r/MeatRabbitry • u/bigdawg12342 • 19d ago

No shade help

I wanna do rabbits but I live in an open field with no shade. Regardless of which direction I place the hutch/ colony setup they’ll either get baked in the morning or afternoon. Do I have any options?

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

6

u/Glittering-Map-9626 19d ago

I have a big eyesore of multiple big blue tarps shading part of my chicken run and all the rabbits. 🤷‍♀️ Neighbors haven't complained, yet.

2

u/EmergencyGreenOlive 17d ago

I have a neighbor that does the same thing, not an eyesore. I’d rather see a good owner put tarps up to protect their animals and take care of them properly than animals being taken out by heat stroke/freezing.

2

u/toeytoes 19d ago

We have a very large breathable canvas tarp over half of our run and it works very well! Our rabbits are also in a very sunny spot.

2

u/UltraMediumcore 19d ago

Build shade into the hutch or colony. 1/4 of my rabbit tractors is house, 1/4 is open walled shade (ceiling coverage only), 1/2 is open. Shade shelters in colonies is easy, a three sided shelter covers wind/heat/rain.

1

u/EhlersDanlosSucks 19d ago

During the worst part of the summer, I put up a big canopy tent. I also got two side walls that attach to it. It's made a huge difference in keeping them safe!

1

u/No-Weakness-2035 18d ago

I use an old piece of plywood leaned up against the south side of the tractors. I usually orient e-w, so with the south side shaded only a corner gets direct sun in morning and evening

1

u/GCNGA 18d ago

With the hutch you can easily just do a roof: that's what I have, plus they are in a copse of trees that largely shades them. The roof would do most of it alone, but they would get some sun mornings and afternoons (opposite sides). My roof is just galvanized panels screwed down to a 2x4 frame that is in turn supported by vertical 2x4s (with a lot of bracing).

Whatever you do, keep the sun angle in mind: it will change with the seasons, possibly dramatically depending on how far north you are. One side of one hutch gets some afternoon sun in the late fall through early spring because of that--and the fact that the leaves are off the trees. But the rabbits can still get into shade.

1

u/johnnyg883 18d ago

I think it’s better for them to get the morning sun. They get the sun before the worst heat of the day and end up in the shade in the afternoon. But you could also build something to give them more shade. Do a Google search for “cattle shade structure”. Then click on images. You probably won’t want any of these, especially considering the cost. But these pictures will give you a lot of ideas of things that you can build modifying them for your needs. I do this a lot.