Keeping Angora Rabbits Cool in the Summer Heat

Keeping Angora Rabbits Cool:

Ever wonder how to keep angora rabbits safe and cool in the summer heat without sacrificing their coats? My angora farm is in Louisiana, USA. It is hot and humid from May-October, with July and August being particularly unpleasant. During the hot summer months, it’s crucial to protect your Angora rabbits from the brutal heat.

It’s particularly dangerous for angora rabbits (and pretty much everyone else) when temperatures rise drastically in a short time. In some ways, us folks in the South have an advantage here: it’s usually above 90 degrees all day from June-September, with many days over 100 and nights in the 80s. Rarely does the temperature go from cool to hot overnight. I suspect this is easier for rabbits to adapt to than a sudden drastic heat wave. I suspect that angora rabbits raised outdoors in the south will adapt more and more over generations to tolerate the heat.

I’ve got four main goals regarding my angora rabbits in the summertime:

1. Keep my rabbits as comfortable and healthy as possible.
2. Allow them to adapt to the heat as much as possible by not coddling them too much, in case of power outages.
3. Grow and harvest as much fiber as possible.
4. Keep things efficient and as easy on me as possible so that I can continue raising my rabbits for the long haul.

The thick angora coats present specific challenges to keeping angora rabbits cool. I’ve developed some strategies for keeping my angora rabbits cool and safe in the heat. Bare minimum, no rabbit should ever be kept in full sun with no access to shade. It’s inhumane and deadly. Here are my thoughts and strategies:

Less Useful Cooling Methods for Angora Rabbits:

• Frozen Water Jugs: This is a popular method for keeping rabbits cool. Placing frozen water jugs in a rabbit’s cage or run can provide relief, but the condensation can cause angora rabbits’ long fur to mat, ruining months of growth. I don’t use this method unless the rabbit is recently shorn. Another reason I don’t use this often is because a few of my rabbits will chew holes in the bottles, and a few of them never touch the bottles at all. Ineffective!
• Shearing Dilemma: Keeping angora rabbits completely sheared in summer would help keep them cool. However, it could reduce income from selling the fiber by 25%-30%, making the farm less profitable. I would use this method as a last resort to save a rabbit, but I have never had to do so yet.

Effective Ways to Keep Angora Rabbits Cool

• Air Conditioning: Keep angora rabbits in an insulated, air-conditioned bunny barn. This was my method for years.
• Cool Back Porch: Recently, I moved my rabbit cages to my back porch, which faces north. It’s always shady and breezy.
• Fans: Point an electric fan or two at your bunny’s cage during the hot summer months.
• Evaporation: Hose down the floor or ground under the cages, or drape a cold wet towel over a portion of the cage. Evaporation will cool the nearby air. Just be sure they don’t eat the towel!
• Frozen Tiles: Put some large ceramic tiles in your freezer for 24 hours. Take them out and stick them in your bunny’s cage. They will enjoy resting on the cool surface. Keep extras in the freezer to continuously swap out.
• Protect from Sun: Be sure that your rabbit is never trapped in direct sunlight. Use shade cloth, curtains, boards, or whatever you need to block the sun. Move the cage into full shade if possible.
• Clean Water: Never let your rabbit run out of clean, fresh water. Refilling your water bottles every few hours with cold water can help them cool down. If you are worried your rabbit isn’t drinking enough, switch to a bowl. Rabbits can drink out of bowls faster and more easily than water bottles.
• Leafy Greens: Keep greens suitable for rabbits in your fridge, or forage for greens on your property. Once a day, rinse the greens off in cold water and don’t shake off the excess water. Feed them to your rabbits as a snack. The extra drops of water will help keep them hydrated. I aim for no more than one cup of greens per rabbit per day, to avoid runny poop.
• Colony Style: Some Angora rabbit farmers choose to raise their rabbits without cages. Having a rabbit run connected to an air-conditioned shed could be a great setup for this style of rabbit farming in hot areas. Rabbits love to keep cool by digging a hole or tunnel and laying on the cool dirt. Depending on how tangle-prone and messy your rabbits are, you might be sacrificing fiber cleanliness and profitability with this method.

Practical Considerations:

• Exercise: Rabbits need to be able to run and play. I have a large rabbit run on my side porch. The shade and cement slab floor keeps things somewhat cool, but this area gets direct sun on late summer afternoons and evenings. Because of this, my rabbits get less exercise during the summer months. I’m slowly fixing this problem by growing blackberries in front of the porch to provide shade. Another option would be to hang up shade cloth.
• Bringing the Rabbits Indoors: While I’d love to bring my rabbits into my air conditioned home for playtime, it’s impractical due to their numbers and lack of litter training. For a pet angora rabbit, an indoor life would be a great option to keep them safe in the summer heat. Whatever your rabbit setup is, be sure they get to exercise as frequently as possible.

Keeping Angora Rabbits Comfortable Year Round

• Hope for Cooler Weather: While keeping angora rabbits safe in summer presents challenges, I look forward to cooler temperatures when the rabbits can enjoy more outdoor time in their run, keeping them comfortable and content. The good news is that, where I live in Louisiana, temperatures are excellent for angora rabbits from about October-April. I do my best to keep them comfortable and give them enough exercise in the summer, with the knowledge that the rest of the year will be easier, and hope it will all balance out.