It's Official....Piper's PREGNANT!!

Well I took some time today and deceided to palpate her. She relaxed for me and I was able to feel one little kit in there!! Just one, unless she is hiding another way up in the uterine horn. I sure hope this little one survives, I've always heard that singletons never make it because they need the warmth of other kits...however, I know Holly Hope of Tru Luv Rabbitry was a singleton and that gives me hope! Hopefully there are some more in there though...we'll see!

Big Daddy...the expectant daddy-LOL!

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits." Psalm 68:19

Website Update!

Just wanted to make a note that I have updated the website. Please check it out.;-)
http://www.4kingsrabbitry.smugmug.com
"When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me." Micah 7:8

Palpating postponed

I palpated Piper early today, and I'm not 100% convinced that she took. Her uterus is swollen but I don't feel any distinct knots(babies). So...it's still too early to tell for sure-you're supposed to palpate 2 weeks after breeding- and so I will palpate her next weekend and if I still don't feel anything, she will be rebred then.



"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matt. 5:6

The making of a photo shoot!

Alright, as per request(*wink*), I took some shots on how I photograph my does. Last year I had my own photography business and used several props in the studio. I ordered a 'rose petal' mat off of ebay to be used as a backdrop for newborn shots. I was a little shocked when I got it as it was just 3 feet by 3 feet...not very big. Well over the summer I quit the business and sold everything...except the rose petal mat which nobody wanted. LOL I'm so glad now because I really love using it to photograph the does.

Here's the set up: taped the mat to the fridge, the grooming table is supporting the bottom and bunnies. The kitchen has two fluorescent lights overhead and my african violet lights are to the left.
Grooming table:
Close up of mat..the petals are actually a felt type material and pretty soft! They come in all colors, search ebay if interested.:-)
The shot after editing in CS3(keep in mind if I had used a bounce flash-where you have an external flash unit that is pointed towards the celing, this bounces the light downward illuminating the subject the picture would be MUCH better), I just didn't this time so editing saved this picture from the trash-lol. I brightened the picture and improved contrast to give nice color. Final result:

"Delight thy self also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Psalm 37:4

The boys of 4KR

Much talk about Piper and Sophie lately, that I realized that the boys of 4 Kings Rabbitry haven't been mentioned much. So I decieded to break out the camera for some videos and shots of Delaney! He's a shy boy, still a little skittish and is finally growing some hair-you can see where he was bald from the mites, hair is growing back a darker color too.

Delaney doing his 360 degree two feet trick...LOL:
"May I have your attention Please."
His Holland Lop pose...
BigDaddy, doing what he does best...poopin and cleaning himself.;-)

Head development

Took some new pics of the girls last night, Piper needed a Sr. picture and well, miss Sophie has had some head development going on. grin*
Before:

After:

Here's their new pictures:

Piper, oh Piper

Took Piper out this morning and whatta ya know, her vulva is light pink! This is a GOOD sign that she took. She's not being a grouch at all, increased appetite won't kick in until the last couple of weeks so really we won't know anything until I palpate her on the 29th of this month. So far, I've had a 100% success rate on palpating my does at 10-13 days. *grin* I can't wait to see how many we should expect-I Really hope this won't be a big litter since this is her first time. I'd like only two kits. She's really developed into such a big girl, I think she'll be a fantastic brood doe.


Had to move everybody back in the house, the temps are rising again outside. I hope it cools down soon, the bunny barn cages are much larger than these indoor ones.

Hannah and Sophie...Bonded

They are so bonded, Marie and I joke that she'll probably never be a brood doe so nothing will happen to miss Sophie. Hannah just adores her!! They watch TV together and sometimes Hannah will sneak her into her room(she'll just go get her out of the cage all by herself-Ugh!). Heehee they'd sleep together if I let them. These two are Spoiled rotten!

Due Oct. 18th

Well, I've been fighting with Piper to set up and pose for me, but all she'll do is stretch out, raise that butt in the air and wiggle her tail. She is SO Badly wanting to be bred, if you didn't know what she was doing, you'd think her back was broken. Lol Anyway, her vulva was a deep red/purple and with one more week to go until she's senior I figured it wouldn't make a big difference if she was bred now.

She's due Oct. 18th to Big Daddy....hopefully....lol, that's another story. He has low libido so not really sure if he bred her or not. From my experience with the Hotots, you know when the buck is done-he grunts and falls off to the side. Well there was none of that. We'll see. I'm crossing my fingers!

BEW Netherland Dwarf Auction

Wow, I have always loved Amber Ross of Lone Star Rabbitry's barn set up and website. She has some incredible animals too! To me, she is one of those breeders I would love to become one day. Everything is so organized and clean. Each bunny is so well cared for that it shows on the show table. Anyway, the point I'm getting to is that she had a week long auction of some of her babies from 2008 and the grand total for the entire auction was $4,089.98!! Wow, what a statement about the high quality bunnies she produces. Every year, she usually takes BOV and BOSV at the conventions/nationals. Congratulations Amber! You are one excellent breeder!:-)

Her site: www.lonestarrabbitry.com

Thank You all...

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to thank everybody for the prayers and good thought wishes the past few days. It's bunny friends like you that keep me going. May you all have a blessed week! I'll get back to posting interesting bunny posts later on. Just a quick note, we've moved two of the four outside into the actuall bunny barn. So far so good!:-)

Rest in Peace Follie...

