Random stuff

Still so hot and humid! I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be glad to see the end of summer, but I'm just biding time in the house until it cools off. I'm hoping this hot summer means a warmer winter. The last couple have been too consistently cold, but we should be due for a milder one. I hope. It's why I moved down here.

I have one little litter. Just one. 4 does were due this week, but only one was successful. Foxy Lady x Smith's DA has 1 black and 1 blue. Yay! It's been a while since I got a live dilute. Even better, they're selfs. I would have been ok with agouti, but I learned that plan could go off track when I got the otter in the agouti litter. The agoutis were brought in for type, but the plan was always to keep more selfs. Oh and the only broken in Foxy's litter was a DOA dilute peanut. Figures.

The does that failed went back out to the Summer House, and Foxy has the fan all to herself. She was really antsy at first, which is unusual for her. She didn't pull much fur so I added some from the stash. That was probably a mistake but I wasn't thinking. I should have waited a bit before giving the box back to her. She immediately began pulling it out. I heard furious squeaking and hurried to see what had happened to the kits. She had pulled the blue out with a mouthful of fur! Yikes. The kit seems ok. She settled down the 2nd day and the neighbor doe being gone might have helped. The kits are fed and clean. They've been migrating to the front of the box (probably because of the heat), and what fur is left is bonded to the shavings. I've removed more shavings so they don't bounce out of the box off the thick mattress. Hmmm, maybe Foxy knew it was too hot for fur.

I have no other does bred. It's just too hot so I'm letting it go for now. Besides, even though I've never had a case of heat sterility, it could happen this year. It hasn't been below 85 for more than a day in weeks. I promised to breed a sold doe, but I'll have to warn the buyer it'll be a crap shoot. The buck is going through a rough molt, too. That's said to be a bad time to breed.

Of dogs and cats and guineas:

My routine has been to feed the dog and cats in the morning when I go out to feed the rabbits. Whipper gets his in a dish on the porch. The cats' food goes in a dish in a plastic pet carrier on my work bench. This is to keep the dog out of it. I guess due to the heat, Whipper hasn't been eating in the morning. He just leaves it till evening. I hate that because it gets infested with ants. In the past, I've tried to force him to eat when I give it to him by taking it away if he doesn't. He goes hungry till the next morning. Didn't like doing that because he's not a fat dog, but it did work. I might give him a cookie which he'll eat anytime to hold him over. The cats mob me whenever I rattle the carrier so it doesn't really matter when they get theirs.

Cogburn learned dog food is tasty and comes up to snatch tidbits out of the dish. At first Whipper would nudge him away, but he gave up and ignores the bird now. I didn't mind that. It was funny to watch, and it's not like the roo eats that much.



Then come the guineas. Grrrr. The 7 older keets charge up on the porch when I feed the 4-foots and mob the dog's dish. I've been trying to teach Whipper it's ok to chase them away, and he kinda gets it. Yesterday had me running back and forth and it was way too hot for that! I'm out tending the bunnies, and there the keets go up on the porch. A lot of scrambling and noise as they furiously grab beakfuls and Whipper tries to get them away. I go running back, grab the broom to shoo them off the porch. I must have looked like a crazy woman! This happened several times in the time I was trying to feed and water the rabbits, and I was way sweatier than necessary. I even tossed out the corn for the birds which should have kept them busy, but it didn't for long. Dog food is better. Not only do I not like the guineas on the porch, I can't have them eating all the dog and cat food. Oh forgot to mention. Cogburn also discovered the cat food and goes in the carrier to get it. So of course, the guineas do, too.

Ok fine. New routine. I'm waiting until dark to put out dog and cat food. The birds have gone to roost by then. I just have to remember that's the new routine so I don't forget to feed them.

I'm going to turn out the 4 keets still in the Summer House as soon as I cut the grass. Probably today. I like to mow at least once before I turn them loose so they aren't so startled by the lawn mower. The older guineas aren't concerned.

tnt

Night Show

Last night was the Taylorsville Night Show. Just as hot and humid as last year. Came home all sticky and grody. At least I was done fairly early. I hit the road about 11:30 pm and got home around 2:30 am. Really don't like driving that far at night. Ran into some drizzle and light fog which slowed me down even more. I can make much better time home from a show in daylight.

I had nothing to show and only entered 2 pre-molt brokens. As expected, they didn't show well. The only reason I went at all was to sell some buns and guineas. At least that part worked out well. I came home with 4 less buns, and no guineas. Well, I also brought home the new buck that I had to pick up.

The guineas generated a lot of interest! I brought 14 keets. 6 were pre-sold for sure, 4 were maybes that did sell, and the other 4 sold easily. I could have sold all I could bring! I'll keep that in mind for the future and incubate all the eggs I can get my hands on. I'd like to bring in more colors. I'll look into that in the future as well.

I'll have to get real serious about a pen for them if I want to incubate and sell on a regular basis. The grow-out cage works to some extent but it's a hassle. I had to refresh their water a couple times a day because they stomped in it which splashed it out and fouled what was left. The cage was in the way when I was tending to the rabbits. I learned to water the keets after I was done walking around in there. Hmmm, maybe I could rig some sort of cage for the water dish. Something that would allow them to get their heads in but not their clumsy feet.

