# Stony Garden.  Buns and Chicks



## stonygarden (Apr 6, 2014)

Hello.  New to this journal thing but maybe it will help with keeping my thoughts straight.


1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like?
- South Central Virginia.  Hot, humid summers.  Usually mild winters though this past 2013-2014 winter was brutal

2. How would you define your farm?
- hobby

3. Who or what inspired you to be a farmer/rancher, hobby farmer?
- I always wanted a farm having grown up in suburbia.  Now I'm living it

4. Is it a hobby or an occupation?
- hobby

5. In what types of farming will you never choose to do?
- I don't think there is anything I wouldn't do if I was physically capable to do it

6. Are you interested in providing more of your own food supply?
- yes

7. Can you legally have all forms of livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds?
- yes as long as my landlord approves.  I have chickens and rabbits

8. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing?
- YES!  I can grow the easy stuff (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, herbs)

9. How much space/land do you have or rent? City farm? Country?
- maybe an acre.  Rent

10. Are you interested in herbal animal medicine?
- yes

11. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking?
- no but I would love to

12. Are your family or friends also interested in animals?
- my in-laws have chickens.  I have a friend who's family raises chickens, rabbits, and cattle

13. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs?
- I try to but time limits due to school/work prevent me from doing more

14. What skills do you have that help you be more a self sufficient farm?
- critical problem solving, good with feed management

15. Do you process your own meat? Can or preserve?
- yes.  So far just rabbits.

16. What is on your to do list?
- fence around the rabbit hutches, finish prepping the raised garden beds, plant cucumbers at the end of April/beginning of May, build second chicken coop, grow out coop, and brooder box

17. Do you make and fix things yourself to save money?
- yes most definitely


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## stonygarden (Apr 6, 2014)

Here are a few pictures from last year of my chickens




The back side of my coop.  That fence is going to be taken down today and used to fence around the rabbit hutches


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## stonygarden (Apr 6, 2014)

Here's my rabbit hutch. Total of 8 separate cages.  4 on each side


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 6, 2014)

Nice, what breed of rabbits- Cali?  Looks sunny there by you


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## stonygarden (Apr 6, 2014)

I have 5 cali does, 1 mixed breed doe, a NZW/cali/Flemish giant buck, and 2 harlequin mixed breed bucks (were supposed to be does).

I am raising them for meat so I don't mind the mixed breeding.  I am selling my first litter as pets and will probably sell a few here and there.

It is finally spring here.  We had a brutal winter for this part of the country.  I'm so glad its over.


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## stonygarden (Apr 9, 2014)

Got the fence put up last weekend around the rabbit hutches.  Got my single rabbit hutch moved over next to big, multiple rabbit hutch. 

I got another hose connected to the hose I already had so now my water source for my chickens and rabbits is right there.  No more lugging buckets!!

2 does are due any day now.  1 doe has been hopping around with hay in her mouth.  The other keeps flipping her nest box over.  3 more does are due early next week.

I have a horrible habit of collecting eggs from the chicken coop and just setting them on the ground until I grab my egg basket from the house.  Well yesterday I went out to collect those eggs outside the coop and I saw a raven carrying off an egg.  I get to the coop and 3 more eggs were busted open and the yolks eaten.  Luckily today I gathered eggs and immediately brought them in the house.


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## stonygarden (Apr 13, 2014)

2 does kindled within the last couple of days.  1st doe (#3 Cali doe) kindled sometime during the night of 4/11-4/12.  She had 10, all on the wire.  3 have died so far.  2nd doe (#2 Cali doe) kindled sometime last night (4/12-4/13) and only had 2. 

#3 doe never pulled fur.  She was the one that kept flipping her nest box before she kindled.  #2 doe with the 2 kits pulled fur and actually made a nest. 

I'm thinking I might give the remaining 7 kits from #3 doe to #2.

Any thoughts on that?


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 13, 2014)

Congrats on the babies!  As long as you think Doe #2 can handle all the babies it could work.  We have yet to foster kits to other does so we don't have experience in this.  Are the babies roughly the same size or are some smaller, that would probably be the deciding factor for us as to if they were all put together

Good Luck!


