We have had our rabbits in cages and were just using ice jugs to help them through the triple digit summers. But this year we lost our favorite buck anyway. So we are working on a new project and I am hoping for input from someone who has maybe tried this or something similar. We are stacking all cages in a row elevated off ground by cinder blocks. A large piece of pvc pipe provides a tunnel out the back of each cage into an old plastic ice chest which acts as a burrow. Each rabbit has their own "tunnel and burrow". Ice chests will be burried in large dirt pile but with lids exposed so we can check on rabbits or clean out as needed. Leaving lids exposed will not provide as much temperature moderation as complete burial but we figure we would rather drop ice jugs in during summer as needed than to not be able to check on them at all. And the ice inside an ice chest partially burried will most certainly be more effective than just an ice jug in an open cage was for our poor buck. I have seen lots of stuff about underground burrows but nothing quite like this set up so curious if anyone tried it and had input. Thanks!
Rabbits unerground?
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baymule
Sustainability Master
I am not too sure how that would work out. Ice chests are plastic and a rabbit could chew right through that. I raised rabbits many years ago and had to fight the heat too. I lost rabbits to heat and I did the ice jugs to help with the heat. It is sad to lose a rabbit to heat and I understand that you want to find a way to keep them cool and alive in the heat.
Have you looked into ferro cement? I haven't ever tried to build anything with ferro cement myself, but it looks intresting.
http://ferrocement.net/
Have you looked into ferro cement? I haven't ever tried to build anything with ferro cement myself, but it looks intresting.
http://ferrocement.net/
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We were hoping the smooth sides would make them difficult to bite since there isn't anything to get ahold of. And also this was another of a long list of reasons we wanted to be able to access them from the top so we can keep an eye on things. I have never tried any ferro cement either but I will read up on it. We figured if the coolers didn't work we could craft the burrows out of something else - we just keep thinking of drawbacks to every material we think of. Which is another good reason to post this here. Hoping to pick everyone else's brain and not have to reinvent the wheel. 
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
I think giving them a place to retreat from the heat is a great idea. My question is will the PVC be too slick for them to climb back into their cages? Maybe if the angle isn't too great it'll be do-able? All in all, I think you're on the right track.
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Right now it is barely angled down. Hopefully enough to keep rain from blowing into it and traveling to the cooler (though we did tap drain holes in bottom of pipe and cooler just in case). Slippery was another of our fears. We actually rigged one up temporarily and let a rabbit go back and forth between the cooler and cage quite a few times to make sure they would not have problems. She was so curious about the new place to explore she hardly even hesitated to go in. This whole thing is kind of a crap shoot but we are not spending money on it - just using things we have already - so I won't feel too bad if it doesn't work. But we are just in the process of building so I am hoping all you guys will keep pointing out potential issues in case anyone thinks of something we didn't. This is a great little forum.
frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Here's another idea - (sometimes I scare myself, lol) If chewing through the ice chest is an issue, you could maybe line it with hardware cloth? Oh, oh, oh... maybe just a cage made of hardware cloth dug into the ground....??? The hardware cloth would keep the dirt from falling in, and it would keep the bunnies from chewing through it? And, if they potty it would be better than cleaning it out of an ice chest? Whatever you use - let us know!
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thanks everyone who offered suggestions. Doesn't sound like anyone here has actually tried something like this so I guess we will be the test subjects - LOL. I will let yall know how it works out. Right now we are trying to gather more coolers and find a few pieces of pipe that are bigger for our larger rabbits. So far we have not spent a dime on this and we were hoping to get through the project with very little out of pocket. Wish me luck!
Farmfresh
City Biddy
A method of providing a cool spot for rabbits is by building a ground accessible pen and letting them dig their own burrows.
One plan involves digging out an area and laying down a welded wire bottom. Then the sides of the pen are attached securely to the bottom and the pen is back filled with a regular hutch on top. That way the rabbits can dig down into the cool earth themselves. We had a similar pen to this when I was a kid for my pet checkered giant.
One plan involves digging out an area and laying down a welded wire bottom. Then the sides of the pen are attached securely to the bottom and the pen is back filled with a regular hutch on top. That way the rabbits can dig down into the cool earth themselves. We had a similar pen to this when I was a kid for my pet checkered giant.
pinkfox
Super Self-Sufficient
my grandmother did something simiear to the"icebox" method your thining about...
she had colony bunnies but didnt want them digging so the pes were floored i wire with about 2" of dirt on top...
the nest boxes however were burried to provide year roud climate control (cooler in summer, warmer in winter) hers were not nsulate but instead ust wooden "boxes" wrapped in thick black plastic with about 3" and the roof exposed above ground (the 3 Inchese she had a 2" line of wire mesh in all 4 sides to allow for ventilation and airflor and the heat to escape and the roof/lid was larger on all 4 sides than the box to allow the ventilation to be "under the eaves". she used the black plastic corugated pipe as a tunnel in from surface level.
she never lost a bunny to heat or cold and never lost a litter (but shes in the uk so cooler temperatures all around) BUT, the temperature difference in those boxes alone was enoug to make me belive it would aboslulty work...
especially fi the boxes were insulated AND burried...My biggest worry would be air flow and id cnsider putting in a small pipe out the back (too small for a rabbit to acess) to allos some kind of cross ventilation between the 2 pipes so the air doesnt get stale in there.
also since heat rises it would give somewhere else for any excess body heat to "escape" from.
this is obviously more so of a concern given the cooler boxes are designed to be fairly air tight so id worry with only 1 acess point you wouldnt have enough ventilation and it could become a health issue.
she had colony bunnies but didnt want them digging so the pes were floored i wire with about 2" of dirt on top...
the nest boxes however were burried to provide year roud climate control (cooler in summer, warmer in winter) hers were not nsulate but instead ust wooden "boxes" wrapped in thick black plastic with about 3" and the roof exposed above ground (the 3 Inchese she had a 2" line of wire mesh in all 4 sides to allow for ventilation and airflor and the heat to escape and the roof/lid was larger on all 4 sides than the box to allow the ventilation to be "under the eaves". she used the black plastic corugated pipe as a tunnel in from surface level.
she never lost a bunny to heat or cold and never lost a litter (but shes in the uk so cooler temperatures all around) BUT, the temperature difference in those boxes alone was enoug to make me belive it would aboslulty work...
especially fi the boxes were insulated AND burried...My biggest worry would be air flow and id cnsider putting in a small pipe out the back (too small for a rabbit to acess) to allos some kind of cross ventilation between the 2 pipes so the air doesnt get stale in there.
also since heat rises it would give somewhere else for any excess body heat to "escape" from.
this is obviously more so of a concern given the cooler boxes are designed to be fairly air tight so id worry with only 1 acess point you wouldnt have enough ventilation and it could become a health issue.
