Welcome to SunnieBunnie Rabbitry's Blog!This will be the place where I'll post General Rabbitry thoughts as well as some show results and just 'whatever' stuff...LOL.
Feel free to comment or Tag!!!
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SBR:
Hi Chris! I'll cross my fingers for some nice show stoppers out of them!!! I'm sure they'll be very nice kits 
. Give Am.Void a scratch behind the ears and a kiss on the nose for me - the barn just isn't the same without him 
. Give Am.Void a scratch behind the ears and a kiss on the nose for me - the barn just isn't the same without him
Chris Swartout:
Hi Sunnie, just dropped by to see how you are doing. Hope all is well. Neveah and Euphoria are going to bred again shortly to Amethyst Void. Can't wait for the outcome. Take care.
SBR:
You're very welcome Kristin! I'm glad you're happy with her
Kristin Woods:
Hey sunnie,wow i have been to your site alot and never saw this!
also just letting you know veronique is doing great!thanks for the great doe!
also just letting you know veronique is doing great!thanks for the great doe!
SBR:
Hi Karen! Thanks for stopping by my site! I'll see ya in Pomona! :-)
SBR:
Hi Barbara, Thanks for stopping in!
Barbara:
Just blog hopping and thought I'd say hi.
~~**BERLENA**~~:
Hey Sunnie! Just noticed your tagboard so had to say HI! Happy New Year!
Danni-Marie Brooks:
Hi. I like buns too.
SBR:
Hi Cortney, I sent you an email :-)
Cortney Wils:
I have a rabbit question. My Lynx doe was bred to a blue buck who is out of lilacs today the doe had six kits and I can't tell they are Lynx or Lilac. Any tips on how to tell would be great! Thanks Cortney
SBR:
The new Tag Board is up and running! 
Tuesday, June 3rd 2008
11:56 AM (130 days, 0h, 42min ago)
Breeding Plans for Summer 2008
Breeding plans for Summer 2008
06/03/08: LYNX
I'm very pleased to see that Made Just 4U and Pourfection make such a great breeding pair. It is this cross that produced my absolute BEST Lynx show doe with 12 GC legs and a Nationals BOV title. The pairing of these 2 are very consistant in producing offspring with TYPE, fur is of decent to excellent density, and color is very well defined that often times is very intense in mature coats. These 2 are paired together again for their 3rd litter together - so keep a lookout on the Jr's and Litter's page for details and pictures!
Made 2 Perfection will now retire from her show career and take her place in my breeding program. For her first litter, I hope to concentrate and compound this line's genes further by breeding her back to her sire, Pourfection. With this cross, I hope for some very deep, short bodied offspring with very distinct and intense coloration. For her second litter, I'm hoping to breed her back to her grandsire, Downpour. I doubt the kits from these 2 litters would be mature enough to compete at this year's ARBA convention, however I have hopes of them being in prime coat for '09 Nationals in Fort Worth, TX.
Peony has impressed me with the type that her son Bucket posesses. Also in the litter that she's currently raising, I'm estatic to see that the coloration of her offspring has been consistantly very intense. I'm hoping to breed Bucket back to her to see if they can produce better furred offspring together.
Semira will be bred later this summer. I'm considering that I will breed her to Westmore for her first litter. That cross would tripple up on Crimson's Moe and double up on Sirius' Mae West in the pedigree of the resulting offspring. Moe and Mae West have been 2 rabbits that proved to be an absolute asset to my herd.
REW/LYNX
Glacé will be bred shortly as well. With my recent decision to show only within my county and at National level shows, it has put Glacé's show career to an early end just as she came into a gorgeous primed senior coat. I am excited to see how well she produces and look forward to her offspring.
Bliss will be bred back to her sire, Pourfection, for her 2nd litter. I'm hoping she'll pass on her nice width of body to her offspring, while keeping and locking in the qualities of the short, deep body that Pourfection possesses.
I hope to cross Made Certain back to her sire, Downpour, later this summer. I love the texture of coat both these rabbits posess and with the density that they both have, I know the offspring should be amazing.
BEW
Céleste is also retiring from her show career as a Grand Champion after winning the title of '08 National BOV BEW. She too will be bred back to her sire, Hey Mister, for her first litter. With this cross, I'm hoping to compound her fur qualities and hope that density continues to improve with the next generation. I also have plans to breed her to her 1/2 sibling, Lucian, for an entire litter of BEW's once he is mature.
Vanity will be bred back to her sire, Hey Mister, once she is a bit more mature, closer to the end of summer. I really like the balance of body that she has and I hope that when bred back, she'll produce some quality offspring.
These are just some of the highlights planned for this summer's breedings.
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Sunday, April 13th 2008
1:15 PM (180 days, 23h, 23min ago)
Thoughts behind some recent breedings...
Recently I was asked about what I thought about some of my recent breedings - such as strengths and weaknesses from certain pairings, why I pair up certain rabbits and not others, if certain rabbits consistently produce a certain trait or characteristic in it's offspring. I thought, what a great subject to post on my Blog as well! So here is a snippet from my reply:
To make it as simple as possible, I'll give some background information based on my current litters and planned breedings that are listed on my Litter's page - so that way there are certain rabbits and crosses that can be referred to.
Many crosses I do are first time pairings just to see if it is a workable pairing. The litter between Mirka & Wizard for instance. This was a first time semi-accidental litter. I left the litter together for a little while too long and he successfully bred 1 of the 3 does in the cage. I would have done this cross anyways, but would have waited until Mirka was older. This pairing did however produce a REW buck that has an excellent head and ear and is slowly coming along in coat. The Lynx buck in the litter "Slow Burn" has nice enough type but like his sibling is lacking in density with his baby coat. Both Mirka and Wizard were the same way and density improved with their first molting. Ring balance was also late to improve with Mirka and Wizard - in their baby coat, it was a very wide white undercolor and had about a 1/4" or so of lilac tipping - no real identifiable 'future' intermediate band area. Their first molt however showed nice balance between undercolor and intermediate band as well as proper tipping. I'm waiting to see if Slow Burn follows in his parent's footsteps in his development as well.
