Around the Microfarm

In December, Koenigland is also home to four new and strange creatures, a fall/winter garden, and an activie forager who is trying to find things for themselves and rabbits despite the muggy yet chilly Alabama weather (me).

The four new creatures? Dinosaurs, clearly. That is, creatures directly descended from dinosaurs and, thus, still dinosaurs. Their common name? Chicken. We have three hens and a rooster, a mere month and a half old. The hens are a tiny yet plucky Black Maran (McNugget), a cuddly Lavender Orpington (Peep), and an aloof Rhode Island Red (Chiclet). Formerly thought of as a hen and thus named Henrietta, Henry started crowing a couple of weeks ago. The sound is adorable and I do wish we can keep him, despite our current location in a suburban area; however, we do intend on moving and, with luck, we'll find a locale with enough green space that nobody will be bothered by the delightful calls of a rooster. Of course, my mother worries that Henry will become an attack bird and we will likely trade him for another Orpington. Drat? (I always wanted an attack dinosaur.)

The fall/winter garden has taken root (puns!) quite nicely. We have flourishing wheat, kale, and Austrian winter peas. The Dixon Red beets haven't had the best of luck, but all I can see are the tiny pair of leaves and bright red stems. For all I know, we have a mess of beets under the brown dirt and rabbit manure. I probably should look into that. From all I've seen, the leaves and stems never get too large, so with luck, we may in fact have beets to pickle for Christmas gifts. The singular cabbage plant stands proud beside two rain barrels and the young raspberry plants has stuck out the unusually quickly cold fall. We've only used the cabbage insofar and you can't tell me it isn't the best tasting cabbage ever.

 While it's been too cold with fibromyalgia for me to forage much, I still have a mess of at least three different types of acorns I intend to make into flour and candies and, to my utter surprise, dandelions, purple dead-nettle, wood sorrel, and clover are still growing well despite the cold. There's even an unknown plant with triangular leaves that has sprouted up all around my home. Luckily for me and my rabbits, I never use anything I cannot identify (and thus no Darwin Awards); however, they are loving the occasional bite of greenery.

I have recently heard arguments over what is the proper feeding of a rabbit. I, personally, think a good grass hay like timothy or bermuda is all important. You should always give your rabbits a supply. Treat it as much like fresh water as you can. I also think a good protein source, like alfalfa or clover hay and/or beet pulp, are very important. Beyond that, a good quality pellet, preferably with no corn or soybeans and NO animal-based products, or natural diet dry food (such as whole grains) should be a staple. Some people are against the feeding of forage or vegetables, but they can act as good gut lubrication. Just make sure you feed rabbit safe greenery and take note of rules (example: mint is good, but not to nursing does because it dries up milk) and don't overfeed (can cause diarrhea).

You can find great information at natural feeding over at the Rabbit Talk forum, seen here: http://rabbittalk.com/natural-feeding-for-rabbits-f11.html

December Updates

One thing I'd love anyone should know before starting a rabbitry? It's hard. That might be obvious from the get-go, but you will constantly be surprised. The difficulty is also balanced by a sweet junior (over three months, under six months) rabbit in your lap, a warm spot who just cuddles close and occasionally nuzzles your wrist, different from a finicky cat or slobber-prone dog. It's balanced by watching a rabbit binky (hop excitedly), clamor to get your attention in the barn, or be ecstatic when you offer them some fresh dandelion leaves. Owning a rabbit or rabbits is just as hard as owning a dog but just as rewarding, I've found.

Why do I bring this up today? Nearly a month ago, on November 7th, I lost my herd sire, the velvet-furred, booted black Mini Rex, Basil. It appears he caught Pasteurella from wild rabbits when he escaped from his hanging cage and was gone for several hours. He only sneezed twice, which meant quarantine, but after no further symptoms and the assumption a nearby fire was the cause, I bred him to two does before his untimely death the next day. He was a mere eight months old. None of my other rabbits showed any symptoms, which is fantastic. I miss him dearly, but the pain is eased by knowing he was bred to those two does, Lori Farms Primrose and Meg's Jasmine (formerly known as Jade). Prim appears pregnant and the Jasmine may well be, but isn't showing the change in behavior or large dewlap. I'm hoping for a few Prim-shaped, Basil-coated wonder kits, perhaps in castor, opal, black/orange, or blue/fawn tricolor, with or without broken and/or Vienna.

