Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A New Addition to our Homestead!

A homestead isn’t complete without a fiber producing animal. For an urban area, Angora rabbits are just the answer. They are small, quiet, and can be kept inside if desired. There is more information online if you would like to read more about Angora rabbits.

Eric and I began talking about angora rabbits only about a week ago. It was one of those conversations that was half jokingly and half seriously about buying rabbits. The topic was on our minds so we began reading and watching videos about raising angora rabbits. One night I decided to search craiglist to find out how much Angora rabbits would cost. I happened to find a person selling two rabbits that lived nearby. By the next day Eric and I were holding two adorable bunnies in our laps at home. Within a week we went from joking about rabbits to owning rabbits.


Mittens and Socks are still too young to produce wool yet. In the meantime, I am trying to find someplace that will teach me how to spin wool. I can start with an affordable drop spindle and then move to a spinning wheel. Angora wool is nice because it doesn’t have to be treated much before it is spun. I’ve seen videos of people pulling the hair off the rabbit in their lap and placing it right into the spinning wheel! I can’t wait until I make my first garment with angora fiber!

-M

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Winter Reprieve



We had unusually high temps on New Years Eve and the snow melted so we let the chickens roam the yard all day. They seem to be afraid to walk on the snow so they got  a nice break from literally being cooped up for a month.

-E