The Kits Died

Well, the kits didn't make it.. This being her first litter, I guess she just didn't know what to do.. She had them on the wire, didn't make a nest, only pulled a mouthful of fur, and I don't think she actually fed them.. She basically did everything wrong.. But like I said, it's not uncommon for the first time to go bad.. I'll just have to get her rebred and hope that next time it goes better.. Daisy still hasn't had hers yet.. Could be tonite.. Could be tomorrow.. Eagerly waiting..

Trixie Has Had Her Babies!!!

She had them between 5pm and 9pm.. She started nesting behavior weeks ago and even pulled some fur.. But then she decided to eat all the hay I was putting in her nest box.. She ended up having the babies on the wire of the cage and I found one dead.. I put the others in the nest box and put some more hay in there and put some dryer lint on a suggestion from another rabbit person on a forum I frequent.. The dryer lint is to help keep them warm since she only pulled a tuft of fur.. Usually they make a cozy nest with their fur in the hay.. I'll check on them again later and see if she ends up having any more.. If not and if the babies feel chilly, I'll bring the nest box in the house for the nite..

Its not uncommon for a first time doe to have the babies on the bottom of the cage.. But since she'd starting nesting behavior early, I'd hoped she would do everything right the first time.. Well, at least the other four seem good and active.. Making funny little squeaking sounds.. Now we'll see how good of a mother she is.. A lot of does will make the mistake of having the kits on the cage bottom and then end up being excellent mothers once their instincts kick in fully.. We'll see how she does..

Now Daisy is due tomorrow so we'll see how she does..

Anyway, here's a pic I took real quick after I put them in the nest box but before I put in the dryer lint and cozyed them in real good..


They're also bigger than I thought they would be.. I guess I was expecting jelly bean size babies because of when I raised pet rats.. But rabbit babies are more like vienna sausage size, with legs and a head.. = )

The kids are already falling in love with them.. I've told them from the beginning that these are meat rabbits.. But now it's going to be really hard for them because they babies will be so cute.. But they have to learn that food is food.. We will keep a baby or two.. Will definitely have to keep a male so I can breed my does again.. But whichever litter I get him from, I might keep a doe from the second litter to slightly expand my breeding stock.. Let's get past the first couple of days though and see what kind of mother she is before we start making future plans.. Wish us luck..

Kittikity 1, Sweater 1

Ok, so I forgot to post the pic of the second doggie sweater I made.. I'm really pleased with most of it.. Might make the neck a little wider and definitely need to make it a little longer.. But I don't know if I'll be making any more for the dogs.. When they scratch they tend to tear up the yarn with their toe nails.. Will definitely work for the goat kids though.. Anyway, here is Bonnie again modeling version 2..

I Wrote an Article About My Goats

Patti Moreno at GardenGirlTV is one of my biggest inspirations with my mini farm.. It was her website and videos that showed me that I could raise my own food on my little plot of land.. She does it on a much smaller space in the middle of a big city..

Well, back in December (I think it was December, might have been November) she asked me to write an article about the goats.. I was delighted, of course.. Anyway, it came out in her ezine in January.. If you want to read it, follow the link below.. It's the only article about goats so you can't miss it.. Read the other articles too.. Always lots of useful and interesting information..

http://www.urbansustainableliving.com/index.html
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Finally Finished the Cage

Ok, so finally finished one of the cages.. Actually, two if you count each section.. It's a two hole cage, meaning it has two section and two doors.. The whole thing is 5ft long.. The section on the left is 36w by 24d by 18 high.. The section on the right is 24w by 24d by 18h.. The wire on the bottom is 1x1/2 wire.. The wire on the top and sides is 1/2x1/2 hardware cloth.. Might go with 1x1 wire next time as the 1/2x1/2 was hard to work with.. Difficult to get the pliers in.. I used J-clip fasteners for everything, including as hinges for the doors which are on the top.. Each door space is 1ftx1ft.. I also made hay racks on each side.. I think I'm going to have to alter them a bit though because the hay doesn't stick through the 1/2x1/2 wire very well..

I don't really care for having the nest boxes on the inside as it takes up floorspace.. Want to figure out a way to put the nest boxes on the outside.. Maybe build a wooden section on the back with wire floors for ventilation and waste control..

Now to finish the other one.. I'm making two since the wire comes in 10ft lengths.. And so I can have more rabbits, of course..

Moving Forward

Good news for the SA farm! We are getting a really good tax return so I am going to be able to accomplish some things around here.. For one, I'll be able to join the American Dairy Goat Association and transfer ownership of the girls over to my name.. Yes, I've had these goats for almost three months and I still haven't transferred them.. Costs money.. Enough said.. I'll also be able to register my herd/farm name.. Yay me!

And I'll also be able to get my red new zealand rabbits! Yay me again!

I also plan to get supplies to start my hydroponic seed starting setup.. We went by the farmers and flea market place today and there isn't anybody selling veggie or flower seedlings.. Or that I saw anyway.. It might be a bad time of year and somebody might be doing that later in the year.. We also got there kind of early and most people were just setting up.. But I still want to try it.. I also plan on trying the handmade items thing with the crocheting.. Knitting will come later if I ever really get the hang of it..

I can also finish the rabbit cages.. I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to do the doors.. I'm putting the doors in the top, that way it will be at least harder for them to escape.. It also leaves the sides free for feeder or water bottle space, or whatever else I might need the sides for.. But I want to make the door itself out of something more solid.. But don't know if I should use wood (chewable) or something else.. I've almost got one cage finished.. I just need to cut another opening for the other door, put in a divider (need more wire), and get some feeders to install on the sides.. Oh, and the door issue thing.. I still haven't figured out if I'm going to put the nest boxes inside the cage or cut a separate hole to hang them on the outside or underneath.. I'd love to put them underneath since rabbits naturally make burrows for their nests.. But no idea yet how I'd attach them or how I'd be able to check on the kits.. Still some brain storming to do..

The last thing I'd like to do (for now) is start my raised beds.. But we'll see how much money we have left after we catch up on the bills and I accomplish these other things.. I also agreed that hubby can get a Wii.. It was that or an Xbox 360.. I like the Wii better because it gets you off the couch and actually participating in the game.. Not just get cramps in your thumbs..

Anyway, enough talk about money.. We won't be getting it for 8-15 days anyway.. Past bedtime.. Nite nite..

What I've Been Up To

Other than the usual stressing over bills, that is..

Cleaned off the goat's pen and put all the wasted hay and poo in an area that I had tried to make as a cement raised bed.. Found out cement is much more expensive than I thought and doesn't go quite as far as I thought it would.. Would end up taking A LOT of cement to complete that project.. So I never bothered finishing it..


Instead I'm using it as a compost pile..


Also working on making the cages for the new rabbits.. Still haven't completed those yet so don't have any pics to show..

Spent most of yesterday moving around the living room and giving it a really good cleaning.. Every once in a while I just have an urge to rearrange stuff for no reason.. Today I feel very apathetic and don't know if I'll accomplish anything.. Need to finish up a little left of the living room and probably do some laundry.. We'll see if it gets done or not..