The crossing between Made Certain and Pourfection is sort of a first time pairing. The litter in the first attempt died of chill at a young age, but were looking extremely promising. Made Certain was bred to her other littermate brother Outpour and produced excellent results - 7UP was from that pairing. I crossed Made Certain to Pourfection in hopes of producing the same or better results. Presto and Gavino are from this pairing and are already showing that type-wise, this pairing works. I will have to wait to see how Presto's color & fur develop though as he's still in molt.
Nevaeh and Amethyst Void. Oh man. This pairing has proven over and over that together they produce not only type but excellent fur. Last year's litter produced the 4th place REW Jr. Buck and 3rd place REW Jr. Doe at ARBA convention in Grand Rapids. Since I need to reduce numbers, I knew it was time to move Amethyst Void on - I'm not concentrating on Lilacs anymore and I would prefer to breed for Lynx and keeping only a few REW's that are genetic Lynx. I didn't want to move this pair on though until I got what I wanted out of them... I knew Nevaeh is a genetic Lynx due to her dam being "AA", so I wanted a Lynx replacement out of this crossing. I asked and I received - their recent pairing produced 2 Lynx does, Semira and Kya. As expected, EXCELLENT density to these girls! It also appears that they will have great definition in their banding, even in baby coats - it's a crisp definition between each segment of color. I can't wait to see their mature coats!
Duchess and Monarch, another first time pairing. I really wanted to capitalize on Duchess' ring qualities. Her coat is nice, short, and even with proper balance of rings. Monarch has very nice density and a decent rufus to his color. I wanted a Lynx out of the pair, but did not get it. There are 3 kits in there though that really stand out - a Chocolate Agouti that has the deep rich mohagony red coloration that makes me think I'm looking at a Thrianta. There is also a Castor that has very rich color and the Opal has the deepest Fawn Agouti edging that I have ever seen on an Opal - if I didn't know better, I'd say a richly colored Otter...lol. So even if I didn't get quite what I wanted, I'm very pleased with the rich coloration that this crossing produced.
Made Just 4U and Pourfection. This crossing is a Dam x Son which produced my best Lynx to date. This is the same crossing that gave me Made 2 Perfection who's pictured on my home page. I did this cross again in hopes of producing a buck of equal or better quality that I can then cross to Made 2 Perfection. So far, this litter is developing very nicely. They are just about to come out of the nestbox, but it will still be a while before I will be able to determine their color potentials.
For my future breedings, here is what my thoughts are as to why I'm planning these crossings:
Mae West x Pourfection - This will be a first time pairing. Mae West has a great texture to her coat and very nice ring coloration/definition. Pourfection has passed on his short body and depth to his offspring. When I crossed Mae West to Outpour (Pourfection's littermate brother), they produced Outflow and Out West (pictured on my '07 convention page) who has exquisite ring coloration and very nice density. I'm hoping the pairing to Pourfection will produce even better results.
Mirka x Persuasion - This will also be a first time pairing. They are more distantly related compared to some more of the tighter linebreeding I have been doing. Their closest ancestor is a common Grand Sire (Crimson's Moe, genetic Lilac) and LakeView's Raquel (genetic Chocolate Agouti) that appears as Grand Dam to Mirka and Great Grand Dam to Persuasion. I'm just curious to see how these two compliment each other based on their offspring plus I want to see if I can use a kit from this litter in the future if I wanted to widen my gene pool without doing a complete outcross.
Peony x Warriors of Virtue - another first time crossing (she early aborted the previous attempt). I really like Peony but I think she could use a smaller frame of body and better density of coat. These are just the qualities that Virtue has. In a previous litter with another buck, Peony produced Bucket, an exquisitely typed and colored buck, he just lacks in density. At this point, I'm going to be crossing her to each of my bucks to see which pairing works the best for an all around nice Lynx. Since Pourfection and Persuasion are getting a doe on this breeding day, I figured I'll breed her to Virtue first so each of my Lynx bucks gets a doe this day.
Bliss x Amethyst Void - First time pairing. Crimson's Moe (genetic Lilac) is the Sire to Amethyst Void and Grand Sire to Bliss. Nevaeh is Bliss' dam, so just like the pairing between Amethyst Void and Nevaeh, I'm hoping this cross works out the same or better and produces Lynx with fur and type.
Prima Donna x Westmore - First time pairing. Prima Donna needs some help in the hindquarter which Westmore tends to do with his offspring. This crossing will also test Prima Donna to see if she carries REW. There are also no common ancestors in their pedigrees so this cross will also help expand my gene pool if I need to in the future.
Made 2 Perfection x Pourfection - first time pairing, Daughter x Sire. The offspring of this pairing will be 7th generation close in/linebreeding. Made 2 Perfection was the 6th generation and Pourfection was the 5th generation. This line makes leaps of improvement with each generation, so I'm hoping the next generation will be my BOB winning cross . Made 2 Perfection almost had it twice, but the BOB winner was slightly denser and had a slightly better finish.
So, those are my thoughts and observations on my recent crosses along with some history on previous crossings. Now that I've got my herd cleaned up from non-extension, I'm really just trying to find right pairings that produce excellent results and when I find the ones that work, those are going to be the ones I'll stick to more often.
I'll follow up on these litter's developments as they mature into their new prime coats.
So here is a snippet from my reply:To make it as simple as possible, I'll give some background information based on my current litters and planned breedings that are listed on my Litter's page - so that way there are certain rabbits and crosses that can be referred to.
Many crosses I do are first time pairings just to see if it is a workable pairing. The litter between Mirka & Wizard for instance. This was a first time semi-accidental litter. I left the litter together for a little while too long and he successfully bred 1 of the 3 does in the cage. I would have done this cross anyways, but would have waited until Mirka was older. This pairing did however produce a REW buck that has an excellent head and ear and is slowly coming along in coat. The Lynx buck in the litter "Slow Burn" has nice enough type but like his sibling is lacking in density with his baby coat. Both Mirka and Wizard were the same way and density improved with their first molting. Ring balance was also late to improve with Mirka and Wizard - in their baby coat, it was a very wide white undercolor and had about a 1/4" or so of lilac tipping - no real identifiable 'future' intermediate band area. Their first molt however showed nice balance between undercolor and intermediate band as well as proper tipping. I'm waiting to see if Slow Burn follows in his parent's footsteps in his development as well.
