Ravencroft Rabbitry & Urban Homestead

Stumbling my way through this life, cracking one egg at a time.

Month: July 2025

  • The best laid plans..

    Plans.

    I make them, and the universe carries on despite them.

    Generally, I’d like to have two or three rabbits due to kindle at the same time, just on case I need to foster kits from one doe to another.

    This time, only Sabine caught, and Violet remained open. Which absolutely does suck on one way, but on the other hand, the bunny barn is still unfinished.

    I need it to be finished.

    My summer litters will now be delayed to fall, and I’ll try to make up for it by showing the does I would otherwise have had bred. Larry needs one more leg for his grand championship, Bella needs two. Beretta needs to see a registrar, which I’ll find at a show – he has all the legs he needs for his grand championship.

    I have a new trio rejoining the rabbitry, and I’d love to show them too. Avon Hills Bam Bam is returning on a breeding lease of sorts, with Ravencroft Poppy (Cedar Hill’s Remington x Cedar Hill’s Violet) and newcomer Mystic Meadows Ginger (Merkels Farm Basil x Cedar Hill’s Rosemary). I’m hoping to show both Poppy and Ginger this year too.

    Litter assessments will begin tomorrow with Daisy’s litter just reaching 8 weeks. I’m hoping to have the site updated with photos in just a few days.

  • Here we go again

    Good news, the four ladies are all still accounted for.

    Of course they’re not happy that they’re in a smaller pen at the moment, but it’s the small price to pay to keep them alive. In fact yesterday was actually a two egg day. Both Clio and Pickles gave me an egg.

    I really can’t complain about that.

    Of all the things that I’ve learned since doing the little urban homestead thing, it’s always important not to be disappointed when things don’t go your way.

    It was my fault completely that I did lose chickens to the fox. I can’t blame the fox, it’s probably a female feeding her young. The biggest issue is that this is now a forever problem – my coop is now on the fox’s radar and an easy source of food. The camera a I have set up outside the coop have caught footage of the fox every couple nights, checking to see if the can grab another hen.

    I’m very glad that the rabbits were tucked a way safely in my shop during this whole ordeal; the stress from the scents and sounds would be unbelievable.

    Is part of me counting down the days until I can finish this rabbit barn?

    Absolutely. Once it’s complete, a huge weight will be lifted from my shoulders.

  • Tragedy

    Welcome to this weeks addition of learn from my mistakes.

    As I’ve mentioned, probably a million times, I’m eagerly awaiting the completion of my bunny barn. As construction began in earnest, I had to disassemble the existing chicken run, and erect more temporary housing.

    This was mistake number one.

    Chickens, when removed from their enclosed run (yes, even the top was wired, to protect from predators), will take every opportunity to run amuck. And trust me, they certainly did.

    Yes, the garden suffered, but I was willing to overlook it, because I was sure that I’d be able to move them out of the temporary, easily escapable run any day.

    That didn’t happen.

    And as a result, half the flock paid with their lives, when a fox found where they were roosting, and took them away.

    I am gutted. This was one hundred percent preventable. All my fault.

    Please, learn from me.

    The remaining ladies; Clio, Pickles, Mika and Grace Kelly, have been confined to a small, but very secure run. And at night, they are locked inside the coop.

    From here and out, I will have to be vigilant- the fox knows where to find them. This will be an issue forever.

  • Fail

    Garlic scape pesto – fail.

    Why?

    I didn’t trim them properly, and the result was course, stringy scape-matter that did not blend down into a pleasant product. No manner of olive oil or pine nuts is going to save this mess.

    Live and learn. It’ll probably still taste fine, albeit a little chewy. Next year the plan is for a larger garlic crop, so I’ll have more to work with then. Live and learn!

  • July! And rolling right along

    July! And rolling right along

    We have had the strangest weather… hot and humid yesterday, to the point that I moved the rest of my rabbits into my workshop, where it stays nice and cool. Rabbits do not do well in the heat. When it started to cool down in the evening, the wind started to pick up, and I received notification that Prince George, just over 100km away, had received a tornado warning!

    Where yesterday’s temperature reached over 30C, today is a nice change, currently sitting at about 15C as I write this. Windows are open, and I’m enjoying a gentle breeze as I work on a university course for work (I’m taking a brief break from the math).

    Because of the fact that I have a pesky autoimmune disease that makes it difficult to function in heat (hello, heat intolerance), I truly do identify with my rabbits. Hence, why I’ve placed so much importance on the completion of my bunny barn.

    With yesterday’s heat, I try to get most of my chores done in the morning, before it heats up too much. After taking care of all the rabbits, and moving the last of the cages into the shop to keep everyone cool, I was pretty much done for the day. At that point, I tend to do a lot of laying low where ever I can find a cool spot. If I can find a good combination of energy and motivation, I’ll get little projects done. The day before, I started a batch of Chive blossom vinegar.

    It was a pretty simple process; all I had to do was harvest about a cup of fresh chive blossoms, rinse them and dry them, then place them in a sterile jar. After adding 2 cups of warm vinegar (I used white wine vinegar), I simply had to apply the lid to the jar, give it a good shake, and place it in a sunny window.

    If I shake the jar every day for about 2 weeks, I’ll be able to strain the chives out, and have a beautiful pink vinegar for making salad dressings.

    Top, fresh chive blossoms. Bottom left, immediately after adding vinegar, bottom right, several hours later.
    24 hours after adding vinegar.

    Today, I just may use my harvested garlic scapes to make pesto. Almost all the scapes have been picked now… the first few I dehydrated to make garlic powder. With what’s left, I think I’ll be able to make a few servings of pesto to store in the freezer.

    Fresh Garlic Scapes!