December

Here we are at the end of the year. Where did it go? We always say that, don't we?

I have very few new babies to show for all the breeding that's been going on. Does are breeding but not having. Hmmph. Currently there are 3 - 5 wk olds, 4 - 3 wks olds, and 4 - 1 wks olds. That's 6 or 7 litters in just 3 nestboxes. A lot of fosterlings.

Had another boxful but the doe dropped the ball and let them die. At least I had fostered her most valuable kits to another doe and they are doing fine so far. That other doe Eirene is a bit nervous or something. She's a 1st timer and might not like the safeguard routine where I take the box in the house at night so I don't lose the litter to being dragged out on the cold wire. Already lost one of her fosters to that. But she is feeding them well so I will continue the routine.

All but 6 buns have been moved into the shed for the winter. I'll have to deal with frozen bottles on the 6 but it's easier to thaw than 18+. I soak them in a pail of hot water. By the time I'm done feeding everyone, the bottles are thawed. Then I use the warm water to break up the ice from the other animals' water bowls around the yard.

Don't have any Xmas litters due this year. I just didn't pay any attention to the dates and bred does as they would. A few are due around 12/29, and more in Jan.

Happy Holidays to All
tnt

November

Since this blog has become a monthly thing for me, I think I'll just leave it at that.

Well, letsee, what's going on this month.

I have 3 new babies in the box. Better than none. Mustang Sally had a BEW and a VM, and she took on a blue fosterling from Cloud 9. A lot of failures lately. All does are bred. Something like 12 or 13 litters due. More 1st timers in the mix.



This is Anaba, a lovely little himi doe who has been doing really well on the tables. She already has 3 legs (at under 4 mos), and the last 2 were BOS! Sometimes I get a bit depressed about how I'm doing at shows, and then a bunny like this comes along.

I'm off to T-ville this weekend and this is probably the last show of the year for me. Not sure who I'll see there. There's another show in SC the same weekend (what were they thinking?) and half of the usual suspects are going there.

There's been several rockslides on the area's highways that will be causing a lot of travel problems over the next few months. Scary! So far my route to NC is still open, but who knows how long that will last. I'll be nervous heading over in the morning.

tnt

October

Again, I'm being bad about updating the blog.

The rabbitry is in a holding pattern right now. Not a lot of new litters coming in. Does are bred, but they are coming in staggered and not alot in each round. Last week, only 3 does were due and they all failed. A lot of the currently working does are 1st or 2nd timers that I'm trying to prove.

Black Majik. Don't know what to do about her. She's one of my favorite does. Not only is she beautiful, but she's such a pet. But she just can't have babies. I've only got a couple live ones out of her, and they were charlie-marked. The last was a pretty little blue doe that I haven't decided what to do about her yet. I like her type but as a broken she'll be useless. Probably not worth it when I have other broken does with much better pattern. Majik just dumped another DOA litter this week, and it was 3 days late in getting them out. She just has too much trouble. It figures she threw good pattern. I think I'll try her one more time and then decide what to do.

I acquired another new doe at the last show. Garrett's Pretty Broken is a -10% broken otter. I really like her type, not crazy about her being otter. I figured I'd give her a try (price was right) since I'm messing with broken chestnut. She is proven and I was told she threw a baby with more color than herself. The Ford's chestnut is proving to allow good pattern through so maybe he'll bring it out of her. And hopefully the litter will be chestnuts instead of otters.

I was pleasantly surprised at Taylorsville, NC 10/3. My little 12 wk old himi doe Anaba was BOS! She has the best point color of any himi I can remember at this age. I can't get over that fact that neither parent has outstanding color. The himi dam is so pale she looks like a REW. The himi sire (sold) I didn't know if blue or black until almost sr. There was also a REW in the litter which can diminish point color. Oh yeah and there were 5 in the litter and it was summer so can't say temperature had anything to do with it. I guess the modifiers were there to be had. I've bred the dam to the sia sable bro of this sire. He's also sold but not delivered yet. He earned several legs until his molt which the himi bro never did so maybe I'll get another keeper out of this doe. Then I plan to move her on. She's an awesome mother though, and I often keep these around as back up.

As I said before, things are in a holding pattern. I'm not doing as many shows for the rest of the year. I don't really have much to show except for a few young jrs. I'm not fired up to make the long drives to shows. I'd like to just sit back, breed and grow some offspring.

tnt

1st Fall show

Murfreesboro, TN. This is way over in middle TN and a 4.5 hr drive for me. Not so bad in the morning because I gain an hour for Central Time. I don't have to leave as early. But it's still a long drive either way.

Had good fun at the show. Muchly enjoyed time with friends. I emptied holes and the sale page delivering a bunch of buns. Only earned 1 leg with a bunny not of my lines so the showing aspect was soso for me.

I didn't mean to but I brought home 2 new bucks. Both from Smiths. The broken black goes back to a buck I loaned them. He looks a lot like mine but has a better body due to the Smith otter influence. He's kinda big at 2.08 and a little light of pattern, but for the price (free!) I'll give him a try.

The other is a blue JB. Now this was exciting for me because I've been needing/wanting one and the price was good, too. Not free, but definitely doable. He has a solid short body, very thick and well-furred ears, and a big head. At about 4 mos old, the head isn't much to look at but they said this line's head comes slowly. Maybe now I can get some decent broken blues. Have several broken blue does but the only dilute buck is Silverado who does not throw any pattern. Grrrr. Almost all the broken black bucks carry dilute, but I don't bred them as much to the blue does.

I did find some slightly mismatched nail color, but since he's slated for brokens, I'm not too concerned about it. If I show him, it will depend on the judges. If "DQ happy" judges are on the docket, I'll leave him home.

