We are heading for another heat wave

[Roberta]

Hi All,

Just survived one heat wave and there is another coming straight for us down here. The last 10 days up well over 100F was bad enough, we just had a few cool days but next weeks the temps are set to jump. I am relying on an evap cooler and a fan but the humidity is killing it, at 83% the other day it took the crunch out of the hay.

Any new ideas or suggestions for keeping the buns cool ?????

I am going to AC next year but right now it’s not in my budget.

Getting greens has also been a problem (I just hope my Pet Supplies person is wrong about the bush fires also causing a hay shortage)

I am struglling to get the greens they like and the ones I did buy stewed in the bags in the fridge and when I soaked them they turned to soup. Going to try some Jasmin tonight, it is on the HRS list. I would have had Rasberry leaves but it appears the LeafCutter Bees like those too. 

What the sun hasn’t fried in my garden the bugs have eaten and I am not sure about the things that are still lush. Does anyone know if Mulberry Leaves are OK, also Lavender and Rosemary ?

[bunnygirl]

Oh no! D: It’s my first full summer in Aus and I struggled last heat wave! In England when we had warm weather I put ice cubes in the water bowls and hung a wet towel over one side of the cage, with a fan aimed right at the towel. It blew cool, moist air into the cage. Fortunately we have aircon, but other than that and ice water bottles – I’m stuck too! Poor bunnies

[bunnygirl]

Oh gosh! Hay shortage?! I’ve only just re-read your post and realised what it said! Might have to go and stock up on some hay then, or use the scraps left in the trailer when I do the hay round at the professional stables I work at! Oh no! If Pet Proffesionals do run out, and your stuck for hay, let me know and ill collect some from my stables and drop it off at your place!

[Roberta]

Thanks Bunnygirl…. Last time we had a hay shortage every body ran out… I think if it looks like happening I’ll grab a bale of oaten hay and split it. The last time I had to use bale it lasted a long time. They have ice bottles etc but I don’t get the cross flow of air for the evap cooler. If I could leave the windows open it would be OK but then the easterlies come straight in that way. The house is a heat trap. I’d like to install a RC Aircon but all my living spaces are internal or the front room leads onto a patio and the exhaust would kill the fish and plants and the heat would just rush back in. If I AC the back room I am back to not being able to chlorinate and run the spa again plus the bill would be huge as it gets really hot in the afternoon…
One of the girls fro seedlings dropped of 4 trays of Maxi pots… Unfortunately it’s all basil and they can’t just have basil for 2 1/2 days, I need parsley. Even the Bok Choy has turned yellow over night. I might see if Mum can get me some celery tomorrow. If they would eat cabbage it would help but they won’t touch it. They were loving the rocket but that’s just going to mush, it’s too hot for kale. Actually, I should go out and get a spot of jasmin vine and see if they like that.

[Floppybuns]

This hot weather has been horrible but my buns and I were very happy that I was so much cooler today! Even though it won’t last long . Oh no another hay shortage? Lets hope not. I pretty lucky I don’t have to buy hay, we have horses so mum always has a huge stock of hay and I just grab mine from there

[jerseygirl]

We currently are at 43C (109F) then it’s expected to drop for tomorrow. Your heat wave will most likely head our way. Ugh!

I have evap. cooling and prefer it but it’s useless in humid conditions. But even really hot days when not humid, it’s difficult to get the house 10C cooler.

When I looked after my friends rabbits and we struck a hot day, I ended up putting them all in the bathroom. lol The floor was at least cool. At the time I thought about using one of those childrens shell shaped sandpits. Putting ice in one half and sitting the other half on the top of it. But I imagined it would just turn into a big litterbox for them.

There’s not a lot more you can do other then offer frozen bottles or pop tiles in the freezer then give to them to lay on.

I had thought fans dont really cool the rabbits themselves but my guests seemed to like laying in the flow of the air.

As for greens, celery does sound like your best bet. I have found celery to be substandard this year though. Fennel bulbs might be good too if you can find this time of year. Some of the endives/chicory varieties stand up to the heat ok. Maybe just give small portions more often so it doesn’t sit in the heat and go to waste?

