A Fond Farewell

As mentioned in my previous post I have created a new website using Weebly, since so many people have a hard time viewing my Wix website. I've had a love/hate relationship with Wix and it was just time to say goodbye. And on that note, this will also be my final post here as well. Weebly has it's own blogger and since I can't figure out how to get this one copied over there, I am going to start just blogging there. It's been a fun trip and I hope you will continue to follow me at the link below. Take care everyone!

http://twitterpatedrabbitry.weebly.com/

Super Short Update

Ally had her surgery the 23rd of March, it was supossed to be her final one but the incision opened a little and they were worried the muscle tissue did as well but thankfully it hadn't, as they discovered when they did an unexpected surgery on her this past Tuesday. Her birthday party is on saturday and her actual birthday is sunday so busy getting ready for that.

Last weekend Tim and I made the trip to SC to pick up my 5 new oranges and I love them, and have to say a big THANK YOU! to Andrea of Peachtree Rabbitree for them. Have 3 litters due on the 19th of April, 1 litter due May 6th, 2 litters due on May 8th and 2 more litters due May 9th. And last but not least after I get everything done this weekend, next week I am starting on a new website. Too many people hate Wix so I am going to create one on Weebly and just leave the Wix one with a forwarding link to the new website.

That's all for now, gotta get back to work. (Told ya it would be super short lol)

Procrastination

I am completely procrastinating at the moment but, I'm blogging about it so I can convince myself that I'm being productive lol. Yesterday was my normal day to clean the bunny barn but I had to get some sevin dust on the ground before it rained, then we had to go to Ally's urology appointment and to get her stitches removed so cleaning got pushed back to today and I'll go get to it once I finish this... hmmmm, this might be a long blog. Just kidding lol


Exciting news, I get to pick up my 5 rabbits from Peachtree Rabbitree this weekend. Not sure what day yet, will have to see what day we can work out for Gramma, Nana and Papa to keep Ally (13+ hours in a car with a 2 year old, never a good idea if you can avoid it) I am so looking forward to adding these rabbits to my orange program!


In nestbox news Kisses had her babies a day early and gave birth on 04-02-11, 4 squirmy little chocolate babies. Since mommy and daddy are Kisses and Heath, and it is Easter month alot of people are urging me to go with chocolate names for the babies... I'm thinking about it but I also know that everyone does that. But I may give in and do it, after all then think of the cute picture in the Easter basket and the caption on it lol. Can't wait to see how they mature, I'll definitely be keeping one or two from this litter but I'm going to evaluate them at about 6-8 weeks before making any call on them, maybe even a bit later if I can't tell which ones look most promising.


Spice's litter of 2 is also doing well, they are out of the nestbox and bouncing all over everything... that includes my husband and the cat (See photo below).




I am probably keeping Kit #2 from this litter mainly because I am attached to him/her. Such a personality on this little one! And so far it's overall type looks quite promising too, just wish it had more color on it. Oh well though, could still end up being a nice brood rabbit for me.


Alright, I guess I've put it off long enough. It's time for me to go be productive and get the bunny barn clean, and then the husband and daughter barn clean too lol. Take care until next time and thanks for reading.

Ally's surgery and bunny happenings

I know I completely missed Feb for posting an update and almost missed March to but HA! I got one in. February was stressful, mostly because we were worried about Ally's tummy. Where the gortex patch was began leaking and smelling bad and she would spike fevers off and on, took her to her surgeon and he said really the only way to get rid of it would be to get rid of the gortex which seemed to be the source of the infection, so we scheduled Ally's surgery for the 23rd of March and just had to wait it out until then giving her antibiotics to help combat everything.

Her surgery rolled around and we were worried it was going to have to be put off because a few days before she developed and cough and runny nose (that girl never gets sick, and then she does right before surgery), so we thought anesthesia might say we had to wait (and then we were also worried they wouldn't say we had to wait when we really should wait and something would go wrong... always so much to worry over) but the 23rd came and she went back for her surgery, 5 and a half hours later it was done and her tummy was so flat and tiny, she came a long way from when she was first born with her omphalocele. This was her 5th surgery and is the final one unless we choose to have a cosmetic belly button for her, which we may do just for her self esteem growing up but we haven't decided for sure yet.

