I would like to address some myths about rabbit and rice. It seems there is a lot of misinformation online about the subject, so I thought I would talk about it here:

Myth #1: Rice will expand in a rabbit's stomach: this stems from a myth about birds when rice is thrown at a wedding. This myth became so common that throwing rice was outlawed in some areas because of it. It is a very believable one, I will admit. It is based upon the fact that, during cooking, rice expands to double or even triple it's size. However, much more heat than a bird or a rabbit produce is needed for that effect.

Myth #2: Rice is good for rabbits: wholegrain, cooked rice could be very good for rabbits, as it is full of fiber and protein. However, most people would likely give processed rice to their bunnies and that is NOT healthy. In fact it's downright....fattening! Yes, processed rice is simply a starch without much nutrition. It's simple energy without reason, much like giving candy to a child. It may cause them to race around for a bit, but after a time, your rabbit will start to become pudgy and not be able to be active.

Myth #3: Rice is poisonous to rabbits: yes, I've heard both! Processed rice is no more poisonous than it is nutritious.

I hope this entry helps you to make a decision on what to feed your rabbit. Rather than rice, my suggestion would be rolled oats. They are nutritious and rabbits love them. Don't worry, however, if your rabbit gobbles up some of the rice you had for lunch and spilled. Unless Thumper is sensitive to rice, it likely won't hurt it

In any case, watch for rice sensitivity. It is rare, but it does happen.

I would like to discuss, today, a very serious problem that has just come to my attention. Research, or, I should say, a lack of research. Too many breeders are doing what they've always done simply because that's what they've always done. It's as though they could never improve upon their methods, and that makes us all look bad.

One example of this is the "serious" breeder who uses cedar shavings as bedding. Most individuals who own pet rabbits will tell you that cedar is highly toxic to rabbits. There are other examples, as well, but my point is that this breeder hasn't done her research and is risking the health of her very lively hood because it's "the way it's always been done."

I also know of a breeder who, despite being trained in the medical field, continues to smoke cigarettes around her rabbits. Much information has been released about the relation of smoking and animals' health, if people would only take the time to read it!

Pet bedding, which also contains toxins, antibiotics for non-bacterial infections, gripping the rabbits solely by the ears and/or back skin, we've all done something that we found out later was detrimental to our rabbits, but if you wish to be in this business, you need to continue to improve. Stagnant thinking will only lead to stagnant results. Please don't sacrifice your herd to the past. If we are to succeed, we must push on to the future.

It's been some time since I was able to post. Unfortunately, I've been busy! In fact, as of this moment, I'm on my way to the doctor's office(don't worry, I'm not driving!) With Thanksgiving approaching(tomorrow) I've had so much more on my plate than just rabbits! As have every one of you, I'm sure. It's also a very busy time in regards to rabbits. We are trying to get all of our breeding does into hutches, but at the same time, out of the winter weather.

Have you visited the store lately? We now have a large selection of gifts for the rabbit lover in your life! Be sure to see our selection of fine jewelery, toys and many other rabbit themed gifts. Got your interest? Find us here;

http://astore.amazon.com/rabbito2-20

How do you wash out those clear plastic water bottles and get them clean? If your bottles are the wide necked variety, it's not difficult at all!
What you need is a long-handled bottle brush, the kind with a handle that's narrow enough to fit into your bottle, and also a wide-bristled bottle brush(the two brushes can be the same brush, but make sure it will reach EVERY PART of the bottle!). It also helps to use bleach(or vinegar, if you want a more natural route) and, of course water!
What to do: pour about an ounce of bleach(or 4 ounces of vinegar-less if you can find undiluted!) to a bottle. Swish around bleach(or vinegar solution) add about a cup of water and let the bottle sit for several minutes.
When the bottles have sat long enough, take the long brush and start scrubbing the bottom of the inside. Then take the wider brush and brush the top of the inside, the neck and the outside. Rinse well. If desired, soak lid in same solution, or clean with pipe-cleaner. We personally soak ours. Also be sure to rinse the lids well! With the narrow-necked bottles, there's not much more you can do than to fill them with the solution and let them soak, shake and rinse and HOPE you got everything! Another reason to use wide-necked bottles. Sanitation. The solution can be used again and again, but make sure it stays pretty clean or it won't do the job. Change it when necessary. There's no right or wrong way to clean bottles, as long as they stay sanitary and a safe vessel from which to drink.
I would love to hear what YOU do to clean water bottles. Please leave your descriptions in the comment section!