The crossing between Made Certain and Pourfection is sort of a first time pairing. The litter in the first attempt died of chill at a young age, but were looking extremely promising. Made Certain was bred to her other littermate brother Outpour and produced excellent results - 7UP was from that pairing. I crossed Made Certain to Pourfection in hopes of producing the same or better results. Presto and Gavino are from this pairing and are already showing that type-wise, this pairing works. I will have to wait to see how Presto's color & fur develop though as he's still in molt.
Nevaeh and Amethyst Void. Oh man. This pairing has proven over and over that together they produce not only type but excellent fur. Last year's litter produced the 4th place REW Jr. Buck and 3rd place REW Jr. Doe at ARBA convention in Grand Rapids. Since I need to reduce numbers, I knew it was time to move Amethyst Void on - I'm not concentrating on Lilacs anymore and I would prefer to breed for Lynx and keeping only a few REW's that are genetic Lynx. I didn't want to move this pair on though until I got what I wanted out of them... I knew Nevaeh is a genetic Lynx due to her dam being "AA", so I wanted a Lynx replacement out of this crossing. I asked and I received - their recent pairing produced 2 Lynx does, Semira and Kya. As expected, EXCELLENT density to these girls!
It also appears that they will have great definition in their banding, even in baby coats - it's a crisp definition between each segment of color. I can't wait to see their mature coats!Duchess and Monarch, another first time pairing. I really wanted to capitalize on Duchess' ring qualities. Her coat is nice, short, and even with proper balance of rings. Monarch has very nice density and a decent rufus to his color. I wanted a Lynx out of the pair, but did not get it. There are 3 kits in there though that really stand out - a Chocolate Agouti that has the deep rich mohagony red coloration that makes me think I'm looking at a Thrianta. There is also a Castor that has very rich color and the Opal has the deepest Fawn Agouti edging that I have ever seen on an Opal - if I didn't know better, I'd say a richly colored Otter...lol. So even if I didn't get quite what I wanted, I'm very pleased with the rich coloration that this crossing produced.
Made Just 4U and Pourfection. This crossing is a Dam x Son which produced my best Lynx to date. This is the same crossing that gave me Made 2 Perfection who's pictured on my home page. I did this cross again in hopes of producing a buck of equal or better quality that I can then cross to Made 2 Perfection. So far, this litter is developing very nicely. They are just about to come out of the nestbox, but it will still be a while before I will be able to determine their color potentials.
For my future breedings, here is what my thoughts are as to why I'm planning these crossings:
Mae West x Pourfection - This will be a first time pairing. Mae West has a great texture to her coat and very nice ring coloration/definition. Pourfection has passed on his short body and depth to his offspring. When I crossed Mae West to Outpour (Pourfection's littermate brother), they produced Outflow and Out West (pictured on my '07 convention page) who has exquisite ring coloration and very nice density. I'm hoping the pairing to Pourfection will produce even better results.
Mirka x Persuasion - This will also be a first time pairing. They are more distantly related compared to some more of the tighter linebreeding I have been doing. Their closest ancestor is a common Grand Sire (Crimson's Moe, genetic Lilac) and LakeView's Raquel (genetic Chocolate Agouti) that appears as Grand Dam to Mirka and Great Grand Dam to Persuasion. I'm just curious to see how these two compliment each other based on their offspring plus I want to see if I can use a kit from this litter in the future if I wanted to widen my gene pool without doing a complete outcross.
Peony x Warriors of Virtue - another first time crossing (she early aborted the previous attempt). I really like Peony but I think she could use a smaller frame of body and better density of coat. These are just the qualities that Virtue has. In a previous litter with another buck, Peony produced Bucket, an exquisitely typed and colored buck, he just lacks in density. At this point, I'm going to be crossing her to each of my bucks to see which pairing works the best for an all around nice Lynx. Since Pourfection and Persuasion are getting a doe on this breeding day, I figured I'll breed her to Virtue first so each of my Lynx bucks gets a doe this day.
Bliss x Amethyst Void - First time pairing. Crimson's Moe (genetic Lilac) is the Sire to Amethyst Void and Grand Sire to Bliss. Nevaeh is Bliss' dam, so just like the pairing between Amethyst Void and Nevaeh, I'm hoping this cross works out the same or better and produces Lynx with fur and type.
Prima Donna x Westmore - First time pairing. Prima Donna needs some help in the hindquarter which Westmore tends to do with his offspring. This crossing will also test Prima Donna to see if she carries REW. There are also no common ancestors in their pedigrees so this cross will also help expand my gene pool if I need to in the future.
Made 2 Perfection x Pourfection - first time pairing, Daughter x Sire. The offspring of this pairing will be 7th generation close in/linebreeding. Made 2 Perfection was the 6th generation and Pourfection was the 5th generation. This line makes leaps of improvement with each generation, so I'm hoping the next generation will be my BOB winning cross
. Made 2 Perfection almost had it twice, but the BOB winner was slightly denser and had a slightly better finish.So, those are my thoughts and observations on my recent crosses along with some history on previous crossings. Now that I've got my herd cleaned up from non-extension, I'm really just trying to find right pairings that produce excellent results and when I find the ones that work, those are going to be the ones I'll stick to more often.
I'll follow up on these litter's developments as they mature into their new prime coats.
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Tuesday, March 11th 2008
11:20 PM (213 days, 13h, 18min ago)
What's happening in my breeding program...
As always, I'm continuously working on improving my Lynx line which is still my main variety. Since cleaning out the "e" Non-Extension gene that is responsible for producing Fawns, I've accomplished my first Grand Champion homebred Lynx!!! The doe pictured on my homepage has been, by far, the absolute BEST Lynx I have produced to date. She currently has 10+ legs and counting! In addition to her, I've been able to grand out two other homebred Lynx - a doe and a buck!
