Update. All of Baroquen's are broken! The other tort showed its markings yesterday. It's like 80% so it took this long for the white parts to fully appear (to my old eyes). I think the other 2 will be showable brokens, but they are borderline for 50%. Still surprising to get such heavy patterns from spot x blanket.
I read something online the other day. Don't remember where (probably Facebook) or who, but it might have been a Mini Rex breeder. (I wouldn't make a very good reporter, would I?) What I did get from this was some more insight into the broken gene. I believe experienced breeders of breeds that have good broken pattern well established are the best source for knowledge about the broken gene. Mini Rex is one of these. Here is an excellent article about brokens.
This was timely because of the heavy patterns in the Baroquen x Sugardaddy litter. Her last litter was with a solid black and she threw barely 10% even though she has plenty of color. So I expected some spots in her litter with Daddy. Instead I got his heavy pattern. Not really complaining here. Just trying to understand it.
This person said that broken x broken will produce charlies AND booted. Booted isn't something we see in dwarfs, at least not yet. From what I've seen, it's common in Mini Rex. Booted has very little white, often limited to the feet. What I would call 90%. I had never seen it in my double broken litters when a spot was one of the mates. Until now. I think Sugardaddy is responsible. I might have to adjust my breeding strategy to prevent establishing a booted pattern.
But there's another mystery in my broken herd. The torts. I have got spot torts in the past, but this latest foray into actively breeding for tort has not produced a single spot. Every broken tort has been heavy blankets, usually too much color. I've noticed in the past that certain solid colors didn't give enough pattern. I've also had solids (usually black) that pulled excellent pattern consistently. I just assumed it was about that particular rabbit. But it's not just particular torts, it's all the unrelated lines that carry for it. Maybe there's something else going on here. I'm trying to get litters from the Jacob's sable pt with broken black does (does aren't cooperating) to see if it is the tort, as in non-extension SELF, as opposed to non-extension shaded.
I'm off to my first show of the year tomorrow. The Triple Crown in Spartanburg, SC. The next show after that is Dalton, GA in March. Weather is holding out for the weekend. A little cooler, but decent temperatures and no snow predicted.
52 days until Spring
tnt
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
And another litter.
Yay. Things are looking up. Not only am I getting some live kits, I'm getting color.
Baroquen x Sugardaddy dropped 3 yesterday. I thought it was 2 torts and a broken black. Today, one of the torts is broken. It's funny how the heavily marked torts don't show any white right away. Oh yeah, and I knew they were torts at birth, no mistaking it. Don't know what I was thinking when I thought Daddy's other litter was torts. Just had it in my mind that's what would happen, I guess.
So far, Daddy throws his heavier pattern. I expected some charlie-marks since Baroquen is a spot pattern, but even with her, he threw plenty of color. He's one of those very useful bucks for me. I've had some like this in the past. He's carrying goodies and it just takes a good match to get them in his litter. Broken that throws good pattern, and carries dilute and non-extension, yeah, very handy in one brood buck. Now to get blue out of him. I gave him Chevette in a fit of desperation. She IS blue and a proven good doe. I'll take solid blue at this point, but broken blue would be better. Don't really expect blue tort from Chevette.
All 3 kits are very small. That's been a problem for me with Baroquen's line. They're often too big for my taste. Daddy looks like a good match in that respect, too.
There is one thing bugging me. Why did I not get tort when I bred Daddy to the sable pt doe, but did when I bred him to the broken black who carries himi? Methinks I don't know all there is to know about how these genes work together. At least there were no himis.
Kachina failed. Found hers dead cold this morning. She was bred to Jacob the sable pt, and all 3 were torts. Looks like 2 were alive at birth. What is it with these does that get it right the very first time and can't seem to pull it off again? Got another doe like that. Of course, it doesn't help that a cold snap comes through on the nights litters are due. And this goes back to the previous question. Kachina is Daddy's daughter. Why no sable pts in this litter?