She had a rough first night and day after the surgery.. with all her others she seemed uncomfortable but never like she was really hurting... this time she was hurting greatly. It was the hardest thing seeing my baby girl laying there like that and crying and me not being able to make it better. Thank goodness by day 2 she was feeling alot better, still sore but her pain was under control at that point. We got to come home on the 27th so not too long of a hospital stay, just exhausting. She's doing better but still gets tired really easily but slowly but surely is getting back to her vibrant and animated little self. Now that she is done with surgeries (minus the outpatient belly button that is) we're really starting on the adoption process for our next child which I am excited about, I think Ally is going to make the best big sister ever :)

And as for bunny news I FINALLY got a nice healthy litter. Since the start of the year I've had so many peanuts it isn't even funny, I know the chance is there for them because all of my bucks are true dwarfs and all but one of my does are but all these does have had successful litters in the past and these last litters of theirs have seemed like nothing but peanuts. But Spice gave birth to 3 kits on March 18th, one was a peanut but the other two are healthy and doing well. Here's some pictures of them, both are broken black but very lightly marked; one is about 5% color and the other might squeek by at 10% if it was lucky and a judge was half blind lol.



It was wonderful to get 2 healthy kits, was a real boost for me after having such a rough time the past 2 months. I'm also super excited for the oranges I'm set to be picking up after Easter from Peachtree Rabbitree (can we say awesome breeder?) I'm driving my husband crazy with how excited I am for them lol Can't help it though, I've been itching to get my hands on some nice oranges for awhile now so these 5 will be such a huge help to getting me started. That's it for now I think, other than having a few litters due soon. Kisses is due on April 3rd and Barely, Fe, and Oreo are all due on April 19th provided they took. Will try to post again soon and do better at keeping up with it. And thank you to all those who prayed for Ally, it helped so much. Take care all

Really pleased

I have been having a really good past couple of days. I started a group for Orange/Fawn netherland dwarf breeders on Facebook and much to my surprise within 48 hours there are actually 20 of us on there! I'm really excited about it, with so few who breed them out there it's wonderful to have a place to connect. Plus a few of the breeders are talking about going to the ARBA Convention this year so that'd be really cool to be able to meet with them all (and maybe pick up a few bunnies too lol)

Speaking of picking up bunnies, is it April yet?! One of my rabbit breeder friends gave me the heads up that she is having a herd reduction and 2 of the rabbits I was looking at before are listed in it along with a few other does that I think would really be a benefit to my orange program, I'll be picking them up from her sometime after Easter. Still broke from the dentist and doctor BUT I can not pass this up, so thankfully she takes paypal and I'm going to be naughty and use my card and just pay it off. Fortunately the hubby wasn't too hard to convince, his biggest issue was the driving distance and gas prices. Sometimes I envy those women whose husbands are rabbit breeders too lol.

In other news all my December matings were misses except for 2 does, one who gave birth to 2 peanuts, and the other had them out on the wire. I think I may pick out 3 or 4 does to bring in and give them a try... I'm really really wanting at least one litter out of Ninja and Oreo, Heath and Fe, and then either Minute Maid, Orange Crush or Heath with Kisses. The other does I'm ok waiting until it warms up a bit more if I must. Well that's it for this post, just thought I'd update again since this weather doesn't allow for much else lol.

Rant

I really really HATE dentist and doctor bills. But I think I hate dentist bills more than doctors because at least most doctors you can pay over time, the dentist pretty much demands payment at time of service. Grr, several hundred dollars gone bye bye, I had some new oranges I was hoping to bring in as well as a broken chocolate doe and now I can't do it. Not to mention there goes my husband and my Valentines Day trip, we were planning on getting a cabin over in the mountains for the weekend before.

