Hendricks Hearth

The Nature Trail

2012-02-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post a thank you to my friend Ellyn at Rabbit Smarties Publishers for including my hay post on this month's newsletter at The Nature Trail! If you haven't already visited both sites, I'd highly recommend them. Rabbit Smarties offers books, a great blog, and graphic design among other neat things. The Nature Trail is packed with information about all different aspects of rabbit care, breeding, showing, and more. Even the banner is awesome- I love it!

Awwwwww..

2012-02-26T16:44:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite bucks in the litter clearly has a white foot!

It's a shame I can't keep him, but he should make someone a lovely pet. The kits in this litter have wonderful temperaments, though Harlequins as a breed are generally known to be friendly and tolerant.

Cage Considerations

2012-02-25T18:21:00.007-08:00

I am always being asked about housing for rabbits and I wanted to post about what I like and dislike. I hope this is helpful for someone that is looking into purchasing cages.

As far as the cage material, I prefer galvanized wire. I have found it stands up the longest to rabbit waste, is the safest, and the easiest to clean. I tend to do a heavy-duty cleaning on the stackers seasonally, but I spot clean with a BBQ scraper, hand torch, or sometimes a wire brush. One thing I've learned with cages is that some companies like to cut corners by offering thinner wire on the bottom panel. I do not like this because the thin wire can be hard on some of the larger breeds. The wire itself is also more flimsy and can't stand up to as much abuse- it can be prone to bowing in particular. I'd recommend nothing smaller than 14g if possible, especially for larger breeds.

Aside from galvanized wire, I recommend a MINIMUM cage size of 24" X 24" for something Mini Lop sized, though I prefer to give them more room in something like a 30" X 24". I won't go in anything smaller than 36" X 24" or 30" X 30" for larger breeds like Harlequins or New Zealands. I know a lot of people say that bucks don't need as much room, but when I moved Apollo and Spock into the biggest cages, I found they used the extra space like crazy for binkies and playing with their toys. Here is a page from one of my favorite suppliers (KW Cages) with stacker examples:

Urine guards can be helpful for sprayers, though some rabbits make it their life's mission to remove the guards from the walls. I have a doe like that now and finally gave up and pulled them out. Even for does I will still use them though to help prevent the loss of a baby if they should get out of the nestbox too young. There are babysaver wire options available for cages, but I have never opted to purchase them so I can't comment on their use.

As far as trays, if you need them for your set-up, I can't stress this enough: Dura Trays. Dura. Trays. Dura Trays! Are you starting to see a trend here? I have some metal trays from stackers I purchased used and let me just emphasize what a huge pain they are. They kill my back because they are so large and heavy (these are 36" trays) and they eventually corrode through. One of my metal trays broke this past week (which is one reason I am so adamant about this, lol) and it was a HUGE mess. It was the cage with the Harlie babies and I didn't realize there was a crack in the metal right away because it was under the wood pellets. So the floor under the rack was just flooded with their waste mixed in with the substrate and fines that had fallen through from their feeder.

I prefer water bottles for cages because I can easily tell if someone is drinking more than usual or less. I use the 32oz water bottles from Tractor Supply. They are cheap if I need to replace one for whatever reason and have always been reliable for me without a lot of leaking or anything. I have a mix of feeders and crocks, but I prefer the J-feeders. So much easier.. less digging, automatically sifts fines out, etc. Here is a picture of the exact water bottles I like. I have some of the other brands like Lixit, but I hate them. Truly, I do. Much prefer these personally:

I hope this is helpful. I have tried a variety of cages and I will never use the pet store kind again. For anyone with more than a couple rabbits, it just isn't practical. Right now I use stackers, but in the future I hope to move the rabbits into a protected outdoor setup where the waste can fall through to the ground and I can use the manure easily for the garden's needs. I think I'll make a post soon about why rabbit waste is gold for your crops. Thanks for reading!

The Hay Post

2012-02-20T06:56:00.004-08:00

I have some time this morning so let's talk about hay. I am not going to go into all the sordid details about every possible combination of hay available, but there are a few things that are important for rabbit owners to know.

#1. I have found that if someone is raising rabbits that hay will be an issue that everyone will have to deal with at some point. I know of breeders that don't include hay with their daily diet, but even then expecting does need nesting material and hay is ideal for this purpose. It is also a great choice for roughage and gives them something to do that is natural and that they seem to enjoy.

#2. There are lots of different kinds of hay available. Not all hays are equal in type or quality.

#3. Greener does not always equal better. We will talk more about this a bit later.

First for number one, I haven't talked about it much, but I have tried several long-term feeding "experiments" over this past year regarding hay. I have kept the pellets the same throughout, have avoided offering garden leftovers during this time, as well as treats. What I have found is this:

#1. Hay cubes are no substitute for hay. I tried several different kinds and only certain rabbits enjoyed them. Others turned up their nose no matter what. The bags also tend to contain a lot of dust and small particles of broken hay from the process. Youngsters may have trouble working the hay loose of the cube.

#2. Rabbits without hay get bored more quickly. All of mine, without exception across the breeds, get excited at hay time. They show outward behavior that they like hay time. This makes sense given they love hay and that grazing is a natural behavior for them.

#3. I had more problems with rabbits going off feed periodically this year when I didn't feed hay and it stopped altogether when I offered hay all the time again. I believe this is due to slowed gut movement if they don't drink enough that day, if they are ingesting hair during a molt, etc. I would add hay and the rabbits would fix themselves.

#4. I tried a number of other bedding materials during my hay projects this year from synthetic nesting material, to recycled litter materials mixed with the doe's fur, etc. Nothing compared to a lovely hay nest that the doe lined with her fur.

Of course hay is not a cure-all for all rabbit behaviors or ailments, but I think it sure helps for a happy and healthy rabbit.

Now let's talk about the kinds of hay available. The most common I've found are alfalfa, timothy, orchard, coastal/Bermuda, oat, and combinations therein.

Here is some information about these kinds.

Alfalfa- this is actually a legume. It is dark green, has more protein, energy, and calcium than grass hays typically and also has a high mineral content. There is a lot of controversy over feeding alfalfa to rabbits regularly, but because our pellets are made up primarily of alfalfa I don't see the point in giving them more than they already get. In my humble opinion, giving a healthy variety to rabbits (within reason) is one of the keys to a healthy diet just like it is with us.

Timothy- this is my favorite kind of hay to offer. It is very balanced in protein and energy, has a nice feel/thickness depending on the cut without ever really being coarse. It is usually lighter shades of green as you saw from my previous post.

Orchard- this hay is higher in fiber and lower in protein than some other kinds of hay, but tends to have a bit more protein than Timothy most of the time. This can start greenish but can also yellow a bit with curing.

Bermuda/Coastal- this hay is typically less expensive than Timothy or Orchard. It is still a lower protein grass hay and is a good fiber source. This is usually shades of green and tanish.

Oat- another higher fiber/lower protein hay. This one is a lot more coarse than some of the others, but the rabbits still seem to enjoy it. This hay is almost straw-yellow colored. It looks almost like straw, but works fine in my experience and is a good winter choice if nothing else is available.

Now lets talk about the cut of hay. This is pretty straight forward. The first cut of hay can be less desirable if it is left too long to mature as this can lend to tough/coarse "stemmy" hay. Most farmers cut before this time though and I have found it to work fine for the most part. I believe the Kaytee Timothy I posted earlier in the week was from a first-cut.

The second cut is typically softer and finer than the first cut. It can have more leaves then stems and feels/smells very nice in my hand. The bunnies don't seem to show a preference for first or second cut, but I like the second cuts for the nesting boxes because it is easier to manipulate into the proper shape for the doe than a coarser first cut. I have also found babies tend towards the softer second cut when they first try hay if given the option of both cuttings.

The third cut is not typically available in my area, but when it has been I wasn't thrilled with it. For one thing it was dustier. I can only assume this is because it didn't have the growth/length as the other cuttings and the equipment gathered some extra bits in with the harvest. It is also pretty soft and fine, tends to be leafy. There is a question of whether this cutting offers a lot nutritionally, but my best advice is just to purchase the second cutting when it is available and store your excess high and dry.

