Pumpkin carving!

Those on facebook have probably already see these but I wanted to share here too. Of all the designs, miss Hannah picked a bunny...an Hotot at that.;) Happy Fall Ya'll!

To all my friends going to Indy...

Have an AWESOME time!!! I wish each and every one of you the best of luck and safe travels there and back.

The morning of your show day, listen to Shania Twain's song, 'Today is your day'...



Good LUCK friends!

Growing up

The babies are growing daily. They are leaving that cute stage and starting to look like older baby rabbits. This litter has been a little different from the rest as they are the messiest, dirtiest bunch I've had. lol They will poop on each other and it gets matted in their hair and I've had to do a major clipping session on them. I've never seen anything like it. These pictures were taken after I cut it all out and I'm pretty surprised you can't see the gobs of hair missing! Oh well, they will be separated in a few weeks and no more pottying on siblings. ;)

Lec, again...

I love this little buck! Unfortunately he some digestive issues I'm still trying to figure out. Sometimes he has soft, large poops and other times they are normal. Recently he had some mucous stuff going on too. I can't figure him out! Took his official induction picture...even if he isn't added to the breeding herd I think I might keep him anyway.

Another one leaving me :-)

Sold a cute little junior buck today, yes the Belgian boy. He'll be going to a wonderful pet home this weekend. My cages were full a couple of weeks ago and now I have 5 empty holes! Good thing because the newest litter is showing so much promise. I love it when the pick of the litter is a DOE too. Its looking like I will have a full blood sister to Mack that will be staying. *snicker I really need nice gals and she is oh so lovely right now.:-) The best part is that they are all showable. I can't wait to post pictures of them posed. They'll be 4 weeks old tomorrow so another couple of weeks before the real evaluation.

Getting excited about Convention next week...NEXT WEEK...I'm so excited and I won't even be there!

babies and a Belgian?

Not much happening here lately, just have been incredibly busy with life outside of rabbits. So I just wanted to share a few pictures of some of the gang.

Babies!!...aren't they growing?


Lec...he has so much personality, him posing for me..."wait, get my good side!"


last but not least...I haven't looked at my older juniors in over a week and tonight I got them all out and did some evaluations. YIKES, what's this? A Belgian in a Hotot suit?! Those ears, that hare head...yeah help is on the way, my convention buck will be here soon.;-)

Lec

This is Lec...I'm thinking about calling him Hannibal...just kidding. He's a sweetie but terrified of people. I don't think he was ever handled and I will have to gain his trust slowly.

He was in a pretty yucky environment...hope to turn this around:


He is thin but has a pot belly so I wormed him today, maybe that will help along with a better diet.


Love his short stubby ears and head...those cheeks!

Whew.

Today was not fun, like last time it was definitely a big flop. :-( I've just about decided that the only way to enjoy the day is just have my daughter with me. My little boy was super hyper and very needy...my husband just didn't want to be there. Hannah loved it but she was cold so we didn't stay too long since the boys wanted to go to the zoo after we arrived this morning. The zoo was fun and neat to see, I think the kids really enjoyed it.

I sent my little pet doe on and hope that she'll be okay...she was a bit stressed out at the show. I picked up a new little buck or really traded for him. He is quite adorable. 'Lec' is his name...I'll have to get some pics tomorrow. He's in pretty bad shape, very thin, wormy probably, and has some coat stains but I bet I can make him handsome in a couple of months. <3

Show tomorrow!

Very excited to be going to a show tomorrow, even though we won't be showing. :-( Just not quite ready yet. Next year we'll give it a go. I'm hoping to pick up a new herd buck tomorrow, very excited to see him and hopefully bring him home.

The babies are growing so fast! Mom is getting a little annoyed with them, bless her heart, they just continually want to nurse and she has to hop in circles for them to leave her alone. Thinking about giving her a break from them and just take her to their cage for a once daily nursing session.

Countdown

I'm super Super excited to bring my new bunnies home from Convention. It will be like Christmas morning for sure. :-D Let the count down begin!!

Dreams

My assignment in my leadership course I am taking for my BSN degree was to watch a video of a lecture by Randy Pausch on childhood dreams. For those of you who have heard it, know what an inspiring speaker he was. I really have nothing to report today but will give these direct quotes from him to dwell on. You can either relate it to the hobby or not, you choose...

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

"'Brick walls' are there for a reason, they let us prove how badly we want things and show our dedication."

"Don't bail...the best gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap."

