Snow flakes

So photo's finally got a chance today. Thankfully it only lightly started snowing when I got to it. Each bunny had a one minute tops photo shoot, so do not expect any great photography skills taking place here. My camera does best in outdoor light (only way I keep it from looking very blurry) but it's A) too cold for me and the bunnies and B) either lack of daylight or good weather to really ever get to photo's in my spare time. Alas, I got some..and they are adorable!

The following bunnies are all bucks, and .....all available. I did a bunny search last night, since I've had some lovely people inquire to me for bunnies and came up with this little group. I'm not in the business of selling bunnies or anything, in fact I love all of these too! But when lovely homes come along and if I can give them a fantastic match, then I feel that's best. No matter how much I love them all here, I can't give them a full families worth of attention each. :) Anyhow... onto the bunnies!

This first little guy here, is well..kinda shy. He opens up, no worries there. He's a really cutie patootie also. His head is starting to mature and oh my goodness, I just want to kiss his cheeks. He's a lovely chunky monkey in body style and just all over a beautiful little rabbit. I am keeping his brother (expect to see photo's of him in a post soon too!) so I decided to let him go. His mom is one of my lovely old gals, Althea. His sire is Belkin. Just a super little mix and a really cute little bunny. He'll mature nicely to a good three pounds (he loves food and he's pudgy right now), but he's small and will continue to mature and fill out into a very pretty bunny.





This second little guy, is Mr. Lap bunbun. He's, well...very reserved. He enjoys being petted but is not highly into exploring and forgetting about you. He would rather munch on fruit puffs and sit in your lap all day long. Because of that, my short photo session was a flop. He kept trying to come on the chair and back to safety. Poor little guy. He needs a really loving and calm home I think, he would just adore that. He's also pretty small, well under three pounds. His half butterfly or mustache adds to the cuteness factor. He's a mix of bloodlines, but his sire is EP and he shares many of EP's cute qualities.



Next up is Tiny Timmie.. maybe? Timmie isn't a really cute name but oh well, for today...he's Timmie. Timmie here is eight weeks old and just looks downright silly next to these slightly older boys. He's gangly..and well...silly looking in general. He's such a cutie though! I know exactly what he'll look like, but it's a little hard to see it right now unless you watch these bunnies do this (yep, they all get a little goofy looking at this age, which is why...I normally don't photograph them when they are this old..hehe). Timmie here is tiny! I can sit him in my hand. He's be pretty small grown up too but he's a pudgy little guy. Look how fat and round his head is! Oh my! And his body is like a softball. So cute...


I saved the best for last... a fuzzy Holland. Honestly he's only available because I do not have enough time to seriously brush him weekly and it is just not fair of me. I'd name him Chewy, for lack of a better name but I'm gonna go with dust bunny right now. Basically, yes...he's not named either (if I name them, then I have serious issues letting them go..figures). Fluffy here is just so freaking cute! He needs to be brushed about twice a week for an hour or so. His angora fur picks up hay, dust, whatever your feet dropped when you walked in the door... so basically he's a bunny Swiffer. He's honkin' cute though. His daddy is Posidian, and his momma is Molly. He's a beautiful little mix up (the fuzzy gene is a whoopie show up gene...so I didn't plan on a fuzzy, but got one...he's awfully cute none the less). He's maturing really nice and I feel temped to snap little barrettes and bows on him... I might do it. He loves people too! He's really friendly and social, which is awesome. He looks a lot bigger than he his, mostly due to the 2"+ of fluff he's carting around on him. His feet have extra fluff too, so it makes me laugh when I see the fuzz sticking out from between his toes.. he sleeps on his belly, back and sides...he's sometimes lazy but will explore if given the chance. Can you tell I like him? We have play time a lot, but I'm bumming over the fact he really needs more. Aw shucks though... he's available only to an adult or young adult owner...that will brush him and love him and pretty much assure me they will spoil him (well same for all my bunnies, they all need spoiling but you get the idea).

Winter bunnies

Ah, it has been a heck of a long time since I've been able to do anything with my website or blog. I'm so sorry. Bunny happenings have been very slow here, no breedings or anything of the like. The bunnies on my sale page, well the little broken doe is living with my friend and the others..well are either sold or ended up staying here anyways. Mabel is my baby of course now, I adore her. She's just soo darn cute!

Anyhow, back to rabbitry stuff. Since molting season is pretty much over I've been powerwashing the cages each day. It is a little too cold for it and it takes me about an hour a stack to really clean them well but it needs to be done.

I've been weaning some juniors and trying to go over some of the others and see if there are any I can part with. I came up with one to find a new home for today and another I'm edgy on. Both junior bucks. Very cute.

First up is the little guy I'm undecided about. He's a small little buck but I think he has quite a bit of potential if I'm right about him. His head is developing a little slowly, which might be part of my reasoning for maybe letting him go. Although I'm not sure yet, if you may be interested in him, let me know (might help sway me anyways! hehe).


He's overall a nicely balanced boy for being so small. A cute little solid tortoiseshell. His head I think will widen quite a bit with age, so that's not really a worry of mine. His bone is good and his shoulder short, although maybe his headset is a tad tiny low. He's Saynora, FRR and Pitney bloodlines.. a good mix of the countries top completing lines.


He's just finishing up his junior/fall molt, so his coat looks a little rough on the side. Yikes..sorry about that. I just wanted to get his photo's today but you can see below near his shoulder his molting fuzz. hehe. On the plus side he has a nice thick coat too boot.


Second up is the guy I will be posting as available (he is available if you read this and like him, email me, as it may take a couple of days before I get to my website updates). He is ready to go now.

He is an adorable broken tortoiseshell. His dam was from Saynora rabbitry and his sire is FRR and Pitney lines from a rabbitry in WA. Cute cross of top bloodlines in the country. He is available as a pet only to an indoor loving home of course. He is not available a a breeding buck, I'd like him to go to a wonderful home to be spoiled.


