New Heater

[LilFish_JWQueen(:]

Ok so i went out to the barn today and more dead cold babies.
I think its time for a new barn heater...we had two last year but one is in the house now and the other broke. My barn is insulated(yes my rabbits are high maintenance lol) and is usually a good temp for the rabbits but without the heater my babies are not making it. Ive had 7 litters all dead..all covered with wool.. the moms took good care of them but just too cold out. So i guess time to take my money from selling rabbits at convention and buy a new heater! I dont know what kind ima get but hopefully ill have live babies then.

 

[Rae]

Sorry about the high losses. Hope you find the perfect heater for your buns.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

That's terrible news! So sorry. How cold is it? Are just the newborns and days-old affected? I have the flat metal plate that you slide under the nest. Got it from Bass. It would help get the newbies over the hump until you get a new barn heater at least.

 

[LilFish_JWQueen(:]

its been in the 30s - 40s so actually not super cold but im hoping to get the heater before its below 30 everyday..welcome to michigan weather lol
Its just been the newborns..i thought the first couple were just still born but i think its the cold now. All the litters had plenty of wool from the moms so its weird that ive lost so many but if ya think bout it they hav no fur at all so for a newborn their more fragile and everything so

 

[akane]

It's already been below freezing most nights here (no more fresh chives ) and last year I got litters in Jan with little trouble so I really don't think they need that much heat. One of the breeders I got rex from in WI uses metal nestboxes all winter and had several mini rex, champagne d'argent, and flemish litters when we stopped by in Feb while I believe temps were still in the negatives and his barn doors were wide open. I think the use of lots of straw by both of us is a major contributor to success. His cages were all solid bottom with a short lip that he packed with straw and changed so many cages every day leaving them just a few days before they were emptied and bedded again. My nestboxes in cages during winter have wood pellets, shavings, and then are packed and surrounded by straw. I ended up using half a 2'x4' cage for the bigger nest box to pack around it well. In the colony some of the does will bury the box 3' deep in shavings and straw. Straw is cheaper than electricity and I've also heard of lining boxes with cardboard and setting them on cardboard if the cage is wire floored. I'd go broke very quickly trying to keep an outbuilding above freezing in Iowa winters. Plus I can sell rabbits to people who want them outdoors through the winter.

 

[Secuono]

I have a 'space heater' that I have had for YEARS and it still works even after my dog has knocked it down several times every year. What kind of heater are you using??

 

[LilFish_JWQueen(:]

akane: i think though that person proly bred their rabbits to be hardyer then jw people do..were a lil on the high maintenance side and spoil ours rotten lol so i think thats proly why mine are not like that. My satins are out in hutches and do jus fine but the woolies are different.

ChickiesnBunnies: im not using a heater atm lol i have to buy one but i was using a space heater before

 

[fuzzy9]

Ours is staying right around 40 degrees, and I am running a heater at night, but we've had some single digit temps this week. We just didn't want to be dealing with frozen waters in winter, and excessive heat in summer, that was really the only reasons for enclosing our rabbitry.

 

[LilFish_JWQueen(:]

Ours is staying right around 40 degrees, and I am running a heater at night, but we've had some single digit temps this week. We just didn't want to be dealing with frozen waters in winter, and excessive heat in summer, that was really the only reasons for enclosing our rabbitry.

yeah frozen water crocks is another thing i dont wanna deal with. I have ac in the barn for them in the summer and fans so their good for in the summer. I also want to not freeze my butt off all winter..it gets really cold here so lol