Rabbits have been our prepping focus this week. As mentioned, we got two American Chinchilla does. We’re glad we have them and really feel like they will be a positive addition to our family and our preps. The kids enjoy holding them, and while they understand they’re not just pets, we feel it’s okay for them to bond with the mothers of our future litters. We’re starting to slowly introduce fresh grass, clover, and dandelions to them to get their guts use to it. Our goal is to pasture them in the backyard (under a “rabbit tractor” to keep them safe and contained) as much as possible, especially during the summer; then during the winter grow greens for them. We’ll continue to feed them pellets daily to supplement, and round out, their natural diet.

I’m looking forward to watching Sarah’s gardening journal grow and expand. While a journal isn’t a new concept and it’s a very simple idea, I’m not sure I’d have thought about it in reference to a garden. I think it will be very valuable, and interesting, to track our progress over the years. Sarah will also be keeping a rabbit journal, recording: breeding, litter size, butchering, diet, any health problems, and other pertinent information.

Even though we have our rabbits we don’t have our full rabbit hutch completed yet (so they’re still in the garage). Ryan and I are building it in the backyard on the north side of the house. We figured the north side would work best because it gets less sunlight, so we don’t grow anything there, and it’ll be cooler; rabbits deal better with cool temperatures than hot. Plus it will allow us to see the rabbits through the kitchen window so it’ll be easy to watch them and ensure their comfort and safety.

Even though we won’t be able to breed and butcher our rabbits anytime soon, one advantage of rabbits that we’ll be able to take advantage of almost immediately is their manure. Rabbit manure is some of the best stuff you can get to fertilize your garden. It can be put straight onto the garden, without having to be composted first (it’s not “hot”), even around plants you will be harvesting soon. Rise and Shine Rabbitry, has a great post on the uses of rabbit manure. Between the front and back yards we have a lot of garden space to cover. I’ll start by putting it around individual plants, then as we get more spread it all through the garden. When we get a good layer everywhere it’ll either be time to start over or share it with some of our neighbors who also garden. Maybe we’ll arrange a trade with them, their old garden and vegetable scraps for rabbit manure.

What did you do?

(Monday: Be Sure You Have Alternate Routes)