He's very well balanced and a beautiful bunny. His head is just starting to come in, and as you can see in the middle photo, it has wonderful shape and is just a fantastic bold and CUTE head. Overall great bone, good substance and cute as a button. He's a small buck, probably only going to mature at about three pounds. He's very inquisitive and loves to explore. He's friendly but a little shy when you first meet him, no worries though as he warms up quick and will jump all over you and hang out for some Cheerios's or applepuffs if you're willing to give in to him.


Other rabbitry news. I finally switched to ANOTHER feed, after three switches since the deadly Manna pro, I've finally settled for a while on one I like and helped create...still fine tuning and adding my own to it though. We'll see. The bunnies are doing better and several are back in condition, just some left to work on. The get to run in puppy pens and move around gaining muscle.

Lots of other bunny options and rabbitry ideas are spinning in my head of course, but time and funding will denote which if any of those get done..oh my.

Bunnies... hats...

Yes.. Strawberry Shortcake hats fit on bunnies so perfectly! This is little Chiyo, whom loves the little hat very much! Chiyo is a 6 month old little doe that I love to pieces. Isn't she darling?

Aneko here though, is not happy about hats...she just wasn't very happy about the entire ordeal. It's okay though, she's still very cute and was very kind to put up with this. Aneko is a five month old little and really is turning into a stunning little doe as well.

Sometimes ungreat events lead to great results

It has been a long time since I have actually been able to update, and you can probably thank the cold weather for that right now. I have a nerve disease that leads to my circulation being very bad when it is not about 85 degrees outside. Couple that with the dampness, and I'm pretty much stunk inside, outside of my barn chores. I can not even ride a horse even. I went out this morning, in a hat, gloves, long socks, jeans and coat. It's really quite funny, I would enjoy laughing at myself over it, except I remember the fact that four years ago I loved the winter and cold weather.

Although this isn't really a post about my health, I thought I might mention it a bit. One of my greatest reasons for breeding my bunnies for fantastic personalities, is because of my physical condition. I was in a life threatening accident three and a half years ago. I was in a trauma unit for weeks. I results in cracking my skull, braking five vertibrae and many many other issues (a bonus also being I severed all the nerves in my left ear, not only can I not hear out of it, I have constant ringing..like when you go to a concert your ears hurt and ring..mine doesn't go away though). My basic point is that a lot can happen to someone. I had a very long recovery and my doctors tell me I won't know the extremes of my injuries for another five to six years yet.

While I was recovering (I could not walk or move much for several months), it about the time I realized how much I needed to cuddle and love my bunnies. And although at the time, I already had been breeding for good temperaments, this is when I started to really want and have a goal towards producing super house bunnies. The bunnies were a huge part of my recovery. I always had a bunny with me on my bed. They slept and cuddled with me. It was fantastic!

When I was in highschool I would take naps after school on my bed and my lovely little ruby eyed white Holland doe, named Kissakei, would sleep next to me. I wanted to return to that. I had gotten so hyped about six years ago about breeding for color and show type that I lost a better goal of breeding for a loving animal as well.

I always kept a good eye on personality in my bunnies and refused to breed overly hyper or territorial bunnies but I've since just been fine tuning things even more. And I'm so very happy to have gotten as far as I have. In fact, it is a huge part of why I have such trouble letting my babies go. ^___^

I think it is fantastic, but there are some downsides. I've relapsed and been in the hospital several times since my accident and my bunnies, although cared for and all at home, do not get much attention when I'm not here or able to be with them. I've since been a-okay for over a year now, but it is a little scary knowing my brain might just pull a fast one on me. I also have to me careful to not hit my head, since even small bumps can cause issues. In fact if I hit it hard enough I may not wake up the next time...which may be a problem. hehe.

I just wanted to write a little bit about me, so whomever reading this can understand why I've become so worried with personality and why in the past on my own blog I really posted about how upset I was about people just breeding for the sake of breeding and not having good goals for the breed. These little bunnies helped me to heal and stay sane, to which I really owe them so much more and I really want other people to feel how important and how loved these little bunnies should be.

Personality is just one part of course, I still am breeding strongly for beautiful show quality animals, with lots of cuteness of course too! You will see however, that I am not what many people call a "color" breeder. Color happens here mostly by default, if at all. Bunny color genetics are easy (I'm happy to answer any questions one may have). I've probably had every colored Holland lop in the last 15 years and I'm just not interested in color, since I do not believe the color makes the bunny. The mind and type do. :)

Picking rocks

I've been temping to create just a single farm blog, as most of my daily life seems to involve something more to do with farming at this time. But we'll see, for the most part things are smooth sailing here. Last Sunday, my Dell laptop, with everything I had on it, kicked the bucket. It was a birthday gift from my brother three years ago, but it's untimely death was not terribly welcome. Because I'm become so completely dependent on a computer I was in bad shape. Not only had I lost all my files, but I lost my emails and all contacts, which was hard. I know I had several bunny replies to send and follow up on, and I've been trying to find them all but I'm having trouble of course.

Anyhow, a bright light to everything was I found a new computer. Walmart (of all places) had a decent Toshiba laptop on sale, that very Sunday. Each store was given a handful or two to sell as a promotional event, and my local Walmart (Ware) I guess had no one interested in them that morning. So at 7pm, I made the goofy drive to the store and purchased it. It's nothing fancy, no major bells or whistles but I just need something that works for email, web and website silliness. So hooray!

Bunnies are currently doing quite well. We had a lot of storms this past week so no bunnies went outside in puppy pens to munch on fresh grass and get a good romp, but they are pretty happy I think. Yesterday I sold some of my very beloved bunnies to a friend breeder, it was really hard to see them leave and it's hard to be in the rabbitry and realize they are not there, but I know that once I sort out some larger animal time commitments, that I'll be able to devote more time to bunnies. Right now, I just can't devote enough love and time to everyone and it makes me feel bad. I love petting and playing with them and just hanging out watching them, but horses have really taken over. This is the soul reason why I have many bunnies listed for sale, granted they will only be going to very loving homes I approve of.

