Empty Nest Box Syndrome

I started with rabbits four years ago. Having had a pet rabbit, I knew the basics of rabbit care. But I knew nothing of raising meat rabbits. I read a lot, joined groups and asked a lot of experienced breeders a lot of questions. Armed with a bit of knowledge, a bit of support and a lot of nervousness I began my journey. Beginner's jitters, I told myself, it will pass as you figure it out. And so it has. Litters come and go here with little fanfare and a lot of "ooohs" "aawws" and "so cuuuuute". But still after four years things happen that are just real strange and convince me that rabbits have a sense of humour that is far more advanced than their place in the evolutionary scheme of things would dictate. Not only is is their humour well developed, it can be cunning and rather sneaky, in short it has a touch of evil.

Flare, a perky, friendly little doe two years of age was bred a while back. I like Flare, she's the granddaughter of my beloved Sunfire and loves to follow me around doing the 'Bunny 500' (rabbits, when they're really happy will do things to show their feelings; "Binkies" are when they kind of flip in the air, "Floppies", that's pretty self descriptive, they flop down in a contented heap, the "Bunny 500" is a curious activity involving the rabbit running furious circles around a persons' feet). Unfortunately, for all her charm, Flare's birthing record is less than perfect. She's great when she does become a mama, medium sized litters all healthy kits with no runts. But Flare misses more times than most which means no litter at all.

Last summer I bred her and marked the calender with her due date, August 26. About ten days before she was due, I noticed she was digging around in a corner so I put in her nest box. Usually they recommend you don't put the nest box in until two or three days before delivery date otherwise the rabbit will use it as a potty station. I haven't found that the case in the colonies at all. First of all, the nest boxes are much, much bigger that the standard ones used in cages. Secondly, I designed them (Don built them) very long to resemble a burrow more. I also designed them very high so newborns would not fall out, chill and die. Moms just don't use these boxes to toliet in. When the babies are about two and a half to three weeks old, the mama will start building a ramp-like mound out of woodchips and straw in front of the nest box. Then the kits can get back in when they venture out.

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Flare happily jumped into the nest box and went to work, chewing up the straw and making everything comfy and homey. Her due date came and went and no kits showed up. I waited a couple of days, but no little hairless squigglelies in the box. Ah, well that happens. I was meaning to take the nest box out but that task kept on getting bumped to the bottom of my list.

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A week after she was due, I found Flare had been very busy lining the box with her own fur. In the rabbit world this usually means babies are putting in an appearance in the very near future, anywhere from 20 minutes to two days. I had rabbits go past due date by a day or two and I've heard they'll be up to five days late. I have never heard a rabbit going a week. Now I'm getting a little worried. I'm hoping I just got my dates mixed up. But there is a chance she has only one kit and it's grown to a humongous size, which happens sometimes when there's no competition for room space and nutrition. So I watch her carefully. She's perky, she's happy. She eating, eliminating fine. Everything's rosy in Flare's world. I wait two more days then I take the nest box away. Flare is unconcerned, studiously washing her left ear. As I leave, I'm pretty sure I caught her winking at her colony mate. Rotten little rabbit.

A beautifully made complete with fur-lined bowl nest and nary a kit in sight.

Standard Rex Rabbits

I have two new rabbits. I don't 'need' two new rabbits but that's besides the point. They are both young does about 3 months old. I had to have these two rabbits because they are Standard Rex and have just amazing fur. You can't really tell in the picture but the fur is the softest soft, the plushest plush, the velvetyest velvet and is beyond thick. Their fur is that way because their guard hairs are very fine, straight and the same length as the under hairs. If I ever get into tanning the hides, Rexes make the best pelts. While Mini Rexes abound, the Standard Rex are hard to find. In fact, I got these two from New Brunswick. The Standards are considered a good meat rabbit. They weigh about 7 pounds, like the Creme D'Agents I have. Most meat rabbits are bigger, but I like this size, still enough for a meal and easier to pick up.

The one on the left is a chocolate otter colour. She's a dark brown with a triangle of light brown on her neck just behind her ears. It also looks like she is wearing light brown eye liner. Her tummy is light brown going to white at the center. The other one's colour is Lilac. They're both considered solid colour rabbits. Rexes do come in 'broken' colours which simply means they're white with spots that can be black, brown or whatever. I like the solid colours better, I think.

They are in an isolation cage right now, just as a precaution. The barn were they came from was immaculately clean and it's obvious these rabbits were well taken care off. Other than "This One" and "That One", they still have no names. I was thinking of using names from old rock ballads like Ruby Tuesday and Maggie May. That way, if I ever do get a buck, I could call him Rebel, Rebel. But these names don't suit these rabbits at all; old rocker types they ain't. And the two girls are from different lines so they need to have different theme names. I'm kind of leaning towards calling the brown otter after a tree. She's dark and earthy and has a presence of calm sturdiness. The lilac one is a lighter in colour and personality so I'm thinking either moon names or mist names.

So I'm up to eight permanent rabbits, a far cry from the four I started with. That's it, no more rabbits, none. Doesn't matter what breed they are (Harlequins and Chinchillas would be nice), how cute they are or how perfect they would be. No. More. Rabbits... probably.

Bonkers for Basil

Nothing like a big bowl of freshly picked basil, it positively defines "fragrant".

