Cleaning, Building Cages, and more....

Wow... a lot to catch up on!  Yesterday was a busy day for me.... after procrastinating about it for a few days, I finally got out there and did a thorough job of cleaning the rabbitry.... again.  A week or so ago I cleaned it, but I didn't scrub cages.  I went out in the afternoon to clean, but after attempting to work in 13 degree weather with wind, I gave up and came inside... and then learned my lesson by doing it all when it was a balmy four degrees the next morning!  Haha, that was fun.  But I didn't scrub the cages, and they really needed it.  It's amazing how quickly things seem to get messy if I don't really stay on top of it!  Cages need to be scrubbed at least once a month, and that month sure goes fast.....
So anyways,  yesterday I hauled up the first cage, got a pail of hot soapy water, a scrub brush, a pail of water from the hose for rinsing, and started scrubbing.  It was probably 20 degrees out or so, and I soon realized that I had a problem.... the water was freezing to the cages, and they were turning into ice chunks.  =(  So after scrubbing I brought them into the garage, dried them off in front of a heater, and hauled them back out.... whew.  The rabbitry looked like a war zone for a while.... =(  I went through a few pairs of sopping wet gloves and my snow pants were sopping wet as well, only they froze eventually.  There was a good few inches of snow on the ground, too!  Very fun.  So, I finished up both the double cages and both of the big cages and then hauled out the rabbits week's worth of manure, spread fresh straw, and surveyed the lovely results.  :)  (My favorite part).  Sparkly cages, happy bunnies.... ahhhhh.  =)

After that I went up to the garage and helped Dad finish working on building some more cages.  He had the wire cut out for two cages, and had one almost finished.  I finished j-clipping them together and put duck-tape around the sharp edges.  The new cages are so wonderful.  :)  I'll have to get some pictures of that to post.
My really exciting news.... I'm going to have two "layers" (or whatever they're called) of cages now!  Wow, makes me feel so professional.  ;)  LOL  We're going to lower the stand down a little, make pans, and put another layer of cages on top of the ones I have with another rail.  I am SO excited to see the finished product!  Hopefully we'll be able to finish this week... I'll be posting pictures when we get it done.  :)

Other news.... Haylie's babies are weaned and doing great.  Eating lots and growing fast. 

Bella will get a nest box tomorrow.... I can't believe it's almost her time already!  Wow, those 30 days fly by.

Chocolate Chip, Dolly, and Haylie are all mid-pregnancy, I have about 1-2 more weeks, and I'll have babies coming out of my ears.  Ohhhhhh my.

And some more pictures from last night...

Dolly is looking plump... I'm sure hoping she's bred.

Bella, "You know, you have 10 other pictures that look exactly like this one."

They just won't stop moving...

and moving....



and moving..... sorry for the fuzzy pictures! 

The happy buns enjoying dinner.

Dolly

Haylie's four little piggies, I mean kits.