4 weekers

Coraline - Blue Tort Doe

Garth - Blue Tort Buck (?)

Brython - Blue buck

that's all for now, just baby pictures :)

Woolies, Woolies, Woolies

All my Woolie does are bred or on a litter, at least I hope the ones I bred took anyway. Brython, Coraline and Nameless are all looking really fantastic. They have such big heads, even the boyfriends family who knows relatively nothing about rabbits or what they are supposed to look like for showing purposes commented on how big and blocky their heads are. I am really excited about this litter. I have been taking them out and posing them up every day now as they have hit the 3 week old mark.

I'm crossing my fingers Love Potion took, I bred her to my Non-Extension Himi buck, the two are really compatible. I am so bad at palpating...I just can't tell if she is bred or not. I bred Autumn to Quinn, because no other buck could seem to get the job done. It will be a brood cross, any animal out of the pairing is probably going to be kept for brood purposes most likely. They compliment each other well, but Autumn is right at max senior weight, and Quinn is over. Quinn really has the HQ Autumn lacked though, so I am really excited about that, I can at least get some nice babies to cross back to Dayka to inject that full HQ into the line. The heads on these guys should be massive as well, they both have great bone and awesome heads. not to mention fantastic wool.

Time will tell if I will have more Wooly babies in the nest box, I'm crossing my fingers that I do. Today rained...so the photo shoot I had planned is not going to happen. I will have tons of pictures of everyone once the weather decides to cooperate.

The new Polish buck

Showing off his cute bum :P

TCH's Mica - Broken Black Sr. Buck

We came home from the show this weekend with a new addition to the herd. Two of my Mini Rex left for new homes, so we had some space available for a new rabbit. I really wanted to bring home another Wooly doe to add to my brood string, but there was a severe lack of Wooly breeders at the show this year. Instead, my boyfriend mingled with a group of Polish breeders, and we came home with this little guy. He was given to use to boost the popularity of the Polish and try to get more breeders in the area interested in the breed. I love the short, cobby body type of the breed, and also the size. They barely take up any room or feed, which is nice!

We have been having some issues with his behavior lately, but I am hoping it clears up. He just hit 6 months of age, he may be going through his manly phase and on top of the stress from moving is being an absolute kill joy. He's got great type and an attractive pattern. His head/ear needs some work, but overall I am pleased. The Polish are mainly the boyfriends project, but I am helping him out as he is so new to rabbits. I think he has a great little buck to start off with, now we just need to find him a doe.

2/27/10 SHOW RESULTS & Litter Update

Show A:

Love Potion - BOB!
Dayka - BOG, BOSB!
Quinn - DQ, over weight..oops lol
Autumn - 1st/1

Show B:

Quinn - BOB...uh wow
Autumn - BOSB
Dayka - 2nd/2 (hah)
Love Potion - 1st/1


There was a severe lack of Wooly breeders at the show this year, I was disappointed. Only 9 Woolies were entered this year. Oh well, I am pleased with the judges comments, and very shocked with Show B results. Quinn should have been booted right off the table, he weighs 4.16 lbs, very over weight. Autumn is blowing her coat, and is more broody, but to each his own I guess!


My Black Mini Rex litter is looking pretty nice. They are almost 5 weeks old now. I evaluated everyone today for the first time, and so far the two bucks are my favorite. They have the best fur and type out of the 6 babies at this point in time. There is also one little doe I like as well, she has better fur then her sisters and better type. These 3 rabbits are very short and cobby. I can't tell the does apart as they aren't named yet and the numbers I put in their ears with a sharpie wore off. The two boys are Henry and Miller (Hollywood & Miller Time). Pictures to come soon!

Show list for this weekend!

2 Self Senior Bucks
1 Shaded Senior Doe
1 Broken Senior Doe

1 Black Senior Buck - Mini Rex

One of my Self senior bucks is more of a class filler then anything. The Broken, I love, she is just a bit more broody then show, but I would like to get a judges opinion on her before I breed her.

My hopeful for this weekend is my Shaded Senior Doe, Love Potion. Fingers crossed that she can earn some GC legs!

I'll post results Saturday evening if I'm not too tired!

I have to get a lot done today, print off a sales flyer, tattoo an ear, mark my carriers, and scrub up the white bunnies.

