Kits and Sandy

September 22nd and 23rd were breeding days for Country Mile and Jumpp. It was the long awaiting start to making the rabbitry productive. It was obvious that Hopp got the deed done with Country Mile (he gave the tell tale sign -- he fell over afterward). It was more questionable about Skipp and Jumpp. It is possible to palpate the doe about a week later to see if she is pregnant but I wasn't sure. Rabbits kindle (give birth) roughly 31 days after they are impregnated.

Country Miles first kindle. Five survivors the first day.

Country Mile kindled on Wednesday, October 24th. She did not kindle in the nestbox and had not pulled fur like she should have. I found 8 kits laying on the wire when I got home from work. Three were dead and covered with hay. As I uncovered the dead kits, Country Mile whined and whimpered. It was sad, really. Country Mile and I were both nervous and unsure of what to do. I put the other five kits in the nestbox covered with hay and went inside to send out an SOS for advise. An experienced breeder told me to warm up the dryer with a towel inside and then put the kits in the dryer to warm up. So, that is exactly what I did! Dryer warmed them until they were "popping" (rabbit breeder nomenclature for "active"). While they were warming up, I was told to pull fur from Country Mile to make a nest for them since she had not done so. Country Mile did not like being plucked! But, I managed to pluck enough to line the nest for the kits.

My friends the Esquillas of KD's Rabbitry in Myrtle Beach offered to foster the kits to one of their does that had kindled on the same day. The transfer wasn't able to take place until the next day. Two kits did not survive the night but we had three able to go to their foster mom. Report is that all three are doing well. Country Mile actually started pulling fur that day but still did not cover her babies with it. She was trying to figure things out but just wasn't doing so fast enough.

I was also advised to breed Country Mile right away as doing so will increase the size of her litter. Her second litter should be fine -- she will very likely figure out this mothering thing the second time. First, I want to give her some mint for a few days to dry up her milk and avoid mastitis. I also want to get us past Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy 2012

Ah, yes, Hurricane Sandy. She is a slow moving Cat 1 Hurricane meandering her way north up the east coast. Her eye won't pass us until sometime tomorrow morning but we are getting winds and rain already. Forecasts have her staying off shore until she reaches the Virginia/Maryland area or someplace north of there. We will only get lots of rain and wind and some coastal flooding. But, the big issue is for those folks up north. Sandy is expected to merge with another storm and a cold front and create a "perfect storm" that, unlike the one that happened in 1991, will come on land and create a nightmare for the northeast. We are praying that this scenario does not happen.

My hurricane preparations have consisted mostly of getting the animals covered. I pulled the big blue tarp over the rabbit shed and secured it so the rabbits are safe and dry. The chickens in their tractor are tucked into a corner of the house and covered to keep them dry and protected. The ducks are going to fend for themselves. Currently they are enjoying bug hunting in the rain. Lastly, I got some pee-pads for the dogs to use if/when it gets too rough outside for outdoor bladder relief. I'm glad that Sandy is giving me a chance to test out my arrangements and see where I need to reinforce, fortify, or reconsider situations.

Stay warm, dry, and safe everyone!

Muscovy Conspiracy

The PVC Chicken Tractor caved again under the weight of a heavy downpour. This time, it happened in the dark and just as I was approaching it to check out how it was handling the rain. I'm not a structural engineer so I'm not completely sure what is wrong but clearly, this design, even with a peak roof, is not going to work. Time to move to plan B which is still formulating in my head. I'll share it with you as I get it going.

Actually, I think I do have a theory about what is happening. It is a duck conspiracy. What do I base this on, you ask? Well, here is the evidence as I see it:

Where is Dinner?

The ducks have gotten right used to hangin' around the chicken tractor at movin' time. Why, you ask? Well, because chickens are messy birds and get their food everywhere. The ducks love to clean up the chicken feed. After (and often while) I move the chicken tractor, they would be there eager for the task of chicken clean-up, their tails just a waggin'. No, really, they wag their tails when they are excited. Get them really excited and they will do a lot of head bobbing and coo'ing and break dancin'. Seriously. Sometimes, they even do the moonwalk. I'm not kidding you. I think they are planning to try out for the Muscovies Got Talent TV Show.

