Woolie Creations Angora Rabbits

Mist Cooling System For Angora Rabbits

This past summer (2007) has been a brutal one! The temperature stayed above 100 degrees for over three months, and the humidity was right up there as well. We had less than one day of rain and went into a severe drought. We as humans suffered so you know the animals suffered also.

I was in the big "w" rambling about and just happened upon something I found very interesting right about now in this horrible heat. It was a mister system for people and also critters as well! These Misty Mates were set up for just one person, or several. I got the string of six misty valves to try in the rabbit barn just in the off chance it would help some with the comfort of the bunnies. I went home and hooked it up to the hose, strung the mister string across the top of the barn and turned to on. WOW........ To my surprise it lowered the temperature instantly! I let it run all afternoon and shut it off around 5:00 pm. The bunnies were finally happy and cool for the first time in a month!

You ask...... How the heck do you keep water running on Angora rabbits? Well the misters produce a very fine mist that you can barely see. It does get the bunnies damp so you need to keep them clipped back. I clip mine in hot weather anyway so it didn't affect the way I did things. To me keeping the Angoras alive is much more important than having wool on them! You have to remember that the Angora rabbit wool is 8 times warmer than sheep wool so heat is a killer for them!

For those of you who would like to know about the Misty Mates here is a little info. In my opinion they are a "Must Have" for you're outside bunnies, dogs, llamas or other critters that have to stay outside in the heat of the summer. The Misty Mates are fantastic to use on your patio for your comfort as well. On the box they claim to lower the air temperature 30 degrees...... Absolutely they do! They are a snap to screw onto your hose or faucet to install and run. I have mine positioned around the barn so the fans catch the fine mist and spread it throughout the barn. It works like a swamp fan does only on a bigger scale! Here is a link to their web site. Take a look at what they have to offer!

I have a 20 foot by 20 foot rabbit barn and use 2 strings of Misty Mate 6 valve systems. They are joined together into one big hose and go up one side of the barn and down the other. The six vales system is about 10 foot long so it is perfect for what I am using it for.

Here is something else I found out about the company that makes these wonderful systems, Misty Mate. They have outstanding customer service, and that is a very rare thing these days! I bought 2 boxes of the 6 nozzle patio systems that didn't have the valves in them. (That's the big "W" for you!) I emailed Misty Mates customer service department and explained that the nozzles were not in the box. I was contacted right back the next day and the nice lady asked for my mailing info and that they would get them right out to me. Shocked that I would not have to fuss with them I emailed my mailing address back. Within 3 days I had the nozzles I needed plus a couple of replacement ones just in case a valve was lost. Now how many companies today would be so fantastic as to be so quick and helpful as these people are? Not many I say!

The nozzles that came with my system are plastic and seem to work just fine. Misty Mate also offers metal  nozzles if you think you would like them.

It has finally gotten cold here in the south. I unpacked my winter cloths and put away my sumer ones. I thought it would never get cold enough to do that.

I had another litter of French Angoras born today. Mom is a Black Silver Steel and dad is a Chestnut. Babies are doing great along with the other three litters! Here is a picture of some of the babies in the oldest Satin litter. There are several others just as pretty. I will post more pictures later.

Well the Satin/French litter hasn't done so well. The mom decided to
sit in the box and drowned most of them the first couple of days! I
put the last three in with a foster mom, and I am glad to report the
remaining 3 are doing very well.

A day ago the Silver Steel baby went missing! I was sure the cat had
struck again. :( Last night I moved a cage that was on the ground in
my way, and low and behold there it was under the cage! WOW! I need to
come up with a good name for this one like - Miracle child!!

The bunnies are about 10 days old now and fat and healthy. At this
point I believe there will be one Silver Steel, one Golden Steel, and
one Red. They will change some the older they get and I will keep you
posted as they progress. The Golden Steel doe is Vienna marked and
will carry the Vienna gene.She will be the first S1 Satin in my
breeding program for the Blue Eyed Whites. I have a very nice Satin
doe in with the Best Blue Eyed White French buck right now. Hopefully
I will have another couple of S1 Vienna marks to start with!

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