I was curious what I would find if I did a search for the term "rabbit for rent." This was one of the results:

http://dulwichdivorcee.blogspot.com/2008/05/rent-rabbit.html

I was more curious than anything. I read it and started laughing. This woman wants to rent out her destructive pet rabbit to parents of children who want a pet!
There are numerous ways she can solve her problem without pimping Dill out. She could put him in a real cage with a wire bottom and a door that actually keeps him in. She could put him outside in said cage or a hutch. She could supervise him when he's outside of the cage. Or she could put him in the stewpot, which is what I think I woud have done had he been my pet! I hope you got as much enjoyment from this as I did!

I wonder if anyone would want to rent one of my rabbits. Hmmm.....

OUR STORE is back and better than ever! Newly added, a section just for organic rabbit food! Try it now and tell us what you think!
Find us here at:
B.B.'s Rabbit Supply

it seems we no longer have a store...temporarily

it seems that amazon is having issues. we may need to build a whole new store. we will let you know when it is completed. sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Sorry, everyone. I haven't been on for a while. I'm having a difficult time getting into my account, so I'm sending this post via email. I understand, as I've been told, that the store link is temporarily down. That is a temporary situation, which will be fixed as soon as possible. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience.

________________________________________
PeoplePC Online
A better way to Internet
http://www.peoplepc.com

I sexed Cinders's bunnies today. You're not gonna believe it. I know I don't! Every one of them was a Doe! All seven! What are the chances!

Sapphire's litter will probably be sold. At least some of them might.  They are good-sized and will be sold as meat rabbits. They will be about ten dollars this time, to cover the cost of feed. We haven't figured out how to pasture them, yet. The price may go down significantly when we do because our costs will be down, although they still will probably receive pellets until they are separated from their mothers.

By the way, all of our new litters are half Silver Fox rabbit. They are good for meat and breeding, despite the problems with Ophilia's litter. In a first litter, it's common for a lot (or all) of them to die. I'm confident she'll do better next time.

If you're interested in buying a rabbit from us and breeding it, please feel free to ask for advice. We'll be happy to help!

Re:

We still have three silver fox bunnies. Amazing considering the rate of mortality they were suffering. We lost over half of the litter!
On the plus side, we do have seven meat rabbits for sale right now. We have four Bucks and three Does, two of the does being pure white. A perfect addition for your meat breeding flock! We also have seven more which will be ready in a couple of weeks. We do sell at four weeks like some other breeders do. We believe that to be cruel and unnecessesary. For the best development, bunnies should stay with their mother at least eight weeks. Give us a call if you're interested. To offset the price of feed, we are selling this litter for ten dollars, instead of five. We do not sell by the pound. Whatever rabbit you select is the one you get, no matter what the weight. Also,does are the same price as the bucks. We hope to see you soon.

________________________________________
PeoplePC Online
A better way to Internet
http://www.peoplepc.com

We may lose the whole Silver Fox Rabbit litter. Since it's a first litter, it's not entirely unexpected. Sad, but not unexpected. Ophilia, the mother, is an aggressive rabbit. She was even before she had these kits. Now she's biting. She's always been treated gently, she's just always frightened.
The kits are not developed enough. They should have fur by now, but they don't. We can't help them, though, because of the doe's incredible amount of aggression. You wouldn't think a rabbit could be so violent! In fact, I have a giant bruise from the last bite (through my thick sweatshirt!)
I was hoping for the best for this litter, especially since Silver Foxes are so rare. I don't think she's producing enough milk. That or the cold is killing them off.  I'm just not sure. It's been chilly here at night, but the kits are also thinner than we care to see them. We can't feed the kits because we can't get to them without being bitten. I only hope one or two survive. We need to reestablish the breed.

