Under all this fluff...
are about eight little pink hairless bunnies. We had to take the nest box out of the cage to do a rough count and remove any dead bunnies. There was only one dead one in both batches, and it was really big. I have a feeling that it was stuck for a while before she managed to birth it and was dead already. She seemed to be in labor for quite a while. It's hard to tell with a rabbit, but that's what I think happened any way.
Here's Mama, anxiously waiting for us to give her family back.
There are fourteen to sixteen little ones out there now. I hope they all make it this time. It would be such an encouragement for Dan after the long wait and all the work it took to get here.
Right now it's easy to look at them as future food, since they're not so cute. In a couple of weeks, oh my, they'll be the absolute cutest little things ever! I am concerned with how the kids are going to take this. It's hard enough with the chickens. However, I grew up spending LOTS of time on my grandparents farm. I quickly got used to the fact that creatures were born and nurtured with care to become food. They had a good life, though short, and we had excellent food. The up side was that there were always more little cute babies to take the place of those who were taken.
"There is a time for every purpose under heaven. I time to be born and a time to die." (rough quotation from Ecclesiastes)
I learned this lesson early and well, and didn't often fail to give thanks and get enjoyment out of the little cuties or the meat on our table. It's a good life - sometimes a hard life, but a good life.
It might be a little rough at first, but I know you and Dan have the love and intelligence and patience to explain the whole "food for our table" situation to your kids. And congrats on your "new" livestock!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see some of the recipes and photos of the meals you will get from them - it's good that your kids will know how to properly care for and respect the source of their food!
ReplyDeleteSo tiny! Just amazing.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the babies and I'm looking forward to your recipes also!
ReplyDeleteThe first year we raised pigs, Lyndsey and I had a hard time at first. Then, Lynz got her 4-H auction check and I saw how full the freezer was. Made it much easier to deal with. Lyndsey, now 15, explains to people thet "We love 'em, care for them, and give them a wonderful life, then humanely butcher them and provide for our family." This year I'm getting my courage up to butcher roosters. It's not that I am that attached to my chickens, its the whole plucking thing...
ReplyDeleteRuth, I have found that once an animal (the roosters in your case) has been humanely dispatched, it instantly ceases to be the happy, well-fed, well-cared for animal it was. It almost instantly becomes nutritional food for our table. When we first started butchering animals we had raised, this almost detached feeling surprised me. For instance, when we butchered our geese last fall, I thought I would feel like I was plucking one of the cute little goslings we had so enjoyed all summer long. But once they are "gone," they are gone and no longer a living, breathing entity. Wish I could explain it better. :o}
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