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## luvmypets (Apr 13, 2014)

Congrats


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## stonygarden (Apr 13, 2014)

The babies are roughly the same size.  I think I will put the remaining kits in with the other doe.  I'll keep this post updated.


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 13, 2014)

Good Luck and keep us posted on how it goes. Pics too


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## stonygarden (Apr 14, 2014)

Sad update.  I didn't foster the remaining kits.  All 10 total kits died.  I came home to #2 and #3 doe's kits back on the wire and the nest boxes flipped over.  The #2 kit's (total of 2) were alive.  I righted the box and put the babies back in and mom hopped right in and started nursing them.

Can I breed #3 later this week or do I need to wait longer?


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 14, 2014)

So sorry to hear this . You can probably rebreed the doe towards the end of the week.

So both does flipped the nest boxes over- is there any way you can secure the boxes so they can't be flipped going forward?

I can't remember are both does 1st timers?  Most people give a 3 times and your out rule.

Good Luck with the 2 kits that are still alive


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## stonygarden (Apr 15, 2014)

All my does are 1st timers except my brown doe who had 4 six week old kits.  She's had 3 previous litters with her previous owner.  Only one of the three resulted in live kits.

What am I doing wrong?  I check on them 2x a day (morning and night).  Is it because they are 1st time mothers?  I am really disappointed.

On a good note:  I have a broody hen!  I don't even know how many eggs she sitting on.  She puffs up and hisses at me any time I try to go near her.  I'm working on getting a fence up around a separate coop for her and her eggs/chicks.  I think I might have to wait for the chicks to hatch before I move her.  She is just way too protective of her eggs at the moment to try to take them away from her.


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 15, 2014)

Hang in there , it takes 1st time does a bit to get the hang of it and so for what ever reason never get it.

Yeah for the broody!


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## stonygarden (Apr 18, 2014)

Another doe (#5) kindled. . . another 7 dead kits.

I rebred Doe #3 (the first to kindle) to my NZW/Flemish Giant buck and my brown doe (who has 4 six week old kits at her side) to one of my harlequin mixed breed bucks.  Tomorrow I'll rebred Doe's 2 and 5.  There's a possibility that doe 6 and 1 are pregnant (thanks to the other harlequin buck hopping over cages; problem now fixed).  I'm not holding my breath.


Its been a rough spring so far with loosing all of these kits.  19 total between 3 does.  I'm hoping things get better soon.


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 18, 2014)

Sorry to hear this was she a 1st time doe as well?  It is so hard to wait and then it doesn't work out as we hope.  We have been going through similar issues with our does but not to the extent you have.  We just keep re-trying and hang in there.


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## stonygarden (Apr 19, 2014)

I bought all of my bunnies last year between spring and summer except for my brown doe I got over the winter.

All of my does are young and inexperienced.  Except the brown doe.  She has had a total of 4 litters.  The 4th litter she had here.  Of 8, 4 survived to 6 weeks old.

I bought my NZW/Flemish giant buck as an experienced buck.  He supposedly produced one litter before I got him. 

My harlequin bucks I got from a friend.   They were supposed to be does.  Very disappointed.  I've tried numerous times selling them at local swaps and no one wants bucks.  Everyone wants does.  My friend doesn't want them back but has offered to replace them with harlequin does when she produces them.  I'm not all that concerned about it though.  I was given the rabbits for free.  I really can't complain too much.

Over the winter all of my rabbits were in large dog crates.  I had only 1 hutch.  Not the best of places for my rabbits but they were cleaned regularly.  A month or 2 ago, my big 8 stall hutch was built.  Now everyone has their own 2x3 ft space.  In the coming weeks the second story will be added. 4 more 2x3 ft stalls and 2 4x3 ft grow out pens.

This is all new for me.  I researched rabbit keeping for several months before I took the plunge.  Other than that its all been learning through trial and error.


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## stonygarden (Apr 20, 2014)

Over the last 2 days I've bred 4 does.  Crossing fingers it goes well.

Broody hen is still broody.  I was told I'll be getting another chicken coop for my birthday from my parents and the SO bought me an early birthday present . . . an incubator!!  I'm still trying to figure it out and get the temperature and humidity right.  I have 20 eggs I've collected for 2 days that I hope to put them in the bator tomorrow afternoon.


