Our spring weather roller coaster continues – we had a high of 86 one day, gusty wind, torrential rain, and a couple days later there was snow on the ground! But the grass is green and the flowers are blooming so I am very happy.
In other news, we have lots of spring projects going on. Greg has tilled up some new area to plant, and I built a low raised bed for strawberries. We have new raspberry canes to replace the ones that didn’t make it through the drought last year, and I have had to deal with naughty chickens who see that the grass is greener on MY side of the fence. We are clipping the main flight feathers on their wings but they are still somehow launching themselves out and into my planted areas to destroy what they can. I have a crazy network of fences going on to keep them out of my peas. The spring garden beds are doing great so far.
Strawberries – no sooner than I walked away did a chicken jump in and dig them up, so I had to lay fence on top of them.
For the last couple weeks, Greg has been building pasture pens for the rabbits. (He is the builder, I am the information gatherer) I am so pleased with how they are turning out. He took a few ideas from various photos we bookmarked on different websites and from there created what we needed. He decided on a 2x2x6 size to keep it light enough that I can move them around by myself. The dimensions can be changed easily but these are the other details I think are important:
- There is an enclosed area on one end for shelter/and nesting.
- The roof is a corrugated type metal. Sides are hardware cloth material because that is strong enough to withstand raccoons or other predators.
- Attached 1×1 wire to the bottom to keep the rabbits from digging out. 1×2 wire would be better but we couldn’t find any when we needed it.
One thing we have discovered that needs a fix is the top/roof – I got hit on the head one day as I was leaning in to get a dish and the wind caught it and slammed it shut on me. Ouch! (thank goodness I had my essential oils! peppermint and frankincense took care of the headache quite nicely and needed no nasty aspirin or other painkillers)
Can you believe these are the babies?
The rabbits are so happy with more room and once they had access to fresh grass and weeds they had a huge growth spurt! This is going to cut the feed costs and help to grow the meat litters out faster and when we have does with litters, they won’t be so cramped.
He is also going to build pasture pens for our bucks because quite frankly, they are nasty creatures and I want them off my porch ASAP. One of them sprays to mark his area and I am his favorite target. I have found his little splatters as far as 10 feet away. I have no idea how he manages it but it is just gross. He is always dirty and stained and really needs a bachelor pad away from the house.
Buddy the nasty buck – ewww.
And that’s how our pasture pen project is going. How are you doing on your spring projects?
I am so excited to see this post! We just got rabbits and I was wanting something like this!! The pens look great!
Thank you Kala!
My mama used to just cut them in pieces like you would a fryer chicken and after she fried them to a golden brown, my sisters and I would argue over who got the back legs! lol Deelicious! I’d love to get a couple to breed for food at the back of my fence. They aren’t ‘survival food’, they are delicacies! I love your pens and got some good ideas from your post. Thank you and God Bless♥