Farm Girl Inspirations

Showing posts with label homesteading. Show all posts

RABBIT KEEPING: How to keep rabbits safe on a farm.

Living on a farm is amazing. You're in the countryside surrounded by fields and trees, the sound of animals replace the sound of traffic, and the city lights are replaced by the stars. I mean, what more could you ask for?

But farms aren't just a great place for people, they're also a great environment to raise pets. Today, we're going to look at protecting one of the more defenseless pets you might choose to have; rabbits.

To a rabbit, a rural setting with bales of hay, as well as plenty of grass to chew is literally a dream come true. But with country life comes dangers you might not come across in the city or in suburban settings. The most important thing you can do for your rabbits is know how to keep them safe!

In this article, you'll learn how to supply the safest rabbit hutch, as well as the best way to provide protected outdoor exercise time, and how to discourage predators from coming near your rabbits in the first place. So read on, my friend!

Selecting the safest rabbit hutch

Let's face it, pet rabbits are most vulnerable when they're out of your sight. Which means, when they are out of sight, they should be safely tucked away in a secure hutch. Rabbits have no way to defend themselves, so you'll need something highly protective between your rabbit and the threats presented to them from predators and the weather. (I'm sure you've heard the horror stories from when sneaky foxes make their way on to farms and find themselves alone with the chickens [1], but it could just as easily be your rabbits)!

With the heavy presence of pets and livestock on a farm, predators will undoubtedly be lured to the area in the hope of finding prey. Before getting rabbits, the first thing that should be on your list is a quality rabbit hutch that's suitable for the outdoors - whether or not you plan to place your hutch outdoors. In fact, it's best if you place your rabbit hutch in a barn or a shed, and the building should have a door that can be kept securely closed.

You might be wondering why I've recommended you get a hutch designed for outdoor use if the rabbits home will be kept in a secure shed or barn. The fact is, mistakes happen. Should you leave the door open by accident, a predator-proof and weather-proof cage will help provide an extra layer of security.

You'll find that rabbit hutches are typically built to protect rabbits from predators as well as adverse weather conditions. I recommend going for something sturdy, on raised legs with a section for your rabbit to hide away should it need to. The Lazy Buddy rabbit hutch is a brilliant example of a home with these qualities.
Exercising your rabbits

Exercise is a crucial part of a rabbits routine regardless of where they live. With farm pets such as dogs, they're often given the run of the land to exercise freely. This is something you can never do with a pet rabbit. The countryside hosts a range of predators that are just waiting for their moment.

You need to make sure that when your bunny is getting its exercise, it always does so under your supervision. It can be risky even turning your back on your rabbit for a few seconds. Where I live, we have falcons, eagles, neighbor's dogs -- You never know what could be circling overhead or lurking nearby just waiting to make a move.

That's why, even if you're supervising, you should never let your rabbit roam free around the farm. Exercise needs to be performed in a rabbit pen with a roof or wire cover.

It's not just foxes and other predators on foot you need to worry about. Birds of prey pose a massive threat to your rabbit. Your presence along with an enclosed pen blocking their access should help avoid any attempted swoops for your bunny.

Avoid encouraging predators on the prowl

Discouraging predators requires a bit of common sense! Take steps to reduce the appeal of your farm environment to predators. This can range from not leaving meat in your compost pile to not leaving excess dog food lying around outside. These sound like small steps, but they can go a long way toward protecting your rabbits. This doesn't just apply for pet rabbits, the same measures can help protect your other livestock too.

To wrap up, farm life can be great for bunnies providing they're kept safe and secure! You'll want to keep them in a sturdy good quality hutch within a secure barn, shed or other out building. When it's time to exercise don't take your eye off them, and make sure you have a rabbit run with protection from aerial threats.

Foot Notes:
1. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2012/jul/11/chickens-foxes

Let's chat: Do you keep rabbits on a farm? I'd love to hear from you in the comment below.

Until next time...

Joy--Fearless Farm Girl,

"Farm girl: it's a verb, because it's what you do."

SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL
Like what you're reading? Stay inspired to achieve a more simple, self-reliant way of life. Sign up to receive our newsletter and each new post directly in your inbox! CLICK HERE to subscribe!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click through and make a purchase, we receive a small percentage in commissions from the company you buy from. We value you as a reader and want you to know that the products we link to are only products we use ourselves or that we feel will add value to your life. Thank you for supporting Farm Girl Inspirations! To read our full disclosure statement click here.

RABBIT KEEPING: What you need to know to get started!

Ever thought of keeping rabbits?

