Jake and I opted to take 2 extra bucks for "harvesting" later this winter, in addition to our breeding trio. A breeding trio means 2 does (girls) and 1 buck (boy). This team should provide us with nearly all the meat we and Kai can eat in a year. So we took home 5 rabbits that day. It's been no more challenging than chicken care, and once I get this down the routine will go much smoother. I also plan to switch the rabbits from a pellet diet to a grain/hay diet. A diet change will take months because rabbits have a delicate digestive system and I don't want to upset it by to much change too quickly.
I did hesitate to name them because you don't name your food... however, we will have these guys for 3+ years and I refuse to call them by a number. When it comes time for their death it will be difficult like Quizzie's but no less appreciated. But that's in the future and it can stay there for a while.
Here's the new crew!
Confetti- our baby doe, she won't be ready for breeding until sometime this spring, May probably.
Boy-girl-boy. These three are from the same litter, we are going to keep the girl as part of our breeding trio but her brothers will meet the stew pot in about a month. For now they can be kept in the same cage, because they are too young to mate but boys reach maturity before the girls do so they will have to be moved out soon.
Another shot of Confetti, she is a tri color white-tan-black. She doesn't have many black spots though. She's nice a bit shy but will allow me to pet her. I have to work with her a bit so she's more comfortable being held.
This is Clove, she is Confetti's mom. She wasn't handled much as a young doe so she doesn't like being held. Her nails are stupidly long so I trimmed them today. A few I cut bit too short and they bled, which further reaffirms that I am out to torture her I am sure. See how her but is backed up to the corner of the cage and climbing up it almost? I feel bad for her because she is so scared, but I keep talking calmly to her and petting her so she knows I am not out to harm her.
This is Chestnut, he's a young buck about 6 months old. I think he was a 4H bunny or he was shown a lot because he loves to be petted and he just wants attention. It's rather cute. Ches will come up to the cage door and stand up tall to get noticed. Also he and Kai are best buds, Kai will clean his head and nuzzle him and he just takes it in stride, he'll even give her kisses back. I have a video of them with the cage door shut, but now every time I come in to give food and water he pokes his head out to nuzzle the dog. He is too cute and just look at those ears!
Here's the video of the rabbitry, featuring Kai and Ches.
With any luck I'll breed Clove with Ches this week and we'll have some babies by the end of January! I want to wait until Clove is a bit more settled and not so terrified of me, but that may never happen so all I can shoot for is comfortable.
They sure are cute. It's hard not to name them.
ReplyDeleteWow, you have quite the set up there...how exciting for you. I think you will enjoy rabbit meat and find them to be an excellent small scale farm animal.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you already know this from reading up on rabbits but the one thing I remember from my childhood is that after giving birth the mothers need to be very stress free otherwise they are apt to kill there own babies...I remember this happening a couple of times.
meemsnyc- I just had to, I think all animals deserve a name even if it's just to describe them. The two boy's we'll be eating are baby boy spots and baby boy solid. It's weird but, I feel like it defines them somehow.... I don't know?
ReplyDeleteMr.H- We have a ton of extra cages for the babies to grow out in. 3 of those cages will only be used for that purpose, we didn't want any of the rabbits crowded so we aired on the side of too big.
I had heard that, and it's a possibility that we'll loose the first litter because she's in a new environment. But I plan to keep Kai very far away for about a week after they are born, to make sure she's not stressed out. But babies are all hypothetical at this point, but soon....
Good luck on the day they should be turned into dinner. Sounds like you have fallen in love already.
ReplyDeleteBlue Heron Moon- It will be an interesting day full of learning. The rabbits are pretty sweet.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like fun! Too bad bunnies aren't kosher because I hear they are really tasty
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the new additions! We always name the breeding rabbits (it's hard not too!) and usually the meat rabbits end up with a generic name, like "the boys" or "Larry, Moe, and Curly." We also have found that boy rabbits are way better pets (more friendly) than the does. Are you going to be saving the hides? Those colors would be pretty for something...not like you don't have anything else to add to your life~hehe!
ReplyDeleteMe- Thank you, it's good to know I'm not alone in naming the meaties. Ches our buck made a bid for freedom and lap time today... he jumped out of his cage and waited patiently at my feet to be picked up. He is a total lover!
ReplyDeleteWe are planning to keep the hides, I really want to make a blanket or possibly mittens. I'll have to learn to tan the hides first though... that could be a challenge! I did find a tannery close by but it's just not feasible for me to pay that much. So I'll have to learn to do it myself.
Mike- I don't know if we would have made the jump to keep rabbits if we had as much space as you and Kelsi. We probably would have just raised chickens for our meat, but since we live in close quarters and chickens are less than quiet we went with rabbit. What meats are kosher? Chicken obviously but I am not sure what else....
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it but Chestnut and Confetti are adorable.
ReplyDeleteJenne- LOL! I know. 'fetti is really sweet but that can change as she gets older. Ches is just down right adorable! They'll make great dinner bunz together. :o)
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