Misting System and Kits

[esaudio]

Hi,
I am new to rabbit breeding so I apologize if this question is basic. I live in Alabama an currently the temperatures are around 90 degrees and expecting to rise. I have two NZ White does that are expecting kits in the next 10 days.

I just installed a misting system for my rabbits, and it's working fairly well, lowering the temperature a few degrees, although they get slightly wet. Would it be okay to keep using the misting system when the babies are born or would it be better to not use it at all? I put some roofs on half of the cages, so if the bunnies choose to get more mist they can, and if they prefer to cover, they can as well.

Here are two videos of my current setup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVa4rGkxUwQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mY6SGRajVk


Thanks in advance. Your input is welcome!
Julio

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I didn't view your videos since we have satellite internet and our usage is limited, but I would say that a misting system is fine as long as the nestbox and kits do not get wet.

 

[esaudio]

Thank you very much mamaSheepdog!

 

[Miss M]

Be watchful of things like feed and hay, though. I'm in southern Louisiana, so we have the heat with high humidity you are all too familiar with. Adding more water with misting can cause feed and hay to mildew. Good luck!

 

[esaudio]

Thanks Miss M. I have been growing fodder, barley specifically. So at the hottest times (between 12-6PM) I remove the pellets and just leave them the fodder and the hay. I have been putting some little roofs or cover on the cage. So most of the day they have access to pellets but not during the hottest times, when they have only fodder and hay in case it gets wet. I will make sure the hay doesn't get wet.
Thanks again.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Another cooling option you can try is to wet down the dirt in the rabbitry and surrounding area.

I do have a misting system set up, but rarely use it. My rabbits are show rabbits first and meat rabbits second, and our water has a high mineral content. If misters are used consistently I notice a buildup on their fur which does not go over well on the show table.

 

[esaudio]

Do you have any problem with mosquitoes if you wet the ground around the bunnies? Do you use the misting systems when the temperature is too high? Or you try to avoid them altogether?

 

[Miss M]

our water has a high mineral content. If misters are used consistently I notice a buildup on their fur which does not go over well on the show table.

Wow! :shock:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I live in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California- it's considered high desert at my elevation. There is very little standing water anywhere, so mosquitoes are pretty rare here.

Last year I only used the misters maybe half a dozen times- cooling the dirt was always my first step. My main bunny barn is tucked away in the shade of some huge oak trees, and the tarp roof of my growout area only gets partial sun in the morning.

When I first started with rabbits I gave them frozen 2 liter bottles of ice to lay against, but now I have far too many rabbits to do that. I do keep some frozen bottles handy for pregnant does in case they appear stressed, but other than that (and occasionally running a box fan) I don't do much in the way of cooling. My pregnant does are kept in the main bunny barn which never gets as warm as the growout area.

our water has a high mineral content. If misters are used consistently I notice a buildup on their fur which does not go over well on the show table.

Wow! :shock:

Lol. Our well is drilled through granite.

A couple years back we had to replace the hose on our water heater because we weren't getting much volume. The inside of it had this black "stone" for lack of a better word. It was formed with little spheres built one upon another, and was so hard that not even a screwdriver could scratch it or even chip it out.

 

[esaudio]

Thank you all for the information! It's priceless to me!

 

[Miss M]

our water has a high mineral content. If misters are used consistently I notice a buildup on their fur which does not go over well on the show table.

Wow! :shock:

Lol. Our well is drilled through granite.

My first thought was of your bunnies turning into stone like the teddy bears at the Petrifying Well: http://www.mothershipton.co.uk/the-park ... ying-well/ :lol:

A couple years back we had to replace the hose on our water heater because we weren't getting much volume. The inside of it had this black "stone" for lack of a better word. It was formed with little spheres built one upon another, and was so hard that not even a screwdriver could scratch it or even chip it out.

Now that is hard water. I have never seen the like!

Water that turns very acidic when heated? That I've seen, in Florida. It ate my Oneida stainless. It ate water heaters. I got restaurant-grade stainless (18/10), and it was actually starting to pit by the time we moved.

Our well water is naturally soft and full of sulphur. You have to get a glass-lined tank to allow the sulphur to escape from the water and be blown off into the air. Still, every now and then, enough makes it into the house that you can smell the sulphur when you are washing your hands.

 

[alforddm]

Our well water is acidic (between 5 and 5.5 ph) but so far I hadn't have any of my cooking utensils ate up and we lived here 3 years. I do know it leaches some copper out of the faucets because I have blue stains in the tub.