How Much Does It Cost?

I thought I would post about finance for once. It is easy to get carried away with blogging about the animals themselves, but due to the fact we are running our smallholding as a business and there are folks who will be interested in the business side of things, I have just got the calculator out and totted up my feed expenses for the month.

Today is January 31st and this month we have spent £145.80

This was a month with no vet/medical costs so this was how much it cost to feed a pony, 4 goats, increasing amount of rabbits (35 by end of month), 5 guinea pigs, 7 chickens, 2 pigeons , a barn owl, 2 ducks and 2 geese.

This is a cheap month for us because we are in Winter and the number of animals is much lower than it will be later in the year when we are well underway with poultry breeding etc. In which case the extra costs will be chick crumb and grower pellets plus specialist poultry feeds such as game bird, turkey starter and waterfowl grower. Rabbit feed will also cost more once their breeding programme is underway next month.

Then there are vet bills to consider. Next month the goats will needs two shots and Luna will need to see a farrier plus a vet visit to have her teeth rasped. Later in the year Luna will need worming and the whole cycle again before the year is out. Then of course there are unforseen vet bills if and when any animal gets sick.

The above £145-80 was for feed alone. To run the smallholding by way of electric, petrol, equipment and so on, cost a further £200 or so for this month.


I will endeavour to post some figures later in the year for a more expensive summer month because this may help future smallholders in their plans. By summer we will be well underway with growing fruits & vegetables and we will be in full flow with breeding so the figures should show the difference between being in full swing and simply ticking over during winter.

Hope you found this useful :o)


January 2012 - £342-63

Luna Gives Lucian A Ride

On Sunday, Luna gave Lucian a lovely pony ride around the garden and she did vey well indeed. As did Lucian! The two don't get to spend much time together so Luna is much more strongly bonded to me. Hopefully that will change in the Summer and with regular weekend rides the two will become firm friends.

Sadly, I did not get any video of it but will make sure I do next time.

The Big Rescue II

That is IT, definitely no more room for rescue bunnies! At the weekend we took an extra 10 rabbits from somebody who was no longer allowed to keep them due to them renting their property and they were not allowed so many under their tenancy agreement.

I decided that the best thing for the rabbits would be to remove the males from the equation and have a batchelor(ess) group of females. So Betty's tribe has increased to 11 in total, all female. I didn't feel any more could comfortably fit in the 10 x 7' so the remainder are in temporary pens until I can finish building individual enclosures in my spare rooftop aviary. Best place for them as it is foxproof.

So, in total, we now have 35 rabbits! Quite a lot, but I must say that I am enjoying it immensely as I adore rabbits and find them very interesting.

I think this BLOG is all rabbited out but I will add some footage of the entire bunch once they are all housed in the new pens. They are dotted around all over the place at the moment!
Will also post about litters born of course. I have a couple of breeding does who are expecting, so watch this space :o)

Rescue Rabbit Video

Here is Ugly Betty and her tribe:

Amy & Panda

Eeyore

Sleeping Goofy

You've heard of Sleeping Beauty.. well here's:

Bunny Behaviour

I thought I would post an update on some of the rescue rabbits.

In a 10 x 7 foot enclosure, we have a little herd formed of 8 of the rescues. Well, two herds in fact.
An existing little white Lionhead buck and the giant, Ugly Betty, have paired up to form the dominant pair and boy does Betty rule with an iron fist! (not to mention the odd belly flop..) She resides over the rest as queen matriach and goes completely unchallenged. To me, this is the best kind of boss as it makes for a peaceful herd of rabbits who feel protected under Betty's leadership, so for that, I thank the big ol' bossy boots.

I introduced a second buck, being a quiet lion lop, together with a variety of does including a mini rex, havana, rather large netherland dwarf type, a harlequin and a second crossbred giant doe.

Interestingly, the lion lop buck has bagged himself a female. He and the havana doe have formed a sort of subherd and hang out in a particular corner. In this weather, the two bucks can live together peacefully and it is unlikely that any mating will occur because the males testes are well and truly absorbed up into their bodies until spring. The two barely interact with each other, they simply occupy different areas of the enclosure.

The netherland dwarf, mini rex and harlequin does are fairly independant and although consider themselves part of Ugly Betty's tribe, they will socialise with all and spend time by themselves, apart from the groups.
Betty's main concern is the other giant female as she must appear to be the biggest threat to Betty's throne. However, this female is very submissive indeed which means that she keeps her head down, and Betty is happy. All are growing closer each day and some strong bonds are being formed.

