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Metaphorically Thinking

4/28/2014

 
Raising rabbits, or anything you care about, I suppose, is much like gardening.  We began our rabbit hobby for our daughters and have spent the last year guiding them and helping build their confidence in a somewhat unfamiliar world.  We have been fortunate to meet some nice people who have helped us along the way.  And as much as I  love our rabbits I also do have other passions that equal or exceed them.  One of them being gardening.
So while gardening over the weekend I made the comparison of raising rabbits.  It was kind of a funny comparison but makes sense just the same.  Last year I ended up with a weed in my front flowerbed.  From my botanical obsession I knew what it was.  Salsify.  The flowers are actually quite lovely.  So I thought, what's the big deal, this beautiful flower has every right to be here.  So I kept the weed quite proudly.  
Well, this spring, guess what came back?  And it brought friends.  It's friends didn't pick the greatest areas to hang out.  So now this weed that I decided to keep as a flower, has proven in the end it is a weed.  I still think it is pretty, but I can not have it showing up wherever it wants to in my garden.  
This caused me to think of our rabbits.  Sometimes you get a rabbit that you think is such a lovely flower, but due to one reason or another, it really should be weeded from your program.  We would always weed out bad teeth or split penis as those are genetic traits that can cause so many more weeds later down the road, not just for you, but for whoever you sell to.  Surely you don't want to sell weeds.  We are faced with a weeding dilema of our own.  We have an absolute gorgeous girl with the most massive head.  Her head is possibly the largest in our rabbitry.  She however has so much white on her ears.  Judges have not once complained about it, but it's more of a personal issue for us.  We don't want all of our brokens to consist of it.  So we have to think hard about this beautiful flower and decide if we want to keep her in our garden.  Sometimes the best choice isn't always the easiest.

Interesting Show

4/26/2014

 
Well we for sure came home with a Grand Champion in Zilla today!  She won best opposite of Breed!  We are so proud of our little home grown girl.  Now we can retire her to our rabbitry for a long life of love and pampering :).  
The second great part about the show was finally getting to have Allen Ormond as our judge.  He is so respectful of the youth and speaks in such great terms that it really sets in for the kids.  Kaits favorite thing he said, was Basketball, baseball, horseshoe.  So the body should be round like a basketball, the head round like a baseball and a horseshoe to crown it.  Kait was right in loving that analogy!  Perfect way to look at your Holland.  So we also learned some things about some of our home growns that will help us move forward in our herd.  A doe we were a bit skeptical about got some great reviews from Allen who highly recommended keeping her in the barn as a brood doe.  Being so new, it's just simple guidance from a respected judge that does help us along our way.  
Allen was a wonderful judge and then our next judge was clearly not as familiar with Holland lops.  Which in the end it is all fine because he made some very amusing remarks that we will get a kick out of for some time.  It was also interesting as a parent to sit back and observe my kids as they listened to him evaluate the hollands.  I like to see that they are quickly aware when one is not quite as educated as another.  
On a less positive side of showing it reminds me of when I had my first child.  I was so excited to take my 1 year old to her first Easter Egg hunt.  She was barely able to tottle around and slowly made it to her first egg.  As I stood back to take her picture a mom swooped in and truly grabbed the egg from her little hand.  A part of me wanted to pounce on that woman like a wild tiger and tear her to shreds.  But then I realized I must be an example for my children.  I am finding that I see this similar behavior at the shows.  Sometimes it seems more like the moms are swooping in when it is really a youth show.  My daughter over heard one of the moms saying rude things about our rabbits.  I again felt the urge to scratch someones eyes out, but at the same time, I was so completely proud of my daughters to be able to laugh it off and accept the fact that some people will just never get it.  If they find joy in belittling something a child is working for then clearly something is lacking in their life.  

