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Cold Ears

My bunnies ears are nearly always cold in the cold weather.I put a snugglesafe in the hut but they still sit outside in the run:rolleyes:
 
I think I've read that cold ears can mean they are cold or they are in pain/suffering from shock. Annie gets cold ears but as soon as I put the central heating on they are back to normal! My bunnys like radiators!:D Check out your buns body language as this will give more of an indication too. xx
 
I believe it is a sign they are cold. I also think it can be a sign they are a bit poorly if there is another symptom. Try warming your bun up with bedding, snugglesafe if you have one, it is very cold tonight. :(
 
Hmmm one of my buns does have cold ears. Hes quite thin (i got him from a rescue where he'd come in in a bad way) im trying to fatten him up a bit but hes quite a fussy eater.
Hes hopping round as normal and they have lots of hay in their hutch which is in a stable. Not sure what to do...
 
At the RWA conference on Sat they said that cold ears aren't necessarily a sign of a problem, they just demonstrate that the bun's internal mechanisms for keeping warm are working - i.e. if you want to keep warm, you reduce the blood flow to the big thin flappy bits which will lose lots of body heat. So as long as the bun is not sick (including being a decent weight and having good fur), and has a lovely warm dry place to snuggle into, cold ears in winter are perfectly normal.
 
Thats good to know Alison. He is fine this morning and it was FREEZING here last night. (still is, the frost is still thawing!) Their water did'nt freeze though so it can't have got below Freezing in their stable.
Think im just a fuss pot because hes a skinny minnie!
 
missshell said:
Are cold ears an indication that The Bun is cold?
Click to expand...

Cold ears are not a sign of a cold rabbit, they are a sign that its temperature regulating centre is working and body heat is being conserved.

Temperature is controlled in both humans and rabbits by the hypothalamus. The hypothalmus contains not only the control mechanisms, but also the key temperature sensors. Under control of these mechanisms, an even central core temperature is maintained, in cold weather the body reduces the blood flow to the periphery of the body including the ears which decreases the flow of heat to the skin and the erection of the hairs and fur to increase insulation minimising heat loss.

By supplying heat to a small area of the body, this can confuse the bodies heat control mechanism and encourage dilation of the blood vessels allowing a greater blood flow to the peripheries. The effect of this is that heat is lost through the periphery ... this is the reason I dont use hot water bottles or heated pads unless I have sick animals / elderly animals which are brought indoors where room temperature can be controlled to reduce heat loss.
 
jrn1310 said:
Cold ears are not a sign of a cold rabbit, they are a sign that its temperature regulating centre is working and body heat is being conserved.

Temperature is controlled in both humans and rabbits by the hypothalamus. The hypothalmus contains not only the control mechanisms, but also the key temperature sensors. Under control of these mechanisms, an even central core temperature is maintained, in cold weather the body reduces the blood flow to the periphery of the body including the ears which decreases the flow of heat to the skin and the erection of the hairs and fur to increase insulation minimising heat loss.

By supplying heat to a small area of the body, this can confuse the bodies heat control mechanism and encourage dilation of the blood vessels allowing a greater blood flow to the peripheries. The effect of this is that heat is lost through the periphery ... this is the reason I dont use hot water bottles or heated pads unless I have sick animals / elderly animals which are brought indoors where room temperature can be controlled to reduce heat loss.
Click to expand...


Thats really interesting thanks. Like you i don't use heat pads unless the animal is sick or old. Bless em they have so much hay they can hardly get in the hutch!! :lol: Im sure they think im a fussy nutter!
 
missshell said:
Thats really interesting thanks. Like you i don't use heat pads unless the animal is sick or old. Bless em they have so much hay they can hardly get in the hutch!! :lol: Im sure they think im a fussy nutter!
Click to expand...


With regard to temperature control, the same theory applies to humans. A little bit of 'useful' information is that in the cold weather particuarly with men with high forheads who loose more heat than the average well haired man, there is a greater need to conserve heat loss. Therfore higher foreheaded men will compensate more in colder weather to keep themselves warm, this heat conservation affects many organs of the body where the blood supply is reduced to them. As a consequence more high foreheaded men are admitted to hospital on the really cold days with complaints of angina than on other days. Less high foreheaded men who wear hats dont have the same degree of problems on these days than those who dont wear a hat ;)
 
simple answer...........if i was outside this time of year my ears would be cold!!! lol:shock: :lol:

being serious though my buns ears are cold but the rest of her is warm.
 
My Hera's ears are huge, so if they were warm in this weather she be "wasting" lots of energy and I'd worry her thermostat wasn't working properly!
If they appear "normal" but with cold ears I wouldn't worry, unless it was on a warm/mild day when I'd expect them to feel warmer
 
catswhiskas said:
How is Jessie?
Click to expand...

not too bad thanks:wave:

she seems to be eating better now (almost back to normal i would say) but still has the HUGE nodule on her nose and still very snuffly breathing and plenty of sneezing!!:shock:

seems ok in herself (which is probably the most important thing) and doing what she would normally do. in fact for the first time since she got poorly she did some crazy super fast running about when i let her out of her run a little while ago:D

how's caramel doing now?:wave:
 
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