How to keep very young kits cool?

[Sagebrush]

I lost some kits to what I believe to be heat earlier today and I am wondering what I can do to help prevent any more kits from dying? I have permanent subterranean nest that I built myself. I am thinking of moving them to the eastern part of the yard where the cages would only get sun in the very early part of the morning, it is shaded by 9am PDT.

All pics where taken after I pulled most of the fur out of the nest.

 

[akane]

Do the materials around the nest/cages hold in heat from the sun? A structure with some wood, or even worse metal, sides despite being rather large and open in some places can still hold a lot of heat on a day without much wind. Less direct sun might help. How long until your kits manage to climb out? Mine are out of the wooden boxes between 10-14 days so they don't get very big in the box. If I swap out for a flemish or large commercial breed box in the summer the kits spread out well and leave when they start to get warm and hungry. With 3 kits taking up that much space in the nest I would think anything over 4, maybe 5, could squish them too much and kill whoever was stuck in the middle with the most heat. Especially as they get older and produce heat better. The high side would also make it harder for the kits or doe to push out excess fur and bedding as they grow and don't need it. You might have to keep manually thinning the nest lining as they grow in warm weather.

 

[mystang89]

Nothing to add but wanted to say that's a pretty neat set up.

 

[Sagebrush]

They are up against a wood fence that is not painted. It will be a week or so before they can climb up out of the nests, they are only 5 days old. I will keep pulling the fur piles she keeps sticking in there. I was already planning on changing out the hay that is in there already. Should I just not add in so much till they are moving around better on their own?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I am thinking of moving them to the eastern part of the yard where the cages would only get sun in the very early part of the morning, it is shaded by 9am PDT.

Good plan. I know it still gets hot in the shade there too, so you might want to put a frozen water bottle in the nest with them. Another option would be to keep them in the house during the day if it is cooler inside.

 

[Sagebrush]

I am going out and checking frequently to see how each kit is doing. If it looks like another is fadeing I will be pulling the kits in. I have two small cat litter pans that I can put the kits in while they are in the house. I will just bring them out to their mommas twice a day. Early morning and evening.

I was wondering if the frozen bottles in the nest would make them too cold. I made the nests barely big enough for the girls to hop down in and feed the kits, so I wouldn't have nest loungers.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I was wondering if the frozen bottles in the nest would make them too cold. I made the nests barely big enough for the girls to hop down in and feed the kits, so I wouldn't have nest loungers.

I was thinking of the little 16 oz ones, not the liters. They look like they would have plenty of room to stay away from one in there.

 

[Sagebrush]

Thank you MSD, I have a few of the 16oz ones freezing right now. I have some smaller "Blue Ice" packs that I can trade up with as needed.

Every kit was stretched out on the bare wire with the little hay I put in there off to the sides. When I opened the cage and touched them they all popped up like I was mom so I am going to take that as a sign that they are doing alright.

 

[akane]

We have wild temp swings so I can't really set things up just for heat or just for cold. I have to let the kits move around a lot. It might hit 100f, storm, and be 60f. Or in winter 0f to -30f. Always fun. There are times of the year I do not miss having outdoor animals.

 

[Sagebrush]

Well this is where I moved them too. It got to dark under there to take pictures tonight so I will get some in the morning after the sun has risen and the shade has come in.

Don't worry, I moved all that stuff out of the way. Put plastic up against the wood so that the urine doesn't soak in and now they truly are hanging cages :lol:. <br /><br /> -- Fri Jun 06, 2014 7:53 am -- <br /><br /> Here are the promised pictures of where the rabbits are now.I have a white cover that goes on the fronts of both Lovey and Rosa's cage to keep the sun off of them and the kits (it goes all the way down the front of the cage). I will also be getting some shade cloth from a home improvement store along with a soaker hose to help keep them cool. They do have the natural shade of the Kentucky Wisteria (Wisteria macrostachya) with a feed bag roof to keep the leaves out of reach so they can't nibble them since I have not found anything that says they can eat it.



I ended up splitting both litters equally so that Lovey didn't get mastitis from loosing the three kits from her litter. Rosa had a runt that seemed to be getting farther behind so I moved the fattest kit over to Lovey. The two nests have always been by each other as well as the mommas. Everyone is doing great this morning. Here are some pictures of the nest boxes with 4 kits each.

 

[akane]

Wisteria is on my do not feed wood list. No notes on how toxic or about the leaves though.