Happy Holidays

Things have been going better in the rabbitry. Chevelle's litter is 2 sable pts and a siamese sable. Cool! Their eyes are just starting to open. Hope there's something I can work with.

Got almost all the does bred. Finally! How frustrating it's been. I resorted to shuffling the does around, putting them between 2 bucks. Had empty holes between bucks and if the does wouldn't lift that day, I switched them back and forth in the empties which finally worked. I'm calling this method "buck overload". Flood the does' senses with buckness.

The one broken doe that would not breed, turns out she was pregnant! Ohhh...ok. She dumped a dead kit on the wire after the latest attempt with the buck. Just the one and I'm sure it would have been DOA in any case. Just goes to show you, it can happen when you think it didn't. I was sure she never lifted for him. Since I'm not sure when she was bred, I can't say if it was born on time or if she was retaining it and the buck jiggled it out of her. I tried rebreeding her a couple days later, and she was VERY eager. They had much fun together that day! Now if she'd just have a live litter. She's one of my nicest broken does.

The only does still open are the new himi I talked about last time and Chevette. Her 4 himis are almost 6 wks, and normally I would have waited until this week to wean them out. When I pulled her out to breed, I realized how skinny she is. It's awful, poor darling. Someone was digging out feed so I wasn't topping off the J-feeder like I normally would. Chevette had never been a digger so it had to be the kits. As a result, she wasn't getting enough to eat. I pulled the litter out last week, and she's on hiatus until she regains weight. Now that she's alone, she's eating GOOD!

Oh and the black Smith's buck who was such a wimp finally got his groove back on. He's happily and aggressively breeding anything I toss at him. About time! I wonder what his deal was all year.

I have a very promising broken black buck from that Smith's sire. Out of Baroquen. There were only 2 brokens in that litter, just barely 10% (IMO). I kept the doe, but the buck had bad teeth and I dumped him outside in the Summer House with some other weanlings until I decided what to do about him. The teeth looked like they were going full-on malocclusion and I figured I'd be dealing with him terminally. Darned if they didn't correct on their own, and he's looking really good at almost 4 mos. Glad I didn't throw him away just yet. I moved him back into the shed so I can work with him. Since I figured he was history, I hadn't been handling him much, and he's a wild man! He's starting to calm down and behave on the table.

Here's hoping for a better new year in the barn.

tnt

Surprise Package

Some of my friends know a little about this. Here's the whole story.

It started just before Convention. Talked to my friend Brenda just before she headed to Convention. She asked if I needed anything, and I said maybe a Sable Point doe. I gave her the criteria for the doe, and told her to get Gary Smith's opinion if she found something. Talked to her while she was there (I knew right away that Blue Torts passed), and she just said Gary was working on it. I didn't know what that meant as I figured he was much too busy to put much effort into it. So anyways, nothing came of it and I didn't think about it anymore.

The Smiths called me this past Sunday afternoon. They were on their way home from somewhere up north. PA or thereabouts I think. They had gone to pick up some new chickens, visited some relatives, and apparently picked up something for me. I was to meet them in Erwin (about 30 mins from here) as they were coming down that freeway. All I knew was that I needed a cage.

I had about 3 hours to kill, so I posted that on Facebook. Brenda slipped up and gave it away that it was a rabbit. Whew! I was actually worried they were bringing me a chicken as I had mentioned I needed some Cochin hens when he had some to spare. I really can't integrate another bird into the flock right now. It's a mixed flock of hens and roosters and for now everybody gets along. I'm sure a new bird would disrupt the order, so I really don't want more until I can set up for it. I digress, but that's to give an idea of what was going through my head while I waited to meet them.

After hello hugs all around, they pulled out a 4-hole carrier.



OMG! It was full of Sable Points! 1 buck, 2 does, and a himi doe. The buck is the dark one in the lower left. BTW, I was still so rattled by the time I got them home for this photo, it didn't occur to me to open the top. I think I was worried they would try to get out while I was lining up the shot, but none moved a muscle later.

So the rest of the story came out. The Smiths knew the Zimmermans for many years and had bought lots of rabbits from them. The Zimmermans raised Sable Pts for longer than that. They were selling out due to Mr. Zimmerman's health, and had already sold what they brought to Convention. The Smiths talked them into waiting to sell any more until they could pick through them. They had already planned the trip north. Their trip was delayed a week and Mrs. Zimmerman needed them to pin it down as she had a lot of other buyers in line. The Smiths said please please wait, we are coming. The Smiths don't do Sable Point, never have since I've known them. This was all for ME! They are the best people, the best friends anyone could have!

I don't know what the deal was, but I was assured it wasn't a fortune. Gary (who is apparently good at this according to Susan) guilted them into a real sweet deal. They wouldn't take any money from me. Hell, they wouldn't even let me buy them dinner! We met at a restaurant. Oh and I had only brought one of my small single carriers assuming it was one rabbit. It was actually still in the car as I had just used it a couple days earlier to deliver a pet. So I have the Smith's carrier for now.

