New York State Grand Finals is only three weeks away! I have two new rabbits purchased and am looking for a third. I have a doe coming from McCabe's Rabbitry and a buck from Adeleke's Rabbitry. I am showing Whiskey (homegrown) and hopefully Kamikaze (if he finishes molting in time; homegrown) along with Autumn. There are three shows over the weekend plus a Mini Rex specialty, so they get to show four times over the weekend. My transport is full going to and from the show. I only have thirteen holes total this year as our friends are coming with my mother and I. Last year we had about 35-40 rabbits on the way back... big difference. I won't be going to Grand Finals next year as I will be attending the ARBA Convention (YAY!!) for the first time and can't attend two big shows so close together.
We also have a local show with MRBA the week before New York. I'm showing Smaug, Whiskey, and Kamikaze. I'm growing out Hydra (lilac buck) from I Don't Know and most likely selling the chocolate otter doe. I like her just don't want another chocolate otter. That's it for now.
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Hello. It's been a while.
I finally figured out my problem with the litters. Every litter was dieing within 24 hours. It turns out it was a Vitamin A toxicity and Vitamin E deficiency. So, I now give them supplements on a regular basis which has helped with my litters. I now have a five week old, four week old, 2 week old and newborn litters. I'm very excited to have litters again, I've missed them. Baby bunnies are the best. Sparkle is a great mother, and having kits has made her less bitchy.. Yahtzee is also a good mother, but she doesn't hold condition very well on the litter, so she'll need a break before being rebred. Wowza of course is a great mother. Though, with only two kits, they're being fed a little too much (milk has to go somewhere!).. So they are quite fat for two weeks old. They'll both be staying unless they have some major type fault. I've honestly never not loved what Wowza has produced, no matter what buck she was bred to, she just always throws such nice offspring like herself. Probably why I keep bringing her out of retirement, haha. Winnie seems to be a good mother so far. Can't even tell she pulled fur, her fur stayed in really nice condition. But she did pull quite a bit of fur! I plan on growing out the broken lilac from Sparkle. Not a fan of lilacs, but she seems to have promising type so far. The broken black seems to have cow hocked legs.. :/ In Yahtzee's litter, I think I may grow out the broken black buck. I don't plan on keeping the whites, even if they have nice type.. I really don't want whites. Depending on how they mature by 8-9 weeks they may be for sale or culled. The broken black doe I'm not sure on yet.. I may grow out. Things can change though, no decision is final, especially at their age. I have two new Mini Rex in the herd from Minnow Lake Rabbitry in Maine. A broken otter doe, Autumn, and a black buck, Gusto. I pick them up on Saturday June 10 at the first show of the season. A breeder transported them back from a show in Maine and boarded them for me until the show. I'm excited for the new additions. We have our first show of the season on Saturday, June 10! And then on June 17 I am in Ontario for a show. I;m very excited for the shows, even with my small show team. I'm showing the two new Mini Rex and then maybe Gimli and Spaz. I found a youth buyer in Ontario for my Havanas. I'm sad to see them leave, but I just don't have the space or time for them right now. Phoenix is staying to be used in 4H this year and Arcade will never leave me. I do hope to be able to breed them again in the future as I love the breed. I moved the rabbits down into the work room in the basement a few weeks ago. The weather is just outrageously hot in our yard to have them outside in the barn. I almost lost a few due to the heat. The work room is cement flooring and nice and cool in there for them. Nicely lit, and has a door and window to our drive way. I'm happy to no longer be lugging everything up and down our long flight of stairs in front of our house. It was killer during shows with the carriers... There is also way more space in there. Plenty of space for more cages, haha. I'm very happy about having the Champagne's up off the floor!! They were very difficult to get out of their cages from the floor. (All insulation is covered with plastic) Arcade has decided to be obsessed with me again.. He goes through stages where he won't leave my legs and feet alone, and gets very loving towards me. It's weird, but cute. A pain when he won't leave me alone. Usually when I want to hold him, he just wants to be left alone to run around, but when he gets in this mood, he'll jump up onto my lap to 'cuddle'. He's probably just horny and trying to breed me. He lives in the living room and will spend the day out of his cage running around.. he's a very spoiled pet now. I have to do some thinking about the Champagne's and their future here. I love the breed and really want to pursue them, but I'm not having any luck with these two doe's. They are breeding, but having trouble and DOA's for litters... I may cull them and start fresh with new doe's in the fall. :/ Will have to think hard about it. Well that's it for now. I should go check on Willow and see if she's kindled yet. *Edit: Willow had 6 kits - 2 peanuts -- 1 blue otter, 1 black otter and two black It's been a rough winter. I have lost the past six litters.... I've become very discouraged to keep going, so I am taking a bit of a step back and rethinking things. I just need to take a breather.
