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Post by macmex on Jul 11, 2021 5:17:00 GMT -6
I have never heard of kissing bugs bothering rabbits, but then, I believe I'm fairly ignorant about kissing bugs in general. All I can say is to research it and let us know.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2021 11:38:16 GMT -6
Much like their cousin, the squash bug, kissing bugs prefer to harbor overwinter beneath debris like old wood, etc. In this area is much debris from a tree dying that I have never cleaned up. The bucks are sitting atop a bench that is decaying, just like old wood and one thing has lead to another. They found the rabbits, a source of food.
Kissing bugs are notorious for hanging out around dog kennels and, well, a rabbit cage would work just as well as they prefer to feed on all mammals under the right circumstances. My procrastination and insecurities has given them the right circumstances.
They are also attracted to light. Last year we installed motion detecting lights and one in that area kicks off when the large semis roll by early in the mornings.
Kissing bugs carry Chagas disease. It is estimated that 50% of kissing bugs are carriers. The point of infection is their feces or the feces of mammals infected with Chagas.
I am perfectly confident that the organisms that cause Chagas will be eroded or eaten up in healthy garden soil where I put the bunny berries, but I am not so confident that I can keep it off me when I dump the rabbit trays.
Some mammals show no sign of Chagas and become carriers. One may not know that it is present in the environment.
SO, I need to cull the herd in realistic fashion and get all of my breeders inside the hutch. If I had not let the herd get so large, I would have easily disturbed the area to avoid this happening. As it were, I wasn't cleaning up frequently. Because it has been too much for me.
I am eternall grateful for your guidance, George. The torch. The torch has been so crucial in helping keep the hutch sterile. And in this case, I can be certain that no pathogens survive once I sterilize the cages.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2021 11:59:42 GMT -6
The one on the left is what I found here. With only a quick glance, easily mistaken for box elder bugs. The key id for me now is that they are similar in shape and shell density to the squash bug. The box elder is more like a roach in shape and density though they both have orange/red markings.
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Post by macmex on Aug 6, 2021 11:54:48 GMT -6
This time of year I can easily gather up a wheel barrow (or several) every single afternoon, using the weeds to feed rabbits and goats. This is a major consolation to me, as the weeding becomes a form of harvesting and the product from it becomes feed, which in turn is converted into milk and meat. With all the forage I can cut, I reduce the amount of feed given to the rabbits and heap them up on weeds, which they adore. All my grow outs are about grown, now. I have six more to butcher and put in the freezer.
Yesterday I sold a 4 month old doe. She was so gorgeous, the last from her litter, and I decided to try to find her a home rather than eat her. I just don't need another doe, so selling was the only other option. I advertised her for $25 and mentioned in the ad that I could sell a younger buck, from an unrelated litter, for $20. I was in no hurry to sell, but I thought, "Well, if I can get the cash, I'll do it." Someone called and came by. We had a pleasant chat as we did the transaction and they went away happy, ready to restart their own rabbit production for home grown meat. I came away with $45 cash, which I promptly handed over to my wife. (Jerreth handles our emergency, health and hay funds). Combining this with the previous day of having Ron help me with a tree (See August 6 post under Improving Our Properties) that we needed to cut up, and I'm feeling really blessed! What a blessing to have friends and family (loved ones) and to be able to put away a little cash for the unexpected!
When the uncertainty of our country's economic future, I really believe that community is going to be very important for most people, and herbivores like rabbits may become much more utilized for private food production.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2021 11:09:48 GMT -6
Good stuff! You made me run over to the freezer and dig out the rabbit and count (my blessings). I guess I have about 12 lbs of it. And they are all deboned except for the legs.
The meat is popular here. Last season fetched a bag of feed per rabbit (partially deboned with offal included) in shrink freezer bags. I need to sell a few proven does and some meat to convert to other types of meats for the freezer. Having a hard time keeping up with inflation on that even though our cash flow has increased this year. It's so nice to eat the pricier cuts of meat. We went so long with nothing but hamburger, the roasts and occasional steaks get gobbled up before any can be processed into long term storage. Have a couple kits remaining from breeding season and will go about breeding soon.
