Lessons Learned in Homestead Gardening

For March, the weather is basically wonderful outside. Coolish, near freezing temperatures at night but up in the 60s and 70s during the days. It makes me want to plant the garden outside, but I know better. Just as soon as I put the plants out, it will freeze hard for several days. Just long enough of a freeze to kill whatever I've planted. It hasn't failed to do so the past two years I've been here.

With the warmer weather, Mother Nature has fooled plants into flowering. The roadsides and yards are full of Daffodils and tulips. All the peach trees are in full bloom. Our peach trees last year were in full bloom in April when an arctic blast dumped six inches of snow on us. The result was no peaches. None for the squirrels either. Usually, the squirrels hit my peach and apple trees very hard each year, but not last year. It was slim pickings for all of us.

This year, I've bought some small smudge pots in the hopes of fending off some of the damage these late freezes cause. When we get the 1/4 acre orchard planted we'll be looking for the larger ones, but for right now, these will work. We'll really be working for an abundant harvest this year of fresh fruit from our existing trees. I've invested in bird netting to protect the fruit from birds and maybe a few squirrels. I've also bought a gross of nylon stocking the bag out apples with to prevent the caterpillars and moths from munching on the developing fruit.

New to the orchard this year is the 3 1/2' x 3 1/2' raised pallet herb beds. Mel has been busy constructing these as I type. We are using commercial feed bags from the rabbits to line them before putting our soil mixture in them. Our soil mixture is 2 part native clay soil, 1 part peat moss, 2 parts compost, and for extra drainage we add 1 part sand. Herbs don't like standing in water. As far as "chemicals" go, we add 1/2 cup bone meal, 1/4 cup rock dust, and 1/4 cup blood meal. We'll add additional compost during the growing season for the herbs. This mixture is only added to our newly built beds. Last year's raised herb beds get a thick top dressing of compost. We use the underneath of the raised beds for making compost by layering leaves and rabbit/chicken used bedding.

Nothing goes to waste on our homestead and because of our limited space, everything does double or triple duty.

We've also got the beginnings of our raspberry and grape trellis system being built.  It's slow going with the hard packed Georgia clay. Mel is digging down three feet and placing 4x4x8s in the ground. We actually got the raspberry plants to go into the beds. I know, I know the trellis should have been built first, but I got some heritage canes on sale.  I'm still waiting on the grapes though until the trellises  are finished. I've been drooling over some blueberry plants too. This will complete the first 75' terrace. We've seeded the other terraces with a combination of orchard grass, clover, rye, and diakon radish seed. The rabbits and chickens will be eating well. I may leave a few diakon radishes to grow for me to eat too.

I love making pickled diakon and kim chi with diakon radishes. Yummy for my tummy! I'll even tempura fry the radishes instead of potatoes. They have a bite to them and hold up better like turnip roots. I also use diakon in soups and stews. Okay, I know. I'm making you hungry. I'll stop. This is another example of double or triple use. By seeding the bare soil, it prevents weeds from forming. Or at least, I'll grow the weeds I want.

I also plan on sowing dye flowers and plants in this for now empty part of the orchard. I may even plants some vegetables, I'm not sure yet. I don't expect much from the orchard area this year. But anything is better than nothing. Any plant life will enrich the soil by adding nutrients and help break up the hard clay. Why not let Mother Nature do the work for us if we can? It sounds like a win-win situation.

I know I'm not the only one who looks at huge expanses of gorgeous lawns around town and think, what a waste of space! Sure it looks nice, but other than that, where's the benefits? You could be having an edible food forest on that same landscape. Rip up even half of all that grass and you would never go hungry. Am I right? It only makes sense. I mean you have to weed it, fertilize it, and cut it to keep it looking nice. To me that's empty labor. I'd rather eat. Even when you have an expanse of green lawn, how about some sheep or some goats. They would cut it and fertilize it for you. Even chickens will dethatch it and fertilize it. You will have to do less work and they'll feed and clothe you except for maybe the chickens. I'm all for less work and more benefits. Maybe, it's just my cockeyed way of looking at things around me with a homesteading biased mind. Yes, that sounds better than crazy, doesn't it?

