The 4-H Blue Ribbon Bunnies Club

I don't know if this happens for anybody else, but sometimes chore time is hard around here.  Sometimes the kids drag their feet, and avoid them, and sometimes sit around all day, because they'd rather do nothing, than be forced to wipe down the sinks.

One day Adelyn pointed out that her chores were pointless.  She doesn't see any purpose to wiping the sinks or making her bed etc.  I tried my best to tell her what an asset her work is for our family, but I couldn't convince her.  Finally, I decided to add a couple chores that might help her see the purpose in her chores.  First, I added "Prepare After-school Snack."  That got the wheels turning.  She doesn't want to have to go without that.  Secondly, "Feed Rabbits." We didn't have rabbits, but I thought that it would be a great way to help her correlate the meaning of work with a mundane chore list.

After some research, I decided to learn about rabbits and the care of rabbits with the 4-H program, and a club was born.  Before we picked out rabbits, we took a field trip to a rabbit farm and learned all about their care and habitat.  I picked out my favorite habitat features, designed it, and had it built by Mike Crockett Construction and Pals (Tim and Ben Taylor).

The bottom is all mesh, and our intent is to get some ceramic tiles to place in a couple places for them to stand on when their feet get tired.  The left section will hold a water bottle and a lightbulb in the winter, to help the water not freeze.  The back part of the left section has a little entry for the rabbits to go and hide, if a dog (or a Braden or a Nelson) were to come up to their cage to scare them.  The roof is slanted and shingled to keep them dry, and there are doors on the left and the front.

Joey was the first to earn his rabbit.  He gets up every morning, and is always willing to get right to work.  I originally hadn't planned on getting Joey a rabbit until he was old enough to join 4-H, but he asked about it one day, "have I earned a rabbit yet?  I've been doing my chores every day..." and I couldn't resist.  I hoped that having a real rabbit around would be a great motivator for all.

We don't have pet stores in Southern Utah, we have farm stores, so our rabbits are classified as "meat rabbits," but we have found that such classification does not diminish the softness of their fur, or the cognitive ability to form bonds between itself and its owner.  Meat rabbits can be pets.  Don't believe me?  Meet Joey's Rabbit.  Her name is Ribbons.

She is cute and cuddly

Joey told me once that I should add, "watch an episode of TV with Ribbons" as a daily chore

A couple weeks later, Michael also earned his rabbit.  The only rabbits still on the market were "purebred" and so Michael's rabbit actually has a breed classification of "Silver Fox." And she earns every bit of the "Fox" in her name.  She is fast and wild.  Michael tries to teach her to do backflips and go down the slide.  Her name is "Foxy."  She is also cute and is willing to be cuddled.

Foxy's first day at home.

The babies love the bunnies, and have been surprisingly gentle with them.  They love to feed them and pet them.  One day when Braden was trying to stall before nap, he concluded that he needed to go "Talk (to) Ribbons" which he does go and do quite often.

We hope Adelyn will earn a rabbit soon also.  However, before I decided to commit to raising rabbits, I looked up their lifespan and saw an average of 8-9 years, which means I could be caring for her rabbit when she leaves for college or a mission.  So if she doesn't get one, I guess less work for me :)