Tour our Farm & a little history

Starting in January 2000 we began raising a few rabbits for food. We had a few rabbits that were givin to us by a friend. We scrounged up 4 small 24X24 all wire cages. We knew they were small, but better than wood. We put all this into a small shed and figured in a few months we'd be eating lots o bunny. Our first litter froze! But, how? We were told that they were good to -20! Yea, Adults! We had them in metal nest boxes in a cold shed. Frozen water constantly. Things didn't start out well. We were unmoved. By this time we had totally fallen in love with the breed of rabbit that is called Satin. We found out that there were more than black. In fact there were 10 colors! Now there are eleven. We had to go to a show and see that and maybe pick up an additional rabbit or two, just so we could have plenty, since it looked like we may lose a litter of kits once in awhile.

Over the next couple of months we went to a few local shows. Glenn's Ferry Idaho, Yakima Washington, Rupert, Idaho. We got Copper, Chinchila, Red, and more Black. Then my wife went to California for 6 weeks and we had more. I can't really remember it all. After all was said and done, we had purchased quality stock form all over the west and had added Champagne D'Argent and Standard Rex too. 25 breeder Does and 10 Bucks.

We found a rabbitry in Northern Idaho going out of business and bought more cages. I got a building permit and built a "garage" It is 20X30 12 foot walls and 16 at the peak. We fit 44 cages plus a large wooden weaning cage we built. That left room for feed (half ton a month) straw, hay, my "shop", room for the woodstove which I hope to have installed for next winter. We have my son's rabbitry of 3 so far and his 2 cages. I have 10 cages left, which will have to go outside. Our Software program, Stibbar, tells us we have between 130 and 275 rabbits, including the kits.

Currently we house approx. 40 holes. We have 14 breeding does and 8 bucks. there are always a few juniors hopping around too. Our total including kits runs around a hundred. We decided to work on quality show stock rather than numbers for processing. The laws here are such that the rabbit is considered "game" and that means having a vet present at 60 $$ per hour to preinspect and post inspect. The profit margin in rabbits is slim, less than 10%, not including the extra vet bill. we still serve friends and family which is allowed and are turning out some of the best quality show rabbits around. We take special pride in our Idaho State Convention BIS for 2001; Granite, a Champagne D'Argent Buck. He is pictured on our home page.

We have come a long way from that little shed in the back yard a couple of years ago. Are we making a profit? no. Are we having fun? you bet! We feed us, our friends and family. Not to mention all that great fertilizer and possibilities with worms. We attend every show we can within 500 miles! We belong to a great listserv: meatrabbits-subscribe@yahoogroups.com . I even started my own for Champagne D'Argent. You can subscribe to it by sending a blank email to: Champagne_D_Argent-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .

And now for a tour. Below are pictures of our little (1/2 acre) farm and some pictures from inside the barn.

Our little homestead. It is small, but very comfy!

Our Garage. It has come along since this picture, but you get the idea.

If you look out our front room window, this is what you see.

This is a typical row of rabbit cages inside the barn.