Anyway, back to the duck conspiracy. When the chickens are in the big PVC tractor, there is no spillage for them to clean up. This is quite upsetting to them. Just the other night after the chickens were back in the big coop,it was tractor movin' time. The ducks followed me to the coop, eager for dinner. I move the chicken coop. The ducks line up at the edge of the coop staring at the ground waiting for manna to appear. To the ducks dismay, there was no chicken feed to clean up. The tails stopped waggin. They stood in shocked dismay. Just staring at the ground where their supper should have wonderously appeared. But. Didn't. Their reaction reminded me of an old song:

Did you hear what the drakes did?

Get out the way old Dan Tucker
You’re too late to git your supper
Supper’s gone and dinner cookin’
Old Dan Tucker’s just a-standin’ there lookin’.

Thus, my theory. It makes logical sense if you think about it. The ducks decided that the big coop was a serious infringement on their culinary enjoyments and something had to be done. So, in the dark of night, they fixed the problem.

Whether my theory is accurate or not, it is clearly time to write the PVC Tractor off as a bad design and move on. It is only a failure if we fail to learn from what doesn't work.

Fresh Starts and Cleansing the Air

The last few months have been a testing of Mother's and my metal. Actually, the last two years have been but these past few have been the worst part of it. Sometimes God asks us to do what seems too hard for us to do. I have thought so many times that God was asking too much -- that He had more confidence in me than He should. For whatever reason, He has asked Mother and I to deal with wolves in sheep's clothing. He even asked us to allow one to live with us and to love him as a son/grandson. God knows the purpose for this season of time.

In the natural realm, the passing from one season to the other is often marked by dramatic storms. So it is in the Spiritual Realm. This past Friday had one such storm. The clouds were dark and menacing and left us shaking and uncertain. It shook us to our cores. But, with the dawn of Saturday, it was clear that the Spirit Realm had been cleansed and a fresh breeze was rustling the leaves on the trees. I even think the birds were singing happier. The heaviness had lifted not just from my heart but from the world around us.

Another symbolic gesture of the cleansing was repairing the PVC chicken tractor and getting the hens back into their bigger space. I'd been intending to repair it but it seemed like one thing after another prevented me from doing so. Mostly, I was spending all my energies trying to stay afloat and keep Mother afloat. If it hadn't been for our Pastor and church folk, I don't know how we would have kept going. The broken chicken tractor became a symbol of all that was going wrong in my life and my ability to fix it seemed as daunting as fixing what was going wrong with everything else.

Friday, in the aftermath of the storm that just about broke me, I was close to throwing in the towel on not just the coop but the homestead entirely. A heavy sense of "I just can't do this" pressed down on me. But, as the storm was passing, our Pastor prayed with us and prayed over our home. As he lead us in prayer, the battle that had been waging in the Spirit Realm for the past two years was broken, once for all.

So, on Saturday, Mother and I went to breakfast at Georges. It felt like old times. We were happy and relaxed. Then, we went to Home Depot and got a few supplies for fixing the tractor. Then, home to meet up with Tyler & Brittany Knight, my two intrepid helpers in the repair of the tractor. Helpers isn't quite the right term...I mostly gave verbal explanations and the rare suggestion and allowed Tyler to run the show and Brittany and I helped as and where needed. In very short order, it was finished. We rustled up some chickens (Brittany is quite the chicken rustler! hehehe) and moved them to their new home. Everyone was appreciating the refreshing breeze and clear skies.

Looking back, I see I never made a blog entry about the tractor. My apologies! Well, I wanted a larger tractor for the chickens so they'd have room to move around without walking on each other. I also wanted it where I could actually move around in it and reach all parts of the tractor for cleaning and chicken rustling purposes. Even though it was going to be bigger, it also needed to still be moveable -- I want to put the chickens to work in that field! So, after many design considerations, I decided to make a tractor from PVC. It is 10ft square because that is the length PVC comes in. It is 5ft tall at the roof line because that is half of a full pipe. KISS -- Keep It Simple Stupid. The original construction was performed by me and Terry on day one and me and Tyler on day two. Terry warned of two design flaws but I pressed on -- stubborn as usual. Tyler saw them, too, but was too much of a gentleman to say anything negative about my design. Construction went well and pretty easy -- like putting together a large erector set.

