Rabbitry Costs

Ever wondered how much it costs to start up a rabbitry? Some of you may be all too familiar with start up and maintenance costs. Generally breeders are not into raising rabbits for money, I certainly am not and by breaking down the costs its clear I'm actually loosing money. This is my hobby so I don't really look at it that way and at the end of the day hearing bunnies munch on their hay, watching their antics, and getting muzzle kisses makes it all worth it.

Note that start up costs and foundation stock costs vary drastically, here is a general estimate on what my rabbitry has cost me...brace yourself...I know I did.

Start up costs:
8x10 insulated barn: $2300
Air Conditioner: $150
Cages(15 holes) and dura-pans/castors: $725
Water bottles: $75
Feeders: $38
Rest pads/toys: $35
Grooming table/supplies/scale: $40
(4) carriers: $130
Crocks for carriers: $30
Misc.(trash bins/binder/shelving): $50

Foundation stock:
Bucks(3): $500
Does (9): $730

Monthly Maintenance:
Feed: $14
Shavings: $6.50
Papers: free

Grand total: $4803...(!!)
Monthly fees: $20.50 ($246 per year)


Raising Dwarf Hotots: Priceless

Going for a walk

Did you know bunnies love to go on walks? Sounds kind of weird but they really enjoy their grass time. Heehee! Hannah is the official bun walker and its more like they walk her, but that's okay, she doesn't mind.





The harness:

Growing babies

I moved all the babies together so now Leah is nursing 7 of them! She's doing a great job and the babies are now old enough to get out of the nestbox so I'm turned it to its side so they can huddle if need be. Won't be long and they'll be cute enough to photograph!

Click Here

Evaluating Kits in the Nestbox

Is it possible? Sure, now you can't pose them up and really know what kind of type they'll have but there are clues as to what will follow as they grow. When I evaluate a kit in the nestbox, I look at 3 things: body size, ear length, and hocks.

Body size is very obvious and its best to evaluate sizes around the 2nd week of life. All of the kits in the below pictures are 12 days old. Its obvious which is the dwarf and which is the false dwarf. I like to keep the dwarfs back because I like a smaller typier animal.


Oh yes, big difference...



Now ears, I am really staying away from long eared babies this year and to improve quickly, its an easy decision on who to keep based on ear length, especially at this age. I'm going to use the penny method...keep in mind these are 12 day old babies so at this age, I put a penny in between their ears and ears that extend beyond the penny, it's likely they will have long ears.

Too long:


Close!


Perfect!!


Too Long.


Now hocks, this isn't always accurate because wiggly babies tend to move their legs every which way but you can tell who has a definite 'V' and who has legs that are set wide apart.



I think its so much fun to evaluate babies! It looks like in this litter there are 2 nice little bucks and one doe that may be staying too...next eval. is at 6 weeks!

New feed! YES

Finding the right feed has been an ongoing problem since last summer. Purina killed a few of my rabbits last fall and manna pro has them lean and boney. So, I drove 1.5 hours to pick up a locally milled feed that has more fat, fiber, and alfalfa/oats than manna pro or purina. It looks and smells amazing!! I'm hoping to see a big difference in condition over these next few weeks.

Bluebonnet feed:


Manna pro on left, Blue Bonnet on right...looks so good, I want to eat it!:


The babies are going well, it looks like there are 2 little bucks that have my attention and one larger show doe that has a wide, I mean WIDE rear on her. I love that! LOL Love big butts on my buns. We'll see how they develop in the next few weeks!

Induction pics

Took the formal pics for the website this morning, both girls are just lovely and I think the pics don't do them justice.;-)

Lucy:


She has the most smoothest bum I've seen, she looks narrow here but I think its the angle, this girl is Nice.


Jordan-she wouldn't pose right but since she's had a few litters I'll let it slide, she's not used to being posed.


Jordan is so wide, love her!


I plan to post baby updates and about FEED later today...ugh >:( Not happy with the feed here in Texas, we all are having problems.

New girls

I got my new girls last night and they are doing well. The sport doe, Lucy, isn't eating much but I am hoping she's just trying to get used to this drastic temp change, coming from a state that has snow to one that its nearly 80 degrees during the day.


Jordan is a character...she carries her ball around and rubs on the wall, lol!

And the Best Milk Doe Award goes to...

Haha! Leah is amazing. :-) This doe is overfeeding her 5 babies, no doubt she could handle the 7 babies but I felt it was best to let Aviva raise a litter on her own. She's done really well considering how tiny Aviva is.

Leah's babies all snuggly...they are FAT babies:


Never seen a belly so tight, what a chunky baby.

This is Aviva's baby, this little doe is going to have a Nice Round head! Too bad those eyebands are too thin. She's got tiny ears too, I look forward to seeing how she turns out.:

Her foster mom is doing a great job of feeding her:

Aviva's fosters!:

New buns...next week!!

So long story short and a mess of emails later, I will be getting my new does next week. Not what was planned but the breeder has been so gracious and kind to allow me to have them now and they are possibly bred. I owe her big time. I hope that my girls arrive safe and sound on Tuesday, fingers crossed!

In other news, March is going to be a labor and delivery month! 5 does bred but of course that doesn't always guarantee a live litter. So far 1 has palpated positive, Elsa. I have yet to check the others.

Babies are doing well, growing and that is a good thing.

Valentine surprise!

Aviva kindled one little baby this morning, beautiful and healthy. My very first second generation baby!! Because this baby is so important to me I fostered it to the other doe with 6 kits and took 2 of hers and gave them to Aviva to learn how to be a mom with. She's doing great but I don't think she'll produce the large amount of milk like Leah is, those babies have bellies so tight they are shiny and she had 6 to feed(now 5)! I'm so proud of my girls.