So 3 litters in the box, and 1 on the ground. 2012 is off to a pretty good start. Already looking more successful than all of last year.
54 days until Spring
tnt
Baroquen x Sugardaddy dropped 3 yesterday. I thought it was 2 torts and a broken black. Today, one of the torts is broken. It's funny how the heavily marked torts don't show any white right away. Oh yeah, and I knew they were torts at birth, no mistaking it. Don't know what I was thinking when I thought Daddy's other litter was torts. Just had it in my mind that's what would happen, I guess.
So far, Daddy throws his heavier pattern. I expected some charlie-marks since Baroquen is a spot pattern, but even with her, he threw plenty of color. He's one of those very useful bucks for me. I've had some like this in the past. He's carrying goodies and it just takes a good match to get them in his litter. Broken that throws good pattern, and carries dilute and non-extension, yeah, very handy in one brood buck. Now to get blue out of him. I gave him Chevette in a fit of desperation. She IS blue and a proven good doe. I'll take solid blue at this point, but broken blue would be better. Don't really expect blue tort from Chevette.
All 3 kits are very small. That's been a problem for me with Baroquen's line. They're often too big for my taste. Daddy looks like a good match in that respect, too.
There is one thing bugging me. Why did I not get tort when I bred Daddy to the sable pt doe, but did when I bred him to the broken black who carries himi? Methinks I don't know all there is to know about how these genes work together. At least there were no himis.
Kachina failed. Found hers dead cold this morning. She was bred to Jacob the sable pt, and all 3 were torts. Looks like 2 were alive at birth. What is it with these does that get it right the very first time and can't seem to pull it off again? Got another doe like that. Of course, it doesn't help that a cold snap comes through on the nights litters are due. And this goes back to the previous question. Kachina is Daddy's daughter. Why no sable pts in this litter?
So 3 litters in the box, and 1 on the ground. 2012 is off to a pretty good start. Already looking more successful than all of last year.
54 days until Spring
tnt
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Lucky Litters - Part III
Well, that was unexpected. I had said Z. Lita x Sugardaddy was 2 torts. I saw the tort shading on the newborns' skin and just assumed that's what they were. Now they are Sable Points. Then I remembered they sometimes display that same tort shading on the lower body and head. Boy, I'm batting nearly 0 for color guesses lately. But hey, the sable point project is on the fast track.
I didn't think Sugardaddy carried shaded which is why I expected torts. Shaded has to hook up with another "c" gene to be expressed so I reviewed his pedigree to see where it might have come from. There it is...his ggdam is a himi.
That will probably be a problem. I also bred Daddy to Baroquen who carries himi for sure, and one of the reasons I used him with her is because I thought he was clean. Oh, I sure hope there's something besides himis in that litter. I knew breeding himi x broken might come back to bite me, but was hoping careful planning would avoid it.
Got a few does due this week and next. One pulled some fur today, but I'm not optimistic. I found some bloody matter under her cage when I cleaned the other day. I think she aborted something. Grrr, this is one of the nice broken does who has yet to give me a live litter.
Got a couple does bred this week, and still have a few more that need it.
Weather has been pretty good. It got up to 64 yesterday. Another cold snap today and tonight but I think it's warming up again for the rest of the week. I sure do like the heating bills this winter. So far, they've been half what they were last year. I like it.
61 days until Spring
tnt
I didn't think Sugardaddy carried shaded which is why I expected torts. Shaded has to hook up with another "c" gene to be expressed so I reviewed his pedigree to see where it might have come from. There it is...his ggdam is a himi.
That will probably be a problem. I also bred Daddy to Baroquen who carries himi for sure, and one of the reasons I used him with her is because I thought he was clean. Oh, I sure hope there's something besides himis in that litter. I knew breeding himi x broken might come back to bite me, but was hoping careful planning would avoid it.
Got a few does due this week and next. One pulled some fur today, but I'm not optimistic. I found some bloody matter under her cage when I cleaned the other day. I think she aborted something. Grrr, this is one of the nice broken does who has yet to give me a live litter.