There is way more to talk about concerning hay including nutritional charts, types of bales, when and where to buy, etc., but I just want this to be a basic information post. I am including some links below with more information, but in the meantime these are my preferences for hay:

Clean, dry, smells fresh, low-dust, second-cut Timothy hay, but I rotate kinds of grass hay based on the best quality available in my area seasonally. I have fed all of the hays listed above along with a few others and mixes. I prefer square bales and it is a lot more economical to purchase horse quality hay at the local feed store than to purchase little bags of hay at the pet store, which coincidentally supports local farmers. Best of luck in your hay search and thanks for reading!

Helpful Links:

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/AnimalSciences/pubs/id146.pdf

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/crops-and-gardening/hay-feeding-14792.aspx

http://www.atascaderofeed.com/hay.html

Timothy Hay

2012-02-16T12:32:00.003-08:00

I've been short on time lately, but I would like to make a post soon discussing the types hay, feeding options, and the results of some hay "experiments" I've played around with over the past couple of years with rabbits.

In the meantime, I just wanted to show comparison of two cuts of the same kind of hay from different sources so you can see how much it can vary.

The first set of pictures is the standard Kaytee brand of timothy hay from PetSmart. It was on "sale" for $12 per little bag:

And here it is out of the bag today. Sorry about the lighting, but it has been alternating with rain and fog most of the day so I was doing the best I could:

As you can see, it is fairly green with thick stems. Looks pretty much like what it is supposed to be- pure timothy:

And below we have more timothy hay, but this is a locally-harvested bale from the horse/feed shop. I believe I paid $11 for a bale yesterday:

Still green, but obviously it has thinner stems and it feels softer in my hand:

It is also called timothy, but there is some other stuff in there, too:

I see sweet clover among others. Still good eatin', but quite different from what can be purchased from the chain pet store. Part of the difference may be which cut was packaged and shipped from the first bag, but part of it may be other factors from mass production. More to come when I can sit down and type for a while. Thanks for reading!

New Zealand Kits

2012-02-07T05:11:00.000-08:00

I realized this morning I never actually posted the rest of the pictures of the kits I took last week. This is from a NZR X NZW pairing. Here they are:

The lighting was nice finally after all the storms we had, so I could get some decent up-close shots:

I believe I mentioned it before, but the black kit is a gold-tipped steel:

This buckling has the best rufous in the litter:

They are very curious and friendly. I guess this shouldn't be too surprising considering they were half bottle-raised:

If I am not already overrun with boys, I will probably keep this little fellow:

Thanks for looking!

Hoppin' Circle January Wrap Up

2012-02-04T10:38:00.001-08:00

Fisher Farms shows us her wonderful
show results and ribbons. Congrats Clint on your first leg!

The Kelfla Project shares some scientific tidbits centered around rabbits.

Bella's Rabbitry tells us about
new stock she has coming in, and announces that she isn't selling out completely, after all.

At Home Pets tells us of a nice experience she had with a buyer.

4 Kings Rabbitry gives us a peak inside her extremely organized rabbitry by showing us her binder.

The Rabbit Shepherd shows that even rabbits can be supermodels.

Breeding goals are always important to have in a rabbitry. Hendricks Hearth shares some of theirs.

Rabbit Smarties is back to blogging with her post on the Rocky Syndrome.

The Fuzzy Patch shares some great changes they have planned for their herd.

The Nature Trail shows off an adorable picture of a Smoke Pearl Netherland Dwarf.

Baby Harlie Pics

2012-01-31T04:14:00.000-08:00

Finally, right? Well, here they are in all their furry glory:

I couldn't barely fit the little chunkers all into the basket, so next time I will probably do individual shots of the keepers.

They are very friendly like most Harlequins, but also because this litter in particular has been handled pretty much constantly since the day they were born.

You can't tell, but there is another Harlie kit tunneling around the others at the bottom of the basket in this pic, lol. You can just barely see one ear sticking up between the two in the front:

This buckling in the front is large and typey so far, plus he has a very nice face split with properly alternating ears. He might need to stay if I do not end up overloaded on boys:

Tentatively, it looks like 5 bucks and only 2 does. I really needed more girls to choose from, but I am still so thankful for another Harlie litter so I can hardly complain. :o)

Thanks for looking. NZ are next up!

Excuses

2012-01-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post that I didn't forget about the blog, but I've been much busier this week than I had anticipated. My preceptorship for school is 7P-7A so I am not getting a whole lot done during the day. This is primarily because I am trying to sleep when I am not catching up on schoolwork. I also had a cold that I am now just getting over.

So.. basically, I am just listing a bunch of excuses, lol. Sorry! To give a brief update, everyone is doing great including all 12 of the Harlie and NZ babies. I'll get back to regularly scheduled programming here shortly (and new pictures, too). Thanks for your patience!

Litter Updates

2012-01-21T06:52:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd post a quick update. I wanted to take pictures today outside of the older two litters, but there is a major thunderstorm going on right now. I'll try to get it to though as soon as the weather cooperates.

New Zealands- all 5 are in with Kari, who has her paws full with the two litters. The black kit that I bottle-fed most of its young life is definitely a GT steel.

Harlequins- all 7 are running wild and driving their mamma crazy. One kit is so active that I don't know how much time she is taking to eat and always feels on the skinny side. I am trying to give her extra time with Kari to compensate for this apparent abundance of energy. I also decided to practice what I preach and cull the runt of the older Harlequin litter from the herd. She was nicely marked, but just had terrible growth and poor size. Valkyrie was almost twice as large when I compared the two, so that is interesting to see the differences even within the same litter.

Mini Lops- Dove's 3 and Serenity's 4 are all still with us and appear to be okay at the moment, though they are still really young. I always consider the first week to be a dangerous time since they are so tiny and fragile. Edit 01/28: I found Dove's kits dead against the side of the nestbox. It looks like she squished them, which really irritates me. Second edit 01/31: Now I am just mad. Serenity killed the two largest of her kits this morning, so only the runt and one other kit are left. I saw how it happened, too. When I was feeding everyone, I turned around just in time to see her (and Dove coincidently, who is in a stacker next to her) jumping in and out of her nestbox over and over again in a food craze, effectively stomping two of her own in her excitement to eat. The only reason she was even out of food is because she had apparently dug her pellets out for no apparent reason overnight. That is just poor mothering on her part- of course jumping up and down on kits isn't going to have a good ending. I don't know why does that were already proven and did fine before are giving me problems right now.

In other news, I am sad to say that I had to euthanize my beautiful NZR buck, Scorch. He developed what appeared to be pneumonia suddenly, though I don't know what caused it. These are never easy decisions, but this is the reality that a responsible breeder has to deal with. As great as it would be to just enjoy the good, dealing with the bad is just another part of raising animals.

Breeding Goals

2012-01-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

A friend asked the question recently about what constitutes a responsible breeder. In the culling post recently, I mentioned that I believe one important distinction is that responsible breeders have goals in mind. I didn't want to go too far off topic during that discussion to elaborate on it, so I am going to do that today instead.

I am including this stock picture because it is a good metaphor what happens when different people start working with a breed from what I have seen. Some may stay on the tracks heading due north. Although they may stop at different locations along the way, ultimately they will get to the same destination. These breeders (to me at least) represent those that have the standard of perfection in mind. Some, however, take a different path (or veer off course depending on your point of view) and they ultimately arrive in a different state, or on the other side of the country altogether.

With rabbits these differences can be readily seen when you compare rabbits from pet breeders, for example, to rabbits that arrive on the show tables. Since there aren't too many Harlequin breeders around at all these days, I am going to use Netherland Dwarf rabbits to describe some of the differences. I looked at the local Craigslist ads today just for this breed. What I found was that the people offering quantity on the cheap tended to have oversized ND's with big ears, long bodies, poor hindquarters, and were in colors that weren't recognized. The responsible breeders that I know with this breed aim for rabbits that are the opposite of this and that properly meet the standard and rabbits like the ones in the CL ads would have been culled out long ago.