I should say that to ensure that the more subordinate members of the herd get plenty of water and feed, I do leave their supplies in two opposing corners which means that Betty cannot drive everybody off of two places at once. This is an important consideration in keeping a group of rabbits together as opposed to the usual pair - they take more monitoring and supervising. However, I firmly believe that these rabbits have a naturalistic social setup which is very enriching for them and fascinating to watch.
Furthermore, the extra bodyheat of a pile of 8 must be much more welcome in this weather than just two bunnies trying to cuddle together. As highly sociable creatures, it is lovely to watch this more naturally sized herd and I hope to get some interesting video footage to share :o)



*****Please Note: I really want to stress that it is not reccomended that you attempt to house two entire buck rabbits together, especially with females around, but what I have done here is from years of studying wild and captive rabbit behaviour and that is what has enabled me to introduce this combination together successfully. If you have limited experience with rabbit behaviour, please do stick to the usual combination of neuters or pair of females. It would be irresponsible of me to post about this herd without explaining that it is not necessarily a simple process. Thanks for reading :o)

Hokey & Cokey

This morning, Hokey couldn't wait for me to swap her frozen bucket for a warm one and Cokey goes dancing on ice:

Bug

Meet Bug.

This little doe is a funny looking bug-eyed netherland dwarf type bunny and she looks just like a pug dog. Her breed type are renowned for being scatty and terrible pets but she is very cuddly and like Orla, will happily sit and watch tv with Lu. We have decided to tame her up for the kids to hold as she is a nice small size and her fugly looks have somehow captured my imagination. She looks for all the world like an evil spy in cute clothing sent to infiltrate the household LOL! She could star in G Force or something.

Hand on heart, I never thought I would have a pet nethie as they are my least favourite breed, but here she is. Bug.

The Big Rescue

Today, we rescued no less than 18 rabbits from a rabbit & guinea pig rescue who are having to move premises in 2 weeks and are unable to take all of their stock.

Obviously it has been a logistical nightmare and it has been a busy day today! I have a headache :o(

There are 5 bucks and 13 does. All have been grouped or paired up and in due course, I will try to get plenty of photos up. Healthwise, they need a little TLC and a nail trim but only one is of immediate concern and that is a little mini lop doe whose health I am not happy with so have segregated her until I can monitor her a bit longer.

With the best will in the world, I would have to devote an entire BLOG to the rabbits to post about each individual, but will certainly add posts about any particular characters worthy of note :o)

Certainly feeling under the weather :o(

I am taken with a particular Lionhead female, photo does not do her justice but she is lovely. Also a particularly nice sealpoint Lionhead seen below with an existing Opal doe we already had in quarantine.
I do have a bit of a soft spot for Lionheads seeing as they were our first love :o)

Feeding Time At The Zoo

Thought I'd take a photo of the 'chop' this morning before I dished it all out.
It is a bit like feeding time at the zoo except instead of big cat growls, elephant trumpets and monkey calls, we get geese honking, goats bleeting, chickens clucking and guinea pigs WHEEKA WHEEKA WHEEKING! ... until the last feed bucket goes in... and all you can hear is... peace and quiet! ahhh.
ok, and maybe a little chomping, pecking and chewing :o)

First, the relevant mix/ concentrate is measured out then fresh veg added

The rabbit's rations can get a little complex! The amount and items allowed depend upon their age, size and quarantine and/or health status. Each new foodstuff is added in tiny quantity and increased daily. Veg is given in massive variety but little quantity. The rabbits are fed twice daily and the staple of their diet is adlib hay. The purple bowl here is Luna's pony nuts

A meal of goat mix and veg for one of the billy goats, to supplement their daily hay section.

Veg is locally produced seasonal and bought in bulk, weekly

100g of waterfowl pellet per goose & duck together with finely chopped greens and apple

a giant rabbit breakfast

Luna Rugged Up

Here is Luna in her 'dress' as Lucian would say. Again, it is foal sized like her headcollar. So funny to have to buy small foal tack for an 11 year old mare! She so teeny x

Here she is having some fuss :o) awww

Luna Grazing In Her New PINK Headcollar

Here is Luna sporting her new headcollar. She has such a tiny head that the shetland size pretty sheepskin collar I bought for her was massive so she now has a Shires foal sized pink headcollar to go with her pink leadrope. Just need a lilac set now so she can look less girly when Lucian wants to ride her lol

Me though, I take her out in PINK and groom her with her totally PINK kit whilst she eats out of a PINK haynet heehee... that is what happens when you live in a house full of testosterone and suddenly get a new female companion...