Luckily for me, I had Jasmine's litter, a trio of kits: a false charlie castor doe that is amazingly friendly, but with poorer fur and body than her sister; said sister, a show quality castor doe who could only use a bit more height, I intend to keep; and a brood quality castor buck. In order, their names are Cloud, Chipmunk, and Chester. Both the charlie doe and buck are going to Lori Farms in trade for a new herd buck who will be unrelated to at least two of my does, Jasmine and Chipmunk, if not Primrose. I may even pick up a second Mini Rex, a doe, or an angora (for wool spinning) from Lori. I plan to continue my BEW and castor projects and hopefully gain otters and tricolors by next summer.

In other news, my family has become more accepting of the idea of a microfarm. My father has allowed me to bring back my American Sable doe, Anwen, after a successful litter with a show-stopper with better hips from Ken Turner. We visited a rabbit show in Conyers, GA. I was obviously in heaven, but my sister met a big American Sable (AS) buck named Texas and was enamored. Because of this, I intend to keep Anwen and, hopefully, a pointed white daughter, and bring in a seal AS buck to breed to both. If you breed a seal (cchlcchl) to a pointed white (chch), you will always get showable sables (cchlch). This will allow my sister to have plenty of this lovely breed to take to upcoming shows. Of course, I might keep a sable, at least temporarily, from Anwen's latest litter so my sister can have a junior sooner rather than later.

Hopefully by the time March rolls around, we will at least have a trio of rabbits to take to the Muscle Shoals and Birmingham shows. I plan on taking Chipmunk (a then senior) for sure, Anwen if her toenails match (have to double check), perhaps a sable out of Anwen, and hopefully one or two of the hopefully show quality Lori Farms rabbits and Lori Farms Primrose x C & T Farms Basil juniors. Can't wait to see how everyone does on the table, including the other lovely rabbits from the great breeders I've come to know. It should be great fun, win or lose.

Lastly, I'm so glad my sister has become more interested in rabbits. Who wouldn't? I'm glad to share the love of lapins. My mother even wants Netherland Dwarfs much more after the Conyers, GA show, so we'll have to see if we can't find her a perfect little show quality individual to show with as well!

Good News and Photogenic Rabbits

Out of quarantine, Fiona has continued to become a great part of the family. She's a Houdini and a clown, but also enjoys pets and plays fetch. Love her super soft ears, too. Ugh. She's going to cause me to get into Lion Lops if she keeps being amazing. Too bad I live somewhere they're not accepted yet! Might just have to make do with future Lionheads. Really love the black tort, crossing my fingers they'll get through their next showing. Otherwise? Fiona and Primrose have bonded and have play dates in my kitchen. Woohoo!

Of course, I won't be able to have more rabbits until about a half a year from now. The only sad news: My father doesn't understand how rabbitries work, even though I keep trying to explain. For now, half of my rabbits are out in the backyard and the other half are staying at another breeder, a saint by the name of Ken. Jade, a proven castor senior doe, and her three kits (false charlie, castor, maybe opal) are with him until I sort out the at home situation. The kits may carry otter, which is fantastic.

But, back to good news, I have finished out my trio! Jade makes the second doe of it. She has great castor color, but slightly pinched hips, so I'm considering keeping a doe kit as a replacement if it's better quality than her. We'll see.

Primrose has filled out into a gorgeous doe. She's got everything right except for uniform color/texture. On her front feet, there's some more obvious ticking and the fur is a bit coarser. I nearly wish she wasn't Vienna just so she could go on the show table! On the other hand, she's now pregnant (!!!) with a Basil litter, so I'm hoping for a great Vienna marked or broken VM buck kit out of the pairing to breed for show quality BEWs. Mind you, I'm also hoping one of the kits out of Jade's litter is a show quality rabbit (particularly a doe), so I can keep them for the table this upcoming year. I've decided on my varieties to breed for: BEW and castor. I'm also hopeful for opals or otters, but it's less likely and they aren't to be my main focus.

Anwen may also be pregnant with adorable meat mutt kits and I'm hoping she's taken and will produce a healthy, large litter. If not, back to square one and maybe crossing her to a Californian or American Chinchilla buck. As I have to follow the three strikes rule, this is her second chance and, if by the end of next month she hasn't produced, I'll have to pet home her.

Now for a photo spam of adorable rabbits:

Basil, the hammy prince; Primrose; and Jade (photo by Ken).

