Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Thoughts

Babies are nibbling hay now and were evicted from their nestbox today. It will be pretty warm in the next few days (upper 70's) so I think they'll be just fine.




Just some thoughts, I see a lot of backstabbing and gossip going around in the rabbit world, this is nothing new for those who don't know. I saw this picture on the back of one of my son's school books that was sent home today. With all the drama in some of the rabbit groups on facebook, I felt the need to post this. Since none of them probably read my blog, I guess its just a simple reminder to myself. "The mouths of fools are their ruin; their lips get them into trouble." Proverbs 18:7

Monday, January 30, 2012

Hannah's Mini Lop pet

Hannah has wanted a lop for a while, but we waited because I didn't want to pay $75 for a holland that was going to be a pet. Well while doing a search on craigslist I found a mini lop buck that someone was giving away because he wasn't a baby anymore. I thought he was pretty cute and of course my daughter fell in love so we went to get him yesterday. Wow, he's Huge!!

Well today I got him out for Hannah and he sliced my finger pretty good. Blood was going everywhere, Hannah started crying and the rabbit was so big I couldn't grab him to flip him over and put him in the cage. It was chaos. lol One thing for sure....I'll tell the world...my thoughts of raising a meat breed or any breed over 6 pounds will not happen. I'll admire the big ones in pictures as I just can't physically handle the big breeds. As for Hannah she'll still keep her pet and is okay with Daddy getting him out for head rubs. ;-)


Sunday, January 29, 2012

What's in your Binder?

With rabbitry software programs like Evans and kintracks, its still good practice to have a rabbitry binder with paper copies of everything. Below you'll find a pictorial guide to what's in my binder. Don't forget to visit the link at the very bottom of the post to print out all of my templates for your binder. :-)



Cover page-great place to keep membership cards too.


Business cards behind the cover page-


Breed standard is a must ;-)


Breed info pamphlets, I hand these out at shows sometimes.


31 day Gestation chart-


Breeding Chart on left-this is great to see how old your babies will be for the show if you breed on such and such date. On the right, membership applications! Sometimes I'll give out applications to the ARBA, breed club and our local clubs. Be sure to write your name on the 'Recommended by' spot.;-)


On the left-little tid bits I've learned from experience, when something comes up, just jot it down. On the right, the de-worming schedule.


Close up of de-worming schedule-


Buck's pedigree section-


Doe's pedigree section-


Show Records-What better to do than fill out some show records while your waiting at the show. This really is optional but I like to look at how my rabbits did in their classes. I especially like to write down the # in the class and their placement. It can go with them when they are sold too.



Breeding record-if you have Evans, you're probably already doing this and even if you are, its always best to have a paper copy of your records. I only complete records on my does.



Sales Records- This is great to keep a record of who purchases your rabbits. That way you can follow up with them or if you wonder who went to who, how much sales you are grossing, ect. I have blocked the owners contact info and their payments for their protection but you could write either phone numbers or email addresses.



You can find ALL of my printable rabbitry documents at: http://4kingsrabbitry.weebly.com/rabbitry-documents.html or CLICK HERE

Now get those binders organized and looking great! ;-)

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Baby updates

This week has been rough.I didn't think I could go a week without blogging but mulling over the decision to move to another state and homeschool the kids has been on my mind all week. Our family is still undecided what to do but I'm sure it will all work out in time.

The babies are doing Great! Growing and growing is a very good thing. One of the boys in the older litter will be going to his new home tomorrow and the other little guy is leaving next weekend. Holly has grown a bit but still itty bitty compared to her brothers.


Birth Certificates for my pet babies that are sold, I always include a breed pamphlet and my card with feeding instructions on the back.



Amelia's babies are soooo cute! One doe, one buck, they are both show marked too.



Aviva and Leah palpated positive so we'll have Valentine babies pretty soon! Elsa is looking for a retirement/pet home. If you know of a saint, please send them my way.;-)

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Last leg of the race...

In 4 months I will graduate with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Texas A&M, but before I have that diploma in hand, I have to clear the hurdle of my final semester. Wow, am I feeling swamped right now! These last two courses involve lots of paper writing and research. I will probably not be blogging much in the next couple of months. I really hate that because I recently joined a blogging network but I know I'll be able to meet their requirement for blogging at least a couple times during the month. Just won't be on a daily basis I know for sure as my head will be in the books from here on out.

RN to BSN, here I come...


Baby doe doing what I should be doing, burying my nose in that text!

Friday, January 20, 2012

School Presentation

Today we were invited to come speak for a kindergarten class about my Dwarf Hotots. It was so much fun! They got an English lesson(how to say 'Hotot' correctly and what Dwarf means), a science lesson(show how a doe makes her nest, when babies open their eyes, why they all look the same and tell me which baby has the dwarf gene) and even a little math was thrown in there as the kids got to read ear numbers.;-)

Aviva and the crew of babies ready to go...