OK, done ranting. Time to refocus my energy since I can't change anything about it anyways, so the agenda for the day is to bring the bunnies in and get new photos of them and update the website if I have enough time after I finish all the other stuff around the house today. At least I was finally able to get all my Christmas stuff down and packed away yesterday and get most of the house cleaned up. It feels completely new in here now. I also need to go out and check on my does, I bred 5 of them this past time but I think only 2 of them took (if they even did, I really am awful at palpating) They're due Friday so by Monday if nobody has had babies, everybody is getting rebred. And Pumpkin Spice is old enough to breed now as well, although I may wait another couple months to try her, since she's young and would be a first time mommy I'd rather try it when it's approaching warmer weather... then again I may just see if my honey would let me bring her inside for a month and give it a whirl lol

OK, so there's my rant/update for the day. Hopefully I can get alot accomplished today and feel better, I normally do feel better when I'm being productive. Til next time, have a good one y'all :)

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life, for me..

And I'm feelin' good! lol Well since my last post until just after Christmas I have felt like a chicken with it's head cut off. 2010 was so hectic for me but my New Year's resolution is to do my very best not to let 2011 get as crazy, even if that means me saying "No" more and worrying less about what I "have" to do, and taking the time to make a trip to a bunny show, playing at the park or in the backyard with my daughter and yes, sadly not worrying about exactly how much this grandparent/great-grandparent has gotten to see Ally. I'm just going to have to say "You have a car too and if you wanna see her, you can drive up here." This includes her birthfamily as well as our immediate family. I hate sounding like that but Tim and I are just wore out from this last year.

Anyways since the last post I have only had one litter, and only one of the babies survived. I gifted it to a little girl in Kentucky who wants to start breeding rabbits. She already had a buck so now she has a little black doe. Next week I have 5 does that are possibly due (side note, I really really wish I was able to palpatate) And then next month I get to breed a few of my younger ones from this past year including 2 of my babies from Fi and Crush. Crush has also been bred to my chocolate doe, Kisses because I want to try to incorporate a bit of the type into them, his short ears with her short thick ears and bone is what I'm hoping for. I'm going to try to start picking up some new stock BUT I am supposed to be saving money for the end of the year, so I'm only allowing myself oranges/fawns/broken oranges and maybe a chocolate/broken chocolate. The latter only if their type is excellent.

The reason I have to be so good and save money is because my family has decided to take a weekend before Christmas next year and rent a cabin in the mountains. More space because our family is getting SO big, and also because this way we won't have to be insanely rushed on Christmas Eve and day. My brothers, and sister and I all have spouses whom we go visit their family on Christmas Day (my sister also has to share the time with my niece and nephews with their dad who she is divorced from, which makes timing critical) So this way we can all be together, including all the kids and then we'll have only one side of the family to make a trip to and make food for. I am so glad because I love seeing them all but 2 days just isn't enough time to fit it all in and be able to enjoy their company without rushing off.

In other exciting news in a couple months we're starting the adoption process again, Ally is ready to be a big sister I think lol. I know it could take a year or even more to go through but I am still excited to be starting it all again, and another baby in the house sounds so good. But however long it takes I'm ok with it and think it will be easier to wait because we have Ally, she is such an amazing blessing.

Well I think that's all I have to update for now. Hope you all have a great New Year, I'm determined that God willing, I will :)

Long post

Well, what a whirlwind the past couple weeks have been. Since my last post so much has happened I barely know where to start. Our daughter Ally was scheduled for surgery on the 20th of September from where her stitches had worked their way through her stomach after her previous surgery so I was pretty stressed from that already a couple weeks prior to her surgery, and then I had been having some pain in my abdomen as well. I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive so needless to say I was worried since I've had miscarriages and an ectopic in the past. We called and made an appointment with my obgyn and I went in to be seen, the pregnancy was confirmed and I was sent over to the hospital for blood work and an ultrasound.

We didn't see anything on the screen but still tried to hope that maybe it was just too early. My hcg levels came back from the bloodwork and they were actually right in the area that they needed to be so there was still a possibility this was a good viable pregnancy, and I was told to come back 48 hours after the test and have my blood work taken again. If the levels were doubling then it was a good pregnancy but if they were staying the same or even going up a little that meant it was another ectopic. I didn't get a chance to make it back in, very early the morning before I was supposed to return for more blood work I began hurting more and throwing up alot, so being severely sore and dehydrated and hurting as bad as I was we decided to go the the ER and have me all checked out. On our way we recieved a phone call from my mother letting me know that my Mawmaw (grandmother on my dad's side) had also been taken to the ER, she'd had a heart attack and had to be revived with the paddles. But mom said she was currently stable and they were there with her, so we went on into the ER.