Oh, about those design flaws. Well one of them showed up the first time I went to move the tractor. I had not bothered to glue the joints because the joints seemed so snug that it didn't seem necessary. It is necessary. No matter how hard it is to pull a pipe out of the connector before it is all put together when you go to move the whole thing, pipes will pull out! It didn't come falling apart, just a joint came loose. But, I realized I was going to need glue. The bigger design flaw was the flat roof. It took a little while longer for this flaw to reach it's final conclusion -- until the first good rain. Yep, the roof collapsed! I came home to find the hens unharmed but as mad as...well, wet hens. Only a few connectors broke in the making of this tragedy and the "fix" wasn't a major deal. I knew that what was needed was a raised crossbar that would hold the tarp at a peak. But, I was immobilized. That tractor sat there symbolizing all that was crushing down on me. Now, it stands rebuilt -- better, stronger, faster -- well, not faster but I had to finish the quote from the Six Million Dollar Man. Don't remember that show? Watch TV Land. I'm sure it is on there.

Was this tractor cheaper than one built out of wood? No. But, it was something a person with no carpentry skills can build and it is large without being impossible to move for one or two people. The hens love the extra space. The openness will keep the chickens healthier and more robust (tightly enclosed coops can weaken their lungs from ammonia fumes). Be sure to use Schedule 40 PVC as this is the one that can handle sunlight.

For his help in repairing the tractor, Tyler is now the proud new owner of my Hennessee Camping Hammock. I hope you enjoy it on many outings, Tyler. Too bad Pastor won't let you put it up in your room! hehehe.

Now, to make a To-Do List for myself to get myself moving in the right direction on this homestead!

A thunderstorm is approaching. Perhaps tonight we get to test out the new design. I'll let you know how it fairs!

Joy in the Simple Life

 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (1 Thess. 4:11-12)

Ambition. Usually we think of ambition being the force that drives people to do great things and become "great" people. It drives us to want to "be somebody". In that sense, I've spent much of my life ambitiously hungering to be somebody. To not be invisible. I struggled to find a passion for something that would fuel a fire of ambition in me to reach for and achieve visibility. What I really wanted was to be an artist. To create. To paint. Art was like meditation to me. But, I was told, "fine artists don't earn a living with their art", "you need a vocation that will support you and painting can be your avocation". I believed these "facts" and so started a life of searching for that elusive career that would interest me and make me ambitious to succeed in it. None did and I moved from here to there, collecting degrees along the way and leaving my art far behind. I feel just as invisible now as I ever did. And, just as disconnected from the person I wanted to be -- want to be.

Lesson learned: never let other people define what "success" is for you! Success is more than how much money you make or how popular you are in the society circles.

Makes it your ambition to lead a quiet life...there is nothing better than sitting on the back stoop in the early morning dawn feeding ducks a little bread. Ducks can teach us so much about how to enjoy simple things. A little spilled chicken or rabbit food can make them chatter and wag their tails they are so happy. Getting a little bread can lead to spontaneous moonwalking in circles.

Chickens aren't quiet. They chatter constantly. But, somehow, it's a sound that is comforting, calming. It isn't a sound that grates on the nerves or rev's up the anxiety. 

Tending to the rabbits in the rabbitry will teach one about walking gently, talking softly, and taking one's time. Rabbits don't like noise or suddenness. They don't like ducks under their cages.