She passed away yesterday. It's been hard to be able to write this. I was really attatched to her. The vet wasn't able to look at the stool sample "since his generator broke". She just picked the wrong day and wrong time to get sick. I did everything I could with the help of my breeder friends(thanks to Timothy of TLR and Molly of Bleu's Woolies).

Won't be able to purchase any new stock now, I'm drained financially and emotionally. I hope Piper blesses us with little ones next month. I need some happiness back in the bunny barn.

"We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

She made it through the night....but...

she's still in bad shape. I took her to the vet today and he was able to get a stool sample. The vet clinic is still out of power so he had to look at her outside. I was told that he'll go take a look at the sample to see what is causing this by at least 5:00pm. I hope so, I don't know how much longer she can hang on without any meds. She's so thin and is in pain as teeth grinding is going on. Her life is pretty fragile right now...come on girl, you can beat this!

Quick Follie update...

Well, she's about the same. She hasn't had any more diarrhea since her cage clean this morning and it's likely because she hasn't had anything to eat to make diarrhea.

Thanks to TLR rabbitry, I was able to use the ORT formula recipie, which can be found here: http://www.thenaturetrail.com/Holland-Lops-and-Diarrhea.htm

I suspect she may have Coccidia and can get to a vet in the AM-hopefully. So she's not out of the woods yet by any means, I just pray she survives until in the morning.

Follie...prayers please

Well the hurricane came right through our county yesterday and last night. We lost power, the house was so hot and bunnies were all stressed out. This morning Follie isn't doing too well, she has severe diarrhea and refusing to eat or drink. I need prayers for her.


"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

Pictures! Finally...

Well, my new camera arrived yesterday. It's a point and shoot so the picture quality won't be as nice as my DSLR had. Here they are!

Big Daddy...ugh, don't even want to show his body-he's still molting.


Delaney-he won't pose, so I didn't even try. I didn't edit this pic so you can see where some patches of fur is coming back in a different color. He also has a bald spot below his eye. Still skittish when I try to get him out of the cage. I suspect he wasn't handled much.

Piper- She's a big girl now and finally Not shedding so I think she may have her senior coat in. Wish it were a little longer but she doesn't matt up at all and basically requires no grooming. I LOVE it that she's easy maintenance.

Follie- Her head wool is falling out, guess she's going to be molting soon.

Sophie- Was being a ugly when I took this. Tried to pose her and she nearly nipped me! Not sure why she's in a mood today...

We have another hurricane making it's way to us. They are predicting that the eye will pass right over our county. It's moving quickly so we're not worried about flooding as much as the wind damage. Power may go out so I may not post for a few days, hopefully it will all be fine though.
"Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee." Psalm 50:15

Meningitis

Oh the pain!! I went to the doctor today for my severe head/neck/back pain and was diagnosed with Meningitis. This will be short as the pain is constant and seems to be getting worse as I look at this screen.

Poor husband had to do evening feedings to all the buns tonight. I was asleep and when I woke up, he said, "Dear, I hope I didn't give them too much. They looked hungry." Ah..!! Oh well, I don't feel like dumping feeders and so they'll have an extra treat overnight and be happy fat buns in the morning.

Can't look up a verse tonight, it's back to bed for me.:-(

Updates!

I hate being so far behind! I feel like I haven't posted in a year. LOL What is worse is that I no longer have my camera. Ah!!! No worries though, I've got a new one ordered and should be here soon. I can't wait to take some new pictures of the bunnies to post. Alright, now for some updates!:-)

Big Daddy- Still molting...surely he's almost done-heehee. I'm really not too pleased with the way his body is, now that he's naked without wool. :-( I don't know, we'll get a litter out of him and then re-assess him for our breeding program.

Delaney- Love Love his compact, solid body. He's a shy boy, doesn't want to pose at all so he'll never go on the tables. Hope he produces nice kits next year! He's a sweetheart. Mite issue has been resolved!

Piper- Oh, she has become my heart bunny...lol. Now I love all of my bunnies but she has soooo much trust in me and even follows me around the house. I love her coat, head/ear. Wish she had smoother HQ's but she's broadened out quite a bit over the last month. Definately brood doe material!! **Set the breeding date to Big Daddy for Sept. 30th!!!** She'll be senior and with her being a pretty big girl now, I think she won't have any problems kindling. She's bigger than Big Daddy now.

Ice Follie- Wow! Lovely girl, so sweet too. I took her to my daughter's school last week and let the kids pet her. I felt like an actress with 30 paparazzis crowding in and pushing towards me just to pet miss Follie. She's famous now! Heehee!

Sophie- AKA "tv watcher". LOL, this rabbit LOVES TV!!! Hannah's best buddy and is now officially Hannah's rabbit that will never leave us. Can we say spoiled! Miss Sophie watches TV on a pillow with a blanket. Good grief.:-)

That's it for now! I'll have to post pictures soon. Also...the Youth Scholarship show is quickly approaching in november. Hannah wants to show Sophie and I'm going to try to get her to show Follie too. These girls need some showing exposure. Can't wait to hear what the judges think.

Have a blessed week!
"Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee." Psalm 50:17