Plymouth Show Report

The Plymouth show was held this past Saturday, February 13, 2016, at the Amador County Fairgrounds.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we were really glad to set up in a shady spot. 

Normally we set up near the other angora people, but at this show the youth and open shows were being held in separate buildings.  So we were set up with Evan and Jennifer near the entrance to the youth exhibitors' building.  Unfortunately, the only power for the blowers was outside the open exhibitors' building, a little bit of a walk.

 

 

Lydia entered the showmanship with one of Charlotte's junior does.  It was her first time as a junior, and she didn't do as well as she wanted.  That's ok.  We all have down days.

 

 

 

Evan also participated in showmanship.

Judge Kendal assesses the French angoras while Evan looks on.

 

Judge Kendal assesses one of Charlotte's black juniors.

  Judge Kendal awarded best of breed to one of Evan's junior bucks and best opposite to Maybelline.

Charlotte and Lydia look on while Judge Ray assesses their rabbits.  He awarded Maybelline best of breed and another one of Evan's junior bucks for best opposite.

Evans Software Review

OK, I've had this blogpost planned for a while, but I just haven't gotten around to doing it.  It's not a very exciting topic.

So you have a lot of choices out there for managing your rabbitry.  And the girls do a pretty fine job of caring for their rabbits.  They don't have a lot of bunnies, so they can keep the pertinent information in their heads.  But I got really tired of trying to download the free pedigree programs or to fill in using the online templates.  It was a major hassle.

I bought the deluxe version of Evans Software's (evans-software.com) because it also includes a genetics processing feature.  The other deluxe features include a taskmaster list (what chores to do that day) and something for judges to track their records.  The genetics processing feature was the only deluxe feature we were interested in.

I cannot compare the Evans Rabbit Register with any other programs because I haven't used any.  I can say that I have been very happy with it and that it has been worth the expense.

The pedigree charts were the most important feature for us--no more entering every detail for every rabbit every time.  The information is entered once, and then you are done.  There are several options in making the charts--size, color, number of generations, various information to include or exclude on the chart, pictures, GC and legs, etc. 

Everything is really easy to edit.

You can track your buyers easily.  This way you have all their information available within a few clicks and you can quickly update them with changes in the registration or Grand Champion status of your rabbits. 

A big selling point for me was the genetics analysis.  You can select two rabbits, and potential offspring colors will be presented.  No more Punnett squares for five different alleles.  You can add one user-defined gene, and you can exclude an genes you don't have in your rabbitry to produce a more accurate analysis that actually reflects your rabbitry.  For example, we excluded the chinchilla dark and Himalayan genes, so those options don't appear in the analysis.  Also included is a booklet on rabbit color genetics with some of the best information I have seen, and all very well organized. 

I would not get this program if I weren't breeding rabbits, and I wouldn't get it if I had only one litter per year.  But once you start having three or more litters, this becomes a very handy tool.  You can use it on as many of your own computers as you wish--you are not limited to loading on one. 

Updates are issued about once per month. 

Submitting Paperwork for Grand Champions

I decided to finally crack down and make myself do the paperwork for getting the rabbits registered as grand champions.  The process really isn't that difficult.  I'm just one of those people who hates doing paperwork.

So here's the process for getting a rabbit registered as a Grand Champion.

The details for registering a rabbit can be found here:  https://www.arba.net/PDFs/to_register_rabbit_cavy.pdf

In a nutshell, the rabbit must be at least six months old and must have a complete pedigree chart showing the rabbit to be registered plus three additional generations.  Rabbits get registered at ARBA shows.  What does the registration show and why should one consider registering a rabbit?  Well, the registration shows that the registrar says that the rabbit meets the standards for that breed and that it has a purebred pedigree.  A rabbit must be registered before you can apply for the Grand Champion certificate.  As I was putting everything together Saturday night, I realized that while we have three legs for Snowball, for some reason she hasn't been registered yet, so I have to wait until that happens at the next show to then apply for her Grand Champion certificate. 

Also, the rabbit must have earned at least three legs, and at least one of those has to be as a senior.  Charlotte's Sage had earned five legs as a junior, but she had to wait until she had a senior leg to submit papers for a Grand Champion certificate.  A Grand Champion certificate shows that at least three judges have judged this rabbit to be the best in a group of at least five rabbits.  

Having rabbits that are both registered and that are Grand Champions shows prospective buyers that you probably have good stock and you can command a higher price for your rabbits. 

The legs need to have the additional information required filled in, and then they need to be mailed to the ARBA office.   We make photocopies of everything before we submit it, just in case anything gets lost in the mail. 

Edited to add:  Don't forget to enclose the check ($4 per certificate), or the nice lady at the ARBA office will call you.  Don't ask how we know that.

In about a month, the certificates should arrive. 

A Really Unfortunate Event Ending a Series of Really Fortunate Events

Last week really was great.  On Wednesday we got a much more thorough diagnosis for Jared at the Mayo Clinic.  Not only does he have gastroparesis (stomach doesn't empty contents in a timely manner into the small intestine), but he also has duodenal ulcers.  He has medications and a strict diet (each condition has a strict diet associated with its treatment--Jared's got to deal with two strict diets, so he's a bit limited in what he can eat), but he has hopes that this won't be forever.  And he's pretty happy not to be hearing it's all in his head.  Fortunate Event #1.