Here we are, Luna getting her daily grazing while I stand with her in the cold with my thermos mug of coffee!

Sick Bay

Now that Ginger has moved out of her chick brooder come maternity ward, we have refurbed the unit and intend to use it as a hospital sick bay for poorly chicks/guineas/bunnies.

Here's hoping that it gets very few customers!!!

Ginger's Pups, Ready For Weaning

Well. believe it or not, it is time for Ginger's pups to be weaned! We believe we actually have three sow pups and although one might be sold, we would like to keep 'Amy' and 'Panda' with Ginger. In Spring, the pups and Ginger may be reintroduced to Star but there is also the option to keep them together and get Star a new mate as he has been lonesome for long enough during Ginger's time raising the babies. May be down to how well Star accepts his offspring when the time comes.



Amy with mum, Ginger. Amy is so called due to her Amy Winehouse style eye makeup!



Three pups together, aged 4 weeks



Panda



Meet Ugly Betty

Well, in an earlier post, I promised a photo of 'Ugly Betty' and here she is! Betty is a rescue currently doing quarantine time but she is the ugliest bunny we have ever met! We mean that in the kindest possible way of course, Betty is larger than life and has turned out to be quite a character! She is definitelt boss of a number of other rabbits that she resides with and reminds me of the stereotypical oversized, ugly school bully.

We do not tend to name rabbits until they are in the clear health-wise and can definitely be initiated into the Broadwaters family, but some characters just land nicknames. Betty is one of them!

I am sure this will not be the last you hear of this crooked eared, manic-eyed lady who looks as if she would be befitting of a mate for watership down's 'BigWig'...



_______
NB: Please note that Betty has seen a vet who believes she must have been born with her crooked, loppy ear and that no injury was sustained

Freezing Weather

Woke up this morning to a severe frost, the water buckets were full of ice and the waterfowl waterbath had frozen over. After getting Luna rugged up and painstakingly giving everyone warm water to drink, I gave out the breakfast rounds.

Everyone seemed ok apart from the youngest, smallest rabbit who did not rush to the food like the other rabbits did and so I picked her up and wrapped her in a blanket. Lucian popped her on a teddy bear and watched over her while I finished the feeding.
Sadly, although the bunny hopped around a bit, she refused food and water. I figured she had not coped with the introduction of a new foodstuff yesterday which was a very small amount of spring greens. I do not know her exact age as she came in with half a dozen other rescues but combined with her small size and the sudden change in weather, I think her young immune system couldn't cope and she sadly passed away, fairly peacefully and at least had chance to come in for the day and be warm. Lucian drew a picture of her and gave it to her to take to heaven.

rest in peace little bunny.

Mother's Meeting At A Water Bowl

Pekin Bantam Hens

'The Shire' in the planning

So, this is the idea... this year we are not breeding our own chickens like we were last year, we are keeping our trusty pair of Silver Spangled Appenzeller and our beloved Lemon Cuckoo Pekin Bantams, but we will be hatching locally bought eggs.
This means that our three large aviaries which measure 12 x 8 feet, 12 x 6 feet and 8 x 16 feet will now be developed for rabbit breeding accommodation.

I have a bit of a vision to base the housing loosley on Tolkien's 'The Shire' from The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings.

My usual course of action when planning something like this is to calculate how much square footage each animal will have then design a uniform, boring set of enclosures. This time I am going to go against my urge to have everything uniform and I will build individual, 'character properties' for my long eared, bob tailed hobbits. Of course, everything will be made out of scrap wood so the usual rustic look should not be a problem lol

This will take me some time I am sure, but will endeavour to blog as each 'new build' goes up..

This project will either be brilliance, or a knock kneed crooked house disaster!!!

The erection of 'Luna's Bridge'

Will add photo or vid here in due course but thought I'd explain our latest little project which was to rebuild an exercise pen for Luna the Shetland Pony. Ike, the cob colt used to live there and we needed to lower the fencing anyway because Ike was already 11 hands and Luna is just 8hh.

