Sold Out.

Two months ago I sent this email/announcement out:

Hey everyone,

I’ve got some big news to share from Hoppin’ Herd of Hares, so here goes….

Today, a big decision has been made. It’s taken a lot of thought and I’ve been thinking it through for the past few weeks. But, I have finally decided that I am selling out of my Mini Lops. I know this will take many by surprise and many will be disappointed to hear this. But, life changes and although years ago I never thought I would sell out, the time has come.

Over the past 12 years, I have learned so much, met many friends, and thoroughly enjoyed helping all the youth and new breeders over the years – whether it was online or in person.

When I started working with the Mini Lops, I had to search high and low for chocolates or any colored Mini Lop for that matter. When I finally got the first chocolates, their type left a lot to be desired. It’s been years of hard work, but today, they are able to compete with the “big boys” and win on the show tables. I am very thankful to God that He gave me the skill, knowledge and understanding of how to work with the genetics and improve this breed.

My website will stay active and I will keep the color guides up, as well as the health & mini lop body type pages. 

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Now, that day has come. 2 weeks ago, the last of my Mini Lops went to their homes.  Our Mini Lops went to fantastic breeders in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Iowa, Illinois and Kansas.

We. Have. Snow. Lots Of It!

Well, well, we had a few beautiful days this week, but when Wednesday came, it started getting cold. By Thursday morning it was even colder and it was hailing/freezing rain almost all day. Then in the late afternoon/early evening, the snow came. We've got a good 6-8 inches of snow now.

And it's supposed to get even colder over the next couple days, although I think the snow is pretty much done for now.

The buns are all handling it well, as their insulated barn really makes a difference. Although, it's still cold in there.

So, here are some pictures of the beautiful snow.

How To Palpate A Rabbit - Palpating A Pregnant Rabbit At 10-14 Days Along

I've been meaning to do something like this for awhile, but just don't get around to doing it most of the time. So, here it is. A 'How-To' video on palpating a rabbit. Hopefully there will be more videos to come!


 

Hello!

Well, it's been a few months since I last blogged! Oops! The bunnies are all doing *GREAT*.

PenPals feed has continued to cause problems for our herd - haven't had a litter since my July litters. So, needless to say, it's been about a month or so since I switched back to MannaPro. I'm done with PenPals. They've hindered my breeding program so much and really screwed things up. So, hopefully the does will all take soon, but they're still coming off the lack of fertility from PenPals.

The weather has been crazy - up and down - 70's and then down to the teens. Thankfully most of the buns have handled it well. But, the one day that it was warm a couple days prior and took a major dive, one of my old girls didn't handle it so well. One of my favorite does, Keerah, got pneumonia (a horrible case of it), literally overnight. She was doing great the night before when I checked on them and when I went out to feed in the morning, she was sitting in the corner hardly able to breath. It was awful. Sadly, she had to be put down, as there was no saving her and I didn't want her to suffer with the difficult breathing.

Thankfully I have two of her daughters and a son (Brooke & Shane look *identical* to her, thankfully!) to replace her with. But, she will be missed. She was such a sweetie and I had planned to retire her very soon!

So, for now, I'll just close with a few pictures:

Miss Courtney:

A few of the juniors:

And, finally, the newest member of the barn, who was a surprise!

 

Long Time No Blog!

Well, well, it's been awhile since I blogged. Oops. Sooooo....life certainly hasn't been dull or boring, but I just keep not getting to blogging.

We've had several litters born this summer, all of which are now weaned and leaving to their new homes.

This is one of Lexus' beautiful girls. She looks so much like her mama and went to a fabulous youth show home! So excited for that :).

This is Lexus' gorgeous girl who I am keeping. Still gotta come up with a name for her.

Krissie had a litter of just 2 boys. Man, they are the chubbiest babies ever. So cute and squishable!

Millie had a lovely litter of very pretty babies. This is one of her boys, who is oh-so-cute.

This little girl is my keeper out of Millie's litter. Have to come up with a name for her, but she is gonna be one lovely doe!

The weather has been amazingly beautiful. We've had a few weeks of "HOT" summer days, but as of the last week or so, fall is finally here. And it's that not-quite-cold, but not-quite-hot type of weather that makes you put your sweatshirt on and off all day long :). Very ready for fall though! So, here are a few scenery shots that I've taken the last couple months.

Farm life is happening. Lots of baby birds everywhere. Goats coming into heat. Bucks in rut. Llamas running all over the ranch. New additions to the ranch: goats, a mini horse, a mini donkey and a mini calf. And all sorts of happiness. We're so very blessed.

Just one of the many "summer-time" spiders that come out in the garden or plant areas.

The barn kitties: Fluffy and Sunny are growing up and sure are fun cats!

Already a month?

Wow, it's been a month since I posted on the blog. Time flies by! I have been keeping the FB page and website updated and I guess I forgot about the blog. Oops.

Both Erika's & Brioni's babies are 8 weeks old now. This is my keeper doe from Erika's litter, a cute little broken chestnut agouti.

Erika's broken chocolate chestnut doe was beautiful as well. All 3 of Erika's girls were gorgeous and her other two does (this doe below and the chestnut agouti) have already gone to their new home as future show girls and brood does.

Brioni's litter is very cute, but several of them are such pretty bucks. I'm keeping her chocolate chestnut doe below, who is adorable.

 

Since all my babies are 8 weeks old and many have left to their new homes, it was time to breed some does again. So, I have 3 litters due this week: Lexus, Millie & Scarlett. There are 4 more does bred also and then I have 2 does left to breed.

Here's just a couple pictures from weaning time. It was a chore separating out all the does and bucks and getting them all situated in some new cages, so that I wouldn't be confused as to who was who and so they wouldn't be too crowded. In the meantime though, they enjoyed running around the barn.

A couple of my keeper girls.

Here's a couple neat scenery pictures from the last few weeks.

A beautiful sunset on a bike ride with some friends.

The Super Moon that was so beautiful for several days!

And this morning we had a nice downpour of some rain - it was much needed. So, it made for a lovely, cool morning, which gave a good amount of time to get the barn cleaned. It's been such an unusually cool summer, thankfully!