The day went long. It was a double plus ND specialty. I wish now I had passed on the specialty. Several other exhibitors did. I didn't get home til about 10:30 that night. It was a hard drive and I was whipped!

Next week is the Knoxville Fair show. Since I sold almost all the buns, I don't have any thing to sell at the fair. This kinda changes my need to go there. But I already sent entry fees so I'm committed. Oh well, it's a nice fair. Mmmm fair food.

The week after that is Greensboro, NC. I don't really like this show because it's so far and rather slowly run. I probably wouldn't do it if not for the fact that a friend is coming from out of state and bringing me a doe. It's a triple, but I've learned to only enter the 1st two or I'll get home way too late.

If only the current crop of broken babies were old enough to show. I'd be more excited about shows right now. Hopefully the upgrades from recently acquired stock will give better results next year.

tnt

This & That

Here it is, the end of August and the end of summer. It's been such an easy summer weather-wise, I hate to see it end. But I love fall almost as much as spring, so I'm looking forward to that.

I got the new Raspberry Run himis this week. I met Darrell in Sevierville. He and his wife were vactioning in Gatlinburg. Very pleased with the buns, and it was fun talking with Darrell.

Unfortunately, the doe ripped a nail off the first night so I can't show her for a while. Maybe the last show next month if the nail has grown out then. I'm going to try and finish the buck. He came with 2 legs.

That was really startling! I had looked in on the doe when I did feeding chores the next morning, but other than checking to see that she had eaten, I didn't look at her closely. Later, as I watered, I found bright blood spattered all over her water bottle! Oh no! I then saw a lot of blood under her cage. I pulled her out and looked her over. My first fear was her face or a tooth or something. Not a speck anywhere! Then I found the missing toenail. Whew! It's amazing how much blood can come out of such a small toe! There is a nub of nail left so it will grow back in time.

This is the most I've EVER paid for rabbits so I worry about them.

Another himi doe I had bought earlier this year died before I ever got a litter out of her. I don't know what was going on with her. I suspect she was retaining kits from one breeding to the next. Very weird and nothing I'd seen before. She was a rather big girl, and seemed built for brood, too. She died 4 days before her due date. If the retained kits were happening each time, I'm guessing some sort of toxic reaction. I didn't pay a lot for her but had high hopes as this breeder had really nice himis.

I had thought to get out of Sable Pts, but it turns out the buck is carrying it. So I pulled Angeni off the market to use with him. They got together this week and she is due late Sept.

The herd reduction has gone very well. Most are pending delivery to Murfreesboro. What's left will go to the Knoxville Fair next month as pet sales.

The babies out of Ford's Ranger are looking soooo gooood! I love the brokens and even the unexpected chin is lookin nice. I think I have a buyer already for him. I'm not messing with chin unless I get a really nice broken chin. That could be rather pretty.

Got a few does bred this week. It's been real nice that the summer hasn't been too hot. I haven't had to suspend breeding due to excess heat like I usually do. It's really nice to not worry about kits dying of cold if the doe doenn't handle it well.

The fall shows are firing up, and I don't have much to show! Srs are too molty, or trying to finish their coats. I've culled so hard, I don't have a bunch of jrs and even those are at the rough coat age. I may have to pass on the longer distance shows for a while. It will depend on what I show, sell, or buy.

tnt

Dog Days

Ah August. Actually, it's been a real easy summer. Not too hot, enough rain. Oh I said that before. Well it's still true!

As I said before the new chestnut buck is proving very interesting. I'm learning a whole new set of genetics here. There were 2 mystery kits in his first litters. The solid looked like a smoke pearl marten but has turned into a chinchilla. Hmmph...and it seems to be shaded chin. I'll toss that as a pet. The broken in the other litter really had me stumped, but it now looks chin, too. Again, lookin shaded but maybe it won't be as noticable on the broken pattern for show. Judges don't seem to notice slight anomalies in color on the brokens. I won't keep the solid chin, and not sure how to use the broken chin. It wasn't my plan to have chins.

This makes me rethink the entire shaded program. If broken is to be my focus,and it is, should I even bother with shadeds any more? Other than the BEWs, I kinda need everything else to work with the brokens. Yeah, shadeds might have to go.

So what am I doing? I'm currently making arrangements to have a pair of himis from a superior line upnorth brought in. I said before that doing himi AND broken is a bit self-defeating, but I do like himis for their simplicity. Not a lot of color issues once you get all the correct modifiers in place.

tnt

Summertime

Once again it's been a while. Not a whole lot to talk about but I'll try and find something.

Litters are coming here and there. The new Chestnut buck is proving to be an interesting addition. So far, he is carrying self and dilute, and has even thrown what appears to be shaded. I'm very glad he's carrying what I need for the brokens so they won't be all agoutis. Now keeping my fingers crossed there will be type improvement.

My focus has changed a bit again. I decided the Sable Point program is not working that well with the brokens. I've put all the Sable Pts up for sale. While I've got some very nice patterns out of the Sable Pts, Broken Sable Pt is not great for showing. I do like Broken Tort, and almost all the brokens carry it. I'll see how that goes.

I'll still have shadeds, but will mostly limit it to the Smoke Pearls. Himis will still be around which will make Siamese Sable useful, but I won't keep many of those. In a way, it doesn't make a lot of sense to do himi and broken b/c I would be competing against myself in the same group. Thinking out loud here.

It's been a real nice summer! Not too hot, plenty of rain. It's been raining all week! I've hardly had to run the fans for the does in the shed this year and the Summer House buns are very comfortable.

tnt

Been a while

Well, the blog really got away from me. I'm afraid I'm not a very good journal keeper. Never even kept up a diary. Not a whole lot going on right now.

For a few different reasons, I haven't gone to all the shows available to me lately. Haven't had much to show anyways. The srs are molty, the js too young.

