Pink Fox: its Raining...IN MY HOUSE! :/

[pinkfox]

ok folks...ive got a few optiions here

as we know, current bunny plans have gone a little insane lol
and i need to decide what the next step in bunny land is.

now as we know
right now i have:
Hutch 1: Bluebell (sRex)
Hutch 2: Acorn (sRex)

i need homes for:
Thistle (mRex)
Hazel (mRex)
Holly (mRex)

i also need homes for:
1: standard Rex Buck
2: Standard Rex Buck
3: standard rex Doe 3
4: Standard Rex Doe 4

5: holland lop buck
6: Mini rex x holland Lop Buck
7: Holland Lop Doe 1
8: Holland Lop Doe 2
9: Mini rex x Holland Doe 1
10 Mini Rex x Holland Doe 2

current hutch plans:
bank 2: rex hutches 2 upper 2 lower 24x48 (this gives me the space for my 2 standard bucks and 2 more standard does)
bank 3: mini hutches, the current plan for this bank is
option 1: 6 smaller cages (32x24)
option 2: 3 smaller cages (32x24) and 2 larger cages (48x24)

In option 1 everyone gets their own house...in option 2 the does would live together.
in option 1 i have a hole for thistle,#5 and #6, and a hole for holly hazel and #7
I would need to build a second bank for #8, #9 and #10 which would also give me the under space for my living incubator pen.

so the question now is...

i have my moving expenses on my credit card, my plan for the puppy money was to pay a huge chunk off the credit card (would pay a little under 1/2 of the card off...) it wouldnt lower my monthly payment, but it would make a dent in the interest.
if i use all the pup money to do this i have no money to build my hutches and id probably put the expenses back on the credit card...this seems a little silly to me...

option #2
buy ONLY the supplies to build 1 bank of hutches (aprox $100 give or take) and then use the rest of the puppy money to the credit card...this means if i find my standard boys i would potentially have to put the cost to build thier hutches onto a credit card and potentially find myself with 2 bunnies and nowhere ot put them

option #3
buy the supplies to make 2 more banks of hutches (would give me the holes for the minis PLUS the holes for my standard boys plus extra holes for kindling/weaning/later bunnies)
this option means i only pay about 1/4 off the crdit card, but id have the space i need to keep me going for a little while and only about 1 more bank to do at a future date...
it would still eb enough to make a little dent on the interest...but not as much as i was origionally hoping...

im HOPING the rabbit project will at least pay for itself in the first year or so...im not investing thousands here so i cant see it being hard to break even on this project but still...

so, do i build just the mini bank and pay a little more off the credit card or do i build both the mini and the standard bank, pay a little less off the creidt card right now and hope to reap the rewards?

thoughts?
right now my math is showing i can do both banks with taxes and the hardware, floor covering and taxes for about $200
one bank costs about $100 and i end up with some left over stuff to store for the next set...

 

[pinkfox]

well, last night was easier, but then again i made ruby sleep with squeeker, that kept her nice and quiet all night lol.
got up this morning got everyone fed and settled, cleaned the babbits out did the linnie cage and scooped the litterbox...
have to vacume in there but its 1 room almost down.
my bedroom needs a made bed, some clothes put away and a vacume so that shouldnt take long, livingroom needs jack jacks cage, vacume and mop, thats always the room that takes the longest lol
and kitchen needs some dishes done and a vacume.

im in the midst of making 16 bean soup for dinner tonight, soaked the beans overnight, got to sear the sausage onions and garlic then its all going in a big pot on low all day. theres should be more than enough to put a few batches in the freezer too

then once al thats squared away its off to lowes for hutch supplies, decided im just going to go ahead, spend the money now and get everything i need for the next 2 banks, which will give me enough room for the trio of mini rex, 2 standad bucks, 2 more standard does and a trio of holland lops.
since the trio of holland lops, the standard bucks and the 2 more standard does arnt here yet i should have enough space come march when its time to wean the (hopeful) babbits from the standard does.
but it also means that...when push comes to shove, if i find a good deal on standards i can go for it without thinking...hmm, now..where do i put them?!.

so yeah, babbit bank obviously gets built first, but over the next few days im hoping to have 10 new "holes" for bunnies.
i want to make cute little name plates to go on the hutches too...i want my warren to be very whimsicle...
it needs a name though soon.

so yeah off to finnish up so i can get stuff done and not completly waste the day.