After the horrible feed issue of last month, I finally have a couple of babies in the rabbitry! Three litters were born this past week, and although their timing is not great, they are beautiful babies and I hope they all grow up happy and healthy! Crossing fingers here. Holland lops are extremely hard to raise sometimes and rabbits in general are just very fragile creatures. Although they have a high mortality rate, mine tend to do pretty good, but I always hope for a little help from some higher power to make sure they thrive and grow up happy. Now its only a handful of babies but it really lifted my spirit none the less.

The feed company is still "looking into" the feed lots and problems. I somewhat feel they are just hoping I forget about it or let it go. I guess I also feel frustrated as other people that had issues with the feed, did nothing. They did not call and report, they just moved on. It makes me wonder if anyone else even bothered to report it, so the company really has little to fuss over with one breeder nipping at their heels once and a while. Quite a bummer, but I'm learning to move on. I plan to rebreed the parents of that beautiful otter buck I lost (see his photo's on a blog post from last month).

I had a bunny I was bunny sitting go home recently. His owner also adopted another bunny as well. I feel stupid over the entire ordeal though. His owner is having some money issue (college students...I feel the pain too!) so I told her it was okay to pay me at a later time for the bunny and also watching her other bunbun while she was away. She also borrowed two carriers for the ride home. I've not heard from her since.... and I'm a little boggled. She was a lovely girl that called me nearly weekly, if not several times a week about her bunbun and other things. She said she'd call me that evening or the day after. I guess I'm just sad. I feel a little taken advantage of as well.

Granted it's not the first time. I've been listing extra horse supplies and collectibles on craigslist recently (and likely ebay soon...yikes) to try and make some of the funding for my horses veterinary bills. I've had people come and try to swindle deals at me and normal under pressure I cower and just agree. Confrontation of any sort is just not my specialty.

On another note, horses are pretty depressing when it comes down to the basics of it. I bought two breeding's last year for two mares (before the economy went into the bucket). One of the mares has been the very ill mare, the other mare refuses to develop a nice follicle and ovulate at all. After several hundreds of dollars on trying to get the mare with a good follicle, we've reach an end point, it's not happening. No matter the medications or anything, just nothing is going quite right. The breeder has said I can move the breeding's to next year, but the costs of doing that alone is another $500. Basically, it means I spent a few thousands dollars and will be expecting no babies next year and no chance of even thinking of making it back. I know horses do not make money, but it is not suppose to get worse and more difficult each year.

To my original title, if I had some powers to create anything right now, it would be a rock eating critter. Something cute with an uncanny taste for granite and slate. Either that or a school bus load of kids whom collect rocks. I spent the better part of the afternoon clearing a 10' x 12' area of rocks. And not just the handful or larger size, the small ones too. Because although the horses (and people) trip over the bigger ones, the small ones get stuck in shoes and hooves.

It's only 4pm and it means my short brake is over, so hi-ho its back to rock moving I go. :)

Massively behind on updates

Oh my gosh things have just been crazy here. It is coming closer to the end of equine breeding season, so things are all in a rumple trying to get a couple of mares fully ready to go and bred AI to a couple of stallions in the southern states. It's a fine balance of trying to catch the mares folicials at the right time and getting the stallions shipment here in time. It's not a quick and easy process in the least.

I'm also facing a scare with a mare with some major gastro upsets. We're started her on an ulcer medication this week, as all her blood panels and physicals have everyone stumped. Everything is normal and well, besides her insides being gassy. And though owning horses is expensive, it becomes particularly more stressful when a few thousand in unplanned veterinary bills pops up on the radar. It's pretty much a fact of life, we love our animals but sometimes extra care and emergencies happen.

Back to the bunny front, things have been alright here, although they could have been perfect. I did have some major issues with a brand of feed I had been using for the last two years. I switched feeds after several bunnies started to not look well, in fact I lost a great deal of youngsters because of the contaminated feed. I have calls into the company and feed samples from the bad batch sent. It's somewhat of a fruitless effort but should be done. Many of these feed mills for different companies process many types of animal feeds in the same machines. If the machines are not cleaned properly between types of feeds, mixes can be made. There is also a chance of inferior or contaminated ingredients being used.

Playing with the rabbits recently has been on the back burner. I've mostly been checking them and giving a few pats before focusing myself back on the horse barn. Its been painful to see the bunnies after having some pass away. I lost the beautiful little otter buck I posted on this blog a few weeks ago. He was one of my pride and joys. I plan to rebreed his parents once everyone is back up to snuff. In some ways, I wish I could have done more to prevent something like this. After raising these rabbits for fifteen years, every three to five years I run into a bad feed lot with the brand I am feeding. It's tough, and the feed companies offer little sympathy. I think they tend to focus on the fact I'm a breeder and not on the fact that I love my animals dearly and this just isn't right. I think it also is related to it being rabbit food and in their eyes, not a extreme investment in the first place.

I know this because recently I opened a bag of my horse feed (completely different company mind you, one that actually only mills equine feed) the bag had some odd looking chunks in it, which ended up being not well ground beat pulp. Not a huge issue but enough that a horse could possible choke or that the amount of water needed to fill the beat pulp could lead a horse to colic/impaction. (When horses are fed beat pulp it is soaked in water, as the pulp absorbs a great deal of water , great stuff, but if it is fed dry you risk making the horse quite ill when the digestive tract slows to a halt without the movement of fluids and the amount of space the swelled beat pulp takes up). Anyhow, the company flat out told me they had a problem with their supplier for beat pulp and have since cut off business with them. They then over nighted me a bag from a different one of their mills. Then also sent my local store two more bags for me to pick up, until they get the supply in the store restocked with non chunky beat pulp feed. They were nice and understood it wasn't just a empty concern. It is possible my tummy upset mare I wrote about above may have her problem due to the possibly chunky beat pulp feed, but we're pretty sure it's not the feed. I was impressed and confident with McCaulley's feeds for their response and actions. The rabbit food company on the other hand, not on my good list. It's a big name in animal feed and plan not to disclose it until I have things settled out with them. However, I can say they have an extreme amount of recalls on all feeds for other animals (from household to farm). So, in the mean time, I've opted for a feed made locally, by actually, some farmers I've met in passing and that are known by my boyfriend. I have been purchasing it from the mill, but feel better knowing where the ingredients are from and where it was made, because if I have any sort of problem I can be at their doorstep too boot. hehe.

