They are Growing and Growing

They are 6 weeks old now and 6 have survived. They are gregarious and have a lot of fun. I have placed an edible log in the tub with them and it is amusing to see them all crowd in there. I am sure they do not realize that they are not all hidden. They are also jumping up on the edge of the tub. The time I like the best is when they are all on the bed hopping over and around me.

They are eating hay and pellets and their mom still nurses them once a day. I am planning on keeping the two red eyed whites unless they are both bucks and then will only keep one. I want to keep the best black doe also. I do not need bucks at the moment. Of course, I would love to just keep them all but that is not really wise. Plan on breeding Jett to my other buck, an erimine. Will do that in a month or two. Will post some pics as soon as I can figure out where I put them on the computer.

A new knitting site

I just signed up for a knitting site called Ravelry. It is a nice site with a place to keep all your knitting stuff in order. I look forward to using and participating in it.

Did not drop off face of the earth...well, at least am back

I can't believe that so many months have gone by. Some have been wonderful and some....well, you know, life. I have backed off a bit with the rabbits. Had a few losses that were hard to take. And realized that I wanted to concentrate on my french angoras. Did one breeding this year. Plan on a few more. Think if I concentrate on getting my lines established it will be better than doing too much. Will not be attending many shows this year. I love going but think it better if I wait until I have more stock. Bred Jett and Obsidian and had 9 babies. I was surprised at so many. We lost a runt and I think we may lose another runt too. I just will not do supplemental feeding. I figure if they cannot make it then perhaps, it is for the best.

Here are some pics:
Momma

The black ones

The tort

The white ones. Except I think one of them is maybe cream

All the babies


The kids seem to be doing well. Rosie is busy with "Words of Fire" and David should graduate this year. Hurray!!!. He will be going to prom next week. Anna is growing up and I don't want her to. But I haven't figured out how to keep her little. Julius is married and living in Illinois. He is maturing.

The ducks are wonderful. They have started laying again. The indian runners built a little next under the rabbit house and it took us awhile to find them. So Eggs R Us is back up and running. The local food coop is buying them from us and I can't wait for the farmer's market to start up again.

And Now it is September

September started out with car troubles. DH is outside replacing the fuel pump of our only vehicle. Friends have been so helpful with rides and even lending a truck for a few days. Thanks to all of them.
School is in full swing andthe kids are happy and I relish a few hours alone every day. Work is going well. I am fortunate to work with a great group of people.
Rabbits are growing and eating. Am getting ready for the State Fair next week. I am entering only one angora and four v-lops. However, I think that only one will meet the ear length qualifications. I am keeping records of weight gain and ear length weekly. I want to try to plot out an average of growth rate. Would be nice to be able to predict if the kits will make the 14 inch requirement at 8 - 12 weeks. And I do know that there are exceptions to every rule. But will keep up the records and see what comes of it. One of my little v-lops died last week. I could not see what went wrong. He was fine in the morning and then a few hours later was dead. I could not see any marks on him. His rear was clean and I saw no diarhea or weird looking poops. The other two are doing very well though.
I sold two french angora mixes last week. They just were not the correct body type and size for my program. The new owners wanted them as pets.
Oh, we had two guinea pigs that we thought were both females. Well, about 2 weeks ago we woke up to 3 baby pigs. I guess we were mistaken about the sex. They are so cute and such a contrast from baby bunnies. These guys had all their fur, teeth, eyes open, and were running around on day one.
I lost a roll of film and have not processed the others, however, when I do, I will post many pictures.
Enjoy the last of summer.

Is it really August already?

Just a quick note today. We made it back from Oklahoma in one piece. It was a lovely little wedding at Laverne's Wedding Chapel. I lost my roll of film so am unable to post pictures at this time. April - my new daughter - is lovely too. It was a pleasure meeting and spending time with her. Her family is wonderful too It was all very spontaneous and they were so supportive and up for anything. I wish Julius and April the very best.

It was fun to see the Pow-Wow and my youngest, Anna, wants to dance so her dad is making her moccasins and other things needed. Most Quapaws are tall so she fit right in.

Rosie is off to another semester at UNM. She is working for the theater there as props mistress and she is going to be busy designing sets for some fall productions. I am glad to see her so happy and fullfilled. Cameron - the boyfriend- came with us to Oklahoma and he is a very sweet boy.

David spent a week near Tulsa at a Bible Camp and made some good friends. He has started school again. Cross my fingers will graduate from high school this year.

