Two of the rabbit boards that I am on reported this PETA activity.

Rabbit harvest canceled after Facebook outcry.

I have to admit to some hesitancy is posting my dismay about the cancellation of this event.

People might so easily misinterpret my dismay.

My dismay is based on a couple of things.

1. the knowledge that it is perfectly lawful to butcher (harvest) rabbits.  It fits the mandate of the group that was hosting it.

2. terrorists have won another battle.  and I strongly dislike terrorists winning.  

Seriously.

In this country and in the our neighbouring country it is LEGAL to use animals for food.  Doesn't matter if they are cute and furry, or if they are ugly.  Or big or small or cute only when they are little (aka calves and pigs and chickens).  it does not matter.  ALL that is required is that you do so humanely.

This workshop was designed to teach people how to HUMANELY dispatch a food animal.

yes, rabbits make excellent pets.
BUT that's the point of this.

The point is people used freedom of speech to terrorize.  They threatened to do serious damage to those involved.  That is the act of an terrorist.   Terrorists like those who kill people to make a point.  Terrorists who bomb houses of researchers,   Terrorists who scare the offspring of people in the agricultural industry.  PETA type folks are TERRORISTS.

They are nothing less than that.

Be all for animal welfare and the good and proper use of animals...whether they be pets, livestock. show animals, agility partners, companion animal, service animal or what have you.  Treat the animals under your care well.  AND STAND UP FOR YOURSELF.

People in California have almost lost the right to sell an animal... why.. because the terrorists are VERY good at what they do.

Rabbit breeders are starting to not allow people onto their properties all over the place .. why?  because all it takes is ONE person not liking something you do and they call Animal care and control on you who guess what??? are almost ALL buying into the PETA type mentality.  Do it MY way or ELSE.  

There are a mirade and one way to raise animals.

ALL that matters is
1. are they fed sufficient amounts of food daily.
2. are they housed in a way to get an appropriate amount of exercise?
3. are they kept clean?
4. are the ill taken care or promptly dispatched?

that's what matters folks.
Not whether or not they are kenneled, raised on wire or solid flooring, whether they help you see or just keep you company, doesn't matter if they feed you, house you, or provide a living for you.

Take good care of them.
Stand up for your rights.
Cause if you don't.... you may be next.  YOU may lose your right to own a pet because at the end of the day....that's what PETA wants.  for YOU to NEVER EVER own or use an animal in anyway shape or form.   That's there bottom line.

Research it.  Learn it.  

For the past two years I've been wanting to label my rabbit cages.

I've thought of a variety of ways to do it but have generally been stymied by the fact that my rabbits are not static. I move them from cage to cage frequently. I sell off older stock. I keep more younger stock than I need so I can grow them out. So having a name stuck to a cage seems fairly pointless.

For a while I used shower curtain rings with poker chips. They were colour coded by gender, as well has have a chip per half cup food eaten. I could easily move them from cage to cage AND the chips were easily replaced if I had to change out a name. VOILA! Thought my problem solved. Forgot to consider... some rabbits thought they were for tugging on (not so good for teeth). They rusted. The chips occasionally broke. Sometimes I couldn't reach the drill (hand press type) to make new chips so I got behind. NOT what I wanted at all.

So I did some more thinking.

When I rebuilt my cage I hung these metal things to each cage (actually my seven year old did that job).

I put a white envelope label on them and wrote on the name.

Lovely! (so I thought) I could put coloured stars on to denote how much they got to eat. Everyone had a name tag.

It didn't take long and...I ended up with this

again, not what I wanted.

So i was out in the store about a month ago and saw this

a big roll of magnetic tape. Only $6. Cool.
I snatched that up.

Went to the dollar store and found some small envelope labels.
Thought about it for a while, practiced with some labels to see what I wanted on them.

Decided on the following
name, month/year birth
parents(mom/dad)

Safe from pee damage/won't rust.
Easy to replace.
Easy to make (son can help with cutting)
Easy peasy to put on.

I know at a glance which of the growers (the polish all look quite similar) is who and who they are from so I can watch my inbreeding coefficient. I can tell people when they come over how old certain rabbits are. It's just SO easy. 

I'm pleased. Mind...today is the first day of having them so I'll have to give an update in a month or so to see how they hold up. But so far, I have high hopes.

They only thing I can't do is label the outside cages...need to think on that some further. I'd like something similar but just haven't gotten it figured yet.

Non-pedigreed holland lop doe, throws colour in her litters.

$30 each.

$30 unless otherwise noted.

$20 unless otherwise noted.

Six kits, a mix of girls and boys.

Girls in pinks, boys in red.

This litter has had nary a hiccup.  Been quite pleased watching them growing up.

