Improvements; and the Fun part of raising Rabbits

The cupboard is all painted and finished (Great job, Hubby!!) Pallets underneath hold the sprayer and buckets we need for weighing and keeping big wash brushes handy. Cleaned nest boxes ready for another litter on a pallet stacked beside the cupboard.

Coffee cans and large yogurt contaiers hold extra hair that does have pulled, in case a mother doesn't pull enough to keep her babies warm. Also spray for ear mites, blood-stop powder, eye wash, wheat germ oil dispenser, record cards and pens, snack baggies to put record cards in, scissors, calf manna pellets for new mamas, and germ-x hand cleaner.

Underneath, nails hold the most used tools, nail clippers, wide putty blade for scraping nest boxes, and barbeque wire brushes; the best for cleaning cages.

Across the isle, my used-to-be dairy weigh scale, with bucket; for weighing fryers at harvest time.

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Now for the fun part......

Brand new newborns... she had a good litter of 9

... and here is a 2 wk old, just waking up to the world!

Content for now, but not for long.....

These are about 3 wks and getting ready to leave the nest

At naptime they are so cute, some all lined up in a row

These no longer need a nest box, but still grab a snack from Mama

Sometimes a song comes to mind as I watch these little fur-babies!

"Listen.......

Do you want to know a secret?

Do you promise not to tell?

Closer......

Let me whisper in your ear..

Things I know you want to hear..

I'm in love with you!"





"Takin a Dive"

I am glad to be able to have fun with my work :) Is your work this much fun?

It takes a special personality to be able to raise meat animals and then be able to part with them when the time comes.

Speaking of which, the rabbit truck runs this afternoon and I will be parting with about 50 of them. Two weeks from now it will be up to about 80. Meanwhile I have bunnies to wean from their mamas, who will be giving birth again in about another week.

Have fun with your rabbits!

Windows Completed in the Rabbit Barn

Hubby had lots of help getting the windows finished up in the rabbit barn. They are hinged at the top and tip outward, allowing for fresh air flow, light, and protection from the elements.



Daughter was a big help getting the curtain material stretched and fastened to the window frames.



There are 4 windows along the east side and 2 on the west.



This is what it looks like on the inside.






This about completes the rabbit barn upgrade. We will put another single row of pens on this side of the barn 6-8' from the wall, making a total of 176 holes (pens) This has been an on-going transformation, from a cattle barn to a proper set-up for commercial rabbit production.

I appreciate my husband's dedication to this project and the opportunity to be able to keep working with animals that benefit not just ourselves but a whole generation of people. There are strict guidelines to follow in order to sell to the medical research community, and medical research is important if we are to find new cures and treatments for diseases.

No Free Lunch .....

It is time for the does to start back to work ....... yes sirree! No free lunch here. We have just finished cleaning 2 double rows of cages and getting the does all back in order according to age and bloodlines.

We have 47 does that have kindled before(after weeding out the older ones or any with health issues such as mastitus, that were not going to be profitable for the next year)

46 jr replacement and expansion does .......

We are currently running 11 bucks, 2 of which are older and may be replaced. We have room for 12 total. Their pens are lined on the sides and back with a washable material. Keeps them so much cleaner.

I am going to add a counter and keep track of the rabbit harvest this year starting with the first litter which is due to be born mid Sept. I wish I had done it earlier. These first ones won't be ready until the first run in Dec. We still have 180 - 200 this years bunnies who will be going in the next month.

I do know that the last 4 times we sent rabbits the numbers have been 103, 97, 47, and this week 83 again, all 2 weeks apart. Of course I have records here, but no sense going backward when you can go forward, right?

Are any of you breeding your rabbits yet, and how soon do you re-breed after that litter is born?

I would like to be in contact with others who are raising meat rabbits commercially as well as back-yard rabbit raisers. We welcome any and all comments. Thanks for visiting my blog