 

[lorihadams]

The only thing about putting does together is that you will have to eventually separate them when they are pregnant and due to kindle.

Then you also need to plan for grow out pens until they are big enough to butcher/sell. You may even have to figure on separating them even further into boy pen and girl pen if you are planning on selling them when they get older so they don't breed brother to sister early...they will try to breed around 7-8 weeks old sometimes and the last thing you want is to have pregnant does too early.

I would plan on at least 2 grow out pens. It seems like a waste of space to have empty hutches but you will need them. The good thing is that you can just build an open hutch with no compartment that is enclosed and just do wire floors and walls. At the very most you may need to put a tarp over it if you are expecting rain or snow and need to keep them dry.

Make the grow out pens longer to accomodate more buns. You could stack them one on top of the other with an angled droppings pan under the top one. Or make a tray that will slid out to remove the droppings and save some space. The other thing is make sure you have a door big enough to get the nesting box in and out. We had to move my doe cause hubby built the nesting box bigger than the door to the hutch she was in.

We inherited hutches but are going to rebuild soon cause the ones we got are just too deep and we can't get in the back to get the bunnies out. They are great for grow out pens cause they are so big but even then we have to chase them around with a stick to get them out come butchering time.

As for the runners...they can go in with the chickens. Just make sure they have a covered place to sleep in on the floor where the chickens can't get above them and poop on them at night. You could do a shelf under the roosting poles and then the ducks could sleep under that and lay in there as well. I have a separate duck house but I have a chicken that sleeps on the ground in there with the ducks every night so it may be easier to build a coop/run that will accomodate both. Mine are in together. My only recommendation if you do that is to either not have a rooster or make sure you have a rooster that is a smaller breed so he won't beat up on the runner hens.

 

[pinkfox]

well the good news is i do solid flooring lol. little bit more work on the clean up but i never have to worry about sore hocks, expecially with the rexes who have a realy hard time on wire floor (they need at least 50% of the cage floor solid because of the lack of fur cover on the feet/hocks that othr breeds have.

got my wood...ALOT of wood...
8 sheets of plywood, all of which the guy had to cut at 2ft intervals (wont fit in my car any larger than 4x2 lol)
(12 cuts total as he did them in blocks of 2)
50 peices of 1x2 all cut directly in 1/2, (i can do the smaller cuts no issues but again cant fit an 8ft peice in my only mode of transportation
(13 cuts total cause he did them in batches)
1 2x4 cut at 1ft intervals (the legs for the hutches so there sat a little off the ground...
(7 cuts total)
made the guy do a total of 32 cuts, current policy is 2 cuts free, .25 per cut after... $7.50 to cut all that wood...no problem...

actual cost to cut all that wood...FREE...they didnt charge me for the cuts. they gave me contractor price on the 1x2's cause i got 50 of them saving me another $3.00 contractor price on the ply saved me another $6 ontop.
the peice of lino was the last bit on the roll so got that at $5 off ($17 as opposed to $22)
savings of $21.50 right off the bat.
im pretty sure she also only charged me for 1 roll of cage wire but i didnt even think about it till i got home...will have to check the recipt...

spent some more in walmart for more food bowls and water bottles...

total estimate to build the next 2 banks of hutches $200 after tax...
actual cost to build the next 2 banks of hutches $160 after tax! WOOOT!

i couldnt belive it when i was doing the math, $40 less than estimate is awesome in my books!

