The end of an era

Well I am sorry to say I've decided to stop breeding rabbits for meat and fur.
It has not been cost effective, although it is a very good meat for the dogs to eat, the kids wouldn't eat the fluffy bunnies and it works out as rather expensive dog food so it's time to call it a day.  Also I can't use 'the bunny room' any more as mum insist she has to have somewhere to sleep! Pah! lol

Perhaps if I had more land in which to grow more plants and hay for them to eat it and could raise them indoors it would have cost less.  Don't get me wrong, it doesn't cot much to raise rabbits.  A 12kg bag of pellets is about £10,  A bale of hay is about £4 but if you take into account that you can't breed over the winter as they are outdoors and the baby bunnies can eat twice as much as an adult then each rabbit (which weighs about 1- 2 Kg) costs about £10 to raise.  Unfortunately my dogs eat about 2 Kg a day!  Just not worth it for me I'm afraid with the work involved in looking after them too.

Bye for now!  I might blog about a different subject at some point!

A bit of a catch up

Well,  I am now fairly well practised with the processing of rabbits.  The broomstick method I found a little unreliable so I invested in a Quick rabbit or Rabbit Wringer.  This screws to the wall and makes the process easier. However it isn't something I like doing and I do tend to put it off as long as possible.

I'm not processing the fur at the moment, I'm freezing them until I can devote some time to scraping them etc as unless it is done properly it isn't worth doing.  If any tissue is left on the pelt then it will go rancid.  I'm thinking of trying to find a taxidermist or tanner to do it for me if I get lots that need doing.

The dogs are loving their fresh meat dinners and you can tell it is good for them as their fur is so much softer and the poop less yucky lol

My first Rex litter are mostly gone to the dogs now, there are 3 left and I can't decide if I should keep one to breed from..  I had a couple of people say they wanted the chocolate and the black one but then they never turned up so I've kept them longer for that purpose and they do look good and have the lovely soft fur.

My giant x rex has just had her first litter weaned.  She had a very big litter but a few died for one reason of another so ended up with 7.  I feel it put a big strain on her and she is a lovely rabbit so I might sell her to a pet home.  Her babies will become dinner.  I also have 4 lop babies of the same age so they are all living together.  Boys and girls separate of course!

I also have my second pure rex litter up and coming and they look much the same as the first rex litter but they would.  They have the same parents!  They are very active and keep escaping to run free about the spare room which is fine I suppose but I should sort out a more secure place for them.  I have a big hutch I might put them in soon.

More photos and updates coming soon.