Gwennie Bunny says LOVE IT IN THE HOUSE…. nice and cool! Hop around, get brushed… loves it!

Ozzy likes it as well. Right now they just visit, but I’m trying to figure out how to make them a nice cage for inside that is super easy to clean and keep clean… got a few ideas and such. Since they are fiber rabbits and we would love to keep them clean and tidy, so it doesn’t mat their hair up and such, we’re thinking towards that in mind. And they are BIG bunnies! Shesh… bigger than our cats!

Been brushing and plucking some of their wool, and saving it all for our yarn production in the spring. But I’m considering shaving them back for the summer, since it’s SO hot… still doing some thinking and reading as to whether this is the best strategy or not. We just got a awesome book called “The Nervous New Owner’s Guide to Angora Rabbits” by Suzie Sugrue and so I’m weighing in on her ideas as well as some of the good websites out there. Right now, we’re just brushing and plucking, and will probably do so for awhile since we won’t have wool from the sheep until spring.

Jessy and Gwen… aren’t they cute?

People keep asking us our plans with the woolies and in fact, most of the livestock here at the homestead. Right now, we’re just learning to properly care for and enjoy our charges. Not really interested in breeding and running 20 head of anything at the moment. I got a cool book on sheep, and I’m reading it and nearly 1/5th of the book is dedicated to all the problems with birthing lambs and presentation of the babies and such! Oh my! It seems like a ton of worry and problems! And then there is the whole problem of either keeping a ram or borrowing one, either sounds like a bit of work for just a couple ewes! I would say, if there is anything that we would consider breeding and all, might be bunnies, since we are much more versed in small critter care. But again, that will be awhile. I think we might keep our eye out for a nice red angora buck, but we’re content to wait a while and see how things progress. It’s only been 3 months that we’re here at the homestead, and there are many other things on the priority list than adding breeding and birthing to the list.

Of course, we are going to have to brush up on our kitten skills…. our little teenage mom kitty is expecting, I’m pretty sure. Little Topaz! Shesh… she is getting rotund and I’m not totally thrilled about it. She was in heat about a month after we got her and I did everything I could to keep her inside and out the way of any stray Toms. She did escape at the very end, when I considered her over her cycle, and I suspect she was still fertile. Durn it. She’s on the list of things to get fixed… haha…. but now, we’ll have to wait a bit. I know that I can take her in, ah, in this condition, but I just can’t do that to kittens, we’ll just have to deal with our new additions and hopefully find good homes for them. Hopefully she doesn’t have too many! It’s funny, we haven’t seen Orange Kitty around at ALL…. Jessy says that Topaz told her she was expecting and he hit the road in a hurry!!!

Well, gotta hit the post office and run to town for a few things… hope you enjoy our little bunny photo shoot!