I will be honest with you, keeping up with the farm has been a challenge.  My foot really has slowed me down and limited what I am able to do everyday.  Now that it is starting to heal and that the weather is getting warmer, it is time to just push through.  Our day starts at 4:30. Before the sun comes up, I start with the paperwork for the farm and my bible/prayer time.  Once the sun is up the animals start calling to me.  The day comes to an end when everyone is locked back up safely in their pens around 8 pm.  In the middle of the day we address whatever problems come up, clean pens, collect eggs, homeschool the children, cook 3 meals a day, clean the house and plant the garden.

There have been several additions to the farm, we currently have 60 meat chickens, 10 turkeys, 5 ducks, 5 rabbits, handful of tilapia, 3 goats, and 36 laying hens. Within the next week we will have 2 liters of bunnies born, 3 baby pigs arrive and 5 more turkeys will be coming.

We are also in the process of putting in a garden.  The soil is so bad, we are having to bring in truck loads of compost.  It is costing a lot of money, but so does buying groceries.  We are hoping and praying that the investment pays off and the need for the grocery store will be greatly reduced. So far we have had 21 yards of compost delivered.  I do not think that it will be enough and we are going to need more brought in.

Our world is crazy, but it is a good crazy. We are learning new things everyday.  Some days are good and some days are bad, but all in all we feel very blessed to be farming.

As always it was been way too long since I have written an update.  Today’s blog post is purely a couch therapy session with World Wide Web.  Thank you for allowing me to get this morning off my chest!

Our fabulous pigs are finally old enough and big enough to go to slaughter.  They had such a great personality and were so sweet, but their size was really starting to become a problem.  They are very, very strong animals and ours had behaviors similar to dogs.  When we went into the pen to feed or water them, they would rub on you and go between your legs, or lean into you.  Well, 275 pounds of pig leaning into the back of your knees makes it difficult to stay on your feet.  That was just if one of them came over, when they both wanted attention and to love on you, it was down right dangerous, our son was knocked over and it was very scary.  In addition to their size, they really do not like the cold weather or the snow.  It became difficult to get them water and we have not been able to move their pasture so the mud was getting too deep for my liking.

So it is time to slaughter!  We had made our appointment months ago, we had no idea what the weather was going to be or what would be going on in our world on the day of slaughter.  Last week I found out that I have a torn tendon in the same foot I just had reconstructive surgery on. I am back in the fashionable walking book cast thing.  Not really where I planned to be 6 months after my reconstruction surgery. In addition to me not being 100% there was a winter storm warning in effect for our area.  Not really the ideal time to take a trailer back into the pasture in the mud and haul pigs out. So this combination was stressful enough. To add to the stress, when we borrowed the trailer from a friend, we decided to also buy 90 square bales of hay to stock up until after spring.

So the pigs are suppose to go to slaughter on Tuesday morning no later than 8am.  Monday morning we wake up at 430am we looked at the forecast like every good farmer and see that the rain/ice/snow event is not suppose to start till after dark Monday night.  Perfect.  My husband can go to work, when he comes home we will unload the hay from the trailer and load the pigs before dark, perfect plan.  WRONG!  When I checked the weather again at 930 the timeline for the storm moved to 3pm and the fields were already muddy from the melting snow.  Great, by the time we unload the hay tonight, the fields will be a complete slip and slide.  There is no way we would get that horse trailer out.

So me and my fashionable boot had to unload the hay bales so that my husband could focus on getting the pigs in and the trailer out of the field ASAP when he got home.  Luckily, I had some help unloading the trailer, but it was still hard on my foot.   My husband arrived after work and with the help of another friend were able to get the pigs on the trailer much smoother than we imagined.  Getting out of the muddy field was a struggle, but even that happened easier than I thought.

OK now the pigs are happy and on the trailer for the night.  We were suppose to get ice and snow all night.  When we woke in the morning we were thankful to see that the roads were not covered.  We loaded the kids in the truck and off to the butcher we went!

This is when the nightmare happened.  Apparently, we were in a warm patch, because when we got 5 miles west of our small farm, the roads were covered with snow and ice.  It was still dark out, the snow was falling so fast you could not see 10 feet  in front of the truck and there was so much ice and snow on the ground that we could not stop.  There was several times I saw the rear trailer lights in the side view mirror.  There was a couple times we were on the wrong side of the road because of a slide and low visibility. We missed our turn and ended up going 25 miles out of our way because the roads were so bad that we could not stop to turn down a side street without jack knifing the trailer.  The butcher is normally 30 minutes away it took us an hour and a half to get there.

Once we arrived we were not out of hot water yet, there was no open holding pens for the pigs.  We had to wait for 30 minutes or so for them to be able to go in.  This was a blessing though.  Our babies were in the trailer, sleeping  and getting extra love right up until the time they went into the “back room” area.  They were never under any stress or had any fear of what was going to happen.  They were completely relaxed to the point of snoring up until moments before their lives ended.  That is exactly how I wanted it to be.

