The rabbits are judging your egg hunting skills. Quietly. From the cages. With snacks. Meanwhile over here… No chocolate bunnies — just real ones, plotting their next pellet refill. If you’ve got a minute between family, food, and whatever chaos today brings… Now for the important question: What’s on your plate today? 🐇 Rabbit 🍖 Ham 🐔 Chicken 🥕 Or just surviving on deviled eggs and sugar? Drop it below 👇

One of the hardest lessons new rabbit keepers have to learn is that rabbits are prey animals, and keeping prey animals safely requires planning before the animals ever arrive. Housing and predator management are not optional parts of rabbit care. They are the foundation of it. Before bringing rabbits home, you need a system in place that protects them from the things that naturally try to kill them: dogs, cats, raccoons, weasels, rats, hawks, and even neighborhood pets that wander onto your property. A safe setup usually includes a few basic things. First is secure housing. Rabbits should be kept in a barn, garage, shed, or other enclosed structure whenever possible. This creates the first barrier between them and predators. Second is proper cages. Wire cages with secure latches prevent rabbits from escaping and prevent predators from getting in. The wire spacing should also be appropriate so babies cannot fall through and predators cannot reach in. Third is height and positioning. Hanging cages several feet off the ground helps prevent dogs or other animals from reaching rabbits through the floor and reduces predator access. Fourth is barriers and management protocols. Doors, gates, fencing, or kennel panels around the rabbit area create additional layers of protection. If you have dogs on the property, rabbits must be physically separated from them. Dogs are predators. Even very good dogs can revert to instinct if given the opportunity. I learned that lesson firsthand. Years ago Bernie my mini schnauzer, Like most ratters had a very strong prey drive. One day a four-week-old kit managed to fall from a cage and Bernie did what schnauzers were bred to do and killed it. That was not the dog being “bad.” That was a management failure. After that incident I made several changes. I blocked gaps near feeders where small kits could slip out, switched sections of cages to baby-safe wire, and tightened the overall cage setup so young rabbits could not fall through or escape.

Two days ‘til due date for Mia and Collette. Mia is getting ready, but nothing from Collette. The side view photo is Collette, a Wilford daughter. And Willy is sticking his head out to say , “hi.”

Show day is here, and I’m en route to the Indiana State Convention! I’ll be in Show C and the Harlequin Specialty—and yes, I’ve got some tricolor bucks available if anyone’s got a project or meat program going. But enough about me! Who’s already there, who’s showing, or who’s thinking about entering their first show? Drop your stories, share your pictures—let’s see those bunnies!

This graphic is built on outdated assumptions, not rabbit nutrition science. • Pellets are not a “supplement” in modern rabbit nutrition. Properly formulated MEASURED pellets are designed to be a complete, balanced diet • “LOOSE Hay as the foundation” is not evidence-based. When fed as the primary diet, it pushes nutrients through the gut too fast, leading to chronic under-nutrition despite full stomachs. Meat rabbits fed hay-heavy / pellet-restricted diets routinely take 12–16 weeks to reach fryer weight. The same genetics on a balanced, pellet-based ration reach fryer size in 8–10 weeks. That difference isn’t “corners being cut” — it’s chronic under-nutrition for excessive forage and tractor setups ie ." Feeding naturally " based on internet myths. Loose Hay-forward systems also increase disease risk: • Higher exposure to coccidia and enteric pathogens • Greater fecal contamination when hay is fed loose or in litter areas • Increased GI instability from excess indigestible fiber lignin and NDF. Longer grow-out time = more parasite cycles, more feed waste, more mortality, not healthier rabbits. FULL article for Premium members: Let's Talk about Homestead Myths - Rabbit Education Video Archive · MMC BunClub