I had put a doe up for sale. She was bred, but I didn't think I'd have to move her before Jan, so she was kind of up as "pre-sale after litter". The doe in question is Infinite Detail - broken black. She was bred to himi RR Messenger. Yeah, I know, a bit unorthodox. It was an experiment to see if ID carried non-extension for tort. It was very possible. Messenger does. He's useful that way. Because it was an experiment, I could have given up the litter to a buyer if I had to.
So a buyer came along and was traveling a ways to get them. We worked out the details and set up the meet for yesterday. Then it hit me that ID was due the next day! I don't know why that didn't register before. For some reason I thought there was more time. I wasn't sure of the buyer's experience level and didn't know if she'd be ready to deal with a litter that was due anytime. I didn't want to send ID that close to her due date anyways. She had to stay put for now. A frantic game of phone tag followed. I had to catch the buyer before she hit the road so she wouldn't make the long trip without knowing what she was not getting. We finally hooked up, and worked out a different deal as she still wanted to come for the buck in the package. I wanted to delay the meet until later in the week to get past ID's kindle, but she didn't have any other free days in the near future.
In the meantime. I hadn't been out to the barn yet. It was very cold that morning and I just don't do cold. Chores were waiting for it to warm up a bit, and delayed even more by phone tag. When I finally got out there, ID was calmly sitting in the middle of her cage with a mouthful of fur. I swear she was glowering at me! "Hey, you know that nestbox I need? Need it NOW." I quickly gave it to her and she immediately began to pull more fur. By the time I left to meet the buyer, the box was full of fluff.
I'm so glad I didn't move her!!! When I got back late that afternoon, the litter had arrived. She would have kindled in transit for one thing. The other thing is that this litter is lovely! She doesn't have a lot of pattern and I don't think I've ever kept anything from her. No showable brokens, no daughters. She had 5 which I think is also her biggest litter. 2 very nicely marked broken blacks, a solid black and a ? I think the ? is a siamese sable which I didn't really expect from her, but shaded is there way back in her 3rd generation. Breeding her to himi must have pulled it out. There was also a peanut the same color. On the downside...apparently she doesn't carry non-extension.
The lesson learned: Pay attention to the calendar! And don't pre-sell bred does.
This worked out so nicely, Messenger will be getting more broken does. I know I'll be dealing with broken himis down the road, but the type and pattern he can produce should move the broken program forward some more. I've bred a Messenger daughter to Dot.com for the same reasons.
In other Nestbox News:
Lady Blaque is due today as well. She was nesting yesterday. This is a repeat breeding to LB92. The original plan was to foster whatever ID had to Lady B so I could sell ID, but since ID has such a good-sized litter, I guess she'll be raising them. I should be able to move her out by the time Jan shows come around.
Foxy Lady x LB had a litter of 2 poorly marked brokens (true charlies?) on Thanksgiving Day. Since they weren't keepers, I didn't safeguard the litter like I normally would. Lost them the next day to cold. The first litter from this match produced a beautiful broken doe, and I was hoping for a bigger litter with more of the same. Try try again.
Shadowland Honeycomb came pre-bred but she missed. Or maybe lost them to absorption in transit. She is now bred to Messenger and I do expect tort out of that. It will be interesting to see if she carries shaded. I wouldn't mind having sable points again.
The older litters are looking real promising. Camaro's first litter with Anaba might be 2 does. Camaro is spending a working vacation at a friend's. I hope to get something for myself out of that as well. A little more diversity in the himi lines would be good. The broken litters are all very cute, but iffy for cleanliness of pattern. Haven't sexed them for sure yet, but there might be some does.
Weather is up and down. Very cold one day, unseasonably warm the next, it's hard to call it. I had to deal with frozen water bottles for a couple days, but the low this morning was 64!. The current forecast says I'll probably be moving the rest of the herd into the shed very soon, and dusting off the heaters.
tnt
