Some Assembly Required

This week there was some cage assembly, some appointment making, some list making, and some reading!

The big news of this week: We have assembled two of the three cages!!! It is actually pretty easy to put them together when you have an assistant, but the J-clip pliers are hard on your hands. After two cages I have a bruise on my palm and a blister on my finger! We have one cage to go, but it will have to wait until a later date. Here are some pictures:

First they looked like this:

 
Now they look like this:

The mop in the picture is to give you some gauge. The top of the two cages is chest-high, and the third cage, once assembled, stacks on top of them, so they'll end up being pretty tall!

We are really pleased with how the cages are turning out! I think we really got our money's worth, and when it is time to expand our herd I'm sure we'll be going with the same company.

After setting up cages today my mother and I made a list of things that we need to purchase to finish getting ready for rabbits. We still need to pick up feed, some barn lime, and salt spools. We're hoping to pick this up at the local farm/auto store. We also need to get some 2-liter pop bottles, so we'll need to increase our soda consumption this week, which shouldn't be a problem for us! 

There was some discussion between us and a breeder this week. We're hoping to meet up and check out some rabbits at the beginning of next week, hopefully Monday. Cross your fingers it works out!

 We finished up some holiday shopping yesterday, and with the aid of a great coupon (50% off!) I picked up this:

It works like a charm, and it will be SO convenient when we need to wind yarn we have spun. Now I just need to construct a homemade swift and we'll be set.

We also spent some time reading this week. I learned about grooming Angoras, including using blowers versus combing. We need to purchase some combs! My mother spent some time reading Basic Angora Farming and learned about different housing options, feed, and basic rabbit care.

We're so close to having rabbits!!! We're still stir-crazy, but putting up some cages this weekend made us feel a little better. We are ready, let's get some rabbits!

Tip of the Week: If you're putting together something using J-clips, wear gloves! I'm sure that my "injuries" from assembling the cages could have been prevented with a good pair of work gloves.