Netherland Dwarf for sale?

Anyway, here are some of my own goals (aka what I am breeding for):

Health- I want a rabbit with a strong immune systems that does not have, produce, or pass along congenital problems or disease. I also would like them to have good growth patterns/grow out, proper size, etc. You could probably put this in health or temperament categories, but I also want rabbits that are good mothers, ready breeders, and that keep themselves clean.

Temperament- Ideally, I want rabbits that are friendly and tolerant, but I absolutely will not deal with aggression. I also want a rabbit that handles stress well due to their demeanor (high resilience).

Type- I could say simply that I want to breed better Harlequins, but there is more to it than that. Ultimately, I want to produce rabbits that are well proportioned and have the proper commercial type for the breed. They should have the right parts in the right places. Right now problems I am dealing with are pinched HQ, long shoulders, poor depth, etc. Although it is only worth 10 points, I feel this is extremely important to the multi-purpose/utility function of the breed.

Color and Markings- This is last on my list because it is my lowest priority at this time for this breeding program. Others mileage may vary and some people have been working with the breed forever, so of course they might have the order changed up at this point because they are able to and I am not there yet. Of course if I happen to produce excellent color and markings in a rabbit with the other prerequisites met then that is great, but right now I have to prioritize and know there is a lot of work ahead.

I guess that's a start. There are other goals that can be included like improved litter size, but right now I just feel fortunate to even have litters at all.

Thanks for reading!

Mini Lop News

2012-01-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting hardly at all about the Mini Lops because the plan has been to sell out. The kind of sad thing is that the only people to contact me lately are mostly wanting pets and I would like a couple of them at least (especially Hulk) to go to a show/breeding home.

Anyhow, since the does were just hanging out here in the meantime I went ahead and bred them last month. In my experience, it is better to keep a doe working than just hanging around collecting love handles. :) They are due today and are both in the nestbox today pulling fur. Update: Dove had 3 fat kits and it looks like Serenity has at least 4 so far, but she is kindling as I type this.

I bred Sundae at the same time, but it doesn't look like she took this time around. She has produced kits twice before for me, but her first litter had a couple giants DOA and her second litter was a few normal looking kits, but unfortunately they didn't survive the first week. Obviously she is fertile, but I just haven't had much luck otherwise. I am going to go ahead and place her up for sale to a pet home instead of continuing to mess with it since I had already planned to part with the breed to focus on Harlies. She is quite the character and should make a family looking for a new bunny very happy.

I think that's about it as far as Mini Lop news. I love the breed and will miss them quite a bit. Fortunately they are popular enough that if I want to get back into them later on then hopefully it shouldn't be too difficult. They are incredibly cute, are a great size, come in beautiful colors with such nice coats, and have personalities to match their sweet faces. :)

Litter Picture Update

2012-01-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

Picture + update = Picdate? Upture?

Anyhoo.. I get the message about the need for pictures, lol. Here you go:

Eyes!

And now litter pictures. There are six in each box. This group is predominately NZ with a few Harlies mixed in:

And this group is predominately Harlies (though one of these is not like the others..):

Check out the banding!

I know, I know.. stripes and plaid don't mix. The color is also washed out thanks to flash indoors. But not bad considering markings are about last on my to-do list with this breed right now. :)

We have eyes!

2012-01-14T06:29:00.000-08:00

I just thought I'd share that the last of the babies from both litters opened their eyes over the past couple of days and are doing very well. We did lose that one black kit from Pearl's litter that I thought was fading, but still have 5 going strong. The Harlequin litter of 7 is doing great also. They are so cute at this age! When I walk in to check on them I see a pile of sweet faces peeking up at me now.

I know they are eating hay on their own in addition to Kari's milk and goat's milk (in the case of the NZ kits) and I am sure they will start nibbling on pellets in a little bit, too. I am so incredibly thankful that I did not lose Pearl's entire litter, but goodness I am attached to some of these little guys and gals now. It is going to be incredibly hard to select keepers for the project at this rate!

Thanks for all the kind words, advice, and support with these guys over the past week. It has been much appreciated!

Tacoma and Bonus

2012-01-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

So, this is Tacoma. She is quite the goofball as you can see, but also a very pretty and sweet chocolate Japanese doe. Here are a few more I snapped quick while I was working:

I know these aren't the greatest quality pictures in the world, but I just wanted to get something up with our two new additions thanks to April at OlivYew Farm.

And here are a few of Bonus:

I think he was a little freaked out by the camera and he is molting as you can see, but he is a very friendly Japanese buck that seems to love attention. He also likes to throw and push around timothy hay cubes and cardboard tubes, though oddly enough he seems to ignore his resting board, lol.

I am really excited to have them both here. I'll take some better posed pictures when they are settled in and the weather is nice.

In other news, we lost one of the NZ kits this morning and it looks like a second might be fading as well. The remaining 5 seem to be hanging on though, so that's good. I know a bunch of the websites say that KMR formula mixes work the best, but I have yet to really see it help any kits no matter which way I make it. I've tried straight KMR with a past litter and lost the baby. This time I've tried KMR + heavy cream and KMR + goat's milk + heavy cream and KMR + goat's milk. Now, I am trying straight goat's milk now at the suggestion of Barbi's article at Barbi Brown's Bunnies and Whitney at Imagination Acres. I can't get fresh locally right now unfortunately, so I am using store bought. Fingers crossed for success! If we can just make it another week or so we should be getting to where they can start to really supplement their own nutrition while they nibble on real food.

Warm Weather and Litter Update

2012-01-10T04:37:00.000-08:00

This is officially the weirdest winter I've had in Georgia. Yesterday it was almost 70 degrees with humidity at 73%. With how warm and humid out it is, it feels a lot like a Spring day in late May. Except.. it's the second week of January.

It's confusing everything around here from the rabbits to the trees. I noticed a couple of the Lops are molting. My Japanese flowering cherry trees have buds on them and the poor, confused daffodils are popping up.

In other news, the NZ litter and the Harlie litter are all still with us, but I am having a lot of trouble with the rotation system and bottle feeding. I think Pearl ran dry around a day before she passed, so the NZ kits lost almost two full days of milk that the Harlies had. This means that the Harlie kits are bigger and stronger than the NZ kits for the most part.

To account for this, I am trying to put the smallest in one nestbox and the largest in the other to try to minimize the competition, but a few NZ kits are still lagging significantly. I still think it is important to try to up Kari's milk production, but (and it sounds cruel) the Harlequin litter has to take priority. New Zealands are one of the top two most popular commercial breeds in the world, while this is probably the only Harlequin litter in my state at this time.

Aside from the rotation, I am also supplementing with the KMR mix to the NZ kits that need it. I haven't found a way yet to convince the kits to nurse a dropper, small bottle, or syringe, so it goes painstaking drop-by-drop to keep them from aspirating. I've noticed they tend to fall asleep before they get even half of what they need so far, so I would not say it is necessarily successful. Hopefully we can get a schedule and some rhythm going to these feedings and they will do better though.

I had planned to do a comparison between the two breeds week by week with weights and growth that I had mentioned before in the blog, but obviously this had to come to an end before it really even started due to the unfortunate circumstances. Here is a comparison picture I took before Pearl became ill (and you can see the Harlies were keeping up with the NZ just fine initially):

And a mugshot:

That's all I have to update for now. Next up hopefully I will be able to post a couple of pics of Tacoma and Bonus, who appear to be settling in just fine. They have wonderful personalities!

Yesterday

2012-01-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was one of those days that felt like an emotional roller coaster as far as the rabbitry was concerned. I started the day super excited because I knew I was scheduled to meet with my friend April over at OlivYew Farm for two new Harlequins.

