Since yesterday's post, I have been thinking and I really don't want to leave my blog on that ranting note for a few weeks. I've pinpointed the problem and I'm fixing it! Here's to a happier, new beginning for my attitude towards rabbits! I want to regain the fun and excitement I used to have for improvement. I think I got too involved with other breeders and competition and it really sucked the fun out of rabbits for me. No more! I'm staying pretty secluded now in order to keep the peace and joy in my rabbitry. Of course, I'll still be babbling aimlessly about my bunnehs to my closest friends. I'd just like to keep the noses of people with questionable intentions out of my rabbitry. I will not be getting that involved in my competition ever again. Rabbits are fun for me to raise and I'm keeping it that way. Nobody is permitted to ruin the fun for me.
Anyways, lets talk about the little lovelies here at LRR at the moment! I don't think I've been doing a good job at updating lately because if you only follow my blog, you probably don't know about half the animals I work with! Lol! Let's catch up on current breedings! Here's a list of everyone and their due dates:
Holland Lops:Little Rascal's Diesel x TF Pistol Annie - Due: 11/22/13
TF Tyrade x LuvLops' Manda - Due: 11/24/13
TF Tyrade x TF Shoshone - Due: 11/24/13
TF Tyrade x Huckleberry's Cosette - Due: 11/24/13
Dwarf Hotots:4King's Martin x Percy's Paramore - Due: 11/16/13
Thunderhill's Bronson x Thunderhill's Mirror Mirror - Due: 11/16/13
Thunderhill's Bruno Mars x Thunderhill's Telsa - Due: 11/16/13
Little Rascal's Teddy x SC Laddie Go - Due: 11/24/13
Little Rascal's Teddy x Little Rascal's Mia - Due: 11/31/13
Hehe! Allow me to defend myself. The first Holland breeding, yes, is a mutt breeding. Diesel jumped into Annie's carrier while I was deep cleaning their cages!! Oh well! I'll rebreeding her to Tyrade as soon as I can.
Remember how I said I was going to be breeding everyone in August? Ha. Funny. That was put off until October! I officially have 9 does due in November. I don't think I'll be getting much sleep for that entire month. I also have 5 does that I still need to breed! Wowza!! Maybe I'll put off breeding them for a few weeks? ;-) My cages will be stuffed to maximum capacity at weaning time.
That is all for now!
I hope to be posting again soon.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Saturday, November 2, 2013
The Incomplete Post and Perspective
Hehe I couldn't think of a better title for this post. Unfortunately, this could be my last post for a few weeks. We're canceling our Internet at our old house and probably will not have Internet at our new home for a few weeks. Or at least until we are somewhat settled in. I'll still be checking Facebook, emails, etc via iPhone but I can't post on my blog until Internet is set up again.
My reason for calling this the incomplete post is I have an obsession with posts that include pictures. I really hate making (and reading) posts that don't have pictures. Lol! But I've spent nearly 6 hours every night this week setting up the new rabbitry. By then it's too dark to take decent pictures. I'm hoping to take some very nice formal pictures this weekend or sometime early this week before it starts snowing. Winter is back... Lovely. :-P
Now, let's talk about something serious. I'm going to give a slight rant and pour my feelings out a bit here. Lately, I have been feeling like rabbits are a huge competition and fight. Everyone wants to beat somebody else and make them feel bad about their animals. I can't believe the back-stabbing going on in rabbits right now! When I started rabbits, I vowed to myself that I would never take part in that. I've really noticed, this past month especially, that I'm getting sucked into the competitive, awful, ugly side of competition. Maybe I'm hanging around the wrong people that have the wrong intentions and I need to let them go and stick with my sweet friends that are in this for the rabbits. I'm not sure exactly what it is but I'm positive it'll take some thinking to pinpoint the actual cause.
I just want to say that every rabbitry is different and each has their own goals. As long as you're honest in what you do and kind, I will be friends with you! But I will no longer be tolerating any constant gossip, back-stabbing, and extremely prideful behavior to the point where everyone is hurt after talking to them, from anybody. It's ridiculous and really no fun to be around people when that's all that I ever hear out of their mouths.
I would rather keep my bunnies home in their clean, cozy room, munching on hay, raising beautiful babies, and being allowed to molt as much as their little hearts desire than I would like to go to a show and risk their health, put off improvement, condition for months, and to top it off, listen to breeders smack-talk each other all day. Where's the fun in that? I've just really been evaluating myself, my friends, and my rabbitry from another perspective and I came to the conclusion that this has to stop.
