Okay, so it isn't really all that bad. It is still March, after all and, if I look on the bright side, the sun is stronger so even on the below zero days the snow still melts. Sigh. I want it to be spring.
The chickens and rabbits are all still doing well and we've added to our rabbit colony. Perhaps not in the way you're thinking, though!
Some neighbours had a house fire and were looking to re-home their livestock. No-one wanted to take their dozen rabbits. We hadn't planned on quite so many but we managed to find enough room for them. We did that by taking out the chickens and Troy built them a brand new coop. I'd call it a luxury coop although we still need to get them more room to roam outside. Another reason I want the snow to be gone!
Shortly after the chickens moved to their new coop, we had a rabbit, um, 'adventure'. The original 4 rabbits have always had their own cages but the additions had been living colony-style with the bucks in one building and the does in another. We kept them in their colonies but separated by only a wall. That was sufficient UNTIL a box was placed near the wall. Troy was away from home so when I went to do the chores I did my usual count in each of the pens. Uh oh. One too many in the doe's side and one too few in the buck's. When I spoke with Troy that night I mentioned that he might be a rabbit-daddy 50 times over by the end of March. Did I mention there were 5 does? Flemish Giants. He started building as soon as he got home.
Before Troy even got home, though, he'd started watching YouTube videos. He told me about a series by one guy who goes by the handle, jnull0 and how this guy built these great cages for his rabbits. I watched.
jnull0 is awesome!! I found myself not only charmed but learning a lot of useful information about keeping rabbits. I've posted his YouTube video below Rabbit Cages Made of Wire Shelving.
Troy came home with the extra materials and built them. The cages look good, are easy to clean and they make it really, really easy to feed and water the rabbits. It's also easy to collect the droppings - gardening gold!
The chickens and rabbits are all still doing well and we've added to our rabbit colony. Perhaps not in the way you're thinking, though!
Some neighbours had a house fire and were looking to re-home their livestock. No-one wanted to take their dozen rabbits. We hadn't planned on quite so many but we managed to find enough room for them. We did that by taking out the chickens and Troy built them a brand new coop. I'd call it a luxury coop although we still need to get them more room to roam outside. Another reason I want the snow to be gone!
Shortly after the chickens moved to their new coop, we had a rabbit, um, 'adventure'. The original 4 rabbits have always had their own cages but the additions had been living colony-style with the bucks in one building and the does in another. We kept them in their colonies but separated by only a wall. That was sufficient UNTIL a box was placed near the wall. Troy was away from home so when I went to do the chores I did my usual count in each of the pens. Uh oh. One too many in the doe's side and one too few in the buck's. When I spoke with Troy that night I mentioned that he might be a rabbit-daddy 50 times over by the end of March. Did I mention there were 5 does? Flemish Giants. He started building as soon as he got home.
Before Troy even got home, though, he'd started watching YouTube videos. He told me about a series by one guy who goes by the handle, jnull0 and how this guy built these great cages for his rabbits. I watched.
jnull0 is awesome!! I found myself not only charmed but learning a lot of useful information about keeping rabbits. I've posted his YouTube video below Rabbit Cages Made of Wire Shelving.
Troy came home with the extra materials and built them. The cages look good, are easy to clean and they make it really, really easy to feed and water the rabbits. It's also easy to collect the droppings - gardening gold!
My chickens
The lines have been drawn. The chickens are mine and the rabbits are Troy's. Of course we're both still invested in all of our ventures but we do have our favourites. I get such a kick out of the chickens that visits with them have been my breaks when I need to step away from the computer and stretch my legs. I always, always come back in to work with a smile on my face.
The dogs really like the chickens, too. Mostly their poop. Apparently it's a wonderful frozen treat for them. Blech!!! It's a lot of fun to watch the dogs and the cats with the chickens. Mostly there's no reaction from any of them. The cats with the rabbits are a little different.
Stanley, our tabby could care less. He just wanders around and checks them out periodically. Oliver, our little foundling kitten likes to go in there and really wants to play. The chickens do not. That's when Oliver heads over to the rabbits. At first they weren't happy to have him around but he really does just want to play so now they do. That's with the rabbits who are still living the colony lifestyle, of course.
I don't mind the rabbits at all, I just enjoy the chickens more.
The dogs really like the chickens, too. Mostly their poop. Apparently it's a wonderful frozen treat for them. Blech!!! It's a lot of fun to watch the dogs and the cats with the chickens. Mostly there's no reaction from any of them. The cats with the rabbits are a little different.
Stanley, our tabby could care less. He just wanders around and checks them out periodically. Oliver, our little foundling kitten likes to go in there and really wants to play. The chickens do not. That's when Oliver heads over to the rabbits. At first they weren't happy to have him around but he really does just want to play so now they do. That's with the rabbits who are still living the colony lifestyle, of course.
I don't mind the rabbits at all, I just enjoy the chickens more.
Troy's rabbit cages
Below is a picture of Troy's first attempt at making the rabbit cages and they turned out fantastic! This is a set of 4 'condos' and each is 40" deep, 3' wide and 16" high. Each rabbit has a nesting box, feeder for pellets, heated water dish and hay. We found some sturdy clips to hold the tops down and each has a section of floor - wood or cardboard - so they can get off the wire if they want.
The whole thing is affixed at the back to the wall and to the posts at the front. The height is pretty good for us, too, no bending over and we can reach the rabbits when we need to. It's turned out to be pretty handy for socializing the rabbits, too. They can't really get away but they've got their nesting box if they really don't want the interaction. It's been good to see them come around for pats now, and to be less and less shy when we open the cages. The only things we want to change are the watering system and we need to find a better way to hang the hay. A noose just doesn't seem safe but laying it on the floor just has them sleeping on it, not eating it! The watering system will be trickier when it's below freezing but we've seen a few options that we might try.
Almost everything we've seen says this is enough space for these rabbits but they sometimes seem to really want to run around. We've got the pen that served as our original chicken coop and we give each rabbit some time to run around and play.
The whole thing is affixed at the back to the wall and to the posts at the front. The height is pretty good for us, too, no bending over and we can reach the rabbits when we need to. It's turned out to be pretty handy for socializing the rabbits, too. They can't really get away but they've got their nesting box if they really don't want the interaction. It's been good to see them come around for pats now, and to be less and less shy when we open the cages. The only things we want to change are the watering system and we need to find a better way to hang the hay. A noose just doesn't seem safe but laying it on the floor just has them sleeping on it, not eating it! The watering system will be trickier when it's below freezing but we've seen a few options that we might try.
Almost everything we've seen says this is enough space for these rabbits but they sometimes seem to really want to run around. We've got the pen that served as our original chicken coop and we give each rabbit some time to run around and play.
Below is the jnull0 YouTube video we watched from which Troy built the cages. We have also watched a few others of his (so far!) and I plan on using his instructions for cleaning and prepping the rabbit hides. Mittens. I'm thinking mittens.
RSS Feed