This week we've been revamping the bunny barn. All the cages were taken down and scrubbed. We do this twice a year. Not that we don't clean them in between, we do. But nothing beats a thorough scrubbing. Even the water bottles and J feeders get a once over. It's also the time we give our Angoras their summer crew cuts. Each rabbit is sheared of its fur. They also visit Madame Mel for their manis and pedis. Their ears are treated with mineral oil for treatment and/or prevention of ear mites. This is a quarterly thing with our rabbits. An intense trip to the beauty shop for their makeovers. Not that we don't groom them throughout the year, but this is labor intensive and takes both of us a full week for them all. When you have this much hair, trips to the beauty shop are essential every couple of days. These bunnies only weigh about three pounds with their summer crew cuts, but close to double that fully coated.

We are gearing up the chicken run to give them a constant source of green food. Yes, they'll still get the leftover fodder that the rabbits don't eat, but I was watching YouTube and they showed how to build a feeder out of wire inside the run. How neat is that?  Anyone that has chickens knows that wherever they are kept is devoid of any living plant in short order. So how to keep my hens happy and healthy, while protecting my garden, give them greens in their run. Since I ferment seed for them, it will be nothing to soak a cup or two extra to keep them in constant green food stuff. Even soaking scratch grain will work. It will also give them an activity to do. An unlimited salad for their pleasure. So that's the plan for one corner of the chicken run. But unlike the video, I'm going to build the framework out of 2x4 lumber. These birds weigh greater than five pounds a piece, I can see them crushing a wire set up rather quickly without the extra support. Let's see if Mel will let me build something?

That's it for this week.

Y'all have a blessed day.

Rabbitry Revamp Part 1

This week's blog I'm copying from my stroke blog, but it goes along with what's going on with the rabbitry. It shows how I make the decisions I make and my accomplishments in spite of my stroke. It takes me six hours to write one blog post and I write two of them a week. It's a far cry from what I used to write. I could write a 50,000-word novel in a couple of weeks. Not anymore, but even with scrambled eggs for brains, I still manage. My stroke/author blog is republished (with permission) by stroke recovery groups and organizations world wide for the past four years. It averages out to 50K hits a month. Enjoy!

Copied from: "Sunday Stroke Survival: Relearning Something New" published 8/21/2016 by J.L. Murphey

As time goes on living post stroke, as survivors, we are constantly relearning something to stretch the envelop of our boundaries. Life is not lived in a stagnant vacuum. Unless you want it to be.

Initially, you relearn the basic stuff (walking, talking, bathroom) because it's well basic stuff that allows you to be an adult again and have some moderate control in your life. Having control is powerful. But relearning is tough and that's an understatement. It will make you angry, frustrated, and feel like quitting. But the alternative is worse for your sense of self worth and self image.

I guess that's my real blessings in my post stroke recovery process, my stubbornness and pushing the envelop have always been my blessing/curse. I believe in living an EXTRAordinary life in spite of what life dishes out. I pray for the same for you. I am also well versed in thinking outside the box as any good writer is. All my life experiences, although very challenging, has stood me well.

This week's challenges had to do with the new angora rabbitry building. While I could just leave it with plain, paper backed insulation, I wanted walls. Not only walls, but waterproof walls that I could spray cleaned when the bucks decided to mark their territory. Even with apple cider vinegar in their water, rabbit urine stinks...think aged, but diluted cat urine.

Mel and I went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore last weekend and happened upon plastic, florescent light covers.The ReStore is always our first stop in searching for anything. The proceeds go to a good cause and what I really love is that it's cheaper. Both Mel and I saw these two CASES of light covers (50 2x4 panels) and you could see the light bulb blinking over our heads...waterproof walls!

We also got a kitchen sink and counter tops for the butchering station and a work surface inside the rabbitry. We also got a few odds and ends for the homestead. I walked away with everything for under $75. Keep in mind that these light panel covers sell in the regular large box stores for $175 for 20, I got 50 of them for $45. I think we did pretty well in the "get it cheaper" department. Heck, one of boxes was still in a sealed. The other one was opened so you could see what was inside.

The light panels are fine they way they are. But it wouldn't be me if I left them plain. I noticed while on side was textured the other side and was smooth. Yes, very easy clean up with the smooth surface out. But, I couldn't leave well enough alone, could I? Being this EXTRAordinary person and all. Remember, I once laid an intricate a mosaic patterned floor in my storeroom in my other house. We needed color in our rabbitry especially since we would be spending greater than a few hours grooming our angora rabbits in there. People often discount the value of color in the work space. Be assured, I never do.

