To Bun or Not to Bun?

I commissioned a cage for one of my rabbits, just the right size to fit into the condo and hang nicely. It's here, ready to test out... but... now I'm on hold due to health problems. I haven't been able to do any yard work, chores, or even drive safely due to a never-ending migraine. It's been since March.

My husband and I are considering downsizing or eliminating the rabbit project as a result. It's too much work for one person with the dirt-burrow system as it currently is. Heheheh. Nothing like a few solid weeks of tending to the rabbits for him to finally understand how much work these ground-based burrows have been! I think what I would like to do is get rid of a doe or two, save my favorite and my buck, stop breeding so they're more like pets for now, and when I recover, I will retrofit the condos as I planned. If that makes it easier to tend to them, then we will start breeding again, and I'll look for additional does at that time, maybe later this summer.

That implies a solution to my current situation will be found in a timely fashion, and I will be able to resume some or all of my work.

Life requires of us nothing less than flexibility towards change, adaptation, patience, and humor. I'm still working on more humor. Got any good jokes? I need to laugh more!

Worms! The next step in building a healthy eco-system

I'm researching good composting worms right now, since I'm going to build some worm bins to place under the buns (see previous post on design alterations of the bunny condos). I found this easy to understand blog: http://www.wormsetc.com/worms-etc-blog/2010/12/eisenia-fetida-hortensis-whats-difference-red-wigglers-european-nightcrawlers/

This supports other statements I've heard people make on the pros and cons of both worms. I think the Eisenia Fetida will be the worm I start with (commonly called Red Wiggler). I have them in the garden already, and they have been very happy with my varied and extreme conditions (and care). Despite me, they have thrived. That's a good sign. I inherited a worm bin last summer and they have multiplied and taken over the garden beds- yay!

Now I'm working on design. I've got a bunch of sites I'm checking out.  I plan on building my own, but I think you learn the most from seeing what other people have designed. Some of these sites sell the equipment, but I'm just looking for reference. I really like this one: http://www.redworms.com/worm-factory-360.html because it takes advantage of red wigglers' tendency to exhaust their food source and then climb higher to find more- they are surface feeders. That means I can have a tray they start off in with plenty of food. Then I can stack a higher one with more food. As they process the lower one and run out, they will move up. Then I just pull out both trays, set the one from the top on the bottom with all the worms in it, and empty the bottom one out (all nice castings and some eggs to hatch directly in the garden later) and then when the bottom one is full of bunny poo, I stack the empty back on top. So I'm thinking I'll have two layers. 

This next site has lots of good information. I recommend perusing its pages. I like the DIY page the best: http://working-worms.com/content/view/40/62/ I could post all the information I'm finding, but I think it's better for you and me to link to the original sources of the information rather than have me regurgitate it, yes? ;)

More sites to check out:
http://www.redwormcomposting.com/bentley-christie/
http://www.wormbincomposting.com/
http://www.thewormdude.com/tag/alabama-jumpers/

Tanning hides- a spring project

I have 30 or so rabbit hides in my basement freezer right now, and it's time to make them into something useful. I also have two lambskins that I want to process. Here are the links I have decided to follow. I will do as they say, and then report back on my success:

How to tan rabbit hides
How to make sheepskin rugs

This next one looks wild- I am not sure I like it, since you don't actually treat the hide- it just all dries out and is, well, in my imagination, crispy. But I like the idea of the design. I might try it with treated hides, and maybe if I have too many hides to deal with, I could make one his way for the kids to have outside in their play house:

Make a rabbit blanket

All of these articles are from MotherEarthNews.com. I just subscribed to their magazine, since I really like their 'DIY' and 'Homesteading' archives, and it's only $10 for 6 issues. We'll see if their current issues are as interesting as the old ones!

Zero Waste Achieved

The meat gets eaten. The innards and bones go to the chickens and ultimately to compost. The poo goes in the garden. The hides will be used to make neat things (more on that later). But... there are still other parts unclaimed!  What, might you ask, do I do with the feet and heads that remain? (the tails are cat toys for our outdoor mouser when he gets bored)

I am proud to say I found a willing partner in Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Center who accepted the heads (and now feet!) of my harvested rabbits. My kids and I took them a large cooler of what we have accumulated thus far and they were HAPPY for it! They take care of predators, among other animals, and at this moment they have a number of foxes for whom they are caring. These 'waste parts' are perfect for them.

So now I just have to clear a safe space and a chunk of time to start processing my hides, and I will truly have used every last bit of each of our rabbits. Zero waste! Yay!