Rabbit Rhythms July 2024
Issue 102:

Welcome to Rabbit Rhythms July 2024 edition! 

Take a look at the patriotic bunny pics from our friends at Happily Ever After in Pennsylvania.

Two important July topics were covered in the June 2024 Newsletter. Click the link to review.

• Fireworks.
• Helping Rabbits Beat the Heat.  

Pictured: Yankee Doodle Fluffy from our friends at Happily Ever After.

We have lots of great tips for July! Just click on the list link to skip ahead to the article you want to read, or scroll through the page to get all the news:

Breed of the Month: Hooray for the red, Florida White, and blue!
Rabbit Totes from Oskar and Friends
Health and Wellness: Chilled Summer Treats for Rabbits 
Resting Mats: Crocheted now available to purchase or make your own
Bunny Branola: How Branola benefits rabbits during breeding season (now)
Random Rabbit Rantings: It's breeding season! What you need to know.

Breed of the Month: Florida White

The Rabbit Rhythms July 2024 Breed of the Month is the Florida White (pictured above). Florida Whites are a red-eyed white (REW) breed with just the one color. Think a New Zealand White with fine bone that tips the scales at an ideal adult weight of five pounds. A maximum weight of 6 pounds is permissible.

If you are an urban homesteader and thinking about raising your own meat, the Florida White rabbit breed is an excellent option. Rabbit meat (lapin) is lean, and can be cooked using the same recipes as for pork and dark meat poultry. Our friends at Hostile Hare have dozens of mouth watering recipes, including Cordon Bleu Nuggets.

Florida Whites were initially the brainchild of a rabbit judge named Mr. Orville Milikin. His intent was to create a half-pint meat rabbit with fine bone structure which would dress out with a favorable meat to bone ratio. At least one rationale was his observation of trends toward smaller families in the USA. Such a rabbit might be easier to keep for people in urban or suburban settings, who would be happy for meat in smaller “packages.”

Rabbits as a meat source have several advantages over chickens in urban settings where space may be limited and neighbors are close by. They don't make noise like chickens, so you won't have the local HOA knocking on your door. Rabbit manure is a cold fertilizer, meaning it can be added straight to your soil in your backyard farm without needing to compost first. 

The smaller size also means the livestock rabbits will be more manageable for your homeschool, 4H, and FFA kids who are learning animal husbandry. 

For those who are thinking about getting into rabbit ranching, Florida Whites are a great starter breed.

Rabbit Totes from Oskar and Friends

Raising-Rabbits has partnered with Oskar and Friends, a line of really fine pet totes. They are great for show bunny divas, pampered pets, or getting your working rabbits from point A to B. They are good quality and reasonably priced. Check out our full page review of Oskar and Friends Totes to see the available styles and colors. Our fluffy friend Oliver (pictured) enjoys his tote!

Health and Wellness: Chilled Summer Treats

Rabbits wear their fur coats year round, even in the hot days of summer. In our June 2024 newsletter, we gave multiple strategies to help bunny stay cool. In our Rabbit Rhythms July 2024 newsletter,  we are going to focus on chilled summer treats.

(Pictured: Adorable Lionheads from Cotton Candie Tails in Bothell, WA.) 

Rabbits seem to be suckers for sweet treats as much as humans are, which may be why chilled fruit and juice are typically big hits.

To keep a rabbits digestive system functioning well, however, you can be the rabbit's conscience and strongly limit those fruits and fruit juice treats. Rabbits have a much lower tolerance for sugar than humans, so their consumption needs to be proportionally much lower.

It is best to completely avoid many bottled fruit juices due to the exaggerated amounts and types of added sweeteners.

If you are going to give your rabbit any juice, the best strategy is fresh squeezed at home, and heavily diluted with water. Watery juice can also be made into ice cubes.

Fresh rabbit safe forages on your property that haven't been sprayed with chemicals can be chilled in the fridge for a few hours before feeding your rabbits.

See our comprehensive list of rabbit safe plants. If you are unsure of what you have growing on your property, you may want to download an app that can identify a plant by taking a picture. You may discover a whole bunny buffet growing in your yard.

Find more information in the paperback book, The Rabbit Raising Problem Solver, and e-book, Feeding Your Rabbits.

New From Raising-Rabbits:
Crocheted Resting Mats-Hand Made in USA

Raising-Rabbits now has hand crochet resting mats available. They are available in the Raising-Rabbits store. All mats are made in USA by a disabled veteran. They come in different colors, and are made from chew-safe jute and hemp. You KNOW rabbits will chew; all the better to provide it with a chew-safe alternative.

Why does your rabbit want a resting mat? They are comfortable, giving a padded resting area. They can also give relief to certain rabbit breeds that may be susceptible to sore hocks. 

The mats are available in 2 sizes: 12 x 12 inches OR 10 x 15 inches.

Because of the use of natural fibers, colors and sizes are limited to what is currently in stock.

If you crochet, we also have the pattern available in the Store, as a paper copy or digital download, or both. If you like, you can drop a few drops of rabbit safe essential oils into the fibers.

We also have our woven Aromatherapy Resting Mats available. 

For more information, check out the full page of details about rabbit resting mats, or order directly from the Raising-Rabbits Store.

Bunny Branola: Supplement and Treat

Bunny Branola is now available in six delicious flavors.

July is the height of breeding season, with does hard at work making and feeding kits. Extra nutrition is absolutely vital for her. Think Bunny Branola to boost her nutrition and immune system!

Bunny Branola is loaded with nutrients that help supply what does need to make healthy kits, produce ample milk while protecting mammary health, and to recover and regain healthy condition after the rigors of motherhood.

We have six delicious flavors, including Merry Mint which is appropriate during the weaning process. The mint helps dry up milk production during the process of weaning.

If you would like to learn more about what Bunny Branola can do for your rabbits, both male and female, visit our page. If your rabbit is hangry now! go straight to the Raising-Rabbits Store.
2024

Random Rabbit Rantings

Off Topic News, Items of Interest, and Shareable Funnies

Gimme some sugar baby!

(Pictured: Bunny Kissing Booth at Cotton Candy Tails in Bothell, WA.)

The two most common questions we get at Raising-Rabbits are:

1. Is my rabbit a boy or girl?
2. Is my rabbit pregnant? (If the answer is Yes, we also know the answer to #1)

We have a whole section of the website devoted to everything you need to know about rabbit breeding. The really good news: quite often these pages have great pictures that you can enlarge and reference. 

--Breeding Rabbits: General reference page for breeding rabbits.

--How to tell if your rabbit is pregnant? Pregnant Rabbits and Rabbit Pregnancy.

--Is my rabbit a boy or a girl? See Sexing Rabbits, so you can choose the right name - Bunjamin or Bunelope.

Like this Rabbit Rhythms July 2024 Newsletter?