AL - Recording baby steps: Newest Addition

[savingdogs]

That sounds like an excellent idea to kennel Buford there when you are gone. That will give them a long time to assess him and perhaps come up with more solutions for you as well....when I worked in boarding that would often happen. The vet just has so much more time to check them out.

 

[glenolam]

I love your vet, too. They sound amazing.

 

[glenolam]

Have you left yet? I can't recall when you leave?

But Happy Lock Down Day! Mine's tomorrow!!

 

[AL]

Nope, still here - I'll leave about 3am Wednesday morning probably.
Buford is doing pretty well. I have figured out a schedule for all of his meds and it seems to be working for him.

I went to TSC today and they have started getting chicks in.... I walked away empty handed! Yay me! But they had "assorted bantams" that were just TOO cute. They also had some rabbits. I almost walked out with one, but common sense kicked in and I decided to wait until I get back from Texas and actually have a cage for it!

I don't have a lot of confidence in my hatch.... I went ahead and soaked some paper towels and put in just in case, but I'm not holding my breath to get anything out of this. I will try again if it doesn't work out though.

The wind is blowing around 25mph with gusts to 35 so the little tarp shelter I have Pat (the bullied hen) keeps pulling loose. I have to go to work to make up some time today, but tomorrow I need to get out there and put a real wall up since she is evidently destined to stay there. I just hope she will accept some chicks for company when they are a little older (whether from this hatch, the next, or the feedstore )

 

[glenolam]

I went to TSC today and they have started getting chicks in.... I walked away empty handed! Yay me! But they had "assorted bantams" that were just TOO cute

Ugh....my weakness!

 

[AL]

My old neighbor has a bunch of little mutt bantams and a couple of them are simply stunning! One looks like someone dunked his front half in black paint, the back in white. Cool bird.
But I will wait and see about this hatch - if it is an epic fail I will try one more batch and then I am hitting the feed stores!

So I have decided I am going to get a rabbit. I wanted to get 2 (they're sexed) but a lady there in the TSC (not an employee) said you shouldn't put rabbits together unless it's a breeding pair - as in not 2 males or 2 females. Opinions?
I am researching some online and threads here, I don't want to get a rabbit and it have a miserable existence because I am clueless.

I was thinking I would have 2 pens - one of 1x1 wire, off the ground with a box to get into. I'd put it under the shelter where Pat the bullied hen is - shaded, blocked 2 sides from the wind- and extend part of the pen out from under the roof for sunshine (they have more trouble with heat than cold, right?). The other pen I would bury the chicken wire bottom and then use 1x1 wire for the rest, so it could get grass and be off the wire some? I know they dig - Mr ON had a rabbit dig a hole about big enough for me lol.

I think my dog vet sees rabbits (they see my chickens, I'm sure they'd see a rabbit ). I know they get pellets and timothy.....

I don't care anything about meat - chickens I managed, a rabbit? Not even going to pretend like I would consider it! So what is a good breed? They had New Zealands, Californians, umm.. a black one that I loved, a dwarf / rex mix (something like that - loved him too).



Finally.... a link for OFG
http://pensacola.craigslist.org/grd/2247855689.html



We are supposed to get some severe storms tomorrow... almost hope it does storm because then I won't have an excuse to leave the house. I have company coming and I need a dump truck and frontend loader to get the house cleaned.

 

[Farmfresh]

Yup rabbits are best kept solitary. Even a breeding pair usually only gets together for actual breeding. Rabbits don't have heat cycles like other mammals, they ovulate on contact! The females will have false pregnancies and other issues if housed together and the males will usually fight.

If you are planning on a pet rabbit, I HIGHLY recommend getting it spayed or neutered. That solves lots of problems in the long run. They do make nice pets however. They can easily be leash trained and litter box trained as well. We had a big old mutt rabbit at our last school as a therapy animal. She roamed the classroom she lived it all day long freely. We did have to watch power cords however, she loved to chew on them!!

The other thing I have learned about rabbits is that almost EVERY dog I know wants to eat them. Even the best dog, seems to involuntarily drool when they see a rabbit. This means pens need to be very predator proof.

Rabbits also have problems with heat. They do fine in the cold as long as they are dry, but heat kills. Be sure to house them in a cool spot and use a frozen pop bottle full of water in the pen during hot days to help them keep their cool.

 

[BarredBuff]

Heats is a no, no with rabbits. They will have heatstrokes. You can have two females together. I wouldnt have two males together because they will fight and one will rip testicles off the other on.

 

[kcsunshine]

We used to breed rabbits and one day it was so hot the little ones were taking turns laying on a flat piece of ice. I couldn't figure out why the ice had a hollowed out place in the middle until I saw one jump up and lay down, then jump off and another jumped up on it.

Ours have survived through extremely cold winters (the last 2) without any kind of heat - they're under shelter but the ends are open and the wind can blow in. The first year we had them, I worried so much about them I put old blankets over their cages to block the wind - they chewed whatever part they could reach. Hubby kept telling me they had fur coats - leave them alone!

 

[glenolam]

Ummmmmm.....AL.

I think I'm gonna drive down to Alabama to get some of them cows.

'Round here those'll cost ya upwards of $1500 AT LEAST.