Okay, rant over.
I borrowed a picture from my friend, Lindsey, because I felt it fit this situation perfectly.
My reason for calling this the incomplete post is I have an obsession with posts that include pictures. I really hate making (and reading) posts that don't have pictures. Lol! But I've spent nearly 6 hours every night this week setting up the new rabbitry. By then it's too dark to take decent pictures. I'm hoping to take some very nice formal pictures this weekend or sometime early this week before it starts snowing. Winter is back... Lovely. :-P
Now, let's talk about something serious. I'm going to give a slight rant and pour my feelings out a bit here. Lately, I have been feeling like rabbits are a huge competition and fight. Everyone wants to beat somebody else and make them feel bad about their animals. I can't believe the back-stabbing going on in rabbits right now! When I started rabbits, I vowed to myself that I would never take part in that. I've really noticed, this past month especially, that I'm getting sucked into the competitive, awful, ugly side of competition. Maybe I'm hanging around the wrong people that have the wrong intentions and I need to let them go and stick with my sweet friends that are in this for the rabbits. I'm not sure exactly what it is but I'm positive it'll take some thinking to pinpoint the actual cause.
I just want to say that every rabbitry is different and each has their own goals. As long as you're honest in what you do and kind, I will be friends with you! But I will no longer be tolerating any constant gossip, back-stabbing, and extremely prideful behavior to the point where everyone is hurt after talking to them, from anybody. It's ridiculous and really no fun to be around people when that's all that I ever hear out of their mouths.
I would rather keep my bunnies home in their clean, cozy room, munching on hay, raising beautiful babies, and being allowed to molt as much as their little hearts desire than I would like to go to a show and risk their health, put off improvement, condition for months, and to top it off, listen to breeders smack-talk each other all day. Where's the fun in that? I've just really been evaluating myself, my friends, and my rabbitry from another perspective and I came to the conclusion that this has to stop.
Okay, rant over.
I borrowed a picture from my friend, Lindsey, because I felt it fit this situation perfectly.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Little Rascal's Toots
Who knew a 2.5 month old Holland could be this cute? This little chunker is so young but already has superior type and potential. Toots (pronounced tuhts) is out of some slow developing stock so I will have to keep my patience with her. She used to be quite a stinker as a weanling and would refuse all attempts to pose when I was practicing with her. Around 9 weeks old however, I got her out for her daily snuggles and posing practice and voila, she posed like a pro! After staring at her astonished for a moment, I quickly stepped back and looked at her type. I was amazing to see a carbon copy of her sire in a young, doe form! Toots has the crown, ears, head shape, bone, width, short body, and full hindquarter complete with a butt ruffle (the drag of chunk around her hindquarter).
I can't wait to see this girl turn senior! I will try to show her in about a month if she makes weight. I could pose her all day! Hee Hee
 |
| Excuse the tractors and the fact that I'm posing her on a trailer. |
 |
| Width between those front legs! <3 LOVE |
 |
| Here she is stretching up on her toes to see the kitty that was watching her. What a cutie! |
Sunday, October 6, 2013
My Advice for the Beginner Hollander
I get a lot of emails and questions at shows from beginners asking what my best advice for them would be for their start to hollands. Because it's exhausting to type this for every single inquiry I get, I figured I'd make a post with my best advice in a nutshell so that it's readily available. With all honesty, I've found that most beginners ignore this advice completely no matter who gives it to them. I'm going to be quite frank here and tell you that there are a select few beginners that listen to the best advice ever given to them. I've found that the ones that don't listen set themselves back about 10-20 years in the Holland breed and often become discouraged and give up. The beginners that do take this advice however, first of all, let me say I pretty much love you and you've gained my friendship. Lol! People like you are few and far between. And second, these beginners are already well on their way to success with their hollands just simply by taking this advice. Without further ado, I give you... my best advice:
1.) Be Generous and Kind!!
Honestly, I can't believe how often this important aspect to the rabbit world is overlooked. This is where the base of a good reputation comes from! You can have fantastic, nationally competitive Hollands, but if you're snobby to beginner and experienced breeders as well, prepare to fail horribly in the Holland Lop rabbit. I know of a few famous breeders who are absolute snobs and are very well known because of their bad reputation. But I know some famous breeders who are adored by the Holland community not because of their stock. It's because of their sweet, kind, encouraging words. Be kind to everyone! Even if you don't agree and your opinions clash! Nothing says "avoid this snotty breeder" like an argument online or in a showroom. Remember even if your argument is private, more people will hear about it and word will spread.
