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/

Bunny Condo Design Adjustment

So, of course I review my last post and laugh to see I have to eat my own words.

We did *some* things right with our previous design, but as this is an experiment where we intend to improve things, I have come to the conclusion that we need to change some things to make this better. And alas, we must compromise our idealism somewhat. That perfect design for our condos is less than perfect at the moment... although it will get closer soon! Here's what happened:

Our doe that kindled 14 kits lost 5. Two disappeared. I never found them. And then I found 5 with lacerations one morning, when they were just around 2 weeks old. I checked all around the cage, and am left to assume that a random piece of glass must have been underground where they were digging, from the fill dirt I add to freshen up between litters, and they cut themselves where I couldn't protect them. We ended up loosing 3 of the 5 due to infection, despite me giving them shots daily and bathing the wounds for over a week. I was so disgusted and sad.

Our purpose in having the rabbits live on the ground was to give them a better quality of life, but this experience left me doubting that it was really a better life for them.  So my conclusion is partially for the rabbits' sake, and partially for mine: They have to go in cages above ground. Here is my reasoning:

1. The lacerations and disappearances could be avoided if they were in a finite space that I have full access to. The infections would have had a better chance to heal, and I wouldn't have needed to segregate the injured ones, giving them less access to nursing and thus being smaller than their uninjured siblings. It was very stressful for the doe to have me kidnap her daily and stick her in a box with the injured ones, which smelled funny from the baths and meds, and with whom she hadn't been able to interact most of the day/night.

2. My other doe kindled 8 and lost 5, so only 3 have reached maturity. Why? She wouldn't reuse her burrow, and birthed them right on the dirt. I put a nest box in her condo and the remaining three thrived. She is a horrible housekeeper, and makes it an awful chore to keep her dirt as clean as I desire- and she's always kicking dirt into her food and water, leaving me to clean her water continually in the winter (hanging bottles freeze here in CO so they're only for warm seasons).

3. I spend wayyyy too much time fiddling with their dang dirt. I need to be able to take care of the rest of our farm and my kids, for gosh sakes, and the rabbits are too labor intensive the way we're doing it. It's either change the system, or ditch the rabbits. Seriously. It got that intensive.

My solution? Keep our bomb-proof structures, and custom-outfit them with cages of the same dimensions that keep them off the dirt. That way, they still have the spaciousness they are used to. Also, by raising them up a foot (the condos are tall enough to do that without compromising their comfort) I can install worm bins underneath, and have worms compost the waste materials directly, and I just pull out the garden compost whenever it gets full. That way I don't have to clean poo daily, dig out urine-soaked dirt, fiddle with finding organic fill-dirt to replenish them with, and waste yard space on a separate compost pile. I can also give the rabbits a ramp to access the yard, so their overall quality of life will still be pleasant.

To accomplish this remodel, we have stopped breeding. Once our last two litters are grown and harvested (by early May), I'll have my cages built to spec, and it's just a matter of pulling one out at a time, screwing in the hooks, and hanging the cages. Then they go back in. I should have them all outfitted in only a day. Then I'll give them a week or two to adjust, and start breeding again at the start of June.

I'm still figuring out how to design the worm bins underneath to accommodate our condos' bottom lip under the door, but I think I can make them like drawers that just pull out, with the worms and fresh poo in the 'drawer' and the compost pilings falling to the ground for me to shovel out. There will be a fine mesh lining the drawer through which the pilings fall. More on that to come.

Satifaction come in many forms

Today I celebrate two things:

My favorite doe kindled successfully, giving birth to FOURTEEN kits! Half are black, half white (pictures coming soon!). All are squirmy, warm and happy. She is in good shape, and the neighboring buck, Bawb, the sire of the litter, is beside himself with excitement. He even built a nest on his side, hopeful that he'll get visitors once they're up and about!

The second thing I celebrate is being able to enjoy the fruits of having done something right the first time. We are experiencing our occasional gusts of wind along the front range, estimated to be getting up to 90 miles per hour tonight- hurricane force, minus the pelting rain. As I go check on the buns, top up water bowls, and give them their night-feeding, I am tucked into the lee side of the fence, huddled in calm air inside the bomb-proof condos we painstakingly reinforced for our rabbits. All is quiet for them, other than the wind howling inches away. The new, naked kits are snuggled in a shallow nest of straw and belly fur, right at the surface (she built her nest above-ground this time). They are warm and happy.

