Homesteading

Adding A Rabbit To The Homestead

There is no doubt that she is nothing more than a pet. Look at those wittle ears, flopping all over. We brought Ivy home a few weeks back as a baby. The boys would love to have farm animals, they beg for them. However, the one issue where we live is we can’t under CCR rules. We are working on our goals, but at least a rabbit is an animal and pet they can learn to take care of. Alistaire, our yongest, has decided he is her Daddy, and he so indulges her.

The first thing I had picked up was a hutch. Be prepared to use better screws and paint a second coat. We also added hardware cloth to the bottom. We were not sure if she would be in or outside, or both.

Her first week was inside, as she was so tiny, and spent much of it in her portable cage we had picked up. Then we moved her outside to her hutch.

What did I mention about proud Daddy? He goes out every day and hand picks her fresh clover and grasses to eat. She loves her fresh produce.

I built a tiny run out of more hardware cloth that she loved – she could come out and eat fresh clover & grass.

Happiest bunny eva-h!

Alistaire spends so much time with his rabbit.

However, with the heat wave that hit us last month, I brought her back inside. She had shade (I made sure), and moved the hutch under a shaded gazebo, but when it it hit over 85* we brought her back in. The bunny was much bigger in just a short while, and while she sleeps in her cage (so she doesn’t get into anything!), we let her roam the boys’ bedroom during the day, and the upstairs as well. I kind of love watching her run around. She is a cutie. Nearly always she is good and goes pee in the same spot in her cage (we compost it all!), and eats/drinks in there.

Once the heat wave ended, we sent her back outside to her hutch. It is interesting watching her change when she is outside. She really enjoys fresh clover in the lawn, and we change her hutch placement often so she can enjoy it.

And the bonus? She is providing lots of “bonus” material for the compost pile…..it’s excellent fertilizer!

3 thoughts on “Adding A Rabbit To The Homestead

  1. He is so cute. I am glad you are not going to eat him. Can’t you have chickens over there? I thought you could have a 5 within the city limits. Many of my neighbors do. I would love to if I didn’t have this darling and efficient Manchester terrier. Rat dog.

    1. Stupid HOA rules in our neighborhood 🙁 Chickens are not allowed specifically. Ivy is too cute to eat 😉 And as long as she keeps producing buckets of rabbit poopies, she is gold 😀 Ironically though, we are the last house in the neighborhood, and have the biggest lot – big enough for chickens.

      Sarah

  2. HOAs are crazy. If everyone had chickens and rabbits our world would be more self-sufficient. Run for the woods! Big cities are evil!!

    🙂

    At least that is our plan.

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