There's promising babies in litters, does are bred, and I hope to have some new faces to debut in a couple months.

A few highlights in litters:

A very cute himi popped out of Sweet Dream x Back In Black. Didn't see that coming. And yay, it's not a broken himi! The other kit is a mismarked broken. This was Dream's first successful litter.

Black Dahlia x Back In Black threw a chocolate tort. Oh joy. That's ok. It's a doe and a friend wants her for her oranges. My keeper in this litter is a very cute little broken black.

Painted Lady x Back In Black (he's been a busy boy) has a very promising broken black and an 8% broken tort. She's also raising a very nice little broken sia sable from Iron Maiden x Paint Job.

Iron Maiden x Silverado has 2 smoke pearls and a REW. Looking forward to seeing how that turns out.

I just took delivery on a couple new rabbits from Bruce Ford. I needed a type upgrade for the brokens and didn't know where else to get it. I don't like or want broken tan pattern, so otter was not an option I cared to mess with. So I will try agouti. Broken agouti is pretty. Bruce has the best chestnuts in the area for sure. I got a buck and a doe, and can't wait to see what I get from them. They are both young bunnies, just now breeding age. I held a few does open so I could use the buck right away. I wasn't sure how old the doe would be, but she's the perfect age for 1st breeding.

The other reason I decided to go with Ford rabbits is that I'm really liking what I'm seeing from the chestnut VM buck I got from him last year. He is doing good things for my BEWs!

In other news:

Stevie had kittens! Gah! I was told she was a male. I don't know from cats. I would have fixed her if I had known. She began to get fat and fatter and I realized she was preggers. She had the litter May 22. Somewhere under the house. She brought them out on June 8. They were about 17 days old at that time. I heard them in the back deck garden. Actually, Whipper alerted me that they were there. He does the classic "Lassie" whine when he sees or hears small animals he doesn't recognize. I found 2 at that time, but when I put them in the crate I had originally set up for her to use, she kept trying to take them out. I put the crate in the house for a bit to calm her down. That's when Whipper heard the 3rd kitten in the garden. Once all 3 were in the crate, she settled down, and has left them there. They are all blue like Stevie, but one has white markings on face and toes. Stevie is off to the vet as soon as she can leave the kittens. I might keep the one with white markings and it will be fixed regardless of sex, too. I don't want any more unauthorized cats.

The guinieas hatched! Oh yeah, babies everywhere! The hen has been sitting on 26-27 eggs. Research said they should hatch in 28 days. On day 34, I was thinking about tossing them, assuming they weren't going to hatch. I found a dead hatchling on the nest! I looked over the clutch and found more eggs cracked. I brought them into the house to finish hatching under a warm lamp. 12 or so hatched, but I lost a few here and there. Final count is 7 viable keets. That's plenty! I didn't know what I was going to do with that many guineas if they all hatched and lived.

Sadly, I lost a couple of the adults about 2 weeks ago. One I found just a pile of feathers so something took it. I don't know what. I can't see that area from the house. They are always back inside the fence and on their roost by dark, so whatever it was took it during the day. Maybe a stray dog. Coyotes aren't usually that bold. Then a few days later, George, the original chocolate male, went MIA. Darn. That leaves the hen and 2 males. I found a site that shows keet color of the different varieties, and I think all but one of the 7 keets are chocolate like George. Cool, I was hoping he got his licks in.

Can't wait till the keets are big enough to go outside in a cage. They are currently in a rubbermaid bin in the kitchen with the heat lamp and it's kinda smelly.

Well, all for now. I will try to write more often.

tnt

The Nestbox Juggle

What is that, you ask? In my barn, does are not always raising their own kits. I foster around to save valuable kits, singletons, etc. I have to make notes all over the place to keep track of who has what. The fact that I usually have a variety of colors makes it easier.

Nahani had a DOA litter. That was a drag, but it turned out ok.

Painted Lady (x Silverado) finally gave a live litter. Well, half live. She had 5, but only 2 were alive. I'd been trying to breed her to Garner's Gunn but it just wasn't working. She kept having gross failures. Switching bucks worked! The live are a broken blue or smoke blanket, and a charlie-marked dilute.

It was getting cold that night, so I took the box inside as usual. When I took it out in the morning, she fussed around but didn't get in the box to nurse. I don't think she had time to get to know her babies, and didn't understand this routine.

Nahani's litter was born the night before, and she pulled fur and all. I tried something new...fostering to a doe who didn't have live kits. I wasn't sure if Nahani would accept the strange box, especially a day later. I had already cleaned hers out. She sniffed around for a minute and then hopped right in and tended to the babies. Yay! She's an experienced doe and used to the routine of taking boxes in at night. I've only ever got 1 live kit at a time out of her, but she's fostered quite a few others. Such a good doe, she is.

Dreamboat Annie x Garner's Gunn (her sire) had 3 the next day. She was a day late. I don't trust Annie, we lost her last litter. She had 1 black, 1 choc, 1 broken choc. The broken choc has excellent markings so very valuable and it went to Nahani. This is also valuable to me for the line-bred daughter x sire factor. I hope that works out.

Later that day, Black Majik x Pandi dumped her litter in her box. Like PL, I had been trying to get from Garner's Gunn (her sire), but she just couldn't seem to handle it. Again, a different buck worked! At first I thought they were all DOA, but then saw movement under the hay at the front of the box. Awww, a little black spotted baby. Off it went to Nahani's box. Majik is one of my favorite does, both for type and temperment. I really needed get from her.

Then the nestbox juggle. I don't trust Annie, so gave her solid choc to Nahani. Nahani is a tiny doe so I gave PL's (from Nahani) charlie-mark to Annie so she has the 2 least valuable kits. If I lose them, no biggy.

