Amore d'angora

A Sad Day on the Farm

2012-02-05T13:57:00.001-08:00

Upon arriving home from the Newport Spin-In yesterday evening, two bunnies were discovered dead here at the Rockin' Red Rabbit Ranch. The day ended with a double funeral and much sadness at this unexpected tragedy. There was no obvious cause of death. Whitey and Molly Weasley will be missed. Whitey's dyed fiber was quite popular at the Spin-In, as was her picture on the take-out boxes. The spectators enjoyed hearing stories about the bunnies and I blathered on, not knowing that the rabbitry was now short two of it's pampered denizens.

The other rabbits, with their usual aplomb, immediately started lobbying for extra treats, figuring that the volume will remain the same and that each are entitled to more in light of fewer mouths to feed. Mercenaries, every one! They will all be closely observed to see if whatever took Whitey (who was not young) and Molly (who was rather young, but had never seemed quite "right") might have been some sort of contagion.

It's a sad, sad day.

Dyeing Angora Fiber

2012-01-22T13:29:00.000-08:00

Dyeing angora fiber is a bit different than dyeing sheep's wool. Because the hairs have a hollow core, they are lighter than wool and tend to float in water, making wetting the fiber for dyeing an interesting proposition -

Here you see 2 ounces of fluff soaking in warm water with a glug of white vinegar. The fluff floats and needs to be pushed down into the water over and over and over again until finally it consents to become waterlogged.* If you use your hands to push the fibers under the water, expect to come away with strands of fluff clinging to every tiny rough spot. If you use a spoon, the spoon will soon be covered in fluff. It can be quite a mess.

Cushing's Perfection Dyes work very well on angora fluff, about a teaspoon per dye batch, poured directly into the pot. Add enough water to cover the fiber, a glug of white vinegar and stir carefully until the dye powder is dissolved. Add fluff and heat up to simmering, but be careful not to boil the fluff or you could end up with a matted mess. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring gently from time to time (but not too much!) remove from heat and allow to cool completely. If the dye does not exhaust, heat up again or use less dye powder next time.

The fluff should be rinsed by soaking in warm water, being careful not to handle it too much to prevent matting, changing the water as required until the rinse water runs clear. Wrap the fluff in a towel and squeeze out as much moisture as you can and set it out somewhere warm to dry. Be sure there is no breeze or you will end up with fluff all over the place - it becomes lighter than air as it dries.

At first the fluff looks like a very sad matted mess on the towel, as seen on the right above. Tease and pick it apart whenever you walk by as it dries and eventually it will look like the pile on the left above. Be warned that it takes a. very. long. time. to get totally dry. Well over a week here on the moist Oregon Coast, I kid you not! There were times it seemed the fluff would never dry, but eventually it regained its lovely angora properties and is now ready for further processing. Some lovely blues, not quite dry -

If you don't have the patience for pre-soaking your fluff, it can be put into the dyepot (warm water and a glug of vinegar) squashed down a bit and dye powder poured on top -

Gently push the fibers down into the water, which mixes the dye in at the same time. It will still take awhile for the fiber to become soaked, but at least you've saved a step. Here's what it looks like after the dye has dissolved but before the fiber has taken up much color -

It's quite an interesting process to watch. Individual fibers will take up different amounts of dye, creating a heathered finished product which I find quite enchanting. Of course, with these slap dash methods, results can't be repeated exactly, but that's half the fun of dyeing, IMHO. If you prefer results that can be reliably duplicated, measure fiber, water, vinegar and dye powder and don't forget to write down your process.

What are your experiences dyeing angora fiber?

* Why, then, can the slightest bit of condensation on a rabbit's cage totally soak and matt a spot on the rabbit within about 7.3 seconds? It boggles the mind!

What bunnies do during the Off Season

2011-12-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

October Shearing

2011-10-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

Steve enjoying his pre-shearing kale leaf

Shearing for October is over, so let it rain if it will! Steve was the last of the buns to get clipped and he was also the easiest, falling asleep in my lap while I scissored away on his lovely gray fluff. He's the only bun who actually likes his ear tufts to be brushed out, so I leave them long, even though by shearing time he has managed to get some hay stuck in them.

Isn't he a handsome boy?

Miss Molly looks on, not happy at all!

Bunnies on the Lawn

2011-09-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

Molly (aka Baby Bunny) and Studley had some fun time on the lawn on this lovely Autumn day before a lengthy grooming session -

Yes, her eyes are really that dark brown! What a lovely bunny! I wish I could say that her wool production was great. Alas, she just seems to shed constantly, but never enough to equal a "real" amount of fluff.

Studley rarely sits still while on the lawn. Here he is munching green bean leaves as if he hasn't seen a meal in a week. Shortly before he was chomping down the grass as fast as he could. Silly bun!

Goodbye to Macy Gray

2011-09-01T11:44:00.000-07:00

Macy Gray died after a long and happy life here on the Rockin' Red Rabbit Ranch. Of all the does, she was my favorite and she will be missed.

Such a sweet bun, easy to groom, always happy for a treat or time on the lawn.

This must be why people breed their buns - to have a little piece of their favorite character after the original is gone. RIP, Macy!

Show Jumping?

2011-08-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

Really?

Rabbit Show Jumping, indeed. Too bad angoras are excluded...Not that I could see my divas responding to any sort of "training" that didn't involve them lolling about on the lawn eating broc leaves.

Poop Management

2011-06-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Oh, that dirty word! If you keep any kind of livestock, you have to find a way to deal with the manure that they produce or soon you will end up with serious problems - bad smell, flies, sick livestock and/or humans, predators, and angry neighbors if you live near people who don't want to see any type of "farming" going on in the neighborhood.

The buns here at The Rockin' Red Rabbit Ranch live outside in hanging cages under a custom-built roof with a fenced-in yard. The ground beneath the cages is protected with 6" of white wood shavings (never use cedar - the dust is irritating to rabbit and human alike, even if it does smell good) that get scooped every few days, depending on the weather. I take out the poop pellets and any wet shavings and spread Stall Dry ((unscented)or whatever similar product is available at the feed store)) on the spots where the buns pee before raking more shavings over the spot. They all tend to go in the same place, making cleaning up after them pretty easy.

Here's what it looks like before cleaning -

Steve on the left, Whitey showing me her butt (as usual) on the right. Some of the wet is from the rain we had yesterday - they don't really pee that much!

