Breeding like rabbits

2 days after we got the rabbits, one of the adult females, Reina, gave birth to a litter of 7 babies. All survived and are now starting to open their eyes. Very cute (especially now that they have fur!). We had known that she was pregnant, but had certainly not expected her to kindle so soon.

Our other adult female, Coco, whom we thought to be just a couple of weeks pregnant, gave birth this morning. We only saw two babies, which is odd. However, we haven't looked around too much, as does are apt to eat their babies if they get too freaked out. Maybe she has more hidden somewhere or maybe the huge storm we had last night caused a problem with the birth. Will let you know in a week or so, but for the moment we are leaving her and her young in peace.

As for the others, they are all doing great. Seem very happy and are growing like weeds. They have made a whole web of burrows in the dirt and straw we put into their pens (on top of wire, so they can't burrow out).

Rabbits

Well, we finished the rabbit shed. For photos, click here.

There are 4 pens inside - one for the females, one for each of the two males, and one for the babies once they're weened. All with dirt and straw (and toys for them to get under and on top of). Plus each pen has an outside yard area (although we haven't yet done the females' one).

The shed has its own catchment system, with a 1000 gallon tank.

There's an electric fence around everything to help keep predators away.

But, more exciting than the shed, is that we went to the city yesterday and got a bunch of rabbits! The guy we bought them from has a colony set-up as well, although his males are not separated from the females, which we wanted to do so that we can give each female a break from being pregnant.

We have three adults - one male (Socks) and two probably pregnant females (Reina and Coco). We then have five younger ones - one male (Obama) and four females (Button, Oreo, Kiwi, Frisky). They are the sweetest little things and super curious and playful. We will be getting each one (except the pregnant females) out of the pen every morning to play with them and tame them up a little. Needless to say, Leo LOVES them. It's hard getting him away from the shed, unless you tell him that the dogs are waiting to play with him.

The rabbit in the photo is Button - she's the baby of the family. For photos of the others, click here.

Mushrooms

We are now mushroom farmers.

We put a bunch of horse manure and straw in an ice chest until it completely composted (and got incredibly hot). We then put the compost into lined boxes and added the spores of Oyster, button and almond button mushrooms.

No photos on this right now, as it's just a bunch of dirt in boxes.

Rabbit shed update

I never blogged the work we did to the rabbit shed before we left on our trip. Last I wrote we had put up the frame.

over the next two days, we put on its roof and the asphalt board walls, painted the inside, and lined the floor and inside walls with chicken wire (to stop the rabbits burrowing out).

We are about to start working on it again. We probably have just a day or two left and we will be ready to get the rabbits.

For more photos, click here.

Sundanzer

When we upgraded our power system, we bought an old Viking electric chest freezer and changed out its thermostat with that of a refrigerator. It was our first free refrigeration and we were delighted. However, it was not that efficient and we found our batteries would often be fairly low, especially as the weather heated up.

That problem is now solved. We just bought ourselves a Sundanzer Fridge. These are made specifically for an off-grid system, and you sure can tell the difference. Our batteries are full all the time - the fridge barely even makes a difference ( pulling the equivalent, all day and night, to a couple of hours of a light bulb).

It was more expensive than a regular type, but its efficiency will more than pay for itself - cheaper than having to buy the solar panels required to keep up that old Viking.

Augie's graduation

On May 15th, Augie, Abe's brother, graduated from University. We went up there to watch the graduation and to see the family. I know that is a long time ago, but for some reason I have been feeling very lethargic ever since the trip, and have barely been able to do regular chores and things that have to be done, let alone a blog! Oh well, time for catch up.

It was an extremely eventful, but fun, trip. I'll keep some of the details to ourselves - suffice it to say, Augie made it a memorable day (or night). We got to catch up with him, Emily and Roeland, Jim and Vickie, and Faye. There are a couple of photos and video of the graduation (click here), although not many and not great ones. And then we didn't get the camera out again for the rest of the trip, which is a shame.

After the graduation party, we headed up to Jim and Vickie's for a couple of days relaxing and visiting before making the long ride home. Leo really seems to love spending time with his grandparents, and once again I find myself wishing we lived closer to our two families.

The day after we got home, tired as we all were, Leo gave us a special treat... his first proper tantrum. It's not the first time he's cried and stomped his feet a little when he didn't get his way, but we have always been able to calm him down or divert his attention. This was different - this was an inconsolable crying fit that lasted for close to 20 minutes. It was pretty exhausting. He went to sleep straight afterward!

Other than that, Leo is doing great. He is mostly happy, with a few brief exceptions. He hikes a lot, runs all over the place, adores the dogs. He is playing a lot more on his own now and his imagination is really kicking in. If you let him, he will climb on EVERYTHING, and I mean stuff an adult would hesitate to do. He takes every opportunity to ride people's horses with them. All in all a handful. Terrible Twos, here we come.

Our Little Devil

SANY5076
Originally uploaded by velacreations

Thought this video was kinda cute, so...

As a small backdrop to the video: we don't give Leo much sugar. He never gets sodas; we try and avoid the High Fructose Corn Syrup type foods; his desserts tend to be fruit, nuts, home-made cookies, etc.

However, he does get a bite of his dad's candy every once in a while, and needless to say, he loves it! He quickly learned where dad keeps his stash.

The other day, he asked if he could get up on the kitchen counter. No problem - he helps me with dishes, so being allowed on the counter is normal, but he usually heads towards the sink. Not this time...

For more photos of Leo over the past couple of weeks, click here.