A day to celebrate and cross fingers! For the first time Hershey was bred...to TATER! It is also the first time he has done his manly duties since getting him in June. I think he is a newbie at the whole business, but hopefully has things figured out now. Fingers crossed for new buns on or about February 24!

And wow what a score today! A wonderful lady answered my wanted ad for rabbit cages and offered me a great deal. Four sectioned cages with 2-3 compartments each for a total of ten large cages complete with nest boxes, feeders, and waterers- all for $100!! I am now truely set up with all the cages and supplies I'll ever need. 

What a great bunny day!

 
 

We lost our Road Island Red hen yesterday to a darn coyote! The scarey thing is the coop is in our front yard, only feet from both the rabbits and the sheep pen. I followed the trail of feathers and blood to find that the coyotes are trotting right along the sheep fence! Time to put up some hotwire and figure out some security measures. The first lambs are due in March.

 
Goodbye Jance 01/19/2009
 

With great sadness we said goodbye to Jance, Neil's  wonderful horse, on Monday January 12. 
Jance was a very special horse, we will always remember him and are thankfull for all he gave us, the giggles, the confidence, the compassion, the gentleness, all of the joyful greetings and all of the assistance teaching younger beings about life and love. We miss you.
Thank you to our friend Jason who helped all of us get through the night in so many ways. 

 
Happy New Year! 01/01/2009
 

To finish off 2008...

I sold my horse trailer just a couple weeks after setting it up to be a cozy rabbit barn...figures! But really it is a good thing - the same day I sold it I found another one for the same price but in better condition! We made a nice little rabbit area under the cedar trees using tarps for windbreaks. So far so good, and it is so pretty under there.

3 of the bunnies have made it to 8 weeks old, though they are not weighing as much as expected by their age. We are going to let them grow a bit more, hoping to reach the target weight of 5lbs. I sexed them and we have 2 girls and a boy. Of course the one I was hoping to keep as a breeder is the boy...but the largest is a girl so fair enough. We are still working on a name for her (she is black and white like ma and pa if anybody has any suggestions)

The sheep are doing very well, all of them have been bred by Warf during their first heat in with him. We put a marking harness on with an orange crayon in order to record who was bred when. After 17 days we changed the crayon to blue, however nobody has yet been marked! BG is due in March, as she was bred prior to bringing her home, and everybody else is due in the beginning of May. I am excited but apprehensive - expecting around 12 lambs - I really hope we don't have any problems!

Rei, Uli, Jance, and Delphine are wintering well. We almost lost Jance in a snow storm, he laid down and couldn't get back up again. Luckly he had a good blanket on. When we found him in the morning we made a stall in the haybarn for him to relax in (Jance LOVES stalls) for a week, being turned out during the day if the weather wasn't too harsh. This was during a super cold freeze last month. I am happy to report that he is now back to his normal self - but we check on him quite often (they are right outside the house). Rei is good as usual - you can hear him at night galloping as he scouts out strange noises or movement. He is forever watching over his little herd. Delphine is being boarded at a friends farm where she can be in with some other mares and just relax. When the weather clears up I will be bringing her home to join the group here.

Karma and Shambhala had a good xmas, they got sheep stuffies and some bones in their own stocking. Shambhala should be coming into heat this month, still looking for a suitable boy to meet her.

And as for Neil and I, well things are good! 2009 should be an interesting year and we are both excited for so