Now we have dropped off the pigs.  We are still 25 miles from home and it is still snowing really hard.  Luckily the sun had come up at this point.  The first 20 miles of the ride home was very uneventful.  We took a Southern route home which made a big different in road conditions.  About 5 miles from the house, the alternator goes up on the truck.  We have to get home in the snow with whatever battery power we have left.  Of course we hit every stop light possible in the 5 mile stretch.  Finally we made it home, three and a half hours later!  We were all stressed.  I made another pot of coffee and sat down to vent to you.

Thank you for this therapy session, I needed to get it all out!  It has been a roller coaster ride.  I am glad we are all home safe and we are going to have a quite day to allow our blood pressure to go down.  I hope you stay safe this winter and I will write again soon.

Quick Update

So we are still working on the farm and right now just trying to keep a float, literally as the rain comes down.  With my foot still healing most of the work on the farm has to be done by my husband.  He is fabulous and works really hard, but it does not allow us much time to start new projects.  At the new farm so far, we have the chickens in a new chicken coop and yard. The inside of the coop needs to be remodeled, but it is functional and for the most part dry.  The goats are in a structure made from a recycled dog run roof, pallets and weed cloth.  They are also for the most part dry.  The pigs are in a moveable run in that we are moving around our field, until we get permanent fencing up.  The ducks are happy in the rain, the rabbits are dry in their barn and the tilapia are warm in the basement for the winter.

Soil Conservation

Now that you are caught up with general goings on, let me talk about Soil Conservation.  Soil Conservation is a government company that can help a farmer establish and improve pasture rotation practices to improve soil quality.  Pasture rotation is when the livestock are moved to different fields on a rotational basis.  This allows one field time to recover while the animals are grazing on another field.  The pasture sizes depend on the type of animal you are raising and the number of head.  For example, we are raising a small amount of animals, at most 10 pigs or chickens, our pasture fields will be broken up into small fields 1/2 acre in size.  These fields all need a structure and water for the animals.  Soil Conservation can help new farms create a pasture rotation plan as well as apply for a grant to be able to help with some of the cost.

995.127.1

We are just beginning that process with them. Below is a check list of what you need to get started.

• Own the land you want to farm.
• LLC or Sole Proprietorship
• Employee Tax Identification Number (EIN)- This number can be obtained through the  IRS.
• DUNS number- http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform
• Contact your local Soil Conservation Office- Search Soil Conservation and your state name.

The Soil Conservation office will send you an application as well as set up a time to come out and look at your property.  So far everyone I have dealt with has been very nice and they will be visiting the property next week.  I will keep you posted on what happens.  We are hoping to get fencing, water, and structures put up within the next year.  Who knows what God has in the plan for our little farm.

In the mean time, I am resting inside trying to get as much of the administrative stuff taken care of on the farm.  I hope this was helpful.

Ok, despite the curve balls life has thrown me, I will finish this series on rabbits!

I have talked about how to choose a rabbit and how to bring it home now we need to talk about what to do with it once you get it!

Depending on the purpose of your rabbit, this might be where you can stop in this series.  If you are bringing your rabbit home as a pet, enjoy your new family member! 

If you are starting a rabbitry to breed and sell rabbits or to consume rabbits, your journey will continue on. I have found the sale of rabbits to be hot and cold.  There are times when I can not breed the rabbits fast enough.  There are other times when I have 18-20 growouts and no idea what am I going to do with them all. 

Those of you that are interested in raising them for meat.  That will not be a problem for you.  You can start breeding your rabbits around 6 months of age, depending on the bred.  The smaller breeds need to wait longer before they are bred for the first time.  The gestation period for a rabbit is anywhere from 28-31 days.   Litter sizes also depends on the bred and the breeding practice.  We can talk about the details of breeding in another post.  Going back to meat, you can usually process your rabbits for freezer camp around 4 months depending on the bred and the size you are going for.

Like I mentioned earlier, I do not raise or rabbits for meat. For this reason, I only breed our animals once or twice a year.  I am interested in the preservation of the breed and in the manure benefits. To find customers, our rabbitry is registered with ARBA and a couple other rabbit breeder websites.  Occasionally, when I have rabbits for sale, I will list them on Facebook or Craigslist, but for the most part, the people that I sell to find me because they are specifically looking for American Chinchillas.

Other profitable rabbitries sell to dog food companies, butcher shops, 4H clubs, and pet stores for snake food.  There are many different avenues if you are interested in selling rabbits.  To be totally honest with you, I do not make much money selling our rabbits, I make enough to help pay for their food costs and my rabbits give me amazing fertilizer. 