The sad news is that I walked out for the morning rounds of feeding and saw Pearl. To make a long story short, about four days ago she started acting a little bit off. Since then we had ups and downs and I thought she was going to recover twice. Then yesterday morning I went out and she had taken a nosedive overnight until it was apparent that she was not going to survive the day. I tried to make her comfortable, but even that failed and I had to make the difficult decision to euthanize her. Afterward I knew it was the best decision for her as she had multiple failures in her body systems as it turned out (heart, lungs, GI tract, etc.). I have no idea why this happened and was very upset about the whole situation. To make things worse, her kits were not old enough to be weaned. :(

I don't have a lot of options for them, but I am trying to partially foster them onto my other doe Kari (but she already has a litter of 7 big kits) along with bottle-feeding to supplement. I know the survivability of kits that are bottle-fed is very low, but I am hoping with a rotating system that with the other mamma I can somehow get them through until they can eat on their own.

But this post is not just about the sad events of yesterday. It is also about the very happy events that did so much to lift my spirits when things were looking grim. I still met with April and it was great to see her again! It's funny how sometimes just visiting with someone briefly that shares your interest that you haven't seen in a while can make things seem better. It was also great to meet our two new additions, Tacoma and Bonus! I was so excited to see how beautiful they are and wanted to take this moment to thank April again for them. :)

The dynamic duo were originally produced by Hoppe's Harlequins and I am very impressed with the type in her stock. I also really appreciate that she breeds for ideals that I also support, like health before markings, for example. In a marked breed it can sometimes be difficult to find a program like that. I am sad that April isn't able to work with Harlies anymore because I know she felt the same way, but I am still really glad she is going to be working with Dutch because they are also a marked breed and they are adorable and practical as well. Sometimes I really wish I had given the couple of Dutch I had a longer try because I think they are a great breed. :)

Anyhow, can I say again how great the new Harlequins are? Tacoma is a chocolate Japanese doe and Bonus is a lilac Japanese buck. I will be posting a few quick snapshots of them when I can get them uploaded here in the next day or two. I will also post an update with the babies once I can get a better idea of how this bottle-feeding rotation is going to work out.

Tribute

2012-01-08T15:36:00.000-08:00

Trib-ute [trib-yoot]
Noun
1.a gift, testimonial, compliment, or the like, given as due or in acknowledgment of gratitude or esteem.

Synonyms
1. recognition, commendation, eulogy. 4. levy, toll, impost, duty.

Rest in peace, my beautiful Pearl.

I'll talk more about what happened later, but I just wanted to recognize this lovely doe for the beauty that she was and thank her for all that she taught me. A tribute, if you will.

Please Update Your Links

2012-01-06T07:48:00.000-08:00

I do apologize about the old site falling into disrepair, but I was working hard on the new and improved one for months now. I just finally finished the transfer today.

So without further adieu, instead of http://www.hendrickshearth.weebly.com

Please use: http://www.hendrickshearth.com

I plan to focus on Harlequins for the time for those of you that note breeds beside the site on your links pages. I'm also happy to do a link exchange if you aren't listed and would like to be. If you comment here or e-mail me then I can get you up on the page.

In the meantime, I am very excited to see what 2012 will bring for all of us! Many (myself included) had a difficult 2011, but this is a fresh start and a New Year, so let's make it a great one. :)

This is a bit off topic, but it's amazing to me that Hendricks' Hearth has been up for going on three years now. I would not have been able to get here from there without the support of other rabbit friends/breeders. I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your friendship, time, wisdom, patience, and of course blog posts. It means the world to me!

NZ and Harlequin Litter Updates

2012-01-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

It has been an interesting week with the kits. As many of you have experienced yourselves, the temperatures plummeted here as well and we had a cold index in the single digits with howling winds. Even though the rabbits were not outside, it was still very chilly and I was concerned since the babies are so young and vulnerable at this age.

So, I brought the nestboxes into the guest restroom each evening (where the central heat seems especially effective for some reason) and for part of the day as well to try to keep environmental losses to a minimum. Even with that, we still lost 3 kits from Pearl right off the bat. It was a large litter though and I know at least a couple of them were the smallest and weakest. Then yesterday we lost a baby from each nestbox. Its never easy to lose kits, but this time was particularly dissapointing because I think the does stepped on them by accident. Kind of weird that both did it on the same day, but these kits looked lively and healthy before nursing and were already gone when I went to remove the nestbox a few minutes later. :(

That said, I am still very thankful for the 7 and 7 we have remaining in each nestbox. Here are a few pictures at day 6 before we lost the kit from each. The New Zealand litter:

And the Harlequin litter:

The New Zealands are little chunky monkeys moreso than the Harlies. I am curious to see the difference in growth and will try to get some comparison pictures later on. Here is one of the little munchkins:

Hope everyone is staying warm!

Culling

2012-01-04T07:23:00.000-08:00

I know this isn't a favorite subject to discuss, but I feel that it is an important one. This year on the blog I wanted to address some aspects of being a responsible breeder and this is a biggie.

First, lets talk about what culling is and what it is not. The dictionary.com definition is:

"cull[kuhl]
verb (used with object)
1.to choose; select; pick.
2.to gather the choice things or parts from.
3.to collect; gather; pluck.

noun
4.act of culling.
5.something culled, especially something picked out and put aside as inferior."

As you can see, it is a very simple thing to define. It is simply the act of picking something out, most notably something that is in some way not up to snuff. Some people refer to cull as a negative word though, as in certain death for the animals being culled. While some people may use their culls for meat, this is not the definition of the word and it should in no way be thought of as a bad thing (it is actually a good thing!). ARBA defines culling for our hobby as the "removal of undesirable rabbits from the herd."

Now that we know the meaning of the word, lets talk about why it is so important that responsible breeders cull.

First, as we know, most reputable breeders have a set of goals. I will elaborate on mine sometime in another blog post, but generally it is to improve the health, type, and temperament of our stock. We are breeding to a standard of perfection.. in other words, the perfect rabbit that represents our breed. While we may never in reality be able to attain perfection as it is a state of flawlessness that is nigh unobtainable, we may still strive towards creating a rabbit that is a better representation of the breed than we have now. It may have a very strong immune system, for example, so that it may ward off disease better. Or one that has a better hindquarter with greater muscle development. This will better meet the standard of perfection, but it might also help better support the legs and lower back of the rabbit and provide for a more athletic one, too. It may also provide for a better meat rabbit if commercial production is a consideration. So, you can see that sometimes working to better something on a bloodline may provide many positive outcomes.

So how do we get there from here? The answer is through selective breeding. The same way that some cattle breeds developed to be better meat producers, while some became better dairy producers, rabbit breeders work to improve our stock depending on what our individual goals are. However, in the process of producing offspring that we hope will be better rabbits than their parents, there will be a number of babies produced that do not make the cut for selection as future breeding and show stock. They might have crooked teeth, be smaller than all the others, be born without a leg (yes, it happens!), or just not look like what they are supposed to look like. These rabbits, in my humble opinion, should not be bred. And that is where culling comes in, because a responsible breeder knows they only should keep the best for the next generation, so that improvement is always the goal.

We may make several selections over time. Perhaps in the nestbox, at four weeks, at seven weeks, and at four or six months, for example. Different people have different timelines, but this is just to give an idea of what happens. Some breeders know right from the start rabbits that just aren't going to be high enough quality to retain.

What do they do with these? There really is no one answer this.

1. Some people have culls that are just so nice that they still feel they would be able to help other breeders and exhibitors. There may be "parts" of the rabbit that another responsible breeder may need to add to their herd, like a great headpiece. So that buyer may purchase a buck that is another breeder's cull because he has exactly what they are looking for to improve their own stock in the next couple of generations. Or it just might be overall a nice rabbit free from DQ's that a child wants to use for their 4H project, for example.

2. Some people choose to mark them as pet quality and sell them to those looking for a new companion animal. The upside is that they may go to a great forever home, but the downside is that they may not and there is no way to guarantee the outcome either way unfortunately.

