Happy Tuesday reader! Wow, first blog post. Quite the occasion, I’d say. Now, while I’m currently packing for a family trip, I can’t wait to finally start blogging and hear what you guys have to say!
I was racking my brain for good “first blog post ideas to blow you away and not scare you away,” I kept coming back to the same thing: my rabbits. That is right, my dudes, today I’m going to take you out to the barn to show you a little bit about my rabbits! So while I sit in my bedroom, ravishing from no current food intake and slowly falling asleep, you’ll be (hopefully!) learning somethin’ new and enjoying yourself.
How It All Began
I’ve had rabbits since before I even lived on a farm, starting in second grade. I’d gotten a solid chocolate Netherland Dwarf doe called Beamer. (Whoa, gettin’ a little technical on ya there!) Basically she was a brown girl Netherland Dwarf rabbit, and I was super excited to have her. She lived a good while on pet-store food and a whole lot of listening-to-me-while-I-read-the-same-book-over-and-over, before she was faced with sickness and hopped on up the clouds to what I’d like to think of as “bunny Heaven.”
Within the next year I had another rabbit, Oreo, pretty much the best rabbit I’ve ever met. He was just the sweetest, let you pet him and man-handle him and even ran agility. This was when I started with the fair. I have showed rabbits at the Pierce County Fair for six years and counting, and it is one of the best parts of my life. I’ve shown everything from agility to showmanship to costume and so much more, and I’ve got to say, it has been such an amazing experience for me.
Above: Here he is, ol’ Oreo himself. Look at that face, so young!
But back to Oreo. I loved that dang rabbit to death, and so the thought of even having more rabbits was exhilarating. (Haha, big words are my FAVORITE!) We were graced with two big ugly does, Stormy and Sky, and their brother, Moe, who was given to a friend. (By big ugly doe, I mean that they aren’t good fair bunnies; too heavy, uneven body type, good breeding stock.) From there, everything changed. We ended up with our first two litters, quadrupling our rabbit population and still living in town. Moving out of town was another task, but everyone made it safely and got settled into the garage. After winter and clean-up of the barn, they moved for the second time to their (almost) final spot.
So, here we are in the present day. Oreo has since graced us with his presence, and we are currently at 11 rabbits. Although much has changed, a lot is still the same, and rabbits will always be a part of my life.
How I Care for My Rabbits
Chores are something you can’t escape- it’s a life or death thing. I do rabbit chores in the morning before school and around six at night. Daily chores consist of feeding everyone, filling up waters, and making sure everyone looks healthy.
Every morning and night, food dishes are filled up with Manna Pro rabbit pellets, hay, and topped off with oats in the summer and into the late fall. Their hay and pellets are their main source of food, the oats are given in the summer before the fair to make their coats shine. Water bottles are filled up when they’re below half way, and our rabbit who drinks from a bowl gets it filled day and night. Daily checks can be done just by looking or handling, and basically consists of making sure the rabbit has no signs of a cold or sniffles, and makes sure they’re eating and aren’t losing fur or weight.
Our New Barn Extension
Recently, we’ve decided to move our rabbits to a separate part of our barn to make room inside for our goats. The side part of our barn, which has previously been duck & guinea hen housing, will now be specifically rabbit barn with an entrance on the outside and from the main inside of the barn. Here it is as of now- it’s got quite the way to go but we’re getting close!