The Simple Life. Simply the life that expresses who you are. A life spent reaching for the contentment found in achieving what inspires you. Or...finding a place of accepting the life that took you on a wayward adventure and making peace with it. Simply accept that through God's grace, even the crazy path of misadventure can lead you to a life of peace and contentment if you trust God to do the leading. God's hands can mold you and make you into a beautiful vessel as long as you are pliable. Trust Him to reshape your mess into something... Simply Beautiful.

minding your own business and working with your own hands... I think the scripture is meaning "don't be noisy about your neighbor's going's on" and that is important. Leave your neighbor's business for your neighbor to deal with and hopefully he'll do you the same kindness. Each of us has our own "stuff" to deal with and really, that should be enough! That all said, there is another way to take that verse...to mind your own business. To work at something that is your's and that fits the way God made you. Do not try to be someone else. There is only one you and that is who you should be. If I had focused on my own business from the start -- art -- my life would have taken a far different path. Whether it would have lead to fame and fortune I'll never know but I strongly suspect it would have lead to a more contented life. Why? Because it was what I was made to do. I can not go back and there are experiences I have lived that are precious to me. So, I trust God to take my misadventures and mold them into a life of beauty and contentment. (I'm lacking somewhat in patience, though....)

I wish with all my heart that I could spend my days working with my own hands in the soil of my little homestead. Sitting at a computer 40 hours a week making someone else rich is just not satisfying to me. I try to fine a way to get ambitious. I've tried to see how I might move up or over or even create a new position that would use my skills in a way that would be more interesting to me. But, such efforts hit brick walls and I lack the finesse to play the corporate games to make a go of it. So, I remain a cog in the wheel and while I am trying to pry answers out of French publishers on how to order their journals for a university library, I dream. I dream of making my living writing and "farming" this little homestead. I dream of making this place a living painting full of color and life and peacefulness. I dream of again taking up canvas and paintbrush and feeling peace with the doing rather than anxiety and regrets.

and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. The goal of every homesteader -- self-sufficiency. Few will reach complete self-sufficiency but we hope to come reasonably close. Actually, I dream of more than that. I dream of abundance. Abundance to share with those in lack. That is what the early Christians did -- they shared from their abundance with those who had need so that no one lacked for anything. Christians should not be on welfare or other government handouts. Christians should be taking care of their own. We should function within community -- each giving of their particular talents and from their excess. When persecution comes to our towns and cities, will we then remember that we are a body?

Epilogue: This is a very different blog entry than I had intended to write. Not surprisingly, the writing took it's own course and I had to follow to see where it would lead. I had intended to write a happy, funny blog about six silly ducks. Perhaps another day. Perhaps I can snap a picture of Piebald sticking his head around the back porch door to see if I come bearing bread...until then, you will just have to imagine him doing just that. Silly duck.

Unexpected Changes and Heatwaves

I don't even know where to start. So much has happened in a short period of time and I'm still trying to come to grips with it. We seemed to be on a row getting things set up here on the homestead. We had the rabbitry up and running, the chickens in their tractor, and the ducks growing nicely. We still had many projects and plans to work on but it all seemed to flowing nicely. Son got a paying job and it looked like we would finally have enough cash to purchase the supplies we need for projects we want to do. Then, the unexpected happened.

Last week, my spiritual son left the homestead in a most unpleasant way. That is about as much as I will say about his departure except that he broke my heart and my mother's heart. We pray for him and hope he seeks help.

His departure has left me with an assortment of messes to be fixed:

1. the chicken tractor he built is too small for the chickens, it is difficult to move, and impossible to clean. I need to build a new home for the chickens. This time, I'm going to opt for a stationary, open-sided coop. I will be building it myself with the help (hopefully) of my pastor's son. 
2. our muscovy population is over-populated with drakes and this is beginning to cause problems. Possibly connected to that -- the ducks found their way over to the neighbor's house and only six returned home safely. Number 7 was found alive but unfortunately, did not survive. I still have two too many drakes and will need to dispatch two of them to freezer camp very soon before the females decide to look for other accommodations with less testosterone.
3. the field...the ever-troublesome field. Son had started to create a berm and swale with the berm to follow the boundary line of the field. He started. He did not finish. No surprise there. What was left has become an overgrown mess. I am looking for someone to come help clean up that mess and level the field so that I can mow it.
4. the ditches -- another perpetual problem spot. Son broke the weedeater. I thought perhaps I could kill off the weeds in the ditches with vinegar/water/salt but it did not work as hoped. I just might set fire to it if it is dry enough to burn. Anything but use Roundup...don't want to use that!
5. piles of wood, scattered tools, general mess....need I say more? the yard was littered with his tools and scraps left behind from this project or that. I'm slowly clearing those up and getting my yard back to looking like someone cares about the appearance of the place.