Her pen is down a level from the house and is a bit like a pit style enclosure that you look down on, with access to a building 24/7, providing shelter.

We have to take her up and down what was a muddy, slippy path to get her in and out so decided to build a bridge from decking planks and erect post and rail type fencing with handrail on top which double up as part of Luna's fencing. She has a billy goat pen to her rear boundary and the outbuilding containing her stable/ stall acts as a wall then the rest of the fencing is now post and rail style, made from reclaimed wood and which we plan to paint in forest oak. That is the colour we always use so everything matches!

We have so far built one of the aviaries, both goat enclosures and the pony pen out of second hand timber.
One day I am sure we will have shiny new purpose built fences but for now, we are enjoying the rustic look!

One other thing I am quite pleased with is that one of the banks which flanks Luna's pen was quite badly eroded and starting to resemble a cave... well I have taken the opportunity to fill this hole with a muck heap. It is very conveniently placed to put the horse manure on and in time of course, should provide a beautiful, lush grassy bank! Two birds, one stone :o)

I am planning to have some kind of window boxes or hanging baskets along the bridge, out of Luna's reach, where I will grow Lavender. Only because we could do with a pleasant smell to counterbalance the compost heap and the waterfowl LOL

Will get some pics sorted soon.

Orla watches TV with Lucian

Orla bunny is climbing the walls having to be inside in a small pen for the Winter.
I hope we get an early Spring so that she can go outside soon! We are planning to turn our three aviaries into secure housing for the rabbits.

Last night, Orla sat on the sofa and watched tv with Lucian for a good hour and barely moved!
Think she liked his soft blanket...

Talk about spoilt ! Here are a couple more:

I am a dog

What's mommy doing in the kitchen.... carrots???

Luna's progress

I feel like I am really starting to form a strong bond with Luna. I have managed to get her into a really good routine.

At 10am she has pony nuts and I potter about giving the goats their mix, veg and hay, refill the water buckets and haynets. Then I rake over Luna's enclosure to stop it from getting boggy in this rubbish weather and check her stable for poop. When she finishes her pony nuts she always follows me about and enjoys some cuddles. She seems to really enjoy my company and follows me along the fence when I walk up the path to leave. Then she just has the goats until I get her out in the afternoon. She does not seem to stand with the goats and 'herd' with them in the same way Ike did, but they are company all the same.
Another difference is that Ike used to greet you with a whinny, loudly in true stallion showy offy fashion, but Luna is much more sedate and utters a low grumbling whinny that you could miss if you weren't listening for it.

At 2pm I go down and offer Luna her headcollar. She actually comes over to the gate and puts her nose into the headcollar. Then I lead her to the front of the house and start grooming. Then I check her hooves and pick them if necessary. I am very impressed with how she allows me to do this so easily already.
Then I lead Luna out and we walk up the road to keep her hooves down then up onto the green where we spend half and hour together with Luna grazing.
She then spends about an hour up at the house with her pals, Wilbur & Mabel the rabbits while I collect Lucian from school, he gets to see her for a bit then I take her back to her enclosure.

She seems to spend her evenings inside the stable but mid morning can be seen racing around, trotting in circles or just running back and forth. She seems to kick her heels up if the weather is cold so is probably just getting warm!

Below is a photo of her having a snooze after a bit of a roll! Another thing is that she is a doddle to groom because fo her woolly coat. Ike has a cob, smooth coat and when he used to roll in the mud it was a nightmare to get him clean. With Luna, the mud brushes off very easily with a curry comb and she looks as good as new with very little grooming.

Ugly Betty

We have a number of new rabbits in quarantine including an opal, a black eyed white and a black self Lionhead, two English Spots which are a new breed to us, a sweet blue harlequin Dwarf Lop and a steel British Giant.
We have nicknamed the giant 'Ugly Betty' because she really is the ugliest rabbit we have ever seen. She has the sweetest nature and an endearing character but bless her, she definitely was not first in line for looks!
Will endeavour to post pics of the latest arrivals.

Luna pony is settling in fantastically and we are trying to get her into a steady daily routine.
She loves her little stable and shelters in it from the wind.
In the morning when I am filling the haynets aand seeing to the goats, she eats her pony nuts then follows me around nosing into what I am doing.
In the afternoons she is being very well beha\ved when it comes to grooming and she goes out for grazing in hand and again, behaves very well indeed.