One more post for the year?

I've been rushed of my feet in the past weeks, again!
I'll copy and paste the relevant conversations from my lifestyle block posts.
Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to a quiet end of the year, and an even quieter start of the next one!!

First bunny saga:
15.12

Sudden bunny death

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..again.
This time one of the young ones due for slaughter in a fortnight!
Rigor mortis hasn't set in yet, I think. How long does it normally last? The nose is grey and cold, but the body is about as cold when I have finished prepping them, meaning not colder than me, to my touch.
Anyway, this one had plenty of room to run around, was getting pellets and grass ad lib.
The boys were only now starting to get obnoxious with each other.
Could he have died of a sudden fright? No obvious wounds or marks anywhere, so no fight with predator.
I haven't done the post mortem yet, got to look after the goats and kids first.
Back later with my findings.

 

 

16.12

Wow, I just googled and found a very interesting and informative article on RCD.
It's a PDF but nevertheless:
http://www.csiro.au/files/files/plep.pdf

I suppose if I keep them isolated for the next fortnight, and on pellets, and they all stay alive, they should be safe to eat!
Better evaluate my breeding stock and get it vaccinated too! So far we've only done the pet ones.

 

17.12

Another one this morning, and this time I went straight in.
BUT, it looks all normal. Well, it looks like the other ones that I had butchered for eating.
No discernible spots anywhere, definitely no blackening on any of the organs, no frothy mucus around the cavity.
So far the two dead have been plain white ones, looking the closest like NZ White.
Yesterday I had noticed one being a bit quieter than the others, but can't tell whether that was todays's corpse. When feeding today I noticed one of the coloured ones sitting a bit behind. Also, it's only in the outside boys pen. So far nothing has happened in the girls pen, which is in our courtyard. Let's wait and see.
What is an appropriate way of disposing of the bodies? I had intended of burying them. We do have a drum I could burn them in, but burying would be easier.

 

18.12.

and another one.
This one has been dead a while, stiff as a board. So no PM.
I suppose it's like with tummy bugs etc.: a week after the last corpse I can assume the rest will be fine?
I'm tempted to cull the lot, except for the intended stud boy and a couple of mates to keep him company.

 

 

19.12.

Unfortunately I had to euthanize another one last night, but today the ones that were looking a bit on the dopey side seem to be perking up.
Spoken to the vet, he said burying is fine, and he's going to find something out for me regarding vaccinations.
As he wouldn't eat any, I will not cull them, but wait and see who will survive. I'm doing hourly checks now, to be able to put any out of their misery.
Anybody out there in a similar situation who has eaten bunnies?
And what about hunted ones? They might be infected but not showing signs?
On the up side, I can get my animal cuddles from the goat kids, one of them is positively cuddly and always tries to snuggle up on my lap. But, boy do they have ants in their pants! 

 

and another one today, 20.12.11

 

If my tally is correct that's 5 out of 14.

Not happy but I can only wait and see.

BUT, today I butchered three of the girls, no rabbit in the separate girl run has shown any signs of infection, so I thought I'd get in there before anything happens to them too.

Times like these...

...make me very happy about my choices.
Bed time was approaching and the kids were kind of cooperating. Closing their doors I was wondering if I could get away with taking the goats in straight away or whether all hell would break loose once I had left the building?
Well, went and did it anyway.
Got the pellets for bribery, glass jar for milk, the Phytolacca and got Tui first. Cooperating all the way and stripping done in minimum time ( milk still stringy and ever so lightly pinkish). Got Poppy: she was fully into the idea of having little tidbits while walking back to the paddock!  That distance normally takes her 20 minutes, if I keep pushing and pulling. Today, I think it would have been less than 5!
Next the ducks to be locked  back into their hut.
First, a cuddle with the heaving mass of bunnies and grabbing a few handfuls of fresh grass for them.
Went towards the hut, quietly because I had seen some movement inside and found they had taken themselves to bed already! I upset them a bit by actually looking closer in to count, but not too close: they've been in there only for 3 days and already the pong is too much to bear!
To counter that I decided to pick on of my pink roses that had opened over the last few days and it is smelling heavenly.
On my way back I checked and the kids doors were still shut and it was peacefully quiet.

Tomorrow will be most probably the day from hell, so I thought I'd better write this down to remind myself when it gets too bad, that it will get good again too!

TTFN

Duck run up and running

After the last couple of weeks of building, ramming warratahs in the ground and putting mesh up it's finally done.
On Sunday evening I moved the ducklings into their new enclosure. Complete with 'shower-tray' bath feature. It took them a while to get into it, but once they did there was no stopping. They splashed and paddled til they all were absolutely soggy wet.

