Pastor Dave's Highlights

[HaloRabbits]

How old was the kit this time?
I had one grow really weak about 2 weeks old, and am now wondering if maybe it was something similar to this...

 

[Pastor Dave]

Mine was a runt, but I noticed at abt 7 weeks the issue. It died abt 8 - 8 1/2 weeks.
I contacted the friend who is the rabbit judge and asked if it could be worms or parasites. He said surprisingly the young rabbits generally don't have worms like pups or kittens. He does an annual worming of his adults but only after fecal samples. He is the one that told me abt "failure to thrives" and being a fatal genetic issue.
I don't know if I should just cull the runts. Some breeders do. But, some of my runts looked healthy, not malnourished, and went on to being processed.

 

[HaloRabbits]

Oh okay. No, I don't think you need to cull all the runts. It's one of those things where not all runts will have failure to thrive, but all failure to thrives will naturally be smaller/runty. To use a simple example , not all animals are rabbits, but all rabbits are animals; haha so it is kind of like that.

 

[Pastor Dave]

I heard on the radio today that it is National Bring your kid to work day.

So, here is my youngest, just like any other day. My oldest is at school, and their mother really doesn't spend much time out here. The youngest did accompany me across the drive to the Church office too.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

That's awesome! He's a cutie patootie!

 

[CntryBoy777]

Ya should've given him a Super Soaker so he could help fill the water bottles for ya....

 

[Pastor Dave]

I saw the perfect small farm or hobby farm for sale here in IN, East of Indianapolis in the Richmond area off I-70.
I don't have the link, but it is 10 flat acres with original farmhouse that was built around a log cabin and updated as early as 20 yrs ago. 3 bedrooms upstairs, 1 down with 1 bathroom, but roomy enough to add in another. There is nice vintage woodwork throughout.

The barn is turn of the century cattle barn with original stalls and work areas, and is on the national historic list of something or other.

It has a nice 1930's 3 bay garage with attic. It resembles a carriage house, but with roll-up doors.

It is on a reservoir that I believe has 775 acres of surface water, trolling motor only. The lower fields of this farm were flooded to help make this reservoir in the 1960's.

The county road runs along the front of the whole property which seems to allow access into the two fields that are separated by the old asphalt drive coming in off the road and running back to the house and buildings more or less in the center and rear by the lake. The fields are currently pasture or hay, and no trees are needed to be removed for using the property. The field beside the house to the left looks to be 1/3 the acreage, with the field around the barn and spreading out to the right edge is the other 2/3. I do not know the compass directions of this property. There are no fences.

The asking price is $289,000 and I don't know how long it had been on the market. I share this because it is THE ideal farm I have in my mind for what I would like to do someday with a couple feeder calves, chickens, rabbits, small field in corn and larger field in alfalfa, saving the area around the barn for some pasture or paddocks. With some rotation and electric fencing in the corn field for Fall/Winter grazing, 10 acres should be plenty. HOWEVER, it will be sold and gone long before my time comes around to pursue it.

Know anyone wanting to buy a small farmstead in the Eastern Indiana area, this is about perfect! I would be glad to look up the link if anybody is interested.

 

[NH homesteader]

Wow... That sounds amazing... I just had a momentary daydream... But I won't be moving out that direction anytime soon!

 

[Pastor Dave]

I know! The real estate prices here are crazy all over the place.
Some new builds on a small lot demand more than this property easily.
Some farm land or rural wooded property goes for a million for a hundred acres or two hundred.
Or, an older place in town or country might be 80-100,000.
I am sure it's that way in other states, but it amazes me how it can be all over the place in such a small state.

 

[NH homesteader]

Here, land is so expensive I don't know if we have the same fluctuations. Fields are expensive because there's so much woods. Other than that, it's fairly sensible. It's not super farm country here though either.