So did you get all that? Nahani is now raising 4...none are hers. Broken blue(Painted Lady), solid & broken choc (Dreamboat Annie), and broken black (Black Majik). Dreamboat Annie has 2. Her black and PL's charlie-marked.

The lesson learned from all this: If a doe repeatedly has problems kindling, try a different buck.

Oh and I got lucky. It didn't get as cold as they said (deep freeze!), and the litters came during the day so I could save them.

tnt

Moving Day

Yesterday, I moved the boys and youngsters out to the Summer House. Shouldn't see too much cold weather from here on in, so it's time. Takes half the cleaning work off me so I can spend more time in the gardens. That pretty much took the whole day. I had to decide who goes where, and then change my mind if a couple (like Black Tye) were being too randy with their neighbor. Can't have him splitting the lip of a show bunny. I clipped everyone's nails as I moved them, and whatever other grooming they needed. I carry them out 2 at a time in the little single carriers so about 9 or 10 trips to get it all done.

Then it was fun to just sit back and watch them check out the new digs. Bunnies really seem to enjoy a change of scenary and neighbors. They played with their wood and hay, but it might have been a bit of showing off for the others. Silly rabbits.

I wanted to set up a photo shoot for the babies, but kinda ran out of gas after that. They are about 4 wks old now, and that's the cutest age. I'll try to get to it today.

Got some promising babies and lots of does. Yay! Does have been scarce in litters lately. I think both BEWs are does, but haven't been able to sex the chestnut VMs yet. The black VM in Misty's litter (her only child) is a doe. There's several broken and solid black does. I'm pretty sure Black Dahlia's only child (x Axl) is a broken Sable Point doe. That's a first. Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough showable pattern, and Sable Pt might not show well as broken anyways. But she's a doe so probably a keeper. Iron Maiden's 2 smoke babies are bucks I think. I thought (hoped) one was a doe, and that could still change.

The 2 out of Hamilton's Infiniti (x Black Tye) are does. Ohyeah!!! These are special. This darn doe gave me fits (she's gone now). She missed and missed. When she finally had a litter, she ate on them. Gross! Her last litter I got lucky and she had them before night. I was able to save 2 of them. She had already taken the head off the 3rd. I whisked them into another doe's nestbox. The solid black is gianormous, but boy is she something! She has the signature import fur and is solid all over. The broken black is marked just like her daddy, and so far I'm loving her too. She might be small enough to be a show bunny. I hope Tye shortened them up. Looks like he might have. The dam was a big and long doe, although she was a true dwarf (threw peanuts). Tye was the best option for her being my shortest broken buck.

Got a few litters due this weekend. There's a NC show this weekend too, but have pretty much decided to take a break this week. Remembering the litters due has clinched it. I've been to shows 3 out of 4 wks this month, and 2 were in NC. I could use the break (and save the money) to work on some other things that need my attention. Next show will be the Knoxville (not in Knoxville this year) triple May 9.

tnt

1st Day of Spring

Aaah, my favorite time of the year. Daffodils are in full bloom and some of the flowering trees and shrubs are popping. It's been real nice weather-wise. A little rainy, but we need rain. Altho, it dipped back into the low 30s this morning, and same is predicted for tomorrow.

The 3 wk old litters are hopping out of the box. The best age! I attempted to confirm the early teat-sexing yesterday, and I think most of my first impressions are correct. Looks like lots of does...yay.

A lot of promising babies. A pair of smoke pearls, lots of blacks and broken blacks. Unfortunately, none of the brokens out of my beloved Silverado have pattern. I'll keep trying him on broken does. I did get a real nice broken seal buck out of Silver, but I sold him. Just don't have room for too many unshowable bucks.

Oh yeah and BEWs! I finally got some BEW babies! It's been so long since there were blue eyes in the nestbox. Moonbaby x Ford's Parti Boy (her 3rd try) had 2 BEWs, 2 chestnut VMs. All very cute at almost 2 wks old. The chestnut VMs are fun. I haven't had agouti in the box since the beginning of the rabbitry. They have cool markings, too.

I wasn't sure she was feeding them at first. Black Dahlia had a litter in time to take on some of them. I gave the BEWs to Dahlia because I trust her. Dahlia's litter wasn't as good as usual. She has 1 live left, and I think it's a broken sable pt. That would be a first.

I'm in show mode for Mocksville today. I'm not showing as many buns as usual. Just 5 bucks. Don't really have anything else except for some in the same varieties. Not a lot of point in showing against myself. Or the ones who haven't done as well on the table. No sense wasting fees on them.

I should thin out the broken black bucks, but they each have something to offer so I'm not ready to let them go yet. They all have such fun personalities and a place in my heart. If they were unfriendly, it would be easier to move them on.

Show season is in full swing. I have another NC show next weekend, and again the 1st week in April. A couple TN shows in May.

I decided I needed another blog to cover the gardens, so news about that can be found at Natureschild Gardenworks. It's now under "Other Blogs" to the right.

tnt

In like a lion

We had another winter blast this week. That lion was white as we got an inch of wet snow March 1st. Dipped into low teens for 2 nights, and barely to freezing for the daytime. But it's better now and I hope that was the last of it. They say 70s for the weekend. Aaah. Just in time for the big Dalton, GA show.

There's quite a few babies in the boxes now. I learned a nifty new trick for sexing early thanks to a forum member. Look for teats which would be does. It was easier on dark bellies....they light up like little LED bulbs. I'm not commited to all the brokens' sex yet.

I've been bringing the boxes in at night because it's been so cold. Can't afford to lose any of these babies. Born Feb 24-26:

Angeni x Dot.com - 2 black buck & doe, 2 broken blacks. After rough first tries, Angeni is an excellent mom.