It was determined that I wasn't in immediate danger of rupturing but my blood work showed that my hcg levels had stayed pretty much the same and the ultrasound the ER did showed both a complicated cyst on my ovary as well as a "suspicious area" in my fallopian tube. So my obgyn had me come to her office to discuss things and it was decided to have a shot to terminate the ectopic pregnancy (because there was no chance of it being a healthy pregnancy and it would have ended up rupturing and possibly me hemorrhaging to death in the process) so she gave me the shot on Friday afternoon. She told me that I'd probably be sore and hurting worse than I had been but if the pain became too bad to get to the ER because there was still a chance I could rupture before the shot could take full effect.

Then my husband and I had a huge problem, I had rabbits I was supposed to pick up in Greensboro, some of which I had already paid in full and had no other time to get them. Since I was hurting but not too awfully we made the trip to Greensboro, leaving out at midnight. The trip went mostly smooth with the exception of me having to stop to throw up a couple times thanks to the hormones still surging in my system. But we chose to only stay at the show long enough to pick up the rabbits I'd had planned, so we were only there about 30 minutes. I was sad because I had so been looking forward to this trip and this show. Afterward we swung by Alan's in SC to pick up some rabbits from him and then started on our way home.

We made it back to my parents house at around 10 pm to pick up our daughter and chose to spend the night at their house because of how little sleep we'd had the past few days. Mom and dad let us know that Mawmaw was having surgery to have a defibrillator put in on Monday, close to the same time that Ally's surgery had already been scheduled for. So they were going to come see Ally first thing in the morning at the hospital the day of her surgery then go on over to the hospital where Mawmaw was going to be.

Tim and I came home Sunday morning and just rested around the house after getting the new rabbits all settled in, I was still hurting and sore but not bad enough to cause worry until around 9 pm. I went to the bathroom for about the 50th time and when I stood up to flush and wash my hands I felt something like a "POP" in my lower right side and it doubled me over with pain. I went and laid down and tried to just breathe through it thinking it would go away if I could just relax a bit. Tim came in the bedroom and found me and was worried asking if we should go into the ER again and I said I didn't know, let's wait a bit and see if it calms down. Well it kept getting worse and worse so after about 40 minutes when the pain was very severe I agreed to go into the ER. At this point we were both insanely stressed, Ally's surgery was only several hours away and here he was having to sit with her in the waiting room while I was taken back and examined. I will spare the full details but let's just say there was alot of pain involved.

I wasn't rupturing but I was at a high risk for it with my pain level increasing, they were giving me high amounts of morphine and dillaudid (sp?) and it was barely touching it. So they admited me to the hospital overnight for pain managment and observation, they also had to give me some phengran for nausea as I began to throw up fairly often as well. I sent Tim home and told him I had to have him go home and take care of Ally because I couldn't be there in the morning for her. It killed me not being able to go be with my baby while she was having the surgery. The next morning they released me as soon as I could go to the bathroom, my Doctor told me the reason my pain had been so bad was because the shot not only ended up expelling the pregnancy but also the cyst on my ovary and everything was breaking lose in there to work it's way out. She said they'd have to monitor me until my hormone levels returned to zero, then at a later date we have to run contrast dye through my cervix and tube to make sure my fallopian tube is still open. If it's closed off I'll end up having to have another surgery.

Anyways after being discharged my friend Nicole drove me down to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital where Ally was having surgery, I got there right as the surgery finished and was able to go back with Tim and see her as soon as she was moved to the recovery area. She came through it all ok. Later we got a phone call saying that Mawmaw had also come through her surgery just fine so we were very relieved. Ally had to stay in the hospital from Monday-Thursday and was released Thursday evening. It felt so good to get back home but now I feel like there is so much to do, my house has never been so messy. I know to try and take it slow but it just feels overwhelming right now.