-Domonique

Name decisions

In my most recent Mini Rex litter, there are 4 does and 2 bucks! Not a bad buck:doe ratio at all, I am very pleased with this. I wanted more does, but where I am drastically down sizing in the breed, I don't know if I am going to be keeping any of the does from this litter. They're still too young to evaluate fully, but whatever I decide, I will have a nice batch of does to either keep or sell to people needing does!

Anyway, on with the original topic, Name decisions. So far I only have two of the babies named from this litter, the two boys. Their final names are Run Wild's Miller Time, Miller for short & Run Wild's Hollywood, Henry for short.

The girls aren't officially named yet, as I only have one name picked out for a doe for this litter, which is Rock Candy.

Little Henry isn't looking good. I went out to check on the rabbits and do the morning water routine this morning, and his bottom was caked in dried poop. It must have happened over the past 2 days, I haven't been out to the barn due to health issues and I had the boyfriend feed the rabbits for me. He doesn't check over every animal like I do every day, so I just picked up on it this morning.

His whole area was completely covered, so I gently picked it off of him and his bottom just started leaking diarrhea. I pulled the pellets away, gave them some oats and stuffed the cage full of hay. I'm hoping he pulls through alright, he is the smaller of the two bucks at the time.



Images litter is doing good, and I am already anxious to start naming these little guys. This litter will have a Celtic name theme, and I have had this planned for months now :P

Can't wait to see what colors they are and what sexes, I am crossing my fingers for does!

Image kindled!

She has 3, healthy, lively babies in the nestbox. 2 Torts and 1 Solid, all are dilute colors. I believe they are Blue Torts and a Solid Blue, but time will tell what they turn out to be. I am hoping that solid dilute is a doe!!!

It's Official - Mini Rex Sell Out

Your eyes aren't deceiving you. It's official. I am no longer interested in this breed. I will be selling every animal with the exception of one for the time being. I have 8 animals available for sale. All from great lines and some from National winning/placing backgrounds and the top breeders in the US.

My spark for the Mini Rex has just...disappeared. I can get them to MR Nationals in May. Deposits are required to hold them for that long. Please email me for availability, too many to list here.

This is a very hard decision, but I am just not having fun with this breed.

Lilac?

Oh the wonderful world of dilutes, my favorite, other then tan patterns. Tan pattern dilutes...don't even get me started.

Anyway, having a primarily dilute/dilute carrying herd, I have had to do my research on this gene, and with some help from the wonderful people at RH, have learned a great deal :)

I have a litter coming up out of two dilute parents. Blue x Blue Tort. The Blue is out of a Blue Tort and a Black, the Blue Tort is out of a Blue Tort and a Black Tort.

Will I get Lilac out of this, possibly? In the last litter, there were Lilac and Chocolate Torts from the same Blue Tort and Black Tort cross that produced the Blue Tort doe that is currently due to have her litter. Where I bred the self Blue (carrying the extension gene) and the Blue Tort (carrying non-extension) I hope I get some self Lilacs! Lilac Woolies are hard to come by around here, and I just love the variety. The soft dove gray color on a long, shiny coat of wool is just gorgeous!


So everyone, keep your fingers crossed for Lilacs!

I WAS WRONG!

I am horrible at palpating, I thought Image hadn't taken, put some hay in her cage a few minutes ago on my final barn check for the night, and she started nesting!

It was too dark to go into the loft to grab another nestbox, so instead I grabbed a cardboard box for the 3 week old MR kits and took the big wooden nestbox away from them. They are probably devistated, but they are well furred and I am not worried about them getting cold, it's a decent 23 in the barn right now, and am more concerned about new born kits.

This was a line breeding, bred back to her half brother who I am trying to finish granding out. Should be some nice babies in this litter! The buck is super tiny, with a great head and ear, but lacks in the shoulders. Image has very nice, wide shoulders but is a bit broody in type.

Crossing my fingers for a blue doe!

Satins - yep!

SF's ESPN - Chocolate Otter Sr. Buck

His chocolate otter son

His solid Chocolate son

SF's ESPN - Chocolate Otter Sr. Buck

I am going back to my roots. As much as I am obsessed with the Silver Marten breed, there is just no competition around here for them. I want something practical that I can show and have a better market for. Mini Lops didn't work out. Right now my boyfriend just doesn't have enough time to have his own breed project, and we weren't able to get the exact animals we wanted, so better off just not doing it rather than settling for whatever we can get.