I finally was able to get a heater for the barn, so hopefully that can help some. I rebred both Galadriel and Arwen, who both kindled on the wire and lost the kits. The one kit I was able to save from Galadriel is doing great. Very cute and full of attitude. She's been hand raised and nursed by a Holland Lop. I never thought I would ever say "put your ears down" to a rabbit.. haha. It's weird having a HL in the house, but she's a great mother and is excellent with the kit, who is 4 weeks old now! I rebred Willow for her third and finally chance. Three strikes, you're out rule. She is willing to nurse, but just can't keep them alive. Hoping the warmer weather plus the heater will help. I just need some Mini Rex litters!! Yahtzee is bred and due in a week. Hopefully she doesn't half eat her litter this time. I don't know if I will give a third chance for eating them.. Sparkle has used up her three strikes, I'm thinking she's sterile; definitely not the buck. I may try getting some weight off her and seeing if that helps, but I just don't know.. hence the taking a step back right now. The juniors are three months old and doing well. Atlas is a pain in the ass to work with. Nova is a bit of a pain, but not as bad. Winnie will sit for a few minutes and then becomes curious. Phoenix... Oh Phoenix. She's my favourite, has been since three weeks old. She's adorable and super sweet. She naturally poses and just sits there for me. I have a young cloverbud member using her in 4H because she is beyond sweet and gentle; very easy to handle. She's super nice type wise too. All the juniors are nicely typed, but she's my favourite. LN033H wants to be bred again... not sure if I want to breed her again or not... She's a great producer, but I'd like to cut back on the Havanas. Ugh, I just don't know anymore! ...... On top of losing all of my litters, we also had to say good-bye to our 8 year old German Shepherd. She had a grand mal seizure and never came out of it. It was heartbreaking saying good-bye. This has made it even harder on me losing all of the litters. I just can't handle more death. She was beyond loved and is so, so missed. ♥
I woke up last week after having a dream about rabbit cages, suddonly with an idea in my head of how to organize the cages. The Champagne cages are older and not very sturdy being stacked on each other. Every morning I would go out to the barn to find their cages half fallen over, scared that one day I would go in to find them completely fallen over and injured. I couldn't figure out what to do with their cages as I have an annoying three hole cage that makes things complicated as to where cages can go. However, thanks to this random dream, I woke up with a new idea of how to arrange them. I put the three Mini Rex stacked on the side and then put the three Champagne cages on the bottom, the three hole with the Havana doe's ontop of the Champagne's and then the two other cages on top of that. There is so much more room now out there and so much better organized.. I really don't know why I didn't think of this arrangement sooner! Took several hours, as it was just me by myself moving them all around. I also swept and cleaned the floors and put plastic under the cages. Much better set up now. On a different note, enjoy this well written article about breeding healthy rabbits against Pasteurellosis (snuffles). http://www.raising-rabbits.com/pasteurellosis.html
Happy New YearWell, 2016 has come and gone. I started the year living in remote Northern Quebec with three rabbits (Arcade, Wowza & Silver). Now I am back in Nova Scotia and starting my herd again with 13 adult rabbits and four doe's due. The year has been good and bad. Had trouble at our job in the North so moved home. I had to make the incredibly difficult decision to send my dog back to his breeder and had trouble finding work. I went through some of the hardest stuff to date with one rabbit during delivery and have had a few fun and not so fun experiences with the rabbits. Now, to end the year, we are dealing with major health issues with our 7 1/2 year old German Shepherd who has a serious inner ear infection. Her head is badly tilted and her balance is off wondering somewhere else. This past Spring I purchased a couple Mini Rex to start my herd again. I bought a blue otter buck and a black otter doe to go with Wowza, my black otter brood doe who was in the North with me. I bred both doe's in June and waited for their deliveries. Stardust, a homebred doe that I bought back, had the most complications I've ever dealt with in one rabbit. Wowza deivered amazingly, like always and I had the pleasure of watching her delivery.. however, I was somewhat occupided dealing with Stardust. I decided at midnight to check on them when I woke up to go pee. Stardust had had her litter already, but Wowza looked to be in labour. Due to past rabbits having breached kits, I now always check the doe's bum first thing after having a litter. I checked Stardust's bum to feel something big and round sticking out. My first thought was breached kit. I ran into my mom's room and woke her up while I ran downstairs for gloves. **They rabbits, since there were only five at the time, were in our spare bedroom as the barn was incredily hot for them this summer.