There are moments when I feel overwhelmed with it all. This heatwave isn't helping matters. But, all I can do is do what I can do and learn to ask for help for those things I need help with. The silver lining to all this is that offers of assistance are coming from unexpected directions. Some offers have been followed through on and others have yet to...but even if they don't, the offer means their hearts have been softened towards us. That is always a good thing!

Speaking of  heatwave -- it has been brutal all across the country. Farmers losing crops. Rabbitries losing their rabbits. So far, we have not lost any animals to the heat. We have been on ice bottle brigade taking frozen 2-liter bottles to the rabbits through the hot part of the day. It is very fortunate that we placed the rabbit hutch under the pecan trees as the temperature there is a good 10-15 degrees cooler than elsewhere. This extended heatwave and drought is going to cause serious problems this winter with food costs. I'm hoping to stock up on staples like rice, beans, flour, sugar and whatever vegetables we can get canned or otherwise preserved to get us and the animals through the winter.

It is a difficult time. An emotional time. An period of lost security and uncertainty. But, God is still on the throne and I know that He will provide for us and care for us. Recent events may have taken us by surprise, but it hasn't taken God by surprise. It is important to remember from whence our help comes from -- it comes from the Lord! He gives us strength and grace and mercy. He provides our needs and blesses us with our wants. He is a good God!

How the Rabbit Shed was Built and Modified

 I know I have posted pictures of the rabbit shed before; but, since I did not explain the design and construction, I figured I would write about it now.

The first consideration was making it of a length and width to hold four breeder cages and one or more grow out cages. The cages are 30x30 so the width of the shed was set at 4 feet. We decided to make the length 16 feet which is sufficient for the six cages with extra for overhang. There is also the potential for adding length to one end later on. The shed is set in a corner of a solid vinyl fence so it has protection on two sides. The other two sides will soon have tarp "curtains" which can be lowered to protect them during heavy rains. The roof is made of PVC panels. If you use multiple panels as we have, you will need to seal the joints with silicone.

The posts are 2x4x8 pressure treated boards as are the roof supports except that there are two 2x4x16s on top (front and back) which really pulls the structure together into one solid unit. We will be coating the legs with grease to prevent fire ant attacks and may also place something around the legs to prevent raccoons from climbing the legs.

I originally thought that using chains to hang the cages would be sufficient support. With lighter rabbits it probably would have been. If you have small rabbits and want to hang with chain, you need to position the chains so that they form a Y with the corners and create tension between their opposing corner. The chain we purchased was rated to hold significantly more weight than the cage and rabbit would weigh.

For large meat rabbits, chains alone will not reduce bounce enough. My rabbits found the remaining bounce disconcerting so we had to find a way to retro-fit the shed so as to support the rabbits and reduce bounce to zero. After discussing several ideas, we opted for purchasing garden wire fencing and more 2x4x8s and attaching sections of fencing running front to back and setting the cages on the fencing. We attached the cages to the fencing with zip ties.

Another item currently missing but will very likely have to be retrofitted is urine guards between cages. Bucks have a bad habit of spraying does and other bucks with urine as a way of establishing their claims. I guess the male hormones make for bad behavior in any species! Anyway, if you don't want your rabbits stained with each other's urine, you will want to place solid walls between bucks and between bucks and does. I have not explored the options for this need yet so I don't have recommendations.

The other consideration is what to do with the rabbit manure and urine. Having cages without trays like these are great for hygiene. Yes, I will need to clean the cages occasionally but I won't have trays of urine and poop to empty daily. The droppings fall to the ground below. The hay and bits of food also fall. So, what to do? Well, I've read lots of different solutions. I'm trying the worm bed option. You will see in the first two pictures some tires on the ground under the cages. I was going to have the worm beds in those. But, the smaller tires were hard to set where the poop was falling. They also just didn't look as neat as Son wanted it to look. Seems he wants the shed to look *good* since he built it! So, the tires were removed and we put a thick layer of spoiled straw and leaf mulch under there. We may eventually put 1x8 boards around the circumference of the shed to contain the pile. Son says that will make it look better, too. We'll be mail ordering some worms to add to the pile and hopefully will soon be having some great compost for the gardens!