I've missed having Satins in the barn, so I decided to bring them back in. I am still downsizing on my Mini Rex, after this week I will be down to 7, so I have more room to switch rabbits around and open up some of the larger holes for Satins. I was going to get Mini Satins, but don't want to deal with the breed problems I have seen in my area surrounding them. A new breed that is still working out all it's kinks, is just not for me. Nothing wrong with having a little muscle in the barn anyway ;)

I am starting off with a Chocolate Otter buck, I LOVE Otters and Chocolates....so this is perfect. When I first raised Satins, I had Otters, Black Otters exclusively. I'm happy about bringing these guys back in, and it's not completely new territory for me, so I feel comfortable in this decision.

He produces nicely when paired with the right doe, his sons are proof of that. He is a bit low in the shoulder, but he will mainly be a brood buck anyway, and he is from nice lines. Can't wait!

Random babbling

As most people know, I have only been back into rabbits for 2, going on 3 years now. I took a hiatus when I was around 14 to focus on school and my family life. When I left the rabbit world, I was raising Himalayan's, Satins in Black Otter only and Jersey Woolies.

It was a very difficult decision to leave rabbits. I had JUST started winning big with my rabbits the year I left. I managed to pull out a RIS or BIS win in every single one of my breeds that year, and had started to make it onto the District Sweeps list, and National Sweeps as well.

When I got back into rabbits, I started with Dwarfs as I had always wanted to try my hand at raising them. I soon got out of them, they just weren't a good fit for me personality wise. I also brought Woolies back in. They will always be a constant in my rabbitry, whether I have 20 show Woolies or just 1 pet Wooly.

I tried out Belgian Hares, LOVE the breed, but I couldn't get a single litter for 2 years. I got frustrated, and gave up. I tried Flemish Giants, weren't for me. I am currently trying to make the final decision with my Mini Rex. I love the body type, the fur, and the competition in this breed. However, I have come to find out, the bucks can be very, very aggressive. While the does are sweet, so far I have had to cull out 3 of my bucks due to unmanageable aggression. All 3 were from completely different lines and breeders, so I don't think it was a certain line that was involved with this trait. None of my animals are ever mishandled, and all are treated like royalty. I can't figure it out, but today I was attacked by one of my junior bucks, and he has attacked members of the family as well. This junior buck is also going to be culled out due to unmanageable aggression. I'm really disappointed, I just brought in a stellar Black buck to improve on my Mini Rex herd, but with all these aggressive animals, I have culled my Mini Rex numbers down to 10.

I am going to speak to other breeders, and see if they have problems with their bucks behavior as well. I am not a fan of aggressive rabbits, I don't think anyone is. If this continues, the Mini Rex, as hard as it will be or me, are going. However, if I do sell out, people will be getting some really nice rabbits. I searched high and low for the perfect herd sire, and the best lines. I spent a lot of money on the Mini Rex, more then any other breed so far, it is really discouraging, but I am not having fun with this breed at the moment.

With the Mini Rex possibly going out the door, this will leave only Woolies left in my barn. Having so much spare room, I have been weeding through breeds deciding what I would like to bring in, in the event that the Mini Rex leave.

Possibilities so far include:

Satins or Mini Satins
English Spots
Silver Martens

Each breed has it's pro's and con's, and I have owned/bred 2 out of the 4 breeds so I have some experience with them already. Silver Martens have been a 12 year obsession of mine. I have always admired from afar, never took the next step and brought some in, although I almost did once last September.

Only time will tell how things turn out, but in May, I am definitely bringing in a pair or trio of English Spots. Woolies and Spots were the 2 first breeds I ever showed, and they have a sentimental place in my heart. With other Spot breeders living in my area, I won't have trouble finding competition. Having the mental focus and physical space requirements to be able to have up to 3 breeds also tempts to bring in a meatier type breed from the list above, but I am not 100% positive on that decision yet. I can dedicate about 12-15 holes each between 3 breeds right now. Winter storage in the barn is taking up the rest of my bunny space, but when it's cleared out, I can dedicate about 20 holes each, to each breed, which is plenty for me. I breed smart, and I breed hard. I don't try or as many litters as I can, so I always have plenty of space available.

Little rant of sorts, that's all for now.


PS. I will be making a rabbitry tour video soon, as this seems to the be the current trend on RH. I cut back a little while ago, and moved a lot of cages back into the loft so I only have 18 little hoppers to show everyone, but I feel a tour would be a fun idea anyway :P

-Domonique

A quick update

I have been very busy lately, and haven't had a chance to get on here. Everything is going good in the rabbitry. I have a litter of 6 Black Mini Rex, they will be ready to show at Nationals in May, so I might attend!