Anyway. The poop and shavings have to be disposed of somewhere. Luckily we have a hole in the back and have been slowly filling it up with compostable materials from the yard - tree branches, weeds, grass clippings, kitchen compost, etc. and a couple of days ago the next door neighbor had some trees taken down between our properties, making one huge pile of brush! After chipping, I hauled 16 wheelbarrows full of chips/pine needles/leaves into the back to stockpile for later -

Hard to see clearly in the picture (it was raining all day!) but the darker spot to the left is where I've been filling in and the lighter pile to the right is the new chips. So. Scoop out shavings/poop, dump into next low spot to be filled, rake level, cover with dirt or wood chips to keep the flies out. Done. The poop really helps the pile break down quickly and turn into great compost or landfill if you need it ;-)

Be warned - any exposed poop or urine-wet spot will very quickly become a breeding ground for flies so it is important to cover the poop with at least an inch of something else - leaves, chips, dirt, compostable material of any kind that will form a barrier the files can't easily dig through.

Something you may not know about rabbits - you can use horse fly spray on them to help keep the flies away if you live in an area that has a lot of fly activity. I was surprised when my vet recommended using one of the "natural" horse sprays from the feed store. I've been using it for a year now and there have been no side effects for the buns and no problems with the flies. A little spray every week or so during the most fly-active months is all we've needed here.

I have to ask...

2011-04-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Betty Chu is quoted in the latest issue of Domestic Rabbits magazine (a publication of the American Rabbit Breeders Association):

"A show exhibitor is only half of a complete Angora person, the other half is the fiber artist who works with the Angora wool; and vice versa. It takes both showing and utilizing the wool to totally appreciate the beauty and functionality of Angora rabbits."

Betty is a very well known breeder of angora rabbits, and well respected in her field. Her statement has The Lists in an uproar, with those who raise angoras strictly for pleasure up in arms, declaring that they don't need to be fiber artists to appreciate the unique qualities of angora rabbits - the fiber is incidental. I happen to disagree, but won't air my views on The Lists because anything said there instantly turns into a flame war and I can't bear to read through a poorly-written rant from someone who is not even interested in the opposing viewpoint.

I don't think you have to show angoras to appreciate the special qualities of their wool. Many, many spinners and other fiber artists don't live within a hundred miles of live angora rabbits, but they still value their fiber and use it every day. They don't care if the rabbit won a ribbon at a national show or if it's part of an experimental breeding program producing giant rabbits with record setting amounts of wool. They know what they like to use in their own work and they will pay top dollar for it.

This is yet another case of people wanting to take offense at a simple statement of a point of view that opposes their own. Grow up. She wasn't talking to YOU, she was making a statement about her own life and point of view. Sheesh!

Molly Weasley

2011-01-28T20:22:00.000-08:00

This little bunny never sits still! I hooked both exercise pens together on the deck so she could run a bit and she never paused for a moment, not even to eat her broccoli leaves.

She doesn't seem too fond of posing for pictures - I think she can hear the camera working and when it starts to make noise she's off again.

It's too cold to take Molly's fur off so I plucked what wanted to come out and brushed and trimmed the rest. Satin angora hair seems to grow much slower than German, but I'm content to wait for a better harvest.

Macy Grey

2011-01-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

Macy Gray is my favorite doe. Her color is lilac and she's a French/German cross.

Despite the Demon Eyes in this photo, Macy is a really sweet bunny. Her hair is the softest and finest of all of the buns and she grows more of it than any of them.

Macy is one of my friendliest bunnies, but she does have her quirks – she absolutely refuses to eat her hay unless it is placed in the bottom of her cage, meaning that occasionally bits of hay end up in her shorn fiber. She loves bananas and broccoli and romping in blooming clover. She is always eager to sit on my lap and be groomed, sitting as still as a statue but for her radar-dish like ears which take in every sound.

She doesn't mind posing for photos, either :-) No after shots as the light was going and it was feeding time in the bunny yard.

Macy's fiber is available for sale in The Shop if you'd like some really primo angora fluff to spin or felt.

Steve

2011-01-23T21:06:00.000-08:00

This is Steve, a chinchilla 98% German angora buck. Poor boy got some hay matted up in his ear tufts and they had to be cut off. That's what I get for trying to grow them out, I guess.

When Steve first came to live at the Rockin’ Red Rabbit Ranch I had my doubts about him. Every time I went near any of the bunnies he would stomp and race around his cage as if to tell me to get away from His Girls and go do something else. After a couple of weeks of being intimidated by what I thought was aggressive behavior, I decided to take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and see if Steve and I couldn’t come to some sort of agreement about who I could and could not spend time with. I approached him tentatively, treat in hand, and got a very nice surprise. Turns out that Steve is not a Drama Queen at all, but King of the Bunnies! So long as he gets fed first and has first pick of the treats, he’s just as sweet as pie, with nary a thump or nasty look, laying in my lap like a big, lazy cat for his grooming and shearing sessions.

He's not a fan of pictures - he's a food hound and wants to get it done so he gets his treats.

Relief! A good ear shake after shearing is the best!

Ready to get down to some serious self-grooming now.

Please don't judge Steve's taste in fabric by the vintage sheet he's posing on - it's what we have that can be peed on and washed without worry.

Vintage sheets - yay or nay?

Whitey

2011-01-19T18:19:00.000-08:00

Whitey the Were-Rabbit is the most opinionated of the white bunnies.

She is not scared in the photo above, she's mad. I took her away from some perfectly good kale to pose for pictures that she doesn't want to pose for, and this is what I get. Well, this and a bunch of blurry shots.

With Whitey there will be no washing of her face. There will be no cooperation. There will be no snuggles or happy faces.

And there most certainly will not be any "after" shots! Whitey grows great fluff and stays cleaner than the other white rabbits (her dirty face today was unusual) but she is no fun to groom or clip.

Shearing in the Rain - Part Two

2011-01-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

Studley is a French/German angora and if his coat isn't sheared off at the exact perfect moment it starts to matt at an incredible rate. The wet weather we're having just makes it matt faster. It doesn't help that Studley constantly rubs his face and chin on his cage, marking his territory. He's obsessed with the girls -

He can't hold still for pictures today. "There's a girl over there! She's my favorite! I have to go!"

"Is this good enough? I have things to do!"

"C'mon! Enough! I have to go see that doe!"

