It’s been a busy time of year, and in the shuffle I forgot to introduce two new additions to the homestead. Micke Fleur and Sanna Blossom the Netherland Dwarf rabbits were given to us by some friends in my childrens’ class in interest of giving them a life out in the country. While my children are excited about having two new pets, I’ve got one thing on my mind. Manure. I had been long wishing I had animals on the property that would produce some manure I could put directly in the garden for nutrients. Chicken poop just takes time. So, I was delighted when we were offered these two little poop machines. Isn’t it great when things in life work out like that?
Unfortunately, the dogs were way more excited about the rabbits than we were. I don’t even think excited is quite the word. They are obsessed with the rabbits. The day we brought the hutch home and set it up on our front porch, the dogs started climbing over the new front fence to get up close to the objects of their obsession and try to knock the hutch over to set them free.
So, my husband constructed this snazzy outer pen for the rabbit hutch. It’s moveable, dog-proof and tall enough for an adult to stand up in while cleaning the hutch. The dogs still sit outside staring at the rabbits and barking a good part of the day, but I’m hoping the novelty will wear off with time.
The rabbits spend their days munching hay, hopping around and pooping. It seems a very Zen existence in its simplicity. In the mean time, I am enjoying the added compost for the garden and it’s keeping the dogs out of other trouble. I guess you know you’re a homesteader when you get all excited over rabbit poop.
I'm wanting getting rabbits for meat and manure myself. I need to find good hutch plans. Do you have any recommendations?
The hutch was what had been holding me up from getting rabbits before. I just hadn't found time to build one, but these friends gave us the hutch with the rabbits. I have found amazing Youtube tutorials on building chicken tractors, so I'd imagine they've got rabbit hutch videos as well. That's where I'd start.
I have 5 angora rabbits, and other than their fiber, I too get very excited about their manure! You're not alone.