Sunday, September 29, 2013

Huckleberry's Cosette

None of you have gotten to meet my adorable little doe, Cosette! I purchased this beauty from my friend in Virginia, Hannah Walton who sold out of Hollands around the end of 2012. She saved this little sweet heart for me!!
With all honesty, this doe is pretty much one of my favorite Holland I have ever owned. What a little ham! She has one of those hard to come across personalities where she must know what you're doing at all times, will get in your face if you dare ignore her, and will give your face a firm boop with her nose if the ignoring persists.
On top of her precious personality, this doe is a little, yet solid tank! She has phenomenal type on her! I call her my "lil' chunk" because she is firmly fleshed yet still so thick and wide. Do not confuse this width with being overweight. This is the width I'm striving for!

What a fun doe to pose!

Uh, width and mass! Picture perfect!

And of course, here she is jumping to me. She loves attention!

Her smooshy face; how can you not adore her?!

Saturday, September 28, 2013

An Abundance of Updates

Since my big break, a lot has happened here at LRR. I'd like to spend the majority of this post catching my readers up on all things going on here. I want to warn you of two things. First, this post is bound to be a long one. And second, I'm going to update on all the good things but also the bad things that have happened. I hate to make a negative post at all but unfortunately, the bad events had a big impact on me and my rabbitry so I need to talk about them.
Let's start with the bad so I can end on a happy note. Lol!
First, I lost my favorite Holland Lop buck, Gilroy. I only got 1 litter out of him. :'( Gilroy was a once in a lifetime rabbit and I am thankful that I got to spend the time I had with him. He will be forever missed.
Second, my rabbits are homeless because we're in the midst of a big move. Most of the seniors are staying at another breeder's house which is very difficult. I miss my bunnies, and I really miss my routine of taking care of them.
Third, I also lost my hotot herd buck, Buddy Holly right after moving my rabbits into their temporary home. I have a lot of theories as to how he passed away but I was to hurt to go do an autopsy. His exterior signs pointed towards a fur blockage which would make sense because he was in mid-molt. I am thankful for the 6 litters I got from Buddy and the beautiful son of his that I am still blessed to have in my rabbitry. I am also very thankful for the time I got to spend with Buddy, himself. Bud taught me a lot and set a high standard in my rabbitry. He was also a sweet heart and a very gentle little buck. He is one of those rabbits that stick with you long after they're gone...:( Thank you Lindsey King for sharing this sweet boy with me. <3
Okay, enough with the depressing happenings! Whew, that brought me down. Anyways, now for the exciting and happy things!
First, I finally got to bring home Huckleberry's Cosette! She is a BEAUTIFUL senior Holland doe. My nest post will be all about her so I'll save the details for that post.
Second, as mentioned in my last post, Tyrade won a RIS in a relatively big, competitive class! Made my month! Hehe!



Third, I'm loving my juniors! Diesel, a very depthy, compact, 4 month old sport buck is still looking beautiful. Love him! TF Lovie, a very cute junior doe has filled out a lot! She's looking gorgeous but is tough to pose long enough for pictures. Her pictures were quick shots I got of her. Definitely not her best photo! All 4 of my Holland jr does are looking very cute too. I'll have to get photos of them once they fill out a bit at 4 months old.

Lacks in shoulder width but her depth is her biggest strength!

Cute little chunky face <3

Nice depth and thick bone with no bent ankles! Wowza!
Also a nice crown for a junior!

This October, I have about 7 breedings planned. In November, I have about 4-6 breedings planned. All of these litters are exciting! I'm breeding everyone in the coming months in preparation for Nationals and Convention next year. Spring breeding will be crazy for convention juniors! If you can't tell, I'm so excited!
I'm getting my bunnies back in about 2 weeks and they'll be living in our new house's garage for the Winter and then we'll have a nice new 12'x16' barn to move them into this Spring. I'm hoping to purchase some stackers at the shows in February and March so my keepers can all stay with me. I run out of cages quickly now that I have quite a few nice does in my breeding program!

8 week old Holland jr does relaxing.
Raybans' head is starting to show some real potential!
I had to add a plywood foot rest for my rabbits in the hutches to
chew and sit on. They love it!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Fresh Hay

That break didn't last as long as I thought it would. Lol! I made a deal with my good friend that if she started blogging again, I had to as well. Therefore, I'm back!
We've been busily cutting hay this week because we finally caught a break from the constant rain! Our little town as been buzzing with the famous green and yellow tractors cutting and baling every field in sight. What a busy time of year! After baling our smallest field today, I took a break and snapped a few pictures.
This beautiful, rich grass hay will be stored away for the bunnies to enjoy through the Winter and Spring until the 1st cut of 2014. I like to store 15 bales every Fall. If we have any left by the 1st cut the next year, I feed it to our cows and store away enough hay until 3rd cut. I really like to rotate my hay as much as possible. I usually rotate 2-3 times a year. I can't stand old, dusty hay. Especially for rabbits. The cows don't mind though! ;-)





So rich and green! <3 LOVE fresh hay!!


Tyrade- Because I haven't posted in forever,
I didn't get to mention that Tyrade won RIS on
September 6th! He got a beautiful handmade orange and
purple ribbon. So exciting!