"Fine! I'll jump down and go to my love!"

"Screw you! If I can't have that doe you can't see my face!"

Sigh. It was just like that the whole time - squirmy bunny, more like a snake in my lap than the normally cheerful Studley. I suspect he was cranky about the rain and not getting the girl and the matts under his chin.

Studley has a strange coat - sometimes it releases like it wants to be plucked, but mostly it starts to matt close to the skin at 90 days on the dot if I don't get it cut off. His coat is getting darker with age, too, which I love. Overall Studley is the friendliest bunny of the bunch, the one I can bring out when company comes to show them what a nice bunny is like. He's always curious and ready for an adventure. If I had more space he is the buck I would breed for more bunnies because of his (today notwithstanding) great personality and good humor.

Shearing in the Rain

2011-01-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

We're having a stormy weekend here on the Oregon Coast, but the bunnies can't wait to be sheared - their coats are Prime and ready to come off. Snowball was first up today -

What a dirty face! This wet weather liquefies the dust on the bunny cages and every time they touch the wire it rubs off onto their fur, instantly downgrading from Prime to Seconds, but what can you do?

"There's a boy over there and he's going to eat the rest of my kale!" I put Snowball and Studley in their exercise pens on a sheet on the deck so they could play while waiting for shearing. Studley was very interested in Snowball, but she, of course, wanted nothing to do with him. Snowball is a messy eater as you can see from the picture above.

"Can we just get this done, fer cryin' out loud?"

Snowball is a very gentle bunny at shearing time, sitting quietly, holding very still, so it's done almost before I know it.

"Can I have the rest of that kale now?

"Hand it over and put me down!" She's not the happiest bunny to pose for pictures :-)

A Slight Shearing Delay

2011-01-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

The weather has taken another turn for the colder here on the Oregon Coast.

Temps are hovering not much above freezing during the day and below freezing at night. Hail, rain, wind and more rain lash the house at all hours. Not the best weather to be shearing bunnies, and so they will wait a bit longer in the hope that we'll get a warm week to do the deed.

Squeebles is still very angry about having to wear a coat. She shivers without it, though, so I will continue to torture her for another few days. I do not look forward to making six more coats (one for each, because I know they won't like to wear another rabbit's coat) and dealing with seven angry rabbits!

Send some warm weather this way, please!

First Shearing of the New Year

2011-01-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

The day dawned 40* with a light rain - the cold spell we've been having seems to be over for the time being. A look at the extended forecast shows that even nighttime temps will be above freezing, which means it's warm enough to start shearing bunnies!

Squeebles is the first to donate her coat to the Rabbit Food Fund this time. Here she is all groomed and ready to get started -

Doesn't look very happy, does she?

Squeebles is the friendliest of the REW girls, but also the most demonstrative when she's not happy, thumping and making grunting noises if she's disturbed. She's also the biggest food slut of the whole lot, standing up on her hind legs, climbing the cage for a papaya pellet. For such a food hound she is surprisingly svelte, never seeming to get fat like some other bunnies I can name (Cough, Macy, Cough)

The shearing was easy, as it always is with Squeebles, and I put her in the portable pen on the deck while I cleaned up and prepared to shear Macy Gray next. Then I noticed she was shivering. Poor thing! I left about 1/2" of hair on her, but it was evidently not enough. Sigh.

Here is a very pissed off bunny in her new polarfleece coat -

I thought the fit was pretty good, but when I checked on her just a minute ago she had worked one front foot into the neck opening. I may have to take it off and make the neck a bit smaller, but I figure it's a better idea to go a bit loose than end up strangling her...

Year of the Rabbit

2011-01-02T15:43:00.000-08:00

Woodblock Print by Tekiho

2011 is the Year of the Rabbit according to the Chinese zodiac. When I informed the buns of this little tidbit they were unsurprised. In fact, it seems that they think that every year is the year of the rabbit. They really are insufferable little brats sometimes.

The weather here has been wetter than normal and not conducive to bunny grooming or playing out on the lawn. The buns stay dry in their outdoor shelters, but they do get rather damp on occasion which makes them cranky and me concerned that they will get matts which are no fun for anybody. Today's inspection shows that everyone is pretty much matt-free and ready to have their coats removed next week, weather permitting.

Stay tuned for a Shop update. If you're in the market for some lovely angora fluff in white or shades of gray (sorry, but Molly Weasley's shiny fluff will be staying here :-) drop me a note and I'll set some aside for you.

The Rockin' Red Rabbit Ranch has a new namesake!

2010-10-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

Meet Sticks and Spokes Phoebe, aka Molly Weasley -

Betsy Baily of Salem, Oregon bred this lovely little satin doe who is only 6 months old. There were three red does (two satin and one French) and one red French buck to choose from at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival but the shine on this doe is just incredible and I couldn't leave the Festival without her.

Being a Satin angora, Molly will naturally shed out her coat a few times a year, but I elected to shear her today in the interest of speed since we're still getting acquainted.

It's hard to get over just how very polite this little bun is. Offerings of greens are met with a disbelieving look, almost as if she's saying, "for me? How nice! Thank you for the treats!" The older buns are all, "hand over the food and no one will get hurt, and make it quick!" Nary a please or a thank you from any of them.

"You want me to lay on my back? Sure!"

"Oh, thank you for cutting out that little matt! I feel so much better now."

She's so tiny!

The hair on her face and legs is a glowing reddish-orange, shiny and so fine. The shearing went off without a hitch and this is what she looks like now -

I put her on the yard for some exercise in the grass and tried to take some pictures, but every time I pointed the camera at her she turned away, too busy to bother -

So far Molly is proving to be a very sweet rabbit and I hope to have many years to collect her lovely fluff.

Etsy Shop Update

2010-06-28T21:45:00.001-07:00

Finally! New fluff listed in The Shop.

Mrs. Weasley died on Friday after a long and happy life. What better way to celebrate her than to play with Angora fluff all day? The result is new listings in The Shop. Come take a look and help support the buns! I have much, much more angora fiber just taking up space in the Wool Room, so if you don't see quite what you're looking for, drop me a note at catmccall at gmail dot com and we can discuss an easy way to move stash from my Wool Room to yours ;-)

Snowball

2010-01-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

The colored bunnies get a lot of attention on the blog. It's not that I'm more fond of them, because while they are fantastic personalities, the REW bunnies are just as interesting. It's only that it's really difficult to take a picture of a snowy white bunny with red eyes. Here's what happens when the sun is shining -

Can you see what side is up? Turns out the light in January here on the Oregon Coast is perfect for photographing the white bunnies. Here's Snowball before shearing the other day -

Snowball is a really sweet bunny, always eager for a treat, climbing the side of her cage to encourage me to feed her first. She's a joy to shear, too, sitting quietly and letting me get on with it. She's not too keen on being set on the table for pictures, though. I guess we need to practice more.

