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This might be helpful. https://rabbittalk.com/threads/fed-vs-unfed-kit-pictures.3052/ To help keep the kits warm on an unusually cold night, try a hot water bottle. Any bottle with a good leak-proof screw cap will work. Preheat with hot water and then refill. Slide a thick sock over the bottle...

Hi Bitbyter, You've put a lot of thought and investigation into planning your rabbitry, but I do have some concerns about the plastic nest-boxes. My set-up was in Southern Ontario too, and you need to consider how hot and humid it gets, particularly from mid-June to mid-August. Kits in those...

Sounds like you're off to a great start. Your first-time mama is a keeper. Kits can often get out of the nest box before they are able to get hop back in. An easy precaution to take is to put a step outside the low end of the box to help adventurous kits return to the nest. A brick works very...

There are safe plants that you can feed to correct poopy-butt. The lawn weed plantain and also the leaves of raspberry, blackberry or strawberry. Sometimes this is caused by too quick a transition from momma's milk to pellets. I suggest giving only grass hay, small amounts of oatmeal, and a few...

It was late when I posted last night and I missed mentioning a couple of points. Please give your young rabbits hay to prevent gut issues. Grass hay is best if they are also getting pellets. (An alfalfa/grass mix works if you are feeding a pelletless diet.) I suggest finding a new brand of...

At four weeks old, the kits are old enough to be weaned. Give them oatmeal (large flake/old fashioned is best) in addition to whatever you have been feeding them. I suggest you don't feed the pellets in case they were contaminated. Return them to the feed story and they will likely give you a...

Alaska Satin, if you grow catnip from seed, neighbourhood cats are less likely to be drawn to it. Planting established catnip seems to draw them, probably because it gets bruised when handled. Around your compost bin is a good place for it.

Years ago, I had my rabbits in cages under a weeping willow tree in good weather. When there was a strong breeze from Lake Ontario, they were fine -- it was several degrees cooler under the tree. But when the breeze died, the mosquitoes were a problem. Fortunately, our property had an...

Excellent reply, Ladysown. I heartily agree with you, but I couldn't have said it half so well. Thank you!

Vitamin deficiencies in commercial feed happen when the feed is stored in poor conditions or simply prolonged storage. Even when the feed was adequate at the time of manufacturing, some vitamins tend to be lost in storage. Both Vitamin E and Vitamin A are necessary for both the desire to mate...

Take into consideration that weasels and mink will clear out rats in short order. I've live-trapped a mink a couple of times using sardines as bait.

Could you direct a fan at your fodder trays? That should help. Also, keep fruit fly traps going all the time. I reuse plastic water bottles with a bit of apple cider vinegar in them and a small hole punched in the lid. Cheap, easy to make and maintain, and very effective.

I haven't been here much lately and I have not read this whole thread, but I recommend getting a bucket with a lid and putting a rat-siized hole in it. Mix equal quantities of Plaster of Paris and either icing sugar (confectioner's sugar) or something sweet like cake mix. The two powders need to...

I no longer have any outdoor animals due to increased mobilitiy issues, but I only lost a couple of chickens to weasels and that was when the rat infestation was over. It's not pleasant to lose even one bird or rabbit, but the rats accounted for far more than the weasels did. So my experience...

I often have a weasel in the house in winter. I welcome them ... they clean out any rats and mice in short order. Reliable, expense-free extermination of pesky rodents -- what's not to like about that? They'll move on when the supply of mice and rats runs out.

Broomsticking is a reliable method, but as BuffBrahmaBantam noted above, you need good balance to do it effectively. I found that our best method was to dispatch them using a .22 caliber rifle. You only need a "short." Place the muzzle close to the back of the neck, just below the skull. There...

Thanks, MuddyFarms! It was fun to write -- and fun to share.

Happy that some of you enjoyed it. Marilla used to have quite a following here on RabbitTalk. I'd post anecdotes about her and her mighty hunting skills from time to time. It's nice to revisit memories now and again.

Merry Christmas to all my fellow RabbitTalkers! I've posted this poem before, so those who remember it, please excuse the repetition. We have so many new members who I thought might enjoy it. This poem features Marilla (Rilla for short) the cat in my avatar, who is sadly no longer with us but...

The plaster of Paris bait works very well. I've had to use it a few times here. I mixed it with icing sugar because the two are both white powders and mix easily. I've heard cake mix is also good. Rats seem to have a sweet tooth. Anise flavour is also an attractant that may help lure them to...