Hello, everybody. This is a sort of “twofold” post wherein I’m going to act quite green and apparently seem to know nothing, much like Jon Snow. Okay? Okay.
I’m trying to expand. Currently, I only have one Mini Rex buck. He’s a doll and a ham and a loony depending on the time of day. He’s good with kids as young as five, emotionally in tune, friendly and inquisitive, and playful but not overly energetic. He started getting in my lap at three months and, at four months, he’s started to almost fall asleep on me now, purring to his heart’s content.
I’ve been wanting to get him a pair of lady friends to make a nice trio and I thought my planning had all gone well until at the last moment, one of the housemates was like, “Wait, no. Rabbits are scary and they smell.”
Luckily for me, there is a huge backyard that no one much bothers with. We have a dog back there, but a dog that has fostered a motherless kitten in her time. She’s been good with my buck, Basil. She’s very protective with good herding instincts. The whole group have been considering getting her a pair of miniature goats. Right now we’re just working out on improving fencing so one of the house’s members bushes won’t get eaten and also so the dog can still come up onto the deck, but the goats won’t. We’ll see how that goes.
Nonetheless, I feel that if goats and dogs and cats are all acceptable, a few rabbits in the back wouldn’t be too bad.
Now I’m going to ask a pretty stupid question, but would goats have a problem with rabbits? Do they harry them? Seems like goats seem perfectly fine with most other animals, but I was concerned. Our cats harry the rabbit I have, but they’re both terrified so they look at him, hiss, and run away. If goats are okay with rabbits, could the rabbits and them share the same barn? I figure I’ll do hanging cages. The space is about ninety square feet. There will be two miniature goats in there, if the plants-deck-and-dog logics can be worked out. If not, I figure I could use the same area. The idea is to use scrap wood and pallets to make three walls and have a half wall with door facing the house, since there would be less wind and rain from that direction. The roof is a tree house. I would supply ventilation, but I’m unsure about how much? So no direct sunlight, no severe wind, no direct rain, etc. and I could put up tarps or whatnot in winter. There’s the canopy of the pine trees overhead so it’s always pretty cool and shady in the back there.
I live in AL, so we have 80-100 F summers and about 50 F winters. I think the rabbits will be fine in winter, but I’m concerned about summer. I know to put ice in the water bottles, frozen overnight rocks (specifically marble) or ceramic in the cages for them to lie down, maybe shave bellies, lots of fresh veg, maybe take them in during the heat of the day, wet their ears, etc. But do you think it’s a good idea to even risk it? Or should I wait until I’m living on my own and can just have the buns inside?
Now onto my lesser, secondary problem. I say lesser. My buck seems to be going through a major growth spurt. I’m off pellets and onto a fresh diet of prairie grass hay and fresh or dried greens (mostly clover, dandelion, Plantago, maple [sugar], mint, rosemary, strawberry, parsley, willow, and Queen Anne’s Lace). I’m going to have fodder (oats, triticale, BOSS, flax, clover, radish, chicory, turnip, and winter peas) started tomorrow. Today I’ve been substituting BOSS and rolled oats for pellets because even though the changeover was slow, he’s been playing with his feeder an absurd amount. No loose poops, but I can feel his spine a bit too well. Do you think I just need to feed more, or am I missing out on something important? I’m going to get him some kudzu shortly to fill in for alfalfa, but should I get him a small bag of alfalfa hay to tide him over as he’s entering puberty? I mean, I was giving him half a gallon of fresh and dried greens and prairie grass hay but he ate it fast and kept begging for more. Just up the amount (as I have, with supplements of oats and BOSS) or what? Suggestions anyone, and is this normal?
I’m trying to expand. Currently, I only have one Mini Rex buck. He’s a doll and a ham and a loony depending on the time of day. He’s good with kids as young as five, emotionally in tune, friendly and inquisitive, and playful but not overly energetic. He started getting in my lap at three months and, at four months, he’s started to almost fall asleep on me now, purring to his heart’s content.
I’ve been wanting to get him a pair of lady friends to make a nice trio and I thought my planning had all gone well until at the last moment, one of the housemates was like, “Wait, no. Rabbits are scary and they smell.”
Luckily for me, there is a huge backyard that no one much bothers with. We have a dog back there, but a dog that has fostered a motherless kitten in her time. She’s been good with my buck, Basil. She’s very protective with good herding instincts. The whole group have been considering getting her a pair of miniature goats. Right now we’re just working out on improving fencing so one of the house’s members bushes won’t get eaten and also so the dog can still come up onto the deck, but the goats won’t. We’ll see how that goes.
Nonetheless, I feel that if goats and dogs and cats are all acceptable, a few rabbits in the back wouldn’t be too bad.
Now I’m going to ask a pretty stupid question, but would goats have a problem with rabbits? Do they harry them? Seems like goats seem perfectly fine with most other animals, but I was concerned. Our cats harry the rabbit I have, but they’re both terrified so they look at him, hiss, and run away. If goats are okay with rabbits, could the rabbits and them share the same barn? I figure I’ll do hanging cages. The space is about ninety square feet. There will be two miniature goats in there, if the plants-deck-and-dog logics can be worked out. If not, I figure I could use the same area. The idea is to use scrap wood and pallets to make three walls and have a half wall with door facing the house, since there would be less wind and rain from that direction. The roof is a tree house. I would supply ventilation, but I’m unsure about how much? So no direct sunlight, no severe wind, no direct rain, etc. and I could put up tarps or whatnot in winter. There’s the canopy of the pine trees overhead so it’s always pretty cool and shady in the back there.
I live in AL, so we have 80-100 F summers and about 50 F winters. I think the rabbits will be fine in winter, but I’m concerned about summer. I know to put ice in the water bottles, frozen overnight rocks (specifically marble) or ceramic in the cages for them to lie down, maybe shave bellies, lots of fresh veg, maybe take them in during the heat of the day, wet their ears, etc. But do you think it’s a good idea to even risk it? Or should I wait until I’m living on my own and can just have the buns inside?
Now onto my lesser, secondary problem. I say lesser. My buck seems to be going through a major growth spurt. I’m off pellets and onto a fresh diet of prairie grass hay and fresh or dried greens (mostly clover, dandelion, Plantago, maple [sugar], mint, rosemary, strawberry, parsley, willow, and Queen Anne’s Lace). I’m going to have fodder (oats, triticale, BOSS, flax, clover, radish, chicory, turnip, and winter peas) started tomorrow. Today I’ve been substituting BOSS and rolled oats for pellets because even though the changeover was slow, he’s been playing with his feeder an absurd amount. No loose poops, but I can feel his spine a bit too well. Do you think I just need to feed more, or am I missing out on something important? I’m going to get him some kudzu shortly to fill in for alfalfa, but should I get him a small bag of alfalfa hay to tide him over as he’s entering puberty? I mean, I was giving him half a gallon of fresh and dried greens and prairie grass hay but he ate it fast and kept begging for more. Just up the amount (as I have, with supplements of oats and BOSS) or what? Suggestions anyone, and is this normal?