New Name, New Varieties

Bunny FuFu now has the name Fiona, a much more regal name for a house pet, I'd say. She's settled in well, except you shouldn't trust a kid with a bunny even if you think they know what they're doing. Bunny pee in kid's bed and a chewed up iPad cord! Lessons learned the hard way. Bunnies must be watched at all times and if you want to play with them, you have to bunny proof the space they're played with in. I suppose KK thought rabbits were just magical creatures after being around Basil, a litter trained bunny that was always played with in a bunny proof room. Everyone learned something. In the least, Fiona is easy to herd back into her cage and has been generally quite the good pet insofar. Very affectionate. I wish there were rabbit hopping competitions here, she'd do well at them. Push her feet and she flies, put something in front of her and she'll jump over it. She also might walk well on a leash, but we haven't attempted much in that area.

I'm hopefully going to purchase a REW doe to be placed in the new hutch after the wire, water proofing over nest box, and cinder blocks allow the hutch to become complete and not WIP. This will mean I will be breeding for black, blue, castor, opal, BEW, and REW. I figure mixing the lines would allow REW Viennas and BEWs, both showable. There's also the potential of a tricolor doe, which would be great to be bred for more tris with my buck, Basil. We'll see what comes, but I'm excited for the hopeful expansion. It would also mean three litters in two months, rather than just two.

All in all? It's been a good time for rabbits. Anwen's wounds from mistreatment are healed and she's doing well being inside, just as Basil has transferred to outside life easily. I cannot wait until Fiona is done with quarantine so Primrose and her can have play dates.

Herbivore Cookies, Buck Stink, and Bunny FuFu

Today I had fun out in the yard and garden gathering greens for my rabbits and was hit with an idea. Winter is fast approaching and I'd love for my rabbits to have greens throughout it, like most rabbit owners. I thought of making veggie and grain cookies. I found a simple toddler cookie recipe with oatmeal flour and pureed fruit as the main ingredients and messed around with it myself.

In place of the fruit puree, I took up mimosa, strawberry leaves, rosemary, mint, and stinging nettles; sunflower seeds; and added some green bean ends. The oatmeal flour was replaced with a mix of whole wheat flour and rolled oats. I put the lot in a food processor with some water, baked them, and viola--homemade rabbit treats! You need more flour than puree, otherwise you get gooey cookies which won't keep particularly well. It's also Basil Approved. A nice healthy chew for a lovely buck. Mind you, baking these will make your kitchen smell like spinach. Also, they will be the ugliest cookies you have ever laid eyes on, but will the rabbits care? The rabbits will not. Just don't let little John or Jane get their hands on them, because they'll be in for a big surprise!

I also took some overripe cucumbers from my garden. I scraped out the seeds and cut the rind and flesh into hunks, salted it, and dehydrated the lot. Took a few hours on 170 F with a rag propping the oven door open, but now I have Basil Approved chews for my rabbits. The rind makes them harder and the salt makes them appetizing for the buns and will prompt them to drink more water.

So I had a lot of fun in the outside world and in the kitchen, but I may have made a minor mistake. Basil, my buck, has a large cage and I wanted to give Primrose a playmate that was less grouchy than Anwen. So I let Primrose and Basil play, chasing each other around the edge of the cage. It was an adorable example of rabbit courtship, with nuzzles, licks, chin rubs, and a lot of flopping on Primrose's part. On the other hand, Primrose decided to mark her loops with bunny pellets and Basil began to smell like zoo and B.O. Stinky, stinky. Opened a window, got a pair of fans, odor neutralizers, and rosemary sprigs--took an hour or so, but the smell finally left. :o

Last on the agenda, I've been offered a large, extravagant rabbit hutch if I take in a pet store mutt for a family friend. Said mutt is a lop eared, single maned Lionhead doe in black and white. She has a tuft of fur on her head that makes me think of a mullet but a cute Holland Lop-like face and ear set. Oh well. I suppose some rabbits are allowed to look absurd, the sort of absurd a poodle is considering it came from a wolf. I figure I'll breed her, but I'm not sure to what sort of buck. I know you should breed at least two does at once, so if I have her that'll be easier to achieve. I suppose she could be bred to Basil for some cute little mutts to become household/classroom pets or maybe even therapy animals. Might have to change her name from Bunny FuFu. XD Otherwise? She was a kindergarten classroom pet for awhile there until the FDA decided she was unsanitary (eye roll, am I right?) and she was one without trouble, so I imagine her offspring might have a nice patient and friendly disposition. I can hope. In the least, I should get a great new hutch for future purebred bunnies! Not that I don't love mutts like purebreds, but breeding mutts--a requirement for my rabbitry is that each animal must be capable of reproduction--isn't something I normally advocate. I have three mutts already, even if they're feline and canine instead of lapine, and they are spayed. To follow my rules makes that super!ethical part of me fidget. I'll have to think hard on this one, I suppose.