Misty Moon x Moonwalker - 1 black VM doe. Misty is also raising 2 from other litters. She's so funny. She's very vocal and complains loudly when I take her box in and out. Proving to be a very good mom.

Lorelai x Dot.com - 1 black doe, 1 broken black buck. She's also raising a fosterling.

Iron Maiden x Broken Rule - 1 blue doe, 1 smoke pearl buck, 1 broken buck. Can't tell the broken's color yet, doesn't have much pattern. This was Maiden's 2nd try and she's doing fine. She's a nice looking little doe, but wasn't shown much because she hated show biz. She's a calm brood doe. The broken was fostered to even out the numbers in the boxes.

Minerva x Silverado - 1 broken buck. Either blue or smoke. Not enough color to tell. It was fostered.

I can't remember who got which fosters. I made notes in the barn, but it's not in front of me right now.

Hamilton's Infiniti x Black Tye - 1 black doe, 1 broken black buck. Finally got a live litter out of this doe! She was frustrating. She ate her last litter to pieces and I couldn't tell if they were alive when born. She doesn't build a nest. I got lucky this time. She had them late in the evening and I caught them in time. Whisked them into other boxes. Misty has the black, and Lorelai has the broken. There was another broken but she had already taken its head off. Grrr and yuck!!! Trying to decide whether she's worth rebreeding. Leaning towards not.

Painted Lady and Black Majik failed again. DOA.

In the older litters, now about 6 wks old:

Nahani x Axl - 1 himi buck. I'm sure it's an "ee" (non-extension) himi....very little point color. Coming from 2 sable pts, it will probably have washed out points. But that's ok. If type is worthy, he will be useful with sable pts.

Ayasha x Dot.com - 2 black bucks, 1 broken black buck. The broken was fostered to Nahani. Has a nice blanket pattern and promising type. 1 of the solid blacks might be a keeper, the other is a BUB and will be petted out.

Jean Geni x Axl - 2 sable pt bucks. 1 is very small and cute, possible keeper. The other is a petable BUB. There was also a himi but it died of enteritis at 3 wks. Happened so quickly, wasn't time to attempt to save it.

Dreamboat Annie x Garner's Gunn - lost hers at various ages to fading. She raising a broken (charlie) black from Broken N Happy.

HBB's Broken N Happy x Dot.com - 3 broken black bucks. 2 with nice pattern fostered to Broken Trust. Broken Trust's kits died of fading. The other broken is now the lone survivor with Annie. I think it's a true charlie doe.

Dot.com is throwing excellent pattern. All of his babies have showable markings, but not the same cool dottiness. I wish he's throw some more dalmations.

I'll be rebreeding the open does today. Would have done so earlier but I was waiting so the litters are due the middle of the week. If I breed Fri - Sun, litters will be due Mon - Wed. That gives leeway for show weekends. Also waited for warmer temps.

Today, I'm in show mode for Dalton, GA tomorrow. Been over a month since the last show and I'm looking forward to it. This is a pretty big show. I also get to see friends I don't see much on the other side of the mountains.

Signs of spring:

Daffodils have buds, and daylilies have sprouted. I have to get dirty and take care of spring cleanup. One thing about the south is the winter weeds. Bluebirds are staking their claim on real estate. There's several bluebird houses scattered around the property to choose from. Robins have appeared, and for a few days, a huge flock would poke around the lawn. Robins don't usually flock, but these might be migraters on their way farther north. Goldfinches beginning to put on their bright yellow spring finery. Song Sparrows singing their spring songs, as well as other birds. I'll be opening the windows when it's warm enough to let in the fresh air and bird song. I love spring!

It's trying to be spring!

Aaah, such nice days we've been having. High 60s to 70, sunny, calm breezes. The daffodils have sprouted. A walk around the yard today found swelling buds on the young spring-flowering trees.

I got the Summer House all cleaned out and ready for the buns that will go out there when the weather breaks for good. I reworked the poop chute so it can be more easily cleaned out. There isn't enough pitch for everything to roll off, so it has to be pushed. The way I had it, there was barely room for a pushing tool. I added a support rail leaving plenty of room to push out. It's also much sturdier. It tended to sag wherever the rabbits piled their toilet. Got all the feed cups washed and mounted. We are good to go. I plan to move them outside around the end of March.

I have one more unit to build, but it won't take long. After all the other remodeling, I had some 18x24 cages left over. I'm going to make a single-wide 3-tier unit in the center of the Summer House and use it for groups of weanlings. I can fit up to 6 small bunnies in one of those holes. When I get that done, I'll put up a new photo on the Barn page.

I'm not using the bin system out there anymore. I decided I didn't like it. Even though there were drain holes in the bins, they got pretty heavy after 2 wks. It was a soupy mess, the smell was bad, and the worms couldn't get to it to help break it down. It was also a breeding ground for flies, and if I let it go for 3 wks, the flies were awful. I removed the bins early last summer, and the difference was amazing. Less odor, and the flies weren't rampant. Means I have to shovel it out, but I can let it go a month or so, depending on how much work I want to do in one cleanout.

The baby head count went way down this past week. I lost some of the newest ones. I don't know why. The boxes were coming in the house at nite so it wasn't due to cold. Dreamboat Annie's litter of 2 blacks and 1 choc is now just 1 black. The other 2 didn't look right from day 1, they moved oddly. Maybe she trampled them. She's big and clumsy and this is her 1st litter.

I juggled kits around and now have only 2 boxes full. All the brokens except the charlie are with Broken Trust. I'm afraid I'm going to lose her 1 broken. It's very skinny. She has the 2 brokens from Broke N Happy x Dot.com and they look fine. Looks like they are black and blue. Annie has her black, and Broke N Happy's charlie, and Broken Trust's black. Whew, I have notes all over trying to keep all that straight!