Now that summer is here, you may be thinking of trying some homesteading projects! When it comes to keeping small livestock, for most of us, chickens have been the thing. But did you know rabbits can be a great choice for the small homestead?

After all, a small hutch in your backyard’s corner won’t disturb anyone and rabbits will also, in a more selective way, participate in waste reduction.

Whether you'll be keeping them for meat or as pets, rabbits are an enjoyable choice for the small homestead. They're extremely loving and easy-to-keep little creatures. Best of all, it doesn’t matter if you have no prerequisite knowledge on rabbit keeping. Nearly anyone can do it!

In this article, I’ll cover the main aspects of rabbit keeping, from breeds, to housing and care so that your rabbit keeping experience will be as successful and enjoyable as possible.

Rabbit Breeds

First, let's talk about breeds...

There are two main rabbit breed classifications. Either by size (Giant rabbits, standard rabbits and dwarf rabbits) or by raising purpose (pet, meat and ornamental).

Breed standards are detailed descriptions of physical characteristics (weight, color, body structure, and fur type) a particular breed has to satisfy. These standards give clear benchmarks to breeders in order to help them focus on specific characteristics in their selection works.

Who sets these standards? In the US, The ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) is the body in charge of issuing rabbit breed standards.

Depending on your actual need, you may want to choose different variations of rabbits. For example, if your goal is to get abundant and good quality meat, you'll want to go for New Zealand whites, Californians or silver foxes.

If you have enough space in your backyard, giant rabbit breeds like giant chinchillas and giant Flemish are two excellent options.

Otherwise, dwarf rabbits like the Lionhead bunny, Holland lop and the polish rabbit make wonderful indoor pets.

Before making the purchase, make sure you clearly express your expectations to your breeders so he can provide you with the best suited rabbit breed for your needs.

Habitat

What about housing your rabbits?

An adequate home for your bunny is a must. For rabbits kept as indoor pets, a cage made of plastic and wire mesh does the job. On the other hand, outdoor hutches are generally made of wood, metal wires and plastic for flooring.

If kept outdoors, the hutch should be placed where it will stay dry and be protected from rain and weather. It's a good idea to position the hutch where the morning light can shine in, but where there will be some afternoon shade to avoid overheating.

Your rabbit's hutch should allow for approximately 2 ft X 3 ft of floor space per adult rabbit. For a great guide on how much space your rabbit needs, check out this Rabbit Hutch and Cage Size Guide.

Whatever option you choose, your rabbit’s home should be as spacious as possible. Shelter dimensions should allow for maximum freedom as rabbits love to jump around all the time.

Most rabbits enclosures have a wire mesh floor with a tray underneath to catch droppings, or if outdoors, the droppings may simply fall to the ground. But sometimes, a litter box is used. One particular caution: be sure to carefully choose an adequate litter box. This is really important. When a bunny gets bored, he may turn his attention to the box at the back of the cage, and start nibbling and swallowing it, which may seriously affect its sensitive digestive system. Rabbit anorexia is generally the result of such bad materials’ being ingested. Make sure that the litter is always dust-free and clean. For that, fresh, dry and regularly replaced hay is the best option.

Activity Needs

Rabbits are intelligent and vivid creatures. They need to be constantly simulated, either mentally or physically. Supply them with balls to keep them busy. You might be surprised. Some rabbits like to roll and chase balls and it can be very entertaining to watch! You can also build an obstacle course for your rabbit out of cardboard boxes, tubes, newspapers, etc.

It's recommended that you allow your rabbits four hours of free run play time per day. Allow them to have time out of their hutch. This can be done with supervision, or a small movable pen can be set up in the yard or garden. Rabbits also like to play games! For some game ideas, check out this article, Exercise and Playtime for Rabbits.

Dietary Needs

Your rabbit's diet is very important. Dietary errors are a major cause of many medical problems for rabbits. Establishing a nutritionally correct diet is crucial and actually very simple. By observing the eating habits of the wild rabbit, we can easily understand how to feed his domestic cousin.

A wild rabbit only feeds on herbs, grass, roots, and even barks during lean periods. All of these foods have low nutritional content but are perfectly adapted to rabbits’ specific digestive system. They are rich in fiber (which is needed for for intestinal health) and require extended chewing, which is important to a rabbit's teeth.

For rabbit's teeth to stay in good health, rabbits need to gnaw on bulk foods, like fresh hay for many hours per day. A Rabbit's teeth grow continuously and chewing hay and herbs helps keep their teeth filed down so they don't get too large.