In my Lynx, I am still focused on breeding goals such as perfecting Type, Ring Definition, Intermediate Ring Rufus, and evenness of coat just to name a few area's of interest. I'm eager to see how my new crop of youngsters mature and am looking forward to attending my first Mini Rex breed Nationals this year with them as well!
Although I'm limiting the number of REW's I keep in my herd, they are still continuously improving and for the most part, their type isn't 1/2 bad either! After attending my first convention this year (in Grand Rapids, MI), I was extremely excited to able to place 4th Jr. Buck out of 49 and 3rd Jr. Doe out of 68 with my Whites!!! I'm also pleased that they are all genetically compatible with my Lynx (and free of Non-Extension), so I utilize them in my Lynx lines to aide in improving type and overall fur quality as well.
The other variety I'm slowly working on is BEW's... In May of 2006, I started out with a Vienna Carrier buck from Berlena's Place and had one of my Lynx does bred to one of her BEW bucks for another litter of VC's. Berlena was very generous to have loaned me a Vienna carrier doe to help start me out as well. After just over a year and a few litters later, I had my first 2 BEW's in the Nestbox! One of those BEW does took 3rd place Sr. Doe out of 12 at ARBA Convention in Grand Rapids, MI... just behind Berlena's Sr. Doe (1st place & BOV) and the Gesswein's Sr. Doe (2nd place). She is now retired to production and I look forward to the future! Thank you so much Berlena - You Rock! Click on her banner below to see her Nationwide Winning BEW's!
I have indefinitely discontinued my project of Brokens... I was working towards breeding spotted patterned Broken Lynx... however with my recent herd reduction, I have had to put off this project until we are able to move to a larger property. I may have to import a "Dalmatian" Dwarf Rex from overseas in order to get the correct markings I'm trying for. For an idea of the type of pattern I want to accomplish, visit these links:
http://lapinrex.free.fr/tachete1.html
http://lapinrex.free.fr/galerie1.html#tachete
Unfortunately, also am no longer working on Chocolates and Lilacs and have sold the last of my brood stock in those varieties. With a limited 24 holes, I had to make the decision to discontinue 2 varieties in order to make room for the BEW's as well as for Lynx & REW Jr's. I'm saddened to get out of these varieties as I've seen a great deal of improvement in them here.
In my Lynx, I am still focused on breeding goals such as perfecting Type, Ring Definition, Intermediate Ring Rufus, and evenness of coat just to name a few area's of interest. I'm eager to see how my new crop of youngsters mature and am looking forward to attending my first Mini Rex breed Nationals this year with them as well!
Although I'm limiting the number of REW's I keep in my herd, they are still continuously improving and for the most part, their type isn't 1/2 bad either! After attending my first convention this year (in Grand Rapids, MI), I was extremely excited to able to place 4th Jr. Buck out of 49 and 3rd Jr. Doe out of 68 with my Whites!!! I'm also pleased that they are all genetically compatible with my Lynx (and free of Non-Extension), so I utilize them in my Lynx lines to aide in improving type and overall fur quality as well.
The other variety I'm slowly working on is BEW's... In May of 2006, I started out with a Vienna Carrier buck from Berlena's Place and had one of my Lynx does bred to one of her BEW bucks for another litter of VC's. Berlena was very generous to have loaned me a Vienna carrier doe to help start me out as well. After just over a year and a few litters later, I had my first 2 BEW's in the Nestbox! One of those BEW does took 3rd place Sr. Doe out of 12 at ARBA Convention in Grand Rapids, MI... just behind Berlena's Sr. Doe (1st place & BOV) and the Gesswein's Sr. Doe (2nd place). She is now retired to production and I look forward to the future! Thank you so much Berlena - You Rock! Click on her banner below to see her Nationwide Winning BEW's!
I have indefinitely discontinued my project of Brokens... I was working towards breeding spotted patterned Broken Lynx... however with my recent herd reduction, I have had to put off this project until we are able to move to a larger property. I may have to import a "Dalmatian" Dwarf Rex from overseas in order to get the correct markings I'm trying for. For an idea of the type of pattern I want to accomplish, visit these links:
http://lapinrex.free.fr/tachete1.html
http://lapinrex.free.fr/galerie1.html#tachete
Unfortunately, also am no longer working on Chocolates and Lilacs and have sold the last of my brood stock in those varieties. With a limited 24 holes, I had to make the decision to discontinue 2 varieties in order to make room for the BEW's as well as for Lynx & REW Jr's. I'm saddened to get out of these varieties as I've seen a great deal of improvement in them here.
Now that I know where my herd stands on a nationally competitive level, I am excited to see what the future holds. I patiently await (and am breeding towards) the day that Lynx is able to regularly take BOSB, BOB, or even BIS!
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Saturday, March 8th 2008
5:22 PM (216 days, 18h, 17min ago)
Shake-Away???
A few months back, I started noticing evidence of some unwanted visitors that were coming into my rabbitry during the night. At first, it was garden debris left in the middle of the rabbitry - 
I don't have a garden, but both my neighbors do! Then I started noticing droppings in the feed bowls inside cages! Yup, you guessed it - RATS. 
I put out snap-traps baited w/Peanut Butter... caught a few, but I was still finding droppings in a few of the feed bowls. It's only certain cages that I'd find them in - Top row, center few cages (or Mid Buck Row). The rats started getting smart and would avoid the snap traps, so I changed it up a bit and put out those sticky glue traps. Caught only 1 with those, but they got smart again... so back to snap traps. It seems to be a never ending dance of trying to stay a step ahead of these critters and trying to catch them off guard.
In the last few months ever since the rats came in, I started having issues with a couple of my reliable brood does. They started delivering on the wire, cannibalizing their young, and not pulling fur just to name a few problems. With summer coming up, it's obvious I need to get things under control NOW and get rid of them once and for all.
