Remember our friends Josh and Jason from Goat Daddy’s Farm, where we took our chicken processing class?

Well, I’ve been thinking for some time that our visitors to the farm might enjoy being able to see and pet and learn about rabbits, and having them wouldn’t add too much work for me during the day. I posted a request on Facebook to see if anyone might have a rabbit they’d like to donate to the farm. Josh and Jason sent me a message right away that they had two rabbits they would like to donate, along with their pens and feeders and waterers and food….everything! (You see, they are setting up a Grade A Raw Milk goat dairy and will have 60 baby goats to deal with next spring, and they decided that they need to down size some of their menagerie.) They gave Fox Trot Farm two of the most adorable bunnies…very tame, and both does (females)!

I drove to their farm and picked them up on Friday and had a very nice visit with the guys. Jason showed me all the work they are doing to get ready for the dairy, and Josh explained all the regulations they are learning about in setting everything up. They helped me load all the rabbit things onto my truck, I drove home and Farmer Bob helped me unload and set up, and now the bunnies are happily living next to our 18th century log cabin here on our farm.

Jason said he built this setup for the rabbits in a hurry to get them up off the ground and cooled off, since the heat in their little rabbit “tractor” was building and they were not doing well. He moved them into these cages and put the whole thing in deep shade in the woods, and they perked right up.

Farmer Bob was delighted that he didn’t need to get busy building anything for the bunnies since he has so much grass to mow everywhere right now and a hen house to build, but he plans to build our bunnies a big hutch before winter sets in. In the meantime, they enjoy the ventilation of the open cages and we’ll put them out in the grass to snack and get some exercise for a while every day.

These bunnies are a breed called “Mini Rex,” and they have extremely soft and plush fur, making them a pleasure to pet, and they do love to be petted! They are friendly and very laid back, and we think our visitors will really enjoy seeing and touching our new bunnies. You can see this one eating a sweet gum tree leaf. Jason says it’s important to give them treats like leaves, apples, and other fruits and veggies and, especially, hard things like carrots and sweet gum sticks and branches to help them keep their teeth worn down. (Do you know that rabbits’ teeth continually grow? If they didn’t, they would soon wear down from all the naturally hard and tough foods in their diet in the wild.)

The porcelain tile is in the pen so that the bunnies have a solid place to sit, or their feet would get sore from standing on the wire all the time. You can see that it didn’t take them long to get all comfy and relaxed.

Come see our new bunnies during our regular market hours on Sunday from 1:00-5:00 p.m. While you’re here, stock up on fresh brown and blue eggs, wild flower honey, honey and beeswax soaps, quilted goods, Granny Bee’s Bakery cakes and cookies, and more! We take cash, credit cards, and personal checks, and you can find us just a short drive through the country at 5066 Rowell RD, Lancaster, SC. You can also make an appointment for a farm tour on any day other than market day and learn about all our animals and even the honey bees!

Rosie says “hi!”

 

EIEIO!

Deb