As for my rabbits, they are doing well. I am pleased with the Velveteen Lops. They are growing and sweet and I will be showing them at the NM State Fair in September. The angoras are doing well also. Thor still likes to get outside his cage so I have been letting the stud bunny loose a few hours a day. Make sure all the female cages are secure first though.

The air condidioner I put in the barn is working wonderfully. Heat here is a problem and this sure beats wetting and draping material and blowing fans on them to keep the rabbits cool.

Well, need to go out and weigh, groom and of course feed and water the bunnies.

Hope all are enjoying your summer.

Road Trip

Well, in a few hours we will be off to Oklahoma. My husband is a Quapaw indian from northeastern Oklahoma nnd they have a pow-wow over the fourth of July. This year we are braving the heat and humidiy and high gas prices to make it back there. My son is also getting married. So, will be away from my little world of rabbits for a few days. Will be back with pictures and stories.

Happy Fourth to all.

One Week Old

Here are new pics. You can see they have darkened a bit. Maybe the lighter ones are both fawn...maybe they will get darker and be orange. They are growing like crazy and their mom is great. She is the best mother I have seen in my brief history of breeding. She jumps right in, takes care of them and they are so stuffed and full they can barely move.

Anyway, here are the pics.

All of them together:



And the two fawn/orange ones:


The Chestnut:




The Broken:


The solid:

Name that color

The three velveteen lops are growing fast and changing colors. I need help. Unfortunately some of the colors are a bit washed out.
Here is Kit One:


And now Kit Two:






and finally Kit Three:

Velveteen Lops

In May I bought 3 velveteen lops. 2 Juniors, a buck:


and a doe:


and one bred doe:

Today she kindled three kits.
I have to say that in the few weeks that they have been living with me I have totally fallen for these guys. They are so sweet and affectionate. I look forward to raising them.

Half Way Through June

It is hard to believe that it is half-way through June and I have only posted once. School is out which is good and bad. Good because I know the kids need a break but bad because Anna is already bored. We have some summer fun classes scheduled but not every week and this is one week she is home. Last week she made lots of things out of old jeans. A skirt, some purses, some wall hangings. All very cute and things I would have never thought of making. Next week she is back at class - Arts and Crafts I think.
David is out looking for a job. He is putting in applications all over. He is at a bit of a disadvantage because he didn't start sooner but he was in a play at school and felt he could not commit to anything else. We shall see. He may have to work in food. Gasp!;). Oh the horror ;). I believe he just needs to get a job. He will be in his senior year in the fall. Hard to believe I will soon have three out of high school.
The heat is setting in. We were lucky up until about a week ago. The weather was cooler than usual. So, now have fans and water bottles and a swamp cooler and wet cloths over cages trying to keep everyone cool.
Unfortunately, I lost the last litter of FA. It was almost like a failure to thrive. They stopped growing. I watched them eat everyday but they didn't get much bigger. The only other unusual thing with them was that I had to remove large poop pellets that were half way sticking out. Their mom had lots of fresh water and feed and she did not have any poop problems. They also had an eye discharge that I faithfully cleaned each day.
Anna's two remaining babies are doing great. I had them in a big plastic tub in my bathroom during the night and part of the day. It is about a 30 gallon tub. Well, they are able to jump out of it. I was surprised to find them sitting on the floor looking so proud of themselves. They are staying out with mom now all the time.
We had another litter born three weeks ago. Three babies - 1 tort and 2 ermine?. Their dad is ermine and has a dark nose, dark eyes and ears are dark. These guys look like they will have his appearance. I am weighing them everyday and they are growing ok I think.
Bred two more does and they will be due around July 8th.
My oldest son told me he is getting married on the 4th of July in Oklahoma. My husband's tribe has their big pow wow every year on that date. So, will be going to OK first week of July. A bit surprising but he is 20. I think so young. But when I was 20 I thought I was all grown up too.
Will have pictures up by early next week I think.
Blessings

Hard to Understand

It is really hard to lose so many baby bunnies. About a week ago Anna lost 5 from her Dutch litter and now has only 3 left. In the past two days I have lost three from the last French Angora litter. With the Dutch the mom stomped on three of them and then two just died. The three I lost all looked good except for Chizzi. He was scrawny and not gaining weight. But the last two were hopping around a few hours before I found them dead.

I start to question my abilities as a breeder. I know I clean the cages and the next boxes regularly. With the adults I watch their poop and feed them a good variety. From the lists I read feeding is a very personal thing and people have very strong opinions. I think there is really a broad spectrum of what is good to feed and that people should do what they have found works for them. We have a lot of fresh alfalfa and clover growing and the rabbits all seem pleased to get some.