On a more important note I suppose, breeding season for bunnies has halted here. With the bad feed, any does I had bred, aborted early (major issue I had with the bad feed). I am waiting to rebreed any bunnies until they have been on the new feed for at least two months. This means no babies until the fall, which is pretty depressing for me. It's better for the bunnies to wait though. I have some really fantastic juniors though, so I'm hoping that something in there will be nice.

Mean while, I'll be needing to go through the herd for downsizing possibilities. Because I keep so many of my litters, I've hit a road block of having, well....too many bunnies. And no it's not impossible to have too many. I feel it's too many when I do not get to spend time and love for each bunny. So a major downsizing will need to come into play. Of course, it couldn't hurt for my veterinary budget either at this point.

Other things keeping me overly busy.... opening a small business of selling gourmet dog treats. I love to bake and love making fabulous little treats for puppies, which have been well approved by many doggies to date. I've also been playing with the idea of making kitty treats and possibly adding bunny treats to the list as well (I've always made them, but perhaps there is a market for them?). In my lack of spare time, I fantasize about learning to crochet. I have the books, the hooks, the yarn....and patterns but no time. Someday...it will happen. Till then, my dream.. is well a dream.

I've also dabbled with painting and drawing once again. I did portraits in college of animals and such, and would like to get back into the idea of doing so. I think with the economy the way it is, that many of my joys and passions are really just not probable, as individuals are not really focusing on the "extras" in life right now. I know, I'm the same. I've become quite a penny pincher in some ways, although I'm going to brake my rule and give myself a treat. I'm going to watch a afternoon showing of Wall-E. It just looks so cute and I don't want to wait for it to come out on DVD right now.

Give your bunnies all a big hug and a kiss on the nose, and horses too. ^__^

Silly blogging

Oh gosh. I've become an addict in my search for replacing my old toys. If you're reading this... please let me know if anyone will part with their older toys. hehe. I lost several of my toys in a move and to our basement flooding when I was younger and have recently been trying to find them at Thrift shops and tag sales, with little to no luck. Although I did score a really cute Strawberry Shortcake juice glass this morning! I just love it! Forgive me though, as my search has limited my website updates and my email replies a little bit as well. I'm just a little over zealous in my search right now and hoping maybe someone will read this that has them.

Of course, I am happy to pay for them or...even trade bunnies! Or other things (I bake gourmet dog treats and make lots of other little things for animals. Heck, I have lots of horse stuff too! Mostly new items, but thats another story. I have a mini tack shop in my house by default from my buying habits the last few years). Anyhow... I guess this is a plea, to hope in finding some older toys. So please forgive me for being so off topic and needy. I think with the current economy and worries I've just been taken in trying to find the nostalgia and innocents of my childhood.

So, I beg anyone that is willing to part with them to please let me know. I'm looking for anything to has to do with these, from dolls, plush, toys, cookware, dishes, books, video...you name it! :)

Late 70's to early 90's toys: Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Herself the Elf, Rose Petal Place, Charmkins, Care Bears, She-Ra (Princess of Power), Moondreamers and Glo Worms. Maybe even some Holly Hobbie or other 80's characters that are not ringing a bell right now.

90's to 2000's: Cardcaptor, Hamtaro, and Sailormoon.

Long list huh? I know.. I'm asking a lot but I'll cross my fingers. :) Thanks so much and next post will be back to bunnies of course. And to make this bunny related, I had a fantastic new owner take some an adorable little doe yesterday, which really overjoyed me that the little doe went to such a fantastic house bunny home! Hoor-ay for awesome owners!

Never enough... hours that is

Time becomes more and more of a special ..well gift in our life. I can not remember right now the last time I sat down for a meal without rushing through so I could run off to get something done. Worse yet, I mostly eat while on the go. I'm trying my best to slow things down, but my gosh...sometimes things just get really difficult.

Bunnies do however, add lots of stress relief. I smile EVERY day I see my bunnies and kiss them on the nose and cuddle them. I'm hoping that everyone has the same reaction to them. I enjoy hanging out with my little bunnies and just petting them can be enough. Right now, I have a little doe, actually one I just posted for sale, sitting next to me. She's actually snoozing, with her hind feet kicked out and her front legs stretched out with her head between them. I wish my camera was within reach, because it would be a cute photo, but alas, I'll have to leave some cute idea images in your mind for now.

This is one of my up and coming stars, a little black otter buck. I just... love him! His overall balance and type look great already but his personality is just as nice too.

One of the most pleasing parts of my breeding program has been because of my focus on personality. I just love it when I end up with an extremely friendly baby, one that will follow you all over the place and sit on your feet, but as an overall, every single one of my babies has been downright.... fantastic! I'm so happy to have so many friendly and cuddly bunnies. I'm overjoyed when I receive updates from owners or even when I hear people visiting and seeing my bunnies, how they are just amazed at their personalities. My bunnies will sit in laps, be petted, be picked up and ...it makes me giggle a bit now. I've not had any of my bunnies bite me, so I think sometimes when people ask me if they do, or tell me when either a past bunny or their other house bunny nips them, I feel a little odd, as I'm not always sure how to reassure them that not all bunnies are like that. Maybe I should just say their personality is as cute as they are?

I've always felt a lot goes into how a bunny is raised, but genetics seem to be just as important. The old nature vs nurture debate of course. I can understand from a breeders point of view though, I tend to be quite picky about placing bunnies, and yes...I do turn down quite a few people, but above all else, my bunnies are for me. I'm not interested producing top show animals over personality. Personality with the cuteness is just a total added bonus for me. At the end of every day, my bunnies are truly pets. And normally at the end of every day, they get little good night treats and kisses or pats or cuddles...

