Tuesday, September 29, 2009

New pictures of almost everybunny

I took a bunch of new pictures of the bunnies today and put the new pictures up on the website. Almost everyone got new pictures, minus the few that are still blowing their coats! A lot of the buns hadn't had a new picture for about a year, so it was long over-due.

The juniors are all looking really good too, I'm so excited with how they are turning out! Very nice :).

I'm doing a big herd reduction, as I really need to make some more cage space in the barn and I just can't keep everyone I have in the barn right now. Just about all of my cages are full, so it's pretty crazy! There's several senior bucks & does and several juniors ----

Hoppin's Josh
Hoppin's Tennessee Mud
Hoppin's Tara
Hoppin's Clara
Hoppin's Daphnie
Hoppin's Chocolate Blush
Hoppin's Crystal
Hoppin's Lauren

There are several very nice buns available there!! Check it all out on the for sale page.

Oh, I'll share a few pictures of some of the bunnies that were taken today ~

Mud, in all his molting glory!
Brianna
Megan
Cute Jake!
Brandy . . . looking good still at 3 years old and 5 litters later :)!

Qadoshyah

Monday, September 28, 2009

Baby Bunnies

Kristen kindled to 4 babies on Friday morning. When I first counted them, I only found two, which surprised me since I thought I felt 3 or 4 in her for sure. I went back out to the barn and sure enough there were 2 in the front of the box as well, not under the fur with the others . . . I had just missed 'em. She has 2 "pinks", a black and a lilac. I'm hoping at least one of the pinks will be a lilac pointed white . . .

Daisy's babies are a broken black, broken chocolate, broken blue, blue, lilac agouti and ? agouti. She has one baby that totally has me puzzled. I am thinking it may be a smoke pearl chinchilla though (genetically possible), so we'll see.

The rest of the bunnies are all doing great. Since Tatianna didn't take, I think I will do what my original plan was before breeding her again - put her up for sale. I really just need some cage space in the barn and want to make sure I'm keeping only those who I really need.

Because of that, I am considering selling Chocolate Blush. I will have to look over her again to be sure, but that's what I'm leaning towards. She is a very nice doe, I just don't know if I *need* her right now. I'm also going to decide between Megan & Lauren - Jenny's two jr. does - and see which one I should part with. Nick, the gold tip'd blue steel jr. buck I kept back from Sugar's litter, I am also considering parting with.

And, I'm even thinking of doing something I was not going to do . . . let Brandy go. BUT, she won't go very cheap if I let her go and she must go to the perfect home/rabbitry.

Here are a few pictures of the babies and random pictures of the bunnies ~

The first few pictures are my "?" baby:




Kristen's babies:
Daisy's babies:
Funny picture of Brandy with Riley in the background . . . waiting for me to come to his side!



Qadoshyah

Friday, September 25, 2009

What Feed to Use?

Feed is an important subject when it comes to raising rabbits, or any animal for that matter. There are such a wide variety of rabbit feeds available. Some are very cheap, and have lousy ingredients. Other feeds are very expensive and have better ingredients. Then you also have some feeds that are moderately priced, but have good ingredients.

To name a few of the brands that are known throughout the country and are commonly used in the rabbit world . . . Purina, PenPals, Ringmaster, Heinhold, and Manna Pro. Then you also have locally known or milled feeds that are very reputable, like Templeton (CA), Pfaus (WA), and King (CA).

Choosing a good feed to use can be hard to do. Some breeders may have great success with a certain feed and others have terrible results with the same feed. Certain lines may react differently to a certain feed than someone else's line.

It's good to ask breeders what they use and what their results are with it. Sometimes you can get a good idea if a certain brand overall is a quality feed or not. But, then the ultimate test lies with your herd.

There are many factors that play into how a certain feed effects someone's herd. The quality of your water. How often you feed your herd supplements. How often you give your herd hay. How well your herd utilizes the feed ingredients.