Tonight nail trims were done of almost all the rabbits.. I only have Biscuit left to do.   I also took pictures of EVERYONE (with of course the exception of Biscuit).   Hopefully tomorrow morning I can take a pic of her and clip her nails as well.

some random pics below.

in the midst of it all I had some people just drop by to ask if I had any guinea pigs for sale.  Sure I said.. I have two girls and two boys.   They wanted the two girls and then just before they headed off asked if any of the older ones were for sale, I said YUP, so I sent them home with Skipper.   She makes talkative babies which is what they like, she may be preggers so I sold her for pregnant pig prices.

Lem, who has been sold once, not picked up.  Pending once, truck blew up on the buyer, so unable to come.   Lem, has gone to a new home.   He's been a lovely boy here.  Started life being skittery at times, but settled well as he matured.

He's now off to a new home with 10 girlfriends waiting for him.   He'll be a fine working rabbit.

Went into the rabbitry this morning and found a pile of blood under Rosie's cage this morning which freaked me out a bit.  Checked her over from head to toe and saw absolutely NO reason for it.   so I'm like huh?  what's with this?

Then a couple of days of days ago I had a wee guinea pig pup in the large female cage and said.. WHO ARE YOU?  and where did you come from?   I went through the list of you just had pups, you couldn't possibly be the one, who else...and settled on Fran or Temp...and it ended up being Temp though for a fair bit I thought it was Fran...and then a day later we have another pup and it's like ACK!!!!! who is doing this.  they both nurse off  Temp so I'm assuming they are both hers as they really can't be anyone else's.   Just a touch of oddness.

Then we have Miss 'Tude here.   She is a rescue and was meant to go to the states but... things changed.  She was mishandled by her people and allowed to be a bossy bunny so she tries to exert herself over me but she's coming around.   She's been bred and mostly she acts like she was bred but she's a bit an attitude bunny.   I'm hoping that she'll kindle and that those she's bred with will have smaller litters so I can foster them over to kinder bunnies.   I find that is often the secret to influencing kits.  Give them to a really calm doe and the kits end up being calm and easygoing as well.      Given the inconsistencies in her nature she will NOT go to a pet home.

Tannner (above) who is for sale or trade, together with Temp  (pictured below) had one pup last night.  A wee girl.   A very spunky young thing already.   There ended up being  two pups born, one male, one female.

The question was asked.  "I found this information on-line, it's different than what you say.   Who is right?"    

The facts are: there a numerous ways to feed rabbits.   BUT what the house rabbit society people recommend is not healthy for rabbits.

Pellets are not necessary in a diet that consists of hay and a wide variety of vegetables. However, if your rabbit is accustomed to pellets and you wish to keep them in his/her diet or to insure that your rabbit gets all the necessary vitamins and minerals, give Timothy hay-based pellets that are high in fiber, 18% or more, and low in calcium content. RabbitWise recommends Bunny Basics/T made by the Oxbow Hay Company. They are available in some vet's office who treat rabbits and from the Oxbow web site (see link this page). 

The amount of pellets fed should be based on the rabbit's body weight: 2-4 pounds, 1/8 cup daily; 5-7 pounds, 1/4 cup daily; 8-10 pounds, 1/2 cup daily; 10-15 pounds, 1/2 cup daily. OVERFEEDING OF PELLETS AND FEEDING OF POOR QUALITY PELLETS ARE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS IN RABBIT HEALTH PROBLEMS.  

I know that natural feeding of rabbits is quite possible, BUT I also know, from reading, research and doing limited rescue how easy it can be to mess it up.

There are things in the above statement that I agree with.

1. overfeeding of pellets causes problems for rabbits.   
2. poor quality pellets are a reality.  
3. pellets aren't a necessity for a WELL BALANCED diet.

Points of disagreement

1. timothy does not NOT provide enough protein for a rabbit.  You NEED to feed alfalfa hay. 
2. you need more than a wide assortment of veggies.  you need a wide assortment of a variety of greens.
3. herbivore does not mean vegetarian..it means HERBIVORE.  that means rabbits eat tree branches, bark, a wide assortment of vegetation.    it does NOT mean carrots, celery, and such like.   Greens, greens and more greens.
4.no mention is made of the need for a salt and mineral wheel.

Points of Concern
The amount of pellets fed should be based on the rabbit's body weight: 2-4 pounds, 1/8 cup daily; 5-7 pounds, 1/4 cup daily; 8-10 pounds, 1/2 cup daily; 10-15 pounds, 1/2 cup daily. 

if feeding a pellet based diet these amounts would lead to the starvation of a rabbit.   FACT!

Correct amounts would be as follows based on a 16-17% protein diet.
2-4 lbs - 1/4-1/2 cup
4-7 lbs - 1/2  cup
7-9 lbs - 1/2-1 cup
10 lbs and up 3/4 cup to 1.5 cups

this based on feeding pellets ONCE per day.