Here she is after her harecut -

A good day's work!

Shop (and bunny) Update!

2009-12-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

The weather here on the Oregon Coast has been quite cold for the last few days - daytime highs only about 20* the last couple of days and nights much colder - but the buns are happy enough outside. They are protected from the wind and are hopping about as usual. While they are fond of cooler temps, I am not! Their water freezes overnight which is a PITA, but easy enough to deal with in the big picture.

I put boxes in their cages the other night as the forecast was for high winds. I thought they might like to huddle inside them (like they did last year with much appreciation) but they were having none of it, especially Whitey, who pitched a fit and then flung herself right out of her cage! Luckily she ran away from the dog who was tethered nearby (she watches every move I make and would have snatched up that rabbit for me, I'm sure) and I caught her without injury. She is still mad, however, and I had to flatten her box and offer her special treats so that she would look at me. That bunny holds a grudge!

Finally got some angora fluff up for sale in The Shop!

Is this a cute idea, or no? A take-out style box filled with fluff and a tiny drop spindle. A tag completes the package, making a perfect gift for a spinner.

This particular fluff is from Macy Grey, my pretty, polite, calm and sober bunny. Never one for hysterics or holding a grudge (Whitey, I'm looking at you!) she's a joy to handle and shear, giving the most fluff by weight of any of the buns. That might be because she's so well behaved that I can always cut her closer and more consistently than the others.

I also listed a bit of alpaca fluff -

This box holds an ounce of fiber from Lucky, one of the lovely alpacas at Humming Angels in Lebanon -

The color is an awesome cinnamon and I have more available if you're interested. I've come to the conclusion that I'll never get all of the fine fibers I've been stashing spun up before I'm too old to see such fine yarn, so some of it has to go!

More to come in the next few days along with some handspun yarn - it's drying as I type and should be ready to measure tomorrow.

Finally, some progress with The Shop!

It's Shearing Time Again

2009-10-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Weasley Before:

Look at those ear tufts! I've spent a lot of time grooming them so they would grow out with no matts. Her coat came in almost all creme this time, but the red guard hairs are growing out for her next shearing.

My records show that I sheared her 12 weeks ago, almost to the day. I should have paid more attention to when her coat started to shed and sheared her right then because I think I lost a good portion of Prime fiber and there's a short undercoat growing in again. Maybe her haircuts need to be 10 or 11 weeks apart. It's hard to judge when you're a newbie ;-)

All in all it went well but took way too long. The wind was blowing (the forecast is for some nasty weather starting Monday night) and she was not pleased at being exposed and I was totally chilled by the time it was done. Notes for next time.

After pictures tomorrow if the weather holds. She's looking kinda spotty with the red hairs growing in randomly.

Diet Changes...

2009-09-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

The Real Food diet is going well. Too well, it seems. There have been some instances of Poopy Butt. A little research points to diet as the main culprit. Specifically that fat rabbits get poopy butts. Huh. So everyone is on a reduced diet (nothing too drastic to start with, never fear) with unlimited hay until we get the situation resolved. I've been spending too much time huddled over an upside down rabbit with a tiny pair of scissors lately...TMI? I could post a tutorial if anyone wants the nitty gritty details and if you aren't squeamish. Just leave a comment...

Prime Angora Fiber for Sale on Etsy

2009-09-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

I've finally gotten organized and listed some fluff in my Etsy shop.

Here's Mrs. Weasley's offering -

And Studley's -

More will be coming soon, and I have a bunch sitting around in bags, so if you're interested in getting your hands into some of this luxury fiber, drop me a note at catmccall at gmail dot com and tell me what you want ;-)

Red gets her coat taken away

2009-07-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

That's what Red (Mrs. Weasley) looked like before. She was shedding out bits of hair and the ends were getting really dirty, so I decided to take it off. The length was well over 3" for the prime coat and even her belly was nearly 3" long, thick and fine. My notes show that I sheared her last 11 weeks ago, so I guess we're on schedule, but it feels like this shearing is early.

Here we are during the process:

Aren't I a fashion statement? Shearing took place in the back yard on top of the (empty) dog kennel, so no neighbors saw me in all my color clashing glory. My family, of course, is used to this sort of thing. Why bother to match when you know you're not going anywhere and your clothes will have rabbit hair and poop on them when you're done? Functionality over fashion, I say! It's not like the rabbit cares...

No After pictures because my back was killing me - I just moved on to the next chore.

So, I think this is a good time to talk about how the Real Food diet is going. We settled on the following mix:

6 parts whole oats
4 parts commercial pellets (18% protein)
1 part black oil sunflower seeds
1 part rolled barley
1 part wheat berries
and free-choice orchard grass hay at all times. We tried some cheaper hay, but the bunnies were having none of it so we put it to other uses.

All measures are by volume, not weight. I haven't done a cost analysis yet but will report back when I do. The initial buy of barley, wheat and sunflower seeds seemed high, but they will last a lot longer than the oats and pellets. Seven rabbits were eating one bag of pellets (50 pounds) every 10 days, at a cost of $16.00 per bag, and each rabbit was cleaning up at least a cup of pellets a day. With the new mix, they eat a bit less than a cup each.

All of the rabbits are happy with the new diet and are in good weight. A bit heavy, perhaps, but I'm not breeding them, so they don't need to be lean and mean. Except for Studley - he would prefer only sunflower seeds in his dish, thankyouverymuch, and digs through the dish, tossing out the pellets until all of the sunflower seeds are gone and then he eats the rest. Bad bunny!

I also give them greens from the yard and/or garden on a nearly daily basis which they all love. Chard is a current favorite, as are blackberry leaves.