There is still the one free-range keet following its parents around. I was thinking about plugging the space beside the gate that it was walking through to keep it confined to the fenced yard until it's big enough to fly over the fence. Turns out that little bugger can already fly!!! I looked out yesterday to see both adults and the keet on the porch roof! I had no idea they could fly that high that young!

There's still the 3 I picked out to keep from that clutch running loose in the Summer House. And the older singleton. That one might be a hen. I'll give them another week or two and then turn them out with the rest. That will be a population of 14. Ticks and bugs are history!

Shouldn't I be talking about rabbits? There's really not a lot going on there. I have to move the 4 does that are due this week back into the shed today. They need their nestboxes now.

I lost another baby. One of K10's brokens looked peaked Thursday. Friday it was dead. Don't know what happened there. Might have been the stress of moving the litter out of the shed. On one hand a sad loss (it was the best marked), on the other, I'm ok with it. I prefer to lose weak constitutions earlier rather than later.

Taleah's litter and the otter fosterling are still my keepers. Also still liking Infinite Detail's black.

Oh, do you want to know about the new buck? Against all my attempts to avoid otter, he's a broken black otter. Lil' Bit Farms LB92. Wonderful pattern and darn good type. Another plus is that he carries self and dilute. I sure hope he works out for me. Many thanks to Candy at Root'n Toot'n Rabbitry for this guy.

tnt

Wicked Hot

The thermometer said 97 one day this week. 95 most of the time. The yard and gardens are suffering the lack of rain in this heat. Of course, if it rained, it would cool off a bit. Forecast says maybe today. At least the lack of rain also means lower humidity. It could be a lot worse.

Had the 1st casualty this week. A 4 week old baby died. I've never lost a rabbit to the heat before. At least it wasn't one of the more valuable kits.

Yesterday, I moved all the does and litters out to the Summer House except one. King's K10 is still inside because her litter is barely 3 weeks old. She's in the lowest tier at the end near the window, and now has the fan all to herself. I took the nestbox out earlier this week to give her some room to stretch out. I worried I'd lose the kits if they stayed in it. They have a resting board in place of the box. I'll move them outside in another week.

It's sad the the only litter that really matters to me is Taleah's. And the otter she's fostering. K's litter is 2nd in that I want to see the type she throws, even though the brokens aren't exciting for pattern. Infinite Detail's solid black is a maybe. Other than that....all pet quality.

I was going to breed some does but the heat made me back off. I decided to let it go for now. It's just too hot. I have a few litters due in 2 weeks, and not sure how to handle it. The cages outside aren't set up for nestboxes. The doors aren't big enough to get one in there. I do have the 3 larger cages I set up as holding cages for weanlings, but they don't have rodent and snake proof wire like the rest. Keeping my fingers crossed that it does cool off by then.

In guinea news:

Pictures!

These are the 2 "wild" keets and their parents. Now about 3 weeks old. I'm amazed they are still out there. The parents are bringing them to the feeding station now. I toss out the cracked corn/bird seed mix for them and the others. I was doubly amazed to discover the keets can get up on the roost the adults use. It's a wood rack I built for them under the carport outside where the rabbits are. The rig is almost 5' tall! Have no idea how they get up there. Looking at the situation last night, I think they use the wheelbarrow that's there as a jumping off point. Considering the keets are so small and have no flight feathers yet, that's a pretty good trick.

These are the older NC pieds. About 10-12 weeks old...I forget. Cogburn is so happy to have a "flock" again. There is a bit of bickering at the feeding station between the 2 groups. I toss seed out in 2 different place to give them some peace.






This old converted rabbit cage holds the 17 (same 2nd clutch as the 2 free-range keets) I hatched in the incubator. Plus the singleton from the 1st clutch that's about 3 weeks older. This cage works pretty well until they are big enough to turn loose in the Summer House. I just move it around to give them cleaner ground, and rake out under it as needed. It also saves on feed. They throw it all over and can pick it off the ground.

I picked out 4 of the bigger ones that I'll be keeping and turned them loose yesterday. I have at least 1 order for 6, and a tentative order for 4 to deliver at the Taylorsville show next weekend. I'll take all 14 with me and maybe be able to sell the other 4 as well. I won't be turning those loose. It will be too hard to catch them when it comes time to load up for the show, so they'll stay in the cage until then.

This was taken earlier this spring. This turkey strolls into the yard sometimes and the guineas dash out to greet her. It's a funny thing to watch. The guineas are good-sized birds but the turkey looks like a dinosaur towering over them. After the initial meet & greet, they lose interest in each other. Probably because they don't speak the same language.

I fear I may have lost something this morning. I heard the guinea's distress call (not the loud alarm call) that I heard when the cat got one of the keets a couple weeks ago. It was still dark and I don't know why the guinea would have moved off the roost at this time. I hope it wasn't a keet. I also turned out a couple garden bunnies yesterday and the one cat might take them. That would be Abby, the younger one, who hunts birds and other things. Stevie has never bothered garden bunnies and doesn't actively hunt birds. I could live without Abby.

tnt

July

Happy Birthday, America.

