The post "Pupsicles for dogs" gave me an idea I'd like to share. Rabbits cannot take the heat too well in the summer, especially those in hutches located in areas where the shade does not cover them all day. Move them to a full shade location or make a bigger piece of plywood to place on top. Have enough to overhang, just about 6- 12 inches over the edges to create more shade.
Also to keep your bunny cooler and treated to a treat you might use this method, freeze some alfalfa and hay in some water in ice trays or small freezer bags that have been place in a container to freeze. When frozen, you can remove from container and stack in freezer. In summertime, you might think about offering it daily or often as possible.
DO NOT feed rabbits iceberg lettuce unless you want to have a very sick bunny! There are other types of lettuce that you should use, so read up on this online via rabbit groups or at the library. I love to keep a bunny rabbit healthy and cool.
By Dianna from Garland, TX
I occasionally feed my house bunny frozen peas/carrots for a treat, but he prefers dryer foods.
Of course you know NEVER to let your bunny in the sun? They have heat stroke in a flash and DIE, like one of my first ones did. Frozen small-diced banana should be something they'd like. They can also get mosquito and spider bitten, which makes them miserable. Outdoor bunnies need ear mite drops, as well, which you could keep in the fridge. A flat folded frozen towel or chilled ceramic tile is a treat to hot outdoor bunnies, too, but they don't stay cool.
P.S. If no electricity, or fan, you could get a wallpaper wetting tray, put it half full of water, then place a roll of muslin or gauze fabric into the water. Place all on top of the cage and allow the end of the fabric to drape 1-1 1/2 foot down the open side of the cage, which will "wick" the water from the tray and cool the bunny when wind blows across the wet fabric.
Rabbits should be kept indoors during the hottest parts of the summer. My buns are of the house rabbit variety because I like to keep them healthy and safe. Rabbits can go into shock from summer heat, so a basement, kitchen, bathroom, or laundry room are great shelters from intense heat. It's no fun wrapping a rabbit in wet towels and hoping it will survive after heat shock sets in. Get you bunnies inside where they're safe from predators as well as summer heat!
I used to have bunnies and now that I live here I'm thinking of a couple of bunnies soon. In the heat I put frozen 2-liter pop bottles in their cages, up on blocks, and they hug under those things and let the cold water drip into their fur. I never saw a panting or suffering bunny that way and didn't have to housebreak them (my dog would be another reason why housebunnies are not for me).
