Bun pictures

I'm going to try to figure out how old the kits are so I got them out and weighed them this morning. I figured this would also be a good time to take pictures. I took them next to a coffee mug to give some perspective.

This is the smallest bun. We refer to it as Little One. It weighs 5.45 ounces.

This is Blue Ear. (We marked its ear with a blue marker so we can tell the 2 biggest ones apart). It weighs 7.08 ounces.

Biggin is the largest. It weighs 9.02 ounces.

House Bunnies!

We found a dead kit with the others yesterday, so the bunnies came inside. I feel bad, it was my favorite little one. I don't know what really happened. Deklan thinks it got crushed by the others. Or it could have been too cold or the moms aren't feeding them. I never saw them nurse, but rabbits only nurse like once a day so it is hard to actually see them do it. Anyway, I'm feeding them goat milk 3 times a day with an eye dropper. This is definitely a new adventure. We'll see how it goes.

Baby Bunbuns

I bought an animal trap this morning, but didn't catch anything. Stef went out with me to do chores tonight and caught the dad, and 4 kits. 2 of them were older and 2 were younger. We put them in with thier moms but the moms seemed less than thrilled to have them back. We'll see how it goes. If they don't eat enough we might have house bunnies! They are sooooo cute.

Wascally Wabbits

We have had several bunny breakouts lately. They started digging different tunnels in the colony and found they could dig themselves out. We have tried to repair the damage, but we haven't done such a great job. Well, we lost 2 rabbits to dogs this way so we decided it would be best to move the remainder of the rabbits into cages. We caught both of the girls yesterday and put them in our last available cage. We left the lone male in the colony. You will find, if you are in animal husbandry long, that the male of the species is often seen as a second priority most of the time. In other words, we are willing to risk him to make sure the girls are safe in a cage. He doesn't seem to want to venture out though.

As we were doing chores this morning Deklan spied 2 baby rabbits coming out of a tunnel in the colony. Aw, man! We took their mama away! They are probably old enough to be on their own and were coming to get some grain. I do want to catch them though, just in case, and it is supposed to get cold again this weekend. If you have ever tried to catch a wild baby rabbit, you understand what a difficult task we have in front of us. I think I'm going to try a wild animal trap first. I'm gonna get one in town when I go in for my chiropractor appt. this morning. Wish us luck!

Postponed

I was on my way to the store to get dog food and laundry detergent(for doggy pee pee blankets and towels) but when I went out to the car the window was iced over. Do you think I got something to scrape the window? HECK NO!! I do not live in Texas to scrape my windshield! I, of course, turned on the heat and defrost on high and am now in here posting this.

I am so wiped out

We took DD and Jake to get fixed today. Had to be in Austin by 8:30. Stef and the boys did chores (thank god! It was windy and 20 degrees). The boys and I dragged (literally) the dogs into the back of the car. Again we made sure to put plastic down in case of any accidents. The place was super hard to find and I thought we would be late, especially since DD puked on Deklan and JD pooped in the car before we got there. We finally got them dropped off and decided we deserved to get some breakfast at IHOP. First, though, we had to clean the car out and stop at Goodwill to get Deklan some new pants to wear.

Next we headed to Bastrop to drop off some gifts at CPS for foster kids, went to WalMart to do a last bit of Xmas shopping and went to visit Dad. Then we went home where I made dinner, cleaned up a bit and headed back to Austin to pick the dogs up. They were so pathetic, totally drugged up. Deklan was in the backseat with them and they were laying side by side on the seat. We had to push the front passenger seat way back to make sure DD didn't fall off the seat. We got them home and Stef carried them in and they are here in the house with us now. Jake is not to keen on being inside. He is whining a lot. I think we will put him in a kennel tonight and DD in the laundry room.

It is going to be freezing tonight (literally). We are supposed to have a high of 30 degrees tomorrow! I DO NOT LIVE IN TEXAS TO DEAL WITH THIS CRAP!!!

I win!

Charity finally, really went into heat today. I loaded her up this morning and took her to Fran's, who, by the way was extremely gracious to let us trespass while she and John were not home. (Thank you) Charity was not as put off by Rastiff this time around. They got along quite nicely and did the deed for sure 2 times maybe 3.

Charity is done, Flower is done, and I'm beginning to believe Cole took care of Holly. So there it is, I WIN.

Have I mentioned...

How much I HATE cold weather??