Say thank you even for the smallest things like someone handing you your dropped water bottle, holding the show room door for you, or telling you the date of your next local show. Encourage struggling breeders, give positive feedback, express appreciation, etc. People respond to kindness.
"The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people." ~Theodore Roosevelt
2.) Decide AGAINST Color!!
At least for your first 7-10 years, decide that you will not raise anything other than the common, developed Holland colors. These colors include tort, sable point, blue tort, black and brokens in these colors. The reason behind this strict rule is you will never find a nice Holland for sale in almost every other color. If you don't have years of experience with hollands, you will not know how to develop these colorful hollands properly. Holland Lops are already a complicated breed. Bringing colors and color genetics into the equation further complicates the breed and is the main reason for most 'color breeders' to give up within their first 5 years. Remember that you want the best stock you can get as your starter stock. This is nearly impossible to accomplish in any other color than tort. You want to perfect type in your barn before adding color. Color will not help you on the show table. Infact, it will likely hurt you. Remember the old saying "Build your barn before you paint it."
3.) Learn Type!!
Probably the single most important part of raising any breed, learn proper type! I would do this well before purchasing any animals. How can you know what animals you like if you don't know type? How can you know you're paying a fair price for the animal? Because the breeder is well known and says so? I hate to break it to you but rabbits, just like any species, have dishonest breeders. Many people pay hundreds of dollars for a pair or trio only to find out they were sold a bunch of ugly typed pets. Learn proper type according to the ARBA Standard of Perfection. An experienced breeder like myself or any other good breeder will happily talk to you about type. Most can even show you examples at shows of different typed animals. Don't expect a breed to let you touch their prized animals though! They rarely do.
4.) Befriend a Breeder Mentor!
Find an experienced, knowledgeable breeder whom you'll likely want stock from, to teach you and answer your questions. I'll warn you, many breeders are not interested in being a mentor for anyone. This is simply because as I mentioned before, most of our advice is ignored and many breeders decide after trying to mentor tons of people, that mentoring is a complete waste of time. This is completely understandable because I've experienced many of these. Some do not realize the amount of time their mentor puts into watching out for them and delivering advice. This is where appreciation comes in again! ;-) Find a good breeder whose stock you like the look of to mentor you. Your mentor should be following this advice too. You don't want to see bad typed, colorful hollands all over your mentors website, nor do you want to see them fighting all over facebook or other social media, with other breeders. They will teach you to do exactly as they do. Choose wisely!
5.) Learn about Lines!
This will become very important in your herd. Learn which lines cross well together and learn which lines have the type you desire. Each line looks different which is something to consider. Everyone has a different translation of the standard and a different preference of Holland looks. The Standard is the blue print of the perfect Holland.
6.) Save lots of Money!
Hollands are an expensive breed to raise. Good hollands come with high price tags and experienced breeders are willing to pay the high prices for nice additions to their herd. For example, it's pretty normal to eventually pay about $2,000-$3,000 for a small foundation of about 8 animals. Herd bucks being the most expensive animals ($250-$600) and brood does being your cheapest ($50-$200). Remember that 1 beautiful $200 rabbit will do more for you than 5 $40 rabbits. Quantity doesn't matter, it's the quality of a herd that matters. Save as much money as you can for your start to hollands. You don't have to save all the money and buy all of your herd at once. You can buy a buck and doe, breed them, sell the juniors you don't keep, and purchase more starter stock. It's all a process! Buying everything at once is impossible, for most people at least. ;)
7.) Collect Many Holes!!
Hollands happen to be a very cage demanding breed. You need to grow your juniors out for about 5 months each to see their true potential. Most Holland litters I get are 4-8 babies. Multiply that by 4 or 5 bred does at a time and you've got a lot of juniors! Not only that but it takes a lot of breeding stock to create those pretty, competitive juniors. Many competitive breeders keep 70-150 cages. I prefer to keep no more than 50 for my hollands because I still want to enjoy them. Rabbits are not my job, they're my passion and hobby and my rabbitry reflects that. Hollands cannot be raised in 10 holes. That's not even enough for foundation stock unfortunately.