I am so glad that we not only took seasonal sun movement into consideration, but weather patterns and wind direction as well when we planned the layout of our structures. Those hours of chipping out river rock to sink cement-encased 4x4s two feet into the ground, our careful construction with no shortcuts in the woodwork, thorough roof reinforcement, and the seasonal plexiglass screwed over the chicken-wire (open-air) doors have resulted in an effortless haven for newborns even in harsh conditions. 

Even though the wind is scary-sounding and makes my eyes grow big in awe occasionally this evening, I can rest assured that my buns and chickens are cozy and safe. That's a nice feeling.

Happy Winter to All!

We have had more snow than usual this year, with four substantial snowfalls already. This one was about 16 inches or so.  I was so glad we designed the hay bale storage with a solid front base that is 18 inches, before the start of the doors. I still had to move a bit of snow to pull the doors open, but only the snow-drift stuff. If the doors had been full-length, I'd have had to shovel them out entirely to get to the hay. If you look to the left in the photo, under the yellow kayak, you'll see some bales under a blue plastic tarp, and next to it is a very ugly structure that is protecting the rest of the hay (brown and grey doors). It's functional, but I didn't get to paint it up all pretty yet. ;)

On the note of hay, we ended up having to stock up due to the fodder shortage in Texas. All the ranchers have been coming up to Colorado and buying up the hay to feed their beef cattle, causing a shortage here for the locals. The price was going up, up, up, and it was getting harder to find the hay, so rather than just buying what we could fit in the hay storage and looking for more later this winter, I had to nab it whenever I could find it. I have 6 bales of grass hay and one of alfalfa. They should last me until next spring.  I use the ones in the storage structure, since they're easier to get at, and will move the ones under the tarp when I have the space.

Here's a close-up of the bunny condos. There's plexiglass on the front doors to keep snowfall out of the rabbit condos, so they stayed nice and dry, and it also helps keep it warmer in there, so the water bowls freeze a bit less. They still get plenty of sunlight, when the sun shines. There are side windows too, and vents at the top to keep the air from getting stale. I have gutters on the north side for the rain and snowmelt, and I have gutters installed below the second story of the yellow condo that serve as poo-catchers. Look closely, and you'll see that the tray under the weanlings up there slants, so the waste rolls down and out for easier removal.

Here's the whole she-bang! The chickens are in the blue coop with their run. The grape vines have been helping to keep the snow out of the run, as they grow across the top and provide shelter. Buried under the snow are my new garden beds... you'll see those once the snow is gone.

Happy winter to all! Enjoy the activities the cold, snow, and dark inspire at this time of year! For us, that will include learning to knit and learning to tan those rabbit hides. I've got some designs for neat products I'm going to make using their lovely fur.  I'll have to get my leather-working skills up to speed. I'll post more on that soon.

Bunny Condo Design

In designing our bunny condos, we decided to make a list of considerations. Maybe these will help you, too, if you decide to build your own.

1. Shelter from wind and rain: New Zealand and Californian breeds- the two kinds we have- are cold-tolerant creatures, and are fine with temps down to 20 below zero. They can't stand wind or getting wet, though- they will get sick and die. Colorado is a windy place. Since we've lived in our current home for a couple of years, we were familiar enough with the storm patterns and wind gusts to know they needed solid walls on the north and west sides of them.

2. Exposure to sun in the summertime: These same rabbits that can tolerate the cold cannot tolerate the heat above 90 degrees F. It goes above 90 frequently in the summer, so we needed to figure out how to shade and cool them. We placed the condos at a spot in the back that maximizes their shade from the tree foliage in the summer, and I am building a raised garden bed in front of them where I'll plant thick, tall-growing edibles to further shade them. By tilting the roof, the heat can escape, and we have vents at the top. The burrows provide a stable temperature underground as well, which they take advantage of sometimes.

 Compare this shot of early construction this past spring to the last shot here of mid summer. Big change!

We were thrilled beyond words when we completed the first bunny condo. There was such a sense of accomplishment. Using the space for living things made our yard feel healthy, purposeful.

My first construction project!