so yeah....

then i tell the wood cutting guy...but this isnt the fun part...
he loks at me...
the fun part is getting all THIS into a crysler sebring...
he looked at me like i was insane and said, well someone else will be helping you with that part...LOL!

get checked out (took a while cause the cashire was incredibly chatty, im her first ever english person lol)
then guy 2 asks me which is my car...i point it out and its hidden behind a big ole truck...off we wander get to the car and his face dropps, he looks all kinds of confused and then goes...ummmm...

so i tell him gimme a second and i drop the top...least this way we can load up without trying to push things through doorways ect...
he still doesnt think were going to get all this into my little car (the sebring isnt realy a little car, infact its a freeking HUGE vehicle, especially for a convertable!)
so i show him how i put the ply in last time (i only had 4 sheets last time but shhhh didnt tell him that...got most of those in and while he started putting the last couple in i started sticking the 1x2s into the back seat, they fit almost perfectly a couple of the 1x2s had to go in the front along wiht the roll of flooring, but when all was said and done...we got it all in...AND the top closed without an issue! the look on the guys face was PRICELESS, he goes...i have to admit...i thought you were crazy, i didnt think we were oging to be abel to fit all of that wood in that little car...

my responce..."never underestimate the power of hours of playing Tetris" LMAO...he thought it was funny...
he did admit this was the first time hes ever had anyone like me (i take that to mean not entirely grudgy loking and in a "little convertable") come in buying that much wood for this kind of project and managing to get it all into "that" kind of vehicle...im his first ever none truck load for that kind of volume...
i told him flat out after manaigng to fit 2 dogs, 2 cats a macaw 2 parakeets a purse a suitcase and a trunk full of Stuff on the move down here...i had NO worries about this haul...my car is strangely spacious inside and with the top down i could probably haul a full 8ft sheet of ply if i abslutly needed to (i have no plans to test that theory though lol.

so right now its all hanigng out in my car...
im snuggling with the dogs, going to have a cup of tea and then ill get my tushy outside and start unloading it before it gets too dark.

 

[pinkfox]

well the car is unloaded and i rewarded myself with a small raspberry paczki...(polish doughnut). its one "naughty" treat i do plan on making my own of i dont like regular doughnuts much but theres something about the paczki that i love.

anywho...the car has been freed of wood. tomorrow illmake a start on the mini rex bank since thats the more important unit, once that ones built i can paint it and start building the standard rex bank while i wait on the first coat of paint to dry lol.

i did however forget 2 things, 1: the grommet kit, 2: im going to be short for lino for the floor. got enough for the mini bank and 1 floor of the standard bank
solution, build tomorrow and friday then head into selmer on saturday, i need to drop in a form at the county clerk anyway, so ill stop in the walmart there and pick up the grommet kit, ill also stop in the cheapy shops as they often have packs of discontinued lino tiles and get enough to finnish up the standard bank...not a big deal.

 

[Wannabefree]

Pinky I am here to offer assistance...just give me those cute cuddly bunnies!!!

Sounds like you have had a bit of adventure lately Good luck on those hutches girl!

 

[pinkfox]

well this is definatly what happens when i enter an uppy phase of the bipolar spectrum, excessive spending, "need" to buy ect tends to be a symptom of mania...im lucky in that mine presents itself in a semi controlable way, i still get the urges common to mania, (doing things i dont realy think about things i know later are silly, spending money/buying tihings) BUT i can shape those urges into constructive things...
in this case...the rabbit project...had this been a "nomral" mood phase id have my 2 rex dos and be fine...the mania instead says "no you need the rest NOW" and to be quite frank if it wasnt this project it would be something potentially NOT good to spend money on (ie lottery tickets, groceries i realy dont need (ie pizza) ect...and quite honestly, its this or a new tattoo...i dont NEED the tattoo, a tattoo wont put meat on my table or money in my pocket...so bunnies win lol

i think the only reason i can control the mania is the ocd kicks in...mania says HEY WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING...ocd says OK but only if its something we "need" theres then a mental argument about whats needed vs whats wanted and generlaly projects ive had in mind for a while win out as "needed" projects

in other news im noshing down on a delicious 15 bean soup.