As far as wool production is concerned, I think it's up. I still need to weigh how much fiber Red produced, but I'm betting it's better than the last shearing. I do know it's longer and seems thicker, at least on her belly. All of the rabbits are ready to be shorn 2-3 weeks early, with only Macy and Studley still a bit short, but they are last on the shearing list. The white rabbits are blowing bits of their coats and have needed a bit more grooming than before the last shearing. I'll get to them this week, Macy and Studley next week.

All of the buns are eager and happy at feeding time and seem to have better attitudes than when they were getting only pellets. Weather may have something to do with it - we haven't had a Summer here, so temps are in the low 60's, pretty ideal for angora rabbits. It's been dry for the last few weeks with some pretty high winds, but they are protected in any case. All in all, I'd say they have a good life right now. If they were still in the Valley they would be broiling in their heavy coats and I would be putting frozen water bottles in their cages twice a day.

A Word of Caution

2009-06-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

If your Dory-Man mows the lawn and the area where the blackberries grow, be sure to rake before putting angora rabbits in near-full coat out in their pens for a bit of sun. Yeah. Their bellies will pick up every stray burr and thorn and loose sticky leaf and you will spend a very long time trying to get the mess put to rights. The rabbits will not be pleased by your inexperience and will make the whole process miserable.

We Have Video!

2009-05-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

We now have video capabilities here at the Rockin' Red Rabbit Ranch! Check out Mrs. Weasley in the rabbit yard:

Wait until we get sound!

Update: We figured out the sound thing. Here's Studley being blown away:

Exercise Pens

2009-04-27T22:24:00.001-07:00

I answered an ad on CraigsList the other day. A woman was looking to buy a pen to exercise her bunnies on the yard and wanted to know if anyone had a used one they were willing to part with.

Being cheap...Scotch...frugal (whatever) I e-mailed her with my solution to this problem. I bought a roll of 1" x 2" X 24" tall wire used to build rabbit cages. I figure I'll need to do some re-building sooner or later, so if my idea didn't work I wouldn't be out any money. The wire comes in rolls 25' long, and I cut it in half so I could have two bunnies at a time out taking the air. I form them into circles and secure with a bungee cord.

As you can see, the rabbits can stand up all the way and not get the idea (knock wood!) that they can jump over the top. The wire rolls up for storage, the bungee holding it all together so it won't get used for something else. Easy, cheap, functional, and the rabbits seem to like their time spend on solid ground. As an added bonus, the pens can be moved around the yard to where the dandelions are growing and the rabbits munch them right down.

Of course, these pens will not keep a determined rabbit contained - some rabbits will dig right under them, or hop over, or just knock the wire down and make their escape, so do supervise them and be sure they won't be threatened by dogs or other predators. Don't be surprised if your neighbors stare and shake their heads at your folly.

Tonsured Bunnies

2009-04-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Here's Macy Gray getting her "prime" coat clipped. She grows an amazing long coat, and even the belly hair is nice enough to keep for spinning. She had by far the best coat of the bunnies this shearing. Can't wait to start spinning it up.

Here's Studley getting his belly trimmed:

Look at that face!

I wish we could get a picture of his beautiful brown eyes without the red from the flash. They really aren't demon bunnies, I just don't know enough about photoshop to doctor up the pictures.

All seven buns are now sheared and starting to grow out their next coat. Dory-Man cleaned the cages with soap and water, patiently moving each rabbit out of its cage and into the yard and back again while I clipped. Studley was a total jerk, so I didn't set any speed records, but he doesn't look quite so much like I used a lawn mower to shear him, either, so I'm calling it a victory. No bunnies, or people, were harmed. Dory-Man did suffer some minor cuts from the cages, but the bunnies behaved themselves.

It's That Time Again...

2009-04-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

That's right - shearing time! The white buns are shedding out bits of fur left, right and center and dragging around long tails of hair, so it has to come off.

I had naively thought that one just sheared every 90 days, like clockwork, and all would be well.

I thought that the German angoras would hold their coats, waiting for me to shear at the right length, no muss, no fuss, but I was so very wrong.

Read Amy Spang's blog post to see how it should be done. Sigh. So much to learn!

Weasley had shed out a patch of hair on the top of her back (the darker patch in the photo shows the new coat) with much hair willing to be pulled out -

I clipped her with scissors instead of plucking, but may try plucking at some later time.

All in all, these two buns were easier to shear than last time, taking just over an hour each. I managed to get them shorter than the last shearing, and more evenly trimmed. Neither had any matts, but Whitey's butt was a bit messy. Weekly washing and a slight food change will help with that, I hope. Weasley was her usual curious self, looking all around to see what other interesting things might be happening. She is quite a character!

More shearing this weekend!

Shearing Demo!

2009-03-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the shearing demo on the IAGARB Blog. Very good info!

Romeo and Juliet

2009-03-21T17:02:00.001-07:00

Mrs. Weasley on the left, Studley on the right. Contemplating breeding these two buns in a month or so. Mrs. Weasley is likely French, and Studley is French/German. Both have great color and great fiber and wonderful personalities. Any reason not to?

The Disappearance of Real Food

2009-03-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wrote about changing the diet of my Angora rabbits from commercial pellets to a more natural mix of grains based on a recipe by the late Oren Reynolds, a pioneer in documenting rabbit care and feeding, known as Mr. Arba for his work with the American Rabbit Breeders Association. You can read a bit about him in the newsletter on the front page of the link above. Oren's feed formula is still being used today by some breeders, but every search link I followed when looking for the perfect feed for my rabbits led me to commercial pelletized food.

Fine and dandy. It is easy - just measure out the pellets based on rabbit weight and age, drop them in the feeder and walk away. Winning show results to follow in due time. The feed is available at any feed store in handy 50 pound bags. What's not to like?

And then I started thinking about food. Real Food. Dory-Man has always been an advocate of Real Food and he's rubbing off on me ;-) Before Dory-Man (BDM) I ate a lot of junk. I'm not going to lie, I still eat some junk, but now I put some actual thought into what I'm eating and generally opt for something Real over junk food. I still love a Pepsi, and I rarely turn down chocolate, but I no longer eat potato chips on a daily basis. I do still regard toast and tea as the perfect meal.

All of this pondering has taken me in a new direction when thinking of food. The recent recalls of everything from peanut products to pet food scares the shit out of me. Industrial Food is broken. We are all at risk if we eat large amounts of it. The hardest part is that Industrial Food is cheaper, easier, and advertised everywhere we turn. Are we starting to live Soylent Green? Just try to find a dog or cat food that doesn't list "animal products" on its label. I'm not talking about the "fancy" foods that you can buy from the vet or expensive pet store, but the regular foods found at the grocery store that most people buy to feed their pets.

