Rabbit update

They are doing great. We currently have about 32 kits in the barn!

Here is one litter. It's 4 broken black Mini Rex and 1 solid black Mini Rex. They are about 3 weeks old in this picture and are growing good. I hope to get some show kits from this litter. This doe has 1 leg, and has produced a daughter with now 1 leg! So we are hoping for some winners in this litter! *Fingers crossed*

Mikamy Meadows

Mikamy Meadows

Amy Mattingly of West Liberty, Ohio has been a wonderful help in my project for my Urban Homesteading. She is letting me work alongside her on her projects and teaching me more about organic gardening, soap making, candles, ect. 


Although I've only worked with her a few times, I am really enjoying it. She is such a nice person to know and I so look forward to getting to know her better!! 


Please, please, take a look at her site and consider some of her products. She has a wonderful selection and is so knowledgeable. 


Here are some picture's of her Guinea Fowl. 

The babies have landed!

We now have 10 snug kits. Our beautiful doe, Shesta, from my later post delivered yesterday 5 little kits. Then today another one of my does, Ginger, kindled 5 kits as well. Here are the babies from Shesta, as I have yet to take picture's of Gingers litter.

Around the farm everything is going well. Recently I've decided to take up a small hobby of fixing up old furniture and making things from window frames, ect. (picture's will come later). I, at the current moment, am fixing up a pair of old window shutters to become a pretty garden display.

I have a demonstration coming up for 4H in one month and I am pulling together those details. My demonstration will be titled "A trip to the Farmers Market", where I will teach my group about the farmers market and things sold/bought there. I have many wonderful ideas and I'll post picture's once I am done!

I'm trying to plan a trip to a beef cattle farm at the moment  too. 

I think this is all for the update right now. Hopefully everyone is enjoying reading my blog! I know, I don't post often. :(

The girl being, Me

Lambs

A HUGE thank you to Woodland Dorsets, the Woods family for giving me a tour of their lovely farm and showing me their animals to help with part of my 4H project!! 

They maintained a herd of about 20 animals, all very well kept and healthy. This family raises and shows them, but was more than welcome to let me ask questions about lambs in general. Thanks again Woods family!! :D

Rabbits

Well rabbits in our barn are ready to kindle soon, and here is one of our little broken black Mini Rex does, Shesta preparing her nesting box. She is due next Thursday and she's always been a good Dam for me! We also have 4 other does due on the same day, one doe due the next day and then we have 8 does due early next month.

These rabbits do not produce meat for us, they are my show animals and they produce manure for the garden. I sell the non-showable animals to a cull man and he pays me for them. With that money, I pay for my herds feed.

Rabbits

It's now spring, and rabbits in our barn are being bought, being sold, and being born (yay!)

We’ve got someone coming to pick up some rabbits this week. 4 Mini Rex to be exact. We also sold our foundation herd buck to someone living in Canada on Friday. We’ll miss the little guy, but he’s done so much work in our barn over the years, practically everything I have comes from him. It’s bitter sweet to see him go, but I know he’ll be just fine in Ontario. 

Saturday I spend in the barn breeding a few brood does. I now have three castor does bred, and 2 black does bred. I've gout about 4 more does I want to get bred in about 3 weeks though. 

We also acquired some more New Zealand white's on Sunday. I’ve raised them before, but got out about 2 years ago, fall 2008 actually. It being my last year in 4H though I really wanted to raise a Pen of 3, and take some commercial singles to fair. These two does and one buck will be bred next month to produce three month old babies for my fairs Pen of 3.

I’ve shown commercial and fancy at the fair. For recent winnings we took Fancy and Commercial Grand Champion in 2008. We didn’t do a Pen of 3 that year. Then last year (2009) we took Reserve Grand Champion Fancy, and we didn’t take a Pen of 3 or commercial due to my selling out in the fall of 2008. 

Here are the new additions, although the pictures are not great because all three are still very fidgety being in the new barn.

Doe #1     

                                                            Doe #2

 

Buck

I already like them a fair amount, and once fair is over I think I will continue to use them to produce some meat and to sell the off spring. I know the buck looks long in the picture, he really isn’t though. He was having some issues with having his head held. His first time being on my show table, I think he wanted to have a look around! :P He’s a cute little (big) guy! I'd guess them each weighting about 12 pounds or so. Full grown New Zealands. Oh, how I missed having them in the barn. I found it strange last night walking into the barn to see them hoping around. Since the past two years my barn has only been filled with small black and castor rabbits.

Happy Spring!!! It's raining here, but still a lovely change from that dreadful winter we had here. 

-That girl being, me