Today I talked to the owner of my feed store to see what suggestions he may have. I explained I don't want to use poisoned bait of any kind - especially since the rats are defecating in the rabbit's feed bowls. I don't want to risk any cross-contamination since our family and our dogs eat rabbit.
He did have a product suggestion that he swears by. He showed me a product called Shake-Away Rodent Repellent. Basically, it's a granulated crystal made from Fox and Bobcat urine. Naturally, rats & mice will not remain in an area that has been 'claimed' or inhabited by their natural predator. The smell of the urine drives instinctual fear into the rodents and they vacate the area.
I was concerned about how the rabbits would act/react with this product in the rabbitry - but after further consideration, it couldn't be much worse than the problems I'm already experiencing with a few of my does, so I thought I'd give it a try.
Today I cleaned out the entire rabbitry - swept & hosed everything down - did a thorough cleaning of everything. I did my routine Auto Fly Sprayer maintenance and also set out some of the Shake-Away product above my stacker's in the center of the rabbitry (where the rat droppings were the most concentrated). Directions say to re-apply twice a week for the first two weeks... so with each application, I'll slowly work outwards with each application from the center until I have the whole rabbitry 'claimed'.
Wish me luck!
I don't have a garden, but both my neighbors do! Then I started noticing droppings in the feed bowls inside cages! Yup, you guessed it - RATS. I put out snap-traps baited w/Peanut Butter... caught a few, but I was still finding droppings in a few of the feed bowls. It's only certain cages that I'd find them in - Top row, center few cages (or Mid Buck Row). The rats started getting smart and would avoid the snap traps, so I changed it up a bit and put out those sticky glue traps. Caught only 1 with those, but they got smart again... so back to snap traps. It seems to be a never ending dance of trying to stay a step ahead of these critters and trying to catch them off guard.
In the last few months ever since the rats came in, I started having issues with a couple of my reliable brood does. They started delivering on the wire, cannibalizing their young, and not pulling fur just to name a few problems. With summer coming up, it's obvious I need to get things under control NOW and get rid of them once and for all.
Today I talked to the owner of my feed store to see what suggestions he may have. I explained I don't want to use poisoned bait of any kind - especially since the rats are defecating in the rabbit's feed bowls. I don't want to risk any cross-contamination since our family and our dogs eat rabbit.
He did have a product suggestion that he swears by. He showed me a product called Shake-Away Rodent Repellent. Basically, it's a granulated crystal made from Fox and Bobcat urine. Naturally, rats & mice will not remain in an area that has been 'claimed' or inhabited by their natural predator. The smell of the urine drives instinctual fear into the rodents and they vacate the area.
I was concerned about how the rabbits would act/react with this product in the rabbitry - but after further consideration, it couldn't be much worse than the problems I'm already experiencing with a few of my does, so I thought I'd give it a try.
Today I cleaned out the entire rabbitry - swept & hosed everything down - did a thorough cleaning of everything. I did my routine Auto Fly Sprayer maintenance and also set out some of the Shake-Away product above my stacker's in the center of the rabbitry (where the rat droppings were the most concentrated). Directions say to re-apply twice a week for the first two weeks... so with each application, I'll slowly work outwards with each application from the center until I have the whole rabbitry 'claimed'.
Wish me luck!
1 Comment(s) / Post Comment
Friday, February 22nd 2008
2:26 PM (231 days, 21h, 13min ago)
Herd Cutback :-(
- Mood:
So, one of my neighbors called Animal Control because of how I feed my dogs. My dogs have been fed a Biologically Appropriate Raw Food diet since August of 2004. I have noticed a huge improvement in their health since switching them from a kibble diet.
Anyways... that's a whole other subject... back to the point...
I received a visit today from a local Animal Control officer and even though he understood my position and sympathizes with the variety improvement success I've had in my hobby, within city limits I can only have a certain number of rabbits at any given time.
So, a herd cut back it is - and how I'm going to be able to continue improving the 3 varieties I have within the city limitations is currently beyond me - I have no clue! I've worked so hard to bring the Lynx variety back within reckoning and I'm so happy with the quality of my REW's, plus the leaps of improvement on my BEW's - it all couldn't have been just a waste of time.
It's not like I can comply now and then forget about it later, 'cause as with everything of this nature, there are follow ups and if a neighbor complained about my dogs' feeding habits this time, it may be their barking the next (not that they constantly bark).
I've invested so much into this hobby - money, time, effort, tears, and sweat - and it feels like the government officials enjoy taking away and stomping on the hopes and dreams of the people they're supposed to be supporting. Don't they have more important things to do such as fixing the economic problems of this country... or actually tracking down those PETA/HSUS criminals and finally putting them behind bars... or what about helping out family farming for a change!!!
Anyways... that's a whole other subject... back to the point...
I received a visit today from a local Animal Control officer and even though he understood my position and sympathizes with the variety improvement success I've had in my hobby, within city limits I can only have a certain number of rabbits at any given time.
So, a herd cut back it is - and how I'm going to be able to continue improving the 3 varieties I have within the city limitations is currently beyond me - I have no clue! I've worked so hard to bring the Lynx variety back within reckoning and I'm so happy with the quality of my REW's, plus the leaps of improvement on my BEW's - it all couldn't have been just a waste of time.
It's not like I can comply now and then forget about it later, 'cause as with everything of this nature, there are follow ups and if a neighbor complained about my dogs' feeding habits this time, it may be their barking the next (not that they constantly bark).
I've invested so much into this hobby - money, time, effort, tears, and sweat - and it feels like the government officials enjoy taking away and stomping on the hopes and dreams of the people they're supposed to be supporting. Don't they have more important things to do such as fixing the economic problems of this country... or actually tracking down those PETA/HSUS criminals and finally putting them behind bars... or what about helping out family farming for a change!!!
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Tuesday, January 29th 2008
10:58 PM (255 days, 12h, 40min ago)
What's happening in my breeding program...
WOW... It's unfortunate computer's aren't equipped with "Touch-O-Vision"!
The quality of fur has really made leaps in the last few months. Overall, I'm very happy with the quality of type and coats that I am seeing in my Jr's and young Sr's.