Well, maybe not as much as flower hates it. Poor baby is all puffed up and miserable.

Good thing Niko is such a gentleman and let her use his coat.

DD too.

The boys think its great!



It didn't really freeze last night but sleeted and we had very high winds. Tonight it is really supposed to freeze. WAH!! All of the animals seem to be dealing with it well except for Flower and DD. They are the only ones that look thoroughly miserable. Oh yeah, and me too. Well, now I'm off to cover the pipes...

Business Card

Not my best photography ever, but you get the general idea. I'm going to attach this card to my cheese and soap I'm giving as gifts this year. I did the art, it is supposed to be a goat in a tub of soap bubbles. Deklan is going to work on some better stuff for me tomorrow.

One down...

... and maybe 2 to go. This morning Flower was sniffing Charity's rear end and trying to hump her so she took the trip to see Rastiff today. She hopped right in the car like she does it everyday and drove me nuts on the way over. I have the seat covered with plastic so if there are any accidents its not that bad, but Flower was all over the place like a puppy. She is such a character. Rastiff and Flower are just a match made in heaven. They were blubbering and snorting at each other through the fence and boy was her tail wagging! The deed was done 3 times ensuring Rastiff's nastiness was smeared all over Flower for the ride home. To take advantage of that fact, she made sure to rub up against every available surface while in the backseat. And then, for her last thank you to me for taking her to see her new beau, she peed on the backseat after removing the plastic,of course, mere yards from the driveway. Yea, Flower!


I say maybe 2 to go because maybe Charity got bred on her visit to Rastiff. I have to keep my eye on her to see if she goes into heat next week. And maybe, just maybe, Cole got the job done with Holly on her previous heat. Fingers crossed.

What to do...

I don't know what to do with these does. I can't tell when Charity is in heat. I thought I could tell when Holly was in heat (like yesterday), then today nothing. She was real interested in a buck rag yesterday, today she couldn't care less. She has discharge from her vulva like usual but she never did really holler super loud like she usually does, but what gives?? Oh, btw, a buck rag is a rag that has been wiped all over a bucky buck and stinks to high heaven, (or smells delightfully sexual if you happen to be in the caprine family). Charity wasn't interested in the rag yesterday but today is a little more curious, I don't know, I'm about to give up!

Goings on...

I really need to set up a routine again with this blog. This is such a busy time for us. We get up in the morning and do chores then it is off to Austin to help Stef with Christmas lights, we get home around 9 or later and go to bed. This schedule leaves little time for blogging. I will try to catch you all up though.

First, we had to say goodbye to Ama last Sunday. She was acting very off for a few days and by Sunday had totally lost all of her faculties and we decided it was time to put her down. Right away Lala and DD tried to take her place out front. They both kept escaping from the fenced barn area to roam up front where Ama used to be. I wish I could let them go back and forth at their will but Lala has a bad habit of chasing cars. I really want to get a fence finished around the front of the driveway sot he whole property is fenced off.

I'm still trying to get the girls (goats) bred. For the life of me I cannot tell when Charity is in heat. I thought she was going yesterday. The boys and I somehow managed to get her into the back seat of the car and we went to Fran's. I couldn't use the truck because it has the dumb top on it and I haven't figured out a way to get it off or how to hold it open yet. Anyway, we got to Fran's and put her with Rastiff, a very handsome and highly odiferous young man. She was not interested at all, but he was... There was a possible breeding but not positive. Yeah! We probably get to do that again!!

Cole is just not interested in Holly. We have tried many times with half-hearted results. Luckily I have the best goat friend in the world, Fran, and she is going to let me use one of her bucks, Magnum (Flower's dad), to use on Holly. I think she went into heat today and will probably take a quick trip with her to Fran's tomorrow.

When Flower goes into heat next she will also be taking a trip to Fran's to see Rastiff. Luckily she is such a hussy I have no problem knowing when she is in heat.

I also made my first batches of soap a week or two ago. Fran and I put our brains together and whipped up a couple of batches. Much to our surprise, it actually worked, we made real soap! With goat's milk, of course.

The pigs are getting bigger. Not sure how much they weigh now. I need to get a weigh tape and tape them but I'm not sure how I'm gonna get them to stay still for long enough to do it. I'll tell you about that rodeo when it happens. I want to get them butchered when they are around 250 lbs. That is when the feed to meat ratio begins to lower.