By feeding our livestock pelletized food, are we feeding ourselves pelletized food?

Looking at the ingredient list on the rabbit feed, I see that the third ingredient is "grain products." What exactly does that mean? I'm willing to bet that I can't find out. I'm also willing to bet that "grain products" is a term widely defined as whatever is available at the time of manufacture.

There are a total of 36 ingredients on the label. Of those 36, I can readily identify: sun cured alfalfa, wheat middlings, cane molasses, salt, soybean oil, and 3 flavorings - essential oil of orange, vanillin and fenugreek flavor. This troubles me. I realize that they're just rabbits, but *I* certainly don't want to eat a bunch of chemical additives and flavorings, so why would I feed them to my bunnies? The fact that most of them translate into man-made "vitamins" is a little scary, too. That our livestock animals are fed worthless bulk supplemented with chemicals to simulate the Real Food that they would normally find in the wild should worry everyone. What if my rabbits were eaten by people? How would these "supplements" translate in my body?

The majority of the feed we use for our animals is touted as a "complete diet." We humans don't have a "complete diet" yet, but are we headed there? Will Real Food disappear in the near future? We're already pretty divorced from our food sources - meat comes in plastic packaging from the store, eggs in little cartons, cheese wrapped in plastic, veggies are shipped from all over the world. And that's if we take the food home and cook it ourselves. What do you think is in fast food? Not a whole lot of Real Food, that's for sure! We are a generation brainwashed to put garbage into our bodies and the result is a nation with a huge obesity problem, diabetes in every family and cancer rates not seen in the rest of the world. And a generation that doesn't know how to cook.

How many of us have raised and butchered a cow? I know I haven't. So how do I know what was in that cow's feed? Remember the Mad Cow panic? What about bird flu? How is NAIS (just one homesteader's views) going to affect the small farmer/breeder? Am I poisoning my cats and dogs with commercial food? Am I poisoning myself? Am I just over reacting?

How can I ensure that the food I eat is wholesome and untainted? The only way is to produce it myself or procure it from people I trust: veggies from the garden, eggs and meat from reliable sources, farmer's markets for what I can't grow myself. Of course, this does mean a lot of work, and cooking from scratch at the end of it all, preserving what can be preserved, eating right away what can't. In short, a turning back to homestead roots. With the economy in such bad shape, I think we're all thinking along the same lines. If you're not, you should be.

Thank you for tuning in to this little look into my cluttered brain ;-) Saner posts to follow...

Feeding Rabbits

2009-03-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

The price of rabbit feed has gone up twice in the few short months I've had the rabbits. They need a feed with 18% protein, and it's not cheap! The price of dog food jumped 25%, too, but that's a subject for another post.

So I've been researching rabbit feed. Angoras have been around longer than pelleted feed, and people have been raising rabbits for meat for hundreds of years. Maybe longer. Surely they got good results or rabbits would have been abandoned as livestock.

I lurk on the Homesteading Today forum, where, among many interesting topics, they discuss raising rabbits for profit. Many of the forum members are very experienced, and they are willing to share their knowledge, and provide links for anyone to form their own opinions. Of course, they are mostly talking about meat rabbits, but the info is relevant no matter your reason for keeping rabbits.

Many of the people on this forum are trying to raise all of their rabbit food this year as the price of feed rises all over the country and recalls become more and more common. It's not possible for everyone, but anyone can at least supplement their pellets with easy to grow greens and veggies.

The general consensus is that a varied diet, made up of grains with known protein content supplemented with hay and greens (in season) will put the weight on babies and keep nursing does in the best condition with the least amount of money out of pocket. Bucks seem to do their job no matter what, and are mentioned last on any priority list ;-)

Here's a breakdown of protein content of various grains recommended by the late Oren Reynolds, a pioneer in the world of raising rabbits:

GRAIN PARTS PROTEIN % TOTAL
Oats 6 x 14.0 = 84.0
Wheat 1 x 12.5 = 12.5
Sunflower seed 1 x 26.3 = 26.3
Barley 1 x 12.3 = 12.3
Alfalfa hay 4 x 20.0 = 80.0
TOTALS 13 215.1

215.1 ÷ 13.0 = 16.5% protein

Here's a side-by-side visual comparison:

Commercial pellets on the left, Oren's recipe on the right. What looks more appetizing?

I plan to introduce other Real Foods to the rabbits gradually, cutting down the amount of pellets they get each day, at least through the Spring and Summer months, just to see how well they do. Right now they each get about one cup of pellets and all the good orchard hay they can eat every day. Not every rabbit eats all of their pellets each day, so Dory-Man adjusts the amounts accordingly, as he's their primary caretaker. I need to weigh them to know for sure, but they seem a bit heavy right now, certainly heavier than they were when I first took over their care. They aren't overweight by any means, but neither are they particularly lean ;-) There are strict weight guidelines for angoras in the show "ring" which I need to look up again to judge how their feeding program is going. Hair quality seems to be good, and they are all happy, so we must be doing something right!

We've already started adding oats to their feed, more as a treat than anything else, and Studley has very clearly shown what his preference is - he digs through his feed bin, tossing out the pellets to get to the oats.

Part Two tommorrow!

Sunday Fluff

2009-03-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

Studley hopes you're having as good a weekend as he is. His new view is of this lovely girl:

Mrs. Weasley is always eager to get out into the big world, even if Studley is right across the aisle and very eager to get to know her. Soon, my pretties, soon!

Moving Day!

2009-02-24T12:03:00.000-08:00

The bunnies have been moved to the beach! Here they are hanging out under the roof that Dory-Man built. They're on the East side of the house, away from the weather and stayed high and dry during the storm that blew in last night. There's a 4-foot fence all around with a gate at either end to keep the dogs and critters out and their new view is of trees instead of each other as it was on the deck at the valley house. A big improvement, I'd say! I gave each of them a piece of cardboard to throw around in their cages, and most of them were doing just that, hence the lack of actual rabbits in the picture. They're in there, just busy and not in the mood for a photo op.

Thank you, Dory-Man for indulging my crazy hobbies!

All Rabbits All the Time...