As always, I'm continuously working on improving my Lynx line. Most of 2006 was concentrated on eradicating the "e" Non-Extension gene that is responsible for producing Fawns, so now that there is no possible way for Fawns to show up out of my Lynx, I have been focusing on other breeding goals such as perfecting Type, Ring Definition, Intermediate Ring Rufus, and evenness of coat. To help out in these area's, I purchased a Castor buck from Doug King in January of '07. The first generation offspring now have litters of their own on the ground and are looking amazing!
My REW's have also come a long way... Their coats are still improving and for the most part, their type isn't 1/2 bad either! After attending my first convention this year (in Grand Rapids, MI), I was extremely excited to able to place 4th Jr. Buck out of 49 and 3rd Jr. Doe out of 68 with my Whites!!! I'm also pleased that they are all genetically compatible with my Lynx (and free of Non-Extension), so I will be able to utilize them in my Lynx lines to aide in improving type and overall fur quality as well.
The other variety I've been slowly working on is BEW's... I started out with a Vienna Carrier buck from Berlena's Place and had one of my Lynx does bred to one of her BEW bucks for another litter of VC's. Berlena was very generous to have loaned me a Vienna carrier doe to help start me out as well. After just over a year and a few litters later, I had my first BEW's in the Nestbox! One of those BEW does took 3rd place Sr. Doe out of 12 at ARBA Convention in Grand Rapids, MI... just behind Berlena's Sr. Doe (1st place & BOV) and the Gesswein's Sr. Doe (2nd place). She is now retired to production and I look forward to the future! Thank you so much Berlena - You Rock! Click on her banner below to see her Nationwide Winning BEW's!
I also have a small side project working on Brokens... I'm working towards breeding spotted patterned Broken Lynx... but first I'm trying to get some Non-Extension free Spotted Patterned Brokens with decent type and fur, that I can then cross to Lynx to work towards my goal. I have my first Spotted Broken Lynx that I will be utilizing in this project. His first litters are due soon, so keep an eye out on my litter's page to see how things are coming along. Eventually, I may have to look into importing a "Dalmatian" Dwarf Rex from overseas in order to get the correct markings I'm trying for though. For an idea of the type of pattern I'm trying to accomplish, visit these links:
http://lapinrex.free.fr/tachete1.html
http://lapinrex.free.fr/galerie1.html#tachete
Unfortunately, I will no longer be working on Chocolate's and Lilacs and have sold the last of my brood stock in those varieties. With a limited 24 holes, I had to make the decision to discontinue 2 varieties in order to make room for the BEW's as well as for Lynx & REW Jr's. I'm saddened to get out of these varieties as I've seen a great deal of improvement in them here. A few of my REW's are recessive for Self, so even though I am no longer breeding FOR Chocolates & Lilacs, I will still get some on occasion, so ask about being put on my waiting list for them.
Now that I know where my herd stands on a nationally competitive level, I am excited to see what the future holds. I patiently await (and am breeding towards) the day that Lynx is able to regularly take BOSB, BOB, or even BIS!
The quality of fur has really made leaps in the last few months. Overall, I'm very happy with the quality of type and coats that I am seeing in my Jr's and young Sr's.
As always, I'm continuously working on improving my Lynx line. Most of 2006 was concentrated on eradicating the "e" Non-Extension gene that is responsible for producing Fawns, so now that there is no possible way for Fawns to show up out of my Lynx, I have been focusing on other breeding goals such as perfecting Type, Ring Definition, Intermediate Ring Rufus, and evenness of coat. To help out in these area's, I purchased a Castor buck from Doug King in January of '07. The first generation offspring now have litters of their own on the ground and are looking amazing!
My REW's have also come a long way... Their coats are still improving and for the most part, their type isn't 1/2 bad either! After attending my first convention this year (in Grand Rapids, MI), I was extremely excited to able to place 4th Jr. Buck out of 49 and 3rd Jr. Doe out of 68 with my Whites!!! I'm also pleased that they are all genetically compatible with my Lynx (and free of Non-Extension), so I will be able to utilize them in my Lynx lines to aide in improving type and overall fur quality as well.
The other variety I've been slowly working on is BEW's... I started out with a Vienna Carrier buck from Berlena's Place and had one of my Lynx does bred to one of her BEW bucks for another litter of VC's. Berlena was very generous to have loaned me a Vienna carrier doe to help start me out as well. After just over a year and a few litters later, I had my first BEW's in the Nestbox! One of those BEW does took 3rd place Sr. Doe out of 12 at ARBA Convention in Grand Rapids, MI... just behind Berlena's Sr. Doe (1st place & BOV) and the Gesswein's Sr. Doe (2nd place). She is now retired to production and I look forward to the future! Thank you so much Berlena - You Rock! Click on her banner below to see her Nationwide Winning BEW's!
I also have a small side project working on Brokens... I'm working towards breeding spotted patterned Broken Lynx... but first I'm trying to get some Non-Extension free Spotted Patterned Brokens with decent type and fur, that I can then cross to Lynx to work towards my goal. I have my first Spotted Broken Lynx that I will be utilizing in this project. His first litters are due soon, so keep an eye out on my litter's page to see how things are coming along. Eventually, I may have to look into importing a "Dalmatian" Dwarf Rex from overseas in order to get the correct markings I'm trying for though. For an idea of the type of pattern I'm trying to accomplish, visit these links:
http://lapinrex.free.fr/tachete1.html
http://lapinrex.free.fr/galerie1.html#tachete
Unfortunately, I will no longer be working on Chocolate's and Lilacs and have sold the last of my brood stock in those varieties. With a limited 24 holes, I had to make the decision to discontinue 2 varieties in order to make room for the BEW's as well as for Lynx & REW Jr's. I'm saddened to get out of these varieties as I've seen a great deal of improvement in them here. A few of my REW's are recessive for Self, so even though I am no longer breeding FOR Chocolates & Lilacs, I will still get some on occasion, so ask about being put on my waiting list for them.