Grow to show

4/24/2014

 
Well just over a year ago we set out on a mission to grow some animals to show.  As much as we enjoy seeing all the top breeders and their beautiful rabbits, we don't enjoy showing their rabbits.  Those wins belong to those breeders.  We instead set out to grow our own show stock.  Well that is easier said than done.  For many of the shows we find ourselves with only a couple animals to show.  Well with 3 kids we need at least 3 rabbits.  So we have held on to our juniors to give each girl someone to take to the table.
Shows mean more to us than just gathering up ribbons.  It is also a time to pay close attention to the judges and listen to some feedback.  It helps us see where we may be evaluating correctly and where we may need some improvement.  At our last show, a buck we entered just for fun so Quinne had someone to show, actually got really high reviews from the judges.  So it was neat to get some new insight on him.  We were educated on a few things that we hadn't been aware of which now helps us improve in that area.  
I think the shows also help put things into perspective.  I feel we get biased when we are amongst our own rabbits all the time.  We are influenced by personality sometimes.  Or while posing or working with them we think they look amazing.  Then we get to the shows and see how incredible some other rabbits are and we realize we still have a ways to go.  For any new breeder I think shows are definitely good to invest in.  They can make for long days but I have found each show gives my girls a little boost of encouragement and we can never wait until the next one.
It is also a competitive time amongst us.  I know many families that show as a group.  Well, we chose to do ours differently.  Each of our girls has their own rabbits.  They make their own choices in who they are showing, breeding and keeping.  This means they are often showing against one another.  Quinne doesn't quite have her own to show so lucky for her, her competitive sister hooked her up.  Hopefully by Fall Quinne will have one of her own to compete with.  

Persistence

4/22/2014

 
Well, growing out these brokens has been quite the learning lesson and challenge.  They went through phases of me hating them all to loving them all, to loving only some and back to loving them all.  From the beginning Kait picked this girl as the one she was going to work with.  Well that was easier said than done because she hated being handled.  However something clicked over the last couple days and she has really turned out to be quite nice!  I hope Kait always has that eye for the nicest in the litter!  

Funny Thoughts

4/17/2014

 
You know how when you really care about someone you hear a song and it can remind you of them.  Well perhaps I am getting too attached to my rabbits.  Because several times over the last week I have stumbled upon a few songs that have reminded me of raising rabbits.  I will save some of them for another post.  But this one was so perfect I had to share!  Aparently raising rabbits is similar to playing poker!  Do you know the song by Kenny Rogers called "The Gambler".  Well there were a few lines that were quite accurate for raising rabbits, but this one was perfect to me.  
You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run.
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done.

Rhyme or Reason

4/16/2014

 
So if you follow us you will know we have spent the last year studying and learning from our little herd.  One thing that I often ponder is using BUD and BUB in your breeding program.  I have seen excellent breeders who are on both sides of the fence on this one.  Some are against the big uglies where others thrive well with them.  So being that I kind of like to see for myself, we kept a homegrown that is quite a large girl.  Whenever I walk past her cage I imagine that song from "Just Dance" playing, "Big Girls you are Beautiful".  Now this would of course make her brood however don't let that full you.  She has bone and mass and a huge head to go with that large body and  yes, she can also hold the holland pose which shows she is also proportionate.  
So lets back up a bit.  Had it been up to me I don't think I would have ran out and bought a doe this large even though many top breeders use them.  I was very pleased with a perfect little bundle of all dwarf rabbits.  I knew my rabbits were dwarf because of the peanuts I would get in my litters.  However, from my two dwarf rabbits, I ended up with 2 peanuts, 1 dwarf and 2 normals.  So I was hesitant to keep the normal doe, especially as she grew but chose to try it out.  We have had one litter from her which is now almost 4 months old.  Not one of them have gone over weight.  They all are just the perfect size it seems.  Of course now I can't quite tell if they are dwarf or normal until they are bred.  But it was just a curious observation.  I breed two small rabbits and get 2 large rabbits, I breed one large rabbit and get all small rabbits.  Sigh.  Not exactly sure there is any rhyme or reason to this sometimes.  So size aside, my lovely large girl has produced some really nice stock.  In our other litters we could usually go through and pick the nicest of the litter by 3 months and with her, that is not the case because they are all almost equally nice.  So perhaps having a big girl is in your favor.  We are expecting a new litter of torts this weekend so we will have to see how this all turns out in a few months.  