Love your rabbits and enjoy them.  I am amazed everyday by what wonderful creatures they are.  I personally think rabbit are a great addition to any homestead. I hope you found this series informative, if there is any questions that I did not answer please let me know, I am happy to share what little I know.

In the first post of this series I talked about what questions you need to answer before you get rabbits.  If you are still reading, I am assuming that you have decided that rabbits are still a good fit for your family.  I can’t blame you, I think that they are fabulous. 

In this post I am going to talk about how you choose the right rabbit and bringing it home. 

One of the questions that you answered in the first post is why you want rabbits.  If you are looking to homestead, like I do, than you are interested in a rabbit that is breed for meat and possibly for fur.  There are many meat rabbits out there that can supply your family with a steady supply of food.  The breed that I choose was American Chinchilla.  The reason that I choose that breed was that I wanted something that was a heritage breed.  The heritage breed animals seem to be a much better fit for a homesteader.  They produce a good size roaster and are a very good with kids.  Those are two very important things to me.  A breeding trio will provide you with a constant supply of meat.  A trio is made up of two doe rabbits and 1 buck. You want the two does to be two generations removed from the buck or unrelated to the buck.

If you are interested in rabbits because you would like a pet, there are a lot of smaller rabbits out there that are not as large as the American Chinchilla.  I have found that some of the smaller breeds can be a little grumpy.  If you are looking for a pet, please make sure that you have the time to socialize it, so that you have an animal that can be handled. Lastly,  I would not be an animal lover if I did not plug the local animal shelter.  If you just want a pet and compost, this might be a great place to look. 

Another reason to have rabbits is for fiber.  Do not tell my husband, but this is my next adventure.  I love the angora rabbits.  They provide you with fiber a couple of times when you shave them.  I love that this is a renewable resource, unlike the rabbit fur, which is a one time use only.

No matter what your reason for getting a rabbit, this is a great place to research some great breeds of rabbits.
http://www.livestockconservancy.org/

Once you decide what breed you want, you can go to the American Rabbit Breeders Association Site to find lists of breeders by state.  While you are on the ARBA site, if you are interested in showing rabbits in 4-H or another organization, please get the show standards book.  This makes you an educated consumer.  I, for example, do not show my rabbits.  When I sell a rabbit, I know that it is pure bred American Chinchilla, it has a good attitude and then I focus on breeding ability and health.  I know nothing about showing.  My rabbits are easy to handle, clean, in good health and come with papers, I depend on the buyer to know which rabbits are good show rabbits. 

Look over your rabbit when you buy it, you want it to have a clean bottom, clipped claws, clean ears, nice teeth, and bright eyes.  Feel the rabbit over, make sure you do not feel any bumps or scabs.  I actually was selling a rabbit, and even though I interact with my rabbits often, I did not notice a bump her side.  The seller helped me find this abscess before it got worse and I was able to get the rabbit to the vet.  This was a rabbit had gotten out of her cage and apparently been bit by a tick.  The bite got infected.  I was able to get her treated and now she is a healthy rabbit.  You want to find a breeder that cares about their rabbits. 

BRINGING THEM HOME
Before you bring them home make sure you have your water  bottles, feeders, hay, cages, and rabbit feed.  You might even want to talk to the breeder about rabbit feed.  If you have more than one feed available to you, the breeder might be able to point you to one they found worked better than another.  We prefer Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe.  My rabbits love it and I recommend it to all my buyers.  Before you leave the breeder make sure they give you a small bag of whatever they are feeding so that you can slowly transition the rabbit to their new food.

Actually bringing them, a cat carrier is a great way to transport your rabbits.  Another great way to transport is rubbermaid totes with holes drilled in them.  We did a mix of the two.  You can transport the does together in one carrier, however, you need to make sure each buck has their own carrier. They will fit if you put them in the same box. 

Just like with bringing the rabbits home, once they get home you have to make sure that they bucks have their own cages.  The does can share a cage while they are young, but once they reach breeding age it is important that everyone have their own cage. 
 
After your rabbits are home, make sure they have water, but I have learned to with hold food for a few hours.  Let the rabbit get settled from the car ride before you offer them food. 

Now that you have your rabbits, the next post will be some basic management and lessons that I have learned. 
Always end with cuteness!

This is a three part series on raising rabbits.  Hopefully we will have the whole series published by the end of the week. This first series is about where to start..

When deciding if raising rabbits is right for you, it is important to answer a couple questions first.
Why do I want to raise rabbits?
How much space do I need / have?
What am I going to do with the babies?
Do I have time?

