Digging In the City (my experience in homesteading in the city): More Rabbits for the Brood

Digging In the City (my experience in homesteading in the city): More Rabbits for the Brood: "Ok, so I'm addicted. Addicted to rabbits. The babies are so adorable and cute it's hard to think I have to sell them. We lost one on Thursda..."

More Rabbits for the Brood

Ok, so I'm addicted. Addicted to rabbits. The babies are so adorable and cute it's hard to think I have to sell them. We lost one on Thursday, because it got out of the box (probably attached to its mother) and froze. It was sad, but no one cried, we know it's just part of life. Their color has already started and they are beautiful. We have one blue, sable, and two black.

I finally found a mini lop female with broken chinchilla color for my male mini lop Cutie. I also learned that two broken rabbits mating can make a Charlie, which is a rabbit who has only 10% or less of color. So my idea of mating my two tri color mini rex was probably not that great of an idea. Also, if you mate a rabbit with one buck and then put a different buck with her, she will have more kits, but also there will be different colors and different dads. Amazing. There is so much to learn.

Recipe for Pavlova

When I was 17, I had the great opportunity to visit Australia. It was an experience I will never forget, and one thing I truly remember is the best dessert I have ever had in my life. I was never able to find it here in the states, but as I stated in my earlier blog "Yard Sale" I found the recipe in a book my mom had.
So here it goes, hopefully it is as good as I remember it.

Pavlova 

• 3 egg whites
• 1/3 cup super fine sugar
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon boiling water
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sliced fresh fruit

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Cover a baking sheet with foil, and spray lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites to form stiff peaks. Add white sugar slowly, and continue beating. When egg whites are very stiff, add vinegar and boiling water. Continue beating until glossy surface is beginning to fade, and mixture is very stiff. Pile meringue onto prepared baking sheet. Shape into a circle 1 1/2 inches thick. Form a slight dip in the center, and make the sides slightly higher.
3. Place meringue in the oven, shut the door, and turn the heat off. Leave in the oven for one hour. Check the texture of the meringue; it should be hard with no soft spots. If soft in the center, heat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Place meringue back into the oven, and turn off the heat. Cool when done. Transfer onto a serving platter.
4. Whip the cream until just stiff. Beat in vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Pile the whipped cream onto the meringue. Arrange the fruit on top of the whipped cream, and serve.

The babies are here!

The pregnant rabbit that I wasn't so sure was pregnant was really pregnant. She had he babies at 3:15 pm on Oct 25, 2010.
Funny thing is she wasn't prepared and neither were we. We cleaned all the cages the night before, and didn't put the nesting box back in the cage. I read somewhere they take out there fur to nest, but she wasn't doing that so we didn't bother putting it back in. Well, my husband went to get something for dinner, and informed me that our freezer in the garage was completely thawed, so we had to unload all our food and start cooking it to refreeze it. Then he yelled Ummm there's an emergency...so i ran out there thinking someone was hurt, but it was BABIES!
I have to say I was truly the happiest rabbit owner around, they were the cutest ugliest naked babies I'd ever seen.
We were scared because they were very cold, so we brought the babies and mom inside from the garage, and warmed them up. I was frantic thinking she wouldn't be a good mom, but when I checked on her today, she had made a nice little nest out of fur in her nesting box. The babies were sooo warm.
Things I learned from this experience, never second guess a pregnancy in rabbits. Always put the nesting box in around the time they are due. It is okay to touch domestic rabbit babies, because it helps them become good pets. Mother rabbits only feed there babies once a day, so don't get worried. I thought she wasn't going to be a good mom, but she is very nurturing.
Our rabbitry is taking off, I had to give 3 males away, because I just didn't have the space. I was able to  sell two lionheads, and one american female, so I am making some money. So I was down to 6 rabbits, but now we have 5 new babies. We are excited to watch them grow.

The Yard Sale!

So I helped my mom for two days with a giant yard sale at her door factory in Losantville, IN.
I learned to drive a forklift! That was fun, not that it has anything to do with the yardsale, but none the less it was fun.
My daughter and I were moving tables and I almost dropped a lamp because she made me laugh, and then instead an angel fell off and broke. I sold a $100 item for $2, I didn't know what it was...ahaha, I don't think my mom found me helpful at all. Oops.
But good news, I was able to sell a rabbit, and I got rid of my other 3 males. So I am officially down to 8 rabbits, and one is gone in Nov to a neighbor, so I am not making any money yet, but hope to be soon. Of course my pregnant rabbit is not showing any signs of having babies. Maybe it's a false pregnancy. We will see.
I found some really great books at my mom's yard sale, one recipe book had a desert called Pavlova, which is an amazing desert that I had when I went to Australia. I have never seen it anywhere in the USA, but was so excited to see it that I took the book. I will post it in a later post and maybe some of you can try it. It's delicious.
If your interested in any doors, look up the door factory, they can make just about any door you can dream up for a very good price. Made in America. www.customdoorproducts.com

Back to my roots and starting with rabbits.

So the older I get the more I feel the urge inside to plant my roots in the country, only problem is I am living in the city. So I decided to plant a garden, start a compost heap, and show, breed and sell rabbits from my city home.
The funny thing is the only thing doing really well right now is my compost heap!
I got a beautiful mini rex female and the lady I obtained her from told me a lot of 4-H kids buy from her to show. A light bulb went off in my head, that's it. I can get the kids in 4-H and we can show rabbits.
Shortly after that I obtained two lionhead rabbits, that I obviously paid to much for. I drove 3 hours for a mean holland lop that is supposed to be bred, but has yet to produce babies 4 weeks later. hahaha
I got lost trying to buy another mini rex male, finally found the place but it took me 2 hours. Last but not least I acquired 6! free rabbits! and guess what 5 are male! So now i have a total of 12 rabbits, 8 males, 1 supposedly pregnant meanie, a hopefully pregnant mini rex, and some other. So all in all I am off to a Horrible start.
I have researched and looked all over the internet and found wonderful information, spent lots of money on cages and even traded things for cages (which came with more male rabbits), and have invested 300 in all my aspirations. Now it's time to just get organized.
I contacted a wonderful woman in 4-H, and found on the ARBA website (www.arba.com) all the rabbit shows available in my area (OH, IN). As we get ready to show our rabbits, I still need to learn what to take, how to tattoo, and so much. Excitedly overwhelmed we are ready for our journey.