Bunnies on the mind!

I've been a bad blogger recently, mostly spending my free time surfing other blogs rather than updating my website or posting on my own little blog. Tsk tsk, I know. Baking has taken over my free time, as I've been trying out many vegan ideas. I've also been terribly busy with farm projects and taking care of all the little creatures here. Rabbitry prep for remodeling is underway as well, all materials purchased (phew!) but installation is slow....very slow. Hopefully to be completed in the next few weeks, as I've very excited to start painting.



I have been trying to take all new updated photos, so no worries there. Above is a little tort doe out of Foxfire, my fox colored buck and actually, a doe I have listed as available. Of course, after watching this little cutie grow up, her momma may just have reserved herself a spot here, this doe is beyond cute!!

A new website design is in order I believe, so I've started thinking of new ideas. And of course, with my crazy life and never ending ideas, I have been wanting to start something that I'm hoping to get up under way soon!! Expect the cutest of cute and the yummiest of yummy things....to be available, someday this summer!

Friday afternoon I spent washing and (sneaking into the dishwasher...hehe) floor mats from the bunnies cages. I have EZ cage rest mats in with every bunny, but they need a bi-weekly washing. Which was easy to swing this week, since my mother is in California and the dishwasher is not under a keen eye right now. I also started washing bowls and crocks, but at 11pm last night I just could not do anymore. It helps that I keep a few sets of bowls around, so I can change them often but not wash them all right away.

Keeping a clean rabbitry is more work than really anyone would think. I spend a few hours a day, at least, cleaning, feeding, watering, checking on and loving all the little residents. But I still feel as though I am behind or am lacking in some ways. I think redoing the entire rabbitry will help with that, as it'll be a beautiful, bright and homely area to hang out and spend more relaxing time with all the little ones.

Luna, again, at three weeks old

Luna at 3 weeks

Kitties

Miyu, one of my rescue feral kitties I brought home six years ago. She will be seven soon. She is a total sweet heart and is a total blessing on the farm. She would never bother a bunny or a chicken. She, as well as the other feral kitties, all live in the house at night, but also lack normal feline actions, such as bringing "presents" to their humans. Although much appreciated.

They also have a series of various growls and noises that normal kitties seem to lack, and then...their size. These feral kitties range from 10 pounds to 19 pounds.

Previous post

I had posted this blog entry last month, but removed it, due to some rather unhappy emails from some fellow breeders. I feel that maybe I really was saying something important if I stirred up enough emotion to receive those, so I am reposting the entry.

Breeding Ethics

I have a feeling this type of post might happen a few times on here. I'm starting to really feel upset over my local fellow breeders and many of their choices or doings. Almost any I speak with or even look at their sites, are selling rabbits under eight weeks of age, breeding rabbits simply to sell them (to pet stores or privately, or both) and lastly, breeders over breeding their poor does and/or breeding a doe very young (under or just 6 months of age), and lastly, ditching a doe that no longer produces live litters.

My does have one to three litters a year, with several months of rest between them. They are pets first, above all else. Some of my does are five to seven years of age, I think if they are happy and can have one litter, then thats wonderful, if not, they get to laze around. My litters are carefully planned and are done in hopes of producing the nicest show quality babies I can. I understand this isn't so much the norm but I just wish that care, health and happiness of the bunnies was put before someone trying to profit from a hobby that really has zero profit. (It is possible to make a profit, at the expense of the bunnies though. Sometimes I think people forget that the amount of time and money you put into a hobby, is simply only returned by the joy you get from your hobby).

Anyhow, after reviewing some sites and some other breeders practices, I'm getting worried about the "norm" of what breeders do. Some of these breeders are weaning babies at 4 to 5 weeks of age, and rebreeding the doe right then, or exactly when they wean (some breeders still wait for 6 to 8 weeks to wean). The does get no time to rest and be......just bunnies. They are baby making machines! I've been really upset by the entire deal, caught between anger and sadness. I didn't realize that bunnies were not always considered to be cute, wonderful pets by a vast majority of breeders (I thought a lot of us did this out of love for the breed). And worse off, if the doe makes it through a life of being bred like this, she is then not even retired but often just resold to someone new, sent to auction, or better yet, they try to "pet" her out (because I've never even heard of anyone adopting a bunny over the age of five, or heck..really over four).

If a doe gives a breeder years of wonderful babies (geeze, even a year since they are getting around 6 litters a year from her), they better darn well give the doe a nice retirement to live out her days as well. I have two elder Holland here, one eleven and one nine. They have been retired for years and they still love their treats, hay, toys and beds. And I have more that will retire this year and the next, and still get to live here and be...bunnies. I think part of this might be why some people are in shock when I tell them I normally have my bunnies live to be eleven to fourteen years of age.

I'm sorry this posting is really just a vent for me. I've been up in tears the past few days after hearing about where some of my bunnies have ended up and the type of breeders that now own them.

On the flipside, I've also had a good laugh from a few, as some of these breeders sometimes try to sell the bunnies bred by me for more than they paid for them (and no, nothing changed between the time, no show legs or anything). Often times, it is a proven doe, that simply is not happy with her living conditions and is not producing as many babies as the breeder wants (after seeing some of these rabbitries, I wouldn't be a happy rabbit either). Lesson one to me, be far more careful in whom my bunnies are going to.

No words

New camera, new clarity, ...new life!

Hooray! I purchased a new camera. I went with a Canon Powershot S5 IS. My old one, mentioned in a few posts before, finally met a very timely death. At 3am in the barn, a horse knocked it onto the concrete isle floor and it finally gave up the ghost.

