The Many Rewards of Rabbits

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Dickerson suggests incorporating the manure directly into the soil in the fall or combining it first with other organic materials in a compost pile. A minimum of three weeks of composting is recommended. Spread the composted material on the produce garden or top-dress ornamental plants with fresh manure.

Dickerson also recommends starting a worm farm under the rabbit cages, using red wigglers (Eisenia fetida) from bait stores. "Then," he says, "you will have a source of good manure, worm castings and a source of compost worms for other compost sites in your landscape." (In cold winters, red wigglers may die out; just replace them in the spring.)

Raising earthworms in beds underneath the rabbit cages also helps ensure odor control in the rabbitry and regular visits from fishing friends, who'll love using those plump, juicy worms for bait.

SILKY, WAVY WOOL

Seven years ago, spinner and weaver Linda Davis of Richlands, North Carolina, saw her chance at a barnful of Angora wool "on the hoof" when her son Sean first entered 4-H. His club's focus was on animal science, and he wanted to enroll in the rabbit project, too. His mother reasoned that he might as well buy Angoras so they'd have wool as well as rabbits. "It was a very good choice," she says today. "Once we got the rabbits home, I fell in love with them. They're so sweet and loveable, and so much fun to have around the house. I just enjoy their companionship." And Sean, now 14, has done well with his rabbits nationally in 4-H, earning a spot in the National 4-H Congress, and winning top prizes in national rabbit breed competitions, too. "You have to be dedicated," Sean says of taking on the responsibility of caring for rabbits—whether it's a single animal or a barnful. "It's a lot of work, but in the long run, it's worth it," he says.

Susan Rutz of Topeka, Kansas, agrees. For many years, she and her husband kept rabbits for their foster children to care for while living in their home. "When new foster children arrived, we showed them their rooms and the bathroom, and then led them straight to the back yard and the rabbits. Each child was assigned a rabbit to care for and given instructions for the daily cleaning of the cage and the animal's feeding routine."

One of the foster children in particular excelled with the rabbits, she says. "He would spend hours brushing the rabbits and caring for them, the entire time talking to them about the personal details of his life that he was not comfortable sharing with anyone else. He became the neighborhood expert in the proper care of rabbits, and he found his permanent home with us."

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print