But overall I just feel very blessed, so many things could have gone so much worse. But my Mawmaw is safe and doing well, I'm still getting tired out easy but I'm doing better, Ally is doing wonderful and is back into everything, and with any luck October will be a slower and calmer month. Looking forward to being outside more now that it's getting cooler, and taking my Allycat to the pumpkin patch for the first time, not to mention the best holiday ever Halloween. I think mommy and daddy are skipping costumes this year, just because I haven't been able to sit down and start sewing them yet so I think I'm just going to sew Ally's. She's going to be a little fairy, since she was a witch for last year's Halloween party and then a ladybug on Halloween. She's going to be so cute and you know I'll just have to post photos lol.

Thanks for reading my little rant about the past few weeks, it was crazy and writing helped me let some of the stress go :) Take care everyone!

Thoughts for the day

I love Autumn!!! So far this year we've had days that felt like fall, and then other days that smelled like fall but, today was the first day that both felt and smelled like fall. I know I sound nuts but there is a distinct feeling to this day each year. Fall is my favorite time of year, the colors, scents, even the clothes. Going to the pumpkin patch or the orchard, hay rides, fires at night in the back yard under the stars and the way the leaves look, all bursting with reds,oranges,yellows and rich browns. **happy sigh** lol

In rabbit related news, it's official. I'm letting my shadeds go for now, I like them and will probably get back into them again someday but right now I just really want to focus on my oranges, and colors which are compatible with them. My selfs are staying as well, seeing as I'm bringing in a chocolate buck and probably a chocolate doe and lilac doe. I will possibly even add a few more because I'll have more options to breed them to but the shadeds I wouldn't have as many possibilities, and I think I'd like to be able to breed any given buck/doe to more than one other rabbit in the barn.

Greensboro is just over 8 days away now!! Can you tell I'm excited? lol Last show of the year for me, but I'm going to be counting down the days until Spring once Christmas passes us by. Dalton and of course Nationals. I'm going to try to get some Dow's stock when I go, oh and I also have found a couple other orange breeders this week that I really like their stock. I just wish more lived nearer to me.

Anyways this will be my first trip to Nationals, I really hope I will have something nice to put on the show table. I wouldn't dream of winning but just feeling like I put forth something worth being there would be great.

Guess that's it for now, just felt like writing out what was on my brain. Til next time, take care :)

3 weeks now

First off though, other news from around here. Mami and Comet both were misses the past month so I'm trying again to breed them today. I think my bucks were probably heat sterile last when I bred them last though so hopefully today will take better. I'm breeding Mami to Ninja and Comet to Chocolate Cake IF he cooperates. Last time he barely showed interest in breeding so if he doesn't "buck up" then comet will also be bred to Ninja. Not the pairing I want but right now I'm more worried about her having babies since she's nearing the year mark.

Less than 2 weeks until the Greensboro show now! I'm so very excited, I'm not taking anything to show but I am picking up some nice rabbits if all works out as hoped. I am for certain bringing home a really nice chocolate buck, PAC's Heath, to use with my orange program, and an orange buck MB's Tang.

I'm also getting to look at a chocolate doe, lilac doe, broken black doe who carries chocolate. On the way home I'm swinging by Alan's to look at a few broken oranges and an orange that he has. Plus, I will get to see some friends and hopefully meet a few new ones which is always fun!

Hm, guess that's it for now. Here's the pictures of the oranges from yesterday (3 week shots) I'm pretty sure we have an Orange buck, Broken orange doe and Fawn doe BUT still a little too early for me to be certain. :)

11 days old

New pictures of the little ones, pictured below at 11 days old. The smallest (the orange) is on the left and the largest is the fawn on the right. They are so sweet right now, I can't wait to see them next week! Little balls of poofy energy :)

Benn naughty and not posted pictures

So now I'm posting some lol. The kits are currently 10 days old and their eyes and ears are open now. The pictures below are the kits at 1 week old though.

The orange kit is the smallest in the litter and the fawn is by far the largest so far.



Orange and Broken Orange being all cuddley and cute.


All 3 kits, 1 week old and absolutely adorable!

