A Hop Down Cherry Lane

 Since starting our rabbitry, we have been the landing spot for bunnies that our family or friends no longer want as pets. This, I suppose is borderline weird. My husband is not soo eager to cull the cute furry animals to start with. But add on that, the idea that this, once, was a child's cherished pet, and voila..you have a dilemma. Yes, there have been a few tragic stories in the past...but yesterday brought anew the tearing of the heart.

This is Oreo. He is a dwarf. My husband was the first to meet him. I had heard he was small...but when Dan proclaimed that we could just not throw him in the freezer, my first thought was "get a back bone"...but then I saw how absolutely tiny he was, and how domesticated he had apparently been raised. The story was that he was given to a friend, who gave him to a friend. He was homeless. Poor thing, he just needs an everlasting home...not the cooker.

Immediately, as if in unison, our Family adopted Oreo as our own. He is now in the home as a pet. I'm not sure what this may do for our future culling experience...but for now it reassures us that amidst our journey of making a sustainable life for ourselves, that we can draw a line between things given for need, and things given for us to care for.

May I resolve that we welcome large breed rabbits. 

The small ones need a family home..and we already have one :)

Rabbitry

In June we brought home our rabbits. First the juvenile, then the alpha male...and finally our lady. After scheduling tirelessly the homely duties, the garden, the harvest, and well, just living, we finally have our hutch winter ready...and have only 3 rabbits housed as supposed to the 6 we kept over summer.

Our hutch, however homely, has gone through: building, housing, escaping bunnies, patching, and finally completion! Here, our alpha male (for now) is checking out his new winter box...this, once marked, will be his warm nest for the cold winter months.

Here is my lovely lady. She....needs to get to work! Throughout the summer we have tirelessly tried to impregnate her without success...I have my hopes for the 19th, but we will see...my worst fear, she is infertile. We are pressing on with the hope that she can bear us one more litter, and in that litter be more females!

Ah yes, "Sam" (the only named rabbit), has found his home and is settling in. Sir, if you are sterile, may your days be numbered. 

This is our future, our Alpha males successor. He shows much promise as a rabbitry king. So friendly, we have raised him from near infancy. He handles well, and is of nice temperament with our lady (I once caught them "cuddling"? through the wire cages) 

All in all, however unsuccessful we have been with litters, our Rabbits are treasured, part of our daily lives, and hold our hopes for bringing us much urban security.