We all went to bed completely shattered and then the storm started. I thought I could leave them out and not worry about chasing them to lock them up in the hut. I was wrong: I was tossing and turning so badly that in the end I gave up and went out in my PJ's and gumboots, torch in hand and chased them, 2x2x2, until I had them all safely locked up in the hut. And just as well I had gone down, the roof had blown open and was hanging of the hinges. Fortunately nothing had broken and a few more bricks on the top of it secured it for the night.
Here now the pics of the whole process:

And as a final touch, a couple of images of the resident wild pheasant that came to visit a couple of times in the past weeks.

That's all folks,
Peace and out!

The Countdown has started!

As of Sunday, 20.11.11 I am counting down the days until the goats will definitely have had something!
On Sunday it was T - 40. I won't be reporting daily, but if you see a number it pretty much means nothing has happened and so many more to go!
Tui's still suffering from mastitis, but at least she's getting used to being handled on the milking stand. And that stand has been a blessing in disguise: having to handle her and administer the medication is so much easier with it. Hopefully the mastitis won't be of a problem anymore once she has kidded!

Until then I've got Project duck to keep me occupied. As they are literally growing over night I have to make a new home for them. After having learned from the first failure I am now making a decent large house and will make a properly fenced-in run. At night I will lock them into house and during the day will let them out into the run; and once they are big enough into the orchard. But even the orchard will get fenced in eventually.
Anyway, on Saturday I started making the house and put the finishing touches on today. Ross gave me technical advise and recommendations regarding materials to use. But the actual sawing, drilling etc was done by me.
I was going to post some pics, but the uploader is having a hissy fit. I will try at another time.

That's it for now, a short and sweet update on the general state of things. Well not quite, I don't think I've mentioned the chicks, chickens, hens AWOL and that female bunny who's decided 3 days ago to make a nest and pull out all her fur, even though I don't think she could be pregnant. But I haven't sat down with the calender and checked when all the boys got moved. I'll leave her be, not much I can do about it either way anyway!

Peace and out.

Addendum

For some reason, no idea what has been happening, I forgot to write about the birth of the chicks and ducklings.

Our rooster Rusty had died on 2.10.11 and on 5.10.11 one of the hens walked out of the bush with his last progeny, 12 chicks.

The ducklings were born on the 18. and 19.10.11 and had been sat on by two hens. They had been playing musical chairs with the eggs and I doubted any would hatch. One egg was rotten, and one duckling didn't survive the night. Now we've got 6, three dark coloured ones and three yellow ones. Still waiting for a reply from the breeder regarding that difference. For now they're growing well, which is good!


Finished of the bunny run properly and it's working great so far. The boys, all 15 of them, are enjoying the space.

Today I'll be taking the first milking stand attempt apart and start on the second. This one will be hung from the wall and make more space in the barn.

It's been a while!

And heaps has happened, as it should.
But on some days it seems to be more than I can handle.
The bunnies have produced, almost to the minute of conception. With two authorized and supervised matings and two unauthorized ones we've now got 21 new bunnies. Unfortunately the majority seem to be boys. I have had a few friends asking for some girls, but I think only a few of the white ones are girls this time. It doesn't matter much with roasts, but to keep as pets girls are better.
In the first couple of weeks we lost 3 babies: one fell out of the nest and died of hypothermia and two were the victims of our adopted cat.
On a positive note, the chicks are thriving in a "new" second hand hutch which I found a couple of weeks ago at our tip recycle centre. More space for them to run around and develop their motor skills, and enough space for mum too. After all, it's 12 chicks!

And the ducklings have finally hatched: out of 8 eggs 7 were fertile, and 6 survived the hatching process. One problem now though, three of them don't exactly look like Rouen chicks. Will have to have a word with my egg supplier. ;-)

And the goats definitely seem to be pregnant!  Hehe, how definite can seem be?
I dont know, but the obliging Billy's owner reckons I'm well on my way of becoming a goat nana! She reckons our girl Poppy is way bigger then when she saw her last, so here's hoping and keeping fingers crossed!


Update done for today on the critter front, it's been a very busy school holiday too, just in the last week we're literally having visitors daily. And most of them for sleep overs too! And since they're all friends and come to see us and not the house, it's pretty casual and entertaining.

TTFN

What a start of the week :(

Right, after having fed and watered all the animals, tethered the goats to a good browsing spot, had breakfast and then went to check on our sickly rooster Rusty. He had been quiet for the past week and I had isolated him in a separate hutch to give him peace and quiet to recuperate. Unfortunately, he didn't get over whatever had been ailing him. He was lying dead in the hutch.
So I've had the enviable task of plucking some of his prettiest feathers as a memento for my boy and then bury him, next to Uno the stud bunny.

As I was digging the hole, I wondered what some archaeologist might interpret into the " random" burials of animals around our property. We've got two sites at the moment reserved for our "pet" farm animals. I wonder what someone would make of that!!! "They "worshiped" their farm animals and buried them facing the East! They must have been also worshipers of the rising sun!"

Back to the chores, making a frame for casting concrete pads for the duck run.