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.

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!