Need help with sun shade

[MacNobody]

I would like to hear your ideas for sunshades. I don't have an option of keeping them out of direct sunlight at present. The hutch has a roof that provides shade most of the day, but as the sun sinks in the west, I need to be able to shade the bunnies somehow. My yard is not big enough to be able to have all of my rabbits against the house where the shade is coming from.

There are a few hours of direct sunlight, and I want something to shade them and still allow air to pass through.

 

[Lizardslaps]

can you turn the hutch 90 degrees so the suns coming long ways to the hutch

I use some plastic panels I found that I just lean against the roof but they do block direct wind from that direction

you could try some shade cloth they use for plants It helps some but wont block it all

 

[Dood]

I want something to shade them and still allow air to pass through.

anything that blocks the sun is going to block the wind

I suggest you put up a lattice "accent" wall or plant some cedars a few feet behind the cages to block the sun

I use mesh tarps on my pergolla and my mini pig pen to offer shade.

http://www.tarpsplus.com/meshtarps.html

They are essy to string up, heavy duty, UV resistant and allow water to still drip through so they dont sag as much with the rain compared to other tarps

 

[MacNobody]

This is a good idea. I will measure the yard and see what I can do. This may work perfectly.

I feel dumb for not thinking of that LOL <br /><br /> -- Tue May 06, 2014 8:40 am -- <br /><br />

I want something to shade them and still allow air to pass through.

anything that blocks the sun is going to block the wind

I suggest you put up a lattice "accent" wall or plant some cedars a few feet behind the cages to block the sun

I use mesh tarps on my pergolla and my mini pig pen to offer shade.

http://www.tarpsplus.com/meshtarps.html

They are essy to string up, heavy duty, UV resistant and allow water to still drip through so they dont sag as much with the rain compared to other tarps

I don't have room to plant trees. Turning the cages around so the back is facing west and having lattice behind it might be a good way.

Can you post a picture of how you have the mesh tarps in use? Do you just drop them down in front of the cages?

 

[Dood]

No pictures as they are in storage until summer arrives but on the pergola they are strung up like a canopy or roof and on the pig pen they go from the roof to the fence and part way down the fence so from the side it looks like an upside down "L"

 

[Comet007]

Sounds like you have a working plan now, but I thought I would include what we did. We have a little bunny barn (clear roof), but on three of the walls we used fence boards to build them, and left about 1/4" between each board. The ventilation is really good so far, but still keeps the rain out - something like that attached to the side of a hutch would work if your setup allows for attaching a board.

 

[MacNobody]

Sounds like you have a working plan now, but I thought I would include what we did. We have a little bunny barn (clear roof), but on three of the walls we used fence boards to build them, and left about 1/4" between each board. The ventilation is really good so far, but still keeps the rain out - something like that attached to the side of a hutch would work if your setup allows for attaching a board.

Do you have pictures?

 

[Comet007]

Ours is a shed, but I think you could still use the basic idea - this is the thread where I put all the pictures from when we first built it:

pics-our-bunny-barn-new-breeding-trio-t20331.html

 

[JessiL]

As a temporary (or permanent for the season, depending on your tastes) solution, maybe try zip-tying a split-open feed sack (the polypropelene kind) along the upper half of the cage's western wall. Pierce holes along the edge of the sack material with something sharpish and feed the zip-ties through. I do that to my pasture pens as I have the same problem during the summer months, and since they move daily there is no way to plant or construct a barrier away from the cages. The polypro won't last forever, but you don't need it to - only a season.

Yes, it looks junky (though not so bad if you face the white inner side to the outside rather than the printed side). But on my little farmstead, this is not the junkiest thing... there's a long list of trashier looking items to worry about first!