Let There Be Bunnies
Cute sassy bunnies to capture your attention, and amuse you. A fine addition to your show barn. Or a practical addition to your homestead. Those are some of the reasons I like to have them around. I was recently able to capture the charm of rabbits in photos, so here we are.
On the homestead end of things it was far less cute, and….photogenic. I do wish I’d found a way to get a few pictures without it being overly graphic. Because Wendell and a couple of the kids processed 15 rabbits a few evenings ago. The children asked a bunch of questions, and we realized we need to beef up on our anatomy knowledge. Sure we know which organs are what, but the exact nature and method of their function is a bit hazy. I’m glad they chose to be a part of the process. Partly to be with dad, partly to ask questions. It was a time of bonding and education. Having added more pounds of meat to the deep freeze has its own feeling of contentment to go with it.
On my end of things I put together more cages. Three for transport or temporary use. They have feet so that they don’t sit fully on the ground. I can put whole litters in them to move them around for pictures and evaluations. They also fit in the back of our mini van. Yep, a mini van. It’s hard to beat that gas mileage. As well as those temporary cages, I put together two more, two hole cages. Each hole is 24” deep, and 3’ long. I am a rather short person, so 24” is perfect for me. I can actually reach all the way across without crawling in there too. All of our other cages are 30” and while I do like that for the Silver Fox in particular, I’ll be going with the more shallow size when I can. I’ve got a few more cages to add before I’ll have enough space for the numbers I’m going to be raising.
Speaking of raising, we are on our next group of growouts. I’m going to be more selective on which ones are processed at which age. Not everyone pays off to be held over for fur. On a more fun note we are about to have another baby boom. I’ve got a few due now, and 6 or 7 to breed. We just might go over 100 in the barn for a second time this year. But I hope we can get most of the current kits moved out one way or another. There are a few promising ones out in the barn right now.
All of the rabbits in today’s pictures are Mini Rex. I did add a couple more Rex to the barn. And I’m eager to see my own standard Rex kits in the near future.