Saturday, June 30, 2012

Death from the heat

Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far. And it was another training day at work. We had to be in at 0530 for weapons qualification (trying to beat the heat!).
Qualification was with the S&W 9MM, 12 gauge Shot gun and the AR-15 223.
9MM - 98 out of 100
12 gauge - 100 out of 100
AR-15 - 80 out of 100
So that's done until next January.

But I returned home at 1330 to find that all the Rabbits had died because of the heat! I gave them fresh water and feed before I left. But with temps above 100, All three were dead and had been for a while. I feel rotten, as I was not able to house them in a cooler place!
So Rabbits are not going to be a part of the homestead for any time in the future

My next post will be a much better story, with a better out come. And pictures!
Tom

8 comments:

  1. Oh my! I'm sorry to hear about the rabbits. That is actually our main concern here and I'm pretty glad that we didn't get them this year as I'm almost certain each and every one would have been slow-roasted with our heat wave by now. Tough, tough farming, gardening & critter times with this heat / drought.
    Looking forward to the surprise pictures!
    Oh, and "Att'a Boy" on the qualification :)

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    1. Carolyn,
      The heat is killing! My heat pump is down and that means no AC. Last night at 2300, it was still 95 in the house! I have been sleeping at Terri's and trying to get some things done before it gets too hot. I have a service call in to have it repaired, but a lot of people seem to be having the same problem.
      Tom

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  2. So sorry to hear about your rabbits! That is really awful! This heat has been so intense and there are so many factors to consider :-(

    I look forward to your next story :-)

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    1. Bee Girl,
      What did our Grand Parents do at this time of year? I do not even want to go out side! With the tractor down, Grass gets cut with a walk behind mower, 4 Acres!!! needless to say that it takes more then a few days to get it done, and then have to start all over again!
      I hope to post the story tonight, with pictures.
      Tom

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    2. I wonder what our grandparents did all the time on many levels! How did they keep themselves AND their livestock happy and healthy? Crazy. I look forward to your post. We have been thinking about keeping meat rabbits, but it seems like a big undertaking at this point.

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  3. Tom, so sorry to hear about your rabbits. Mine are hanging in there, I have to put frozen soda bottles, and or milk jugs in with them. Sometimes 2 times a day. So far so good. I have a fan too if needed, but so far the south wind has been kind enough to keep blowing.

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    1. tea4too0,
      I have read about others who have done the same thing and I even had frozen milk jugs in the freezer, but did not get them out to the rabbits! Another lesson in Homesteading!
      Tom

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  4. I am real sorry to hear about this Tom. We lost one ( my poor DD's sweet boy) during a 100 degree day also. We had been replacing water all day AND kept frozen bottles in their hutches. We only lost the buck out off all the rabbits we have, but it was devastating. What really sucked for us was I had butcher day scheduled for two days later and had to stick with that. We decided to let my DD keep one of the bucks from that litter and she named it Jr. for the 'dad'. Sometimes, there's just nothing you can do.

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