Most of the country experienced a rabbit-killing heat wave last week and in my area, there was no breeze at all. Temperature predictions for this week were as high to higher, but this week most of the southeast will have lower humidity, also lowering the heat index. The result would be the rabbits could feel a bit cooler at 85 degrees this week than last week.
We have seen several posts about breeders throughout the country losing rabbits and kits to heat or seeing some oddities showing up in their nest boxes that are usually not common but should be expected in these conditions: fever coats. (You can read an article about my past experience with fever coats by clicking here.) I have been fortunate that in the 12 years we have had rabbits we have not lost one to heat. However, in the beginning, we may have just been fortunate due to several contributing factors that we were unaware of at the time. Typically, that does not just happen and requires planning and adapting as necessary. As many do, we started out with the bare necessities as meat breeders, however, we have added and modified our rabbitry as our interests in rabbits changed towards also showing. Even though we had not lost a rabbit to heat, I will say that I do much more than I did before because I would rather not lose a Grand Champion rabbit I worked to develop and invested in than a rabbit I raised solely for meat and fur.
The concept of working to make rabbits more heat-hardy is interesting. I mean, the breeder would need to be willing to risk losing them to attempt it. I think of breeds like the Florida Whites, which were specifically developed to handle heat; they are smaller rabbits than a Silver Fox with shorter fur. On that note, not that many years ago, one of the main problems with Silver Fox rabbits in the southeast was that they were undersized, which likely made them a bit more heat-hardy. Shorter and thinner fur was also more common. My thoughts there...natural selection happened due to the heat among the meat breeders and there were not enough show breeders to improve the Silver Fox breed, bringing back the size and fur quality as they would work to meet the Standard of Perfection. Now, some believe if a rabbit is born in an area that it will be more tolerant of the temperatures and weather conditions of the area, but that is not always true: Of my original show stock, the most heat-tolerant and largest buck came from upstate New York and the smaller one that would lose the most weight in the summer was born in the area.
I have heard the criticisms about "pampered" show rabbits not being hardy and I do make a point to work towards hardy rabbits, I even kept a line that started from my first Silver Fox meat doe, who was very hardy. However, there is a huge span of difference between pampered conditions and cruel to life-threatening conditions. Although my rabbits are well sheltered, shaded from the sun, and open to breezes, I do not have a climate-controlled barn. On the other hand, I do have other means to keep my rabbits from going into heat distress. I use fans and even have a portable air conditioner on hand if only to blow cooler air around my rabbitry or into the kindling suite if there is a surprise heat wave and I have a pregnant doe or kits in the nest (which happened once). Even without using the A/C unit, my rabbitry is always 3 to 5 degrees cooler than the outside air. I will admit that fans do require weekly cleaning and regular maintenance to keep them in safe and effective working order as fur builds up in them, so a good shop vacuum could be another investment worth having on hand for both the fans and the rabbitry to keep loose fur to a minimum.
My husband and I did not have a mentor when we started with rabbits, we learned about rabbit husbandry through books and experience. However, it was our intention from the start to be responsible rabbit breeders. I have seen people spend money on rabbits and going to shows, yet lose rabbits to heat because they chose not to invest in fans, bring heat-distressed rabbits inside, or have an effective plan to cool the rabbits should it get too hot. I always make this comparison: if you cannot tolerate wearing a jacket outside in the summer heat, imagine how that works for a rabbit that cannot simply remove its fur. I choose to be a compassionate and passionate Silver Fox breeder.
Rippling Fur Puddles!