A reader asks: What temperature should the water be when you’re trying to warm up cold or chilled rabbit kits?
Great question! And an important one!
Jump to:
- Warming newborn meat rabbit kits
- VIDEO: Warming up chilled rabbit kits
- When you might need to warm meat rabbit kits
- What temperature should the water be to warm up cold kits?
- How long should you warm the kits in the water bowl?
- VIDEO: Update on warmed kits
- How likely is a warmed kit to survive after warming?
Warming newborn meat rabbit kits
This is something that probably every meat rabbit breeder will experience at some point -- the need to attempt to warm up newborn or young kits before they have fur and the ability to maintain their own body heat.
Note: we are specifically talking about warming meat rabbit kits with the plastic bag and warm water method.
This is basically when you put kits in an OPEN sandwich bag or freezer bag, clip the bag to the side of a bowl filled with warm water, and float the bag with the kits inside so the water can transfer the warmth to the kits and heat them back up to body temperature.
VIDEO: Warming up chilled rabbit kits
When you might need to warm meat rabbit kits
Typically, this is something you might need to do at birth or perhaps within the first few days of life, perhaps up to one week old. After that, the rabbits will begin to grow fur and are more likely to stay in the nest, and if they do require warming, warming in a bowl of water is not going to be your safest bet. (A heating pad or placement near a heater would be better, but often older kits can just be put back in with the litter in the protection of the nest.)
There is a saying amongst rabbit breeders. It sounds a little crass, maybe a little cold, but it’s really meant as guidance: Meat rabbit kits are “not dead until they are warm and dead.”
What this means is that comatose, lethargic kits can sometimes be saved if they are brought up to the correct body temperature before circulation stops. So, it is always worth trying to warm them before deciding that the kit is beyond saving.
Bring the kits up to a temperature where they are warm to the touch and their bodies are pliable (move freely and are not stiff). Warm them long enough to warm all the way through, not just the body surface.
If you look at the kits’ toenails and you see dark blood pooled in the tips of the nails, that is a sign that circulation has stopped and the kits are beyond saving.
For the small effort that it takes, it is always at least worth a try.
What temperature should the water be to warm up cold kits?
You are aiming to get the kit's body temperature up to as close to normal body temperature as possible. Normal body temperature for newborn rabbit kits is 101 to 103 degrees Fahrenheit (38.33 to 39.44 C).
You do not want the heating water to be too much above that because they are hairless and can become burned, or they can heat too quickly and overheat.
Aim to have the water at or right around that goal body temperature. That means, try to have the water at 101 degrees Fahrenheit.
A degree or two above or below is likely to work if the kits can be saved. A higher degree will help to hold the heat in the water for longer and also accommodate for the slight inefficiency in heat transfer from the water and through the bag.
For just one or two kits, a lot of people will use a body heat method of skin-to-skin contact with the kit in a person’s shirt. That indicates a temperature of around 98.6 will probably get the kit warm enough to where they might then be able to go back into a warm nest and hold their heat. This also depends on if there are other surviving littermates that will be able to share their body heat. If not, consider fostering the kit to another litter, if that is an option.
How long should you warm the kits in the water bowl?
Warm the kits for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 (or longer if you do not see blood pooling). More than likely, by the time 30 minutes have passed, the kit will be warmed if it can be. Just be sure that you continue to warm the water and keep it around 101 to 102 degrees. Do not let the water temperature drop to where it will chill the kit!
Warmed kits will begin to wriggle and will often squeak. This is a sign that the kit is warm enough and can be returned to the protection and warmth of the nest. If you are successful, you should see some obvious signs of life.
VIDEO: Update on warmed kits
How likely is a warmed kit to survive after warming?
Callene Rapp, co-author of Raising Rabbits for Meat, puts the odds at 50/50 for cold kits that require warming. There is a 50 percent chance that you can warm them and that they will survive after warming.
This may sound like low odds, and to be sure, they aren’t great. But as she points out, there is a 100% guarantee of death if you do nothing to help a kit that is that chilled.
Equal odds of saving something and salvaging your breeding are better than no odds at all. And you’ll at least have the comfort of knowing you’ve done all you could for the rabbits in your care!
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