Then I lost a 3 wk old himi to explosive diarrhea the other day. That happened overnight. It was the mid-sized kit in that litter. There's just the 2 sable pts left. 1 tiny and 1 huge buck. I took the nestboxes away from the older kits today. 1 had a poopy butt and that usually happens when they are spending too much time in the box. It get impacted very quickly if they don't move away from their toilet. So I remove the box around 3 wks and I see much less of that.

Where are the doe babies??? I've sexed all but 1 of the 3 wk olds and they are all bucks! This is not good. I wanted to move some of the older does on, but I can't if I don't get does to replace them.

tnt

Baby Boom!

This round of breedings went so much better! I'm very pleased. And this during another extreme cold spell.

HBB's Broken Trust x Garner's Gunn had 4. 3 blacks, 1 broken. She's such a good doe, never failed. However, she dragged one of the blacks out shortly after kindle, and I didn't find it until too late to save it. So glad it wasn't the broken! It has real nice markings. Needless to say, I whisked the box into the house. Not taking any chances.

Dreamboat Annie x Garner's Gunn had 3. 2 blacks, 1 choc. No brokens, which was disappointing. I wasn't expecting choc but I knew both carry it. I'm not doing choc anymore so this baby will be sold. Annie is a 1st timer and she went a day late. I was starting to expect a failure but she did a fine job. Gunn is Annie's sire and this is the 1st live litter from this sire x his daughters. I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out. Annie is a typey BUD. Yes, there is such a thing!

HBB's Broken N Happy x Dot.com had 4. 1 black and 3 brokens! Yay! 2 of the brokens have real nice pattern, and the other might be a true charlie. It's hotot-marked. Not sure on the brokens' color yet. Might be sables or dilute. Dilute would be nice. Black is taking over the barn these days.

I got so lucky on the last 2 litters! It was going down into the teens last nite, and didn't get above 20 all day. The heaters can only do so much when it's that cold. Both does began pulling fur in the afternoon. I went on baby watch, checking on them every half hour or so. They both kindled before dark. Thank you, ladies!!! I'm sure I would have lost them if they had come late in the night. I'm not one to stay up all night on baby watch. These does made my day!

There were 2 failures this round. Moonbaby x Ford's Parti Boy had 4 dead. 3 were VMs, and the only BEW was a peanut. I hoped for a better BEW to VM ratio than that, but I'll try again. I think one of the VMs was alive when born, and that's a good sign for more success next time. This is her 2nd try. Sundancer x Axl had 1 DOA and it looked like a tort. She's a 1st timer...try try again. I'll rebreed all the open does this weekend. Might even try the new himi doe. She's almost 6 mos, the perfect age for a 1st timer.

All new litters are coming in the house at night. Grand total for this round and including the older litters is 17 kits in 6 litters. Not bad for winter. Next round is due around the 25th. I think it will go pretty well from now on. Spring is not far off, and that's the main factor for more successful litters.

I should talk about the older litters. They're almost 3 wks now.

Jean Geni has 2 smutty sable pts and a himi. One sable pt is an enormous buck so he's outta here as a pet. The other sable pt is very tiny, and I'm half expecting it to be a fader. The himi is the most promising but doesn't have much color. That's to be expected with a non-extension "ee" himi. It will be a fine sable pt brood bunny.

Same for Nahani's himi. She's also raising the broken black from Ayasha x Dot.com. Also promising.

Ayasha has her 2 solid blacks and 1 is a promising baby. Haven't sexed these yet either, but the larger one is a BU and maybe a bubba. He'll be petted out as well as the sable pt bubba. (bubba is my name for big ugly bucks -BUB)

After today, the weather is predicted to be real nice. 40s today, and then 50s and 60s for as far as the forecast goes. I hope this was our last extreme cold snap. With southern winters, it's wait a day or 2 and it will be nice again. Upnorth, it was wait a month or 2 and maybe you'll get a nice day. I'll take a southern winter any time. Did I mention I'm originally from Michigan? Ohyeah, I know a little bit about that.

I plan to take advantage of the mild weather to catch up on some things in the yard. Have to clean out and do a little work in the Summer House so the bucks and jrs can go out there as soon as the weather breaks for good. I figure another month or so. I don't have any Feb shows so there's no excuse to put it off. Also want to do garden cleanup so I can get a jump on that for a change. I haven't touched the gardens since before fall.

Oh I almost forgot to mention. I finally really finished the barn remodel! See the Barn.


tnt

Triple Crown

One of my fav shows. This was held in Spartanburg, SC and sponsered by our dwarf club - Southeastern Dwarf Fanciers in conjunction with the local Holland Lop club. It's a Triple ND, Triple HL specialty, but the main focus is the NDs.

Weather forecast was a bit iffy for an early morning drive over the mts, so I went down Fri night and stayed with others at the motel. It's an easy 2.5 hr drive. Those of us that were there hooked up for dinner at a local buffet restaurant. I didn't sleep well at the motel, never do, so I was really whipped at the end of the day.

I pulled a few legs. Back In Black, little black JB earned 1 BOG leg. He might have got another, but I won't be sure until I get the show report. Also got the report from his last show and there was a BOG leg. That gives him a total of 3 for sure. I just realized he's 5 mos old. Yay! There are does waiting in line for him!

Sia Sable JB Foxtrot got his 1st leg for BOG. That surprised me! He's an itty bitty bunny with a lot of filling out to do.

Broken Black SB Dot.com earned his 2nd leg for BOG. I was losing to a Dwarfs R Us broken SB all day until we had Jamie Green in show C. He gave Dot his first leg a few months ago. He likes Dot.com!