It's been dry and hot, but not as uncomfortable as the last couple weeks. The dry probably helped a lot there. Rain has missed this area lately, and humidity is much lower. When I went out to close up the rabbitry last night, it was actually cool out there. I imagine the bunnies going "aaah". Maybe I'll breed a couple does this morning since the bucks should feel pretty good after a cooler day and night.

Down to just 4 does on litters in the shed. 3 litters are about 3 weeks old. The other almost 2 weeks. When I checked litters last night I missed the black in the youngest litter. Ok where the heck is it? I have baby saver around the brood holes but it doesn't cover the cage door and I've had kits get out before. I found the kit in the gutter! Glad it didn't make it to the floor, or into the bucket at the end of the gutter. I had cleaned recently, and the bucket was empty so it might not have been a disaster. Well, the bucket was mostly empty. There was still some stuff stuck in the bottom so the kit would have been real dirty. But before that, it might have been hard to find if it had even occurred to me to look in the bucket. I had cleaned out nestboxes and it was full of fur and shavings.

There's not much exciting in the litters. Too many 5-8% brokens and blacks. I probably would have culled the charlies at birth, but some of them are out of the newest opal buck and I wanted to see the type he throws. And there were 1st timers that needed to raise a litter. I guess I'll be doing the Knoxville Fair in a couple months. I was debating because the meat judges piss me off, but it's a great place to unload pet culls.

So what do I like in the litters? There's the himi and black from RR Taleah x Back In Black. I'm hoping BB shortened them up. Taleah is a bit long in the midsection and a short buck works best with her.

There's an interesting black from Infinite Detail x Back In Black as well. It looks like it could be a throwback to I.Detail's dam that came out of the Darkside line. Fur seems longer and that's a trait from that grand dam.

And then there's this damn otter that came out of Foxy Lady x Rhapsody's Burt. I was expecting agouti, dilute, broken, and got a black otter. The DOAs were all those other things. Grrr. After going on about how I don't do or want otter, it's the cutest kit in all the litters. I mean seriously cute! I think it got the stuff I wanted from Burt...head, width. Now what am I gonna do? Oh and worse, I'm pretty sure it's a buck. This is gonna put a big wrench in my program. Oh well, at least I know that pair meshed. Foxy is already rebred to Burt since I fostered the otter to Taleah.

I'm heading over to the Dickson show tomorrow. Not looking forward to that long drive (5 hrs) but I hope to sell buns that need selling. Especially since I bought another buck. Yeah, I did. I'm not getting him till later this month so I'll keep it under my hat for now. I decided to just enter the first 2 shows instead of staying for all 3. The sooner I can get on the road for home the better. I don't have much to show anyways. I only entered 3.

In guinea news:

The adults still have 2 "wild" keets. I'm amazed they are still out there. I'm sure the heat had a lot to do with their survival after hatching. After losing 1 to the cat and then another disappeared, the adults are very protective of them. I've seen the male run the cat away when she came too close, and he also fends off Cogburn. Yesterday, the hen brought them to the "feeding station" for the first time. I have to remember to take the camera out with me when I feed this morning. She hasn't come into the fence much since they hatched, although the keets can and do walk right through the chainlink. She will pace and fret outside the fence when they do. You'd think she would just fly over the fence to be with them, but sometimes they are birdbrains that way.

I turned the oldest keets out into the yard this week. They were too annoying in the Summer House. Even though I clipped a wing before turning them loose in there, they can hop pretty high. Had to run netting to keep them from roosting on the lowest rabbit cages. When I put the youngest keets out there in the "brood" cage, they were immediately on top of it. Out they went. So now I'm tossing cracked corn/birdseed mix out for them, which also makes the adults and Cogburn come running.

Cogburn adopted the older keets as his flock. So there's now 3 flocks in residence and they bicker. Cog and the adults go at it pretty seriously so I have to toss the seed in 2 separate places so they aren't so close to each other. It will be interesting to see if all of them eventually integrate into one flock. I'm going to sell most of the youngest keets. I have a couple tentative orders for them, and will take them to Taylorsville in a couple weeks. Of course the orders were for more hens but I don't think I can fill the orders that way. I'm just now hearing the female call from the oldest ones so I doubt I'll be able to sex the youngest ones in time. Probably have to settle for straight run. Including me.

More bird news:

My canary hen is setting on 2 eggs. After I sold the finches, I moved the canaries out of the big aviary cage into smaller, more easily maintained cages. The pair that were together in the aviary went into the larger of the 2 cages, and the single male into a slightly smaller one. I put a small dish of grit in for them and the hen decided this made a fine nest. Even though I hadn't given her anything to make a nest with. She laid them on the grit. When I cleaned out the big cage, I found more eggs in the tray. She had been laying all along. I tried to get her to use a better nest, but she wasn't having it. So fine, the dish it is. I lined it with some tissue and noticed she had pulled in some string I had given her after the fact. I'll give her a handful of hay today. The tissue alone isn't a very good nest. Sooo...we'll see how this goes.

tnt