Now that I know where my herd stands on a nationally competitive level, I am excited to see what the future holds. I patiently await (and am breeding towards) the day that Lynx is able to regularly take BOSB, BOB, or even BIS!
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Tuesday, November 6th 2007
6:31 PM (339 days, 17h, 7min ago)
After Convention...
- Mood:
I had a lot of fun at Convention in Grand Rapids, MI! It was definitely an experience I will not forget - and hope to be able to make it to every convention for now on. Results can be found on my website, so check them out .
Now that things are settling down, I look forward to preparing for Nationals being held in Sedalia, Missouri on May 3rd through 5th. I have some very promising looking Jr's emerging from the nestboxes and am quite excited to see how well they show themselves off!
There's been some discussions about Mini Rex and group judging. At the moment, I'm kinda on the fence about this topic - I can see and understand the reasons behind the suggestion, but my personal reservations about it would be learning the new show line up. Currently (at least the shows that I've been to), Mini Rex are typically judged in variety alphabetical order: Black, Blue, Broken, etc. It's easy for an exhibitor to glance at the show tables and get a good idea of how far along the breed is and how much further there is to go until BOB selection. If group judging was to be put into effect, I can foresee longer show days and frustrations between the judging table and the exhibitors. It will take some time for Mini Rex breeders to learn the new line-up and they may not be as quick to get their rabbits to the tables.
I do think though that once we learn the new lineup - group judging would be beneficial... for instance, the chance to still earn a Group leg if there's not enough for Variety legs. It will also give that competitors edge for the breeders of the "other varieties" to really step up and show how that with dedication, motivation, and the right breeding programs, even an Opal or Lynx or even a Chinchilla can beat a Castor on the tables - it will remind us all that we are breeding to a set breed standard and as long as we keep to it, competition will be tough - but the rewards so much sweeter!
.Now that things are settling down, I look forward to preparing for Nationals being held in Sedalia, Missouri on May 3rd through 5th. I have some very promising looking Jr's emerging from the nestboxes and am quite excited to see how well they show themselves off!
There's been some discussions about Mini Rex and group judging. At the moment, I'm kinda on the fence about this topic - I can see and understand the reasons behind the suggestion, but my personal reservations about it would be learning the new show line up. Currently (at least the shows that I've been to), Mini Rex are typically judged in variety alphabetical order: Black, Blue, Broken, etc. It's easy for an exhibitor to glance at the show tables and get a good idea of how far along the breed is and how much further there is to go until BOB selection. If group judging was to be put into effect, I can foresee longer show days and frustrations between the judging table and the exhibitors. It will take some time for Mini Rex breeders to learn the new line-up and they may not be as quick to get their rabbits to the tables.
I do think though that once we learn the new lineup - group judging would be beneficial... for instance, the chance to still earn a Group leg if there's not enough for Variety legs. It will also give that competitors edge for the breeders of the "other varieties" to really step up and show how that with dedication, motivation, and the right breeding programs, even an Opal or Lynx or even a Chinchilla can beat a Castor on the tables - it will remind us all that we are breeding to a set breed standard and as long as we keep to it, competition will be tough - but the rewards so much sweeter!
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Monday, August 27th 2007
9:54 AM (411 days, 2h, 44min ago)
Entries for ARBA Convention
- Mood:
OK, so this weekend I went through my herd again and I think I may have narrowed down my entries for Convention... I'll only have room to take 12 rabbits with me to Convention, so this is a real tough call as I have several that I'd like to bring along.
Lynx Entries
Sr. Buck - LX18 "SBR's Warriors of Virtue"
Sr. Doe - 19LX "SBR's Peony"
Jr. Buck - LX21 "SBR's Persuasion"
Jr. Buck - LX24 "SBR's Outflow" FOR SALE @ CONVENTION
Jr. Doe - 22LX "SBR's Out West"
Jr. Doe - 23LX "SBR's Triple Threat" <- Hopefully
Jr. Doe - 24LX "SBR's 7Up" <- Hopefully
Jr. Doe - 25LX "SBR's Made 2 Perfection" <- Hopefully
White (REW) Entries
Sr. Buck - RW9 "SBR's Nirvana" FOR SALE @ CONVENTION
Sr. Doe - 16RW "SBR's Utopia" FOR SALE @ CONVENTION
Jr. Doe - 20RW "SBR's Bliss"
Jr. Doe - 22RW "SBR's Phenomenally Yours" <- Hopefully
Blue-Eyed White (BEW) Entries
Sr. Doe - 1BW "SBR's Bijou"
Jr. Doe - 3BW "SBR's Veronique" <- Maybe
So this is what my entries look like so far - chances are there will be some changes as it gets closer to the entry deadline.
Lynx Entries
Sr. Buck - LX18 "SBR's Warriors of Virtue"
Sr. Doe - 19LX "SBR's Peony"
Jr. Buck - LX21 "SBR's Persuasion"
Jr. Buck - LX24 "SBR's Outflow" FOR SALE @ CONVENTION
Jr. Doe - 22LX "SBR's Out West"
Jr. Doe - 23LX "SBR's Triple Threat" <- Hopefully
Jr. Doe - 24LX "SBR's 7Up" <- Hopefully
Jr. Doe - 25LX "SBR's Made 2 Perfection" <- Hopefully
White (REW) Entries
Sr. Buck - RW9 "SBR's Nirvana" FOR SALE @ CONVENTION
Sr. Doe - 16RW "SBR's Utopia" FOR SALE @ CONVENTION
Jr. Doe - 20RW "SBR's Bliss"
Jr. Doe - 22RW "SBR's Phenomenally Yours" <- Hopefully
Blue-Eyed White (BEW) Entries
Sr. Doe - 1BW "SBR's Bijou"
Jr. Doe - 3BW "SBR's Veronique" <- Maybe
So this is what my entries look like so far - chances are there will be some changes as it gets closer to the entry deadline.
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Monday, July 23rd 2007
8:51 PM (445 days, 15h, 47min ago)
Excited about the upcoming ARBA Convention!!!