My basil is growing wonderfully this year. I could say it's growing like weeds but after six years of gardening, this particular saying has lost all its appeal for me. I selected a seed pack that had a variety of basil types; regular, Thai, Vietnamese and a few others. Some look like little bushes and have smaller leaves, some are purple, all are tasty and scented beautifully. The great thing about having rabbits is that the basil never gets a chance to flower; I'm always taking the tops off to add to the rabbit greens. The plants thrive and become sturdy and bushy. The basil with the smaller leaves are perfect for the rabbits because they love to eat the stems as well as the leaves.

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A few youngsters and a Mama enjoying basil. Mama is insisting they share.

A couple of days I ago, I figured I better harvest some for the humans before the rabbits ate it all. I love using fresh basil and it's a simple task to preserve it. I do so much drying that drying space is at a premium around here. I could freeze it on cookie sheets then bag it for later use. But I have to freeze it whole and use it whole but usually I don't want whole leaves in my sauces and stews. Thawed out whole basil no appeal at all, it fact, it's downright yucky... and slightly slimy so chopping it is not anything I want to do. I could mince it all up, add a little water and freeze it in ice cube trays. That works fine but it tends to spit and spittle when added to a hot pan. Luckily I came across an idea in one of my herb books that takes this method one step further and the result is just perfect for me. I mince up the basil in the food processor and then drizzle in olive oil as the basil spins. I add enough oil to make a runny paste. Then I freeze it in ice cube trays for a couple of days then transfer the cubes (freed from the cold confines of the trays) to a freezer bag, label it and I'm done lke dinner. When I'm frying or making sauces, stews, etc., I throw in a frozen cube for instant flavour in the pan! Tasty and simple make such a nice pairing, especially over spaghetti!

Fragrant memories of summer in the making! An ice cube tray of basiled oil ready for the freezer.

Early Edibles

I had my teenage daughter, T, and her best bud rake out the herb garden, or at least the remains of it, last weekend. The herb garden is turning into a perennial patch of comfrey and various mints, if it's invasive, it stays to do its own battle with the weeds. Among the various mints was a patch of chives, a good 6 - 8 inches long. Whoot. I love chives, they're a great substitute for onions. I ran out of my own onions a couple of weeks back and had to buy them. Which was pretty depressing because store-bought onions are really inferior in both taste and looks to mine (she says matter-of-factly, with no snobbishness or pride). But now the the chives have sprung up, I can use them pretty much wherever I'd use onions. The picture many not look like much, but the chives were great in the pasta salad I made that night.

Chives aren't the only thing springing up around here. Clover, dandelions and plantain are also making an appearance, much to the rabbits delight. They love their fresh greens. As the season continues, they will eat more and more fresh and less pellets. I think its better for them and they certainly enjoy it more. I think they can smell the greens when I bring the laden bowl down to them. I'll fill up the pellet dish first, the rabbits may give it a disinterested sniff or two but the rabbits will look at me expectantly, ears erect, eyes bright, and sitting with their front paws in the air... they know what's coming! Then I'll dump the greens and the rabbits dive into that sea of fragrant, fresh goodness. It may not look like much in the picture but the rabbits think it's divine.

The compost is also giving up its bounty as well. As I turn it, the worms wiggle and squirm. Now that's a treat only the chickens could love, and they do. They sure make short work of them. I'm positive the worms don't even know what hit 'em. (No picture because not only doesn't it look like much, it positively looks gross.)

So the bounty begins and the gifts are well appreciated by everybody on the DaM Farm. And expectations of more fresh produce bloom (cue Carly Simon's "Anticipation" now).

Not Exactly Like I Planned...

Spring is here and everything is bursting with new life except for a little acre or so in scenic PEI nestled in a little sheltered corner of the island. I've been have a heck of a time getting my new generation of livestock going here on the farm. Talk about a run of disappointments.

The rabbits were the beginning of the run. I have a young doe I've been trying to breed for forever. She just won't have anything to do with it. Just my luck to get a purist rabbit. The real disappointing thing is I kept her back from the last litter my dear Earl Grey sired before he passed away. She grew well and had a good body shape and nice personality but so did the other doelings from that litter. The reason why I chose her was because she looked very similar to Earl. Earl was a great rabbit and I wanted to keep his looks around. But she is not co-operating at all. I've tried everything I know of to get her 'in the mood' but nada, zip, zilch, nothing. Of the other four does I bred at the same time, only one had a viable litter. My oldest doe had one large dead kit, the other two did nothing. It was after a fairly long break for them and I know sometimes rabbits take a while to get back into breeding mode but I never had that problem before. So the rabbitry should be 'hoping' with new life but it is not. It's got some but no where close to where it should be.

The chickens are fairing worse than the rabbits! First there was that whole false broody thing where I lost the whole nest of eggs. Then I had an incubator fiasco where it shot up to 110F for some unknown reason but I strongly suspect the water I put in the tray with was may-be too warm. Whatever the reason, I didn't get one chick, not one out of 42 eggs. During the three week incubation period, I hoped against hope that something survived. Two more times the temperature shot up but when I tried another thermometer, the temp. was a perfect 99.5F So I'm thinking it wasn't the incubator but a faulty thermometer. In which case the eggs didn't hatch cause I cooled them down for too long. Losing a whole hatch of my own eggs is bad enough but I bought two dozen eggs, Delaware and Americauna, to complement my own. Losing those just added to the whole disappointment. So I should be having peeps all over the place and I have none, nada, zip, zilch.