Broken Blue JD Sweet Dream was BOSV and BJoV (Best Jr of Variety) all day, and BJoG twice. No legs for that, there were only 2 broken does. Best Jr isn't an ARBA leg, but I'll take the brag.

Sold the last bunny on the sale page, and bought a young himi doe - Mortenson's DC. She's almost ready to breed from a southern rabbitry whose himis I've admired. She's a self bred himi. Meaning she's almost pure himi with black self as a base. The only sia sables are a couple in the 3rd generation. She's the perfect mate for Back In Black as that's what he was "designed" for. Her pedigree is heavy on Woollet's and Covert's, some of the best himi herds in the land. I'm looking forward to what she can do for my himis.

Show ran a bit long, even tho it was very well organized. It's fun b/c you can have rabbits on 3 different tables at the same time as they split up the judges and groups to keep it moving. It was actually 2 tables at a time for me. Now I know how multi-breed exhibitors feel. I didn't get out of there until 5pm. Got home about 7:30. Put the poor tired buns away and gave them a special treat of hay. Paint Job was so exhausted, he just stretched out and didn't move again while I was tending to the rest. Then I wound down catching up on the internet. Slept like a log.

Don't have another show until March. That will be the big Dalton triple. Unusual to not have a Feb. show, but I can catch up on some other things during the break.

tnt

1st show of the season.

Mocksville, NC. Good day. It was fun to see everyone. I did soso as far as my entries but I think I pulled a couple legs.

Back In Black (black JB) was DQ'd for white spot by the A judge. I knew about it, but since it wasn't glaring, I decided to see if he'd pass. His type is too nice! The B judge didn't see it and gave him BOSG leg. His show career may be short due to this, but I have plans for him as a brood buck for himi and broken. He was "designed" for himis.

Sweet Dream (broken blue JD) was BOSG in show A. Not sure if enough AOV does for a leg, but I think so.

There were 5 itty bitty sia sable JBs. It was so cute to see these little guys all lined up. All about the same age of 3 mos, so there must have been a sable baby boom. All the same degree of cute! Mine placed 2/5 in A and 3/5 in B. A man who had bought sables from me a few years ago was begging me for that little buck. I haven't decided yet if I will keep him. I will grow and show him. Been quite a while since I showed a sable.

Himi JB did better than I thought he would. He's weak in the shoulders, but managed a BOSV in B.

My beloved Paint Job didn't fair as well. He tenses up and his faults show when he does that. He looks so nice when he's relaxed in his cage. Definitely the best pattern that day.

Same for Dot.com. I know he lacks in HQ type, but he is the coolest broken ever and I like to show him off.

Got done pretty early and was home before dark. Weather held out for us. Very nice on both sides of the mts. Last year, I chickened out on this show due to the snowy forecast. Skating over the mts does not appeal to me.

Yesterday, I got 8 does bred. Yay! For a change, every single doe was up for it and very eager. It was a nice day and maybe they can feel spring is not far off. Bucks were happy, too. Much macho thumping going on out there. I have a couple more to breed, but their bucks were occupied so I'll try them today.

Wellheck. I broke a tooth on the jerky I bought at the show. I got a pack of both venison and rabbit jerky...real tasty. I just saw my dentist last week and thought he wouldn't have to see my mouth again for 6 mos. Grrr.

Looking forward to the Triple Crown in Spartanburg this weekend.

tnt

More losses

Well, I had a total of 12 babies in 5 litters, but I lost the youngest 5 to cold.

Misty Moon x McZ is a 1st-timer and she did better than I expected. When I first checked the nestbox in the morning, I found 1 live BEW and a peanut. Temps were very cold so I took the box into the house to decide if I should foster the singleton. I left the peanut for the time being to help keep the viable kit warm. When I checked on them a little later, I found another healthy kit! Cool! Still deciding whether to let Misty raise them.

Then Aeryn x Axl had her litter later that day. She had 2 sia sables and a himi. She's an experienced doe so I decided to let her raise Misty's as well so I could rebreed Misty to another buck.

All was well until yesterday. I had been bringing all the boxes in the house at night. I worked in the barn that day, but never thought to stick my hand in boxes to check on kits. I do that often when I'm worried about new litters. I brought the boxes in for the night as usual, and again didn't check the kits. When I went to take them out to the barn the next morning, I checked kits and Aeryn's box was rather cool. Oh no! I found the kits scattered all over the box. All dead but one. I tried to save it with the heat wrap, but it was taking its last breaths when I found it. So I lost both litters. Dang it. I could kick myself because this was mostly my fault for not checking them earlier.

In other news, I finally finished the barn remodel! Yay! I was getting tired of that project. I spent the day cleaning up my tools and organizing the barn. The last unit in the middle of the floor makes it a little harder to move around, but once I got my tools and stuff out it was better. I now have 46 holes in the shed, and several are empty which I like. I'm covered when it comes time to wean litters, and any possible new buns that come along. I'm not really planning on buying anything new, but you never know. I'll get new pix soon and upload to the Barn page.

Weather has improved. It dipped back down in the teens for 2 nights, and the one day only got up to 20F. Nice thing about the south, it doesn't last long. We got a pretty 3" of snow that lasted for the cold snap. They are calling mid 50s for today and decent for the weekend.

I'm heading to NC this weekend for the first show of '09. I'm debuting a couple of my fav jrs...Paint Job and Sweet Dream, and a couple other younger jrs. My entry is smaller than usual. Does are breeding and my best show buck Silverado is out of coat. I don't know what his deal is. I think he didn't molt at all last year. His coat is dead and oxidized. He should have been long past it by now. Grrr.

The following weekend it's the Triple Crown in SC. I'm really looking forward to that. It's ND and Holland Lop only triple open and youth specialty and always a lot of fun.

tnt

Latest litters.