The perfect diet for your bunny is composed of hay, herbs, fresh vegetables and some pellet food. Hay is the most important part of your rabbit's diet. Make hay available in unlimited quantity to your rabbit. Not only does chewing hay help keep a rabbit's teeth healthy, it also provides the majority of nutrients needed by your rabbit for good health. The best hay is going to be green in color and aromatic. Grass hay is better than alfalfa or clover hays. It's best to buy your hay at a local feed store, over what you can buy in a pet store, because the feed store hay will be most fresh and offer the most nutrients to your bunny.

Your rabbits should also have access to pellets, but in limited amounts, because too much can cause obesity. Offer 1/8 to 1/4 cup pellets per five pounds of body weight. Feed half in the morning and half in the evening. Only feed your rabbits pellets that are packaged in sealed bags. Pellets that have been exposed to air and moisture could be less nutrient dense and run the risk of becoming contaminated with mold.

Be sure to offer fresh vegetables to your rabbits. The water content in celery and carrots is important to keeping bunnies guts hydrated, and these also give your rabbits something to chew on.

Finally, avoid all processed food such as crackers, bread and pasta, and of course all processed snacks. Your bunny doesn't need those! If you want to offer an occasional treat, slip your rabbit some fresh fruit like berries or apple.

Watering

Rabbits need to have constant access to water. The best option for watering your rabbits is a specific water bottle mounted to the wall of the cage or hutch. These bottles are generally equipped with sippy spouts on them. These are better than the standard bowl, because a bowl can become soiled with bedding and litter (which is just gross).

Breeding and mating

Seeing new adorable bunnies come to life and grow is a fantastic experience! However, before engaging in the breeding process, be sure you are ready to accommodate more guests. Providing for more food, cages and most importantly more attention and care, is not easy and requires planning.

Assuming you're ready for company, here's what you need to know about breeding. Rabbits attain sexual maturity at different ages depending on their size. That is, dwarf breeds are able to mate sooner than bigger breeds.

Rabbits chosen for mating should be healthy, in excellent physical condition and free of any kind of genetic defects they could possibly pass on to their offspring.

Another important characteristic that rabbit keepers should not neglect when thinking of breeding is the rabbit’s character and temperment. Character generally includes a genetic component, so the breeding rabbit should be docile and show a good temperament.

When a female is ready for mating, she is generally nervous and disturbed. She also will rub her chin against different objects. Her vulva turns red. These behaviors do not manifest simultaneously however, so you can decide to perform mating whenever you feel it is appropriate.

Place the female in the male’s cage as she is more possessive toward her own cage than he is. If you do the opposite, she may show clear signs of aggression. If mating is done in a neutral place, the male may get too busy exploring it and neglect the female's presence. After the intercourse, the male falls on one side and emits a little sound, and then it's over.

It's very important to record the mating date to be able to precisely calculate the expected date of parturition. This will allow you to quickly intervene in the case of any problems at the end of the pregnancy period.

On average, gestation lasts 30 days. A few days before parturition, make sure to put an easy opening, nesting box (for an average sized doe, a 15x10x10 inch box suits perfectly) with a raised lip. This will allow the doe to safely get in and out.

Health care precautions

When it comes to health issues, the majority of problems can be easily avoided if you take good care of your bunny. Some simple precautions will help you keep your pet in excellent heath.

As we said earlier, an appropriate diet can prevent the most common health problems such as constipation, enteritis, dental issues, and becoming overweight. Being overweight is the source of numerous problems. To stay healthy, rabbits need to be active. So do not let him just lay inside his cage for long hours per day. (See the section above for ideas on how to give your rabbit activity each day). If you notice that your rabbit puts on more and more weight, try to limit from his diet the most calorific foods, such as pellets.

In order to prevent a dangerous foot infection known as pododermatitis, the cage must be kept extremely clean, especially at the bottom which should be soft and dry. A filthy bottom predisposes the animal to pododermatitis.

Even if the bunny lives indoors, he should be regularly vaccinated against Myxomatosis and viral hemorrhagic diseases (VHD). Vaccination is also a good opportunity to perform periodic complete medical checks.

If your bunny stops eating, or if he is sluggish, or if he is inactive or suffers from diarrhea, he is obviously ill. However, symptoms are not always that clear. Sometimes, they are difficult to notice and may need attentive observation. If you can notice them early, your veterinary can intervene quicker and chances of healing will be higher.

Conclusion

Pin this, please :-)

Whether you keep rabbits as pets or for meat, rabbits on the homestead can be a great first step in learning to keep small livestock.

Let's chat: Why do you like to keep rabbits? I'd love to hear form you in the comments below!

