Sunday, September 1, 2013

Rabbits Anyone?

I'm still running in high gear here but I sure am looking forward to things slowing down just a bit.  Fall is around the corner even if we did have 102 temps today.  The tomatoes have slowed down some thankfully, since the beans are starting to come in.   I've given the neighbor tons of tomatoes and peppers as well this year. I get the feeling she's tired of tomatoes too! LOL   Someone mentioned checking with the food bank in our little town to see if they could use some tomatoes.  I've taken them a couple of 5 gallon buckets of them so far. I'm DONE with canning them for the year.  I just can't stand to see them go to waste and the chickens aren't nearly impressed with them as they were at first either.

I was out feeding the rabbits today and once again I started thinking about what was supposed to be happening with them.  A little background for you guys that haven't heard my rabbit tales.  (And no talk of "that guy" either)  One of the very first things we wanted to do out here was to be able to raise rabbits to supplement some of our meat.  I've made some rookie mistakes that ended up costing me two does.  I learn from my mistakes most of the time.  (Stop calling me "Rabbit Killer" !!!)   Anyway... here it is over two years now and I haven't had a single litter (do rabbits have litters?)  Last spring I found a lady who raises rabbits on a large scale not far from here.  I bought a 5 month old doe from her.  Once she was 6-7 months old I tried to breed her with one of my bucks.  Nothing.  So I tried her with the other buck. Still no babies.  I called the woman I bought her from and she was just so sweet.  She told me to bring my girl over and she would breed her with one of her "stud stars". If, for some reason she didn't get knocked up , she would take her back and give me another doe.    I waited the 30ish days... still nothing. I tried breeding her with my buck .... nothing.   And then things around here got busy. So the whole rabbit thing kind of got put on a back burner.  And that brings us up to today.

I got to thinking how I have been feeding and watering these guys twice a day every single day for over two years and have nothing but feed bills to show for it.  I remembered what the Rabbit Lady had said last year.  So I dug around till I found her card and gave her a call.  She remembered me.  Or she remembered the weirdness of bunnies not making bunny babies.  She told me I could bring her my doe and she would trade her out for a "proven" doe.  Cool. We can do that.  Then, out of the blue, I asked her if she ever did any bartering.  Much to my delight she said yes.  Now some of you will think the next part is funny.  I asked her if they liked tomatoes and would she be interested in doing some bartering for a second doe. I just happen to have a 5 gallon bucket full of them at the moment.  She immediately said we could strike a deal.  So I'll take her some tomatoes next time I have to go into Little Big Town and we'll work out the logistics. To say I'm happy is an understatement. Get rid of some of my tomato overflow and maybe... just maybe this time we'll have some luck.  It's kind of embarrassing not to have had baby bunnies after all this time.

Just so you know, I just cringed a little when I wrote that!  I can just hear some of you laughing already!!! 

24 comments:

  1. GREAT bartering score! Bunny for 'maters! See, it's DOESN'T hurt to ask :)

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    1. Nope, it never hurts to ask! Who'd have thought.... lol

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  2. I know THIS isn't your problem. But it was MINE. I kept calling my first rabbit "she". . . until I caught "her" humping my dust mop.

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    1. Well now we know where dust bunnies come from.

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    2. *gasp* That comment of your caught me totally off-guard! She/He must have been responsible for all those under-the-bed dust bunnies I found and THEY were multiplying!

      At my blog, it showed you had just put up a new post so I came running. I wonder how that happened.

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  3. I would have "et" those rabbits a LONG time ago! :-)

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    1. If it had been up to Mars he would have too. Trust me, he's been threatening to!

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  4. We had a pet rabbit named Walter who had 3 baby bunnies. Boy were we surprised!

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    1. Not as surprised as Walter I bet! Hahahahaaa!!!

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  5. I wonder how many tomatoes it would take to get someone to trade me a pig for em :)

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    1. I guess it just depends on how much they like tomatoes...

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  6. SCI,

    TOMATO......TOMATO.......TOMATO.............Did I hear someone say TOMATO!!!!!

    I'm happy you were able to barter with the Bunny Lady.

    Soon you'll have all kinds of babies, you just wait and see.

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    1. You know.... you could use some more TOMATOES! heheheheee
      Well I suppose we'll find out. I hope with all new girls ol Bucky might finally get to be a daddy bunny. (he could care less as long as he gets to be "involved")

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  7. LOL!!!!!! Yeah, that's what I used to think.

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  8. This is the first time I have ever heard of anyone NOT getting bunnies. It cannot be your fault.

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    1. LOL Thanks Linda- That's exactly what I keep telling Mars every time he threatens to butcher one of them!

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  9. Good for you. Never give up. You guys have come so very far and I'm very impressed with your homestead. Reading you blog is like a breath of fresh air.

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    1. Thank you Stephen. Your kind comment just made my day. I get all caught up in the day to day stuff and sometimes forget to sit back and look at the whole picture.

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  10. I'm not laughing... I to made some rookie mistakes... Like getting a baby buck instead of a baby doe & not finding out until it was breeding time... Color me red when my supposed doe violated my confirmed bucks' face. So I'm in the same boat, 2 years and no babies! :(

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    1. OK Yart I really did almost laugh at your rookie mistake! I'm glad I'm not alone in this one.
      ;-)

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  11. GAH! I finally signed up with an account somewhere just so I could comment here!

    So sorry to hear of your bunny troubles... we raise meat rabbits ourselves, for our own freezer.

    About the rabbit going for the dust mop, and the other doing the buck's face... that behavior does not mean the rabbit is a buck. A doe will do that to a buck just to show him who's boss, and does will do it to each other as a show of dominance. Weird, but the move is not just for mating, when it comes to rabbits.

    I hope having new stock will start bringing you bunnies! And you might consider checking out rabbittalk.com... it's a rabbit forum that is majority meat breeders, from backyard rabbitries raising meat for the family, to commercial operations, and everything in between. I am a moderator there, just for full disclosure.

    (I don't suppose you might add "Name/URL" to your "Comment as" list? Hey... I figure if you don't ask, the answer's always no, right?)

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    1. That's some great information. Thank you. I'll be sure to check out the rabbit forums. Heaven knows I need all the help I can get!

      Sorry you had to sign up. I used to have things set so anyone could comment but the spam started getting worse and worse. Blogger doesn't give me the option (that I can see) for a Name/URL
      LOL you're right. If ya don't ask the answer is always no. I found that out this weekend!

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  12. Bartering is always a way to go if someone is open to it. Good luck on growing some little rabbits.

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    1. It gave me all sorts of ideas. Like just thinking to ask. Thanks for wishing me luck, apparently I need it. hehehe

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