When starting a new feed, you have to remember to give the feed adequate time before you really know if it is doing the trick for your herd or not. How much time? Like 5-6 months at least. Although, there are times when you can know right away if the feed is working or not. If the feed is not very fresh and the rabbits turn their nose up to it, I think you can know that isn't going to work!

When I started feeding Fibre3 it took 5 months before I finally said "No more" to that feed. It was plenty of time for me to assess the rabbits condition, how many babies I got in each litter, how the rabbits grew on it, etc.

I hear a lot of people say maybe I should try another feed for a number of reasons. 1) It's new and others have had good results with it, 2) It's cheaper or 3) I just want to try a new feed. Really, you are not doing your herd good if you are constantly switching feed brands. It just wrecks havoc on the rabbits. Any breeder who has been breeding for a decent amount of time knows this. The rabbits blow their coats. Some may go off feed for a short period of time, etc.

If your rabbits are doing well on a particular feed, stick with it. Don't switch feed just to try something new out, just to see what the latest craze is all about. It's not worth the trouble it can cause you.

When I found a good feed that worked with my rabbits I fed that feed for a good 5-6 years and never had a single problem. Since we moved I had to switch feeds and I've done it twice since we moved. Thankfully, I've finally found a good feed and I intend to stay with it unless something happens with the feed.

Qadoshyah

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Daisy . . .

The first litter was born today . . . Daisy's litter!

Before we left for town today, Daisy was starting to build a nest and all, so I really expected something from her when we got home. Sure enough, she had 6 nice babies in her box when we got home this evening! Definitely more than I was expecting, but that's fine by me ;). I haven't even looked at their colors yet. I know there's several brokens, but that's about it. I just added a bunch more fur (yeah, it's kind of cool out here) and let them be for the moment. I'll look at them more in a few . . .

Kristen is still holding out on me . . . she has SEVERAL babies in her, but she hasn't had them yet. It's only a day over, so I'll give her a couple more days. I expect her to have them tonight or tomorrow though. She probably has 3-4 in her is my guess, but she could have more.

Tatianna is not pregnant. Doesn't surprise me at all. I didn't really expect her to be prego, but I thought I felt something when I palp'd her, so I figured I'd better be safe than sorry. I put her box in, but then re-palp'd her today and she definitely has NO babies in there.

I've gotta get a couple more does bred, I just don't know WHO to breed or WHAT bucks to use!

Today I ran into a family who was out here at my barn a month or so ago - they had brought their friend up to get a show rabbit. Anyways, we got talking about getting an ARBA show sanctioned out here in our area. I think it would be great. Either getting the Tulsa RBA to do a show out here, or I am thinking it may be better to start a small local club and do shows out here. There are so few shows out here in the midwest, another show in this area would be awesome. So, hopefully we can get something going soon!!

Qadoshyah

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

New Look!

The new design for the site is up! And, as you can see I changed the blog to correspond with the colors of the website. Have fun lookin' around and I hope ya'll like it!

All the rabbit care, lop color guide & kit color guide pages are finally switched over to my main site now too. Geocities is shutting down in the next month, so I was forced to finally get it all over here.

In the bunny news, I gave the 3 does due their boxes last night - Kristen, Tatianna & Daisy. I don't expect huge litters from any of them, but we'll see. Sometimes they throw more than they look like they have in 'em!

We had a T-storm last night, so I gave all the buns tons of hay before going to bed. When there's that much thunder & lightning, I'm always afraid someone is going to stress out. But, I think most of them have become accustomed to it now!!

I only have 8 babies left out of the 50 or so we had born the end of May-June. 3 of Kaylee's, 2 of Sarabeth's, 2 of Clara's & 1 of Tara's. Most of them are up on the for sale page also.

Still have 4 seniors available right now - Josh, Clara, Daphnie & Tara. Convention transport is available throughout the states!

Will update when the does have their babies . . .

Qadoshyah

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Mold.

Last night as I was giving the bunnies some oats, I happened to look up at the inside tarps that are rolled up and noticed they were covered in mold. Rabbits are extremely sensitive to mold and we all know mold is just plain bad for anybody.