3. Some responsible breeders donate their culls. They may be used in a pet therapy program, for an educational program, or for feeding other animals if they were donated somewhere like a wildlife rehabilitation facility. The rabbit will be humanely dispatched before providing a nutritionally appropriate meal to, for example, an injured bird of prey. This may seem barbaric to some people, but predators have to eat, too. In doing something like this, it is helping a facility that might be strapped for funding to get endangered species back out into the wild where they belong.

4. You probably already knew where this was going, but another appropriate outlet for culls is to humanely euthanize them. Some breeders do this only with extremely ill rabbits to keep them from suffering. Rabbits are prey animals and do not have the constitution of some more robust animals. Considering that they are consumed in the wild by a multitude of species, this is not entirely surprising, but it can be difficult for some people to feel comfortable with.

Others use their healthy culls for meat and fur use with their family or pets. This may also shock some people, but there are a lot of positive things to say about rabbit meat. I will make another post some other time about why this is, but for now I will simply say that even doctors are known to recommend rabbit meat to those with digestive or cardiac problems. Rabbit fur is also very soft and warm and is often used to line mittens and hoods among other things. People that feed a raw diet often include whole or parts of rabbits for their pets as well.

One aspect of culling that I think a lot of people don't consider is how hard it is to make that selection sometimes. Responsible breeders give love and care to their rabbits every single day, multiple times a day. I can't speak for everyone, but I get to know each and every one of mine and they are often held even on the day they are born. I believe this is very common from those I have spoken with, though, and the emotional attachment can make it really hard to say, "This one just isn't the strongest/healthiest and can't contribute to the herd in a meaningful way." Sending them to a pet home or donating them, for example, might just be the best thing a responsible breeder can do. It is also difficult sometimes to be really critical of our own herd, but it is so important that it happens along with culling to ensure that future generations are sound of body and mind alike.

A Rabbitry Blogging Network

2012-01-03T05:50:00.000-08:00

I found out about The Hoppin' Circle from our friends over at 4 Kings Rabbitry through their blog (that is linked to the right of this post). I think it's a great idea! You can visit the site by clicking on the logo picture below:

It describes itself as "a circle of blogs based around showing and breeding rabbits. Our idea is to connect readers, and breeders alike, to blogs that interest them, and promote the faces and rabbitry behind the blogs."

I love reading other rabbit-related blogs and so of course I signed up pretty much immediately. I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say for the upcoming New Year. :)

2012 Goals

2012-01-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Now that the New Year is upon us, it is time for me to sit down and make a short list of goals to work towards. We had a lot of ups and downs in 2011 with family, school, and our animals, but I am optimistic about the upcoming year and am excited to see what the future will bring. Here is what I have come up with:

1. Graduate from nursing school/get my license. I know this is a big duh kind of goal (lol), but it has been what I have been working very hard on for a couple of years now. I have one more semester of school if all goes well.

2. Plant a small garden. Other than my perennial herb garden, I let all of the other beds lie fallow this year to focus on school. I'd like to weed a few of the empty/ignored plots and start planting some again this year.

3. Teach myself to crochet. My Grandma taught me to knit when I was little and I rekindled that a few years ago. I am still not very adept though and projects take me a long time. I have been told by several people that crochet might be a better fit, so I'd like to work on that this year.

4. Focus on one rabbit breed and stick with it. Since I got back into rabbits in 2009, I've worked with several breeds and dabbled in a few others. This year I had another (duh) revelation being that I can't really get anywhere until I get back to one and work hard at it. Being a very small hobby rabbitry (and wanting to stay that way) only supports this decision, so for this reason and others that I don't want to get into, I reluctantly decided to part with my Mini Lops and hope to focus on my Harlequins.

5. Improve type and health on the Harlies. I know this is technically two goals, but I'd be happy to see improvements on either for the year of 2012, especially now that I have a homebred keeper buck that was recently proven.

6. Cull, cull, cull. I have a tendency to hang onto stock that I get emotionally attached to, but I really need to move these out because I don't use them for breeding or show and they just end up taking up space and resources that could be used for real keepers.

7. Get rid of the old website and finish the new one with the domain transfer, etc. This one is self-explanatory and I just love Weebly. :)

I think that's it for now. I have home-based projects, but they aren't really farm related so I am not including them. Just things I'd like to do to make our home nicer, like carpentry work to fix the porch.

We'll see how these goals turn out when it is time to review them later on. Best wishes to all for a wonderful new year and thanks for taking the time to read this!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

Auld Lang Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you'll buy your pint cup!
and surely I'll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty friend!
And give us a hand o' thine!
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Litter Pictures

2011-12-31T08:26:00.000-08:00

I left the gals alone overnight to rest, eat, and sleep before I pulled their nestboxes out and did a full kit check. I took Pearl's first and could not believe my eyes. Apparently she went back for a third go after I went to bed last night and this morning there were a whopping 10 wriggling kits in her nestbox! It looks like there are a mix of agouti and self (or maybe steel). I don't see any REW's, which may indicate that Scorch doesn't carry REW genetics and that would be good for the Harlie improvement project if it is the case. Anyhow, here they are, pictured at 1 day old:

Next we have Hikari's litter. She has eight and all appear to be black Japanese. I see some nice face splits and banding, but I also see some brindling. They are super active and wiggly, as is typical of her litters. She is an excellent momma! Here they are at barely 2 days old:

Here is one up close:

Thanks for looking!

Kitcicles

2011-12-30T07:11:00.001-08:00

I've been out of town for the past several days, but had a sitter taking care of the gang. I arrived home last night to a beautiful new litter of 8 that belong to Hikari. She did another amazing job of making a nest and pulling tons of fur. All of her kits looked outwardly healthy and warm when I checked on them.

Unfortunately, Pearl did not get the memo. She kindled two overnight and I found them on the floor this morning. It looks like she cleaned them up, but never pulled fur or made a nest. One of them had already died from exposure, but the other one came back to life when I warmed them up slowly. It is always amazing to me when a freezing cold and outwardly lifeless kitcicle suddenly starts to move again with warmth. Hopefully they will be able to nurse and grow stronger, but of course this is always a very tenuous time for newborn rabbits. I put the little one in with Kari's litter for now since there won't be any warmth in the other empty nestbox.

Pearl hasn't started eating again yet and she may have more yet to kindle, so I am watching her like a hawk just in case. I was told she was a proven mother and did a good job raising her last kits, but she is acting an awful lot like a first-timer today. Maybe it was because her one and only litter was supposed to have been a long time ago or maybe winter has something to do with it and her hormones haven't kicked in. Either way, I am not terribly concerned other than wanting to make sure any kits are taken care of properly and that she isn't experiencing any complications. This litter also confirms that Scorch and Pearl can reproduce successfully. I know it is a silly thing, but I hate to mark a buck or doe as proven even on my own paperwork until I have personally seen that they can produce live kits just as a matter of course.

Edit: Someone must have clued Pearl in that she was doing it wrong while I was typing today's blog post as later on she started nesting frantically. This afternoon she started pulling fur and lining the box with it. She then kindled several more kits- it looked like at least four additional so far that she had in the nestbox and they look like they are warm and wiggling. Yay Pearl! I went ahead and moved the original NZ kit from Kari's nestbox back to her Mom's now that hormones seem to be in full gear. :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

May your day be merry and bright! Happy Holidays from the Hendricks' Family.

Rabbits don't make good Christmas presents.

2011-12-14T07:46:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again when all of the classified sites are flooded with people selling baby rabbits (along with a bunch of other animals) as "great holiday gifts." Let me just emphasize that a living, breathing creature with a unique set of needs that requires care every single day of someone's life is not a good surprise to spring on someone unexpectedly. I am sure many people would be thrilled initially with an adorable baby bunny, but assuming they already have the supplies ($$ if they don't), you are essentially forcing them into a commitment that requires them to provide food, water, a clean cage, etc. to this new addition every single day for potentially the next eight to twelve YEARS.

The best Christmas gifts are not alive. Thank you! :)

Pearl

2011-12-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

I took some pictures of Pearl (my New Zealand White doe) today.