That's how it goes sometimes. It's really nothing disastrous, more like a series of setbacks one after the other. The DaM Farm holds so many surprises and unexpected joys that I think I'm just not used to having a bunch of disappointments anymore. I can't decided if that's a good thing or not. Anyhow, onwards and upwards, pip-pip, whoot-whoot and all that rot. Disappointments never killed anybody, probably builds character...or dementia.

First Wash on the Line This Year

Ah, I'm probably pushing it a bit, but I'll see if the clothes will actually dry. It's been so sunny and warm(ish) for days now. I'm starting my seeds and my head is chocked full of plans for the garden. The rabbits are in breeding mode and I'm actually getting ready to start collecting eggs for hatching. These are all things I do that heralds Spring's long awaited appearance. Of course their are other not so exciting chores that are Spring related as well...namely major, not-so-run-of-the-mill cleaning. Not a whole lot of fun but windows and curtains need to be washed. The wood furnace has its charms but the walls need a wash down because of it in the Spring. So when I can put a little joy in the cleaning, I do and it's always nice to have the first wash on the line. It might sound like a boring life if the first wash causes so much excitement but there's nothing boring in Spring's arrival and I can't think of anything that trumpets the coming of Spring more than bright, freshly washed clothes bobbing on the line. It puts a 'spring' in my step and a smile on my face.

First Litter of 2010

Within all that fluffy fur and munched up soft straw are five little week old bunnies, also known as kits. I have to check the kits regularly to make sure all are getting enough to eat and are doing well. I take each one out and check then put them in a little box and go to the next one.

Here they are in the box after being checked. All have round tummies and seem to be doing great! Two grey, one black, one white and one tan. They're lively and alert. The little tan one seems to be smaller than the others but I hesitate to call him a runt because he is feeding well and is growing. He had a tough start in life.

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This is Caoimhe's (pronounced Keeva) second litter. The first litter was an incredible 12 kits. This time around, Caoimhe had a much more reasonable 6 kits. One was born DOA, that happens sometimes. The little tan one was found outside the nest. He was the first one born. No others had arrived yet. So I kept him warm and dry. The next day Caoimhe had the other 5. I popped the little tan guy in with the rest and everyone's been doing fine since.

I'm wondering if this early birthing of one is hereditary. Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-lee) did the same thing. She didn't do it all the time, just twice. But Ceilidh is Caoimhe's mom. It's not a big deal really when a kit is born earlier than the rest. But I figure it's got to be tougher on the doe and it does make it harder for the kit. When a kit is born before the rest, the mom doesn't pull fur to keep it warm and she doesn't feed it either. She waits till she drops the whole litter before going into 'mom mode'. I'll see how it goes but if Caoimhe does it again, I doubt if I will keep any of her offspring as working does. That would be sad because Ceilidh died last Autumn and after Caoimhe, that would be the last of her line in my rabbitry.

Rabbit Reflections

I was going through my old rabbit files today and found this account of the very first baby bunnies born at the DaM farm. It was quite the exciting day considering we had been waiting for this moment for almost 4 months. Re-reading it brought a couple of chuckles so I thought I'd post it.

NOTE: You will notice in this ramble the use of "rabbit jargon". Rabbit people, it seems, have their own little language they delight in. They blab away and you look at them, trying to follow the conversation. Then, of course, they have to explain the terms, sounding oh-so-knowledgeable, making you look like an idiot, and being able to talk even more about rabbits as if it's the only conversation worth having anyhow. So why they have to say kindle instead of birth, buck instead of male, doe - female, kits - babies (and this is just the tip of the iceberg) is a mystery that I'm happy to leave that way. If I want a mystery, I'll read Sue Grafton. The only thing that irks me about the jargon is that NOW I'M DOING IT!!!!

The DaM Farm's First Kindle, Dec 28, 2006

Yesterday morning I went down to tend to my rabbits. I check Thyme's nest box - she was due to kindle, no kits. "Well, THERE'S a surprise." I grumbled to myself. After six, yes that's right - SIX, failed pregnancies with three separate does, I was discouraged, disappointed and down right ticked off. I got a new buck just in case the first one was shooting blanks. The second buck was "proven" meaning he had viable off-spring. Well, not with my rabbits, he didn't, not yet anyhow. So I am grumpy. Obviously it ain't the males so that means I have three dud females or they don't like their set up which means I have to move them all to a new location which is going to be a major headache. I'm thinking someone better get around to inventing a 28 hour day because 24 just ain't cutting around here.

That night, Don comes up from where the rabbits are and says brightly, "I have some good news for you."

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"What?" I say (yes, I'm still grumpy).

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Don says, "The rabbit on the bottom, she's running around with hay in her mouth, I think she wants to build a nest. I think she's pregnant" (Rabbit jargon has not rubbed off on Don at all, thank goodness).

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Freyja building a nest.

"That would be Freyja. It's way too early for her to be building a nest, she's having a false pregnancy AGAIN." I said.

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My grumpiness had gone to the next level, I believe it's called murderous rage directed squarely at a long-eared, puffy tailed prankster. Freyja, on her last 'pregnancy', built a nest lined it with fur and stood there laughing at me, Ha, ha, on you, you dumb human. Nary a kit produced.