8.) Purchase The Best Buck You Can!!
Purchase the best herd buck you can get your hands on. Herd bucks are the most important, expensive, and difficult investment you'll ever make in rabbits. Herd bucks often cost $300-$600 each. Make sure you're paying a fair price for your buck. Remember this buck resembles what your herd will produce. If done properly, you'll breed his daughters back to him and produce similar animals to himself or even better! You'll always be breeding back to this buck as long as he lives. Make sure he's a nice one! He will be a difficult purchase because he'll be hard to find. Many breeders wait 1-3 years for their herd buck and will buy and sell many bucks when they realize they aren't quite what they want. Decide what you want before shopping and stick to it!
9.) No Requesting Show Does!!
Please never ever request a show doe from a breeder! While most won't say this, it's actually slightly offensive to ask a breeder for a show animal. If I have an animal worthy of showing, I'm showing it! Lol! Instead, request a breeding doe with nice genetics. The breeder is likely to immediately like you more than the hundreds of people requesting their nice show animals. And also, I've found that with this request, they often will still send you animals that are very nice quality. Breeders are likely to think you're more experienced if you ask for brood does with nice genetics. An experienced breeder knows brood does are unappreciated gold! I'd take a barn full of brood does over a barn full of show does, any day!
10.) Avoid Purchasing Babies!!!
Never purchase a junior under 3.5 months of age. If a breeder is selling weanlings, honestly, I'd question their intentions of breeding their rabbits. You simply cannot predict the future of a young Holland. The weirdest typed babies end up being your best and the nicest typed babies end up being your culls. A breeder selling weanlings is being... I'm trying to think of a good word... optimistic... to be quite straight forward.
Those are my 10 best tips that should get you very far in dealing with breeders and starting hollands! You'll thank yourself for following this advice each time a judge drapes your rabbit's coop with a beautiful ribbon up on the show table and each time you produce some superior animals for yourself and your customers interested in showing and breeding this unique rabbit.
1.) Be Generous and Kind!!
Honestly, I can't believe how often this important aspect to the rabbit world is overlooked. This is where the base of a good reputation comes from! You can have fantastic, nationally competitive Hollands, but if you're snobby to beginner and experienced breeders as well, prepare to fail horribly in the Holland Lop rabbit. I know of a few famous breeders who are absolute snobs and are very well known because of their bad reputation. But I know some famous breeders who are adored by the Holland community not because of their stock. It's because of their sweet, kind, encouraging words. Be kind to everyone! Even if you don't agree and your opinions clash! Nothing says "avoid this snotty breeder" like an argument online or in a showroom. Remember even if your argument is private, more people will hear about it and word will spread.
Say thank you even for the smallest things like someone handing you your dropped water bottle, holding the show room door for you, or telling you the date of your next local show. Encourage struggling breeders, give positive feedback, express appreciation, etc. People respond to kindness.
"The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people." ~Theodore Roosevelt
2.) Decide AGAINST Color!!
At least for your first 7-10 years, decide that you will not raise anything other than the common, developed Holland colors. These colors include tort, sable point, blue tort, black and brokens in these colors. The reason behind this strict rule is you will never find a nice Holland for sale in almost every other color. If you don't have years of experience with hollands, you will not know how to develop these colorful hollands properly. Holland Lops are already a complicated breed. Bringing colors and color genetics into the equation further complicates the breed and is the main reason for most 'color breeders' to give up within their first 5 years. Remember that you want the best stock you can get as your starter stock. This is nearly impossible to accomplish in any other color than tort. You want to perfect type in your barn before adding color. Color will not help you on the show table. Infact, it will likely hurt you. Remember the old saying "Build your barn before you paint it."
3.) Learn Type!!
Probably the single most important part of raising any breed, learn proper type! I would do this well before purchasing any animals. How can you know what animals you like if you don't know type? How can you know you're paying a fair price for the animal? Because the breeder is well known and says so? I hate to break it to you but rabbits, just like any species, have dishonest breeders. Many people pay hundreds of dollars for a pair or trio only to find out they were sold a bunch of ugly typed pets. Learn proper type according to the ARBA Standard of Perfection. An experienced breeder like myself or any other good breeder will happily talk to you about type. Most can even show you examples at shows of different typed animals. Don't expect a breed to let you touch their prized animals though! They rarely do.
4.) Befriend a Breeder Mentor!
