Our New Rabbit Hutch

I want to preface this with please ignore the mess in the back yard. We are doing a lot to it this year and hubby is saving plastic bottles to use as heat sources for the greenhouse we are going to build this spring. We still have a lot of clean up to do back there. Anyway...

My rabbit, Kirby, has been an indoor rabbit. We have run out of room to keep him inside, so we moved his cage out and put a baby play yard around it so he could get out and get some exercise. This arrangement, however, is not going to work in the winter and we looked at purchasing a hutch. They are quite pricey. Here is a pic of Mr. Kirby Birby.

You can see the play yard around him. We put a fence around the yard and have a bunch of fence panels left over. My husband was just going to get the wire cage off of the ground so it would be easier to care for Kirby. He started on it two days ago and it has morphed into a great hutch, made complete with a "bedroom" for the Birbster.

He still needs to put a ramp from the wire cage. He made the fencing on that side higher in case Kirby decides to get all Evil Kneivel on us and jump from the ramp over the fencing. This side also has his bedroom with hinged lid and hasps to keep him safe.

This is the gate he added so that it would be easier to get in and out to care for him. Kirby can get underneath the hutch area for added room to relax and play. We plan to use his manure in our garden next year, so we need to be able to get the pan out easily.

Here you can see the wire cage that we purchased from Tractor Supply. If you look closely, you can see Kirby trying out his new bedroom full of cedar.

This is the lid opened up. The screws still need to be clipped. This makes it easier to get to him and clean out his room. I can add locks to the hasps if I choose to as well.

Here is a top view of the bedroom area. He really likes it. I think there is enough room for another rabbit in the spring. If not, hubby said he'd add another room to the other side.

The roof piece over the wire cage is not attached. It will make it easier to hose it out when it needs to be thoroughly cleaned. He is going to make another panel to hinge to the roof that we can drop down when the temps drop. It will help to protect him from the weather.

I tell you, sometimes my husband amazes me. I had no idea (neither did he) that he had this in him. We didn't have any plans or instructions. He just got his tools, some wood and went to work. I'm very proud of him.

Being resourceful is a virtue.

I ran out of laundry detergent. I really do not want to load up the kids and drag them out in this record heat to go to the store. I looked around and found that I had all of the ingredients to make myself some liquid laundry detergent. I have made the powder before, but it didn't seem to freshen my clothes. I think it is more my hard water than the soap itself since many people use the homemade stuff.

I altered a recipe that I found online and hope that it works better than the powdered I made once upon a time. As it is now, I mix my store bought with Washing Soda and Borax to make my detergent more powerful and it stretches my dollar.

Here are the ingredients:

3 Cups grated soap (Fels-Naptha, Zote, or any mild soap)
2 Cups Borax
2 Cups Washing soda
1 quart boiling water

Melt soap in boiling water. This may take a bit and you can leave the water on low while it melts. Pour it into a large bucket and mix powdered ingredients into soap mixture. Stir until dissolved. Add 7 quarts water to mixture, stir and cover. Use 1/2 cup per load and keep covered between uses. Makes about two gallons.

Looking into Urban Homesteading

Urban Homesteading is a term coined by folks looking to become more self sufficient in their own yards. Some people do this from their apartment balconies, some in their small yard and still some in their average yards.

I would say we have an average yard. We live in a small town in a neighborhood. I am not sure of the dimensions of our property, but it is plenty big enough to grow a nice garden that will produce food that can last us through the winter. This way we will only have to buy bread, milk and other dry staples such as pasta and rice. Of course, we will still have to buy our meat, but being in the area we are, there are several different local sources from which to buy.

We have set aside an area in our yard that my husband is getting prepared this year by putting lawn clippings down to suffocate weeds and grass. Next year, it should be a nice composty pile that he can till.

We have decided on an irrigation system that will be using rainwater from our gutters. We will be making collection tanks and running them to our garden and flower beds so we can utilize what nature offers.

Have you ever seen the upside down grow systems that are being sold everywhere right now? We plan to make our own. I am thinking vine veggies in the bottom and herbs in the top. I am calling them my Marinara buckets. lol

I have a section of yard on the side of the house allotted to flowers and possibly herbs. We renovated part of our garage into a bedroom and there is a door that goes from that room to the area, so I am going to make it a lovely flower garden. It will be a place to relax and I will benefit from having flowers to bring in the house.

We are also looking into animals. We have the typical slew of cats and dogs. We also have a rabbit that we were going to give to my husband's friend who has a rabbit of his own. We had two once upon a time, but one of them died and my rabbit has been kind of lonely. I have found out that rabbit droppings are excellent fertilizer, so we are going to get a second rabbit in the spring so my Kirby won't be lonely anymore and we have extra manure.

Another animal we are thinking about is a pygmy goat. Their manure is similar to a rabbit and he will spread it all over the yard to help promote healthy grass that we may later turn into more garden space. Plus, goats are just funny friends to have around.

The final critter we are looking into is chickens. I only want a couple for the eggs. I have heard that fresh eggs taste better, not to mention free range chicken eggs are healthier for you. More vitamins and less cholesterol. I am doing a lot of research right now because they are a lot of responsibility that I have never had to deal with. Cats and dogs are different. I have already called my local officials and it looks like it's a go on their end. Next, I have to ask my neighbors. lol

This is going to be a lot of work, but so worth it. Food is costing more and more and it's becoming less and less healthy for us. I am tired of putting pesticides and preservatives into my family's bodies. Organic is so expensive to buy and can we really be sure it's organic? I just don't really trust labels all that much.

So, wish us luck on the endeavors and keep watching this blog. I will be posting new things from time to time. Hopefully you'll get some glimpses of new critters in the spring.