After supper, I went down to tend the bunnies trying to convince myself that strangling Freyja wouldn't really make me feel any better – well, probably not for long, anyhow. I get down there and throw Freyja a dirty look. She looks back with a bright questioning look, "And how exactly did you get to the top of the evolutionary heap?" her look seems to say, "When a mere rabbit can fool ya?"

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I walk past her muttering. "Kinda like the name 'Stew' for you, now. Suits you better."

I went to Thyme's cage and nearly fell over. There's Thyme with a kit between her front paws. The kit was squealing high murder! OH MY GOD, SHE'S EATING THE KIT!!!!! Or so it seemed. I open the cage, shoo her away and call for Don. He comes down and I say, "I need a flannel cloth. Right there, on the table. The table in front of you, it's the only one in the room. No, not the old rag with blue paint on it, the flannel cloth. It's right there, right there!" This is awkward to say the least. Have you ever tried pointing with your nose? I've got one hand over the kit and the other hand keeping Thyme away, Don is behind me since I'm facing the cage and the only appendage I have to point with is my nose while trying to turn my head 180 degrees. Linda Blair of The Exorcist would have been proud of me. Finally he gets the cloth and I pick up the kit and take it out. It's moving and it has no marks on it. Oh, so may-be she was just cleaning it, not eating it. Duh on me. Mental Note: I've got to stop bragging about being on top of the evolutionary heap - I'm pretty sure I'm there by default.

Don looks at the little squirming thing. "Why's it black? It's mother is creamy and it's father is white." Ah, a perfect time to show off my rabbit knowledge! I might even throw in a rabbit jargon word or two.

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I say with every confidence, "I dunno." Well, may-be next time with the rabbit jargon and knowledge.

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Don goes to get T, at the time 14 years old, as I hold the kit. T comes down and happily holds the kit so I can go back to Thyme who is obviously having another one. Thyme gives birth to a second kit. I wait and let her clean it then I pick it up and put it in the flannel with its sibling. T glows, rocking gently, crooning to the little squiggly blobs. Mental note: Hhmmm, might be an idea to keep the teenage daughter away from destined Sunday dinners while they are still alive.

"Shouldn't she be having them in the nest box?" Don asks.

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"Yeah, but she's a new mom and young does often have kits on the wire. She didn't pull fur either so I'm going to go get some dryer lint to line her nest." DaM, I actually sound like I know what I'm talking about! I line the nest with lint and Thyme wanders over to her food dish and starts eating her pellets. I check the kits. They're wiggly and big and black. I decide to put them in the nest box hoping Thyme will get the idea.

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Thyme's First Two Kits Ever

As we wait around for more kits. Don says, "Look at Freyja. She's stopped trying to build a nest. I bet you she sensed Thyme was going to have kits and was trying to show her what she should be doing." I smiled gently. Am I going to argue? I think not, after all I was the real bright one who thought Thyme was eating her baby. Besides, he could be perfectly right. Everything about this was weird. White & cream rabbits have black babies, and only two at that. In the daytime, not at night like all the books say. After all the surprises, I wouldn't bat an eye if every one of the rabbits jumped up and started doing the can-can.
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Four hours later, no more kits. We all go upstairs and leave Thyme happily munching hay. Just before going to bed, I check one last time. There is fur all over Thyme's cage! It looks like it snowed bunny in there. I take a little of her fur and place it gently in the nest box hoping to clue her in that is where it belongs. She hops over and re-arranges it. Her actions seem to say, "Oh, I see what I'm supposed to do now." I go to bed. Two kits. Well, it's a start. Odd though, she pulled fur after the birth. Well, the whole thing was odd, really.

The next morning I get up and check on how things are going. Almost all the fur has been moved into the nest box. I take a peek to see how the two little ones are doing and count EIGHT. Little Thyme had six more hours later. Most unusual. And she had them in the nest box! I looked at her and said. "You figured it out, did you?" She looked at me. I said, "Well, it's about time!"
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She squinched her face at me as if to say. “No-o-o-, actually it's really all about THYME! Wanna see me do the can-can?"

Originally written April 19, 2007 by Marnie

Update: It turns out that my first buck was indeed infertile, instead of getting a one year old buck I paid for, the breeder mistakenly gave me a 4 year old sterile buck.. Thyme raised those eight kits beautifully and I kept one of her offspring. ‘Lavender’. Thyme never had another litter no matter how many times I bred her so I retired her. On August 9, 2007, she passed in her sleep, I have a feeling she may have been much older than I was told, the breeder may have made another mistake. I have Thyme's granddaughter, Chamomile, in my colony now. Freyja was indeed pregnant and had 7 lovely kits 10 days after Thyme. Freyja went on to have one more litter, 10 kits and then she decided her kindling days were over. She died in her sleep June 18, 2008. My very viral and charming buck, Oreo, came down with Wry Neck shortly after I got him. Three trips to the vet and numerous types of meds did not help him so I put him down Jan 9, 2007. He did sire 3 litters and I have his grandson (Gris-Gris) and two of his great-granddaughters (Chamomile and Flare) in my colonies now.