"Get a feedback loop and LISTEN to it."

"Don't complain, just work harder."

"Be good at something, it makes you valuable."

"Be prepared- Luck is where preparation meets opportunity."

Someone needed a bath...

The babies are sooooo cute! I love this age, they are always curious and sweet. Here's a quick video of them...sorry its dark/low quality. Someone apparently needed a bath in the corner. LOL



Time for a snack, then back to our nap...

Picture of the day

Nothing special to report, just wanted to share a cute baby picture. They are growing so fast! I think I will be keeping a doe and maybe a buck out of this litter...I'm so short on does at the moment.

Pictorial guide to DH type - Part 3

I love nice body type...ok I'm obsessed with it.;-) Here's the breakdown:

Body: 35 points

"The body should be short, compact, well rounded. The topline should have a gradual curve from the ear base to the highest point over the hips, then fall in a smooth curve to the base of the tail."

Nice compact doe:

Not so compact:


"It should be uniformly wide from shoulders to hips with well rounded hindquarters" (Faults: narrow shoulders, pinched hindquarter)

Decent width(still working on this in my herd):


This is narrow shoulders:


SEVERELY pinched hindquarters:


Long in the shoulder:


Short, very nice shoulders:

Other Disqualifications for this breed: Dewlaps, colored nails, any spots of color on the rabbit(should be purely white with only color in the eyebands of the animal, and spots or marbling in the eye.

Also posing...Not flat on the table and not like an ND, head should be 'up' just a bit like a Jersey Wooly.

No:


No:


Yes:


My herd buck, I think he should be the model for the standard-he really looks fabulous here and sums up very nice type. <3 br="">

Done! Now you know what to look for in a Dwarf Hotot.:-D

Baby Montage!

Okay, so I can't wait another day, just wanted to share a little montage I put together this evening.

Have a blessed weekend!!

Pictorial guide to DH type - Part 2

Head/Ears/Eyebands! This is the part of the rabbit I am really going to start focusing on in 2012 because frankly, my herd needs some improvement here.

**Click on images to make them larger**

Let's get started! I'll break down the standard description:

Head: 15 points

"The head should be bold..." (Faults: Long, narrow, flat head)


"...with good width between the eyes." (You don't want to see the eyeballs popping out, the standard doesn't say this but I've found that the rabbits with good width and a super nice rounded head do not show the eyes popping out from head on. You actually don't see the eyes at all because of the width that is desired.


"Muzzle should be well filled and round in all directions."(Faults: Pointed or weak muzzle)


Ears: 15 points

"Ears should be short, well furred and of good substance" (Faults: thin ears, little fur covering)


"Ears are to balance with head and body, erect but not necessarily touching, should be rounded at the tips" I don't really have a pictures to compare this but it is pretty self-explanatory. :) Here is a buck showing good ear carriage.


Disqualification: Ears over 2 3/4" or 2.75" long

Markings: 15 points

Check this post out: Eyeband descriptions/pictures

Basically the color should be dark, narrow but well defined and forming a complete outline of the eye. The ideal width is to be equal to the thickness of two pennies or 2 mm.

Faults include: irregular, very wide, drags(color drags back from the corner of the eye toward the neck), feathering(long black hair that is whispy-this is seen on the thick eyeband below, and white streaks or white hairs in the eyeband.


Disqualifications:

Incomplete eyebands:


Heavy feathering:


That's it in a nutshell! Tomorrow we'll look at body type...oh fun...

Pictorial guide to DH type - Part 1

Want to learn Dwarf Hotot type according to the ARBA standard? Pictures would help? You got it! I'm going to break this up in three parts, today will be the intro and then we will get into the thick of it tomorrow.

Dwarf Hotot type is fairly similar to Polish or any other compact breed. The breakdown of points go like this:

General Type: 65
Body: 35
Head: 15
Ears: 15

Fur: 10
Color: 5
Markings: 15
Condition: 5

Total: 100

So I've put in bold what we will focus on. Fur, color and condition are really "icing on the cake" and will post about rabbits in different stages of condition later on.

Here's how I break it down:

The body is 35 points and the head(head/ears/eyebands) are 45 points. So really in all essence the head area is worth more 'weight' in points than the body. Interesting!



Now to weights...
Seniors have a max weight of 3 pounds
Juniors have a minimum weight of 1.25(or 1 1/4) pounds but a max of 2.5 pounds

Junior made the weight!


Ideal DH weight:


So now that you have the breakdown of points, we'll focus on the head/ears/eyebands tomorrow!

