Baby Rabbits!

This is Darth! He is the proud father of six new baby rabbits! They are still little, so we aren't bothering them until Mama rabbit (Hoolaroo) is comfortable. She is a good mama, as long as we give her the 8x8 chicken tractor to mother in. We don't bother her very much at this stage, she needs plenty of food and water and lots of privacy. We give her a large box so the kits can stay in there until they are big enough to wander around. This box also serves her well when they start to move around and she wants to be alone. She can climb on top and watch the kits while having them out of her hair. Rabbits are wonderful pets, but when mama rabbit gets stressed out in the least she will kill her kittens.

These little rabbits are awful cute. We've got three that look similar to Darth, two that are white with black eye patches and ears, and a tiny black one. I love it when there are black kits! I am hoping to have a line of all black rabbits. This was the first litter that produced kits with eye patches. I'm excited about that as well!

We are going to EAT these rabbits eventually. These rex crosses grow a bit slower but are ready to eat around 3-4 months of age. Last month we incorporated a few Californian meat rabbits into the mix. We are hoping to get a bigger rabbit that still has the nice fur.

 Once we have our own place we plan on making a leather floor with the pelts. Well, a combination of solid wood with small squares of leather. The hair itself will probably have to go, we are after all - allergic.