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## luvmypets (Apr 20, 2014)

Have you ever made a hen go broody. All you need is a clutch of eggs, a secluded box, and a silkie 2nd time and duck eggs are developing so perfectly at week 1. Cant wait when did she start. Also to check a broody wear a glove and reach under her. Determine how many eggs and i recommend candling. I just luv broodies


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 20, 2014)

I think it is trail and error for all of us when we start out.  Sounds like you have a good set up going, it would be cool to see a picture of it sometime   We are waiting for 2 more crates.

We have a younger buck that we are correctly using and so far 1 litter and 2 more does hopefully to kindle about April 30th.  We are hoping to make him our main buck and cull out the extra ones(we don't like their performance)


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## stonygarden (Apr 22, 2014)

These are my harlequin bucks







My broody hen. I think there's a second broody hen too!!


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## stonygarden (Apr 22, 2014)

Baby buns from my brown doe







My rabbitry set up.  Large, 8 stall hutch and single hutch with the brown doe and babies.  Entire set up is fenced and I have a small pallet shed that will fit 4 bales of straw or hay.


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## stonygarden (Apr 22, 2014)

Baby buns from my brown doe







My rabbitry set up.  Large, 8 stall hutch and single hutch with the brown doe and babies.  Entire set up is fenced and I have a small pallet shed that will fit 4 bales of straw or hay.


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## luvmypets (Apr 22, 2014)

Cute


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 22, 2014)

very nice!


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## stonygarden (Apr 25, 2014)

Thanks ya'll. 

Got my broody hen coop set up.  I have 2 broody hens in there.  Hopefully I'll have chicks next week.




A disappointing find today.  Another dead kit.  It was 6 weeks old.  It looks like mom rabbit might have stepped on it's head.  The skull was squished.  So I'm down to 3 kits.


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## Hens and Roos (Apr 25, 2014)

sorry to hear about the kit- 

Good luck with the hatching


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## stonygarden (May 7, 2014)

My broody hen is eating the eggs.  I had 15 and now I'm down to 9.  The remaining 9 are in the incubator.  I had a surprise chick hatch last night. A little black australorp.  Waiting anxiously for the rest to hatch.


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## stonygarden (May 11, 2014)

Looks like today is hatching day!  Yesterday 2 hatched.  Today, 8 more have hatched so far.  I had a total of 29 eggs.  Hoping to get the second layer of the rabbit hutch done today too.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!!


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## Hens and Roos (May 11, 2014)

That's Great, glad to hear that you have chicks hatching!


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## stonygarden (May 31, 2014)

Sold 13 of my 17 chicks . . . 12 more chicks have hatched and I have 23 baby bunnies!!


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## Hens and Roos (May 31, 2014)

Wow!  That's a good number of bunnies


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## stonygarden (Jun 21, 2014)

Chicks are growing up from the second batch.  They are about 6 weeks old.





Bunnies are growing up too.  I have 20 5 week old kits from 3 litters and a new litter of 11 that was born on 6/19.
15 of the 5 week olds will be processed next weekend so the meat will go with a puppy who is leaving for show training.  The trainer feeds only raw so we are contributing to her feed.


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## stonygarden (Nov 9, 2014)

Its been a while since my last update.  Lots of changes around here.  Of all of the chicks I hatched over the summer I have 4 left.  3 roosters and 1 hen.  The roosters will end up in the freezer before too long and the hen will be integrated in big flock.  These 4 have been free ranging.  At first they were in my fenced rabbittry until they got too big and were able to fly over the fence.  Now they free range where ever they want.

Managed to sell one of the harlequin bucks.  The other one and the brown doe ended up in the freezer along with one of the older Californian does (#5 I think).  I acquired 3 New Zealand White rabbits, 2 does and 1 buck.  I traded chickens for them.  They are now 9 months old.

I am so disappointed with my rabbits.  They will not breed.  I have double and triple checked sexes, I have checked for a split penis in my buck and I check for darker colored vulvas in my does before I put them with my buck.  I've added apple cider vinegar with the mother to their water.  No one is over- or under-weight.  I haven't had a litter since the last time I updated here.  I'm ready to give up on them.


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