Indoor Winter Planting

Going through the seed catalogues inspired me to get going on my windowsill planting. That and the fact the rabbits are almost out of the food I dried for them. I still have some dandelion, mint and cornstalks left but they will probably be gone in a week or two. Happily oats and barley spout really fast so they at least will be ready by the time the dried stuff runs out. I'm going to try a couple of new things this time. Along with the oats, barley and sunflower shoots, I'll try corn shoots and may-be beets and carrot tops. My original goal was to have fast growing vegetation that will re-grow at least three times after being cut down. While that is still the most important, I'm thinking a few slower things will add variety and that's always a good thing. I'll see how it goes.

Little Orphaned Kits

My dear Ceilidh died very suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday. I have no idea why. She seemed to be in perfect health. She did have a gummy eye that I had treated with chamomile tea, it cleared up completely until about a week ago. Ceilidh was a Californian and I had her for a couple of years. She was a bit on the standoffish side, had more important things to do that letting me rub her head. But she was an excellent mom, having many litters and raising them successfully. I'll miss Ceilidh, she was snobby but she was a delight to watch in 'mom' mode.
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When Ceilidh died, she left 5 thirteen day old kits. She obviously was taking great care of them, they're all huge, round, alert and happy. Their eyes are open and they are nibbling on hay, oats and pellets but they are too young to survive without some kind of version of mother's milk. So I'm hand feeding them. Hand feeding kits usually has a very high mortality rate. I'm hoping because they're not newborns that their survival rate is much higher. I'm using a homemade formula consisting of whole milk, egg yolk and sulfured molasses. I've used it before and it seems to be nourishing. Mind you, I've never raised kits on this formula, just hand fed a couple for a day or two until they could be re-united with their mom and siblings. The biggest thing about hand feeding kits is trying not to drown the poor little things when syringing formula into their teeny, tiny little mouths. It's a drop-by-drop process right now but I'm hoping they'll clue in that the hard plastic thing has yummy food in it, I'm hoping that will make it easier.

Dusk and the Rabbits

Today I decided to breed my does for the last time before spring. I like to give my rabbits a break from raising litters over the winter. So I was puttering around, letting the rabbits do their thing when Dusk wandered in. I don't mind when Dusk comes to visit, he's always well behaved. Of course, it helps that he has absolutely no prey drive at all. While it might be a dogs' 'nature' to run down a rabbit, it's not in Dusk's nature to even dream of harming another creature.

Hanging with the rabbits is a special treat for Dusk. If working with the rabbits is my favorite chore, it's definitely Dusk's favorite pastime as well. When he sees them, his ears perk up and the tail starts going a mile a minute. He doesn't mind baby rabbits climbing all over him and he likes to visit everyone. His favorite buddy seems to be Ocean. Ocean is a Creme D'Argent and my main buck. None of the rabbits are frightened of Dusk but most just ignore him. Not Ocean, though, he seems to like Dusk's company as much as Dusk likes his. Ocean will hop right over to him and settle down next to him. I don't know if you'd call it friendship but it sure looks like it's a mutual understanding.

Ocean and Dusk hanging out, shooting the rabbit poo.

Munch, Munch, Munch

One of my favorite chores is feeding the rabbits their daily fresh greens. When they see me coming with my bucket, everybody perks up with interest and excitement, ears get a little straighter, noses get twitchier, eyes brighten up and the heat of the day falls away from the rabbits as they anticipate their cool, moisture laden supper. I dump the greens in and see the scramble. Invariably some over-eager bunny is directly where I dump the food and gets covered in vegetation and has to munch her way out. Often two rabbits will 'share' a leaf or twig. Well, not exactly share, one will be eating it and another will decide that it looks mighty tasty and will start nibbling on it. The first rabbit will start chewing faster and the second will determinedly hang on to his end. In about 30 seconds the drama is over and both move on to other greener pastures.

There's a lot less waste in the garden because of the rabbits. They eat beet and carrot tops as well as any thinnings from those two crops. After the snow peas and beans are spent, they eat the plant. I dry the cornstalks for them after harvesting the corn. They also like sunflower, strawberry and nasturtium leaves, dill, basil, parsley, celery tops, lettuce, cilantro, parsley, mint, chard and raspberry canes. From the lawn, they'll devour dandelion, plantain and clover. And when the end result of their meal shows up, I dump it either in the worm bin or compost box and it will make its way back to the garden where the whole process will start again. Nice little 'circle of life' routine going on there.

Busy Ceilidh

This morning I found Ceilidh putting the finishing touches on her nest. She's been building it for the last couple of days and I'm pretty sure she'll be having her kits shortly as in within the hour. What is cluing me in that the baby bunny arrival is imminent is how she is gathering the hay for the nest. After gathering the hay in her mouth she'll reach down and pull some fur. Usually when Ceilidh starts mixing the fur in with the hay, she's ready to kindle. She sort of weaves the hay and fur together and that is what I'll find covering the kits. Right underneath the kits it is all pure white fur and under that is nice, comfy hay bedding. She has a system and it really works well, she rarely looses a kit.

Sure enough, as I puttered around, feeding and watering everyone else, I peeked over and found Ceilidh in the nest box cleaning a little squirmy pink mound that passes as a newborn in the rabbit world. Once she is all finished, I'll go investigate and see how many she had and if there are any stillborns, I'll remove them.