** We go in the room and I lift her a little to see not a breached baby, but a big red lump. I have never seen this before so immidiately go on Facebook and ask other breeders for help. Turns out, it was a prolasped uterus. After about an hour trying to figure it out, I clean it up and push it back in. During this time, Wowza had her litter. Two days later, I took Stardust to the vet for pain killers, as it was clear she was in a lot of pain. Not only did she have a prolasped uterus, she also had mastitis, which is an infection in the mamary glands (nipples). Due to this, I fostered her five kits in with Wowza's four. She was put on strong pain killers but with no luck, she ended up going septic and had to be put down. Now, I've dealt with a lot in the past ten years of breeding, but never so much with one rabbit. Fast forward a few months, and the kits were ready to be weaned. I ended up culling Stardust's entire litter and kept three of Wowza's four. I would have kept the fourth but she was viscous. She attacked her siblings at 9 weeks of age, so she was gone. This attack left her siblings with scars and I ended up putting the third one down because she had a notch taken out of her ear, which healed fine, but was brood only. the two black otters I kept were very nice type wise. I sold one while in New York and kept the other for myself. Sadly, the bite marks came back in white and has left Willow as a brood doe. Awesome type but white bite marks. I did take her to the local show in November where the judge said it was clear that the white spots were bite marks. During their weaning, I decided to get out of Mini Rex to focus on my Havanas and Champagne D'Argent. I am too attached to Wowza, so decided to keep her as a retired doe. I got rid of the buck but was left with this junior doe who I just loved type wise. I decided I wanted to grow her out and see how she developes and keep her as a show doe (before the white bite marks came in). I had made arrangements with breeders in Michigan and Pittsburgh for new rabbits. I was attending the New York Grand Finals at the end of October and would be picking up my new herd there. I purchased a trio of Champagnes and five Havanas. I learned so much at this show in New York and got to see some breeds which I had never seen in person. This show was a great experience, even though it had some not so fun moments. I picked up my new rabbits, and the multiple rabbits that I was transporting for others. I won a BOB and BOS with my new Champagne's who all did excellent in the three shows. A breeder that I really like was there and I was talking her to and looking at her rabbits.... she has Mini Rex.... Damn. I just couldn't resist picking up a buck from her. So much for getting out. OK, fine.. I decided I would just have a few select Mini Rex. Oh the fur. The Mini Rex fur just keeps bringing me back. My mother and I travelled to Toronto after the show to pick up my sister and then travelled 30 hours home. It was a long trip, but well worth it. In the 25+ rabbits we brought back, we only experienced one bump in the road.. sadly, one of the rabbits passed away due to some complications that were completely related to the breeder. Both animals purhcased by said breeder were severely underweight. The second one did make it, but we were very unsure for a while if she would. After a lot of care from the new owner, she gained weight and is thriving now. A few weeks prior to the show in New York, I had to sadly make the decision to put Silver down. This was very hard on me, but it was what was best for him. He was my first Champagne D'Argent, who I loved very much and took all over the North with me. He was very attached with Arcade and had a big personality. It's still very hard on me, several months later, because my new Champagne buck, Gimli, has a very similar personality to Silver and reminds me of him every day. In November, we had a local show. I showed my new rabbits and won BOB Champagne, earning a leg on all three of them now. Arcade won BOB and my new black doe won BOS Havana. My Mini Rex got excellent comments. Judge really liked my homebred junior doe, but she was dq'd due to the bite marks. My new buck, Winston, got great comments as well. The winning BOB/BOS Mini Rex were very nice animals. My Havanas did alright. Of the 9 animals I purhcased in New York, there was only one that I was very disapointed with, but the Havanas in general were a bit disapointing considering the quality I have always had in them. They just don't meet the standards I have for my herd. Two of the doe's were potentially bred, but didn't take which was fine. The one that I was very unhappy with, I sold after the show in November. He just had too many faults and wasn't compatible with my doe's. I rebred the doe's, who are due this