two pups from this rescue sow. bigger sized pups.
 Three pups born to this small sow. She's a decent mom. :) Watch Me GrowI have to admit, when I first read this article I though.. impossible.. how can he make $4000 from selling one rabbit, until I did the conversion from Jamaican dollars to Canadian. Then it was like oh.. $40 a pop.. that's doable, depending on the rabbit you have. This article makes me go "Ick" inside. I know you can raise some fish on rabbit manure, and do it successfully, but the idea of using it to raise ruminants.. so goats, cows and the like, for some reason just raises my "ick" factor. The article notes there are some concerns about using it, but thinks with time is a viable option. " Running the Daisy system for rabbit feces in rumen fluid gave some inconsistencies, weakened the functional relationships, and appeared not to be correlated with the potential values of IVTD and NDFD. Nevertheless, the energetic potential of feces appears to be similar to some conventional crops at different degrees of maturity. Thus we conclude that rabbit feces has potential value as a ruminant feed and for biogas production." It is winter now and so protecting your rabbits from the elements is a good idea. Michigan State University puts out this timely article. For my rabbits it means putting an extra tarp over the rabbitry and switching from bottles to crocks. The guinea pigs get a light over them. Other than for bitterly cold winters, this keeps my rabbits comfortable (as they reproduce and grow well).   HoneyFern has given us a litter of four healthy pups. They are all very small, but they are thriving. I'm bringing them into the house at night just to give them a boost in the right direction. Active and talking. It's fun to have a pig in the house again (even just for a short while). Watch Me Grow Vena gave me six kits in the litter. They were all healthy and doing well when I first saw them and then she decided to sit in the nest. Based on posture I thought she was feeding them but she sat in there too long ending up with one of the six kits dying. I wasn't impressed but if I hadn't been there I would have just thought it was a weak kit that just didn't make it. So I removed the box for the day to let her get the "nestbox" sitting out of her system and she was much better this evening. Back to being the stellar mom I know her to be. :)  Watch Me Grow This young doe has had two failed litters. First had a largish kit with a smaller one. I read bred her immediately as that often helps with having more kits that are smaller. She repeated the litter size but both kits were small enough she should have been able to have them no issues.
With that in mind this young doe will be off to find a pet home. Hopefully she'll have success with that this Christmas season. A few news articles you may or may not wish to peruse.
Teachers using rabbits to help folk understand where their food comes from. http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/11/13/3485128_nampa-biology-teacher-slaughters.html?sp=/99/1687/&rh=1 http://www.ktvb.com/story/news/local/2014/11/13/rabbit-class-killed/18989771/ http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2014/nov/13/teacher-kills-skins-rabbit-class/ Rabbits as food? http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/american-humane-association-ceos-of-major-food-organizations-animal-welfare-pioneers-and-top-chefs-go-to-capitol-hill-to-urge-americans-to-set-a-humane-table-for-the-holidays-and-support-humane-farm-practices-282632671.html ""Animal welfare is not a new concept to America's farmers and ranchers – it is a responsibility they have taken seriously for centuries," said Smith. "But recognizing our society is now three to four generations removed from the farm and wants to know more about where their food comes from and how it's produced, the animal agriculture community recognized the need to demonstrate their care and commitment to their animals in a more concrete way. It's important to recognize that farm animal welfare is complex because how farm animals are raised impacts other important factors, such as food safety, the environment and costs, as well. It's not in the animals' – or the farmers' – best interest to make decisions about housing or space based on emotion, but rather on science and with a full understanding of how any change will impact these other important issues. That's why the Alliance has long advocated that science-based animal care programs be implemented on farms and ranches of all sizes and types – because it's the right thing to do for the animals and the best thing to provide consumers the assurances they need." http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/eating-rabbit http://tacade.com/health-benefits-rabbit-meat/ found it very interesting in this article where it says that the rabbit meat is very good for those undergoing chemotherapy http://rabbitmeat.webs.com/ http://grapevine.is/news/2014/11/16/rabbit-meat-is-for-gentlemen/ "Birgit Kositzke, who raises the rabbits, described the meat as “gentlemen’s food” for gourmet palates. Her booth featured rack of rabbit and rabbit legs for sale, and she made a point to emphasise that the animals are raised ethically." http://metronews.ca/voices/ricardo-cooks/1212404/ricardo-cooks-are-you-game-to-try-something-new/ Animal Abuse? Animal Welfare? http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-schneiderman-offers-assistance-local-governments-drafting-rules-curb-animal-abuse http://www.currentargus.com/carlsbad-news/ci_27050767/eddy-county-animal-ordinance-be-voted. So dogs can't be tired safely in a yard or out front a business while nipping in for a quick purchase? No animals can be sold where there is a public road? http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/new-york-ag-puts-bite-puppy-mills-blog-entry-1.2008065 “New Yorkers value their pets as companions and are entitled to know that they came from sources that treated them in a safe and healthy manner. By working with municipalities, we will help ensure that New Yorkers can be confident that their cats and dogs are healthy when they purchase them and that they were raised in a safe place.” http://www.thepinelog.com/opinion/article_fb1cee10-6a16-11e4-b7af-dbb967f233f1.html Caring for your rabbits http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/caring-for-your-pregnant-rabbit-ze0z1411zhur.aspx#axzz3J1luzoE3  this young lass off Mousewhisker by Camden is off to her own home. Born October 17, she was nick-named fluffy by my son since she was a solo kit and quite fluffy. :) Her mom did a good job caring for her.
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AuthorI have been breeding rabbits for a quite a few years. I thoroughly enjoy them as animals and think they make great pets. I also like to take some of them to rabbit shows to see how they measure up to the standards. 
For the BEST rabbit forum I've ever found. Go to Rabbittalk.com. Good for the pet rabbit owner as well as the breeder for meat or show.
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