I left a note for my brother to take the inside tarps down as soon as he could in the morning. He got them all out thankfully! As I was looking at them closer after he took them down, they are covered in black mold and that bluish/gray looking mold. There's little spots of mold everywhere. I'm glad I noticed it now.

The barn has SO much ventilation, but the humidity is SO high out here, especially right now, that everything molds incredibly easily. If rabbit pellets drop on the ground, within just a few days they'll be all swollen from moisture and within a few more days they'll be moldy. We have to keep a very close eye on that out here. But, I didn't think the waxed, waterproof canvas tarps would get *that* moldy!

We could take Lysol to the tarps, but there is so much mold on them, I don't want to risk the bunnies health. Besides I would have to keep a super close eye on them and probably have to spray them with Lysol every month or more. I've heard a rabbit sneeze here and there in the barn, but nothing major. So, I think the mold may have been what was bugging them.

So, we'll have to figure something else out for the inside tarps before winter hits (got about a month to month and a half before the cold really comes). Or, just get a heater of some sort to keep the barn warmer. I may put double bubble insulation as the inside tarps, as I don't think that molds and we have a lot of it. We'll see . . .

Qadoshyah

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Around the Ranch

Today was an absolutely beautiful day. Cool (almost requiring a sweat-shirt). Cloudy. Calm. With a few 'bouts of sprinkles throughout the day. This weather is amazing!

So, I made my way down to the pond today and took some pictures. Here are a few of them ~

Everything is so green!







Well, there isn't much to report on the bunnies. Everyone is just molting their coats out . . . lovely. The 3 litters are due in about 10 days - Kristen, Tatianna & Daisy. Cages are *full* and I've gotta get some bunnies moved out!

I received a nice report from a youth breeder in Oregon the other day. I sold Kayla a brkn lilac jr. buck this past December and he's since become a great buck for her. Here's a bit of what she said,

Well, his name is Oakey, and he is doing great! He is honestly the sweetest rabbit I have ever bought! He runs up to the cage door, and sticks his head out when I open, so I will give him head rubs, or hold him. I'm so happy with this rabbit. He got Reserve Champion of his class. And judge couldn't get over his head, lol!

Enjoy the pics!

Qadoshyah


Friday, September 11, 2009

Old Pictures

As I was updating/transferring over my kit color guide, I came across a couple of old pictures of some babies we've had over the years.

This baby was from a doe we had probably 6 years ago. This was before we really started breeding with good stock. We found this doe, Noni, off an ad in the Recycler or Pennysaver. She was just someone's pet and they were giving her away for free. Once we got good pedigreed stock, she was moved on out. But, she did give us some adorable babies, like this little guy ~


This little baby was out of a litter we had born about 3 years ago. She was out of Hoppin's Raspberry Truffle & JT's Amaretto. The whole litter was a very nice litter. This doe was named Hoppin's Cinnamon. We also kept her sister, Hoppin's Chocolate Rum. We just lost Chocolate this year due to wry neck. Cinnamon was sold a couple years ago. But, she was an incredibly adorable doe, as were all 3 of her siblings :)!

Qadoshyah

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Updates I Enjoy Hearing

The bunnies are all doing good, thankfully. They are continuing to fair well even through the storms we've had pretty much every day lately. The thunder can be incredibly loud and the lightning incredibly bright (almost like day light)!

Today I received an email from Suzanne in California who bought a sweet little lynx doe from us a few months ago. It was a great update, so I thought I would share ~

I had to drop you a note to let you know that our little lynx doe, Molly, has bonded with our other doe, Chloe. It took about three weeks, but it was all worth it, as now they are so attached to each other! It was wonderful to see how much Molly perked up once she had a friend to play with. She now gets alot more exercise and we see her run and jump often.

We are thrilled we brought Molly into our home, as she is sooo sweet and affectionate. (Just like you said!) She seems to be the favorite of both the kids and our guests. We adore her.