week! Of course, since I had purchased a buck to go with my Mini Rex doe's and Wowza is getting up in age, I just couldn't resist a doe at the local show... she's a mosaic just like Wowza... Again, so much for getting out.... Oh the Mini Rex fur. ♥ Wowza had her first DOA litter this year, at the beginning of December. For many reasons, I believe they were dead prior to delivery. I rebred her to Winston and she too is due this week. I am deciding weather or not to keep my Havanas. I obviously can't bring my self to get out of the Mini Rex and don't want to get out of the Champagnes, who I am very happy with. I'm just not as happy with the Havana's as I have been in the past. I love my Havana's and have spent many years wanting to focus on them more, but I may have to wait for a bit longer. I just don't have the space right now for the three breeds. I may keep a pair or trio, but just don't need the five I have now. So I will spend some time thinking about that. The Havana doe's are oddly already enjoying making a nest. I gave two of the three a nestbox already, a week before their due date. First time litters with me, so I have no idea if they like to go early or anything like that. Overall, it has been a pretty decent year for me and my rabbits. There have been some ups and downs, but that's to be expected. I hope to attend several new shows in new states (USA) this year. I am going to breed the Champagnes at the end of January/beginning of February and will look at getting a few more for the herd. I currently only have brood doe's in my Mini Rex herd (two mosaics and one white bite mark). I plan to breed them and hopefully replace them with show stock. I am planning on attending the Grand finals show again this year as I really enjoyed it. Great show! I am planning on a show in Ontario in June and several more in different states (USA) throughout the year. I hope everyone had a good year, a great Christmas and hope the new year brings full nestboxes! Enjoy some images taken over the year of my rabbits and Grand Finals. All images © Mikahla Dorey & © Brackson Photography
I had a good time at the MRBA fall show on the 26th of November. It was held in Hilden, NS and Wade Burkhalter was the judge. He was a nice judge and very informative. He took the time to explain things when asked.
My Champagne's did very nice. I won BOB with 6J15 Galadriel, for her first leg. Now all three have a GC leg. I got great comments on the two Mini Rex I showed and the Havanas didn't do too bad either. I am disappointed the the blue buck, as he is not the quality I was expecting him to be. He is for sale as he has shoulder faults that LN081, my black doe, has so they cannot be bred together. Being bred together would just make the shoulder issues worse. Arcade was shown and won BOB. I was the only breeder so no legs won for the Havanas. It was Arcades last show as he will be 6 years old in May. He is retired to just a brood buck, but had an awesome and very rewarding show career. Willow, my homebred Otter Mini Rex JR Doe, was DQ'd as she has several whites spots. I didn't realize they were so bad until we got to the show and you could really see them in the light. She, along with the rest of the litter, was attacked by one of the siblings. She did quite a number on them and caused them to all be brood animals. The attacker was culled immediately and the three siblings healed nicely, but sadly the bite marks came back in white. I asked the judge about the spots and he said it was very clear that they were bite marks and she would be fine to breed. She got great comments on her type so should make a nice brood doe. Winston, White buck, also got great comments. He peaks a hairline early and is a bit soft in texture (I think he's starting to molt). The judge said that Willow & Winston would be a good breeding pair as she has nice texture and he has nice density, she peaks properly and they would fix each others weaker areas. I also bought another Mini Rex doe (Sparkle)... She too is just a brood doe as she is a mosaic like Wowza. She's very nice in type and fur. I don't mind only having brood does at the moment as they are all very nice. Wowza is a proven doe and great mother and producer. Both Willow and Sparkle have very nice type and should make nice brood does. Winston will continue to show. The two broken Havana does are due tonight/tomorrow. One I palpated positive and the other I'm not sure if I felt anything or not. Both have nestboxes in their cages and lots of hay to build a nice warm nest. Wowza is due nest week. I bought three new cages while at the show from a breeder who builds cages in New Brunswick. It's very nice having new cages. Yes, all are filled. I will be purchasing more in the New Year as I have a three hole cage that I really want to get rid of (need to get cages to replace it first) and will need more cages for juniors. A man I know, who bought a Havana doe from me a few years ago, was there with his kids. He's looking for another Havana when I have some. They weren't showing but