Novellas Farm and Art

Years ago when we lived in Austin, and my kids were little we had guinea pigs.

Of course we kept them in cages, small boring cages.

We also had one or two rabbits, that we also kept in a cage, well a hutch but really the only difference is that a hutch is outside, but it's still a cage.

One by one we would tire of these poor animals because really... all they did was exist in these wire boxes... and the task of caring for them became a pain.

Yes, I heard about "house rabbits" but at least our attempts at litter box training , left much to be desired. Our rabbits always dropped  balls of poop all over the house. Tthe rabbits would hide from us, and try to chew cords and baseboards. Which is not really my idea of a good house pet.

I told my kids, "I'm done with rabbits that run away from us!" I mean really, is that fun?

Then I learned about Flemish Giants. They are a breed of giant rabbit, originally bred for meat, but they are also known as "gentle giants". Our dear girl, Bonnie  ( a flemish giant) actually comes to us when we go out for feed her.
 We don't keep her in a cage, she shares a pen with 2 rescue guinea pigs.

 This group of girls are a delight to watch. They serve no real purpose except for the pleasure of their company.

I have heard that since guinea pigs need vitamin C and rabbits don't, keeping them together is hard because of the  feeding , but I just serve a varity of grains, greens and hay and they all seem to be thriving.

I would recommend this set up to any one wanting to get their child/ren these sorts of pets. As long as you provide shelter they are very hardy and so much fun!

The farm  co-op kids LOVED Bonnie and the girls like crazy. You'll be surprised how fast guinea pigs are when they aren't caged!

Fun, fun...