Week Eight: bunny.... I mean rabbit
We raise rabbits on the farm (I'm trying to break my habit of calling them bunnies) and every time I mention the rabbits someone says "oh cute! what do you do with them?" .... well, we uh...
I made the mistake of being completely honest with one little girl who was visiting the farm and she cried. So, from now on if you are under the age of 10 we raise bunnies on the farm because they are cute and cuddly and we love them. Anyway, rabbits are unique because they don't ovulate on a regular cycle like most mammals. Because of this they don't actually go in heat, they release their egg after mating. We avoid breeding when it's really hot so they don't have a heat stroke or in the dead of winter so the tiny babies don't die but all fair weather is bunny breeding time. Several of our does just gave birth and the babies are so cute. SO CUTE. In an attempt to encourage her to deliver where it's warm, versus a cold drafty corner, we put a bunch of straw in her nest box a couple days before she's due to give birth. So far, this strategy seems to work. About 24 hrs before she's due the mom will shed a bunch of her fur, dig a hole in the straw, and then fill the hole with fur. It's pretty cool. This fur lined hole is what will keep the tiny newborn bunnies warm - they'll all hang out here for a few days before they start bouncing around everywhere.
Will and Kent keep amazingly detailed and accurate records of lineage for all the animals. This week my job was to count all the new baby bunnies for their bunny records. To do this you basically just pull each baby bunny out of the nest, count all of them, and put them back. Easy peasy. So I went in all willy-nilly-fingers-first counting babies and got my first bunny bite from mom... no that sounds too tame... bunny attack is more like it! My first thoughts were 1. I hope it leaves a bunny shaped scar. And 2. What if this is like Spider Man where I wake up with bunny powers tomorrow morning.
Sadly I have neither a cool scar nor any cool bunny powers.
Adorable Clark update: We are trying to train Clark to drink his milk out of a dish rather than a bottle (I am less onboard with this new plan because bottle feeding gives Clark and I play time). But poor Clark is having a hard time learning this new skill. He just sticks his whole head in the pan and blows out his nose making bubbles in the milk. When he finally lifts his head out of the milk he just licks as much as he can off his face and tries again. I love Clark and I'm so sad I can't have him at home - to ease my pain Andy bought a tiny cement pig for our Baltimore yard. He even made a little muddy pig wallow for our new cement friend.
Will and Kent are going on vacation next week. I've tried to talk them out of it but they insist they're going. They asked me to help keep things in order while they're gone. No pressure.
I made the mistake of being completely honest with one little girl who was visiting the farm and she cried. So, from now on if you are under the age of 10 we raise bunnies on the farm because they are cute and cuddly and we love them. Anyway, rabbits are unique because they don't ovulate on a regular cycle like most mammals. Because of this they don't actually go in heat, they release their egg after mating. We avoid breeding when it's really hot so they don't have a heat stroke or in the dead of winter so the tiny babies don't die but all fair weather is bunny breeding time. Several of our does just gave birth and the babies are so cute. SO CUTE. In an attempt to encourage her to deliver where it's warm, versus a cold drafty corner, we put a bunch of straw in her nest box a couple days before she's due to give birth. So far, this strategy seems to work. About 24 hrs before she's due the mom will shed a bunch of her fur, dig a hole in the straw, and then fill the hole with fur. It's pretty cool. This fur lined hole is what will keep the tiny newborn bunnies warm - they'll all hang out here for a few days before they start bouncing around everywhere.
Will and Kent keep amazingly detailed and accurate records of lineage for all the animals. This week my job was to count all the new baby bunnies for their bunny records. To do this you basically just pull each baby bunny out of the nest, count all of them, and put them back. Easy peasy. So I went in all willy-nilly-fingers-first counting babies and got my first bunny bite from mom... no that sounds too tame... bunny attack is more like it! My first thoughts were 1. I hope it leaves a bunny shaped scar. And 2. What if this is like Spider Man where I wake up with bunny powers tomorrow morning.
Sadly I have neither a cool scar nor any cool bunny powers.
Adorable Clark update: We are trying to train Clark to drink his milk out of a dish rather than a bottle (I am less onboard with this new plan because bottle feeding gives Clark and I play time). But poor Clark is having a hard time learning this new skill. He just sticks his whole head in the pan and blows out his nose making bubbles in the milk. When he finally lifts his head out of the milk he just licks as much as he can off his face and tries again. I love Clark and I'm so sad I can't have him at home - to ease my pain Andy bought a tiny cement pig for our Baltimore yard. He even made a little muddy pig wallow for our new cement friend.
Will and Kent are going on vacation next week. I've tried to talk them out of it but they insist they're going. They asked me to help keep things in order while they're gone. No pressure.
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