About this guest author: Marvin Delany lives in Pennsylvania where animals are his lifelong passion. He's a veterinary medicine student and an author at FarmingStyle.

Joy--Fearless Farm Girl,

"Farm girl: it's a verb, because it's what you do."

Buying country property? Don't rule out that fixer-upper! (Find out why...)

Let's talk about my ugly house, shall we?

For a long time, I've wanted to tell you about my house. But it's terribly ugly fixer-upper. I mean ugly, like it scores a zero in country charm and character. (In fact, it used to be a duplex, which kinda adds a heap of weird to it's already huge load of weirdness).

I don't know why I haven't shared this with you sooner. I guess I thought my house had to be perfect first. But the truth is, it may look this way for a veeerrrry long time. So I might as well get over it and just let you in on things. Do you ever do that? Well, today I'm getting real. You get to see what our place looks like now, so as time goes on and things change, you'll get to watch the transformation (that is, if you don't get old and die first).

But before I show you my ugly house, I have to tell you about the house we came "this close" to buying--the house of my dreams. A true vintage charmer (this is an important part of the story)...

How we almost bought my dream-come-true...

This is what I had in mind when we started looking for our country property. And we came "this close" to buying something very much like this one.

When we were looking for a country property, I had it in my heart to find an adorable vintage farmhouse that would make my country living dream come true. We actually found a total beauty only a couple miles from the ugly house we ended up buying. The lovely farmhouse we almost bought was white with a wrap-around porch. It had a huge country kitchen that had been tastefully updated, wide plank wood floors, a rock fireplace, and French doors all over the place. And get this: It was going to include a bunch of the cutest vintage furnishings you ever did see!

But just before it was almost too late to back out of that deal, we went to the house for an inspection. It was then that we witnessed no less than fifteen (15!) logging trucks go roaring past in the span of half an hour--only twenty (20!) feet from the house.

My husband said it was a deal breaker. And it was. But first...

I cried.

For three hormonal, bleary-eyed days, I cried.

Then the sun came up and my husband, bless his heart, suggested we get back in the game. So...

How we picked up the pieces and used a criteria to guide us...

By this time in our property hunt, we'd developed a solid criteria for choosing a country home.

Here's a funny fact, we'd actually seen and rejected our ugly house before we'd made the offer on the lovely farmhouse. We'd driven up the long driveway, took one look at the big-white-box-on-a-hill, and drove away without even looking inside.

This is what I saw the first time I looked at my ugly house-->

Oh, come on! It's a big white box!

The interior photos didn't do it any favors. I read the flyer and was confused by the description that read "single family home," yet there were clearly two kitchens shown, and they were simply ghastly! (Remember, we're talking about an old duplex. That's why two kitchens. But one of the strange features was a doorway--with no door--that led from one kitchen to other. Weird, right)?

So as I've already said, we'd taken one look at the exterior of the house and at the weird photos, and we'd sped away as fast as we could go.

But then the lovely farmhouse deal went south. That's when we turned to our criteria to guide us. We considered every point and evaluated carefully what things mattered to us most...

Here's what we listed as most important:

Location: It had to be in the area of the lake we'd found only 25 minutes from where we worked. We'd eliminated four other rural areas around us, because of how it felt driving there. We didn't want to drive through town and traffic, or through gray smelly industrial areas to get to our house. (After all, if we were going to commute, we wanted to enjoy it). To us, having our home be a recreational destination for friends and family was important. My grandmother's house was that way, and I wanted to carry on the tradition of being the gathering place after she died.

Peace: Our property had to be peaceful and quiet, a place to draw away to for rest and a break from the relentless traffic of the city where we still worked.

Soil: Our property had to have decent soil with good drainage, and enough acreage for building up a self-sufficient homestead.

The size of the house: The house would have to be large enough to host guests (so extra bedrooms were important).

Construction: The house had to be well-built and pass an independent full-house inspection.

A good well: The well had to produce good water and pass a certified well inspection.

Zoning: The property needed to already have a guest house or be zoned so we could build one later for extended family to live in so they could help work the farm.

Price: The property had to be in our price-range.

Cute vintage farmhouse look: This wasn't actually on our list. It was in my mind. It was not so much in my husband's mind...

So with that criteria firmly at the front of our minds, we started going back over all we'd seen in our chosen area. That's when we realized the ugly white box met everything on our list (except for that last wish of mine).

This time, we decided to go take a second look...

What I saw the second time we looked at the ugly house...