So how do I break up the frosted, whitish clear light panels to add color? I knew this would be a challenge being left with only my left damaged hand to work with. What could I do that didn't involve fine motor skills. In the old days, I would have painted murals on the walls and ceilings tiles. I just don't have that kind of dexterity in my left hand. It still had to be waterproof too. I could just glue the panels up and then roller paint the whole thing, but then choosing one or two paint colors that we both liked was problematic.  Besides, it's boring!

Then I remembered stencils. You didn't have to be exact with that. I could just pounce color on. If I used acrylic paints, it would be waterproof. But what design? There's as many stencil designs as one could imagine. I fell into creative mode and it really felt great!

As usual, I brain stormed the issue. Our homestead is cockeyed. That's why we call it the Cockeyed Homestead. Both of us are constantly thinking outside the box.
We are...
1.  Quirky to the point of whimsical.
2. It is a rabbitry not our living area.
3. Simple is better if I'm doing it, and neither of us is into elaborate, extremely elegant.
4. Colorful, but not distractingly so.
5. It needs to show up well on videos.

What do you think?

Well, I Googled images for inspiration. I ran across an appliqued quilt pattern that fit the bill. It will be perfect for the rabbitry. It's an easy design and I can make the bunnies different colors while the hearts stay red and the inside of the ears can be a lighter shade of the bunny. The inside of the ear is the tear drop shape you see in the picture. I printed out the picture making it standard paper size and transferred it onto cardboard. Yes, I know they make plain stencil sheets, but I have an abundance of cardboard since the move up here and it's free. Hello! Nothing is cheaper than free. I had Mel cut them out because I still don't do well with curvy cuts with scissors or in this case an Xacto knife.

From a coloring book

To fill in some of the blank spaces I use 3" carrots and lettuce. It's just another pop of color. I positioned the rabbits (3 to a panel) sort of straight. I'm cockeyed in more ways than one. I turned the carrots this way and that in the blank spaces. Not so many that the panel appeared too busy. She asked why I was stenciling the panels behind the cages too because nobody will see it. "Doh! So the rabbits have something to look at. LOL!"

I'm just having fun relearning how to paint again. Although I never used stencils much (I preferred free handing it) before my strokes, I'm enjoying the creative aspects of this now. Just like using a loom to knit. Living post stroke is all about adapting to the changes of circumstances and doing. By choosing acrylic paints, soap and water removes all my mistakes before the paints dry. All I needed was a basic primary (8 colors) set of paints. Although I did buy a larger white and black paint to blend with. I outlined the designs with black Sharpie to make them pop. Oh all right, I had Mel do it because she has a steadier hand. But to see the finished product, you'll just have to watch the video which should be posted next week over on the Cockeyed Homestead YouTube channel.


Remember...

Nothing is impossible.

Well that's it for this week. I hope you don't hold it against me that I copied my other blog here. I honestly started an original blog for this week but realized most of what I was going to say was a rehash of my stroke/author blog. I may do it again periodically so be warned.

As always like, subscribe, share, and comment.

Be blessed.

Awaiting Pennies From Heaven

For weeks and months now, I've been expecting pennies from heaven. What I'm talking about is  the back payments Social Security owes me since July- December 2015. I've been patiently awaiting this wind fall and I'm still waiting. This sum was earmarked for relocation expenses to north Georgia. Well, I've moved here without it. Sort of. I'm still driving back and to getting my stuff up here. Now, it'll pay to have our driveway redone and the rabbitry/ chicken house. The problem is, I'm still waiting after being assured I would receive it last week. If I were the cursing type person, I'd be saying WTF! But I'm not. So I'm left wondering what is going on. I mean if they paid me interest on the money that would almost be okay, but they are not.

Tempest, RIP

Counting on the government's word, I ordered the rabbitry/chicken house enclosure to the tune of $1,600. On top of it all, we've lost another English Angora last weekend  It will be a big ouchie if it arrives before the moneys owed hits the bank. Our blue English angora doe, named Tempest. She was battling a number of factors like mites and sore hocks. She was actually healing until the infection we were fighting went systemic.We are comforted in knowing we did everything possible for that little rabbit. But sometimes, your best is not good enough. We can't afford another loss to cut into our Angora wool harvest or breeders. Not to mention the cost involved in the rabbits' purchase, housing, and feeding. It's a good thing I arranged to buy five more English angoras. But, two of our unrelated does are dead. It will take a year to recover from the loss.

