Monday, April 17, 2006
One Empty Hole
I have an empty hole in my barn. And it has been empty for a week. That's amazing! I am so pleased with my empty hole. Every time I pass it and don't have to put feed it in, I am pleased all over again. It is a grand accomplishment for me.
I don't know how long the hole can stay empty. I do have a few young brothers sharing cages, so the hole may have an occupant at any time. But I actually have fewer roommates than usual. My rabbitry feels light and open. I love it.
Travel back with me about a year and you will know more about why I am so thrilled with my one open hole. I had purchased 36 rabbits from Valerie Harrell as she was getting out of rabbits.
When I purchased them, my rabbitry was full. So I ended up hanging about a dozen cages at the ends of rows. They overlapped my other cages, so I had to protect my lower rabbits from waste. I would have to duck under cages to feed the last bunnies on the original rows. Believe me, that is risky business.
I also placed a number of cages with trays (I hate trays!) on top of my hanging cages. And, in the very beginning, I even had some rabbits living temporarily in carriers.
I was working in the middle of a population explosion. Things were so confusing and hectic. I even sold a rabbit in the middle of trying to settle all of the rabbits in. I thought I had lost her or she had escaped. Then I saw my friend Linda Norris showing her. She reminded me that she had bought her. I was so relieved. I had imagined the bunny trying to survive somewhere on our property. That's just how crazy things were.
And then I continued to breed aggressively. I wanted to know what all of the new rabbits could do just at a time that the rabbit I already had were starting to click. I planned to enlarge my barn and even to double up my rows (remember, I hate trays!).
But then one day last fall, I asked myself, "Where does this all end?" With 300 holes and my life consumed with rabbits?
So I did an about-face, decided not to add to the barn again, not to add a layer of cages, and to reduce my herd to a size that comfortably fits into the number of cages I had.
That's when I decided to sell Dandy and his entire line (almost entire - I kept some crossover rabbits). It was a hard decision to make; I sold a lot of nice rabbits. Gradually, I sold rabbits and gradually, I removed cages from my rabbitry. Occasionally, I had to bring those cages back in. Andrew laughed at me many times as I tried to remove cages, but had to refill them as litters needed to be separated.
But before Nationals, I removed the last of the overflow cages. And now I have an empty hole. I am so proud of that hole.
I suppose it's not really any feat to reduce the number of rabbits in a rabbitry. You just sell more than you produce. But what makes it so sweet is that I both reduced the size of my rabbitry and had the best show of my life at Nationals. I have managed so far to reduce the number of rabbits and increase the number of keepers that I am producing.
The real proof to my success, however, will be to see if I can maintain my rabbitry size and continue to produce rabbits I am pleased with, generation after generation.
But for now, I am just enjoying my one empty hole.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
Holland Lops Of Distinction
Precious Pet Rabbits
Pet Rabbit Care Information, Quality Pet Rabbit Breeders, and Rabbit Fun ¶ 10:35 AM
I don't know how long the hole can stay empty. I do have a few young brothers sharing cages, so the hole may have an occupant at any time. But I actually have fewer roommates than usual. My rabbitry feels light and open. I love it.
Travel back with me about a year and you will know more about why I am so thrilled with my one open hole. I had purchased 36 rabbits from Valerie Harrell as she was getting out of rabbits.
When I purchased them, my rabbitry was full. So I ended up hanging about a dozen cages at the ends of rows. They overlapped my other cages, so I had to protect my lower rabbits from waste. I would have to duck under cages to feed the last bunnies on the original rows. Believe me, that is risky business.
I also placed a number of cages with trays (I hate trays!) on top of my hanging cages. And, in the very beginning, I even had some rabbits living temporarily in carriers.
I was working in the middle of a population explosion. Things were so confusing and hectic. I even sold a rabbit in the middle of trying to settle all of the rabbits in. I thought I had lost her or she had escaped. Then I saw my friend Linda Norris showing her. She reminded me that she had bought her. I was so relieved. I had imagined the bunny trying to survive somewhere on our property. That's just how crazy things were.
And then I continued to breed aggressively. I wanted to know what all of the new rabbits could do just at a time that the rabbit I already had were starting to click. I planned to enlarge my barn and even to double up my rows (remember, I hate trays!).
But then one day last fall, I asked myself, "Where does this all end?" With 300 holes and my life consumed with rabbits?
So I did an about-face, decided not to add to the barn again, not to add a layer of cages, and to reduce my herd to a size that comfortably fits into the number of cages I had.
That's when I decided to sell Dandy and his entire line (almost entire - I kept some crossover rabbits). It was a hard decision to make; I sold a lot of nice rabbits. Gradually, I sold rabbits and gradually, I removed cages from my rabbitry. Occasionally, I had to bring those cages back in. Andrew laughed at me many times as I tried to remove cages, but had to refill them as litters needed to be separated.
But before Nationals, I removed the last of the overflow cages. And now I have an empty hole. I am so proud of that hole.
I suppose it's not really any feat to reduce the number of rabbits in a rabbitry. You just sell more than you produce. But what makes it so sweet is that I both reduced the size of my rabbitry and had the best show of my life at Nationals. I have managed so far to reduce the number of rabbits and increase the number of keepers that I am producing.
The real proof to my success, however, will be to see if I can maintain my rabbitry size and continue to produce rabbits I am pleased with, generation after generation.
But for now, I am just enjoying my one empty hole.
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
Holland Lops Of Distinction
Precious Pet Rabbits
Pet Rabbit Care Information, Quality Pet Rabbit Breeders, and Rabbit Fun ¶ 10:35 AM
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I love having empty holes in my 25 hole rabbitry! All though I wish I had more cages! ALthough having a smaller rabbitry keeps you more organized and it is more manageable. Keep those bunnies growing!!
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