And why, at 3am was I in the barn? On April 20th, at 1:30 am, my mare Allie foaled a beautiful filly. After three weeks of sleepless nights, she finally had her little angel from hell. Seeing as though, the baby was born during a full moon and outside under the full moon, I've named her Luna. Not very original but I like it and well, its cute. It's a bit like me naming a tortoiseshell Holland lop, Pancakes. It is just cute, above all else. (Oh yes, and that is me in the photos with Luna, at 7am, with 2 hours of sleep, so please forgive my look).


Luna is an American Warmblood. Her sire is an Oldenburg, a grandson of a Olympic horse actually and several other show horses. Luna's dam, is my lovely American Spotted draft mare I purchased this past winter. Luna was already "in the oven" when I found her dam for sale. Because of the drastic hay storage last fall, her owner needed to sell several horses and by happen stance, I came across her and got her home to Massachusetts from Virgina.


As foals go, this little tike, is just..well, not little. My veternarian was out to do blood tests and check over momma and do a full health exam on the baby at 18 hours of age. Well, this little filly is the size of a almost two month old baby! She is just a huge little girl and also, quite an Aries. She already tries to kick and her aim is getting better. She has an opinion and it generally does not agree with mine, which is a bit of a conflict.


For right now, we're learning basic baby skills. Such as being held, brushed, scratched, kissed and hugged. She's also had a bath and is learning to do basic horse things. She's worn a blanket and wears a fly mask outside daily. And she has her feet picked up daily. Until she is a few months old, she will not be lead or trained for a halter, as the pressure can injure their neck development and bone structure.

I'm so very excited to see how she matures and am just hoping for the best. If she turns out like I think she may, she'll end up being my eventing horse with a side of dressage. I'll try to ad photos and updates of her often. If you are local, you are more than welcome to come visit my little hell angel as well. Oh, and don't worry, I have plenty of ponies and horses that will sniff out or beg for cookies while you're here.

Marketing a pony, but with concern

I'm beginning to believe it does not matter how much time or planning you put into marketing a horse and screening potential buyers, before they come out and waste several hours of your time.

Let me start by saying, I have a fantastic pony. I mean, truly a fantastic pony. She is well mannered, overly cute, very well trained and has lots of potential. I love my pony, but she is 13.1 hands tall and I am 5'8" tall. All laws of physics continue to tell me that a tall person, just can not ride a short pony. Above all else, my pony, loves to have a job. She loves to work and be doing something. She gets bored, and then gets into trouble, just standing around.



I've had Ilsa since she was 4 months old. She is turning six this month. I've trained and worked with her as much as I really can, short of doing much under saddle work. She is target trained, trick trained and both lunges and long lines. Because of this, I ended up leasing her out a few times to young kids. All of which, she packed around on trails, in the ring and at shows. She's safe, darn near bomb proof. She'll go through anything or jump over it. She's just a fantastic little pony. All her ground manners are excellent. She does everything a pony should, she ties, leads, clips, loads, and goodness knows, anything else asked of her. Over all, she is just a joy of a little Fjord (her breed), she also carries lovely bloodlines and a rare color within the breed, so she is valuable from that standpoint to boot.

I finally decided my lovely pony is just going to go to waste here. I have no plans to breed Fjords and can not think of a use for her at this time, other than being a cute lawn decoration. I love her dearly and would only send her to the very best home anyhow, but decided it would be a good idea to start marketing her. She would love to have her very own kid too!


So, fast forward. Nearly three months ago, a professor from Maine contacts me about needing a small Fjord. Tells me about herself and her 10 year old daughter. I explain in detail everything I can about Ilsa. I sent numerous photos and other information along to them. It sounded like perhaps, it would be a good match. The mother is 5'1" and the daughter 4'11". Nice small people and slender built, so the perfect size for the pony (keep this part in mind, she is a pony..). The daughter was said to be a total beginner, which is perfect, Ilsa loves to pack around young ins and take care of them.

After those three months, they finally visit this last Friday. Which is fine, they canceled visits over the past few weeks that were already planned, but things happen in life of course, so we finally got a time together that worked. First off, they show up very late, understandable if they were coming from Maine, but they were in CT, only about 40 minutes away. I think it should have been a sign.

Anyhow, they arrive. They are exactly as described, which was nice. They brought their friend along that lives in CT with them (I assume they were visiting her and that was the reason for being so tardy?). Either way, their friend, although about the same height as they were, had an added 90 to 120 pounds. She was dressed in riding clothing as well. Now, horses in general, have a weight limit, and no doubt, this lady would need a larger horse.

So they see the pony, they brush her, her adore her, they pat and play with her. They want to see her move and be ridden. They asked me to ride her first, which was fine. I can understand someone asking another person to ride their horse first (although it is something I've never done, as I would want to get a full feel of the horse myself, not after they are "warmed up"). I mount the pony by asking her to bow (a trick I trained her) and ride her around for them, walk - trot - canter - halt. They love her, have only good things to say. Then the daughter hops on, no problems. The daughter is overly scared and nervous. Extremely tense. Ilsa, just as she would, does what the girl asks and never even bats an eye, despite the crowd of dirtbikes and quads my neighbors boys are riding around on. The larger lady, stays in the backquietly and doesn't say a word, as I mentioned several times since they arrived that even myself, at 135lbs, was pushing the ponies weight limit.


So one would think all is going well, right? I'm standing next to the girls mother chatting with her, watching her daughter ride. Then, she earns the mother of the year award. She says "Well if my daughter can ride her, anyone can". I nearly bit my tongue. What type of mother would say that about her daughter?

Well then the mother wants to ride and I get another eye opener. Not only do these people already own a horse (another Fjord...pony), but I hear "Well I've ridden 12 times in the last 6 years". Huh? Obviously it must be a lie, but I digress. She rides the pony around. She is tense and scared as well, but Ilsa packs them around no trouble. The daughter is standing next to me, smiling and chatting and saying how much she likes the pony. Then the mother rides over, done from her test ride. I next, get the shock of my life, this woman blurts out "She has pony gaits". I tried so hard to contain myself from laughing. I just replied with a "well she is a pony". For the next ten minutes, all I hear about is how she is too small and too pony like. Honestly, it could have been expected, except for the few months prior to their visit, she made it very clear to me that they needed a small pony, safe for beginners. Now she's, too small? Very silly.