2009-02-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

Here's Steve before:

Steve is a 98% German chinchilla buck. Pretty, no? The hairs on his face are dark gray tipped with white and make him look quite distinguished. Of all the rabbits, I was most anxious about clipping Steve because he's rather shy and seems to panic easily. Now that I've handled him a bit, I think that it's not panic but irritation and the desire to do his own thing. Like climb off the "grooming table." He wasn't naughty exactly, but he really wanted to wander off and do his own thing. But I persevered and here he is, 5 ounces lighter:

I could have ended up with more prime fiber, but he was a bit squirmy and I was afraid of cutting him, so I rushed things a bit to get it over with. He has forgiven me and even seems friendlier today.

Dancing with bunnies

2009-02-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

Here's Mrs. Weasley before:

This little doe is quite a character! She had even more hair than Studley, all of it a lovely fawn color. Truthfully, I was waiting to trim her until I felt more confident so I could get as much "good" wool off of her as possible. Selfish? Maybe, but the quality of this fiber is truly outstanding! She has tattoos in both ears, so I think she is a pedigreed bunny - maybe French? No signs of her coat molting, so I don't really know. The hair was well over 3 inches long, compared to Studley's 2.5" - 3" and the white girls less than 3". I may have to stagger my shearings as I find out who grows hair the fastest.

Mrs. Weasley is a very curious bunny, standing up on her hind legs to sniff at my jacket and look at my face, even nibbling on my zipper when I held her to clip her nails. Unlike the other rabbits, she seems to be very aware of the clipping and wanting to get it over with - she stood up to let me trim around the sides of her belly and legs, even lifting her chin so I could trim her ruff. I only had to turn her over to trim a strip down the center of her belly. It was kind of eerie after the other rabbits not really paying a whole lot of attention to what I was doing.

Here she is after her trim:

Not bad, eh? Getting faster, too - only a bit over an hour total.

Macy Gray is next, so stay tuned!

Studley gets a haircut

2009-02-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

Here's what he looked like before:

My notes say he's half French and half German. There's quite a bit of difference between him and the German girls - his hair is much finer and seems more dense with no real guard hairs.

Kaire came over to help out and Studley was really patient with our fumbling, not getting too fidgety until the very end - quite a contrast to the white rabbits.

Here he is after his trim:

He seems quite happy to have all that hair off. I found a couple of mats behind his elbows, but otherwise his wool was in great shape.

Second Verse, Same as the First

2009-02-01T11:53:00.000-08:00

Here's what Squeebles looked like before her haircut:

This is the smallest of the ruby-eyed white rabbits, and the runt of the litter. When she has all of her hair, it's pretty hard to tell how much smaller she is than her sisters, but clipped down the difference is obvious:

Although she is the first bunny to stomp her feet and make grunting noises at every little disturbance, once out of her cage she's just a big teddy bear, giving us no trouble clipping her at all. The hair came off and we think she looks even better than the other two, proving the old adage that practice makes perfect.

Squeebles is always eager for a treat and will stand up on her hind legs to get my attention and try to be first for a slice of banana. She's the only white rabbit that likes broccoli, and she really loves to tear up cardboard. I put some balled up paper in her cage last night and she had a great time shredding it and tossing it around until the wee hours of the morning. Now, however, she's pouting and trying to put her hair to rights after we had our smelly human hands all over her.

Horse update:

Janice from the Rockin' Red Ranch in Sweet Home came out today to pick up Cami and Buddy to stay at her place. They've both been there before and seemed happy to go back, loading up into the trailer eagerly. Now they have a very large pasture with lots of old friends, and not a stall in sight.

Janice informed me that she expects me to be going out there "all the time" to ride "my" horses. The owner of the boarding stable called me up today to invite me to ride one of her horses whenever I want to. Wish I'd figured out years ago that people will let me ride their horses without having to abuse my shoulder shoveling shit and flinging hay!

Naked Bunnies!

2009-01-31T11:52:00.000-08:00

How many Google hits do you figure that title will get me?

I don't have a picture of Whitey before, since I was trying to do this little chore by myself, but here she is after:

I don't know, Arin, she doesn't seem like a were-rabbit...It really went quite well, despite my lack of knowledge and Whitey's lack of interest in being clipped. I used a very small pair of scissors and my lap and it took almost two hours to get her 90% shorn. Dory-Man and I finished up the job today, making quick work of the final bits and clipping her nails. With Dory-Man holding her, even the nail clipping went off without a hitch. The man really has a touch with animals.

I find it amazing how jumpy these rabbits are when trying to get them out of their cages and how very calm they are once in my arms. They settle down quickly, seeming to enjoy the attention and petting. I'm sure getting those long coats off makes them happy, too, as they can groom themselves so much more efficiently.

Here's Snowball before:

Her hair was nearly three inches long, and quite matted at the back end. It went from "fine" to "oh, my god!" dirty in less than two weeks. Having the horse situation taking all of my "spare" time meant that these two rabbits went too long between shearings, but rest assured it won't happen again, and the remaining five rabbits have no such problems. I did read that the German angoras tend to get messy butts much more than the French or English, but I plan on turning them over every week and keeping the hair short, short, short!

Here's Snowball after:

Yes, that's Dory-Man using my best sewing shears to cut hair off a rabbit! He scoffed at my tiny scissors and I didn't have anything else that had a good enough edge to do the job, so out came the good shears. Sigh. The sacrifices we make! He had a Bouvier des Flandres dog many years ago that needed to be clipped each year, and it always took over two hours, so a tiny bunny seemed easy for him, and with the larger shears he made quick work of it.

Snowball was an easy bunny to shear. I had planned on starting with her, but she refused to be caught in her cage (I know! I'm a wuss!) and so Whitey went first. Once on the table (the top of the dog kennel - double use at its best!) she was very quiet and seemed to fall asleep. Oh, my aching back now!

Tune in tomorrow for an update on the horse situation and another white bunny sheared. Then it's on to the colored bunnies! All excitement all the time around here between the poop and the hair.

First bunny shearing scheduled...

2009-01-28T11:52:00.000-08:00

For tonight, so tune in for our full-coverage broadcast! Not really. I'll post some pictures and commentary after the deed is done.

Blog posts remind me that the rabbits arrived on November 22, and they had more than an inch of hair at that time, so two months growth equals over 3" and time to harvest. The rest of this year's shearings will be the end of April, July, and October. July's shearing may have to be earlier if the weather is getting hot, and I may take Steve and one of the white rabbits to the angora workshop in Silverton at the beginning of April where I can shear them in front of other IAGARB members and get an official evaluation of their body and wool types. I can take them back 90 days later for another official shearing to see just how much wool they produce. There are so many ways to be involved with these fanciful creatures!