I totally enjoy receiving these kind of updates! It is what makes selling pets so nice, to receive updates on how well the bunnies are doing. Aren't they adorable together?! Thanks Suzanne & I'm so glad you guys are enjoying her.

Well, not much else going on with the bunnies. I am almost finished with the website makeover. Just have to finish transferring the Kit Color Guide over. Hopefully it'll be live next week!

Qadoshyah

Monday, September 7, 2009

Playin' With The Bunnies

Yesterday was a mellow day in the evening, so I decided to spend some time in the barn looking at the juniors, petting & holding the bunnies and all that kind of stuff.

My 4 month old juniors are all looking REALLY good right now! I'm thrilled with how they're turning out. Brad is also turning out NICE - I think he may end up being a great replacement for his dad. I'll put their pictures up on the site once I upload the new design (it's 1/2 way done ;)).

Here are a few pictures from last night:

Holding my big Sugar
Poor Brant, waiting for his coat to totally blow
Oh, my cute Brad!
Sisters! (Megan & Lauren)
Lil Britney
Nick relaxing in the sun
Brianna acting *just* like her mom
Shelley!
Truffle
Striper acting like "What do you want?"

I think that's about it for now!

Qadoshyah

Saturday, September 5, 2009

The End of A Great Buck

Last year a gorgeous blue buck came into our barn all the way from Washington. When he came, he had picked something up along the way, so I had to treat him with LA-200 for the first couple weeks. He seemed to get better. Better enough to be able to give us several very nice babies. But, a couple weeks ago I noticed his nose was very wet and he'd sneeze here and there with a little bit of snot. So, I quarantined him in spot where there was no hay at all. I was hoping this was just his allergy to hay. But, it wasn't and he only got worse as the week went by. I can't risk the health of my herd to keep him around.

This morning I had my brother do the deed of putting him down :(. I made sure I gave him lots of rubs last night and a special treat before I went to bed. Deckles helped many breeders herds in his 6 1/2 years . . . from Canada to Washington, back to Canada, back to Washington and finally out here to Oklahoma. I had hoped to just retire him with my other 4 retired bunnies.

Thankfully I do have two litters from him due the end of the month . . . and both does took for sure.

Bye-bye, sweet Deckles



Now, I've almost made myself cry writing this up :(.

Qadoshyah

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Fall's Comin'

We woke up this morning at 4am to the sound of thunder, the flashes of lightning, and the light sprinkling of rain on the roof. A pretty routine occurence out here. But, of course the tarps were all up on the barn, so it's always a game of "should I put the tarps down or not?" "Will the buns get wet if I leave it open?" I decided the storm didn't sound too threatening, so we left the tarps up.

Come this morning when I actually got up, it was POURING rain and had been for a few hours. The sound of the rain hitting the metal roof didn't sound like it had too much wind with it, so I wasn't *too* concerned about the bunnies. Thankfully my mom had already put down the back tarps, since the rain was blowing in on the bunnies a little bit.

A few of the young juniors were a bit unnerved probably because of the loud rain on the roof and the intense thunder & lightning (it can get EXTREMELY loud). Thankfully I had just gotten some hay yesterday, so I gave all the buns a ton of hay. They seemed to throughly enjoy that and it gave them something to do since it was a lot cooler today (58 when I was feeding this morning at 10am). I also gave a few bunnies some tubes to cuddle in if they needed to.

It's supposed to stay stormy for few days, so hopefully all the buns will continue to handle it well. I think most of the bunnies have gotten used to the routine loud thunderstorms, but some of the youngsters haven't experienced too much of it. I'm always a bit nervous when I go out to the barn after a loud storm, since I've had two start to wry neck after a big storm since we moved out here. Thankfully everyone was fine this morning!

Kristen & Daisy were bred 10 & 11 days ago, so I went ahead and palpated them today - both took! Yay! Some Deckles babies again :). Speaking of palpating, I forgot to palpate Tatianna. I doubt she took, since Mud only "got" her once, but ya never know . . .

Qadoshyah