So more about the rabbits. They are all older, but well-proven. The buck is about 4 years. The does are between 1.5 and 2.5. The buck is Jacob's "ear#" (Mark Jacob) with pure Covert's on the dam's side. He's pretty dark and smutty but very good type. I can work around the smut. I'm just calling him Jacob since he's my only Jacob's rabbit. The does are Zimmerman's with a smattering of Covert's, Bun'nays, Blaine's, Jacob's (to name drop) and imports in the 3rd. One of the SPs is a brood doe but my taste in a brood doe as in not too big ugly. The other is a beautiful clean show doe. That's her in the upper left. The himi, also nice brood, was thrown in the deal at the last minute and she's out of the same Zimmerman lines.

I gave them a couple days to settle in and then tried breeding the does. I know that does will often breed after a major change and long car ride, and they did. So the 2 SPs are bred. MY does won't breed, but at least these would!

The himi might be a problem. Before I put her in her cage, I put her (as all of them) on the table for another look, and flipped her over for a quick exam. I noticed her hocks were a little sore. Not oozing, but bare and rough. The next day I noticed she was acting funny. It was like she had never been on a wire floor before. She seemed to have trouble unhooking her claws from the wire or something, and when she stopped moving, she held a hind foot up. So I took her out for another look and all 4 feet are sore. Poor baby! Don't know what happened to her, but she might just be one of those rabbits who don't have enough fur on her feet. Or maybe she's a picker. I gave her a resting board which she really seems to appreciate. So it might be a while before I can try breeding her. Don't want to wait too long, she's the oldest of the 3 does. Maybe I'll try some Pen G. Never tried it on sore hocks before. Haven't had many and it's usually solved with a resting board.

In other news, I think I have a couple Sable Pts in the nestbox! Chevelle (himi) x Dirty Little Secret (sable pt) had 4 (1 peanut) this morning. They were pretty cold, she didn't put them where she put her fur, but alive. They are in the heat wrap right now. Seem to have revived OK. It's possible the 2 dark ones are cold himis, but I just had a litter of those from Chevette, and these are darker and more uniform than that. And I know Chevelle carries, where I don't think Chevette does. I'm probably wishful hoping and it's been a while since I saw SP in the box so I might be seeing things that aren't there. I was kinda hoping Chevelle fumbled so I could breed her to the new buck right away, but if they are Sable Pts, I'll take it. She'll definitely get Jacob next time, so anyone waiting for her to go up for sale, you'll have to wait longer.

I got out of all shadeds a couple years ago to concentrate on the brokens. Long story that I might have told here in the blog. That included my Sable Pt lines, and I've kinda regretted that ever since. I had them for a long time, and tried for them longer than that. I missed them. They're ba-ack!

tnt

National shows

ARBA Convention has come and gone. Everyone is now planning for their breed's Nationals in the spring. If they're lucky, they have litters in the box that will hopefully produce awesome jrs for it.

National conventions are rather elitist. Don't get me wrong. I'm not disparaging anyone who attends. I'm saying it's elitist in that it's not an "every man's" event. These big annual shows are the Super Bowl of the rabbit world. Some can be there in person, the rest have to watch from afar, and it's by the very nature of the event that this is so. Only an elite group can do it.

First, there's distance. The big national shows are held in different parts of the country each year, and the lucky ones are the ones who live nearby. The rest have to go to great lengths to get there. It could involve plane flights, or a great deal of miles and time in driving.

I have never been to Nationals or Convention, and I probably never will. The main reason is simple...I can't be away for that long. The rules for these shows prevent me from even considering entering rabbits unless it's very close to me, and I doubt that will ever happen. Unless it's in my region, I can't even visit it for a day.

There's the time. Dwarf Nationals runs for 3 days (check-in to check-out), not including travel time. Figure at least 4-5 days. ARBA convention is even longer. Like I said, I can't be away for that long. The best I can do is an over-nighter.

There's the rules. Entered/cooped rabbits have to stay for the duration, and even sale rabbits have to be cooped unless you can get around that by keeping them in your hotel room or vehicle. In my opinion, this is the most unfair rule. If my rabbits are done, as in they didn't go any further than variety or group (likely scenario), why can't I leave? If I could leave when I'm done like a local show, maybe I could figure out a way to swing it. But no. No rabbits are allowed to leave until check-out the morning after the last events of the show which is just the awards ceremonies and banquet. The rabbits were all judged the day before that so they don't need to be there any longer, but they can't leave until the designated check-out. I've never seen that, but I'm sure there's a lot of waiting in line and mix-ups and everything. I hear that this show or that one was pretty good for check-out, but that has to be relative. There's no way it goes very fast. I imagine how much easier and faster it would be if exhibitors could leave in their own time. The check-out people would have more time to avoid mistakes and deal with problems. So until that rule changes, I doubt I'll ever enter a national show. Unless it's so close, I can run back and forth from home as needed. Which isn't likely.