They all act anxious to breed. They can feel the days shortening? Curious stuff. t
____ Been busy so we haven't been putting out the frozen ceramic floor tiles except for once a day but only when temps are excessive. The Cooper's runner beans shading the side of the hutch have helped tremendously. Overall, it just has't been as hot this year. They're all fine for it.
Except for Momma Doe. She's my retired 3 year old female, the 15 lbs black New Zealand specialness. She's so smart. Because she needs support, a ceramic tile is always in her cage for her to sit.
When we "tile" the rabbits in hot weather it is customary for them to scratch the tiles. They scratch off the frost and eat it. They get tiled all at once. The entire hutch bellows rabbits scratching at ceramic tiles. When they want another cold tile, they start scratching when I'm in the hutch. It's a natural behavior whereby they would normally dig into the ground to reach cooler temperatures, I assume. It's really cute.
But Momma Doe insists on a cold tile by scratching her tile. It's cute, because I won't be messing with the rabbits - only walking by the door doing other things and as soon as she gets a glance that I'm there, she starts scratching and i don't notice right away. Suddenly, I realize that every time I shadow the hutch entrance, she starts scratching her tile. So, I stop and go get her a frozen one for her pleasure. She has me trained really well.
I have an old dog crate that waits to be lined with steel gauge wire for her, to put her outside where we can just basically play and spoil her. She's retired so if she gets stolen, it's not a loss in production, just a broken heart. In the meantime, she'll continue to provide fertilizer. I love rabbit!
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Post by macmex on Aug 7, 2021 15:34:09 GMT -6
Bon, that's so heartwarming. You guys are doing great with rabbits!
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Post by macmex on Dec 2, 2021 7:22:21 GMT -6
Just had our first litter of the season, about three days ago. Normally we have some born just before Thanksgiving. I guess the warmer fall weather set them off a bit.
I sure am glad that production is starting up again!
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Dec 4, 2021 13:24:34 GMT -6
My wife takes out her favorite doe rabbit every night and just sits and holds it. Rabbits do something for her that is very relaxing. Every time one of us walks past that particular cage, the doe perks up and stands on its hind legs, wanting to be taken out and snuggled on.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2021 11:17:34 GMT -6
Dumped a bunch of baby bunnies with little miss' in bed this morning. All is well again with bunny snuggles.
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Post by macmex on Jan 28, 2022 12:28:16 GMT -6
Nice! I couldn't hear well, as I write this while sitting at a layover in Los Angeles. Am returning from helping watch our grand daughter in Seattle. Am looking forward to getting home.
Just before I left for Seattle one of my does kindled and let the whole litter freeze. Something's been bothering her. She acts paranoid It's been a bad fall/winter for rabbits here. I will be setting aside another doeling from the litter we did get, and replacing at least one of our three does. Our solid black doe seems quite peaceful and doing great. Her babies are growing like weeds.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 28, 2022 15:49:32 GMT -6
Cool setup Bon! I really like that! I paused the video to study the possibility of getting your cable level vertically at the 2:35 minute mark. You could run a short length of 2x4, a 2x2, or even a short length of EMT, horizontally on each end of your existing support boards and use that to hook your cables over to extend the travel of the cable supports farther toward the back wall. That would let your cables hang straight down and closer to the wall too.
Also, I used to hire on in Winter to run heat trace lines along all of the steam lines and sprinkler lines on various powerhouses and Chemical plants from here to Kansas City. Every year people would suddenly realize they had pipes full of water that needed to be protected from freezing, so they'd call an Electrician to come out ASAP to rig something up for them. It was a miserable job, but it paid for my groceries when nothing else was available during our downtime in Winter. I used heat trace tape from Gordon Electric Supply Inc. It was 5 watts per foot, so you could cut it off any length and just add a resistor at the end if it was too short to provide enough resistance.