The chickens and ducks, yes we still have the disgusting ducks, are doing fine. We are only getting 2 or 3 eggs a day now. We need to put a light out in the coop so they think the days are longer. It is also time to butcher again. We have a good 6 or 7 roos we need to dispatch.

Stef is working 16 hour or longer days at UPS, doing Christmas lights and still trying to have soccer practice once a week and keep his martial arts classes up. This year has given us a few extra special challenges. I haven't been able to help as much because my back still hurts from the accident, although I am starting to feel much better now. Also, Stef tried to break his ankle a few days ago. It is swollen and black and blue. He is limping around and pitiful looking, yet he is still climbing on roofs every day. He's my hero.

The boys are doing great. Niko's improv classes are over until January. His class had an improv show for we went to and it was really good. Niko did very well, he was really comfortable being in front of an audience. Deklan's art classes are coming to an end next week. His class is having an art show on the 19th. Everyone in the class is picking their favorite masterpiece to be on display. Deklan picked 'Pears at Sea'. I will post a picture of it soon.

Pic of Truck

First, I want to say that Grandma is right. Keiska is finally a good cat and earning her keep. She brought home another dead mouse for us the other night. How thoughtful of her. I only wish she wouldn't leave the "gift" on the living room floor for us.

Second, we bought another truck. We are not sure Stef's truck is going to make it through the xmas season and found this one at a really good price. It is an automatic so I can drive it. So I will drive it through the season and keep looking for a car. After the season, if Stef's truck makes it, we will sell it and Stef can drive the new one. It is another Ford Ranger but this one is a ext cab so we can all fit into it. I'll try to take pics later.

Third, I have been laid up in bed for a day and a half. I got out of bed yesterday morning to do chores and tweaked my neck somehow. I don't have much movement in my neck now and when I do move my head I can hear bones or something rubbing together. That can't be good can it?? My chiropractor is closed on Mondays but I did call his cell phone and left a message just in case he happened to have to be in the office today. Meanwhile, I will just keep popping the muscle relaxers, though they don't seem to be working.

I am a Liar or Voting Day Miracles!

First of all I am a liar because we found about 12 eggs today. That is also a miracle. At least 6 of those could have been laid by the same hen (Niko found a little hidey hole with the cache back in the pig pen), but I'm pretty sure the other 6 were separate hens!! I think one was laying for her very first time. After she laid the egg she screamed and cackled bloody murder for a good minute; either horrified of her first experience or really proud of what she produced.
The second miracle is that it rained at our house today!! Yes, I mean that wet stuff that falls from the sky. I couldn't remember the name of it at first but then it all came back to me when the glorious wet stuff smacked me on the face as I looked up in wonder.

Still not a whole lot going on around here. Cole is still battling some kind of illness. One day his poop is hard the next it is a bit soft. I;m still working on it. It is not as bad as it was though. He has to get better by next week though so I can put Holly back in with him to make babies!!

I've always been pretty surprised about not ever seeing any mice around our place. With all of the animals and animal food you'd think I'd see them once in awhile. Well, the other night Kiska came running through the living room with a very good size mouse dangling from her mouth still alive. The boys got her outside with it and then I had to admit that maybe the cat is not as useless as I thought. Though I have been coming around to that thought recently because of some mole carcasses and innards I found at the front door. Please don't tell Kiska, we have a love hate relationship.

We have a rabbit living under our house. Once again a rabbit escaped from its cage 4 feet off the ground. She has taken up residence under our house and has somehow escaped the jaws of Ama now for a week. We have tried to catch her but she is too wily for us. We need to get a wild animal catching cage.

We are getting 3 eggs a day now. Again none of them are from the chickens that are put up in a chicken yard and get fed everyday. I don't feed the ones outside of the pen, they fend for themselves. So I think it is definitely time to thin our chicken population once again. Besides we are already out of whole chickens in the freezer.

I am still looking for a car. I have to take the rental back Wednesday. If anyone knows of a Honda or a Toyota for a good price let me know!! Car shopping bites.

Been Awhile

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. Nothing new has really been happening out here. Of course we are always busy, but nothing really new. I have put Holly in with Cole to mate twice now, but I'm not really sure he got the job done. I think I might draw some of her blood and get a pregnancy test done. Cole is sick right now. I'm not sure what is wrong with him. He has had diarrhea for 3 days now; I'm working on it. Flower and Charity are fine And the pigs are, well, pigs.