Find an experienced, knowledgeable breeder whom you'll likely want stock from, to teach you and answer your questions. I'll warn you, many breeders are not interested in being a mentor for anyone. This is simply because as I mentioned before, most of our advice is ignored and many breeders decide after trying to mentor tons of people, that mentoring is a complete waste of time. This is completely understandable because I've experienced many of these. Some do not realize the amount of time their mentor puts into watching out for them and delivering advice. This is where appreciation comes in again! ;-) Find a good breeder whose stock you like the look of to mentor you. Your mentor should be following this advice too. You don't want to see bad typed, colorful hollands all over your mentors website, nor do you want to see them fighting all over facebook or other social media, with other breeders. They will teach you to do exactly as they do. Choose wisely!
5.) Learn about Lines!
This will become very important in your herd. Learn which lines cross well together and learn which lines have the type you desire. Each line looks different which is something to consider. Everyone has a different translation of the standard and a different preference of Holland looks. The Standard is the blue print of the perfect Holland.
6.) Save lots of Money!
Hollands are an expensive breed to raise. Good hollands come with high price tags and experienced breeders are willing to pay the high prices for nice additions to their herd. For example, it's pretty normal to eventually pay about $2,000-$3,000 for a small foundation of about 8 animals. Herd bucks being the most expensive animals ($250-$600) and brood does being your cheapest ($50-$200). Remember that 1 beautiful $200 rabbit will do more for you than 5 $40 rabbits. Quantity doesn't matter, it's the quality of a herd that matters. Save as much money as you can for your start to hollands. You don't have to save all the money and buy all of your herd at once. You can buy a buck and doe, breed them, sell the juniors you don't keep, and purchase more starter stock. It's all a process! Buying everything at once is impossible, for most people at least. ;)
7.) Collect Many Holes!!
Hollands happen to be a very cage demanding breed. You need to grow your juniors out for about 5 months each to see their true potential. Most Holland litters I get are 4-8 babies. Multiply that by 4 or 5 bred does at a time and you've got a lot of juniors! Not only that but it takes a lot of breeding stock to create those pretty, competitive juniors. Many competitive breeders keep 70-150 cages. I prefer to keep no more than 50 for my hollands because I still want to enjoy them. Rabbits are not my job, they're my passion and hobby and my rabbitry reflects that. Hollands cannot be raised in 10 holes. That's not even enough for foundation stock unfortunately.
8.) Purchase The Best Buck You Can!!
Purchase the best herd buck you can get your hands on. Herd bucks are the most important, expensive, and difficult investment you'll ever make in rabbits. Herd bucks often cost $300-$600 each. Make sure you're paying a fair price for your buck. Remember this buck resembles what your herd will produce. If done properly, you'll breed his daughters back to him and produce similar animals to himself or even better! You'll always be breeding back to this buck as long as he lives. Make sure he's a nice one! He will be a difficult purchase because he'll be hard to find. Many breeders wait 1-3 years for their herd buck and will buy and sell many bucks when they realize they aren't quite what they want. Decide what you want before shopping and stick to it!
9.) No Requesting Show Does!!
Please never ever request a show doe from a breeder! While most won't say this, it's actually slightly offensive to ask a breeder for a show animal. If I have an animal worthy of showing, I'm showing it! Lol! Instead, request a breeding doe with nice genetics. The breeder is likely to immediately like you more than the hundreds of people requesting their nice show animals. And also, I've found that with this request, they often will still send you animals that are very nice quality. Breeders are likely to think you're more experienced if you ask for brood does with nice genetics. An experienced breeder knows brood does are unappreciated gold! I'd take a barn full of brood does over a barn full of show does, any day!
10.) Avoid Purchasing Babies!!!
Never purchase a junior under 3.5 months of age. If a breeder is selling weanlings, honestly, I'd question their intentions of breeding their rabbits. You simply cannot predict the future of a young Holland. The weirdest typed babies end up being your best and the nicest typed babies end up being your culls. A breeder selling weanlings is being... I'm trying to think of a good word... optimistic... to be quite straight forward.
Those are my 10 best tips that should get you very far in dealing with breeders and starting hollands! You'll thank yourself for following this advice each time a judge drapes your rabbit's coop with a beautiful ribbon up on the show table and each time you produce some superior animals for yourself and your customers interested in showing and breeding this unique rabbit.
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!
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.
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!
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! ;-)
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!  |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)