New additions to Enke Acre

This week we acquired meat rabbits and some additional chickens from some friends who are having to move off of their farm. We're in the process of learning how to raise and slaughter the rabbits; rabbits weren't a part of our original farm plans, so we haven't done much reading about them. (Before we agreed to take them, we did just enough reading to determine that it's a reasonably inexpensive way to produce meat--unlike, say, lamb, which is VERY expensive even when you're doing it all yourself.) We also got the hutch that the rabbits came in, but it will need to be replaced since it's falling apart. I'm looking in to what sort of housing options we want to go for: hanging cages vs. screen-bottom run on the ground vs. more naturalistic paddock (with screen a few feet down to prevent escape).

Several of the new chickens look a bit henpecked; hopefully they'll get used to their new home and start to thrive more. We also got three roosters with the deal. There's a small possibility we might keep one rooster, but the current plan is to slaughter and freeze/eat them. I must say, though, that I'm pleased that I wasn't awoken by the rooster crowing. There are a ton of roosters in our area that one can hear in the morning, but I was concerned that having one so close by would be harder to sleep through. That will leave us with five new hens in addition to the 12 we already have. Currently, we're keeping the new ones locked up in the coop for a bit so that the two flocks can get used to each other without being able to hurt each other, and so that the new flock can start to get the idea that this is home now. The new chickens picked up on how to use the nipple waterer right away, which I'm very pleased at.

Soon we will be slaughtering animals for the first time. That will take some getting used to.