- Mood:
With Convention on my mind today, I went over my entire herd with a fine tooth comb and made sure that the Jr's I am hanging onto are still looking promising. With cage space at a premium, I really have to be picky about who stays. I didn't realize how hard of a task that would be!!!
There are 5 Chocolates that are maturing very nicely. (They're on my sale page if anyone is interested...lol.) I have no more room to breed Chocolates so I was considering culling this litter out, but I just can't bring myself to do it, this litter has turned out VERY nicely! I just may enter them for Convention if they don't sell before hand!
I also have 4 REW's that have some really nice coats coming in. Their type is pretty well balanced as well. I just can't seem to decide between which one(s) I will be keeping and which I will sell. Hopefully the show in Cardiff will help me decide that.
Lynx bucks, Lynx bucks, Lynx bucks... I breed for does, but I get Lynx bucks...lol. It's okay though, I'm scouting for my next herd sire so with all these bucks, there's plenty of potential to find him. Although I'm quite pleased with Warriors of Virtue. He's staying along the minimum weight range which I'm hoping will help counter a few of my 'larger' brood does that are pushing top weight. I think he'll also make a great cross with Peony. She's one of only 2 does amongst a sea of bucks that has shined through. I really need to update her picture
.
It is now at the end of the day and I'm 21 rabbits lighter, but still no empty cages and I have an overall sense of accomplishment. I realized today that I've really come a long way from where I started.
Hopefully I'll wake up to a litter of Lynx from Made Just 4U, and my mood can continue through tomorrow!
There are 5 Chocolates that are maturing very nicely. (They're on my sale page if anyone is interested...lol.) I have no more room to breed Chocolates so I was considering culling this litter out, but I just can't bring myself to do it, this litter has turned out VERY nicely! I just may enter them for Convention if they don't sell before hand!
I also have 4 REW's that have some really nice coats coming in. Their type is pretty well balanced as well. I just can't seem to decide between which one(s) I will be keeping and which I will sell. Hopefully the show in Cardiff will help me decide that
.Lynx bucks, Lynx bucks, Lynx bucks... I breed for does, but I get Lynx bucks...lol. It's okay though, I'm scouting for my next herd sire so with all these bucks, there's plenty of potential to find him. Although I'm quite pleased with Warriors of Virtue. He's staying along the minimum weight range which I'm hoping will help counter a few of my 'larger' brood does that are pushing top weight. I think he'll also make a great cross with Peony. She's one of only 2 does amongst a sea of bucks that has shined through. I really need to update her picture
.It is now at the end of the day and I'm 21 rabbits lighter, but still no empty cages and I have an overall sense of accomplishment. I realized today that I've really come a long way from where I started.
Hopefully I'll wake up to a litter of Lynx from Made Just 4U, and my mood can continue through tomorrow!
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Saturday, May 12th 2007
6:30 PM (517 days, 18h, 9min ago)
Making New Cages! :-)
It always seems like we never have enough cages.
I've found myself to be especially short in cage space for my Rex. They're housed in a two tier RabbiTech system. Each tier is 24" deep and 48" long with a solid divider down the center creating (4) 24" x 24" cages. In there I have my main herd buck and 3 does (2 in Production and 1 maturing replacement) at any given time. I was using transport cages (with dividers removed) as grow-out cages for the Jr's... but with litters of 7-10, those just aren't sufficient.
With the help of my wonderful hubby, we are currently constructing a new grow-out cage that is 2' x 10' and divided into (2) 2' x 5' sections.
I'm hoping with the addition of this cage, I can keep on my planned breeding schedule of a 28 day breed back. I listed the common commercial breed back schedules below just for some informational content...lol
21 Day Breed Back Schedule:
Doe is bred every 52 days, producing 6-7 litters per year. Kits are weaned at 6 weeks giving the doe a 10 day dry period before kindling her next litter.
28 Day Breed Back Schedule:
Doe is bred every 59 days, producing 5-6 litters per year. Kits are weaned at 7 weeks giving the doe a 10 day dry period before kindling her next litter.
35 Day Breed Back Schedule:
Doe is bred every 66 days, producing 4-5 litters per year. Kits are weaned at 8 weeks giving the doe a 10 day dry period before kindling her next litter.
I will update this post with a picture of the new cage as soon as it's completed.
I've found myself to be especially short in cage space for my Rex. They're housed in a two tier RabbiTech system. Each tier is 24" deep and 48" long with a solid divider down the center creating (4) 24" x 24" cages. In there I have my main herd buck and 3 does (2 in Production and 1 maturing replacement) at any given time. I was using transport cages (with dividers removed) as grow-out cages for the Jr's... but with litters of 7-10, those just aren't sufficient.
With the help of my wonderful hubby, we are currently constructing a new grow-out cage that is 2' x 10' and divided into (2) 2' x 5' sections.
I'm hoping with the addition of this cage, I can keep on my planned breeding schedule of a 28 day breed back. I listed the common commercial breed back schedules below just for some informational content...lol
21 Day Breed Back Schedule:
Doe is bred every 52 days, producing 6-7 litters per year. Kits are weaned at 6 weeks giving the doe a 10 day dry period before kindling her next litter.
28 Day Breed Back Schedule:
Doe is bred every 59 days, producing 5-6 litters per year. Kits are weaned at 7 weeks giving the doe a 10 day dry period before kindling her next litter.
35 Day Breed Back Schedule:
Doe is bred every 66 days, producing 4-5 litters per year. Kits are weaned at 8 weeks giving the doe a 10 day dry period before kindling her next litter.
I will update this post with a picture of the new cage as soon as it's completed.
PICTURES!!!
This is the new Rex grow-out cage:
This is my Rex area:
This is my entire Rabbitry - Rex on the left, Rex grow-out in the center, and all Mini Rex under the blue tarp on the right:
The pool is in the process of being filled in, in case you're wondering why it's empty. We will be putting in grass instead.
This is my Rex area:
This is my entire Rabbitry - Rex on the left, Rex grow-out in the center, and all Mini Rex under the blue tarp on the right:
The pool is in the process of being filled in, in case you're wondering why it's empty. We will be putting in grass instead.
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