Having a problem with the rabbit pasturing process. The bunnies are trampling the greens almost as fast as they're eating them and they won't eat the greens when they're flattened. I'm thinking of trying runners on the pens instead of the traditional cage bottom to keep the greens from being trampled. We're always improvising. We pretty much have to! Since we're pretty new to the pasturing process, it's mostly all a learning curve. I'll let you know when I have a solution. 

Give us a holler if you've solved this dilemma or have a great idea how. Please nothing that costs too much (most of us who raise and pasture rabbits aren't rich) or is too complicated. We'd love to hear your success stories!

Here are some tips for those who are considering breeding their rabbit. Always check with a rabbit expert or vet before breeding. These are just general tips. It's always best to get the advice of a knowledgeable expert you know personally.

-Always place the female in with the male-that way he doesn't feel the need to mark the female's cage instead of breeding.

-Watch your rabbits-it sounds perverted, I know, but it's the only way to avoid aggression. You're there to stop your rabbits from hurting each other. Never leave them alone together overnight.

-DO NOT USE the alternate marbling method to check if your doe's pregnant. That is to say, DO NOT put your doe back in with the buck to see if she refuses him when she's almost due. Rabbits can get pregnant again while still pregnant, which is usually fatal to the next litter of bunnies due to malnutrition.

-Death is always possible with any litter, especially your doe's first one. It's also possible to lose you doe. If your rabbit's a pet, you should definitely consider NOT breeding her!

-Make sure the new bunnies are plenty warm the first few nights. The newer they are, the more delicate they are. After the first week, the chances of fatalities decrease significantly.

Good Luck!

We lost another kit today. This time a Silver Fox, the breed we're trying to help bring back from the brink of extinction. Life and death, life and death. It's all part of breeding any animal. If you can't handle death, you shouldn't be breeding. It's sad. This was a first litter. The mother rejected the kit. I wonder if there was something wrong with it. It was fat, not thin, like most bunnies which aren't eating. By the time we realized it wasn't getting fed and I brought it in to bottle feed, it may have been too late. Still, six survivors out of seven isn't bad. We've lost whole litters before, first and second. I just wish I could've saved it, that's all.

Today, I'd like to address a little common misconception about rabbit pellets. The kind that go in, not out!

It's believed pellets were developed for the meat rabbit breeders to fatten up the rabbits. Believe me, the last thing rabbit meat breeders want is fat rabbits! I don't know who started this, but it's unlikely at best. Rabbits are at their best and healthiest when lean. Fat doesn't even come into question, since it comes off when the skin does. In fact, it's extremely undesirable, seeing as it makes the rabbits unhealthy and harder to butcher. Pellets are for convenience, not to put on weight. Like most convenience foods (i.e. junk food), convenience comes with a price. Not that I'm telling you not to give your rabbits pellets, I'm simply saying that they need more than JUST pellets! Adding lots of greens to their diet will make them lean, mean hopping machines.

The pet industry does more for fattening the rabbits than the meat industry ever could. They're the ones who sell the sugar-laden "treats" people like so much to give to their pets. Those "treats" REALLY pack on the pounds!

It's possible, however, that some rabbits are fattened up to sell by the more unscrupulous breeders, since rabbits, like all meat animals, are sold by the pound, whereas we sell ours by the rabbit as bunnies. We don't know what other breeders do, just what we do, and we do our best to keep ours at a healthy weight.

So, next time you go to pick up a bag of pellets, ask yourself, why am I buying what is, basically, a convenience food for my rabbit. Is there a healthier way?

And stop blaming us for YOUR fat rabbit!

It's a beautiful day and Cinders' kits are starting to get fat and furry. I was worried for a short while, as they were thin. I think it was due to too much straw this time(we'll figure it out eventually!) It was keeping Cinders from being able to get to them easily so she could feed them. At least we realized it the next day!

They're already hopping around and trying to escape when I try to pick them up. In other words, they're healthy! We give them a diet of fresh greens and pellets. I try to give our milking does a lot of clover. Clover is fattening for rabbits and we definitely don't want the breeding does fat, but we do want the babies that way! It's working. They are healthy with round little tummies.

Dandelions are also a significant part of their diet. They are so full of nutrients, I recommend them to everyone, even people!