One of the new babies

Yes, it would be simpler to line breed the rabbits (father to offspring) but the major issue I have from doing this is genetic faults are not diluted. Dustin ( our grey angora buck) is still in his prime and can father quite a few litters. But, the newly purchased buck is an ermine which is not NARBA showable color class. In case you didn't know, the ermine coloring is a cross between a white, grey, and pearl. They have black or grey tipping to their fur. That would hurt in sales of his fathered kits. Of course, those purchasing the angoras as woolers would love the silver grey color of the wool. It has a luster which shines like silk in the finished dyed yarn.

Genetically, we could breed all the new does (4 related offspring) to Dustin to gain some separation and enhance the grey coloring. For the next cycle, we could use one of the offspring REW buck from the current batch to dilute the gene pool more. Or, we may just buy another buck with favorable wool, body type and color would be easier. We can hold back the ermines for 4-H students and spinners.

In the mean time, the chickens are still terrorizing my garden. I'm looking forward to eating what I grow next year. Sigh.

Rabbitry Expansion and a Chicken Area

With death of Kinley, we were faced with some decisions to make. None of them cheap. Did we want to continue with angora rabbits? How big did we want our rabbitry to be? How will they be housed? Angoras do not do well in the summer months outside here.Where would it be? How much did we want to invest? Ready built or could we build it? Could we meet Mel's  financial needs goal in two years when she's out of a job?

Although we had a rough idea of what we wanted, there were quite a few kinks to work out like whether this would be a hobby or profitable business. Yeah, you guessed it. Profits are a good thing when talking about a sustainable lifestyle. Remember, I'm the practical one. I know how to set up a business. I have an MBA that focuses on marketing, planning and expansion of businesses. Of course, that was before I ended up with brain damage from my stroke. That's where Mel comes in. She helps focus me and keeps me thinking the right way. We needed a business/action plan. Those ready built sheds ain't cheap. Plus it would have to have electricity to run the lights and air conditioning in the summer. We'd also need water available for the rabbits for them to drink and clean them up when necessary. Yes, we will be raising English Angoras in a full fledged rabbitry.

We ran a profit, break even, and debt analysis spreadsheets. Taking what we knew and what we later researched. Gathering the information we needed was a no brainer. We knew that we could only care for two dozen rabbits at a maximum. For every two or three does, we'd need one buck so we aren't inbreeding too much. As in, breeders and woolers full time. We didn't want to over breed and stress the rabbits so we figured breeding them twice a year at most. English Angoras will have between six and ten kits a litter. We calculated the expenses and possible income in sales of babies, wool, and yarn. To make the rabbitry profitable will take fifteen Angoras. So we decided on twenty angora rabbits.

To house a minimum of twenty angora rabbits and grow out that many kits, we'd need a 10x12 building. That would give us room for the cages and work space to tend them. We calculated each cage at 30x 36 for the does and grow out with the bucks in 30x30 cages.

Mel designed a litter catchment system so we can harvest and sell the rabbit poo to gardeners. That's above what we need for our garden. We knew how much poo ten rabbits can make in a year so we doubled the figure. Our very conservative estimate was 250 lbs of poo per year that will be for sale.

Like this but ivory siding and green roof

In the essence of time, we decided to buy the building. It will still need to be insulated and a floor put in. It will have a standard door off to one side so we don't have to go through the chicken area. There will also be a window at the other end. The carport side will house the chickens and the meat rabbits. We'll hang the meat rabbit cages from the ceiling. We'll run fencing wire for added protection and corralling the blasted chickens. Yippee!!!! No more chickens in my garden!

We went to one of the local shed vendors who we've been talking to about our tiny houses to purchase the rabbitry/chicken house. With a modest $145 down we bought it and a nice sized discount. Designed and sized the way we wanted. Amazing what my added income can do for Mel's old homestead. The final payment is due in about a month. No sweat. By the time we add the floor insulation, and paneling you can add another $1,000 in cost for the materials. Mel originally wanted a concrete slab. Yikes! Not within the budget, but the rabbits and chickens will have a home. We decided on a deck type floor because it would be easy to clean and easier on the budget. Mel says she only needs a week to do it all. I'm figuring two weeks and working until the wee hours of the morning.


On the two-four year plan, the rabbitry will grow by purchasing four to five new Angoras a year until we meet our goal of twenty rabbits. Of course, we may be keeping a few of the kits born in-house too to make up that goal number. Though we aren't interested in showing our Angoras, part of our target market will be.