Me showing the 9 day old babies:


Older babies...they all knew which one had the dwarf gene-HAHA!


Aviva was a pro, after the presentation all of the kids crowded around and poked and prodded, she took it all in stride. An absolute sweetie:-)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Babies in the bathroom

Well I have babies in the bathroom who need to go to the bathroom without assistance....that was a mouth-full! They say you learn something new everyday and indeed I did today. Apparently Amelia hasn't been cleaning her little ones since birth. I did not know to watch for this on a daily basis and now the problem has really spiraled into something that will take a while to heal. The babies have pits inside their anal opening due to the feces/blood build up at the opening. Poor little ones, I know it hurts but now I will have to remove the buildup carefully until its healed...which may be a while.


Warning, the pics are graphic.
Before cleaning-opening completely sealed, hard.
Pic 1
After cleaning, a hollow pit, like a cup...OUCH.
Pic 1
Pic 2

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Faders

Unfortunately I lost one of my older babies yesterday. :-( Her bun mom was anticipating her arrival so much it was heartbreaking to let them know she didn't make it. This baby was the same size as all of the others last Monday, acting completely normal and just starting to try solids. Wednesday I notice that she is less active, not really digging into the food bowl like the others and seems standoff-ish. By Friday it was very obvious this baby had stopped growing a week ago and was very thin, refused to nurse or eat and was sitting by itself in the corner. I knew the outcome of this baby, it was clear she was a fader. Saturday morning she started to have some diarrhea and was pale in color, had dusky gums and by this point it was only humane to put her down and end the suffering.

More information about faders can be found on The Nature Trail site here: Click Here

She had stopped growing several days ago, RIP little one...


The other babies are thriving...


Molty to Gorgeous in 3 weeks

Thanks to Tiffany of Rustic Rabbitry, her molt busting tip has made BOJ's 57 look amazing in less than 3 weeks!! Just in time for next month's show! This is the rabbit who had bald spots on his back and was dragging loose hair behind him. He looked like a doe that pulled hair without a nestbox.;-)

So, her molt busting tip? Feed 1/2 part calf manna and 1/2 part pellets. I usually give a few pellets of calf manna but giving him half and half really did the trick.

Before:



After (This is about 3 weeks after the above photo was taken):

He grew all his hair back!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Aviva

I'm so thankful and grateful to say that she has passed the stuck kit last night!! It was very large and 4 inches long, very stretched and mangled. With her being a first time mom and very tiny-1.75 pounds, her risk for having stuck kits were high. She will probably do better with the next litter but I'm not ready for that. She is so sweet and laid back, I think she would make a great showmanship bun for my daughter, Hannah. Plus her tiny size is perfect for little hands. Thank you Lord for letting her stay with us. I am sooo thankful for all my friends who gave encouragement and prayers too.
Aviva exhausted from laboring all day...


Also.....Amelia has starting feeding her babies...YAY!! I just decided that it was out of my control and whatever happened I was okay about it. Thankfully her mommy instincts have kicked in and babies look great now.

"See...I could do it, the mom thing...my human slave has no faith" She looks so snobby in this pic...HAHA

Tomorrow's post will be interesting...I will have before and after pics of a molt-busting secret. My buck went from bald spots to show table beauty in 3 weeks!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Taking a break.

The last two days have not be good at the rabbitry. Amelia isn't feeding her kits, Elsa had 3 stillborn babies, and Aviva is not doing well. She has a stuck kit despite very strong contractions that literally take her breath away. She is pushing to the point of fatigue and I will be devastated if I loose this doe, she is my baby.

So I need a break, from everything rabbits right now. ((hugs)) to my friends who have given me advice for Aviva. I appreciate it so much.

~Lindsey

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Amelia's babies

Amelia had her litter last night, unfortunately she has yet to feed them and they are almost 24 hours old. I think she is just unsure as to what to do with them. She had three babies, one was a peanut but the other two are black banded.


Elsa surprised me by having a peanut on the wire, she has more babies inside but will probably hold out until her due date. Aviva may go past hers...

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Baby time!

Well its a bustling maternity ward at 4kr! 3 does due in 3 days and I'm sure I won't get much sleep.


Amelia has finally got the hint that its almost time and was fixing her messy nest this morning...it looks like she's preparing for eggs....LOL! Silly doe!!


Elsa glad to finally have her box, the first timers got theirs early. She knows what time it is.


Holly thought she'd be cute and be the center of attention this morning...


But it didn't last long, sister thought she'd just use her head as a step stool...