"Orange" litter - 3 Days Old

Here's a few shots of the babies today. 3 days old and still doing really great. Their fur is coming in a wee bit more. I can't be certain but it looks as though Kit #1 will be a broken, Kit #2 I'm unsure about at all...maybe a fawn? And Kit #3 I think is going to be solid orange. guess time will tell but that's my best guess at this point. I'm still on cloud 9 about these little ones! Yay Oranges!!! lol




Kit #1, 3 days old


Kit #1, 3 days old


Kit #2, 3 days old


Kit #2, 3 days old


Kit #3, 3 days old


Kit #3, 3 days old

First "orange" litter

Well I am just about as tickled as can be! Just got my first litter from my Orange doe, Cloverleaf's Fe. I had bred her to my Broken Orange buck, Orange Crush. First timer she may be but she handled it like a seasoned pro! Well, maybe slightly over zealous, after she kindled she continued to pull fur and fill the nest to the brim, so I pulled some out to save for winter litters. She started really focusing on fixing up the nest box in the morning, and I was lucky enough to peek at her at nearly 11 pm and see she was in labor. The first kit was breech which worried me but she got him/her out OK and he/she seems to be doing great. The others followed quickly and she spent her time cleaning each one and then stayed in the box about 10 minutes so they could nurse.

Anyways we have 3 darling little squigley kits, I can't tell exactly what their colors will be yet but I am very excited to see how they mature. and on that note in this post I will probably update and post pictures of their progress so I can have it for my breeding records at a later time too. That way in their future litters I can compare and see how their lines mature and when little ones should "pop" so to speak.

Here's some pictures of the kits, the entire litter just after birth and then each one individually the next day:












And then here's photos of the kits on Day 2:

Stress relief

I need some serious stress relief. Due to the heat I lost Cloverleaf's BJ, Cloverleaf's ChocoDoe (who was pregnant with BJ's offspring) and Sonata, or L1 as she's listed on my website. I came very close to throwing my hands in the air and selling them because the weather (wind and heat) keeps knocking me on my butt. But I decided, with the urging of my wonderful husband, not to give up and to restock my orange program and hopefully make it better.

So as hard of a decision as it was I sold my remaining otters, Jones and Jazzy (or Along came jones and L4) to help with some extra cash to go toward my oranges. Sad as it made me good quality otters are pretty easy to get in my area... oranges,chocolates, shadeds, and chestnuts are NOT. So I currently have Cloverleaf's FE (orange doe), Holden's Comet (Siamese Smoke Pearl doe), JMR's Mami (Chestnut doe), Spring Creek Ninja (Black Buck) and Holden's Chocolate cake (Siamese Sable buck)

As of Sunday I'll be adding RM's Orange Crush (Broken Orange buck), then sometime the next month I should have a fawn doe and an orange doe coming in. Come September I'll be getting PAC's Heath from Christina of Spumanti. I wish I lived closer to her, she almost always has stock I want lol. It was hard letting my otters go but I'll pick them back up once we move and I have a larger space for my rabbits. Right now I think it's better for me to focus on my oranges and just continue dabbling with my shadeds and chestnut.

Excited about some new additions coming soon

I'm bringing in a few new additions over the next couple months, geared totally on my orange program. The first I should be picking up next weekend is a pretty little Broken Orange buck, by the name of RM's Orange Crush. Then I'm bringing in an orange doe and a fawn doe from Mike Landers, their type isn't amazing BUT their color is. And last but certainly not least I'm adding on a chocolate buck by the name of PAC's Heath, who I'm getting from Christina Caporale.

Hopefully they'll be adding alot to my oranges, both bucks have great type, so I'm hoping a few generations down I'll have oranges with amazing type and color. Orange is my favorite variety with the possible exception of champagnes lol. It would excite me so much thinking of making a good contribution to them in my work.

So I've been inactive forever...

But now here I am again! Since my last post there's been wind damage to my bunny barn and I lost 3 of my rabbits, which included Tiny, my little Black Buck who was a chocolate carrier, and my favorite , Matrix, my Siamese Smoke Pearl Buck, and also Mitzy, my Siamese Sable Doe.