Tonight's victim? Snowball, who has a very dirty butt. The Book says that it's not too cold, and that in Germany, angora rabbits are shorn to 3mm in the Winter (!!!) I was planning on just trimming up her back end, but I figure, why not? Her hair is quite long and dense and I might as well get started, since I have six more to shear in the next couple of weeks. I'll clip her toenails, too, so that should give me ample opportunities to get scratched and bitten :-) I tried to scoop her out of her cage last night and she thumped, made a grunty noise and acted like she was going to bite. Cranky! It was dinner time, though, so I'll avoid that situation by getting to it before dinner is due and see how it goes.

Wish me luck!

Studley

2009-01-20T11:51:00.000-08:00

This is Studley, one of the two angora bucks. He's quite friendly, but he does try to pee on the dogs when they are on the deck. Who knew the bucks could aim? As soon as I get him out of his cage and onto the table he flattens himself out and stays still as a statue.

You can see his eyes better in the shot above. He has more facial hair now and his eyes are impossible to photograph. He seems to like being brushed and holds very still for mats to be cut out of his hair. He's a very personable bunny, loves attention and is quite the ladies man. Too bad the ladies don't see his charm. Once the weather warms up I plan to breed him to Mrs. Weasley and hopefully I'll end up with a litter of pretty colored bunnies. Place your orders now!

Mrs. Weasley

2008-12-16T11:48:00.000-08:00

The weather here is fucking cold! No other way to describe it. The entire town is frozen over. We had about an inch of snow, but it melted off just in time for this Arctic cold snap. Rain/freezing rain/snow are predicted for tomorrow (it's Oregon - we regularly have extreme conditions all in one day) with even more cold, cold, cold. So, I expect it will be freezing rain on the way to work, followed by regular rain to get everything nice and wet, and then a good hard freeze to turn everything into a skating rink.

The bunnies are not concerned about this cold, happily playing with their toys, munching their hay (who knew it would be so loud?!?) and partying all night long. I just hope it warms up enough when the time comes to shear them.

This is Mrs. Weasley -

Actually, she was originally named for "one of the minor characters" from Harry Potter, but no one remembers which one, so I dubbed her Mrs. Weasley. Surely she must be a Weasley with that red hair, right? Look at that face!

This is probably the friendliest of the bunnies, always first in line for a treat or a pet, always interested in whatever the people are doing on the deck. The weather was pretty nice a couple of weekends ago and Dory-Man agreed to be my photographer, so I took Mrs. W out of her cage for a bit of grooming and a photo shoot.

All in all I think she enjoyed being brushed, but she might have enjoyed running free more. As you can see, my grip was maybe a bit tighter than it really needed to be (and please ignore the filthy, stained barn coat,) but I didn't want to have her leap off the stand and under the deck rail and into the yard where who knows what I would have to do to entice her back. I'm working on some sort of enclosure for the deck so they can get out for some exercise in controlled conditions.

Brrrrr.....

Bunnies on Tuesday

2008-12-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

I sure hope I can get some sleep this week.

Three of the buns have these perforated plastic trays in their cages so they don't have to sit on the wire all the time. Being rather soft of heart (and head) I thought that the other four might like something to sit on too, so I put some cardboard trays (like those you get at the nursery for carrying plants around on as you make your way to the register) into their cages.

Steve freaked out, pushed his to the far side of his (double-sized) cage and refused to go near it.

Whitey the Were Rabbit merely looked at it, said, "eh," and went back to sleep.

Snowball thumped her feet on the bottom of the cage, the cardboard and her hay tube, signaling (I guess) her displeasure about something new being brought into her space.

Squeebles, however, was overcome with joy at the addition of this grand new toy. She seized it in her mouth and began beating it against the sides of her cage, much to the horror of her nearest neighbor, Snowball. She clawed, she chewed, she jumped and pushed and flung. Then she settled down to her dinner and I thought she was done. Not so. She woke me up several times in the night, gleefully playing with that damned piece of recycling. How do I know she was playing? I got up to check on her every. single. time. until I was convinced that nothing was wreaking havoc on the deck. The triple cage was swaying so hard it was banging against the posts. Obviously the ropes need to be tightened so it can't move so much. Sheesh. I think Squeebles needs to get out more...

The Queen of the Known Universe has been stuck to me like Velcro for the last few days and it makes getting anything done very difficult. She's behaving like a toddler, crying every time I put her down. I woke up in the wee hours this morning, laying on my back, cat draped over my neck, thinking that she was dead. I swear I couldn't hear or feel her breathing. She was really pissed off when I tweaked her tail while trying to curl her up and get her off me for the burial. Wishful thinking or precognition?

Add in a few nightmares of indistinct content and you have my week so far.

Yawn.

And...

2008-11-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

They're here!

Seven angora rabbits have joined the menagerie at Casa Cat. Why, yes, I am insane, why do you ask?

Dory-Man and I picked them up Friday evening. Seven boxes crammed into my tiny car, the cages on the Big Truck. The bunnies accepted being in boxes for several hours surprisingly well - if they'd been cats it would have been an unpleasant journey!

We were up very late hanging cages on the deck and settling the bunnies back in them. The dogs went wild, not knowing where to look first, at the bunnies or at the pellets on the floor, which started to be produced at an alarming rate. Those bunnies pretty much "held it" all the time they were in boxes.

Now, I've had horses for years, so I know a bit about manure production. A 1000 pound horse will produce a wheel barrow full of manure every. single. day. A seven pound rabbit will produce the same amount per day, relatively speaking. I really had no idea!

The harsh light of morning made it apparent that some sort of Poop Containment System would have to be invented, and that was how we spent Saturday. What you see above is what we came up with on short notice with limited materials. We are nothing if not creative!

The location of the cages is temporary - obviously they can't stay on the deck hanging over the dogs, but building them a more permanent home will have to wait for awhile. We plan to put them on the sheltered side of the house in a long line, outside of the dog fence and away from most weather.

More details and profiles of each bunny will be coming soon. For the moment, they are all settled for the night with a dish full of pellets and a loo tube full of hay. Very interesting creatures, bunnies.