Got a couple does bred this week, and still have a few more that need it.
Weather has been pretty good. It got up to 64 yesterday. Another cold snap today and tonight but I think it's warming up again for the rest of the week. I sure do like the heating bills this winter. So far, they've been half what they were last year. I like it.
61 days until Spring
tnt
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Lucky Litter - Part II
Very good! I have 2 new litters! I can't remember the last time I had more than one live litter at a time.
Zimmerman's Suzie x Jacob's is the one I talked about before who kindled 1.12. 3 sable pts. Yay. I was worried about how she'd react to my taking them away that night, but she is doing fine. She was shy about getting in the box that next morning so I finished chores and came back about an hour later to see if she had fed them, and she had. So all is well there.
Zimmerman's Lita x Sugardaddy dropped hers yesterday 1.14. It's been so cold at night, I figured it would be a bust, but it was another lucky litter born in the afternoon. If she had kindled at night, they'd have been kitsickles for sure because she kicked most of the nesting material out of the box and only put a little fur in there. At least she put the kits in the box. There's 2 torts. She hopped right in the box when I took it out this morning and spent quite a bit of time with the kits.
I didn't know how these does would do for me. They're older than I like, and not of my breeding, and I have no idea how long they'd been idle. I'm a bit surprised and very pleased that they both did great right away. Now if my own does would just get their acts together.
Chevelle's are doing great, too. They are both bucks, and the smoke pearl is looking like he'll be suitable as a dilute brood buck. Time will tell if I'll want to show him because I think he got his daddy's wide crown and muley ears. The sable pt is a promising little show bunny.
64 days until Spring
tnt
Zimmerman's Suzie x Jacob's is the one I talked about before who kindled 1.12. 3 sable pts. Yay. I was worried about how she'd react to my taking them away that night, but she is doing fine. She was shy about getting in the box that next morning so I finished chores and came back about an hour later to see if she had fed them, and she had. So all is well there.
Zimmerman's Lita x Sugardaddy dropped hers yesterday 1.14. It's been so cold at night, I figured it would be a bust, but it was another lucky litter born in the afternoon. If she had kindled at night, they'd have been kitsickles for sure because she kicked most of the nesting material out of the box and only put a little fur in there. At least she put the kits in the box. There's 2 torts. She hopped right in the box when I took it out this morning and spent quite a bit of time with the kits.
I didn't know how these does would do for me. They're older than I like, and not of my breeding, and I have no idea how long they'd been idle. I'm a bit surprised and very pleased that they both did great right away. Now if my own does would just get their acts together.
Chevelle's are doing great, too. They are both bucks, and the smoke pearl is looking like he'll be suitable as a dilute brood buck. Time will tell if I'll want to show him because I think he got his daddy's wide crown and muley ears. The sable pt is a promising little show bunny.
64 days until Spring
tnt
Friday, January 13, 2012
Lucky Litter
One of the new Sable Pt does was due on the 13th. The other the 14th. I didn't realize it was Friday the 13th until someone mentioned it. Now, I've never considered Friday 13th a bad day for me. I've never had an unlucky Friday 13, so I kind of think of it as a lucky day. Of course, it's probably just another day. I'm not a lucky person and I don't think there are lucky days for me.
I thought it would be cool if I could name a litter for Friday the 13th. You know...lucky type names. Plus, another cold snap was coming so it would be lucky if the litter was alive if born at night. Well, this litter did turn out to be lucky. I hope.
I caught her pulling fur yesterday morning when I went out for chores. I gave her a box and she immediately began bundling hay. I should have paid more attention. She's a proven and experienced doe and pulling fur probably was her routine just before kindling. But I don't know her and just wasn't thinking. I didn't look in on her again until late afternoon when I went out to shut up the barn and turn on the heater. It was 50 most of the day so I had some windows open.
