Our Rabbitry

Happy Monday to all of ya'll!!!  This morning I thought I would take a moment to introduce you to our rabbits!!!!  When people ask me..."what kind of animals do you have on your little farm?"  I always mention the rabbits last b/c I am use to the horrible responses I get when I respond with "we raise meat rabbits too!"  I always want to giggle (and then sometimes launch into a big lecture) at people when they say "how can you eat something so cute?"  Do cows, pigs, sheep, deer, etc not all at least start out as cute and cuddly?  I mean seriously, have you ever really looked into the deep brown eyes of a cow?  They are pretty darn sweet!!!!  But......most of us (unless you are vegetarian, eat most animals.  When you hit the meat section of your local grocery store, guess what, all that meat was once a cute little animal!!!  The main difference between that meat at your grocery store and my chickens and rabbits -- well my animals are loved and have a GREAT life before they serve their purpose and feed my family!  Don't get me started on how much better they eat (therefore making their meat better for me)!

All that being said...... even a year ago.....I wouldn't never have guessed that I would be able to raise rabbits for meat!  That is totally a God thing!  Once again, thankful for the amazing farming community I can be a part of that teaches me so much!  Once I learned how economical and how easy it was to raise rabbits, my wheels started turning.  I started researching and researching and researching!  The meat is so good for you (even lower in cholesterol than chicken)!  It was hard to say no when a dear friend offered to barter with me for canned goods and soap in trade for a buck and 2 does to start our rabbitry!  And....I scored great cages for nearly nothing or sometimes FREE!

So...here we are 6 months later with our buck and two does!  We have had 2 successful litters of kits born (one already in the freezer and one 6 weeks old), another litter due this week, and we kept a girl kit from the first litter to add another breeding doe.  By rotating our breeding, we should be processing rabbit meat every 8-10 weeks to help provide meat for our family.  Along with the extra roos we process and hopefully chickens we get in the spring only for meat, we should be able to NOT buy meat from the grocery store!!  That is my lifelong goal!

So....ready to "meet" some rabbits...........All of our rabbits are technically mutts -- they are a cross between New Zealands, Californian, and Silver Fox -- we think they are great!!!!!  We feel blessed that God has added them to our farm and given us a way to provide for our family!!!!

This is Chloe our oldest Doe -- she is an amazing momma!  She is due to have her 2nd litter with us this week!

This is Delilah - our other doe!  She just had her first litter with us 6 weeks ago!

This is Carrots.  She came from Chloe's first litter and is about 14 weeks old and will be our third breeder.  She won't be old enough to breed until June!

This is Samson -- our sweet buck!!!  He loves attention and greets us every morning with lots of excitement and love!

This is how tiny kits are when they are born!  

This is Delilah's litter of 6 that are 6 weeks old in the grow out hutch.  They will all be processed and become food for our family at the end of February!!!

We hope you will continue to follow our adventures and learn with us!!!!  God has blessed us and we praise Him continually!!!!!

May God Bless You and Yours -- 

Jami for all of Little Bit of Faith Farm