Ravencroft Rabbitry & Urban Homestead

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

Tag: CdA

  • Welcome Autumn!

    Summer has come to an end, as my children (teenagers, really) return to school and the days become noticeably shorter. I’ve harvested the potatoes (a new record of 83 lbs, grown in a small 4′ x 8′ raised bed), and have started to collect the first ripening tomatoes.

    Two weeks ago was our local Fall Fair, and I’m thrilled to report that my doe, Mystic Meadows Clover, took Best in Show for commercial breeds.

    Mystic Meadows Clover winning the 2025 Quesnel Fall Fair Best in Show, Commercial Breed

    Then, last weekend, at another rabbit show in my province, I sent another doe (Mystic Meadows Ginger, bred and owned by Amy of Mystic Meadows Rabbitry), who won all four shows as Best of Breed for Champagne d’Argent! Avon Hill’s Larry took Best Opposite in two our of four shows, so I’m pretty darn happy about that too.

    In the last few days, I’ve moved all the rabbits into the Bunny Barn. No, it’s not quite finished, but it’s sufficient to keep everyone organized and comfortable. Violet is due with a litter in the next few days, which is exciting, as this will be Beretta’s first litter, and I can’t wait to see what he produces!

    Bunny Barn interior from one of my cameras
  • Grooming Day

    Grooming Day

    Today I spent sometime time this morning giving the fluffle a quick once-over, and trimming nails. I attempted to pose several of them and taking photos, but… well, it is an area I’m incredible weak. I possess the ability to make a grand champion look like poo!

    Beretta is blowing his coat so hard, that it wasn’t even worth trying to take a picture, just trim his nails and try to remove as much loose fur as possible (this has been going on for over a week).

    Violet is in such a strong heat, that all she wanted to do was stretch out… the opposite of what I need to pose her. I hadn’t planned on doing any breedings until the bunny barn was done, but I decided to throw caution into the wind and expose her her Beretta.

    Violet refusing to pose… because she’s in heat.

    Sabine was a slight bit better, but still not overly enthused about having her nails trimmed. A couple more weeks until her litter can be weaned, I may breed her to try to time a litter with Violet. I was going to include a picture, but well, I’d be embarrassing her breeder because the picture was not flattering in the least (remember, Sabine is a Grand Champion, and is gorgeous). It doesn’t help that she massacred her coat when she built her nest.

    Of the lot of them, I think Larry cooperated the best. Did I do him justice? Not even a little. Practice makes perfect, and clearly I need a lot. When the Bunny Barn is complete, I’ll have the work space to do better posing and photographing.

    Avon Hills Larry... not looking overly impressed, but he was rewarded with a handful of greenery.
    Larry isn’t overly enthused, but he was happy with his reward of greenery after his photo session.

    On to the Bunny Barn… we are currently still stuck on the “platform” stage, but I’m hopeful that there will be progress later this week. The sooner it is complete, the better I’ll feel – the summer heat can be very unkind, and though I currently have most of the fluffle in a very cool shop, I’d also like to be able to use that workspace as well for other projects. Can’t win them all, I guess.

    And happy news, RC02C will be joining her new fluffle soon! She’ll be headed an hour or so North to a mixed breed rabbitry. Will she be the rabbit to convert her new owner to breeding pedigreed Champagne d’Argent? Hard to say, but you never know!

    RC02C headed to her new home soon!

  • Babies!

    Who doesn’t love babies?

    On February 17th, at the tail end of a cold snap, Daisy delivered a litter of 7 healthy kits. Quite frankly, I was surprised – not by the litter – but that there were only 7… she tipped the scales at 13 lbs a few days ago (she normally only weighs 10 lbs, 4 oz).

    I was worried the first night, temperatures dropped to -17°C during the night, so I brought the nest box inside. After putting then back out with Daisy in the morning, I was sitting on pins and needles until my cameras showed thar she checked then over and fed them (normally only once or twice a day). With that part done, I feel like I can relax and let Daisy do her thing.

    This is our first litter by Avon Hills Bambam.

  • Champagne d’Argent – my breed of choice

    I spent the better part of a year researching before I decided on the rabbit breed I wanted to bring home. As someone who aspires to have an urban homestead, I knew I wanted a breed that was hardy, had an exceptional temperament, and grew quickly with good feed to meat conversion.

    Granted, I think I had only eaten rabbit once of twice prior to this adventure, but that did little to slow me down.

    In addition to the points above, I also wanted something that wasn’t too common, and was a heritage/heirloom breed. Oh yeah, and multi-purpose was another advantage.

    The American Rabbit Breeders Association recognizes 52 breeds of rabbits, in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. I narrowed my choice down to American Chinchilla, Silver Fox, and Champagne d’Argent. Ultimately, I went with the Champagne, after being able to locate an excellent breeder within my province.

    Armed with my research, I soon found myself with a pedigreed trio (two does and a buck, each with a 3 generation family tree). That was spring of 2023; and that year we had 12 kits. In 2024, we produced 26.

    As part of my goal, a good portion ended up in the freezer, and were later used in soup, stew, stir-fry and more. Some hopped on to new homes, joining new rabbitry breeding programs. The one thing I had not expected to happen, was to show my stock… but I did, and I did well! Further to that, I expanded my rabbitry genetics, and imported fresh stock from the eastern United States.

    Of course, it wasn’t without occasional struggles. Sometimes does fail to become pregnant, and extreme weather poses additional challenges along the way. I always strive to do the best that I can in any situation.

    I’m very much looking forward to what 2025 will bring with the Ravencroft rabbits. Follow along for updates!