Elation!!

We haven't posted in the last week due to extreme computer problems.  The old one was terminal for quite some time and finally bit the dust. 

The new one was rejected by its previous owner, #1 son, shortly after purchase.  Probably because it is a piece of junk.  But that's just a guess on my part. 

Now, on to the reason you're here.  Bunnies.  Lots of bunnies.

Tootsie and Snowball both kindled early Tuesday morning, one day earlier than anticipated.  Honey, the 4-leg grand champion, has not.  Maybe she thinks her good looks are all she needs.

Anyway, back to the kits.  Snowball had eleven kits, seven of which survived.  One was clearly stillborn; she didn't clean it at all.  Two she cleaned partially, but we figure she decided they weren't going to make it and didn't finish cleaning.  One--we figure it was the first--was born outside the nesting box.  We didn't even find it until the next day.  It had been perfectly cleaned up, but it looked like Snowball had bitten both back legs off.  Kinda gruesome.  Snowball did not do anything like this with her previous litter or with any of the other current kits.  My best guess is that because this one was outside the nesting box, she was trying to get it back in, ... and didn't realize the strength of her teeth. 

Of Snowball's surviving kits, four are REWs.  Two appear to be self lilacs and one appears to be a self chocolate.  They are all pretty quiet, like one would expect of rabbit kits.

Snowball's kits, Day 1

Tootsie had seven kits, and all seven have survived so far.  Two are black, two appear to be chocolate, and three appear to be lilac.  These are the squawkingish bunch of kits ever. 

Tootsie's kits, Day 1


If you would like to be put on the waiting list for purchasing kits, send us an email at blackdiamondbunnies@gmail.com.  They will be ready for new homes January 4, 2015.  We prefer to have buyers come here to our rabbitry in Reno, but we can bring rabbits to rabbit shows as well.  We will be at the California state convention in Turlock February 28.

Disappointment

Well, this week our public schools are on break.  We homeschool, so this shouldn't make a difference to us, but the girls like to stick with the public school schedule.  So there is a good chance the girls won't post every day, and I will have to fill in.  Like today.

Everyone has finally accepted the fact that of the three bred does, not one kit was born.  Not a single one. 

What happened?

Honestly, we do not know.  We can only guess.

Two of the three does were experienced, or "proven" in the rabbit world.  The lone proven buck was mated with the first-time doe. 

We are pretty sure Snowball was pregnant--she went off her pellets again and would eat only grains and strawberry leaves for a few days. 

In the first two weeks, Tootsie gained a pound.  Porker.

We did experience quite a bit of smoke from the King fire, but I didn't think it was enough to stress them out.  They didn't look stressed.

We took Honey to the Stockton show, so that could have stressed her, but that doesn't explain the other two. 

The girls remembered that last time they played the radio at night so that the does wouldn't be able to hear coyotes prowling outside, and this time they didn't.  But we haven't seen any signs of coyotes around here in quite some time.  Maybe the does just like to listen to music.

The girls are naturally very disappointed.  Hopefully, our next breeding will prove to be a more satisfying experience.

Charlotte re-bred everyone again on Saturday.  Three times.   Same pairings.  The new due date is November 6.

It's all a learning experience. 

Judges and How They Look at Rabbits Differently

I was planning on writing about this after the Gridley show, but I have an English assignment on developing paragraphs by giving examples.

 

As you may recall, we were at the West Coast Classic in May 2014.  That was our first ARBA show and our first experience with multiple shows in a single day.  There we had an eye-opening experience.  

At all our 4-H shows, Snowball was always in the best condition, meaning she always got Best of Breed.  No matter what I did with Ninja or Indy, Snowball always won.  She always had the density and texture.  So I thought that most judges were the same and all was lost for Ninja and Indy.

When we went to the West Coast Classic in May, we all thought Cookie was in the best condition and thought he would win the leg in the youth show.  And indeed, Cookie was favored over Indy in the first show.  The judge detested Indy.  (Indy was a little stressed and it showed, if you know what I mean.)  The next three shows that day, Indy was highly favored over Cookie, to the point where he got the leg in the youth show.  That day I learned that I shouldn’t take only the rabbits I thought were best, but all of them, so I can see what the judges have to say.  The judges all look at rabbits so differently.

At the Truckee Meadows show in July, Snowball won Best of Breed in the first show, beating out her brother Ninja, who still got a leg for Best of Variety.  But surprisingly, in the second show, Ninja trumped and won a second leg for Best of Breed and Snowball got nothing.  

At the Stockton show last month, Muddy was favored in the first show.  He had great wool but lacked a little in density.  He has a great body.  So he got the leg.  However, in the second youth show, Honey got the leg.  The judged was almost drooling over her wool and density.  He was ready to whip out his spinning wheel right then and there.  

So in conclusion, don’t lose heart if your bunny isn’t favored.  He could win a leg in the next show. 

Stockton Show Report

My mom, Becky, Lydia, and I left at 7AM the day of the show with Muddy Buddy, Honey, Duchess, Stanley, Bubbles, Maple, and a friend’s rabbit.  We couldn’t have them in the bed of the truck.  It would be too windy and it would stress them.  So we put them in the cab with us.  We arrived at 8AM and looked for the other angora breeders.  We were right in the middle of all the angora commotion—blowers, grooming tables, yarns and hats and mittens for sale, and some beautiful angoras. 

Judging for Show B

There were over 70 angora rabbits there, six entered in the youth class.  We entered five.  None of ours had any disqualifications, and we asked one of the judges about Bubbles.  He said she would not be DQ’d for color, her color was just fine.  Unfortunately, we did not ask about Stanley, who is a little different on the back, but otherwise identical to Bubbles.  Muddy Buddy won best of breed in show A, and Honey took best opposite.  In show B Honey took best of breed, and Muddy Buddy took best opposite.  Unfortunately, Muddy Buddy could not compete in best of show for show A, because the judging for show B was going on at the exact same time!   

Honey, Best of Breed in Show B, and Becky

Big Sis's First Post

Becky here, I have yet to contribute to the blog so here I go. (IOW, I'm new so give me a break!)

So if you have been following this blog, you know that Chuck and Lydia have previously bred their rabbits, but I have not. Well, that changed this past Saturday. Cookie (broken chocolate) and Honey (chocolate tort) were bred. Because I'm a chicken I had Chuck do the breeding... I had to pay with my last half of a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Boy is she pricey!

Cookie and Honey

So for nesting boxes you need to have shredded paper and hay. Paper to help with the rabbits' hygiene and hay for mom to graze on and eventually wean her kits. Because of my ability to think ahead, I realized that not two but three girls would be fighting for the free newspaper Dad brings home. So I decided out of the goodness of my heart that I would buy my nesting box materials so that there would be more for my sisters (am I not such a good big sister?). It is a paper-based litter, and I will post my opinion of how well it works after the kits are born. By the way, it's a really colorful array of purple, pink, blue and white.  Guess it will make for cute pictures!