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
Monday, January 26, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
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
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
Sunday, January 18, 2009
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)
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)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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.
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.
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