I am sure that it is for the best that these babies pass on. Perhaps, they do not have a strong immune system, perhaps, they have traits not best passed on. I just want to make sure I am not doing something that inadvertantly contributes.

In other news, the heat has started up here. Have found that turning the fans and swamp cooler on early in the morning and then at noon wetting materials and putting it over the cages really keeps the heat at bay. I also clipped and or plucked the angoras tonight. I also read about freezing ceramic tiles to put in the cages. Will get some and try it out.

The ducks are growing up. Two of them have been laying since February. My son and husband are selling them to a local health food store under the name "Eggs Are Us". It is buying the duck food. The ducks are very funny actually. They swarm around me when I go out to take care of bunnies if David has not fed them enough. And they lie in wait until someone doesn't latch the gate properly then they head out onto the road. They are relatively easy to herd back into their yard though.

Catchinig Up

The day we were leaving to go to a rabbit show in Tucson AZ we woke to a late snowstorm. It was so beautiful We had rain or snow the whole trip. It was lovely. Any moisture here is definately welcomed.

We went through Salt River Canyon. The road winds and twists and seems to go straight down and at the bottom the river runs wild. Then it is back up twisting and winding. There was a young man selling jewelry and wire scorpions and spiders. I couldn't resist a purple scorpion. I will add a picture as soon as I get the film developed.

Here is a picture of the canyon from the top.


And here is Anna and my husband at the bottom with the river in the background.



The show was a quad over two days. It was held in the ballroom of a hotel. Nice rooms and a great swimming pool.


I brought my 2 month old french angoras mainly to get some comments. They have great wool for juniors but did not make the weight so they were DQ'd. They were the only french angoras there. I sold one of them to a young girl from Arizona. I kept Jett who is the more promising of the two for my breeding program. I still get excited thinking of starting my own line and she will be bred back to the two bucks. (Not in one breeding of course ;)). I know it will take years but this is the beginning.

Here she is checking out my organic bunny treats that did not sell at all. Oh well, don't know until you try.


Anna brought her Polish doe and was happy to win BOSV and BOSB at two of the shows. It was interesting to see the differences in judges.


My husband bought me a lionhead I had admired. She is named Moonbeam and I will get a pic up of her as soon as they are developed. That he did this touched me more than if he had given me a diamond necklace. She is being spoiled. Has her own little cage inside and I hold her on my lap every evening while I knit. She is just precious. He also bonded with a rabbit. He told me the rabbit must be a reincaration of someone he knew in the 60's.


I also picked up three velveteen lops. One was a bred red doe. One a REW buck and one a broken black doe. I am looking forward in helping with this breed. They are incredibaly sweet. Pics to follow.

I do have pictures of the desert.


And here are the 6 french angorss at 2 weeks. There are 2 blacks, 3 torts and 1 rew. I keep going back and forth on their sex. I think there are at least 2 bucks.


Well, this is getting a bit long so will close here. I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend.

Blessings

The Working Nights Blues

Working the night shift. Need I say more? To those who have worked graveyard perhaps not. To those who have not had the privilege not sure I can convey the feelings.

Oh well, slept a bit since I don't have to work tonight and then woke up. When I work nights I don't see my rabbits as much as other days. My husband and children do the daily chores. Today, I went out and hung out with the buns. Always grounds me and makes me feel peaceful. Did a bit of grooming. My FA babies are almost 7 weeks old. Jett weighs 2 lbs. 14 ounces and Baruka is 2 lbs 6 ounces. Their wool is lovely. I used the blower on them for the first time today. They didn't freak. Then I tackled Obsidian. He has a bare spot on his left side. No evidence of mites, no flaking. Skin looks great and he is growing in some more hair. Then Thor. He was under guard so he couldn't make another great escape. He has lovely wool that is not quite ready to pluck. Had a few matts around his rear area that came out easily.

Then I tattooed the babies. They tolerated it well. I used some essential oils to numb the ear first. They had minimal bleeding and did not scream when I clamped down. Not my favorite chore but am getting better at it.

It is hot here today. 76 degrees in the bunny house. They seem to be doing alright though.

My older daughter comes home from college for the summer tomorrow. It is hard to believe that she has finished one year already. She seemed to enjoy it. My youngest is graduating from 6th grade on Wednesday. She is in a catholic school that only goes to 6th grade so she will move onto public school next year. I worry about her adjustment but I must trust that it will work out.