Also since my last post, and in the same month I had my surgery (polyps removed from uterus and doing great now, no pain at all!) my beautiful daughter Ally had her second surgery for her omphalocele and has done wonderful. Her stomach is so much flatter now. One more surgery in about 6 months and she should be done, with a flat belly and a belly button.

This past weekend was also my rabbit club's show. CTNRBA hosted it's second annual show in Dickson, TN July 3rd. And while it didn't go as well as we'd have liked it still was pretty good. At our next club meeting we're going to make suggestions on improving the next one so I'm confident that next year's show will go even better! The main issues we had was the AC not cooling enough, and disagreements on opening side doors for access versus using only one door to try to keep it cooler. With any luck we can switch location next year and it won't be a worry.

Now for news from the nestbox we have several does that we hope have buns in the oven so to speak lol. This is the first try breeding my oranges. I'm so hoping to get some pretty little orange babies out of them, and my chocolate doe. So anyways I just wanted to post a short update since I've been out of the loop for awhile. New photos of all the rabbits will be posted on the website soon. Take care y'all! :)

A little over a week until Dalton!

And I could not be more excited! My best friend is coming into town and we are going to this together and then also have a girls weekend planned which will be wonderful. I need a little fun to tide me over until Spring when I can actually be outside and enjoy myself more. This winter stuff has gotten old, Tennessee has had more days with snow on the ground than I can remember for awhile.

I've also added another rabbit to the list that I'm bringing back from Dalton, she's a Broken Chocolate Otter doe. I'm going to try showing her for a bit I think and then afterwards give her a go as a mama. Oh I also should add that I ended up not getting the Broken Orange I had planned on, our central heat unit croaked on us and we had to repair it which took the money for that trip. I've emailed the breeder I was going to get her from to see if we could make other arrnagments to meet but I haven't heard back from him yet so idk. Anyways I decided to add photos of the rabbits I'm bringing home, I'll get more after they arrive though.

Here's the Siamese Sable buck I'll be bringing in, he throws beautiful babies :

And below is the Siamese Smoke Pearl buck, and then below him is the doe I will be bringing in. These two are a sibling pair though so naturally they'll not be bred to eachother.

Then here's the orange buck I'm bringing in and below him the orange, this is a non related pair so oh yes, orange babies will be coming when they're old enough if I have my way! lol

And then below is a little Black buck I'm getting who carries chocolate

And here's the Broken Chocolate Otter doe

I don't have a picture of the Chocolate doe on my computer but she is a BUD, and makes some pretty babies, I do have a picture of one of the babies from her last litter, it's below.

Anyways time for me to run and start putting some cages together, Tim and I are putting together a PVC frame for hanging cages this weekend so I want to get as much ready as I can. I'll post pics of the PVC frame in my next blog. Take care everyone!

Taking the bad with the good

Well this past weekend had it's good points and bad points. Blue and Melodie ended up going slightly over their due date and ended up having them while I was away from the house, when I got home Blue had delivered 2 on the wire DOA, and Melodie only had half of a baby in her nestbox :/ Later that night Blue delivered another (which looked to be a little blue otter) which was also DOA, I was out there when she delivered it, I felt so bad for her because she was trying to be such a good mommy and kept going to where her babies had been after I removed them and snuffling through the fur in the nest making whimpery sounds. Anyways this was the last attempt so both of these girls are retired now. Melodie is going to be listed for sale as a pet later today. Blue's my girl so she's staying.

But the good news, I went to my first meeting with the Central Tennessee Rabbit Breeders Association and it was great to meet everyone, I had spoken to Lynn and Donna before the meeting so I finally got to put some faces with the names. I also ended up lucking into a few Black Otters. Vera from the club doesn't deal with them but her daughter had begged for them and then totally lost interest so she said I could take them if I wanted. The Jr doe I brought home looks like she could be a good show quality prospect, so I may take her to the Louisville, KY show and see how she does. I'd take her to Dalton but my cages are going to be full as it is on the way home. The buck is a tiny little fella with a nice body and good head, his ears are a little toward the V'd side but I still think he'll be a nice addition to my brood stock. I have to give a very big thank you to Vera Smith for these otters!!

