Bunny Update

Got a call about my bunnies today, the man should be here Thursday to get the last 8. I will be keeping 1 to breed in the spring. I am glad/sad to see them go. Glad because they are eating me out of house and home, and sad because they are such cute, friendly things. For some reason this litter got out twice, but would hop right up to me so I could catch them fairly easily.

I still have 6 New Zealand kits left, but I'm not going to sell them for awhile. My youngest should be getting into 4H this fall, and will need one or two for the fair. For some reason, my New Zealands and Jake the dog are rarely very photogenic, so please excuse my lame photos of them.

About The Puff Tails. . .

I haven't said much about my rabbits here, but I raise New Zealand Whites and some mixed breeds, called San Juans. I didn't breed the rabbits as planned this spring, due to the fact I needed to get the barn built before I added any new rabbits. But now it is up and the twitch-whiskers are slowly moving into their new home.

My only first generation NZ doe died this spring, so I am starting all over again with my original pair of NZ. Iscicle (I know, I spelled that wrong, but I mis-spelled it on her nest box with permanent marker, so it is what it is) looked like she would have a boatload of babies this time around, but she only had 6. I might even have a buyer for them all. I have to call the lady to see if she is still interested.

The San Juans faired a bit better, with one doe raising 8, then losing the next litter of 8, and another doe raising 4, and now raising the next litter of 8. What's better, is that I sold all of the first litters already and have 3, yes three, buyers lined up for the next batch.

So far, I have the rabbits two cages high on the north side of the barn, and still have to move the bucks in on the south side of the barn. I had planned on enclosing the ends of the barn in, each end with a door and 2 windows, but need to change that so I can take advantage of the natural ventilation that is occurring from the wind that blows up the mountain, right thru the barn. I'm thinking of something like the end with the wooden lattice work here:

picture courtesy of Steven Sumrall Sr.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1388714874#!/media/set/?set=p.165628700175471&type=1

Am soooo excited about this barn! Thank you Dad! Love you

Rain, Rain Go AWAY

It's been raining so much, I can't get the garden worked on and certainly can't plant anything. So I am very antsy and very tired of cleaning my house. I want to be outside! Here is an update on all that's been going on (or not going on but I wish would start)

My rain barrel has a small leak in it that I need to fix. You know after all this rain, we will have a drought this summer and will be needing that rain water.

My perennial chives are about 8 inches tall and looking good. The rhubarb is now up well and I should be able to pick it next week, I think.

The 4 hens I have left are now 2 years old. After going on a hiatus from laying (three months with only 1 egg laid) they are now back on track. I am getting 3 or even 4 eggs a day. I love these hens. They follow me all over and when they see me pick up a shovel, they come running to see what they can "help" me dig up.

Oh, speaking of chickens. I have a very nice problem. The eggs they are laying are so big they don't fit in a normal large or extra large egg carton. How am I going to sell eggs if I can't use egg cartons? I certainly can't afford to buy jumbo size egg cartons, kindof cuts into the profits. I am open to any ideas, if you want to share.

My first generation New Zealand doe died after giving birth too early. Not much more to say about that.

Two of my mixed breed does had litters. One had 8 babies, the other has 4 (first time momma, so I am thrilled she's taking care of them, don't care that it's only 4)

Christmas decorations are still up on the front porch. Do I ignore them or wait for them to just blow away in our strong spring winds?

I made two loaves of bread yesterday, turned out nice, although I need to adjust the recipe so it doesn't overflow my breadmaker.

Have run out of grocery money for the month, so we will be eating whatever is found in the cupboard. I do have about 60 cans of spaghetti sauce and lots of pasta to go with it, so I'll have to be creative and figure out 2 weeks of menus centered around pasta.

Well, enought for today. Got to get ready for work.

Year of the Rabbit

Today is the beginning of the Chinese New Year, this year being the Year of the Rabbit. Hopefully this means we will be our year to shine in the rabbit business!

The next year of the Rooster is 2017, but the year of the Goat or Sheep is not until 2015.

Does that mean I hold off getting a milking goat until 2015? hmmmm.. . . .

Weeds in My Yard~NOT!

Did you know that dandelion leaves are very nutritious? I find them a bit bitter, but since our family doesn't eat salad things often, I have been picking the dandelions for the rabbits and chickens. While they eat them fresh, they really seem to prefer them dried, like hay. The first year picking them, I made a big mistake. I pulled them all up by the roots, rather than cut the leaves off. So by now, our yard is probably the only one around without any dandelions! My neighbors probably think I have lost it when they see me picking dandelions out of their yards. Oh, wait, they thought that already when they found out I got chickens. And then rabbits. And then more chickens. And then more rabbits.

Anywhoo, now I have moved on to Queen Anne's Lace. And I do not pull it up by the root. I even put some seeds into pots last fall in hopes of getting some to grow earlier in the spring. Will let you know if that works.

The rabbits like the QAL leaves , more than the chickens do.