Setting up a few exercise runs so that they can lay in the grass can be quite refreshing for them, too. (Although make sure the fence is high enough, my frenchies can easily hop a 3' chicken wire fence!)

 

[Harelady]

Thanks you for your suggestions. It been pretty warm and humid in Nebraska lately. I have not seen any heat exhaustion in any of my rabbits. But am worried since its supposed to get up to 100 in the next couple of days.