My Woolies missed so I will be rebreeding them after the show at the end of the month.

Checker's are going, sick of dealing with the "fighting dog" mentality of the breeders. May bring in English Spots to play around with, or Satins. Or may keep it at just Woolies and Mini Rex. Who knows!

-Domonique

Show results & rabbit pictures.

WW's Quinn - Black Senior Buck

LBF's Total Image - Blue Tort Sr. Doe

Show A Jersey Woolies:
Dayka 4th/7

Mini Rex:
Frezia 2/2
Ice 1/2 BOV

Show B Jersey Woolies:
Dayka 4th/6
Quinn 2nd/6
Image 3rd/3, 1st Colored Wool

Mini Rex:
Ice 1/1 BOV
Frezia - SCRATCH/CULL


I just wish Dayka had been in coat, the judges really loved him, he just couldn't compete with the REW bucks in top condition with his coat unfinished. I am very pleased with Quinn's placement and Image winning the Colored wool class.

Next show is Feb 27th in New Gloucester, Maine.

so my final show list got cut down..again

I went out this afternoon to clean some cages/feed all that good stuff, pulled my shaded wooly jr doe out of her cage, and oh my god.

The oats really did the trick getting her back into flesh condition, she is much smoother, but she hasn't finished out her senior molt and I doubt her coat will be ready to show in 6 days. I couldn't resist, the fluff was flying so I plucked the remaining spots of dead coat out. She is now half senior coat and half dark bald spots where I plucked and her new coat is growing in. I put my hands on her and I'm happy with her body type, nice width, good depth, and is becoming really smooth again after her week of rolled oats. I haven't managed to show her yet, but I really want to, she will be turning senior soon. That coat is also coming in nicely.

My broken wooly jr doe is also out of coat, the fluff is flying everywhere with both of them being older juniors starting to get their senior coats in.

The only wooly I will be bringing is Dayka, my self sr. buck. He earned a GC leg at his last show and I haven't shown him since then, so we'll see how he does, he is out of flesh condition too but I've been upping his grain ration and giving him oats.

I am bringing my 2 BEW jr mini rex does. Ice is looking really, really nice. She is so deep and wide. Frezia is very short in body, I like Ice's fur better, so we'll see what happens.

That's it, that's my show list. I'll see you all next weekend!

Well then!

My show list for next weekend just got shorter. My shaded wooly doe went into a major molt today, I was pulling handfuls of wool out all day long, and she has a big spot missing in her wool cap.

She was one of my hopefuls. Looks like I'm down to 1 JW for the show, my 2 BEW MR are starting to molt as well, they're both at that age where they'll be turning senior soon and blowing coats. One of them has it worse then the other, so we'll see.

I don't think I'll be bringing my jr. black buck along, I'd like him to grow out some more first, he is really tiny, too small to throw up on the table and be competitive.

I don't think I'll be showing the Hare, I have no interest in it, she's fighting me to post every day and she too is blowing coat.

So my show list is down to 3.

At least that leaves me more $ to buy cages and meat breed stock :)

Jan 17th Final Show List

I've made my final decisions on who I'm brining to the show next weekend. I've been up and down all week on who I want to bring and who I SHOULD bring. I need to learn to leave rabbits half bald at home!

I palpated one of my Black MR this morning...still doesn't feel like she took, but I am horrible at palpating..so I guess we'll see what happens, but if she didn't take, she's coming to the show with me, she is in excellent coat condition right now.

I am only bringing 2 Jersey Woolies. A Self Sr. Buck and a Shaded Jr. Doe. I was really contemplating bringing a Broken Jr. Doe, but I have a feeling she is over for a junior, and with her molty coat she wouldn't be able to compete with the senior class in full coat. She has a gorgeous head, better then all of my bucks in the barn, she also has the cutest pattern I've seen.

Mini Rex, I am bringing 2 BEW JR Does, sisters, who are very closely matched in type. One has better fur then the other so we will see who will beat out who. I may also bring a Black Jr Buck, that Black Sr Doe if she didn't take and that's it for that breed.

I might be bringing the Hare doe, because someone sanctioned them and might as well at least bring her to have more competition or fill a class. But that's it for my show list, very small. All the other rabbits look awful right now, blowing coats left and right.