I also got back in contact with Twila Coffey which I'm really thrilled about. She has such wonderful blacks, blues, and black and blue otters. I'm hoping to get some good show Jrs from her later this year. I also am checking Dennie's site (Spring Creek Gems) everyday to see if she'll have any broken chestnuts for sale. She posted a picture of one on the ND Forum awhile back and I was in love! lol

So all in all this past weekend was really good (with the exception of the babies being DOA) the next few weekends I can not wait for. This coming weekend I'm going to see my best friend for her daughters 1 year birthday. We always have too much fun no matter what's going on. We joke that we have to live in different states or we'd get into trouble all the time and drive our hubbies crazy lol. The following weekend my Broken Orange doe is coming home, and the weekend after that DALTON!!! I'm so excited about that. I'm really praying it will be warm, this semi-constant snow is about to drive me crazy. I enjoy snow but enough is enough, let me see some green! Speaking of green I bred my otter does today and their due date should fall on St. Patty's day. I'll get my website updated tonight or tomorrow with all the new changes and pictures of the new crew.

Thanks for reading, take care all!

This next month is gonna be so busy and fun!

Starting with this weekend things will get busy and stay that way for a bit, both with the rabbitry and just life in general. With any luck one of my does will give me some kits, they both are due Friday but they're also both older gals now so I'm keeping my fingers crossed but as of right now not really expecting anything. Might be going to a CTRBA meeting this weekend too if they were able to work out everyone's schedule for it, kind of in a holding pattern on that one just now.

My little girl will also be spending the night with her Grandma which I'm nervous about since this is really only the second time anyone has watched her, and I know I'll miss her. But on the plus side...SLEEP! lol That's a rare luxery since we brought her home from the hospital, she still isn't sleeping through the night. I have faith that she will soon though.....I hope.

Then by the weekend of the 20th I should have my new rabbit "barn" set up. I can't wait until we move and I can build a real barn setup and have electricity run out to it so I can keep the temp and lighting regulated year-round but, until then my new setup should do great. It's going to be a 10x20 carport canopy, the kind that's really sturdy and can stay up all year. I had the idea of it and then spoke to someone else who's used one for their car and they said it is really great, they've had it up for 4 years now and it doesn't have any rips or damage to it at all, and this is through Tennessee's crazy weather so I'm confident in it. Also that same weekend I'll be visiting my best friend, her daughter is turning 1 year old so we're going for her birthday. She's only 2 months older than my babygirl, weird to think she's already almost a year old herself.

The following weekend I'm adding a new doe to my herd, she's a Broken Orange doe, and a BUD. Her litter history is promising, she's almost 2 and ussually gives about 5 live kits per litter. The breeder I'm getting her from said he's had great luck showing her babies down there and when bred to a good buck she produces some real beauties. I'm so excited Orange is my favorite color (with the possible exception of Champagnes) so bringing home some to add to my herd is really thrilling for me. I know they are hard to work with but I think it's worth it.

Then that next week I'll be busy making sure my rabbit cages are all nice and ready in the new "barn" because the weekend of March 6th is the Dalton, GA show!!! This is my first show so I'm really looking forward to it, not to mention the fact that I'll be bringing home quite a few new faces. At least 8, but possibly 10. So it'll be exciting and busy and hectic. I'm going to love it,lol.

Plus it'll be really neat for me to get to meet some of the breeders I've been talking to. Dennie of Spring Creek Gems, Jennifer of J&J Harmony Acres, Kristen of Holdenabunny, and Christina of Spumanti to name just a few that I know I'll be seeing. All of which have been great helping me out, both with advise and then helping me find what I need to add to my herd.

So that's what is new around here. Oh a quick rundown of the color/sex of what I'm bringing in in case you're curious:

Siamese Sable Sr Buck
Smoke Pearl Jr Buck
Smoke Pearl Jr Doe
Orange Jr Buck
Orange Jr Doe
Chocolate Sr Doe
Black Jr Buck
Broken Orange Sr Doe

and MAYBE
Siamese Sable Sr Doe
Siamese Sable Jr Doe


Think I'll have my hands full for a bit? Naaahhh, not me lol. Anyways thanks for reading, take care!