I know some of my followers were wondering what the heck was going on after I posted the barn reduction sale. Several friends contacted me worried I was selling out. I'm not selling out.
I've been working towards a much smaller herd for some time. I simply don't want to manage a large number of rabbits anymore. Most of the sale list was older stock I was done with and they were going up for sale anyways. I'm not breeding for the rest of the summer so I don't need sr does right now. I have several jrs that will take over when I'm ready to breed again, and I kept a few young proven srs as back up. After I made up my mind to sell most of the Brush Clean System, the time was right to make it one big sale. Rabbits were priced to move as quickly as possible so I could get to the next phase of the plan.
I've been so lucky that I haven't lost any to the horrible heat we've had, and I hate that they suffer so in the barn. A strictly maintained smaller herd means I need fewer cages, and fewer cages means I won't be tempted to keep anything that won't further my goals. This past year, I haven't used most of those cages at all. I left all except the working does outside in the Summer House all winter. That worked out well. I kept 2 sets of full water bottles...1 in the barn where it's heated. If the bottles froze, I just swapped them out and brought the frozen ones inside to thaw. I can handle that, and the bunnies can handle occasional freezing weather.
The new plan will have 10 brood holes in the barn. That will be the maximum I will have working at any one time. Probably less. I kept a 6-hole brood unit and have another to put back together. That was the last one I built (I like its configuration better), and it used to sit in the middle of the floor. Then I didn't need it so I took it apart. When I put it back together, I'll tweak the design some more. These 2 units will go on the right side of the barn as shown on the Barn page. I'll use funds from the sale to build some more Summer House cages. Haven't made up my mind about that yet, but maybe another 10-12 holes. I need enough to move everybody out for the summer, and I'll be culling very hard to keep that manageable. Only the best will stay.
So what will I do with the rest of the barn? Workshop! My "workshop" is a back bedroom. Not ideal at all. It's carpeted for one thing. I keep all my tools and hardware there, and mostly do stuff there. If I need to cut lumber I drag the tools out to the porch, but little things get cut or drilled inside and debris ends up in the rug. I want an organized workshop where I can make a mess, and more storage.
BTW, even if someday I do get out, I will still have rabbits. I'm a gardener and every gardener should have some rabbits. I'd breed enough to maintain a small population. Besides, I can't give up my beloved dwarfs completely. I'll have some until my situation says I can't.
tnt