That's Chamomile sitting on top of the nest box. From the start, Chamomile, or Camy for short, supervised the whole operation from atop the nest box. She started watching a couple of days ago when Ceilidh started mucking around in the nest box. She seems very interested but she doesn't get in the way. Camy is a young doe I'm growing out to be part of my colony. I hope she is picking up tips and helpful hints from Ceilidh. I'm thinking young does in a colony will be more successful with first litters than single does in a cage sometimes are. I think it helps them to observe an experienced doe get ready for babies. Just another reason why I really like the indoor colony idea.

Good-Bye Sunfire, It's Been a Privilege

I buried Sunfire this week in the cold, the grey and the mist. She was the last of my original four rabbits. Sunfire was a Palomino, bought almost as an afterthought, just to add a little 'hybrid vigor' to the trio of Creme D'Argents I had purchased. When breeding the same breed of rabbits, there's a tendency to inbreed and line breed a lot which means after a while, the litters are smaller. Introducing a new breed usually results in big, robust and healthy litters. This is what what you want if you are breeding for meat.

Sunfire was unique and pushed the line between livestock and pet until it was no longer thick and black but a grey, smudgy blur. She was a big rabbit, around 15 pounds and glowing orange. She looked like an overgrown pumpkin. From the start, she let everyone know she was no ordinary being. She'd greet me with grunts in the morning and loved her head rubs. She didn't socialize much with the other rabbits preferring the human touch. When I cleaned her cage, I'd let her out and she'd follow me around, grunting and sniffing. I had to be really careful when she was out. Unlike the other rabbits who would go off to explore corners or visit other rabbits, Sunfire followed behind me like a puppy and inadvertently kicking her was always a danger.

Sunfire and I learned together the whole process of having bunnies. Her first litter was a disaster. She had 9 bunnies all in nest box but 5 were born dead. I found all 5 in the front of the box, cleaned and covered with fresh straw. She tried her best to care for them even if it was in vain and my heart went out to her. She raised the remaining 4 beautifully. She seemed to really enjoy the whole mom thing. Her second litter was a whopping 11 kits. She, herself, became very ill afterwards and I nursed her with herbals and homeopathy. She did recover and went on to have more litters, staying healthy and raising healthy kits. With her last litter, she became stiff in the hindquarters and I knew soon her breeding days would be over. I decided to breed her one last time and then let her live out the rest of her life in the colony setting with her daughter Solstice, the one rabbit Sunfire really did enjoy being with. She never had a litter and I figured that was enough for her. I was happy to keep my little grunter around. In January she became ill and nothing I did helped her very much. So I put her down. I have Solstice, Sunfire's daughter and Flare, Sunfire's granddaughter so there's a little Sunfire in the rabbitry.

I couldn't bear to process or just put her out in the compost. So I froze her, whole, in the freezer I have exclusively to keep the dog food in. And when the ground warmed up, I buried her next to the raspberries. Raspberry canes and leaves were her favorite. Good-bye dear bunny, you shall be missed.

The Bunny Bunch

I'm really liking how the indoor colony for my rabbits is working out. And the buns seem pretty happy with it, too. Here's Solstice's bunch, they're just about four weeks old in this picture. They are, all six of them, lounging on top of their nest box. They are at that awkward age, wanting to be independent but not wanting to be too far away from the safety of the nest. So they sit on top of their home, all big and independent in the world until a strange noise sends them diving inside the box.

A real perk of the colony is I'm able to give them much bigger nest boxes that have a bit more resemblance to a burrow. The doe will often collect hay and wood chips and build a bank up to the opening of the nest box, something that was impossible in a cage. Now the the nest boxes can have much higher sides, little kits don't fall out before they are ready to cope with the great big world. And the nice mound that Mama Rabbit makes up to the nest box makes it much easier for wee ones to manage to get back in.

I have also found it to be much less time consuming as far as cleaning goes. Rabbits are by nature, tidy and neat animals, leaving their droppings in corners. So I have put cat litter pans in the corners. It's a simple matter to dump into the worm bins, rinse the pans and pop them back in.

The mature does get along well together. I think there may-be some shared nursing going on but all the kits are roley-poley, alert and happy. I'm hoping to be able to expand on the colonies as time and experience permits. One thing I'd really like to do is have openings from the colony to enclosed areas outside so the rabbits could go out in the warmer weather. It's still in the planning stages and there's a few kinks to work out.

A Touch of Green

This year, I decided to try something new for my rabbits. I'm growing oats, barley and sunflowers in pots for them. I figure I'll cut them down when they are about 6 inches high. I might let the sunflower shoots grow longer.

I try to feed the rabbits as much variety as I can. They get timothy hay and pellets but I like to give them fresh food in the summer and I do dry a lot of herbs and other things for them to give throughout the winter.

So today, I gave them some oat shoots. At first, the little ones stayed well away but as soon as the older rabbits went over and started eating, the kits came bouncing in to check out the new menu. They were pretty funny, they'd grab a shoot and run away with it to eat it. Two grabbed the same shoot and started eating it from either end. Pretty much the rabbit version of the Disney move, "Lady and the Tramp". The rabbits wasted no time in devouring the tender green delicacy. By the time I picked up the camera to take a picture, this was all that was left.