Oh my. There were kits all over the wire. She built a beautiful fur nest so I don't know why she didn't put them in it. 3 were alive but very cold and close to death. I whisked them into the house and popped the heat wrap in the microwave. It took over an hour (had to heat the wrap a 2nd time) to get the kits warm and active. By this time, it was too late to take them back out to her to see if she wanted to tend to them. No way I was leaving the box out all night. I put the box on a heating pad to warm it up. As of now, they are all fine, but it's too early to take them out there. My worry is not knowing how this doe will accept my routine of taking the box out in the morning and taking it away the rest of the time. Especially since she hasn't seen the kits since I picked them off the wire. Here's hoping she will accept them. I don't have a doe to foster. If this litter survives, I think it's definitely earned the lucky names. Oh yeah and it's just plain lucky I have a litter at all!
Here's also hoping the other SP doe kindles during the day, too. This cold snap is going to last for a good week. Oh BTW, the kits are probably Sable Pts (I hope). She was bred to the new Jacob's SP buck. The other doe is bred to Sugardaddy (broken black) so I don't know what I'll get there. He carries for tort so good chance for that. More on these stories as they develop.
In chicken news. I had to kick the d'Uccle roo out of the pen. For some reason, everybody started beating him up a few days ago, even the hens. I don't know what happened to the pecking order all of a sudden, but apparently he was severely demoted. He looked really rough around the head and tail feathers, and his comb was caked with I don't know what. They wouldn't let him near any food. So out he went to join the other 2 free rangers where he seems to be doing ok.
The buff Cochin roo is probably going out, too. I decided he's a mixed breed. He's bigger than the other Cochins and not cochin-shaped. He's tall, leggy, long necked. I probably don't want his genes in any hatches I might get. Although, I do like him. He's a handsome bird and not aggressive. The d'Uccle was a little aggressive with me. I've had to smack him a few times. Maybe that's what set the others off? That would be interesting to know. The Rhode Island Red roo has been smacked, too, but it's my plan to isolate him with the 2 RIR hens for RIR chicks so he's staying in for now. That leaves the 2 fluffy mottled black Cochin roos for the rest of the hens. Which means more mixed breeds since there's only 1 Cochin hen, but oh well. I'm not raising show chickens.
So far this winter has been the way I like it. Except for the little cold snaps, it's mostly been mild with rain instead of snow. I've even been able to open a window in the house during the day. It's about 24 this morning and there's snow on the ground, but not a lot. It rained quite a bit before it turned to snow so I'm sure the roads are treacherous this morning. I don't have to go anywhere so it doesn't bother me. It's supposed to get back to normal after this cold front goes by. I like it this way.
tnt
I thought it would be cool if I could name a litter for Friday the 13th. You know...lucky type names. Plus, another cold snap was coming so it would be lucky if the litter was alive if born at night. Well, this litter did turn out to be lucky. I hope.
I caught her pulling fur yesterday morning when I went out for chores. I gave her a box and she immediately began bundling hay. I should have paid more attention. She's a proven and experienced doe and pulling fur probably was her routine just before kindling. But I don't know her and just wasn't thinking. I didn't look in on her again until late afternoon when I went out to shut up the barn and turn on the heater. It was 50 most of the day so I had some windows open.
Oh my. There were kits all over the wire. She built a beautiful fur nest so I don't know why she didn't put them in it. 3 were alive but very cold and close to death. I whisked them into the house and popped the heat wrap in the microwave. It took over an hour (had to heat the wrap a 2nd time) to get the kits warm and active. By this time, it was too late to take them back out to her to see if she wanted to tend to them. No way I was leaving the box out all night. I put the box on a heating pad to warm it up. As of now, they are all fine, but it's too early to take them out there. My worry is not knowing how this doe will accept my routine of taking the box out in the morning and taking it away the rest of the time. Especially since she hasn't seen the kits since I picked them off the wire. Here's hoping she will accept them. I don't have a doe to foster. If this litter survives, I think it's definitely earned the lucky names. Oh yeah and it's just plain lucky I have a litter at all!
