Keeping Cool: How to Make Rabbit Air Conditioner

As the temperature goes up outside, you need to keep your outdoor bunnies comfort in mind.  Always use common sense with outdoor rabbits and heat.  For example, always make sure your rabbit has access to fresh water and keep the hutch in a shady area.  Really hot weather (90 F or higher) means you should probably move your rabbit to an indoor cage which you can keep in a garage or basement.

"Hot" to a rabbit is typically in the 80 F range or higher.  Please keep in mind that wooled breeds will feel warmer sooner than a short-haired breed would.  Also, the temperatures I chose here are relative, based on what the weather in your area typically is.

If your rabbit is outside in hot weather, you can make them "air conditioning" to make the time outside more comfortable.  All you need is an empty 2 liter soda bottle.

Rinse out any remaining soda with water.  Fill the bottle 3/4 of the way with tap water.  Place in the freezer overnight.  Remove in the morning and place in your rabbit's hutch.  Your rabbit will be able to stay cool by laying close.  When it cools down in the evening, remove the bottle from the hutch, place in a disposable plastic bag and place back in the freezer.  Remove and discard bad before placing in the hutch.  No need to refresh the water in the bottle!

It's best to have 2 bottles so you can alternate them on very hot days.  Also, smaller bottles are perfect for carrying cages on the way to shows.

Keep an eye on your outdoor rabbits!  Remember- if you want to turn on the air conditioning, your rabbit is probably hot, too!

Peggy and Dante

Does Your Rabbit Have (a) Class?

My favorite part of raising rabbits was showing them.  I always enjoyed the show environment and I’m sad that I’ve spent so much time away from it.  I would like to talk today about some basic show terminology.  When registering your rabbit for a show, you’re going to be asked which class the rabbit should be entered in.  This can be confusing if you are unfamiliar with the show system.  Let’s try break it down.

If I were to register my rabbit Dante in a show, I would say that he is a Havana Black Senior Buck.

Havana Black Senior Buck

Here, “Havana” refers to the breed of the rabbit.  Other examples of a breed would be Netherland Dwarf and Jersey Wooly.  This is the most general category a rabbit can fall under.

Havana Black Senior Buck

The next category we look at is a bit more complicated because it depends on the breed.  This category (“black” in the example above) refers to the coloring of the rabbit.  Depending on the breed, the coloring can be divided up by variety, group or classification.

A variety is a specific color of rabbit.  Havanas are shown in varieties, hence me using “black” to describe Dante’s class.  Other varieties would include blue and chocolate.  A group is a set of varieties with similar characteristics that get shown together.  For example, Jersey Woolies are shown in groups.  When the agouti group is called to the show table, chestnut, chinchilla, opal and squirrel varieties would all come up at the same time.  Lop and angora breeds are typically shown in classifications.   This system of categorizing coloring brings together even more colors to the table at the same time.  Angora breeds are shown as either “white” or “colored” whereas lops are shown as “solid” or “broken”.  There are also some breeds that only have one acceptable color, and therefore all shown together.  In this case, the variety would be omitted all together.  The Rhinelander breed only has one color pattern and are thus are not divided by coloring.

Havana Black Senior Buck

I know it seems like a lot of information so far, but I promise that it will get easier from here.  “Senior” refers to the age of the rabbit.  There are four possible categories: pre-junior, junior, intermediate, and senior.  A pre-junior class would only be seen in larger breeds and described as a rabbit under three months of age.  Junior refers to a rabbit under six months of age (or between three and six months for larger breeds).  An intermediate class is only seen in larger breeds of rabbit, where time to maturity is longer than in smaller breeds.  A larger breed rabbit between six and eight months would fall into this category.  A senior is a rabbit over six months (for smaller breeds) or eight months (for larger breeds).

Havana Black Senior Buck

The final classification is the sex of the rabbit.  Buck refers to a male rabbit and doe is a female rabbit.  That was easy.

Here are some additional examples of show classifications:

American Fuzzy Lop Solid Senior Doe

Palomino Golden Intermediate Buck

Dwarf Hotot Junior Doe

Now that you’re a pro- what’s your rabbit’s show class?

Peggy

Sore Hocks- The Unlucky Rabbit's Foot

What is it?  Sore hocks is a condition that occurs when a rabbit’s foot fur wears off, causing the skin to be exposed and get sore.  The condition is found primarily on the heals of the back feet, although it can also be found on the front feet.

Dante's fully furred feet.  This is what they should look like.

Sore hocks. Notice the open wounds on the feet.

How can they get it? If your rabbit’s cage has a wired bottom, they are more likely to rub the fur off of their foot.  Breeds with characteristically short fur (such as the Rex and Mini Rex) are more likely to wear their foot pads down because, frankly, there is less fur to lose.  Heavier breeds of rabbit are also prone to sore hocks.

Is it treatable? Yes.  First, move the rabbit to a cage without a wire bottom, or add carpet squares or hay to the wired cage.  This temporality stops the cause of the sore hocks.  (When you do this, you will need to be extra diligent in cleaning the cage to keep it sanitary- you want to make sure any open sores do not become infected.  Throwing out old carpet squares and replacing them with new ones is the best way.)  You can add some ointment (same ointment we would use, found at any drugstore) to the sore and wrap the foot in gauze using medical tape.  Depending on the activity level of your rabbit, the bandage you apply to the foot may come off rather quickly.  Try to keep the bandage on the foot and keep the cage as clean as possible.

Is it preventable?  Yes, sore hocks is completely preventable.  It is best to catch sore hocks early.  In the early  stage, you will see that your rabbits foot fur is starting to wear or has worn off.  As it progresses, you will see the skin appear inflamed.  If the condition is allowed to worsen, you will then see scabs or open wounds on the feet.  If you regularly check your rabbit’s feet, it is likely you’ll never see the condition progress too far.  Keep hay, towels or other soft materials in your rabbit's cage so they have a place to get away from the wired portion of the cage.


Simple prevention steps will allow your rabbit to always put their best foot forward!


Peggy and Dante