Another article

Check out my article, Protecting Pet Rabbits online at hobbyfarms.com.

New article: Outdoor Rabbit Housing Options

Check out my article on "Outdoor Rabbit Housing Options," at the Hobby Farms magazine website: http://www.hobbyfarms.com/farm-pets/pet-rabbit-information/rabbit-housing-options.aspxr

Look who's expecting!

Someone has been busy building a nest. :-) Hoping for a nice litter in 3 or 4 days--we'll keep you posted!

New Varieties Approved!

All week long, I have been eagerly awaiting news from this year's ARBA convention in California. As an afficianado of rabbit breeds and colors, I was delighted to hear that several varieties passed their third showing before the ARBA Standards Committee, including: Broken New Zealands, Opal Mini Satins, Siamese Mini Satins, Red Mini Satins, and Chinchilla Mini Satins.

Congratulations to all!

Tasty Treats :-)

It's a wonderful time of year with the garden producing so well. We're enjoying the fresh produce, and so are the rabbits.

It's kind of a treat to hand out organic heirloom carrots to eager bunnies. :-)

Going Green(s)

What do you like best about summer? Vacations? Relaxation? Time at the beach? Time in the sun? Gardening? Hiking? Biking? Swimming?

Eating greens? :-)

My rabbits are enjoying summertime with great gusto and enthusiasm. Each day they devour a hefty handful of freshly-picked grass. For the months of April, May, and most of June, they also dined on the delightful delicacy of dandelions. Now that summer is stretching towards August, the dandelions are not as easy to find, and so I've switched to bringing them raspberry leaves, which they appear to enjoy even more than the dandelions (if one can judge by the rapid rate of consumption).

It's a pleasure to watch them enjoy their summertime treats! (Disclaimer: I've slowly introduced the greens over time and carefully made any changes to their daily diets. It's important to avoid major disruptions to a rabbit's daily fare, so introduce new foods slowly and make steady increases. And if you feed raspberry leaves--watch for the poky parts on the stems!)

Here is Tessa, saying "Gimme my greens!" as she pulls them through the cage door. Of course she couldn't possibly wait for the door to open . . .

Yum, yum, yum!

Colony raising, anyone?

It's a beautiful spring day and the warmer weather started me thinking again about colony raising. There is an extensive section in How to Raise Rabbits that is dedicated to the pros and cons of colony raising. Rabbits do enjoy being outdoors and they love having the opportunity to move about, run, play, jump, and dig. The above photo shows one of my Dutch does, "Sofie"; she particularly enjoyed her adventures outdoors in her fenced-in exercise area. It's fascinating to watch the natural instincts and behaviors of domestic rabbits playing outdoors. The digging was especially entertaining to watch---the dirt was flying as she burrowed into the sod. At one point, a large crow flew overhead and Sofie immediately flattened herself against the ground, trying to make herself invisible to the bird.
So while I have not yet attempted any type of "full-blown" colony raising, I do see the benefits of occasional opportunities for rabbits to enjoy the outdoors and do the things that they would in a more natural setting. But I sleep much better at night knowing that they are safe in their hutches in the rabbitry. :-)