Striking a pose:

She is such a girly-girl. I'm surprised she didn't show up in make-up and heels for the photo shoot:

To be fair, her eyelashes slay me. Sooooo pretty:

Thanks for looking!

I spoke too soon.

2011-12-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

I was able to get a few pictures before the sun set tonight of my keeper buck from the October litter. He is a lilac Japanese and is not-yet-named, though I am leaning towards Walter for some reason, lol. He is nine weeks old in this picture and I posted another one on the Harlie page of his body. I know I am biased, but I think he is incredibly handsome and has soulful puppy-dog eyes just like his father and grandfather. It is strange and wonderful to have three generations here now under the same roof. :)

Long week.

2011-12-10T07:39:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting as much because I've been on a clinical rotation for school all week long. I've had to take care of the bunnies between 4-5AM and head out shortly after, so the website/blog have been at the very bottom of the priority list, below sleep, food, etc.

I have some final exams this week, so I don't expect a ton to get done as far as updates for a little bit longer. I'd like to take new pictures soon and post them though. The babies are growing like weeds. I don't know why I had slow growth with my litter last year, but these seem to be doing just fine. I do remember I was feeding Manna Pro back then and now I am offering Purina.

Either way, they have done wonders to brighten my day when I come home exhausted and brain-fried. I open the door to their grow-out cage and next thing I know I have Harlie youngsters climbing all over me just saying hello. This breed is amazing and I am thankful I didn't give up and sell out of them when I was so frustrated before.

New Zealands

2011-11-29T07:38:00.000-08:00

New Zealands are interesting and practical as a breed, but I've had a concern about the size of the reds in particular. They were purchased from different people and are from different litters originally, but their growth is below expectation thus far. I knew Scorch wouldn't be a big fellow because he was almost full grown when I brought him home and he had also spent some of his time before he joined us out in the wild as I have mentioned on the blog before. The doe, however, I hoped would grow a bit larger and faster. She was the biggest in her litter and had top quality feed and care before and since she has arrived. It seemed like she had a nice growth spurt a month or two ago, but then very little growth since. She is still young at five months old, so I will give her a few more months of growing before I weigh her in as a senior.

On the bright side, the reds feel very muscular and smooth throughout. They also have nice temperaments and their color is gorgeous. They both are more flighty than my Harlies and Mini Lops, but I think that is to be expected in a breed when commercial production has been the focus as opposed to pets and show. Pearl has also really filled a niche here as a nice, large New Zealand white doe with a solid body.

I bred Scorch to Pearl this morning, so fingers crossed for a new litter around the New Year. Pearl lifted without any trouble and was very cooperative, though immediately after she turned on him in a fit. She is a lovely doe, but this is very typical of a female rabbit when they are done with their boyfriend a la ,"GET OUT OF MY FREAKING SPACE!" (Lol.) This is why it is so important for someone to stay with the rabbits when a buck and a doe are introduced to prevent any accidental injury should she decide to be nasty afterwards.

I am hoping that Pearl will kindle in a month with a nice litter. She is supposed to be proven and a good mother, but I bred her once before and it didn't take. If successful, I imagine I will get something like agouti out of this pairing and possibly other things depending on what Pearl has in her background. I don't really care about color for this generation, but I am hoping that she can also add her nice bits (like a full HQ and large size) to the kits. I will likely keep the biggest and best typed kits to breed back to the parents and to Cinnamon later on as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:37:00.000-08:00

Hope you have a lovely day!

Freakazoids.

2011-11-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share a funny story. This morning I was doing some Fall cleaning in between school assignments. I had hauled out some of the stackers and was torching/brushing the wire, doing vinegar washes to the trays, etc. I took them back in, but figured it wouldn't hurt to spritz the clean cages down with sanitizer before I called it quits.

So I started using the spray bottle all over the stacker minding my own business when I hear a strange noise. It sounded like one of the Harlie babies squeaked or something. I stopped to look at them but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. They were all just munching hay and watching me work.

Okay.. back to work, I guess. Then I hear it again a few seconds after I begin, but it sounds like it is coming from two different rabbits at two different times. Squeak... squeak! I stop and look, but I don't see anything still. At this point I am wondering what the heck is going on. Am I so exhausted and stressed from nursing school that I am having auditory hallucinations?

I cautiously start spraying the cage again and this time it is a sound *explosion.* I drop the bottle and spin around only to find every single Harlie baby is screaming as loud as they can! I run over thinking something horrible has happened, but before I even get there they stop and go back to calmly eating hay.

I tentatively pick it up and spritz once.. SQUEAK! Twice.. AHHHHHH! They all start shrieking like the little freakazoids they are and scare the bejeesus out of me until I finally start laughing.

The thing is that they looked perfectly calm even while they were all screeching their heads off. I can only imagine that they think some other rabbit somewhere else is making weird noises like the spritzer makes and they need to join in?

For those of you that haven't heard a rabbit scream, it is VERY loud. It also sounds like someone is being tortured or something. I can only hope no one happened to be walking by when this all happened, lol.

Harlie Litter Update

2011-11-06T07:36:00.000-08:00

Harlequin babies just slay me- they are so cute and personable! I have been going through the litter this afternoon in my very small window of free time (thanks to the hour change) after a 12 hour shift at the hospital and here is what I have discovered:

2 Blue Japanese Does
Black Japanese Doe
Lilac Japanese Buck
Blue Japanese Buck

The blue buck looks almost identical to Hikari in markings- it is so cute to see them together. The lilac buck is the smallest in the litter, but he looks to have the nicest type so far. I am also really excited to have him because I didn't think Apollo would have lucked out with the chocolate genetics. The black Japanese doe is the largest followed by one of the blue does- they are beasties.

I was also proud to realize today that this is my second generation breeding as Apollo (the sire- my pride and joy) was born and bred here, too. For now I plan to keep all of them and see how they develop. It feels very strange just planning to have a few rabbits from one breed to work with now that I have made the decision to part with the Mini Lops. At the same time I hope it will reduce my overall anxiety level considerably having them in and I will be able to enjoy them more, too.

Mini Lop Sellout

2011-10-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

I had planned to trim down on the Mini Lops for a possible Harlie venture anyway, but another issue has come up and I have made the decision to sellout of Mini Lops entirely. If you are interested, please contact me. No transport is available- they must be picked up in Atlanta, GA. Prices range from $25-$60 and they come with their pedigrees and registration paperwork if applicable.

I didn't forget..

2011-10-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

..about this blog. I have just been so busy. Also, in pain as it turns out. My wisdom teeth finally decided to start causing problems this week during what I can only describe as the busiest semester of my life. For a normal person this might not be a huge deal, but I have no time whatsoever to take off for surgery because clinical rotation can't be missed. Neither can class, assignments, community experiences, or simulation lab. I don't even want to guess how much it will cost, but since I can't worry about that, in the meantime I just have to grit my teeth (ouch!) and deal with it until the holidays if I can.

It is times like this that really makes me thankful for the good things in life- cool things I can put on my face, NSAID's, and non-crunchy food items. Woo hoo!

Random Updates and For Sale.

2011-10-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

The Harlie babies are just over two weeks old now and are doing great. They are already spending a considerable amount of time out of the nestbox bugging their mama. I plan to keep the lilac along with at least one of the blues regardless of gender, but I am hoping for at least a couple of does out of the group if possible since I am short on gals.

In other news, I am going to be trimming down significantly on Mini Lops if anyone is interested. As much as I love the breed, my priority is Harlies. My time and resources are very limited right now while I am in my second year of being a full-time student as well so a decision needed to be made and I had just been putting it off. A friend of mine may also need to place their Harlequins fairly quickly so I was hoping I could clear out some space and funds for those if possible. Without most of the Mini Lops even with these new additions it would still be a downsizing event overall.

I am pretty much slammed with work from here until sometime in December when it should calm down again. Needless to say I can't wait for the holidays.

Day 8

2011-10-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

A new picture here and an update to the Nestbox page as well. We clearly have one black Japanese, three blues, and a something. See the little one on the left? Looks lilac to me at the moment- fawn with dove markings, but I am curious to see how he or she looks when their eyes open in a few more days.