The biggest surprise of today would be the gift my mom gave me, it is just beautiful and knowing that she took the time to make sure every detail was perfect meant so much. I never expected this!
My decoupage journal! Now I have a notebook to write all of my tips/tricks/advice/any kind of rabbit knowledge. My mom is so talented!


I love the mixed media she used, the stamps, metal, jewels, flowers, fabric...

Lovie is my first name, surprise!

I love this, a torn definition of Rabbit from the dictionary-so cute!

...and this made me cry, she wrote '10 things I love about you', so sweet, my mom is the greatest.

Babies!

Leah had 6 babies this morning!!! I can't believe it, she did great, quick labor and has already fed them. It looks like 5 does and 1 buck right now, 4 banded, 1 sport and 1 with a partial band.

Website~New look!

Well after a day of playing with it I finally have my website how I like it. I have decided the pennant banner is our signature element and created some graphics in photoshop to go with the theme. Do check it out and I'd love any feedback, good or bad. :-)

CLICK Here



I'm really pleased with my babies this year, they are looking very promising.

Width!! Narrow/long shoulders were my biggest fault last year, its looking much better this year!

Changing the game plan...new does!

I'm SO excited! I have decided to move 3 does out and bring 3 new ones in. A good friend of mine is going to Ohio in April and will be bringing them back just in time for my birthday! ;-) Can't wait to see pictures of my new girls. I've updated the website to include the sales bunnies and plan to re-work a little of it in the next few weeks with some new graphics...woo hoo! I hope to make a pennant flag banner to hang in the barn as well. Gosh....I NEED to be doing real work instead of being in Bunny land, but the bunnies are just so much more enjoyable.

The girls are ready, just a few more days...

Updates and Chit Chat

This week has been rough, I will say this, I am overwhelmed with responsibilities and the rabbits have taken a back seat to it all for now. I have resigned from the ETRBA club as Director but I will still be able to update the site and create the flyers/catalogs for the shows. We will not be going to the show next weekend either due to family needs. The other decisions are still on the table and we are praying and working through it one day at a time. So, without further ado, I'll give a quick update on the buns!

Babies are growing and are just about weaned. Their mother has become a raging monster since being bred...she is a sweet cuddle bun when she raises the babies but because ferocious when pregnant! haha Nestboxes go in tomorrow and Sat for two of the girls, one I'm optimistic about and the other not so much...just one baby in there and its breech. Joy. I can only rely on knowing that things happen for a reason and whatever happens, I'm okay with the outcome.

Holly is growing and growing!


Babies! Dallas is in front, he's such a buck with those guppy cheeks!



Last but not least, I want to give an open invite to a new Yahoo group that was created for Christian rabbit breeders. A friend and I have started this as a way to communicate with other believers and non believers, everyone is welcome! So please feel free to join:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/believers-and-bunnies/

My way Vs. God's way...he surely has a sense of humor!

Just wanted to share a little story with you guys, about how our will and way is not always God's will or way....he knows the outcome and it is always the right one.

So I had a doe that had amazing type, short ears, round head, gorgeous thick body...yes a doe that I was extremely excited to breed to my best buck. So she was and the due date came and went. The doe went into labor several days after her due date and was having a very difficult time passing the kit(just felt one, although she was bred several times). So I gave it a day, she stopped eating a couple days prior and was laboring very hard. The vet said the kit was too large to pass that oxytocin would have no effect. She was also septic and the vet wouldn't do a c-section so it was just a matter of time she would pass...let her suffer or end it now. After praying about it I felt at peace with letting her go and ending her suffering. I palpated her one last time and that little baby was moving! It was alive! But its mother was fading fast. So I quickly culled her and something just told me to let it be...Let It Be. But I wanted to take control. I felt *I* knew best and *I* would take control over the situation...so I cut her open and got the baby out. It was alive and I had a foster mother which she accepted it. See, God has a sense of humor, even though he told me to let it be, I didn't trust him and felt I was doing the right thing. Well this kit grew up to be the ugliest, long, spoon eared, bug eyed, pinched HQs, long shoulders, rough furred rabbit...oh but it gets better...he had a split penis and BAD teeth. As if the bad type wasn't bad enough, God made sure to make his point. We don't know the future or even understand why God allows things to happen but I do know that it is all part of the plan, he does Not make mistakes and His timing is Perfect.

After realizing what I had done, a verse came to mind, in fact it is now written above the door in my barn. "Let every created thing give praise to the LORD, for he issued his command, and they came into being...His orders will never be revoked." Psalm 148:5-6 And his orders were kept, the baby's teeth got so bad that it stopped eating and so he was humanely put down. Remember he can fit everything into a pattern for good, including the things we wish were different.

Here is a picture of the bun for those curious, try not to laugh! Bless his little heart!

Love my bucks!

Today was picture day to update some of the pictures on my site and wow, my home grown boys are really impressing me! I love them to pieces.

Here is Vinny...rock solid, compact, just lovely. He's 4 months old (I was thinking he was older but that's okay, he's still got some growing to do).



And Charlie...oh Charlie, he doesn't have hardly any eyebands since they are really thin but wow, his type is better than it looks, I think he could beat Vinny but isn't showable because of the bands. Can't wait to use him for breeding, almost a Sr!


And last but not least, baby Dallas! He is just adorable but will have to grow lots more before evaluated but I can tell he's going to be compact and tiny. <3