Cleaning

Well...I have spent 2 full days scrubbing cages because of the coccidiosis outbreak..it is a much bigger job than I thought it was going to be...I have killed about 35 mice so far...that I have actually thrown away...I sure hope there are tons more that are dead that I have not seen...I am going to use poison for a little while longer but I got a cat...so...as soon as I am sure all the poisoned mice are gone...I will let the cat into the rabbit barn...they are building a sub division behind us in what used to be a farming field so there are alot of mis-placed mice....I HATE MICE!!!!
I am still looking for another cat that is a mouser and used to being outside...and also a kitten for inside the house...my 5 yr old grand daughter thought that the cat I was getting would be a snuggle buddy for her but I got a BARN cat....so I decided to get her a kitten that she can snuggle with and hope it turns out to be a good mouser as well for inside the house....
I have always had cats until just the last 2 years when our last cat died of old age....in the past 2 years we have had mouse problems so I guess having cats around is a really good thing...

Bew's in the nest

Well Creamcicle ate the last kit....BUT...Emma-Lee has 6 beautiful healthy babies in the nest..there are 4 Bew's and 1 VM and a VC...they have their eyes open and a couple have hopped in and out of the nest a couple times..they are soooo cute!!!
I bred Creamcicle again and she is due on the 29th...I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will be a good mom the 2nd time around...
Rabbits are interesting creatures and very frustrating at times...

Choose your words wisely

I really screwed up bad...I emailed a friend about some problems she was having and was trying to show her that things happen to all of us but I did not explain what I was saying well at all and now I have a wonderful lady VERY mad at me(not the same Lady)....My heart is aching and I wish I could go back in time and re write the whole original email but it is way too late now.....I got some bunnies from a fantastic breeder and there were several things that I did wrong in transporting them here and getting them settled in and I lost 1 to coccidiosis...I had kept them in a horse trailer for 2 days while traveling which could have exposed her and I changed their feed way to quickly..then like an idiot I took her to a show within a couple days after getting her home which probably stressed her out and could have exposed her ...we have had a problem with mice (which I am working on) which I think tracked thru the infected feces and then tracked it into other cages which spread it so I lost 2 more...it is too hard to explain the email I sent but I worded it way wrong and it came out sounding like I was blaming the lady I got her from but I swear I wasn't...I just want to let people know to always be sure you explain what you mean when talking to other breeders....and it helps alot NOT to be drinking when you email other breeders.....

Loosing babies

Creamcicle...my sport Lionhead doe had 5 babies early this morning or very late last night...she did not pull enough wool and 4 of them got too cold and died..1 is still alive..I brought it in the house to warm it up..it was almost dead so I don't know if it will survive or not...I checked on her at 11:30 last night and she had not had them but then I went to bed..I went out at 8:30am ..by then it was too late...there were 3 Bew's and 2 Vm's...the one that is still holding on is a Vm....I really thought it was warm enough in the barn with the heater but I guess I was wrong....she didn't pull enough wool.. ..the one that lived is warm now and active...so maybe it will survive..I put the heater next to her cage and I am hoping she will feed the little one...

Winter....BURRRR

Well...I guess winter is officially here....I stuffed insulation in all the holes in my barn and keep the heater on all the time..it stays about 45 to 50 inside so the water bottles don't freeze and I can be comfortable enough to spend alot of time with my bunnies....the only problem will be that the ventilation will not be as good as it was but I will just have to clean pans more often...LOL...oh boy!!! How long till summer comes again?????

My bunnies seem happy so I am happy....

What IS the right amount of feed????

I recently decided that my rabbitry was turning into more of a "Fat Farm" I was way over feeding so I decided I had to cut back on the amount of feed...well this worked great for most of the bunnies but poor Rocket (pictured to the left in his prime) did not adjust so well...I decided to sell him(not realizing what I had done) so I posted an Ad with this picture which was taken just a week and a half earlier. When a fellow show person came to look at him I could have died...I pulled him out and he had lost 3 ounces and looked terrible..I have put him back on the original amount of feed and I am hoping that he can be restored to his original beautiful condition..I feel so bad...I have learned however that each rabbit has it's own "prime zone" and from now on I will be feeding each rabbit according to it's individual needs. Everyone has their own way of feeding and I am still trying to find the right way for me.
I was feeding 1/4 cup of a grain mix each morning which consists of:

4 cups oats
4 cups barley
1 cup calf manna
1 cup black oil sunflower seeds

Then in the evening I was giving 1/2 cup (rounded) Manna Pro "SHO" pellets.
I also give Timothy hay almost everyday
It is easy to see why they were getting so fat...so I cut everyone back to just a spoonful of the grain mix and a scant 1/2 cup of pellets..I still give the Timothy hay the same. It seems to be working well for everyone...except Rocket...but hopefully he will get back to his beautiful self very soon now that he is back on the original amounts.