I'm sad they wasted my time, but the stress over these people upset me more. It became very clear that because I told them the truth about this pony in every and all angles, they had nothing to say that was not bad. In fact, they could only say good things. They praised her training and her light aids up the whazooe.

It just makes me wonder if all people that sell and market horses have these issues. I know many fudge, or "forget" aspects of the animal for sale (heck, every one I purchased had some skeletons in the closet, but I figure that to be true of all sale horses). I guess these people just had no idea what to do with a horse that was exactly as advertised. I think a lot of it was, they had no leverage to lower her price, and perhaps, although they knew all this prior, were looking at a pony out of their price range. A good safe pony, is incredibly valuable and they rarely go for sale.

It'll take me a long time to finally decide what to do with Ilsa. More than likely, she will continue to stay with me and be my little adorable pony, which might be just fine. The unfortunate side is that I do have to pick three horses to market this summer, and she is one of them. My other, is another favorite as well, sometimes things are just a little too hard and require more sleep though.

Feed price woes and worries

Last Thursday I went to pick up another load of bunny feed bags. Prices have, once again gone up. In September '07 I was purchasing 50lbs of feed for $11 a bag, it is now $15 a bag. Up $1 from last week alone and they expect it to go up again. Argh!

I understand why it keeps going up, but when food, fuel (home heating fuel is $4 a gallon this week, car fuel isn't much better) and the general cost of living increases without the salary of the person increasing at the same pace, it is a bit disturbing. I've been making choices that most twenty four year olds are likely not. I do not go to movies, I do not eat out, I do not purchase things I do not need. Anything I buy has to be on-sale, unless it is desperately needed.

Last month I decided that I would limit myself to spending only $50 a month for myself on items I would like to have (whether that be some candy, a movie, maybe eating out as a treat or some new clothing). Has anyone else made changes in their daily life? I'm sure I'm not alone.

With the warmer weather, I've also added on to driving a LOT less and combine multiple stops into one trip. I drive physical therapy and to stores for large items or stores to far away otherwise to get to.

On the other hand, the library is only 5 miles away (Libraries are a gold mine really! Did you know you can rent movies for free? DVD's, including new releases). Along with the library is a small Rite Aid and a IGA Food store. 5 miles isn't far, it is easy by bike, but I plan to run there once the weather warms up a bit more. The running won't hurt me either. I can run to them, pick up some items and walk home. I can also run to my work, which is within a few miles as well, but I may just take my bike there. Anyhow, back to feeding animals.

Hay is another story all together. Hay is expected to be several more dollars a bale this season. The cost of fertilizer, seeds and diesel fuel have all skyrocketed, so farmers will be charging more. Plus the drought last year sent the entire country into a hay shortage. Then you have the farmers replacing hay with corn or other products, because of the higher income from fuel and such. Heck, even shavings have gone up at least a $1 a bag, if not more. The lumber industry is not doing so well right now.

I suppose hay won't be too much of an issue for most rabbitries. I always fed my rabbits more hay than most people I know. I think it is cute to watch them chew on it and they enjoy it. Hay for the rabbits isn't too much of a problem. They munch through about two 60lbs bales a week but the main concern is I also have nine horses, and when you are purchasing 1500 bales or more a year, a few cents or dollars makes a very large difference. I won't even mention the prices that have skyrocketed horse feed.

It's just becoming harder and harder to own and raise animals and even think of braking even. I think I have been in the red with rabbits for the last ten years anyhow though. I've always spent more to purchase stock, supplies and of course care items then I have sold. Any rabbit I purchased I always asked for less than I purchased it for. I never really understood that. I often see breeders asking much higher price tags than the original purchase price. Even with bunnies I have sold, suddenly their price is $25 to $100 more???? It doesn't make sense to me. If the rabbit was shown and earned more legs, or was a proven producer, maybe, but I've seen some proven does I've sold last year posted for sale for more than they were purchased for, but nothing changed. Boggles me. Are they trying to profit? I think it is fine if they want charge any amount they desire of course, it just tends to make me laugh a bit.

Oh well. My own feed price issues seem to be very small in the big picture. The world global food shortage is getting worse, prices in grocery stores are getting higher (thanks to fuel and well...less food and our dying economy) and in the overall, I'm probably just ranting on life and scared of watching how our country is really hitting a hard time. So, I would like to suggest everyone and anyone play this game. http://www.freerice.com/

You play the word games and earn free rice for people in starving countries. It is fantastic for younger kids and even adults to brush up on words and meanings. At the same time you are helping to feed people. Did you know the global price of rice is up 70%? We are truly blessed to live in a country where food is not our main concern and for the most part, we seem to have no problem consuming it.

In times of gas being a problem (I can make this bunny related, to go to shows or to pick up new bunnies you need gas too! hehe) try this http://www.gasbuddy.com/gives the lowest and the highest prices on fuel in the USA and Canada, for your state and area, so hopefully you can choose the best price as well.

Sorry for such a depressing post. I've just been feeling a bit down. Watching CNN and the news in the evening has really downed some of my thoughts. I'm worried with the upcoming elections, I'm worried about our country, our economy and how or if people raising animals or farming will even make it by.

Camera death is slowly painful

I need to finally realize that my poor little Canon IX500 is just not going to work for much longer. As of now, it has a few heart attacks once in a while, but a swift whack seems to wake it back up for a bit.

The photo's it takes, have become blurred or the focus is very off from the subject (as you can tell from my bunny photos, the background is quite clear, but...not the bunny). Anyone have any suggestions? I've been reading up on new cameras and well, I'm stumped. I wanted one with a good zoom, but I don't care for digital zoom, only optical. A fast shutter speed would be ideal, as that will help with moving bunnies (and maybe horses?). But I'm boggled otherwise, and my budget is a little lower than I wished, because of a few horse items. You never can seem to have too many horse things. Plus, vet bills are going to be hefty when the baby is born and then two more mares are bred AI. Oh gosh! Of course, all totally planned for, but extra expenses such as a new snazzy camera are just going to be a far fetch maybe.