Here's also hoping the other SP doe kindles during the day, too. This cold snap is going to last for a good week. Oh BTW, the kits are probably Sable Pts (I hope). She was bred to the new Jacob's SP buck. The other doe is bred to Sugardaddy (broken black) so I don't know what I'll get there. He carries for tort so good chance for that. More on these stories as they develop.
In chicken news. I had to kick the d'Uccle roo out of the pen. For some reason, everybody started beating him up a few days ago, even the hens. I don't know what happened to the pecking order all of a sudden, but apparently he was severely demoted. He looked really rough around the head and tail feathers, and his comb was caked with I don't know what. They wouldn't let him near any food. So out he went to join the other 2 free rangers where he seems to be doing ok.
The buff Cochin roo is probably going out, too. I decided he's a mixed breed. He's bigger than the other Cochins and not cochin-shaped. He's tall, leggy, long necked. I probably don't want his genes in any hatches I might get. Although, I do like him. He's a handsome bird and not aggressive. The d'Uccle was a little aggressive with me. I've had to smack him a few times. Maybe that's what set the others off? That would be interesting to know. The Rhode Island Red roo has been smacked, too, but it's my plan to isolate him with the 2 RIR hens for RIR chicks so he's staying in for now. That leaves the 2 fluffy mottled black Cochin roos for the rest of the hens. Which means more mixed breeds since there's only 1 Cochin hen, but oh well. I'm not raising show chickens.
So far this winter has been the way I like it. Except for the little cold snaps, it's mostly been mild with rain instead of snow. I've even been able to open a window in the house during the day. It's about 24 this morning and there's snow on the ground, but not a lot. It rained quite a bit before it turned to snow so I'm sure the roads are treacherous this morning. I don't have to go anywhere so it doesn't bother me. It's supposed to get back to normal after this cold front goes by. I like it this way.
tnt
Friday, January 6, 2012
The game of genetic dice.
I've always known that color breeding is a crap shoot. By that I mean you put 2 rabbits together with expectations for what you'll get from them, and then the genetic dice roll out something else. Brokens are like that. Each litter from the same pair can toss different results. Chevelle's litter is one of those off-the-wall, totally unexpected crap shoots.
Let me start with the known genetics of the parents, and a timeline of how this litter progressed. Unfortunately, I was lazy and didn't document this litter with photos. I really should have as it would have been a valuable addition to the Color Articles. I'll just be describing it as best I can.
Chevelle is Black Himi, proven to carry non-extension (ee). She got her ee gene from her Himi sire who was out of a Sable Pt. I proved her for ee by breeding her to Tort...she threw Tort.
Dirty Little Secret aka BJ is a Sable Pt and Chevelle's son. His sire was Sable Pt. I tried this mother x son pairing for 1) Sable Pts, and 2) more improvement in type. BJ is an improvement on his sire, and I credit Chevelle for that. I hoped she could improve on the son even more.
I expected Himi, Sable Pt, and maybe Siamese Sable. Keep in mind I haven't had shadeds for a while. I'm a bit out of practice in identifying shaded kits.
Day 1 (birth). It looked like 1 Himi and 2 Sable Pts. Cool, that's what I wanted to see. The Himi was pink, the other 2 darker. When I found this litter, it was very cold, so I expected what happened next.
(This photo is not this litter, but it's a very close representation of how it looked at first.)
Day 3. The Himi became very colorful and the other 2 got darker. Sable Pts are also prone to the "cold himi" effect, especially if they carry Himi. One of the SPs was darker than the other.
Day 5. I'm examining the eyelids trying to decide if the 2 lighter kits are SP or Himi. You can usually tell by the eyelids. Himis will be colorless, anything else will have dark eyelids. I thought I was correct in assuming they were SP, although I still wasn't sure about the lightest one. By now, the darkest kit was a confirmed Siamese Sable.
Day 7. Ok, I think I've got it. 2 Sable Pts and a Siamese Sable. One of the SPs was still quite a bit darker than the other, but I just chalked that up to the wide variations that can happen in shaded litters.