[Roberta]

Hi Jerseygirl,
Yes, I think you’re still enjoying our last heat wave. The next ones going to fluxuate between the mid and upper 30’s hopefully but the temps keep escalating.
The humidity has been that bad the greens are actually going off in the fridge or before I can get them home from the grocers…. I have been scanning the shelves in the grocers and there is nothing they will eat (fussy little monsters) I am going to try the market gardens on Wattle Road on the way home and see if the wild fennel has recovered at all.
When they get the greens they don’t last long especially since I have had to ration the last couple of meals. Poor babies were begging this morning, I felt so guilty… They loved the extra basil I just hope too much doesn’t upset their tummies.
With an intact boy bun fostering at my place, the war between Pipi and Nermal still in full swing (Roll on Spay day – Now officially in March !!!) and the others and a very small bathroom it’s not possible. I wonder if I can get a whirly bird installed over that room ??? But then we are back to money again which I won’t have till March…. AAArrrrrgggh !

[peppypoo]

Ohhh jeez…no extra suggestions but I just wanted to say yikes!! Best wishes for all of you!

[jerseygirl]

I was wondering if a whirly bird would help. It’s a pity you couldn’t have some installed when you had rood repairs done. I think they are overpriced!

You’ve probably got this covered, but keeping your wooly buns coats short should help also. Is there a shedding tool suitable for angoras that takes out the bulk of the coat?

I find mine are just as happy with dried foliage too. I dry willow for them sometimes. You might be able to find some dried herbs, the full plant, not the stuff in jars. I see in italian grocers they have big lots of oregano.
I believe mulberry leaves are safe but you might have to limit how much??? I remember looking it up one time but dont recall details. Try rose leaves if you can find any bushes still looking healthy.

The humidity has been that bad the greens are actually going off in the fridge or before I can get them home from the grocers

I am certain it is because they over wet them in the store. It’s a pet peeve of mine.  It’s all for looks, so the produce looks fresh and dewy but we’re purchasing an illusion because it perishes so quickly.

[jerseygirl]

Off topic (well it is Australian…) but I just wanted to share the banner image Google used today.  Gumnut Babies!!

 

[Roberta]

Love todays Google banner too……
Neighbours have glorious roses but I have seen them spraying etc. They nibbled at the Jasmin but didn’t seem overly excited. I’ll try sneaking in bits. Maybe a security screen on my bedroom window so I can leave it open… That way the swamp box will get a cross draft.

[bunnygirl]

I have a security screen on my bedroom window! That’s where Apollo goes when it’s hot, and the aircon gets on too, along with a freezer bottle AND tile. He also may get the damp towel over part of his cage with a fan the other side. Jeez! He’ll be cooler than me! But like I say, if for any reason you can’t get oaten hay or you simply can’t get your hands on anything, ill pack some of the leftovers up from the yard! Just bought a big storage bin today and put his oaten hay and meadow hay in it (from the petstore) mixed with some of the yard hay, so I don’t have to delve into different bags to give him variety. He’s going crazy over the different hays he can find in his litterbox if he forages! Hehe!

[Roberta]

Managed to get a small bunch of wild fennel. I prefer to get it near the Llama Farm but its all dead there at the moment so Wattle Road is the next best option cos it has such low traffic being a dead end and all market gardens so its moist, but the verges are badly degraded. Worse than I thought in fact, I stepped in to get a really good patch of fennel and there must be a subterranean void that had worn away in old storms. My foot went straight through the crust up to the knee and I ended face first, arse up in the ditch…. So glad no one was driving past or working in the fields (or snakes in the bamboo on the other side). I have torn a small rend in my thumb but otherwise unscathed.

[jerseygirl]

Yikes! Well I hope the buns appreciate the lengths you’ve gone to. It must have been still hot also. It was still 35C well after sundown here.

[bunnygirl]

Hehe! Oops! ^.^ no doubt the buns will just gobble the fennel, and then be looking for more

[Roberta]

Fennel will be devoured first with much yoinking and binkying….. Hey JG great day temp wise…25C with a Southerly, unfortunately by the time I drove out of the Nowergup Valley and turned down Wattle Ave in Neerabup the Easterlies had started, not hot but strong so the fall was also wind assisted. The temps rise again tomorrow and keep going up for the next week. Hopefully you’ll get the couple of blessedly cool days we had today and yesterday. The last night of the last spell was the worst. It didn’t cool just stayed mid thirties for about 30 hrs.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Hard for me to imagine a heat wave this time of year. We had a very hot past summer and I bought these crate fans for my buns, they were like $10.00 at a pet/feed store and are battery operated with 3 speeds. Called “Air Force Crate Coolers”, I think.

 

If placed behind a frozen bottle, they are great for cooling off condos. A great buy, IMO.

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