Harlies and Mini Lops

2011-10-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this post with a picture of our new Harlie litter at just a bit more than 5 days old. They are doing fine at the moment and it looks like we have a black Japanese, three blue Japanese, and one that could be a chocolate or (more likely) another blue Japanese (was damp when I checked so I couldn't quite tell). I am so thankful for this litter!

It is back to raining here again so I do apologize for the so-so lighting. It feels like a Fall storm though and it is so pretty outside with the wind and the chill in the air.

In other news, I have been growing out three Mini Lop brothers out for a little while now and they are the sweetest. I had a hard time deciding who to keep as all have positive traits and are terribly cute and friendly, too. I have finally decided to offer one of them to a good pet or brood home on the site today. His type isn't maturing as great as I would like- he is a bit pinched in the HQ and long in the shoulders, but has the color genetics for someone that wants to work with chocolates/lilacs or would be a nice house bunny.

Babies!

2011-10-07T07:27:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to say that Hikari kindled a beautiful litter of five last night. She had been exhibiting nesting behaviors for nine days straight, but on day 30 (yesterday) she pulled a ton of fur and lined her nestbox like a pro so I knew it would be soon. Just a few hours later it was baby time and she was so kind to let me watch while she finished up cleaning them and making sure they were safe and warm tucked up in her carefully arranged hay and fur.

I didn't want to bother them last night so I let them be for the evening shortly after, but this AM I pulled the nestbox out and did a quick check. It tentatively looks like 4 blues and 1 black, but of course it is hard to tell so early on. I am just so happy to have this litter- I have my fingers crossed for the kit's continued good health as this is a high risk time for them of course.

I'll post pictures in a few days after I can see how they are doing. Woo hoo!

The Best Laid Plans.

2011-09-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

I bred four of my does on September 6th as follows:
Mini Lops-
Hoppin's Twister (Chocolate Chinchilla) X Lunar Lapins' Sunflower (Chestnut)

Harlies-
McCasland's Spock (Black Japanese) X Hendricks' Athena (Black Japanese)
Hendricks' Apollo (Black Japanese) X McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)

New Zealands
Scorch (New Zealand Red) X Pearl (New Zealand White)

On day 18 Pearl started nesting frantically and pulling fur. I am guessing she didn't take and is having a false pregnancy, but she isn't cooperative right now so I am sure. It would be a nice surprise if she does happen to kindle a litter, though. I would expect odd colors from a red X white pairing- maybe steels or agoutis, but I had hoped to keep the very best (regardless of color) for the next generation of improvement. I am always reminding myself: color is easy, type is hard!

On day 21, Kari started frantically nesting as well, though she didn't pull fur. She is still displaying nesting behaviors today though she isn't due until next week. I am really hoping that she took because her breeding is my most anticipated of all and I have waited almost a year for this opportunity. I would expect black and blue Japanese with the slim chance of chocolates and lilac Japanese, too. This pair has very complimentary type and are large, friendly, and beautiful. Needless to say, fingers are crossed!

Sunny and Athena are not showing any signs either way whether they took or not and I forgot to palpate at the appropriate time. Oh well! Due to my concern about stressing the does with the incredibly hot summer we had, there haven't been any kits since early Spring. I miss having them around as much as anything else, though it would be great to be able to move forward with the breeding program finally.

I am trying not to get my hopes up too high as I have learned over the years.. "The best laid schemes of mice and men / Go oft awry."

Scorch and Cinnamon

2011-09-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

We finally had some somewhat cooperative weather and I took a break from studying this week to snap a few new pictures. I posted a posed picture of both of my New Zealands already on the Harlie page if you want to check them out, but here are others that I liked below.

This is Cinnamon, my junior New Zealand Red doe. She is very quiet and sweet. Loves to be petted, but isn't such a big fan of being posed just yet:

This is Scorch, my intermediate New Zealand Red buck. He was not in love with posing either, actually.. but who can blame him? It is not exactly the most natural thing in the world.

He is a mush and prefers to be carried around upside down in my arms:

But how can I resist this face?

Truth is, I can't. So he just puts his heels up and enjoys the strolls. He's only been here a few weeks and is already in charge apparently.

I have to say, it is hard to get any work done around here with my arms full of New Zealand Red all the time. :)

What are you breeding for?

2011-09-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

I am sure most of us became involved with rabbits initially because we really enjoy them, plain and simple. However, beyond the initial aspect of interest, rabbit people seem to branch out into all different philosophies regarding why they breed and raise the rabbits that they do. Here are some individual reasons I have come across over the past few years:

1. For Show: They say they like the competition. Some also mentioned the travel, seeing old friends and making new ones, buying and selling breeding stock, and seeing all of the different breeds in one place.

2. For Pets: They tell me they like having cute, fuzzy, gentle creatures around to love on and to sell to others as family members. Some also feel that they can make a decent profit selling pets, too.

3. For Education: They say they rarely have litters and usually have an assortment of other species around. They may go to schools, parks, birthday parties, and more serious professional situations depending on what kind of involvement they have. They may also profit or may not depending on what their ultimate needs are.

4. For Meat: They tell me they are interested in growth, meat-to-bone ratios, overall health, and the ability for their stock to breed and be good mothers among other things. They may sell to other hobbyists in small groups or they may simply sell in bulk to a processor.

5. For Fiber: I am told they love their angoras and often enjoy spinning, knitting, and/or crochet among other similar fiber arts. Plenty of people that keep stock for fiber also show and sell their culls as pets or woolers.

I'm sure many reputable breeders fall into more than one of these groups above- I know I do. I have been thinking about it though and it seems like those that purposefully explore and educate themselves about the multiple and legitimate reasons for raising stock may have the advantage over those that just raise for one reason or another.

For example, if someone only breeds for show, then do temperaments fall to the wayside over winning type? How about growth rate? Health? Good mothering abilities? I have read time and time again about biting rabbits on the judging tables, mothers who don't take care of their young in every litter (which are fostered out to other does) and yet they are still being bred because they are grand champions, etc. Not to mention those that show despite illness in their herds because all that matters is the big win.

So what about someone that only breeds for meat? If they have no judges comments to give them an idea of what they need to work on and if they never go to shows to learn about the breed standards, then how do they determine good type on their stock before they breed? A pedigree is only a piece of paper describing lineage- it does not say anything about how nice the rabbit is unfortunately.

How about pets only? What happens when the babies are all grown up and families that are bored with them return them all. Can a pet breeder house a new group of unexpected adults and/or find homes for them as pets a second time around? How about a third or fourth in the case of a behavioral or health problem? Not to mention the stiff competition between pet breeders on all the ad sites.

And the list goes on. If knowledge is power, than a breeder that can recognize good type, that understands the aspects of sound and tolerant temperament, that has been monitoring for health issues, good mothering abilities, decent growth/size, and that has a variety of outlets to chose from for their culls.. well, how could that possibly compare to just focusing on one thing, regardless of whatever it is?

I don't know about everyone else, but for me it is a great reality check to ask myself whenever I am starting to plan a litter: Just exactly what am I breeding for? What do I hope to achieve by this pairing? How will it help the breed? And later on, what is the end result?

Rainy Days and Photography

2011-09-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

It is pouring outside as I type this. Over the summer it seemed like we couldn't hardly get a break from the intense sun baking everything down to drought levels. So, I am thankful for the water finally, but at the same time I have to admit that I have been itching to get new pictures of everyone and that is on hold until the weather lets up. I love natural lighting for pictures to the point that I pretty much refuse to take pictures without it these days. it just adds so much more. Here is a picture I took of one of my Don Juan climbing roses during a shower at dusk. See how artificial it looks even though it is a real life amazing bloom with dew drops all over?

To contrast here is one of my Darwin Tulips from Spring in natural sunlight:

In my humble opinion, there is just no comparison to the natural color that comes through in the second picture. I love it so much that I pretty much limit myself to nice day photo shoots, which can occasionally be a pain when trying to work the weather around my school schedule. I almost always find that it is worth it in the end though because I am always so much happier with my pictures and feel like the time was well-spent.