Clamp Tattooing

Yesterday evening we tattooed the older babies. I used to use a tatt pen but I took way too long to get it right and they were so fidgety! Since we have started using the clamp it is soooo much easier and takes but a second. My husband clamps pretty hard, most of the time it goes through the ear which is a good thing, it is something I can't and won't do so he is the 'official clamp operator'. Lol! I usually put the ink on after the ear is clamped to make sure that the tatt is in the proper place and it went through the skin. Some people put the ink on before clamping. I'm not sure which is better but the first junior we clamped has a gorgeous, dark and readable tattoo so I guess it doesn't matter that much as long as you rub the ink in pretty well. Here is Katrina getting her tattoo done:



Or Click Here

Oh! Baby wipes get the ink off the ear and fingers amazingly well, especially the travel packs that have aloe vera in the wipes.;-)

Tomorrow's post: Pictorial guide to DH type, Part 1

Posing

So I felt the need to post something else today instead of a rant...although I think the rant was needed. Lol! So, I'll answer a question I got in an email several weeks ago, "Why do you have your hand on the rabbits head in the picture? I can't see the eyebands." The answer is this, most of the ones I have my hands on either aren't trained to pose or are babies in training. I've found that by working daily with posing on my juniors that they tend to be still and 'set up' on their own as they are older. I actually have my pinkie finger under their chin to keep them from 'hugging' the table. So its not just my hand on top of their head, its supporting it in the correct position. I should do a video of posing the DH...will be a post for another day.:-)

Here's how I train them:


Here's my older baby that is trained, she poses correctly and keeps her head in the right position-not on the table and not like an ND.


This doe is not trained and fights me to pose her-see how her poor position makes her look flat and long. She actually has 4 GC legs and has depth, very nice gal but you wouldn't ever know with the picture.


Tomorrow's post: Tattooing!

just a rant...

I'm a little peeved at the moment and really shouldn't be on this nice October morning. Sellers please, when you are selling an animal please respond to the paid buyer in a timely manner. I know life is crazy but can you just send a little note like, "I'll get back with you later" or something...anything?! Don't leave the buyer hanging...for days, weeks! I have purchased 3 animals at convention and my checks have cleared but I'm not getting responses from a couple of them. If it were ME as the seller I would be on top of things, respond in a timely manner and let them know when their check arrived, cleared, and how their animal was doing. I would get the info they asked to give the transporter to them ASAP as well as the pedigree. Seriously, its been a span of a month and a half and I still don't have any of the above from my 2 of my sellers after asking and following up.

OK, rant over, here's to a better day ahead! *deep breath* *let it out* :-)

Cleaning Time-lapse

Today was cleaning day and I thought it would be fun to do a time-lapse. Forgive my looks...lol! What looks like only a few seconds is actually several minutes and pan changes are only half of the cleaning. I scrub walls, sweep, mop, and fill water bottles. ;) Oh what I do for these bouncing bunnies!

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We're Growing

Okay...so my sister is right....I'm running out of space and I told her I wouldn't. Heehee! But isn't that a good thing? I will be getting two new bucks this evening, didn't expect it but a friend of mine is having to move and has decided to get out of her hotots. I can imagine it was a tough decision for her to make but I am honored to be asked if I would take them. So for the first time ever, my cages will be full-max. capacity. This doesn't help the fact that I have 4 in the nestbox and picking up 2 at Convention. So, yes, there will be a sale list at Alexandria in a couple of weeks. :-D

Just wanted to share pics of my 6 weekers- Charlie, Carter, Kasen and Katrina!

Blogtober

It's October! Thought this day would never come with the brutal summer we've had. I am so very thankful for the cooler temperatures and I know the bunnies are too. Here's what the temperature is looking like at the moment....



The 'In' is the house temp and the 'Out' is the bunny barn-yep a 20 degree difference! My husband says that there is something wrong with this pictures since he is always hot and the bunnies are just right. lol The amazing part is that it's actually 64 degrees outside and with the barn being 10 degrees cooler I take that as job well done on insulating. Heehee!

The clock/temp gauge in the barn(the clock is off):



Aviva literally trying to fall out to me-she loves being held and doted on....<3



XEO and his big cheeks...he's a handful but I love him still.



Blogtober....for those wondering, I have been challenged to blog every day (or just about) for the month of October.:-) Its a challenge but I'm up to it! Have a wonderful weekend everyone. For those showing, best of luck to you!!!