Good News

Anwen, my American Sable doe, took a dive health-wise, but a vet trip has cemented my knowledge of what happened. She came to be matted and with absurdly long claws (the owner claimed she had single color claws, but in fact has dark horn and white claws; a DQ), but also pregnant. The cage she came in was small and not made with proper cage wire, therefore she was in a solid bottomed dog crate for about a week until a better cage arrived. She gave birth in the proper cage, but she remained stressed and fearful for days after that. It took us two weeks to be able to handle her without harming her, which led to her getting mats cut out and claws trimmed. She had a box, but used it as a litter box; same with her resting board. Because of former infection, she got an abscess on her ear and sore hocks. Treatment of Neosporin and bandages was fairly useless and even a slotted mat didn't seem to help. Luckily, our vet gave us some ointment that seems to be clearing up her socks and ear quickly. She's inside on towels recuperating and is back to playing and eating properly. Her eyes seem brighter and her coat seems better and is shedding out. It saddens me to see the dark, scar-like blemishes on her skin, the signs of her former infection which means she once had sores all over, which breaks my heart. All in all, it was a learning experience and a reminder rabbits are oh so fragile.

In the least, she has begun to trust me, letting me pet her face and back without jerking away or grunting now; she even calmed when she got her treatment at the vet when I helped hold her. She likes the sides of her muzzle and head to be petted especially. She's been snacking on green beans and dehydrated cucumber today and lazing about. Brought in my other doe for a play date, which Anwen wasn't too keen on, as Primrose kept running circles around her, but seemed to like sniffing the newbie. I have learned Anwen enjoys dogs more, as she made fast friends with a Carolina Dog at the vet's.

I'm planning on breeding her to my only viable stud, C and T Farms Basil, despite the breed difference to see if she can carry to term and have a few surviving kits. If not, my lovely AS girl might be looking for a pet home. Hopefully her ice queen exterior will melt away entirely if that option is a must, but insofar she grows very fond of her people, if she remains shy of others and isn't big on being held.

Anwen's Lost Litter

Sad news at Koenigland Rabbitry today. It appears the former owner of Anwen was lied to, and the litter of one she gave birth to this past night was in fact her first. With hallmarks such as uncertainty and fear rather than practiced ease; a long, strenuous labor; and one, large, single kit that was stuck and birthed broken, that is my impression.

However, Anwen herself appears to be doing fine. Now that she is no longer pregnant, she is relaxed and friendly, nearly snuggly. She's let me pet her head and ears and even back, her back which was a no zone only a couple of days ago. She's even moving much more freely, including happily flopping into her nest box which I have left just in case she gives birth to another kit or two later on, much like Kyle's rabbit who gave birth to two new kits sixteen hours later. Patience must be had.

Despite the loss of her first kit, Anwen showed good mothering qualities. She made a decent nest, pulled fur, and was protective of her nest box. She even cleaned up the stillborn kit and ate the afterbirth (if that has been passed, as I presume it has because of lack of contractions). She only dropped her guard when I moved her head to dispose of the kit, and even then she was clearly confused and a bit upset (I can't blame her).

According to a veteran breeder, I should rebreed in the next few days, which should hopefully give me a larger litter with smaller kits. I'm looking for an outside stud to do a cover, but that's risky, just because said stud could carry a disease. I might end up breeding her to Basil, just for peace of mind. The kits would be even smaller and she might have better luck. If I do breed to Basil, all kits should be black or minimally white-spotted black and not have rex fur. Any that carry the dwarf gene should be 4-5 lb., but the larger kits could get up to be 9-10 lb. though that is unlikely. While it wouldn't do terribly much for either my American Sable or Mini Rex program, it would at least prove to me that she can give birth to healthy, living kits. If she can't, a pet home is in her future. I hope this won't be required, because I have already gotten a bit of a bond with this shy, gentle rabbit.

Prayers and well wishes would be well received.