Saturday, June 15, 2013

colonizing rabbits

I've never been prone to insomnia until recently.  I suspect it has something to do with old age.  I don't let it worry me too much, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that tomorrow WILL still come as I lie there staring at the ceiling, and I WILL get through it, usually none the worse for the lack of sleep the night before. 
Besides, when you are awake at the crack of dawn, you don't miss scenes like this outside your bedroom window (a plus of not having curtains for the moment!):



I felt like I should put on a long white dress and let my hair down and go walking in it.  Then I realized that at my age, 59 years old, the effect would probably not be as beautiful, and besides that, I am so short I would surely be completely covered by the fog and no one would see me anyway...

...so when I woke up completely at 3:30 in the morning a couple of days ago, I didn't think much about it.  I grabbed my new smartphone, which I LOVE, and I researched colonizing rabbits.  Rabbits are my new obsession.  I am really enjoying working with them, and I have many plans for expanding them.
The only child who is really interested enough to help me do anything more than cuddle the babies is Tommy.  He helps me gather the hay I have just mowed to feed the rabbits.  I am very pleased with the new lightweight cart my husband gave me recently:


I am not frowning in this picture, I'm just squinting the in very hot Texas sun.  HINT: do not ask your eight year old son to take pictures for you.  Luke took about twenty pictures - almost all of my backside as I bent over to pick up hay.  When I asked him WHY he did that, he laughed and laughed...little stinker...

I spent two days fixing up an old peacock pen for my rabbits.  I had tried this before with just chicken wire on the ground, but they managed to tear it and I lost a couple of rabbits when they got out.  I didn't remove the chicken wire, I left it there since there were only a couple of holes.  But I put boards on top of it, and I am slowly covering the boards with lots and lots of hay, which they can eat and also make nests out of.
In this picture, I'm standing in the cage next to the colony cage.  The rabbit on the left is one of the males, I have them in cages in one room.  The rabbit on the right is in the next cage, the colony one, where I am putting all my breeder rabbits.  I've almost got the floor covered in hay.
By the way, Erin Mayfield, if you are reading this, there on the far left is my swamp cooler!!  To keep the rabbits "cool and refreshed!!"  :o)


I have a really large, wonderful cage that someone gave me for free, and that houses my baby rabbits.  Right now, two breeders are in there, too, but as soon as the babies wean, I will move them into the colony cage:



The babies this time are just amazingly beautiful, I think!  Too pretty to think about them being meat rabbits!

I have so many empty pens right now.  I am considering raising pet rabbits, too, if this experiment goes well.  I might even get a booth at Antique Alley.  I used to do that and always enjoyed it so much.  But I enjoy shopping too, so I will have to make a choice...

I also bought new geese.   Tommy is older now, and hopefully, they will not spend their days laying in wait to bite him!


If they do, then they will soon make their homes in one of the empty pens!!

Life is good at my house.  I could truly stay home and never leave, but my two 16 year old girls are not content with that...SIGH...

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