There are many reasons to want to raise rabbits.  On a homestead they are very valuable.  Some people raise rabbits for meat, some raise for show, some raise for manure and some raise them as a pet. 
We originally started raising rabbits for meat.  We had tasted rabbit meat and liked it.  We wanted to become protein independent, rabbits are a great way to do that in a urban setting.  When it came time for us to cook our first rabbit, I got a horrible migraine.  I occasionally suffer from migraines so I did not think anything about it.  The second time, I suffered from another migraine.  The third time I was not home when the meat was cooked.  I enjoyed it for dinner and did not have a problem.  I attempted to cook it myself again and was sick again. When I did some research I found out that some woman get migraines from rabbit meat.  It has something to do with hormone levels.   We have since decided that rabbit meat is not for us.   Even though we do not raise our rabbits for meat, they are invaluable to us because of the compost they produce.  The soil is rich, and my tomato plants grown in rabbit manure were 10 feet tall.  You need to ask yourself, Why do I want rabbits?

Depending on why you want rabbits you need to consider the space that you have.  A rabbit needs a cage that is 3 foot by 4 foot.  This is a minimum  in my mind.  We are also looking for ways to get our rabbits more space.  Also, when rabbits have babies you have to have a place to put them.  Males and females need to be in different cages.  We have two grow out hutches and runs. Below is a picture of one of our runs.  We do not keep them in the run at night and we do not keep them in the run in the winter.  This is a summer exercise area for us.   

There are many ways to build your rabbitry.  It is important to make sure that the rabbits have shade, enough space and protection from the elements and predators.  We have built our cages inside a 10×8 shed.  There are 4 female cages on one side of the shed and 4 male cages on the other. 

Under the cages we have ramps with linoleum flooring so that it is easier to keep clean. 

Next, you have to know what you are going to do with the babies.  If you are raising rabbits for meat then you know the answer to this question.  If you are raising them for show or as a pet, the answer is not as clear.  We are not raising our rabbits for meat so we only breed them twice a year, based on demand.  We sell our babies to other people that are interested in homesteading, 4H or just want a pet.  We only breed for what we have found out we can sell.  The breed that we raise, American Chinchillas, are an amazing bred.  We have taken time to get a great blood line, and we want to be a part of the come back of this breed.  If you only want a pet and you do not want babies, take the rabbit to vet and get it fixed.  It is important to understand the purpose of your rabbits.

Lastly, you need to evaluate if you have time for rabbits.  The way we have our rabbits set up, we have about 1/2 an hour worth of rabbit chores a day.  Every two weeks or so we spend a couple hours with our rabbits.  We take them out, do health checks, clip toe nails, brush, and give the cages a good cleaning.  Make sure you have enough time to give the animal the care that it needs. 

In addition, we are going to add the cost of rabbits.  You can build rabbit cages out of scrap and spend next to nothing on them.  We put ours in a shed, so we had to buy the shed, buy the wire and build the ramps. That was our choice, rabbits do not need to be in a shed.  On average a 50 pound bag of feed cost $20.  Once a rabbit is 6 months old it should only get about a cup of feed a day.  We supplement with hay, which we get for $3 a bale.  We have had to take the rabbits to the vet twice.  It was under $100 each time.  Other costs to research is a tattoo kit, water bowls, feeders, nesting boxes, clippers, traveling cages, show stand, ARBA membership, and bedding if you use it.  Our rabbits are also litter trained, because we want to get as much of that compost as we can, so we buy bedding for the litter boxes.  Brain storm the type of rabbit set up you want and figure out the cost of your rabbits before you get started.  

We love raising our rabbits, we have found that it is worth it for us.  If you need more information on raising rabbits we encourage you to read Storey’s Guide to Raising Rabbits.

The next post in this series will be which animal to choose and how many!

Last year I fell and broke my foot.  I than re-injured it in the winter when I slipped on ice.  I was really hoping that it would heal. I was a good girl and used ice at the end of the day and took anti-inflammatory medications.  In the end of a 5 month attempt to heal, the doctor told me reconstruction surgery was the only way I could get better.  He even told me that if I had another serious sprain, I would be facing an ankle fusion.  All that being said, I had my surgery a week ago.  It will be 3 months before I can walk or drive and possibly longer.  Most people are able to walk on their own without crutches at 6 months.  I have a long road ahead of me.

Just because I am down and out does not mean that the farm stops.  We have 3 goats, 2 pigs, 50 chickens, 7 rabbits, 50 tilapia, 7 ducks, 3 cats and 3 dogs that do not care if I can walk or not.  This kids are a major help, the community is pitching in and my husband is a saint.  

My job on the farm has drastically changed.  I am researching grants to help our farm grow, I am planning our garden layout for next year, I am going to blog more about food, crafts and the farm, and I am organizing help for the farm when needed.

I would be lying if I told you that I was happy not being so hands on.  I love to work on the farm.  I love having dirt under my nails.  However, I am going to focus on organization, my second love.  I am also focusing on our Home Made Christmas projects.  Thank you for hanging with us as we continue our farming journey.  We are trying to stay positive and look at this time as a blessing for us to get organized.