lifeatsr

Let's talk about life as a rabbit here at SR.

First, I feed Kent Family quality pellets. For a conditioning mix,I feed.. calf mania,10% sweet feed, All grain, beet pulp , human whole Grain cerea and
Rolled oats. This mixture is the daily feeding along with the normal ration of pellets. During the harsh Michigan winters, I add black oilier sunflower seeds
to their diet, On top of this , they also get a double handful of timothy/clover mixed hay Daily. During the Fall season, I stock up on deer apples , carrots
and whole corn,and lets not forget the pumpkins!!! You wanna see my rabbits do back-flips and cartwheels ??...let me walk in with a pumpkin..or even a
few cans of unsweetened pumpkin pie filling.. You can see the excitement in their little eyes and the foot stomping begins and or the running rapid in the
cages.I also make seldom trips to the day old bakeries and get bread that I then bring home,freeze and from time to time take out a few loafs and lightly
bake it in the oven to dry it out.This is all just as an added treat. Currently, I sit one and a half acres and I've sectioned off an area where no other animals
are allowed to go. This area goes unmowed so I can hand pick grass during the spring and summer months.Normally I pick at least 2 wheelbarrows full
and disperse this among the rabbitry. I also have fruit trees, 3 apples and 2 pear, I'll prune these trees and give the rabbits the clippings. These trees are
untreated. The branches help with the growth of the teeth and gives them something to gnaw on , they enjoy it along with the fresh Spring leaves.For alittle
fun, in the oldest compost pile, I'll plant seeds of butternut squash,corn, and collards and etc..
What the wildlife doesn't consume, the rabbits get.


O.Kay, we've covered some of the feeding habits, Now let's talk about where they live and their cages, the place they spend allot of their time. My
rabbitry is part of a garage converted..somewhat.. I don't have a solid
divider between the rabbitry and the other half. I was working on getting that done, When we decided we wanted to move. We own 10 acres about 11.5
miles North of here and want to build there. So, rabbitry construction was brought to a halt. Things work fine for now, but their future home will be
a 25 X 30 barn (heated and cooled). One side dedicated to the breeders and the other to the off-spring, with a isle down the middle that will lead to a
storage room for feed / hay / straw and accessories.
The rabbitry blue print is already designed, now it's a matter of getting the house built ...


I have all wire units. It's cleaner / healthier for the Rabbits and for the rabbitry . For the Mini Rex and the Netherland Dwarf's.. each unit is 24 X 24, with
plastic floor mats and catch trays.
For the English lops, their living quarter's is a roomy 36 x 36. For my breeding does, each little girl has a nest box that hangs on the outside of her cage. It
continues to give her all her space even with her
litter. All watering and feeding is done on the outside as-well.. J-feeders and gravity water bottles (32.Oz)..Once a week, I take all water bottles down
and soak them in viodine solution. I also spray each unit with viodine and scrub the wire.Especially the corners. I use a 18 gallon hard plastic watering
bucket as the source of easy dip water.I alternate their water with Vet RX and Terramycin.. During the season change, they get the Vet RX for 2 weeks,
then it's untreated for 2 weeks and then we start the terramycin for 2 weeks. my rabbitry is heated using a nice wood burning stove, I also have a water
heater for the winter months. The water remains at a nice drinkable temperature,Kind of like a nice cup of hot coco for us humans. During this time of
year, I'll retire the gravity bottles and go to aluminum water bowls, this way I can remove any ice and give fresh water. I water my rabbits twice a day
during the long winter months.. once in the morning and then again in the evening.They also get a layer of Straw per-unit as added warmth. Who would
want to lay on cold bare wire during a Michigan winter??!!!   NOT I !!!
So why should my rabbits ??? I almost forget to add , that during the summer months, I run fans and use frozen 2 liter pop bottles (2 per rabbit) as a
way of keeping them cool.If the heat gets to bad, I will
take and spray the roof top with the water hose to help. With some careful planning, This won't have to happen with the new Rabbit Barn..
If you have any questions about how I run my rabbitry, please e-mail me and I will answer any questions you have.. Thanks for Visiting....

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