Feeding the rabbits oat shoots caused a hurriedly called chicken meeting. They watched the rabbits and there was a great deal of clucking conversation that sounded grumbling and discounted if not downright jealous. So I decided to throw the leftover shoots to them. To my surprise, they jumped on the oats. May-be they thought the shoots were skinny green worms. By the time I reached for the camera, all I saw were chicken butts as the hens snatched up the treat. The only exception was Tobias, my roo, who looked over the antics and decided he'd rather look regal that show his backside. Besides, he grabbed the choicest pieces before the hens ever had a chance.

So my animals are certainly enjoying the little bit of green in the winter time. And I have to say, so am I. It's nice to have pots of green in sunny windows, they may not the usual houseplants but in the long run, they tend to be a lot more entertaining.

Wandering Around the Tub

There's an old comedy routine Bill Cosby used to do about the joys of raising kids. He talks about bath time, and there's a line in there that has stuck with me. He explains when you tell your child to take a bath, you need to give detailed instructions and one of the things he says is something like "You have to tell them to run water in the bathtub or else they'll just wander around the tub wondering what to do." I always found that an extremely funny line simply because of the mental picture I got. "Wandering around the tub." has become a catch phrase Don and I use to describe a state of confusion. I spent the week between Christmas and New Years basically wandering around the tub.

I expected a lot of challenges when we started this whole becoming more self-sufficient lifestyle. I knew there would be times when things wouldn't go well and hard lessons would be learned. I knew there would be a lot of things to master, how to make do with no electricity for days through storms, figuring out wood furnaces, maintaining septic systems and water wells. What I really didn't count on was the simple confusion the accompanies the lifestyle. The DaM farm sometimes seems like nothing more than an acre sized bathtub I wander around in.

The picture of the two eggs is one of things that confused me. The one on the left is a typical egg I find every day in the nest boxes. The right one I have no idea what it is or why it is. It's the size of a marble and I found it under the roosts. Is it a Guinea egg? Could be, but the descriptions I've read doesn't seem to match this perfectly round egg and the colour seems to be much darker than what a Guinea egg should be, according to the books. May-be it happened because a chicken sneezed or hiccuped at the wrong time. Who knows? The books don't say anything about it and when I asked "chicken" people, all I got was "Never heard of that before." I get that response a lot, I'm kind of tired of it, actually. Google is useless because I'm obviously not using the proper key words. Though I must say, I've gotten some pretty interesting results. Unfortunately they have nothing to do with my situation. So I'm confused and I yet again wander around the tub.

I have a broody hen. In fact, I have two. Why on this Green and Good Earth hens would go broody in the dead of winter is beyond me. With a little research, I did find out it sometimes happens but the why seems to be a mystery. Anyhow she was broody and she had one egg so I stuck a couple more under her just to see what would happen. I figured brooding 3 little chicks was something I could manage. After a week or so, I moved the hen to a nice, secluded enclosed spot, I noticed she has another egg. OK, well, I guess that she laid one more the day I put the two under her. A week after that, when the hen hops out to eat I look into the nest. Low and behold there's TEN eggs under her. How did that happen and I thought hens stopped laying when they went broody and are they even fertilized considering she's been in solitary confinement for a week and does this mean they'll be hatching at all sorts of different time and why is a hen broody in the middle of winter? I'm confused and I meander around the tub once more. At least this time I have an inkling that I should be looking for faucets. I have found out that it's entirely possible that other hens will sneak an egg in and I did find other hens on her nest a few times. I finally figured out how they were getting in and put a stop to that.

Inter spacing all the chicken doings were weird rabbit activities. Ceilidh, an excellent mom who pops out litters with no fanfare and cares for babies beautifully has decided to totally forget how to have bunnies. She ignores the nest box and persistently builds a nest in the coldest corner of the colony. Finally, I move the nest box over there and she gets a clue. She's due on Dec. 31. In the afternoon of Dec. 29, I find a little kit in front of the nest box all by its lonely. She hasn't pulled any fur at all. I take the kit inside because I know it will freeze. I figure she'll be have the others shortly so all I have to do is wait...and wait...and w-a-i-t. Gives me time to wander around the tub again. The next afternoon, she drops another lone kit in the middle of the colony. I look at Ceilidh, confused, wondering how she got in the tub with me. She's not supposed to be doing this, I know this because I've read the books. Unfortunately rabbits can't read so there's no way she and I will ever be on the same page. I take that kit in to join the day old kit who's obviously really hungry by now. The next day, Ceilidh kindles five more in a beautifully fur lined nest in the nest box. I've been feeding the other two by hand. That night I put them in with the others. Why did she have such an odd kindle? Was it because of the colony setting, something she'd never kindled in before that confused her? Can rabbits get Alzheimer's? What are the odds of teaching her to read? Can't be much greater than a rabbit dropping a kit daily for a couple of days. I wander around the tub yet again, this time not even knowing there's supposed to be faucets.

The kits are doing fine and the two broody hens seem fine and all is well. I've climbed out of the tub for the time being, and I didn't even need a towel to dry off since I never got wet.

A Peek Around the Doorjamb

Monday was a day where the future kind of grinned at me. Mostly, when I talk about what we're doing here at the DaM farm, it's a work in progress. Though we are doing things every day, we are still focused on the future. Hopefully, the chickens will pay for their own feed. Someday the gardens will supply all our veggies. May-be in a couple of years we'll grow a little grain. Yesterday, I got a glimpse of how it might all turn out. I think it's going to be ok. That's a picture of my bathroom door and it basically represents what life is going to be like. The sign says, " Baby Bunnies keeping warm, please keep door closed". Livestock in the house seems to be status quo around here; the door to the future has opened a crack.