The only problem with giving your rabbits fresh greens daily (other than possible mis-identification)  is that picking the greens takes a lot of time and effort. That's why I intend to, eventually, start pasturing all of my meat rabbits. Until then, I'll be happy to let you know how my experiments with pasturing go. Good luck with your own rabbits.

Well, one of our new kits is missing. It's possible that I dropped it while doing the daily head count and didn't realize it. There are a lot of barn cats around here. It would've seemed like a tasty morsel to them. It's also possible (but less likely -  they're too young) that it was taken be a two-legged predator. It does seem strange that there is no carcass. The little creature is unable to live without it's mother for long, so I guess it doesn't matter. It's probably dead.

On a lighter note, I tried a new experiment today. We have a few cages on the ground with grass and other tasty and healthy greens growing up through the bottom. I placed five of Sapphire's bunnies (the other two   have already been separated, since they're old enough) inside for a couple of hours and they had all the greens they could eat! Although they escaped a couple of times (there was a nearly invisible hole toward the bottom that I hadn't seen), they did exceedingly well. Since they were used to getting fresh greens on a daily basis, this wasn't too much of a switch. They just got them even fresher than they were used to (fresh and growing, rather than freshly picked). I hope to soon pasture all of my meat rabbit this way. Let me tell you - they weren't hungry when they went back in with their mother later! What a great way to save  money on pellets and mow the lawn as well. It's also earth -  friendly!

NINE kits! This particular mother usually has five. Unfortunately, one of the kits didn't make it. It looked like it had been crushed while nursing. Sad. But there are still almost twice as many kits as usual. Makes up for her last litter dying of chill.

Dead kits and bunnies are just one of the hazards you have to worry about when you breed rabbits. Another is a dead mother rabbit. Yes, it happens. Especially when you don't know what you're doing. That's why you should consult a professional when breeding. A professional breeder or vet will help walk you through the breeding process and, maybe, give you tips to help save your rabbits' lives! One suggestion. Perhaps if you breed what the breeder wants, you could offer a bunny in return, barter style. You'd really be getting off cheap, since education is invaluable.

I'm not trying to discourage breeding rabbits. If you're responsible about it, I'd like to encourage you. We need more responsible breeders. Especially meat rabbit breeders.

Most rabbit meat in the US is imported. And you should see the places they're raised! EWWW! Disgusting! I'd like to think we're more humane and sanitary here! Those people are giving the rest of us a bad name. We need to counter that with our own breeders. I certainly hope we'd all do a much better job!

Just as I promised, here's my favorite rabbit recipe. I love it because it's so simple!

Rosemary Rabbit Crock Pot Roast

1. Whole Rabbit
2. 1/4 c Canola Oil (can be substituted for mild olive oil.)
3. Small Sprig of Fresh Rosemary

Chop rosemary coursely, dropping leaves into oil. Put oil aside. Discard stem. Place rabbit into crock pot. Set pot on "low". For food safety, never leave, for any period of time, on "keep warm". Do not use water for this recipe. Add any vegetables you like at this time, except rice or other easily burned vegetable. Add those a few minutes before serving. After about five minutes, using pastry brush, baste rabbit with rosemary mixture on both top and bottom. Cook for approximately 4-8 hours, depending on the size of the rabbit. Recipe can be adjusted for different sized rabbits. May also be used for chicken or turkey.

You now have a delicious, nutritious dinner that took just minutes to prepare! Enjoy your dinner and enjoy the praise!

Bunnies! We have baby bunnies! After the last litter, we were rather worried about this one, but all the new arrivals seem healthy and strong.

It's hard to believe, looking out at the bright green foliage of the trees and the dandelion spotted expanse of the grass, that winter was only a couple of months ago! And it's hot! Only a few days ago, it was rather chilly. But that's life in Pennsylvania. 

I think the heat played a key role in our bunnies' survival. Last time they died of chill, because their mother ate all of their bedding. I think she's learned and, actually, left all the straw alone for the bunnies, despite the fact that we left plenty for her to eat and for bedding.

Tomorrow, I plan to share my favorite rabbit dish with you, so stay tuned!