I know. I looks like something with talons drew this for me :-D

In my mind's eye, I saw something beautiful! Okay, I know...It looks bad, but would it help if I told you one of my chickens drew this? I didn't think so. Well, I bet you get the drift of what I saw. Potential.

That's all it took for me to fall in love.

Do you see the deck up in the middle of the two bump-outs. (Yes, that's supposed to be a deck railing, and that stick figure is me)! With a couple gables, new windows and French doors, maybe it could actually look--well, pretty good.

How the ulgy house had everything we really wanted...

Kitchen-heaven. The mental vision of the exterior improvements opened my mind, but what I got most excited about was the two weird kitchens--no, no let me explain! Maybe, I thought, we could take out that center wall and combine the two sides into one! I envisioned the whole thing and it could work! Opened up, I could have one HUGE dream kitchen (big enough to gather all my friends for canning and baking days together)! Yay!

Guests. We went down our list. What about guests? Well, this place happened to have 6 bedrooms, 4 full baths, plus 2 half baths. Wow! That was perfect for when my sister came with her family of 11 (they'd fill the whole house)! That lovely farmhouse that fell through, well it only had 3 bedrooms--located upstairs. That meant only 2 guest rooms at most, and our poor guests would have to go downstairs to use a bathroom off the utility room--not very convenient. So clearly, the ugly house was far better suited to housing large numbers of guests.

Affordable price. This was the clincher. That lovely farmhouse would have strapped us to the limit with a payment we'd have been hard pressed to make each month. Oh, I'd rationalized how it could all have worked, but...Our ugly house cost less than half (1/2)! what we were going to pay for the pretty farmhouse. Plus--our ugly house had almost twice the square footage!

You get the point. The ugly house was actually everything we wanted and for far less money! (Less money even after we finish the remodel).

Now, let's fast forward four years...Time flies when you're...

Four years later...

Now it's today. We've been living smack in the middle of our ugly diamond-in-the-rough for all this time! But here's the amazing thing about it: We've loved every single minute of it! (Well nearly every minute).

I'm still in love with the house I see in my mind (and with all the beauty and tranquility of the land). But now, I can see my house on paper too, because we've had the plans drawn. And in a couple weeks--(I'm trying not to shout)--we're finally getting our permit! Oh, it's all sooo close!

But, I'm going to wait until we break ground before I show you what we're doing (in more detail than a chicken's drawing, anyway)!

In the meantime, let me show you some of the reasons we're tickled silly over buying this place...

It's soooo beautiful here!

I've taken so many sunset photos, I've lost count!

So what if my house is ugly!

Just look at that sunset! Part of why we bought this place was the location, after all. When I'm tempted to despise my stained, mismatched carpets, or the funky layout of my duplex-house with two living rooms and two kitchens, I have to remind myself why we chose to live here. It's freakin' gorgeous! Just look outside. What's not to love?

Now I don't mean gorgeous in a lavish, manicured way. It's farmland after all. But we experience some of finest sunsets you could ever hope to see out here. And the natural rustic beauty of our pastures and old quaint barn, all set against the backdrop of green forested hills makes my heart sing every time I see it. Complaints fall away, giving place to nothing but gratitude.

And peaceful...

Coming home never felt so good!

Second to the views is the peace we experience here. The lake can be moderately busy in the summer, but from September to May all the parks and campgrounds close. It's like the entire lake belongs only to us and a few neighbors.

In the winter, the lake is drained until there's nothing but a small river running through the lake bottom. As spring approaches, it transforms into a wild grassy glade with flowers, frogs, birds and salamanders everywhere. One of our favorite things to do is look for agates and pretty rocks on the emptied beaches.

Every year, neighbors collaborate to build rock towers all over the lake bottom. Then when the basin starts to fill again around February, the rock towers get covered with water.

We love taking walks in the lake bottom

when it's empty.

If you're thinking of buying country property...

So my friends, don't be too quick to rule out that ugly house. Like us, you may find it has everything you're looking for--for much less money! (And, don't be surprised if you fall in love with it)! After all, country property is more than a house--it's the land too.

PIN THIS: Pretty please!

Let's chat: What's been your experience buying country property? Did you get the house of your dreams, or something better? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

Joy--Fearless Farm Girl,

"Farm girl: it's a verb, because it's what you do."

Farm Girl Inspirations

banner

PAGES

RABBIT KEEPING: How to keep rabbits safe on a farm.

RABBIT KEEPING: What you need to know to get started!

Buying country property? Don't rule out that fixer-upper! (Find out why...)

Our Recent Stuff

Blog Archive

Search This Blog

Page Menu

About This Site

How can we help you?