It started with the usual chores and mundane run-of-the-mill routine. After the kids went school, or as I say under my breath, after I sent them packing, I started moving my last two does and each one of their babies out to the other colony.

Ceilidh is a pure Californian, white with black ears, nose, tail and feet, so naturally her daughter is the grey rabbit. Lavender is the black rabbit with the silver ticking, she half Creme D'Argent and half Californian so, of course, her kit looks like a pure Californian.

I got them all moved in and the two youngsters immediately became life-long friends. Ceilidh and Lavender are putting up with each other, it's a classic case of armed neutrality, "Well, I don't like you at all but my kid is best friends with your kid so I'll put up with you, I guess, most of the time... just don't get in my face." Anyhow, they all seem to be enjoying the space and one is exceptionally interested in the chickens.


While I'm going back and forth transferring the rabbits, I vaguely acknowledge that in the other colony Solstice is mucking around in a nest box. This isn't a surprise because she is due in a couple of days so I pay it little attention. Then I notice something black and wiggling under her bum. She decided to have her kits in front of the nest box and hasn't pulled a lick of fur. So I pull out my trusty dryer lint, the kind I save just for these occasions, line the nest box with that and put in the kits. Solstice has meandered off and is contentedly munching on pellets. By the time I have the kits all fixed up, she decides it's time to drop another one, just to make sure she keeps me on my toes. This whole situation which would have caused great flurry and excitement two years ago is now just something that happens on a homestead. Small variants from the norm seem to be status quo around here, the door to the future cracked open a little bit more.

The day progresses and I collect nine eggs from ten hens, a very good yield. That night our supper, with the exception of the rice, is totally from our own homestead. That's a nice feeling, knowing exactly where your food is coming from. Evening comes and I go out for the last round of chores. It's a clear and crisp night, the air virtually tingles with the excitement of winter's approach. In the sky, Venus and Mars herald the waxing moon across the plush darkness of night. It is an extraordinary sight and one that won't be seen again so clearly for decades. A perfect end to a day on the homestead. I shouldn't be surprised; subtle surprises seem to be status quo around here, the door to the future practically swung open. And I finally took a peek around the doorjamb.

The Rabbits' New Digs

I have finally started moving the rabbits into their new colony setting. I started with these two does, Sunfire and Solstice. Solstice is in front, Sunfire, doing her impression of rug, is in the back. I have had Sunfire since I started rabbits. She has just a great temperament and loves to talk to me in little contented grunts. I figure she'll have one more litter then she'll just live in the colony enjoying her well earned retirement. Solstice is her daughter. She's just like her mom in temperament and raising litters.

Both rabbits are having a great time in their new setting. They can hop up on the shelf and stretch waaaay up any time they want.They certainly do enjoy socializing with each other. They clean each others faces and share treats willingly and cuddle up together for naps. It's funny because when I mentioned to a few experienced rabbit breeders that I was hoping to raise my rabbits in a colony, I was told that they would fight and probably kill each other because they were so territorial. I found with gentle and slow introductions, there has been no problems so far. Perhaps it's because they have so much more room it's easier to share the space.

I've been raising meat rabbits now for a couple of years and I have to say, I'm enjoying it much more than I expected to. My rabbits are so mellow and laid back. There's nothing like doing mundane rabbit chores to the background noises of contented munching and hay being rustled into place for that perfect bunny daybed. Their contentment just surrounds me. It is amazing how their peacefulness permeates the very space they are in and somehow I absorb it and make it my own. Working with the rabbits is one of my favorite chores.

Originally my rabbits were in big roomy cages and had a little play area where they got out to run around. But I really liked the idea of colony raising rabbits. It sounded like it would be the best situation for having happy rabbits. After a great deal of research, I decided on an indoor colony instead of an outdoor colony. Outdoor colonies, while more "natural", came with a lot more problems from what I could tell. Rabbits were much more at risk from not only predators but from diseases. So I opted for the indoor colony setting where they'd be safer and it would be a lot easier to monitor everyone's health.

When we built the chicken coop, we partitioned off two areas, 5 ft X 8 ft. The walls separating the rabbits from the chickens are about 2 feet high and the rest of the wall is chicken wire. That way, ventilation is not impeded and the rabbits are not exposed to chicken droppings. I'm hoping to add shelves and runs to give them even more square footage. Each area will have two does, may-be three, and one buck.

Of course, there has been unexpected bonuses like the perk of low solid walls, they have made for some unexpected amusement on my part. It's kind of funny to walk into the coop and find a group of chickens gathered by the wall looking into the rabbit colony. With their necks stretched out to the fullest and cocking their heads at weirdest angles, they look like demented bobble-heads. The chickens are obviously fascinated by the rabbits and something as mundane as Solstice washing her ears is cause for great chicken interest and amazement. On the other hand, when a hen lays an egg and start clucking, the rabbits run to the wall, stretch way up and peer into the coop looking to see what all the fuss is about. I'm glad they can see each other, if nothing else it keeps everyone from being bored.