They sell it by the roll, like Romex, or if you only need a short piece, they sell it as short as 5' feet long (25 watts).
I noticed your receptacle right above the rabbit cages. That would be a perfect setup for hanging a 5' foot length of heat tape. You could just slip it between the water bottle and the wire bail. It probably wouldn't be 100% effective in keeping the ball valves in the steel nipples from freezing in really cold weather like we had last February, but it would sure help on marginal days the rest of the winter.
Here's a link to Gordon Electric Supply. I think a 5' foot length is around $10.00?www.gordonelectricsupply.com/p/Easyheat-Tsr51J-5W-Ft-120V-Tsr-Cable/6156842?gclid=Cj0KCQiAxc6PBhCEARIsAH8Hff25lqDOpC_LOKnSBgNhEIWxH1vEyWXmSBSMhx7z52gqEk9q1AgM9XsaAnb_EALw_wcB
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 29, 2022 12:11:36 GMT -6
Cool! And you even got your second rabbit stack in place! That was fast!
If you go to the 58-second mark of the video that you just posted, you'll see a loose piece of conduit lying diagonally across the rafters. Below that, there are two 2x4s placed perpendicular to the rafters, that are currently supporting the weight of your cages.
If you slid another short 2x4, parallel to the left rafter, just to the left of the receptacle, and let it rest on top of the 2x4 that currently supports your cage, then you could slide another short 2x4 just to the right of the other rafter where your other two cage supports are. That would allow you to transfer your support cables to the new lumber and slide them right up to your soffit, hanging nearer to the back wall of your building.
The new lumber would extend your cable travel all the way to the plate at the top of your back wall.
A 2x2 placed there would also work, in place of new 2x4s, or even a scrap piece of EMT would work there to reattach your cables, allowing them to slide closer to the back wall.
On the heat trace jobs I used to do, I'd control the heat tape's on off cycle, using a thermostat set to come on at 35 degrees. Once the pipes heated to about 43 degrees, they'd shut off. I think the margin on the old type thermostats was about 8 degrees. It has been almost 40 years since I ran any heat trace, so thermostats have probably improved quite a bit.
The 2x4 wire you guys put in place ought to do wonders for keeping the neighborhood dogs at bay. That was a really good idea.
Your little spare building for a chicken coop is almost the same identical size as my chicken coop. I just screwed a few roosting poles in place across the back wall and used old milk crates screwed to the wall near the front door for nesting boxes. That way, all I have to do is open the door and gather eggs. I don't even have to go inside. When It's time to shovel it out, I just slide a square nose shovel to the back wall and still don't have to go very far inside.
My chickens free range, but I did build a narrow pen that extends out the back, for when I have chicks. There is a gate on the extension and a low roof to keep them dry. The chickens can go in and out of the pen by way of a little door that I cut into the back of the chicken house. I built a sliding door out of an old cutting board that is gravity operated, it resembles a guillotine, suspended by a 3/8 rope and a little pulley, so I can pull the rope to open and close the door from outside the pen without crawling under the low roof.
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Post by macmex on Jan 29, 2022 19:50:00 GMT -6
Looks beautiful Bon!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jan 29, 2022 23:02:10 GMT -6
Bon, I am so impressed! And your bunnies look very happy and well cared for. I’ll have to show my younger daughter the babies. She’ll love it.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jan 30, 2022 9:46:38 GMT -6
You two sound like my wife; she takes her bunnies out every night when she gets home from work and snuggles them on the couch. She buys them fresh lettuce and kale and every time she comes home they perk up, standing on their back legs, waiting for her to open their cages so they can go out and play. In Summer, she has a folding playpen that she takes outside, so they can run around like little kids while she sits in her lawn chair and watches them play.
Enjoy those bunnies! But watch your fingers, I had a pet cockatiel land on top of the bunny cage one day and the bunny stood up on its back legs and bit the bird's toe off. Sometimes their brains don't know what their mouth is doing.
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