One of our dogs dug into my knitting bag and chewed up my favorite pair of knitting needles. I am working on socks. Making both at the same time. Luckily, for her, she did not chew the actual knitting...just the needles. She is in the dog house with me.

Well, think I will do some knitting, get supper and relax. Have the weekend off and have a lot of plans for outside.

An Enjoyable Evening

Last night I held a meeting for those interested in starting a rabbit club. I anticipated that no one would be interested and was feeling a little down before the meeting. Therefore, I was so happy when 6 people came to the meeting. And are interested in continuing.

Some of the people are non verbal but had communicated their interest to the person who was taking care of them that night. We had brought some very friendly, personable rabbits with us and to see the delight of these gentlemen touched my heart. A woman and her grandson also attended. They have a house rabbit and wanted more information on how to take care of him. They asked great questions and had information on how they take care of their pet to add. We have set another meeting for a month from now and will go over grooming and what are good plants and foods for rabbits. After the meeting, my son, daughter and husband all commented on how good they felt after the meeting and expressed happy anticipation at the next meeting.

I am happy to say that my Chizzi rabbit is no longer Chizzi. Just skinny. And such a beautiful color. I am looking forward to seeing their wool grow out. Three are sort of honey/golden colored, two are black and one is white. They will be a week old tomorrow.

My older babies are now 7 weeks old. One weighs 2.5 pounds and the other is 2.1 pounds. They are so cute and friendly.

I am working on the outside pen for the rabbits. I have no more room in my barn. We have a dog pen I used to use for the rabbits and ducks before I got the barn and fenced in part of the yard. I am putting up a bamboo shelter thing since I couldn't find the slat things for chain link fences. I believe I will move the boys out there. It is a nice shady area that gets a good breeze. Will put up a sunscreen over top of the pen. The goal is to have another barn by next fall.

Am planning on going to a rabbit show in Tucson AZ over Memorial Day weekend. I will be getting 3 velveteen lops to add to my herd. I am not really ready to show french angoras and would like another breed. Anna has dutch and polish and I am drawn to the velveteen lops. Have been since I first saw them. I am so excited.

Well, I guess I need to do some cleaning up in the house. Would rather just work outside but can't always do what you want.

Chizzi Rabbit

In the Navajo language Chizzi means rough, scaly. And here is my chizzi rabbit:




Today most of the flakes are gone. Someone suggested that it was the amniotic fluid that had dried on it. This could be. I am just glad that it is coming off.


Here are the Dutch on parade:



They look like they are playing follow the leader.


Our ducks are growing too:


We brought some of their eggs to a local health food store and they bought them. We have free range stickers and the federal food label on the carton. I thought they might just stock them and see if they sold and then pay us some of that but they said they would buy what we have. So, the egg money has started and next time we need to buy some feed will use that fund.


And last but not least here is our latest kitten. S/he is about a month old, is black with the prettiest eyes.



Has been a busy week between work, kids, rabbits, ducks, building a new porch. I guess I do get some sleep in there too.

I hope all the mothers out there had a blessed and happy day with their families.

Finally

I have been so busy the last few weeks and am only now finding time to post.

On 5/7/09 we had two more litters. My daughter Anna is breeding Dutch and the brood doe she purchased in early April gave birth to 9 babies. I was out in the barn feeding and playing and noticed that my angora mix doe was pulling fur. I had bred them both on the same day so I put a nextbox in each cage at about 1130. At 1300 my husband came in to tell me that Raina (Anna's dutch) had just given birth. By the time I got out there (all of 5 minutes) Peaches had delivered too. Peaches had 6. They both used the nest boxes and I was certainly relieved to have no kits on the wire.

Here is a picture of Raina's babies:


One of them still had the placenta and membranes over its head and by the time I realized it was too late so, 8 have survived so far.

Here are Peaches babies:


One of them was born with shiny skin (the one on the right) and it seemed like no fur. Today, the skin is cracking and some areas on the head and nape of neck and in a triangle down the back have regular fur. I will try to get a better picture of it.

My other babies are growing in leaps and bounds. Here are pictures of them. I find them hard to tell apart. They will be seven weeks old on Sunday. I plan to tattoo next week.

baby one


baby two.


This past weekend we spent in Phoenix watching the Mets play the Diamondbacks. I have been a Mets fan since I was 13 years old. Many moons ago. I was a fan when Rusty Staub and Willie Mays still played for them. I love going to the ballpark and Chase field is wonderful. I have to admit though, that I find it disenchanting that all sports areanas are named after companies.

I will leave you all with a picture of America's pasttime