Misting Systems To Help Rabbits Beat The Heat - Good or Bad?

[Rollochrome]

We're already hitting the century mark here in North Texas.

I have a makeshift coop with pretty good shade and air circulation.

Still.....my new Californian buck and doe look pretty miserable. Ive been sticking frozen water bottles in their cages...but I'd like to do more.

I see these misting systems at TSC. Just hose basically strung over the coops.

Looks like it would keep the rabbit wet all the time. Better than dead I would say.....however.....has anyone already tried this???? Does this introduce a health risk to the rabbits in anyway???

 

[Legacy]

Good!!! It doesn't keep the rabbit wet all the time if placed right but it does cool the air and it does allow them to move in and out of the mist at will. It is so much better than them dying from the heat. from a fellow North Texan. Last year I used a sprinkler on top of the cages that sprayed up into the trees above and "rained" down on the cages. I would only turn it on if it was above 100.<br /><br />__________ Mon May 28, 2012 11:18 pm __________<br /><br />FYI, I maintained between 25-35 rabbits throughout the summer and only lost 4 but they were all young ones from an accidental late breeding.

 

[Miss M]

Misting can cause a problem if your climate is humid already. The water won't evaporate very effectively, instead raising the humidity even more and encouraging the growth of mold and mildew.

I don't remember if Fort Worth is humid. It's been too long!

A fan without the mist can help, but buy carefully. I saw something about barn fires started by fans in another thread.

Things like frozen tiles and such can help too.

 

[ilovehome]

Yes, I used the oscillating misting fans in humid Arkansas last year, and did not lose any buns.... I did bring them in the day it was 117. I find them helpful for cooling the ground around the cages, and then spraying on part of the cage and letting the rabbit decide if they wanted to get in the mist or not. You may have to watch for mold and remove hay and poo more often.

 

[trinityoaks]

Misting was the ONLY thing that saved my buns last summer when we hit 113 (with <5% relative humidity!) in the Panhandle. Frozen water bottles would be thawed and hot within an hour. Same for frozen ceramic tiles, only faster.

We're hitting low 90s regularly now (SE Texas), and I've been using my hose-end mister once or twice a day for a few minutes each time. They seem to tolerate the misting better than being sprayed. I'm going to our storage unit today to get our free-standing misters (from Lowe's). We have the hanging misters, as well, but our hard well water really messed up some of the nozzles last year, so I may have to replace those before I can use them again. Our rabbitry configuration is different now (square rather than long rectangle), so the free-standing ones should be enough for now, maybe with a box fan or oscillating fan to move the mist around.

Usually when the temps are at their highest during the day, the relative humidity is about 30-40 percentage points lower than at the overnight lows. (I could go into why, but I don't want to confuse anyone. If you're interested, google "dew point temperature" and how it relates to relative humidity.)

Miss M, Ft. Worth is right on the dry line, so it goes back and forth between humid and dry. By contrast, Dallas is mostly humid, even though they're only about 30 miles apart.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Misting was the ONLY thing that saved my buns last summer when we hit 113 (with <5% relative humidity!) in the Panhandle. Frozen water bottles would be thawed and hot within an hour. Same for frozen ceramic tiles, only faster.

We're hitting low 90s regularly now (SE Texas), and I've been using my hose-end mister once or twice a day for a few minutes each time. They seem to tolerate the misting better than being sprayed. I'm going to our storage unit today to get our free-standing misters (from Lowe's). We have the hanging misters, as well, but our hard well water really messed up some of the nozzles last year, so I may have to replace those before I can use them again. Our rabbitry configuration is different now (square rather than long rectangle), so the free-standing ones should be enough for now, maybe with a box fan or oscillating fan to move the mist around.

Usually when the temps are at their highest during the day, the relative humidity is about 30-40 percentage points lower than at the overnight lows. (I could go into why, but I don't want to confuse anyone. If you're interested, google "dew point temperature" and how it relates to relative humidity.)

Miss M, Ft. Worth is right on the dry line, so it goes back and forth between humid and dry. By contrast, Dallas is mostly humid, even though they're only about 30 miles apart.

I lived in Dallas for a while and I would NEVER call it humid! I thought I would dry up and blow away! LOL BUT, I am from Houston, where humidity hovers at 90-100%. Here in the Beaumont area, it is VERY humid as well....cannot see the misters doing much good.<br /><br />__________ Tue May 29, 2012 11:59 am __________<br /><br />

 

[ollitos]

I free-feed. My concern with misters is turning pellets to mush. How do you deal with this?

 

[skysthelimit]

I free-feed. My concern with misters is turning pellets to mush. How do you deal with this?

I find that the extra moisture from leaky bottles or spilled crocks has made the smell and fly situation worse. How do you keep the moisture from drawing flies and making a breeding ground for m'skeeters?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I free-feed. My concern with misters is turning pellets to mush. How do you deal with this?

I believe most people set the misters up so they are only misting one corner of the cage. That way the rabbits can lay in the mist or not as they choose. With a breeze your pellets might get wet anyway.

During the hottest part of the day I doubt the rabbits have much appetite anyway- maybe for the hot months you could offer pellets in the evening only?

 

[ollitos]

I'm trying to figure out how I could set this up given that I move my pasture pens daily. They are definitely going to need something.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

A lot of garden sprinklers have a "mist" setting- would that work for you?

 

[wild1slilfarm]

I use misters in the back corners of my cages that way the feed stays dry and like mamasheepdog said the garden sprinklers with the mist setting work great for pasture pens