Day 12 (or so). Eyes begin to open and the kits are getting furrier. The Sia Sable is very dark, and the darker SP is looking more like a light Sia Sable. This is puzzling me as it did not look like a sable earlier.
Day 15. The Sia Sable dies. I don't know what happened, but it never seemed as robust as the other 2. I consider myself very lucky that the kit I didn't care about is the one I lost. Although, I attempted early sexing and the sable may have been the only doe so that loss is kind of a drag.
Day 21 (3 weeks old, yesterday). They are now at the fuzzy cute stage. I hadn't really pulled the kits out of the box much before now. I touched them, handled them a little, wondered at the odd darkness of the one kit, but didn't bring them out into better light. The dark one puzzled me because a Sable Pt from Himi x fairly clean SP should have been lighter like the other one. I began to wonder if it was really another Sia Sable, just lighter than the other. That also didn't make much sense when the other sable was so much darker.
I pulled the kits out yesterday and gave them their first posing lesson. I realized the darker kit was awfully blue looking. I took it to better light to examine the eyes. Yep, sure looks gray. I did the same with the other kit and its eyes are definitely brown. Well for crying out loud, that's a Siamese Smoke Pearl!
I did not see that coming. How did this happen? I think I know now. Chevelle's parents had thrown dilute before in Blue Himis. I can't remember for sure, but it might have been the litter Chevelle came from. There was no sign of dilute in their pedigrees, (although that doesn't prove anything), and I was surprised to see it from them. I filed the info away in my brain in case Chevelle ever threw dilute. Until this litter, she hadn't. I had no reason to believe BJ carried dilute, no sign in his lines either. I realized Chevelle must have given it to BJ and then they both gave it to this kit. Mystery solved, but what a long shot that was!
Oh, but wait. Here's where that crap shoot I mentioned comes in. I just weaned Chevette's litter out last week. Also sired by BJ. Chevette IS dilute...Blue Himi. The litter is 4 Black Himis. I actually have to look at them more closely to be sure as their color is still developing, but a quick glance after discovering the SSP yesterday showed me they all had black nose spots. If BJ carries dilute, why didn't it appear in a litter of 4 out of a dilute mate? And why were there no shadeds? Crap shoot!!!
As of yesterday, the Sable Pt kit is a buck. That's ok but I could sure use a doe. I haven't confirmed the Smoke yet, but I'm leaning toward buck as well. I can use a dilute buck, but it's the larger of the 2 and looking like it might be a false dwarf. Not ok for a buck of any color. There was also a peanut in this litter which should up the odds for true dwarf siblings. BJ is a beefy bunny and he was a big baby so I hope that's what I've got here.
Speaking of that. I'm starving for does! I did a rough tally in my head and I can only count 3 confirmed does since spring! And one of those was a fader. I only have 2 young does right now, and one just turned sr. Counting from the most recent 5-6 live litters that I do remember, that's out of 15 (give or take) viable kits. It was also a dismal year for live litters which didn't help the buck/doe ratio. But come on!!!
73 days until Spring
tnt
Let me start with the known genetics of the parents, and a timeline of how this litter progressed. Unfortunately, I was lazy and didn't document this litter with photos. I really should have as it would have been a valuable addition to the Color Articles. I'll just be describing it as best I can.
Chevelle is Black Himi, proven to carry non-extension (ee). She got her ee gene from her Himi sire who was out of a Sable Pt. I proved her for ee by breeding her to Tort...she threw Tort.
Dirty Little Secret aka BJ is a Sable Pt and Chevelle's son. His sire was Sable Pt. I tried this mother x son pairing for 1) Sable Pts, and 2) more improvement in type. BJ is an improvement on his sire, and I credit Chevelle for that. I hoped she could improve on the son even more.
I expected Himi, Sable Pt, and maybe Siamese Sable. Keep in mind I haven't had shadeds for a while. I'm a bit out of practice in identifying shaded kits.