Now I happened across a deal on Craig's List for English Angoras. I can get all five rabbits from a person getting out of the wool trade. Combined with the buck and doe we have, we can diversify the gene pool some. Unfortunately, other than the bred buck and doe, they are all related. But being separated by one generation is better than no separation. So in two months time, the owner is holding the rabbits until the Angora shed is finished, we'll have an influx of new rabbits. By purchasing these five rabbits now together means that next year, we will have to get our stock from different breeders. But then again, they can be purchased one or two at a time too. Pure bred Angora rabbits ain't cheap. Along the way we'll be formulating a pedigree for our kits. Pedigreed angoras command a higher price tag at sale than nonpedigreed. We should be getting some interesting colors from the REW (red eyed whites). <Shivers> They still remind me of something demon possessed, but Mel loves them. Kinley almost changed my mind...almost.

Now about them chickens. If you've watched the latest videos about Mel in the workshop, then you know about our broody hen. Well on Monday. Mel went out to the shop and heard peeping. That's right, we've got a new edition to our homestead. Ms. Broody hatched a chick. She sat on the

remaining six eggs for an additional almost forty-eight hours, and no more chicks, before tossing the baby out of the nest. It's a long way down from Mel's tool chest to the floor, but it managed fine. She first got the chick's feet wet, so to speak, scratching around the straw in the barn before venturing out into the yard. By early afternoon, they were underneath the Camellias in front of the porch. If we were worried about how good a mother Ms. Broody would be, we shouldn't have. She ruffled out her feathers every time another hen or any animal came near. The chick learned fast about running under its mother when she did that. I took out some bread and cornmeal to them making sure to leave plenty for the other hens and roosters away from them. Ms. Broody (formerly known as Ms. No Comb) broke the pieces into chick size bites. She ate very little of it. She's a wonderful mother. Unfortunately, chickens can be vicious. The chick lasted in general population for three days. This was a fluke and a trial and we weren't really set up for baby chickens, but next time we will be.

Ours will be smaller, but same principle

So, we are now planning our hen house to be split between layers and a grow out place for meat birds. We don't need the mammoth meat chicken breeds neither. These New Hampshire Red provide us with two or three meals a piece at a full weigh of 4-5 lbs each unless we have company. So the 12x12 undercover (carport) area will be put to good use. We figure to deep bed the area and let them compost their waste, the rabbit waste and straw/grass clippings/weeds for us. This in itself will be enough for our garden beds until we make a lot more beds. Cleaning out the meat rabbit and chicken area three times a year is doable.

We were going to cut a hatch out for the nest boxes so we don't even have to go into the coop area to gather the eggs. We will be getting two 55-gallon drums for a water catchment system so we should have plenty of water for all the animals both inside the Angora house and the carport. I downloaded some plans for an automatic chicken feeder that will hold 50 lbs of feed. The rabbits will have 2 1/2 lb pellet feeders with their own watering system set up. All we have to do is go in with goodies like fodder and vegetables. I figure LED lights strung from the supports should provide enough other light. We've got a 45-watt solar panel power that. Mel insists on having an additional chicken run outside the covered one.  "Because my chicky babies need full sunlight." (Do I have to specify who said this??)  I'm leaving that up to her. I've a feeling after we build the fencing around the carport and the doors, she'll be saying good enough. We've got Nnyus to protect them from predators.

Mel has had to chase the hens more times than not out of the garden. This is even with installing a higher fence around the garden. Out of twenty-five green bean plants I planted (4 times) we got ONE plant to actually produce beans this year. No corn out of 200 plants. No cucumbers out of twenty-five plants. No cayenne or sweet peppers. Three sunflowers out of fifty. The chickens ate the seed or the plants before I could harvest any. Yes, the local wild cottontail population was guilty of munching most of my radishes and carrot tops, and my lettuces.They will have to be grown in gutters next year.

It's a good thing I planned this year's harvest as an experiment. If we had counted on it to feed us through the winter, we would have starved. But next year is a different story. My five-year gardening plan calls for fresh eating and 6 months worth of stores by the second year.   The third year is 9 months worth, and the fourth is a year's worth of fresh eating and stores. Where Mel likes to list things. I tend to plan things out over the long haul via some sort of scientific method. It's measurable to what you dud right and wrong.

So keep tuning in to this blog and our YouTube channel for updates. Houston, we have a plan. Now it's time to implement it.

Be blessed until next week.

