These are my last photos of my babes! I will miss them, and can’t wait to start on the next batch

Another one of the baby Californians died this week. They had plenty of food and water, and were slowly added on to grass. I think we may have introduced them to natural green forages a bit too quickly though. It was sad to hear.

Well, the camp director told me that she wanted all of the animals off the property (and their cages) by next Wednesday (7/31/13). The only day that I could take care of that was Friday (7/26). So, I went down to the horse barn to get my rabbits, and sold the baby Californians (SO ADORABLE) and one of the smaller New Zealands (Button), to Michelle for $20.

I went to load up the button quail and the chickens, came back up to the barn, and the three other girls were there, wanting to purchase the other rabbits. I charged $10 for the smaller one, and $15 for the bigger two). One of their parents said yes, and the other one is still waiting to say yes. If they change their mind, I will bring them home on Monday. This could mean making $60 off rabbits, minus the food and losses of the other two.

They wanted Oreo, but with her poor confirmation, I didn’t feel comfortable selling her, even as a pet. I took her, the remaining six chickens, and the four button quail back home.

Th Dutch Rabbit, Oreo weighed in at 5.2 lbs, and dressed out at 1.75 lbs.  This was only a 34% dress out ratio. This rabbit had very poor confirmation, and I think that that impeded her ability to move around to get water and food. She also had a lot of fat around her organs. Not an efficient animal, and I am very glad I didn’t sell.

The chicken were butchered and processed this morning as well, and I am in the process of cutting them and grinding them into chicken burgers. More recipes to come soon.

This is the end of a very fun experiment for now. I have all of the equipment, and will likely continue to raise bucks I buy at auction until their slaughter weight of 5 lbs. For now,  I will keep the empty cages on my apartment balcony, and dream of the day this winter that I move to a place that has a back yard, and be satisfied buying fryers and auction, and keep on the lookout for good breeding stock (maybe going to an ARBA show).