Lost another Doe

[aussiegirl]

Lost yet another doe today while kindling (one of my British Giants).
I checked on the rabbits again about 2pm this afternoon to give them frozen water bottles as the Temps were getting around 34 degrees c and a few of the rabbits were suffering heat stress as they were wet around the faces. The doe had one stillborn and several unborn babies, could be losing the Does while giving birth due to the heat?.

Hope I don't lose anymore, 22 does kindled so far another 32 to go.

 

[Miss M]

If you have found no other abnormalities, it would be my guess that it's the heat.

I'm sure you know about RHD, but this doesn't sound like it fits the profile.

 

[a7736100]

Years ago I lost a doe when she gave birth to couple healthy kits in high heat. The added stress of giving birth was too much for her.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I have found that I had high mortality in does just a few days before or during kindling,- when the heat index was high, i.e. high temps, and high humidity, they just can't get cooled down from panting. When I lived in Florida, I built a "rabbit shed" with a tin roof and sides under a tree canopy in 100% shade , then put old carpet over the roof, and hanging down over all of the sides, put a sprinkler on the roof with a temp. control activated solenoid valve to turn it on. [the sprinkler came on at 80F] That solved the problem, ----- it was very discouraging to find my very best does dead, just before, or on kindling dates. -- just before I built "the shed", I had completely stopped breeding anything at all during the hot summer months.

 

[aussiegirl]

If you have found no other abnormalities, it would be my guess that it's the heat.

I'm sure you know about RHD, but this doesn't sound like it fits the profile.

I don't think it would be RHD as you said also know as calicivirus here in Australia as all my rabbits are vaccinated.

30 of my Does including the 2 that died are currently housed in outdoor cages with a Heavy duty White pvc tarp suspended about 1 meter over the cages, I have all the materials to build a 5 meter x 18 meter carport style shed which will have an open section along the bottom & top for ventilation (fly screened of course), but I have been waiting for my husband to build this for nearly 1 year - sick of waiting so I have been trying to attempt to build it myself. I also have 3 whirly birds (1 which needs to go on the 1st shed - waiting nearly 2 years for husband to do that) so need to try and do that myself as well considering I'm scared of heights.

My buyer needs several hundred rabbits per month year round, so I have no choice but to breed during summer as I might lose my contract. I know that might sound selfish on my part but the rabbits are pretty much my sole income as I don't like to rely on the government to support me.

 

[Miss M]

We have some here who breed in the summer, too... I normally do, just at a relaxed pace. I didn't last year, because we had the hottest summer we'd had in a while. But I don't breed commercially.

We have plenty of commercial growers on here who completely understand about contracts.

I didn't realize y'all had a vaccine for calicivirus (I hadn't heard that term before!).

 

[Ramjet]

I have found that I had high mortality in does just a few days before or during kindling,- when the heat index was high, i.e. high temps, and high humidity, they just can't get cooled down from panting. When I lived in Florida, I built a "rabbit shed" with a tin roof and sides under a tree canopy in 100% shade , then put old carpet over the roof, and hanging down over all of the sides, put a sprinkler on the roof with a temp. control activated solenoid valve to turn it on. [the sprinkler came on at 80F] That solved the problem, ----- it was very discouraging to find my very best does dead, just before, or on kindling dates. -- just before I built "the shed", I had completely stopped breeding anything at all during the hot summer months.

Being in South Texas .... I have no choice but to shut down breeding from June thru August and into September with temps 95+ with high humidity during that span .... as it is , I have to give them ice blocks on a daily basis to get them thru the heat of the day.

Your set up sounds like it might offer at least some relief ....

I've been contemplating a climate controlled rabbitry , so I can breed year round but that's going to take time in building and a lot of thinking in the design phase to avoid problems , especially waste removal and ease of cleaning while not spending a fortune and giving me more cage space in the process.

Any and all idea's ...

My buyer needs several hundred rabbits per month year round, so I have no choice but to breed during summer as I might lose my contract. I know that might sound selfish on my part but the rabbits are pretty much my sole income as I don't like to rely on the government to support me.

Doesn't sound selfish ... Just sounds like you need to find a solution to the problem.

You came to the right place , seems someone here always has had problem X before .... and has found a solution & is willing to share it.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I have found that I had high mortality in does just a few days before or during kindling,- when the heat index was high, i.e. high temps, and high humidity, they just can't get cooled down from panting. When I lived in Florida, I built a "rabbit shed" with a tin roof and sides under a tree canopy in 100% shade , then put old carpet over the roof, and hanging down over all of the sides, put a sprinkler on the roof with a temp. control activated solenoid valve to turn it on. [the sprinkler came on at 80F] That solved the problem, ----- it was very discouraging to find my very best does dead, just before, or on kindling dates. -- just before I built "the shed", I had completely stopped breeding anything at all during the hot summer months.

Being in South Texas .... I have no choice but to shut down breeding from June thru August and into September with temps 95+ with high humidity during that span .... as it is , I have to give them ice blocks on a daily basis to get them thru the heat of the day.

Your set up sounds like it might offer at least some relief ....

I've been contemplating a climate controlled rabbitry , so I can breed year round but that's going to take time in building and a lot of thinking in the design phase to avoid problems , especially waste removal and ease of cleaning while not spending a fortune and giving me more cage space in the process.

Any and all idea's ... .

When I lived in N California, [near Red Bluff] we had 120 F degree temps sometimes, I built a rabbitry with 2 large swamp coolers , each one large enough to do the job, I just maintained the second one for a backup so nothing would die when one broke down, [the thermostat on the second one was set 5 degrees higher then the first] - I had a generator back up also-- I had a sloped concrete floor, with a large floor drain leading to a holding tank outside, I hosed out every evening after chores, [the poop and water in the holding tank was pumped to my garden] - that was the best system I ever had for a hot weather area ... [I also had a sprinkler system on the roof]

 

[Ramjet]

When I lived in N California, [near Red Bluff] we had 120 F degree temps sometimes, I built a rabbitry with 2 large swamp coolers , each one large enough to do the job, I just maintained the second one for a backup so nothing would die when one broke down, [the thermostat on the second one was set 5 degrees higher then the first] - I had a generator back up also-- I had a sloped concrete floor, with a large floor drain leading to a holding tank outside, I hosed out every evening after chores, [the poop and water in the holding tank was pumped to my garden] - that was the best system I ever had for a hot weather area ... [I also had a sprinkler system on the roof]

A swamp cooler is one of the options I've been considering for a climate controlled rabbitry.
My biggest issues are waste removal & keeping costs down.
A concrete slab isn't an option , I've got to get creative.
Don't really want to use slant boards as they present a surface for bacteria to do its thing but might have to as dropping it to the floor isn't acceptable in a closed space where I cant just hose it down. Considering a rubber mat type floor which would make hosing it out an option ... cost is the issue here.