RIP Kinley

Kinley @ 2

Kinley, one of our prized angora rabbits, died this week. She was a REW (red eyed white) with the most silkiest, luxurious, 6" staple length coat that I've ever seen on an English angora rabbit. She was also had the sweetest nature while grooming. We missed breeding her this Spring because the weather went from frost to hot with little time in between.

I hear you thinking, 'that's life on the homestead.' That's true. I've at this a few decades and know it's true. My roommate, Mel, on the other hand, is relatively new to all of this. She had  found Kinley prostrate in her cage. Still breathing, but just barely. She had run inside to her air conditioned room with her wrapped in a bath mat. She had slammed the front door on the way in and yelled, "I've killed Kinley!"

By the time I made it to her room, Mel was lying on the bed, crying, and petting the rabbit softly muttering how sorry she was for not taking better care of her. For the past week she had been worrying about Tempest (named for her blue coloring and her temper). She had sores develop on her paws. She's the bluish grey puff ball behind Kinley in the picture above. So Tempest had been inside in front of a box fan. That too is the way life goes. The sickest get the most attention. That is how it should be.

Kinley in full bloom

Mel had told me earlier how Kinley was blowing her coat again. At the time, I thought it was strange because when I had played with her earlier in the week and her coat was only a couple inches long. It was too soon. But I made a mental note to check her coat in the morning before I went back into the garden. I was kicking myself too for not checking on her as soon as Mel said something.

We couldn't tell what exactly killed her. We had thought neglect or the heat. We debated it most of the night. All the time Mel was blaming herself. I was trying to be supportive and comforting. She was even designing the new cage system for the rabbitry/ chicken pen we are having delivered the end of the month. Just in case it was the heat, we were planning on an air conditioned space for them and us. We all might as well be comfortable while grooming them too. We planned the rabbitry portion to be 8x 21 so it would have enough space for them and us to work with them. If you didn't know, the optimum temperature for angoras is under 70 degrees not the 100+ temperatures we have been getting. We weren't taking anymore chances with future rabbits.

I mention to Mel that after Kinley's body cooled the wool could be plucked from it. Mel was horrified. I'm not heartless. Far from it. I just look on the practical side. A 100% angora wool spun into art yarn can sell for $45 - $65 an ounce. I made Mel go into her air conditioned bedroom while I tended to the wool. I had tears in my eyes as I plucked the wool from the lifeless Kinley's body. Her hair flew, as it usually did while grooming, into wispy strands. She's not the first angora I've had pass away on me.

Harvesting wool this way is far from an enjoyable task. All the while I was wracking my brain for a way to ease Mel's guilt and sorrow. I was also wondering what exactly killed her concerned about the other rabbits. I was praying as is my usual custom whether I butcher the animal or not. Many of you new readers of this blog may not know, before I was a minister and a chef, I was a life flight nurse. I was offered and retired after fifteen years at full pension when I turn 65. I'm close, but not quite there.

There I was plucking fur off this dead rabbit who was once the lovable Kinley. Carefully and unsuccessfully brushing fly away fur from my wet cheeks, when I notice what appeared to be her wide opened jaw. Or what I thought was her jaw. As I pulled the fur closer to the edge, I realized it wasn't her jaw at all, but a wound. That raised my medical curiosity. Although I treat even dead animals with respect as I would with any human, I turned her over for a better look at her throat. At first it looked like something had ripped her throat out. I gently pulled at the opening. Very little blood, so nothing had actually cut her. Then I saw it. A residual pus pocket of infection. Apparently, she had gotten a cut or scratch on her throat area and it enlarged to the point of rupture. There was no way Mel or I could have seen it with all her fur unless we had turned her on her back and touched the area under her chin (which all rabbits hate being prey animals). Cause of death- I'm chocking up to shock and heart failure. You can actually startle a  rabbit to death.

I rushed into Mel's room to tell her. Absolved of guilt, she can ease her grief a bit. Kinley was her absolute favorite angora of the bunch. Just as precious as my Buddy is to me. My heart aches for her. These angora rabbits were her children. For a childless woman, it's a hard blow. In the meantime, I'm praying for comfort for her.

Currently, I'm looking for loving and caring folks to adopt four Jersey Woolies/Lionhead mixed rabbits. In the near future, we will be purchasing new English angoras for breeding and selling babies, and wool production for the expansion of the rabbitry's income source, but not today. Today, we are in mourning for Kinley. May she rest in peace in a field of abundant clover and timothy grass forever.

Be blessed.