In early January 2024, we added 5 new members to the Courtright household. They were members of the rabbit species - 5 tiny white rabbits that would become Kaitlynn's "babies" for the next few weeks as she raised them for her FFA project.
With her goal of pursuing a career in veterinarian medicine, Kaitlynn was participating in our Katy High School chapter of FFA for her freshman year. She was taking the introductory class and participating in the fall semester of the Quiz Team leadership development event (LDE) activity. She made several new friends but wasn't quite certain if FFA was for her. One sure way to figure it out was to take on a project raising animals, like many FFA students do every year. At the introductory meeting the prior fall, we learned that Kaitlynn would be limited on the animals she could raise due to her hectic spring competitive cheer schedule. Although she started out wanting to raise a goat, we had to pivot to rabbits when we learned that every other animal would conflict with her previously scheduled cheer competition in Atlanta. In the fall of her freshman year, Kaitlynn recruited Jeff and they began making all the plans and preparations for the arrival of her baby rabbits in early January.
When the day finally arrived to receive her rabbits, Kaitlynn and Jeff were ready. The cages were installed and built into the fence of our side yard, the food was purchased, and all that was left was picking up the little critters. When Kaitlynn brought them home, she officially looked "the part" of an FFA animal raiser in her new FFA jacket. We had so much fun admiring how cute her new babies were!
Jeff and Kaitlynn quickly got to work by marking the rabbits (#1 through #5) to keep track of them during the raising process. Kaitlynn made sure to get cuddles from them one by one, and even Connor was curious enough to come outside and "claim" one of the bunnies as his own - bunny #2 a.k.a. ball sack. (Insert eyeroll!)
Jeff had done such a great job of installing the new condos (haha) for the bunnies. They each had their own raised cage with a plywood roof, and they were installed on our side yard fence right next to the shed where their rabbit food was kept. Now that the rabbits were here, it was Kaitlynn's job to feed them and care for them for the next 6 weeks. She began setting an alarm twice a day, as early as 5:30 a.m., to go outside and make sure they were taken care of. She also tried to get them used to being handled as part of the future judging process. Occasionally she would get some help from the family. Who could resist these cute little creatures!
There were several nights during the winter season that we had either a terrible storm or a winter freeze, and each time, Kaitlynn and Jeff moved the bunnies into the garage in their travel cage. Every 2-3 days, Kaitlynn would also take the rabbits one at a time into the garage to weigh them and record their growth as a part of her project duties. When she checked on them in the early or late hours of the day, she wore a flashlight headband to help her see and navigate the shed for their food. She was learning so much about the health and habits of rabbits, and she would regularly report any questions or challenges to her FFA teacher for guidance. The bunnies grew quickly and their little personalities definitely developed. Kaitlynn knew each of them and their tendencies, such as stubbornly flipping over their food bowls or going completely stiff in terror when they were picked up. We checked on them all throughout the day from our kitchen side window, and it was always a fun distraction to watch them relax and bask in the sun as they grew bigger each day. As the weeks flew by, we began to realize how difficult it was going to be to say goodbye to our furry friends. It was a painful thought that these creatures Kaitlynn was pouring so much love into would reach their end very soon.
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