were watching and bought a Netherland Dwarf for one of the daughters for 4H. They mainly show in 4H but he's trying to convince his wife to let him start breeding. Anyway, they wen't in with me during lunch to watch the showmanship. The organizer asked his son if he was participating, but he said no; he didn't have a rabbit to use. So I said I have a rabbit they could use. He showed Gimli, my Champagne buck in the showmanship and pose down. He did very well! For a rabbit that has never been used in showmanship, he let the kid flip him and everything with ease. They ended up taking 2nd place in showmanship, which is great! He had trouble saying the breed name, but that's OK. It's a bit of a mouthful.. It was very nice to see people I haven't seen in a while as I have been up North for three years. It was a nice show and I had a good time. BIS went to an English Lop and RIS to a Netherland Dwarf in Open. Youth was a Mini Rex BIS and Holland Lop I think for RIS... but I could be wrong.. I know the MR took BISY just forget if it was the HL that took RIS... It may have been a Ntherland as well... I learned a lot. On Sunday I wrote for the Champagne judge and afterwards asked if he could go over mine with me... He showed me what to look for and how to pose them. I got very nice comments on the trio, taking a BOB and BOS (Juniors). I was talking with a random breeder over the weekend and he showed me a Himalayan. He posed it and told me about the breed and what to look for. I also talked to the breeder who took BOB Lionhead and he showed me what to look for (I also took pictures, very nice rabbit). I watched the tans judge... still not quite sure how to judge them but learned some things about them. I saw several breeds that we do not have around here.. Like the Rhinelanders. I saw a sport (solid) Rhinelander, which was extremely cool!! The colour was very interesting. Met some breeders who I only knew from Facebook and saw some that I haven't seen in a while (mainly judges that have judged our local shows). I also saw Velveteen Lops, which are an interesting breed (Rex fur on an English Lop) I only came home with one unplanned rabbit... pretty good! I bought an embroidered apron, which I love! For the first time ever, I was at a show where a rabbit gave birth..... That was interesting. I've heard of it happening before but have never actually been to a show in person where it happened. I saw for the first time, a buck hold up his testicles completely. That was pretty neat. There was no extra skin or anything, they were completely up there. Judge said not many rabbits are talented enough to do that! haha You could feel them up there though, and he is a proven buck and RIS winner.. so they are normally down. There were some scandalous things on Saturday after the show... I'm glad I just went back to the hotel and straight to bed! It was a LONG drive home, went 36 hours without sleep.... I slept like a rock when I got home. 26 rabbits were brought back to NB & NS in the car... the car was packed full. Overall, it was a very good weekend and I hope to return again next year! BIS & RISShow A: English Angora BIS, Mini Rex RIS
Show B: Fuzzy Lop BIS, New Zealand RIS Show C: Fuzzy Lop BIS, Holland RIS Mr. Gabby was staying with me for a couple weeks while my dad was away. The only rabbit that my dad has ever liked of mine, so I let Gabby live with him.
Gabby was given to me several years ago when the owner could no longer care for him. Yes, HIS name is Gabby... his previous owners didn't realize he was a he. He is at minimum, 8 years old. He is a mixed breed and weighs about 8-9 pounds. He is a very friendly giant who loves attention. He probably only has another year or so to live. Sadly, his health is deteriorating a bit. Of course, I couldn't not take the opportunity to photograph him while he was staying here. He'll be back in December for a bit while my dad is away for work again. Grand Finals NY State Convention ShowOctober 29-30, 2016 Syracuse, NY
I will be travelling to New York for the Grand Finals show at the end of the month. I will be picking up five Havanas and five Champagne D'Argent (three for me, two for another breeder). I am excited to go and finally meet some breeders that I've talked to online for years but never met in person and pick up the rabbits. I'm excited to be getting back into the Havanas and finally start up the Champagnes. I will be showing six rabbits: 6J36 CDA, 6J40 CDA, 5J15 CDA, LNNOAH HV, LN081 HV & LN082 HV. I may take one or two of my JR Mini Rex, not sure yet. Saturday is a double show and Sunday is a single show, with specialty shows going on both days. I am transporting several rabbits to and from the show for other breeders. I am also buying an embroidered apron with my rabbitry name on it, which I am pretty excited about! :) I am very excited, as the show grows closer, to finally be getting rabbits again. Especially getting Champagne's again.. it's not the same in the barn without Silver... :( |
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