very simple 16 bean package, a can of dices tomatoes, various saosnings onion and sausage...
it was my first experientment with dried beans as im not realy a "bean" fan...but this is delicious, was incredibly easy to make, didnt use many ingredients and i can see it being very filling...it made a HUGE pot enough to put some in the freezer and some in the fridge
a girl could get used to this.

i used a mild italina sausage sliced up but im thinking next time a simple sausage mix would work even better...
having it with a slice of italian bread...yummy!, im glad i only used 1/2 the packet of cajun spice though... its flavorfull but not too spicey for me...but i dont do "spice" so...

 

[Wannabefree]

Ummmm.....Pinky...I think it's just as much Spring fever as it is mania sis! I got a BAAAAAAAAAAAD case of it too, and you sound like ME, and I don't think I'm bi-polar.....then again...who knows

 

[pinkfox]

spring fever, i like that, that makes me sound less like a crazy basket case LOL!


ive already started planning for te realy fun stuff (my flower garden at the front of the house...i made my first ste on that this morning by dumping the babbits litterbox on the current existing "flower bed" (its a real sad bed that had about 5 realy sad looking hosta in it) i figure its going to be a while before i have enough bunny poop to make a serous difference but im hoping as i start planning the bed ill mix up the little soil thats there, and then i can shove a couple handfulls of rabit poop in every hole i dig for plants
i know roses LOVE to be planted on a mound of rabbit poop so im hoping other plants will also enjoy this...

 

[pinkfox]

well today was pretty productive, got started on the hutch bank for the minis and got a deacent amount done.
mother nature dimmed the lights and when that didnt work threatend me with rain so i packed up for the night.

managed to get the entire frame/shell completed.

still need to add the doors to the fronts (the mini cages will have full wire fronts as opposed to the standard cages that have the house)
i want to add shelves to these cages to add a little more floor space for them and to give them a little covered area that doesnt feel quite so open.
each cage is 32" long by 24" deep, should be big enough for the does when kindling but plenty of space for when there not too.

im very pleased with how it turned out so far, its incredibly sturdy given...i added extra bracing because obviouly using 4ft obs there was the center join that otherwise would not be supported.
as you can see the ground is NOT level in that area so the whole thing had to be shimmed up but it works out well because i get realy good drainage back there and even in torrential rain it should drain off right under the hutches without any problems.

so yeah shelves doors and paint, and shingles for the roof (which i need to salvage some more from the woods as i used up the pile id already set aside.

This is how i currently envision the rabbitry looking
(each square is 2ft)

bank 1 is the one already in existence.
bank 3 is the one currently in progess.
planning on building bank 2 next (have the supplies)

bank 4 and the grow out pens will come a little later
the 4 grow beds would be specifically for the rabbits, kale, spinach, carrtos turnips beets for greens ect, snap peas, ect. id be doing Sqft method
im thinking at least 1 bed could be clover, 1 mixed grass (timmothy/orchard, wont give me alot BUT it woudl give me enough for crazing )
and the other 2 would be veggies.

but yeah thats what i did today.

tomorrow little squeeker is schedualed to go home, right now current guestimat is around 3:30...but it could be earlier or later depending on what time she manages to leave and how traffic is.
which means in the morning the place gets cleaned up, squeeker gets a bath and nails done and everything straightend up...then depedning on what time im expecting her (shes going to drop me an email in the morning just before she leaves so ill have a general idea of what time) im hoping to get the doors made for the 6 hole bank
but at very minimum i HAVE to get shingles onto the 6 hole as theres supposed to be rain/t-storms comming through tomorrow night and possibly on Saturday...