Day 1 (birth). It looked like 1 Himi and 2 Sable Pts. Cool, that's what I wanted to see. The Himi was pink, the other 2 darker. When I found this litter, it was very cold, so I expected what happened next.
Day 3. The Himi became very colorful and the other 2 got darker. Sable Pts are also prone to the "cold himi" effect, especially if they carry Himi. One of the SPs was darker than the other.
Day 5. I'm examining the eyelids trying to decide if the 2 lighter kits are SP or Himi. You can usually tell by the eyelids. Himis will be colorless, anything else will have dark eyelids. I thought I was correct in assuming they were SP, although I still wasn't sure about the lightest one. By now, the darkest kit was a confirmed Siamese Sable.
Day 7. Ok, I think I've got it. 2 Sable Pts and a Siamese Sable. One of the SPs was still quite a bit darker than the other, but I just chalked that up to the wide variations that can happen in shaded litters.
Day 12 (or so). Eyes begin to open and the kits are getting furrier. The Sia Sable is very dark, and the darker SP is looking more like a light Sia Sable. This is puzzling me as it did not look like a sable earlier.
Day 15. The Sia Sable dies. I don't know what happened, but it never seemed as robust as the other 2. I consider myself very lucky that the kit I didn't care about is the one I lost. Although, I attempted early sexing and the sable may have been the only doe so that loss is kind of a drag.
Day 21 (3 weeks old, yesterday). They are now at the fuzzy cute stage. I hadn't really pulled the kits out of the box much before now. I touched them, handled them a little, wondered at the odd darkness of the one kit, but didn't bring them out into better light. The dark one puzzled me because a Sable Pt from Himi x fairly clean SP should have been lighter like the other one. I began to wonder if it was really another Sia Sable, just lighter than the other. That also didn't make much sense when the other sable was so much darker.
I pulled the kits out yesterday and gave them their first posing lesson. I realized the darker kit was awfully blue looking. I took it to better light to examine the eyes. Yep, sure looks gray. I did the same with the other kit and its eyes are definitely brown. Well for crying out loud, that's a Siamese Smoke Pearl!
I did not see that coming. How did this happen? I think I know now. Chevelle's parents had thrown dilute before in Blue Himis. I can't remember for sure, but it might have been the litter Chevelle came from. There was no sign of dilute in their pedigrees, (although that doesn't prove anything), and I was surprised to see it from them. I filed the info away in my brain in case Chevelle ever threw dilute. Until this litter, she hadn't. I had no reason to believe BJ carried dilute, no sign in his lines either. I realized Chevelle must have given it to BJ and then they both gave it to this kit. Mystery solved, but what a long shot that was!
Oh, but wait. Here's where that crap shoot I mentioned comes in. I just weaned Chevette's litter out last week. Also sired by BJ. Chevette IS dilute...Blue Himi. The litter is 4 Black Himis. I actually have to look at them more closely to be sure as their color is still developing, but a quick glance after discovering the SSP yesterday showed me they all had black nose spots. If BJ carries dilute, why didn't it appear in a litter of 4 out of a dilute mate? And why were there no shadeds? Crap shoot!!!
As of yesterday, the Sable Pt kit is a buck. That's ok but I could sure use a doe. I haven't confirmed the Smoke yet, but I'm leaning toward buck as well. I can use a dilute buck, but it's the larger of the 2 and looking like it might be a false dwarf. Not ok for a buck of any color. There was also a peanut in this litter which should up the odds for true dwarf siblings. BJ is a beefy bunny and he was a big baby so I hope that's what I've got here.
Speaking of that. I'm starving for does! I did a rough tally in my head and I can only count 3 confirmed does since spring! And one of those was a fader. I only have 2 young does right now, and one just turned sr. Counting from the most recent 5-6 live litters that I do remember, that's out of 15 (give or take) viable kits. It was also a dismal year for live litters which didn't help the buck/doe ratio. But come on!!!
73 days until Spring
tnt
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