Then there's the expense. It's very expensive to attend a national show. The entry fees are at least 4 times higher than local shows, and local shows don't make you "enter" sale rabbits that you wouldn't enter any other time. There's the hotel, the gas, or the plane ticket which costs even more if it includes the animals. Breeders inflate sale prices to help cover these costs, so you will pay a lot more for a rabbit than you might normally. Again, it's an elite group that can afford all this. I'm certainly not one of those. Maybe I could if I could avoid some of the other costs, like an unnecessarily long hotel stay, which goes back to the rule that keeps my rabbits there longer than necessary.

I suppose I could enter and send a few with a trusted friend (many breeders do that), but I just can't justify it if I can't be there with my bunnies. I'll say it again. I'm not putting anyone down who lives and breathes for the big shows every year. I'm just telling you why you probably won't ever see me there.

tnt

December

I've been feeling the urge to be creative so I decked the halls. I also created a new logo and theme for the main pages. The piece above was the inspiration for the holiday theme. I created this a few years ago as a forum siggy. I love it, and don't think I can top it so I just keep using it. A light bulb went off above my head and the idea to decorate the homepage for the holidays was born. I'll save this page for each December. I'll return to the regularly scheduled homepage after the new year.

Hmmm. For some reason, the piece above isn't displaying right. Blogger limitation? You can see the true display on the site.

Not much happening in the rabbitry. Several does failed in the last few weeks. I have 1 measly litter of 4 himis out of Chevette, now going on 3 weeks. It's too early to tell if there's any keepers. I don't see anything as promising as Chevette was at this age, so not terribly optimistic about this litter. It was also supposed to give some color, but that didn't happen.

So I have several open does and no one will breed! Grrr. The Smith's buck who wouldn't actually wants to now, but now the does don't wanna. Same for the other 2 bucks I'm using (or trying to).

I've been trying to repeat Dreamspinner x Smith's BL4 that gave the 2 jr bucks I really like, but that's been a bust. She missed the 2nd time and dumped a DOA litter this week. 2 were peanuts and 1 of those was the only broken. It also took forever to get her bred because of unstudly BL4.

So feeling kinda discouraged right now, and I'm not sure what to do about it. The plan to get more color in the barn isn't working out very well either. The most colorful litters were the failures. I'll keep trying to get these stubborn does bred, but I find myself not all that fired up about it or shows or anything. I've already cut shows to the closest ones, and even then, I opted out of going to the last one. At this time, Spartanburg is the only concrete date (I'm obligated), but I know I won't be excited about that either. I only have a few jr bucks who will be sr by then. No, I'm not getting out, but I'm not really in right now.

It's been really mild so far this winter, and I hope it's finally going to be the winter I moved down here for...like the 1st 2 years I was here. I'm trying something different this year since it's been so mild. I'm leaving some bucks outside in the Summer House. There's 4 out there now, and I might move the other jr bucks out as well. I can easily keep up with frozen water bottles this way. I'm keeping extras for them in a pail in the barn, and when theirs are frozen, I can just switch them out. We'll see how this goes. It might get tiresome. One reason is that I have the 2 himi bucks out there who don't have great color. I know it's mostly due to their sire, but they are coming back from the summer heat. Keeping them cold might help, and maybe they'll be presentable by Spartanburg. And I have to go out there everyday for the chickens anyways.

The birds are doing fine. So far, I don't think the waterer has frozen, or at least not solid. It's been open by the time I get out there. So that might be ok. I haven't figured out a better way to give them water if it turns out it will freeze too much.

2 of the free range roos went gone. I assume the resident fox got them or maybe a hawk. That leaves Spiffy and REW Roo the Japanese. REW stays in the backyard fence (probably why he's still around) but Spiffy comes and goes as he pleases. That's why the others disappeared...they stayed outside the fence.

Tanner is gone. I couldn't take it anymore. He was just too destructive. The last straw was when he ripped the lattice skirting off the shed. I don't understand why he did these things. He couldn't be bored, he had Whipper who likes to play, lots of room to run, toys of his own, lots of interesting things going on, and plenty of attention from me. He didn't want his toys, just my stuff, and I couldn't break him of it. I'm also positive he was responsible for many of the bird and bunny deaths earlier this year, and I knew they'd never be safe. I tried to get through what I hoped was just his puppy phase, but at over a year and a half old and neutered, saw no sign he'd outgrow it. Whipper was never like this. I literally couldn't take my eyes off him for a minute, and I couldn't take being so pissed all the time any longer. I found him a nice new home, and have been so relieved and serene since he left. I can actually enjoy my porch again. It was a chaos of blocked-off spaces in a futile attempt to keep him out of things, but now it's nice and neat again. I even planted some pansies in a porch pot. I usually have several pots of flowers on the porch which makes it that much more enjoyable, but I couldn't do that with him here. Many things out in the yard had to be blocked, too. Yes, a huge sigh of relief when he left.

Well, this blog is kinda depressing, isn't it? Sorry bout that, but sometimes it feels good to get it out.

Happy Holidays