There were quite a few failures, which I expected, but I do have some new babies. I'm just using names here, but you can see them on my site by clicking my logo at the right.

Successes:

Nahani x Axl - 1 sable pt. She had 3, 2 were DOA. This is the same as her last litter. She's such a tiny doe, I feel lucky to get 1.

Jean Geni x Axl - 3 sable pts. She had 4 but 1 was cold. I had planned to sell Geni, but she was my only reliable sable pt doe at this time. Now that both Nahani and Ayasha are proving to be reliable does, I'll sell her after this litter.

Ayasha x Dot.com - 2 black, 1 broken black w/nice blanket pattern. The broken was fostered to Nahani so she has more than one in her box. I'm very pleased with Ayasha. This is her 3rd attempt and she handled it perfectly. First 2 tries were unsuccessful.

It's been wicked cold this week, and these nestboxes come in the house at night. Can't afford to lose them.

Failures:

Hamilton's Infiniti x Dot.com - 1st litter, 2nd try. I'm not sure how many she had. Maybe 4 or 5. Didn't build a nest at all, strewed body parts all over the wire. It was an awful mess as she ate on them. I think a couple were peanuts. I'm surprised as I thought she was a false dwarf. She looks like one and is mighty big. I sure hope she gets it right eventually. I need the massive bone and genetics she is carrying.

Minerva x Silverado - 1st try. 3 DOA. Didn't build nest.

Iron Maiden x Dot.com - 1st try. 2 DOA. Didn't nest.

Painted Lady x Garner's Gunn -1st try. 2 DOA on the wire. She built a lovely nest several days early.

Black Dahlia x Garner's Gunn - 3 black, 1 broken black. She left them at the front of the box and they died of cold before I found them. This is not like her, she's a very good doe. I didn't even think she was bred. She didn't lift, and I didn't see the buck connect. She asked for the box a few days ago so I had to wait till kindling to guess the breeding date.

Angeni x ? -1st litter, 2nd try. She also didn't lift and I don't remember what buck I tried her with. Maybe Axl. She had gotten too fat, so I had her in a jr hole to knock some weight off. Darned if she didn't kindle there! On the wire and dead of course. I think 3, and a couple may have been born alive. Cool, that's a good sign for some success next time.

Lorelai x Firestarter - missed.

Still waiting on for this week:

Moonstruck x Ford's Parti Boy - 2nd try
Misty Moon x McZ - 1st try
Aeryn x Axl - experienced

I so hope I get some BEWs. It's been too long without BEW babies.

Other news:

It's so much warmer! Aah! Fri and Sat it went down to 5F. Didn't get above 20F on Fri. Sat a little better...we made it to the freezing mark! This morning it's above freezing...34F! Better than they said we'd get. Forecast said 16F. I have both heaters running in the shed, so if any litters came in the night, they should be warm enough. It gets quite toasty in there if it's not too cold outside. The dusting of snow we got a few days ago is even melting. It stayed wherever the sun didn't shine.

All for now. tnt (till next time)

Day 1

So I decided it was time to get on the blogger bandwagon. As anyone who knows me and my rather long-winded articles and forum posts, I like to write.I'll mostly be blogging news from the rabbitry, but will probably be including a lot of other things as they happen around the garden.

I'll bring the blog up to speed.

A lot of SC bunnies are now making their homes around the country. I didn't make ARBA convention in KY due to financial setbacks. I did relay some buns that way. 5 to Colorado, 1 to Georgia, and 2 to Pennsilvania. In Dec I relayed 7 more to PA. A few more recently made their way to mid-TN and GA.

Many of these buns were the last of the chocolates. I decided choc and lilac didn't mix very well with the rest of the herd and have moved them all out. I'll still get choc sometimes because most the brokens carry it, but I won't be keeping or breeding for choc.

I've been working on a major remodel in the barn. Old cages were completely reworked into a new pan-less system. See it here... Barn. I'm finishing the final unit which should be done this week. When finished, I'll have a total of 82 holes. 46 in the shed, 36 in the Summer House with no pans at all. Boy will that take a lot of work off me! As a result, breeding had been on hold until now.

I don't plan on ever filling every single hole. I like to keep the head count around 40. Everyone has to fit in the shed for the winter. Hard cull sales happen often to keep numbers down. I currently have 41 jrs and srs, plus the new litters.

As soon as I finished the brood units, I began breeding again. All but a couple does are bred. First litter came in Jan 13.

Nahani (sable pt) x Axl (sable pt) had 3, but only 1 live. It's sable pt of course. Nahani is a tiny 2 lb girl but such a good little doe. Her last litter only gave 1 live, and she took on 2 fosterlings as well.

Jean Geni (sable pt) x Axl had 4...3 live sable pts the next day.

Painted Lady and Iron Maiden are both 1st timer failures....DOA. I think there's some misses, too. 3 does due this week are not nesting. Black Dahlia, who I thought wasn't bred, asked for her nestbox, built a nest for a day or two, and now I'm not so sure she is pregnant as nothing more from her. Since I didn't think she was bred (she didn't lift), I have no idea when she is actually due if she is. She's a good doe, so a false pregnancy would be rather odd from her.

I'm hoping someone of a different color has live kits so I can give Nahani more than 1 to raise. Nestboxes are coming in the house after they've been nursed, but it's still hard to keep a singleton alive.

We are in the midst of an arctic blast. It was a nice 50s last week, this week we'll be lucky to see the freezing mark. Grrr...fine timing for litters.

In the garden: The birds must be aware of the extreme weather coming at us. The bird feeders are very active this morning. The temps have been dropping steadily since before sunup. We've probably seen the high for the day of 25. Brrrr, it's gonna be a rough week.