Our First Rabbit Show

North Carolina RBA

My family and I had our first adventure into the world of rabbit shows today. I'd learned about a show in Wilson, NC and we decided to go and see rabbits. Mother has decided she wants her own rabbits to breed and wanted to see several options up close and personal to decide which one to start with. So, up early and off to Wilson with the intent to be there before they started the judging so we could experience the judging process.

I don't know about you, but sometimes the best laid plans just don't work out. This time was one of those. We stopped an hour from home to get breakfast only to find out that my wallet was not in my purse. Great! So, back home we go to get the wayward wallet. So much for getting there to watch the judging. C'est la vie. 

We arrived at the show almost two hours after it started. Truth be told, it wasn't as big as I'd imagined. This, I think, was actually a good thing. As it was, we were in awe and amazement going from one set of rabbits to another. I realized very quickly that pictures in books, magazines, and the internet do not give a true indication of the beauty of the colors nor their true size. English Lops are HUGE! WOW! (Note to self: they are about the same weight as Silver Foxes at full size. A 10 pound rabbit is Gi-normous!) 


The judging process seemed mysterious and not easy to watch as I was afraid of getting in the way of a breeder trying to show. Watching from a distance only gave me cursory information of how it's done. 


Mother ooh'd and ahh'd over so many rabbits but kept coming back to the Holland Lops and the American Fuzzy Lops. She is addicted to the floppy ears. Unfortunately, the Mini Lops was in very short supply there so it didn't get her attention. 

While some of the breeders were less than forthcoming with information, we met one, Donna of Luv Some Bunny Special, who was very friendly and willing to talk about her rabbits. She allowed Mother to hold a rabbit and showed me how to pick up and hold my rabbits so they feel more secure. Her rabbits were beautiful (several are Champions) and Mother was totally in love! The plan is to obtain a breeding pair of American Fuzzies from Donna when they are ready in June. And, a cool God-thing is that Donna is Pentecostal Holiness -- as are we! God has such a sense of humor and timing! Bring us 3 hours from home to a hall full of strangers and who do we meet but another PH Christian! 


Son found two breeds he thought were totally cool and possible options for him at some future date: Britannia Petites and Tans. The Petites are CUTENESS TIMES TEN. As pets, we're told they are greatly lacking. That's unfortunate. The Tans are very pretty. I think the Petites are cute but then I have always liked miniature things. 


I will continue to focus on my Silver Foxes. I had not planned on showing them but I might just find it interesting. It would be good to at least see how they stack up to their standard. It would help if I want to sell some as breeders. It might. I met a lady at the show who is a member of the Southern Pride Rabbit Club in South Carolina. She mentioned that she knows a few Silver Fox breeders who will be entering their rabbits in the Columbia show in May. She strongly encouraged me to enter mine in the show. I think as much as anything so that there would be something to compare the other breeders' rabbits to. I was excited to hear that there are other breeders of Silver Foxes in the Carolinas. I don't think I'll be able to show in May but I will be going so I can meet those other breeders and see their rabbits. The Columbia show is said to be much larger, too, so we'll get a taste of just how big these things can get. 


I foresee our rabbitry getting much larger than originally imagined! Son may stick with his poultry and helping us with the rabbits rather than getting into breeding rabbits himself. He hasn't decided. In that case, I'll go to poultry shows with him and he can attend rabbit shows with us. It will be a family venture, either way. Besides, the poultry will help keep the fly population down in the rabbitry. Yes, of course I had to come back around to permaculture ideas of systems working together. Even though Mother wants "pet" rabbits rather than meat rabbits, they still play a role in the homestead system by producing lots of lovely rabbit poop to fertilize the garden with.