Can you tell I like flowers? Flowers and bunnies make the world a better place. :)

Website is coming right along.

2011-09-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

I didn't anticipate that I'd be able to get the website together completely this year with the busy school/clinical schedule, but I am very happy with how quickly it is coming along. Weebly is great! Now that I have figured out the basics it really is very user-friendly. For those if you that are looking at various hosts, I'd still recommend http://www.icdsoft.com for professional/paid web hosting needs provided that you know at least html coding, but for free or low cost, it is really hard to go wrong with Weebly. Thanks to Christine for telling me about it. :o)

Regarding the links page, I have been working to get sites added. If for some reason I missed someone, please let me know by shooting me an e-mail or replying to this post. Thanks!

New Zealand and Harlequin Issues

2011-09-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

I am still busy working on the website, but in the meantime I'd thought I'd share a little about our new side project. As many people already know, I think Harlequins are pretty much a mess as a breed, at least from what I have seen since I have had them. They seem to be very susceptibe to problems, have type, size, and growth that is all over the place, and even different breeders across the US seem to have entirely different goals in their programs depending on their interest.

Some breed for markings first, some for health, some for temperament, etc. Some are primarily concerned with winning at shows and some people just want to have nice pet or meat rabbits (along with everything in between). I was even shocked to find out that some Harlequin breeders have said they have serious illness in their herds, but they medicate and continue to show their stock because they are winning or have a sentimental attachments. Even aside from the issues with the individual rabbits and breeders, by doing this they are exposing everyone else's rabbits to whatever their rabbits are suffering from.

From my way of thinking, all of these differences listed above are doing a diservice to Harlies. Breeding sick animals obviously does not improve health. Breeding for markings first is not really all that much better. If there is a terribly typed rabbit underneath the pretty markings, it seems somewhat counterproducive. I know not everyone will always have the same idea of what a Harlequin rabbit should be.. but I do hope that someday health might at least be one of the criteria everyone can agree upon.

On the bright side, there are still breeders out there that make health a #1 priority and they are actively working to better their stock. I am also fortunate that there is another breeder relatively close by that I am friends with (over at OlivYew Farm). She and I share similar philosophies about the breed and I am hoping we can trade back and forth later this year or next when we both have some litters in the nestbox.

For now I just have two purebred bucks and two does to work with. The good news is that (getting back to the title of this post) I have located some lovely New Zealand Reds. They are very healthy, have great type, and are very friendly. I am hoping to use them to improve my Harlequins over time with strong immune systems, a full hindquarter, depth of body, shorter shoulders, more rapid growth, and excellent rufus. I am hoping that a fresh infusion of new (and solid) genetics would help considerably and am excited about the project.

From what I have read and those I have spoken with, I can expect Harlequin marked kits in even the first generation. I have to say that I had lost hope for a while with this rare and difficult breed but I am glad to say that it is back again and I am looking forward to what the future will bring with the Harlies.

Trying to get some work done and other random thoughts.

2011-09-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've been working on the new site several times a week, but I just didn't realize how much content there was to move over. I'm still not really thrilled with the layout and I am scared to mess with it too much. I've always done my own html coding prior to this, so it is a big change to say the least.

I keep thinking today how much easier everything would be if I just worked with one breed. With two, it automatically doubles the workload on the website content. It also doubles the workload that the individual has, trying to learn every nuance of the breed standards, trying to find quality stock, trying to have complimentary breedings, trying to make sure you can get 'em to the right coops even when they are all being called at the same time at the show. Making sure there is the health, diversity, temperaments, markings, etc., etc., etc.. X2 or 3 or 4 depending on how dedicated someone is. It gets tiring quite honestly.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Harlequins. I love Mini Lops, too. That' the problem. I also like several heritage breeds and commercial types. I never knew how neat New Zealands were until I owned a couple. But I am a busy student and reality checks are frequent by necessity. I simply don't have the time, money, or space for a large rabbitry. I know some people think of a large rabbitry as 150, but no I mean I don't have time for even 100, or even 50, or even 25.

In a perfect world, I'd like to have between 10-20 of one breed, but right now that is too much for me so I just do the best I can. I find that the longer I work with rabbits the more my goals seem to streamline with experience, so maybe there is still hope for the future after all.

Ten Years

2011-09-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

10 Years Ago Today
8:46 a.m.

Flight 11 crashed into north tower of World Trade Center.

9:03 a.m.

Flight 175 crashed into the south tower.

9:37 a.m.

Flight 77 crashed into Pentagon.

9:59 a.m.

South tower of trade center collapses.

10:03 a.m.

Flight 93 crashes in Pennsylvania field.

10:29 a.m.

Second World Trade Center tower collapses.

11:15 a.m.

Mayor Guiliani says: "I have a sense it's a horrendous number of lives lost."

Today
8:48 a.m.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, at the site of the World Trade Center: "Ten years have passed since a perfect blue-sky morning turned into the blackest of nights."

8:52 a.m.

"Gordon M. Aamoth, Jr."

The reading of the names of the 9/11 victims — all 2,977 of them — has begun.

"We've lived in sunshine and shadow," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. This day was to acknowledge both.

9/11 remembered,

Lauren

Cleaning Ideas

2011-09-09T06:34:00.000-07:00

I know this sounds like a silly topic, but it can be a pain to keep rabbit cages clean from time to time. Here are some things I have found helpful over the past couple of years:

*Avoid hair accumulation on wire by using a handheld blow torch BEFORE it starts to build up. (Obviously) remove the bunny from the cage along with anything flammable or that can be damaged by heat. Then just run the flame over any area that hair is starting to stick and it should burn off immediately. Caution, don't leave the wire to heat up- it will destroy the galvanized finish if it cooks.

*Clean trays frequently to keep the work to a minimum, odors down, and bunnies happy. At least once or twice a week, but I will clean every day if I can.

*If you aren't cleaning daily, use an absorbent bedding in the trays to keep smells away. I like wood pellets (stove pellets or horse stall pellets) and you can just dump the whole tray in the compost heap as it is entirely biodegradable.

*I use a plastic spackle knife to scrap out trays when cleaning. There are different sizes available at the hardware store, so I just picked a cheap one that fit into the Dura Tray corners well. I wipe it off between trays with a Chlorox wipe to keep it clean.

*Gardens and flower beds love rabbit manure! If you are cleaning trays often and don't need the bedding for odor control/urine absorption, you don't have to use bedding at all. Just dump the tray in the garden, rinse, and viola. Happy garden, happy bunny.

*I run a Chlorox wipe around the edge of the trays when cleaning. This keeps any buildup away from the corners that you empty it with and keeps hair/debris/bacteria from where you put your hands.

*A vinegar rinse will clear off accumulated sediment on your plastic trays.

*If the cages are indoors, keep the area under them clean, too. Otherwise there can be accumulated debris and moisture leading to mold and other problems for good air quality and hygiene.

*Clean the walls regularly as they can also accumulate sediment from sprayers, caught hay, and fur. I use a cheap clear shower curtain behind the cages and then I just change them out when needed, throwing the old one in the trash. If you really want to reuse them you could clean/wash them though, I suppose.

*I use a dollar store barbeque brush to clean the floor wire. You can scrub it with the metal bristles and the scraper part on the top can help with the difficult spots. I know some people also have good luck with hoof picks. You can use the tray spackle knife to scrape the underside of the cage wire during molts when the manure clings to the wire instead of falling completely through.

*They say cleanliness is next to godliness! It is amazing what a difference a good cleaning can make to have happy, healthy rabbits with clean cages and good air quality. It also makes for a nice presentation should you wish to show off your rabbits to friends or family.

I hope some of these tips help people getting started with their clean up. :o)

First Post!

2011-08-30T06:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! I used to scatter updates from the main page all over the site, but I am going to do my best to keep them here and as often as possible. I also hope to post articles and information from time to time about topics that I feel are important.

Thanks for your support!