To bunny or not to bunny

↑ small bean ↓

Mon, Nov 02 2020, 10:08 pm

Siriusly? wrote:

Are your bunnies domestic or wild? Because a domestic rabbit, if cared for properly, should not be dying after two years - depending on breed they live between 8 and 14 years... Based on your description of your second bunny, they sound like they could be wild though?

Side note, you live on a property with sheep?? I am jealous. Any other animals?

Domestic and we didn't get them as babies. We actually rented it out over the summer and it died there, not sure why.

We have sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, and 1 bunny right now. It flucuates all the time.

↑ small bean ↓

Mon, Nov 02 2020, 10:15 pm

Rappel wrote:

Donkeys are wonderful, and they are like big vegetarian dogs Smile

what kind of donkey is he looking for? And I recommend taking a female, or a neutered male. You don't want a male donkey to go dominant around little kids.

Llamas are also great protectors.

My husband is completely sexist and prefers female animals. I'm not going to say what kind of donkey because I will mess it up. I know it's like $8k but there is nothing near us right now for sale. He would eventually breed it, but you can rent animals for breeding purposes.

We had cows for a week (babysitting someones) and now my kids are begging for their own. I officially said no to that because of the smell, but we will see if my husband gives in. (I'm not usually in the know because I veto a lot)

missmuffetsmum

Tue, Nov 03 2020, 5:34 am

To all you rabbit experts, my female non-spayed Netherland Dwarf was so good about using her litter tray and keeping her mess contained to one area - until about 10 days ago. She's probably around 6 months old. Now she's leaving a mess around her cage and the house and DH doesn't really want to let her out to run around. We've put her on our smallish porch the last couple of days, but she can't get a good grip there and it's not that spacious.

Is there a way to fix the problem without having her spayed?

amother

Violet

Tue, Nov 03 2020, 10:51 am

We had bunnies for short while, while I was growing up. Male/female. When we were gone for a week, they gave birth to 6 babies.
They get born blind with no hair. When we came back, the babies were all dead. We were later told, father needs to be removed, after birth of offspring, because he gets jealous of attention mom is giving them & kills them.
Bunnies have 6-10 babies at a time.

honeymoon

Tue, Nov 03 2020, 11:52 am

small bean wrote:

Your farm seems so cool! Can we come for a visit? Smile

Sheep, goats, chickens, bunnies and a white horse are all the stuff of my dreams. I dream of living on a farm, but for now Brooklyn it is.

↑ Rappel ↓

Tue, Nov 03 2020, 4:13 pm

small bean wrote:

He's a wise man, and you're a wise woman.

A general agricultural rule: females for the farm, males for the meatpacker.

But I can't handle cows either. They're magnificent, beautiful animals, but the smell and the slop are atrocious. Give me ten mischievous goats any day, but spare me the cattle.

The only time I've seen cattle work well is when they're taken out to range for pasture. Recently, thanks to several fine donations and imports, several of the Jewish shepherds holding the line out here have gained cattle, and they're doing a great job at keeping claim to the land. They need more pasture than sheep, so the cowboys never bring them in. And they're much harder to steal than sheep or goats, so they are a great bulwark.

↑ Rappel

Tue, Nov 03 2020, 4:24 pm

Update: our ruminations yesterday made me realize that it's a really bad idea for me to acquire bunnies for little kids, when I don't even want them. T the end of the day, their care and protection will fall to me, and that's not fair to anyone.

Today, DS and I had a talk, and I explained my objections to keeping any caged animal, and the complications of keeping bunnies safe. He protested that he would take them out every day and care for them, and I believe he earnestly meant it, but I'm not going to hold a 4 year-old to that kind of commitment. We compromised that he and I would still build together (a playhouse or treehouse), and that we'll hold off on the bunnies for now.

DD was happy to discover that I'm fixing up the chicken house for chickens in the spring, and didn't mind the trade-off, since she still gets to bring vegetables to the neighbor's bunnies.

Whew. Imma crisis averted.