Here we go...!

Hello everyone!

       We know that it has been a little while since our last post, but we have not forgotten....life is just incredibly busy. Last weekend was our first market day of the season! Now that we are past our first weekend, and the initial chaos of preparing product and digging out all of our materials, our routine is starting to take shape. Over the past month, Nate built our rabbits new homes, and created a plan for our fabulous homemade GramJam. Unlike previous years, we have developed a monthly flavor roll out. We will keep four jam flavors consistently throughout the season, but we want to feature 2-3 specialty flavors each month. We are interested to see how it impacts sales! Kaitlin created several more customs skeins and made wonderful smelling soaps for the stand. On top of all of that Kaitlin also graduated with her Master of Arts in Counseling, something that she and her family is extremely proud of.

        The biggest project we undertook this past month was designing and building rabbit hutches. We needed seven in total; four for our current rabbits, and three for the Angoras we are hoping to adopt. Rabbits are generally kept separately; without the development of a careful bond, rabbits of the same gender can be aggressive towards one another, spayed or not. Spaying is an incredibly costly procedure (estimates near us were around $600!) with a high chance of complications. And placing males and females in the same space would, of course, create more rabbits to contend with! Therefore we decided that keeping them separate while still being able to see each other would work best. First, we determined the location of where we would like the hutches to go. The biggest issue we have with typical hutches, besides a general lack of space, is that traditionally rabbits are stuck on metal mesh. While mesh assists in the removal of fecal matter, it can also give rabbits a painful condition known as sore hocks. Who would want to sit on wire all day, anyway? Instead, Nate designed each rabbit a tri-level home. Two levels are inside a sheltered hutch space featuring a large window; the first level is covered in mesh, but we lay down fresh straw weekly for them to sit on. Then there is a ramp up to a lookout spot, allowing each rabbit to climb. Then, each rabbit has access to their own outdoor run via a little ramp. There are multiple doors and lids for each run, allowing us to have an easier time cleaning each week. We are also excited to share that we recently adopted one of our rabbits out to a wonderful family. They are providing a wonderful life for Cinnabon!

      This past Sunday (5/5/19) was our first market of the season in New Baltimore. In contrast to our previous summer of constant rain, it was 72 and sunny which made out for a wonderful experience for everyone who came out and supported us and all of the other lovely vendors. This was a great time to experiment with bringing fresh flowers, compliments of our newest partnership with a local nursery. This coming Sunday is Mothers Day. Our flower order is in for Saturday pickup, we have a plan in place for completing restock, and we finally have our own trailer (no more U-Haul!!!) Nate and his brother-in law Adam will be running the market on Sunday from 9 am-2 pm. Starting the 18th our other market in Shelby Twp. at the Packard Proving Grounds will start and we are excited to see where that market goes especially with how it was last year.


Cheers,

Farver Creek Food & Fiber Farm