My Sad Discovery

I woke up a few days ago and went out to the back yard to do my morning chores. Typically, I feed and water the chickens and let them out of their enclosure for the day. Then I water my bunnies and give them some yummy hay and pellets to eat. They eat mostly at night but with the heat, I'm careful to keep them watered.

This particular morning though, I found my favorite bunny doe had passed on during the night. I wanted to do a necropsy but didn't have time so I don't know what killed her. But it has affected me deeply.

It's one thing to harvest an animal's meat. It's not a pleasant thing to take a life but I do it with gratitude and thank the animal for it's role in nourishing us. This just feels wrong. I'm wondering if the bottom cage I had her in contributed as it doesn't get the cooling breeze and bunnies don't handle heat well.

So I'm rethinking my rabbitry. Perhaps it would be better not to keep a buck right now and just plan on taking my does to a buck when it's time to make babies. It would be a bit of a hassle but all my rabbits would have the benefit of an airy place to live.