I was in a car accident last Sunday. A woman ran a red light and t-boned me. I was taken to the hospital but aside from bumps, bruises and some strained muscles I am probably fine. My car isn't though. Hopefully I will find out how much they will give me for it today so I can start looking for a new one. Well you know me, a new used one.

Egg Collector: Dangerous Job

The boys went to collect eggs yesterday and got quite a surprise. I think the snake's eyes were bigger than its stomach though. It worked on the egg for quite some time then finally gave up. Poor fella.

Lil Bit

This was a very sad weekend for us. Lil Bit passed away this weekend. I guess you could say it was a freak accident, but of course we feel awful. We miss her so much.

Beautiful Picture

Well, at least if you've been waiting for eggs as long as I have, it is a beautiful picture. Only one of them gave me an egg though. Guess the other one was just practicing. I found 4 eggs yesterday. So far none of the fenced in birds have laid any, only the birds that get out of the fence. Very interesting. Something to ponder.

Charity and Cole

We got our new Alpine goats yesterday. They rode in the back of the truck with their heads stuck through the back window into the cab the whole way.

Charity is a registered French Alpine about a year and a half years old and is milking about 1 gallon a day (well, I milk her). She doesn't know what to think about the dogs, she didn't have them at her house, and she 's not too sure about the other goats either. Girls are brutal, and though, Flower seems to be trying to make friends, Lil Bit is trying to be a big bully. I'm not sure how the pecking order will end up, Charity isn't real timid and seems to be holding up fairly well.

Cole is a purebred American Alpine and is our new buck. I am going to breed him with Holly and Lil Bit. His head is bloody because him and his brother were head butting before we picked him up yesterday. He is definitely acting bucky. He is snorting at the girls and acting very macho. As you can see in the picture the girls are very interested. They haven't gone out to graze yet because they can't seem to pull themselves away from him and they're not even in heat right now! Little Hussies!

An egg every other day will keep the doctor away?

I don't know, something like that. I found another egg today. I finally got nests in the chicken yard and in the barn where the loose chickens hang out. Hopefully the rest of them will get the hint and start laying too.

Also, we are going to pick up our new goats Wednesday. I'll tell you about them when we get them.

Silly Puppy

Jake may look miserable in this picture but he was actually enjoying himself. He stayed like that for a long time not trying to get out. Even after the boys took the sand off of him, he stayed right where he was.

Farm Photography

These are some photograghs Niko took.

This is what I call an EGG

Finally, I haven't actually cracked it yet, but I'm positive this is the real deal. It is smaller like first eggs are and I found it in a "nest" in the barn. I haven't gotten all of the hens in the chicken pen, some of them hang out free range with Feather Foot still. So one of them laid their first egg in the barn in a nest it made behind some old feed sacks. It is definitely a white egg though. So I guess I have a white egg layer somewhere in the bunch?? I am going to do some research and see.

Wallow

The boys and I dug a wallow for the pigs yesterday. We dug a hole and lined it with plastic. I don't know how well this will work but we are giving it a shot. I think maybe they will tear a hole in the plastic and the water will slowly work its way out. Or maybe they will get the water so gross the water won't be able to get through the holes due to the muck covering the bottom. Don't know.

I almost had a picture of the pigs in it but my camera ran out of batteries.

Egg!!! Psych...

I was so excited today when I found an egg in the chicken yard today. I haven't moved the nest boxes in yet since we moved them so seeing the egg lit a fire under my butt. I didn't want to use it for us because it was dirty and I wasn't really sure how long it had been out there. So tonight while we were doing chores I was going to give it to one of the dogs. DD was the lucky girl. I tried to break the egg but it was weird like it had a really hard shell, so I tried to crack it harder. OMG, it was a hard boiled egg that had been in a pile of scraps intended for food for the chickens. The egg was supposed to be broken up into small pieces for the chickens to eat. Well, I felt pretty dumb being all happy that my chickens finally started laying eggs. I thought it was pretty big for being a first egg, didn't even dawn on me that the egg was white and I only have colored egg layers!

Blog formerly known as...

This is a continuation of the Rocking Rabbit Ranch blog. We decided to change our farm name and it only made sense to change our blog name and address too. If you want to see our past posts and the beginning of this journey, visit www.rockingrabbitranch.blogspot.com

Please Enjoy!