On Thursday Charlotte and Lydia got the results of the statewide archery tournament.  Lydia got first place among all elementary school age girls in the state.  Charlotte took first place not only among middle school age girls, but also among all girls--including high school age--in the state.  In fact, she was second overall in the state.  So they were both beyond thrilled.  Fortunate Event #2.

On Friday, Charlotte was emailed by a nice young woman who wants to buy her two junior does.  Fortunate Event #3.

But then there was Friday night.  Really Unfortunate Event.

So after taking care of animals last night, Charlotte came in to talk to me, in tears.  All of her junior bucks, who were sharing one large (28"x60") cage, were inexplicably and horribly matted.  For the time Jared and I were in Arizona, things were a little hectic around here.  The girls spent a few days with some homeschooling friends because Charlotte had orthodontist appointments and it was easier to get her to them if she was in town.  And they had to contribute more to making meals and doing the things I normally do to keep the house running.  So they kept their rabbits fed and watered, but not much else.  Also during this time, the temperatures warmed so that the snow melted pretty well during the day, but of course, snow melting (and water leaking and dripping) would not be noticed during the sub-freezing temperatures in the morning and at night.  Unfortunately, all that leaking and dripping was going on right above the junior bucks' cage. 

We spent all day working on their coats.  Had this been spring or summer, we would have just shaved them.  But it's too cold to do that.  So we had to remove all the mats while preserving as much of their coat as possible so that they would be warm enough. 

It was not very fun.  But we're grateful that no bunny died and no one got sick.  And other than this, it really was a great week.

Two Yards to Spare, or Thank Heavens for T-Rex Arms

So I decided that I needed another simple angora-blend pullover in an easy pattern that I could knit as I helped the girls with their schoolwork. 

I found the pattern in Vogue Knitting Fall 2015 issue.  This is the cover, so you know what you are looking for.

This is the sweater.  I believe it called for 550 yards of yarn.  I thought I could get away with a little less.

I knew I needed a bulky yarn.  But I don't generally like spinning bulky yarns.  I like finer plies.  I find that I can make my yarn more uniform and balanced with a finer ply, so that is what I do.  Unfortunately, you need a lot of finer plies to make a bulky yarn.  So I realized that I needed six plies.  Let me tell you, trying to ply six plies is an experience.  One I shall not repeat in the near future.  So I had two plies of angora and four of a medium brown alpaca. 

Medium brown is a hideous color on me, so I knew I would be dyeing the yarn.  I wish I had remembered to photograph the yarn before and after dyeing.  Before I dyed it, it was really ugly, but it turned out to be a lovely dark purple tweed afterwards with the angora taking on the purple color and the alpaca looking black. 

I started with the sleeves to double check my gauge.  Unfortunately, even with using larger needles, I wasn't quite matching the gauge.  I was going to need more yarn than the "little less" that I thought I could get away with.  But fortunately, I have what my family refers to as T-Rex arms.  Apparently, even though I am 5'7", my arms are a little on the short side.  So are my mom's.  So I shorten the length of long sleeves on my sweaters by an inch to an inch and a half. 

It's a really good thing.

As you can see on the picture of the pattern above, that is all the yarn I had leftover.  About two yards.  I seem to cut a lot of my projects close.  It's not a good thing.  Someday this desire to spin "just enough" yarn is going to bite me in the behind.

Anyway, this is how the sweater turned out.  I am really happy with it.  I will probably make another one using the same pattern, but instead of making a six-ply yarn I will make two three- or four-ply yarns and knit double stranded. 

Hallelujah!

This post has nothing whatsoever to do with rabbits.  So those who only come here for angora-related stuff can skip this post.  Those who follow us regularly and/or know us IRL know that my oldest son has been sick for some time.  And that has caused a decrease in the number of my posts, especially lately.

I had gotten him an appointment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, but that wasn't until the middle of March.  So Friday, eight days ago, my dad suggested trying Mayo in Scottsdale, and lo and behold, they had a cancellation for Wednesday morning.  Lab tests Wednesday, CT scan Thursday, gastric emptying test Friday.  Several hours after the last test, the doctor called.  Jared's stomach doesn't empty properly.  It's called gastroparesis.  Anyway, we still don't know why, and he'll have another test for that on Tuesday, but at least we have a diagnosis and a direction to go.

Hallelujah!

Prepping for Showmanship



(I should have written this up two months ago.  Anyway, I'll leave it here for now so our regular followers will see it, then I'll move it where it belongs chronologically.)

 

So Evan and Jennifer bought a few rabbits from us to start their own herd and to get started in the fabulous world of 4-H.  Evan was a bit nervous about his first showmanship competition, so he asked Lydia to show him how it's done.  

 

Checking the abdomen for abscesses

 

 

Counting nails on the paws

Evan practicing holding his bunny on the table

Checking ears for mites

Checking teeth

Checking whether it's a buck or doe

Lydia did a great job showing Evan how showmanship is done here in Nevada, and Evan did himself proud in the competition a few weeks later.