Cute little Baby

4/16/2014

 
This is Kamis little long awaited Clover.  She was quite nice for the photo shoot and sat in pose position for the entire time then the second I looked down to check my photos she hurried and snatched up the blossom.  Little sneaker.  I know it's early to determine type but looks like she has a cute little butt ruffle.  

Playful Photos

4/14/2014

 
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Our little Maev is our first sable carrier in our rabbitry thanks to Little Rascals.  If I were to predict she will have the same cute compact body as her mom with a wider crown like her dad.  And of course as usual, we love her and can't wait to watch her grow.
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Our lovely bucks who were also very cooperative for some fun Spring and Easter shots.
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Creepy Crawlies

4/10/2014

 
In general I am probably the furthest thing from a clean freak.  I keep my rabbits clean and happy without being obsessive.  During my cleanings I am however a bit ocd about one thing.  Their poop.  I don't just throw it away and move on.  I inspect it.  Gross I know.  Not really a passion of mine, however with rabbits this is a quick way to discover if everything is going well for them.  A healthy digestive system is of utmost importance in our furry little friends.  So if I notice one with fur, I up their hay and add a bit of fresh cilantro.  So far this has kept everyone healthy as can be.  
So onto the crawlies.  I am a phobic person when it comes to parasites or bed bugs or small icky things.  So while reading an article on dogs and worms I encountered some interesting things.  Interesting and horrifying.  Both dog and cat feces can contain parasitic worm eggs.  Often times owners will not notice.  These eggs can lay in your lawn for different lengths of time.  Then one nice spring day you decide to take your bunny out for some fresh grass and sunshine.  While nibbling the grass they also nibble  up some eggs which were just waiting for a perfect host to grow in.  Voila, worm incubator complete.  So for those of us who own both cats and dogs and share our back yard with our rabbits, this is a risk we are taking.  
I researched further into the main types of worms rabbits can contract.  Pinworms and Roundworms.  The pin worms are not like some and can not be spread to humans.  Roundworms however can be!  YUCK.  So me being paranoid began researching how to rid my yard of any possible worms.  Well pinworm eggs aren't typically viable for very long so they aren't of huge concern.  Roundworms however... can remain viable in your dirt and lawn for up to a year!  And even worse the only way to kill them is by solarization.  That means spreading a thin sheet of clear plastic over your entire lawn.  Killing both the eggs and your grass.  Lovely.  
Now I feel confident I have taken care to treat my dogs.  I don't feel like they have worms.  And me being fairly anti-social, don't have many visitors who bring dogs into our yard.  Cats however... they do as they please.  Sometimes I have seen different cats making their way through our yard.  So in the end it is a chance you take when placing your rabbit outside. 
So now I made it through the normal possibilities of obtaining parasites.  And that had me frantic enough to lock my rabbits in bubles for life.  But then I came across something even more dreadful.  The liver fluke.  I'm sure it's rare.  I hope it is anyways.  But this parasite is spread by snails and ants!  Well if I could eliminate them from my yard for life I surely would but so far I have failed.  These larva are in grass and hay and general things our rabbits would graze on.  Including hay we purchase to feed them.  I have read a common way to get it is by feeding your rabbit watercress.   
So in my conclusion I am leary to let my rabbits outside now.  I will take extra precautions to clean any fresh hay, spinach, herbs, etc.   And most of all, I will be doing as I have been all along.  Inspecting fecal matter and making sure I have healthy rabbits.  Making sure they have clean water at all times and clean housing!  

Brotherly Love

4/10/2014

 
Sometimes I get so wrapped up in making sure the pose is just right that I lose sight of something I enjoy more.  Just a normal cute shot.  So our two bucks are still growing and keeping me undecided on every level.  The one thing I have no doubts about is bone.  These are some solid boys.  They get along so well and have been so fun in our rabbitry.  I am working on a new photo shoot with them but thought these were cute enough to share now.
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