Adian, being a goof

Suggestions would be great. My current camera only does well with sunlight, hence my outside photo's, which also means, the weather must be nice for photo's. I don't use the flash.

Sometimes the camera stops working (I swear, she's a bit temperamental for a camera and heart attacks happen often), but if I drop it on a hard floor, it springs back to life. Who ever said beating an electronic did no good? Made me feel better too actually.

Photo's and farm work

The weather today was beautiful! I had a chance to pull some of the youngsters out for photo's, many of which are in a molt, but didn't look too bad. I just ended up covered in fur by the time I was done. One of my little babies right now has totally taken my heart. A little broken black otter buck, out of WS Isa and WS Egypt Prince. He's five weeks old now.

It's so fun watching the babies grow up. I raise them in the living room of my home, so they get plenty of attention and also learn that household noises are really nothing scary, just in case one of my babies goes to a pet home.

I also had a chance to go through some photo's taken over Easter, although none of them are bunny related, I do have a lovely one of my puppy. Copper is now 4 months old. He is a black and tan coonhound, a rather rare breed.



He is fixed already and is learning commands. He sits on a dime! Very smart boy. He opens doors, moves gates and you name it. I'm amazed at how well he can learn things, but he's already extremely stubborn. It shouldn't have shocked me, as hounds are known for it. I had two Scottish Deerhounds growing up, lovely dogs and very well mannered, another very rare breed. I couldn't go through having another one, after I lost the first two at age nine due to bone cancer (the breed has several genetic issues). So this time, when I decided to adopt a puppy, I wanted something different but also a dog that would do well with all the animals. Copper is such a good puppy! He would never hurt a bunny, he plays with our rescue kitties and just watches the chickens. He's too scared of the horses to really go near them, but will touch noses with them over the stall doors. Silly, considering he's not a small dog. He's currently 30lbs and we except him to mature between 65 and 75lbs, possibly more, except I won't let him get fat. He'll be out running with me and hiking in the woods.


Copper has been quite a fun little guy though. We are changing his feed though, to Solid Gold Wolf, a holistic feed made with bison and duck. I'm going to try a full holistic approach with his diet, much like the horses. Basically meaning he'll get nothing humans eats (although mutli grain wheat thins, he loves those! His other favorite treat, ice cubes). I'm looking forward to taking him out on runs and long hikes, but till he's eight months old he can only go out for two miles (stress on growing joints will be harmful if more than that). He's also a blast to take out with me, to stores like Petco and Tractor Supply, along with other 'doggie' okay stores. People tend to ask what breed he is and he loves all the attention. He's been great on car rides, he even went on vacation with us (my boyfriend and I) to NC in early February. Puppies are just so fun! He just had his third set of vaccines, three more sets to go. He won't be happy about that next week, although he wags his tail more than any puppy I know.

Back to bunnies... I have some hopeful babies in the nestboxes. I'm starting to see some cute faces and hopefully some lovely typy bunnies. It'll be fun to have some Hollands for the show tables if I get any time to go this year or next.

Things overall are busy here on the farm. We're expecting the birth of a lovely pinto Oldenburg foal in the next two weeks. I'm very excited about this foal, it has been two years since a baby was born here.

This spring will be full of horse training in my free time, so bunny updates may not be as possible as I was hoping. I have a four year old mare to start under saddle, she needs to be marketed as well. She is a beautiful half Andalusian mare, a black with snowflakes all over. I just adore her, and I'll post more about her soon. I also have her full sibling, but two years younger (their dam had a year between foals to just rest and hang out). He is just stunning! Amazing movement. He is a black with white socks, and a blanket (I love appaloosa markings on classy looking horses). Which also makes me a little sad, as this past year I sold a wonderful, talented mare. Crown Jewel, an appaloosa x thoroughbred bred mare I purchased when I was sixteen years old. I worked several part time jobs after school and then over the summer to save up enough savings to purchase another horse (at the time I had my lovely Morgan pony, whom I had for 15 years and she was put to sleep at age 26 because of a brain tumor that could not be medically managed).
Anyhow, Jewel was my second mare. She was completely untouched, other than haltering and being led. After eight years of training, she was competing second level dressage and a solid 2'6" packer.

At 12 years of age, I decided to move her on, as her training was not going to go further. It was one of the hardest things I had to do, and I also had to face the fact that she was slightly too small for myself to ride (I'm 5'8" and on her slender TB body, looked a little odd). I turned down so many homes and owners for her, it took several months till a mother and daughter, as well as a trainer from MI contacted me about her. After sending photos, video and several phone calls, we decided it would be a lovely match! The daughter, 13 years old, was looking for a low level dressage mount with training. Jewel was just a perfect match, and as a bonus she was trick trained by myself as well (she bowed, backed, and was target trained, she also was schooling several upper level dressage movements). It was a lovely match and Jewel is the diva of the barn. Matches like these are rare, but I think if owners of their horses really try to place their horses in the best of homes, then it works out fantastic for all the humans involved, along with the horse. Which is something I need to carefully think about when it comes time to market these few horses in the late spring.

Myself riding on Jewel, August 07, before she left for her new home in Sept.

Sending babies to new homes

I always get a little sad when my babies are starting to get ready to leave for a new home, no matter if they are going to a show home or a pet home. . I have a lovely little Netherland Dwarf baby, from my pair of Netherlands. He'll be going to a pet home in the eastern part of the state, a lovely home with a very nice gal, but I'm still just a little sad to finally need to let him go. He'll be a fantastic little house bunny though, so I'm excited for him. He's a cute little boy that ended up with sport markings, making him unable to be shown.


His parents I need to take photo's of and ad to my website. His sire is one of my favorite rabbits, a GC smoke pearl buck. And super friendly as well. I do not really want to get into breeding Netherlands on a larger scale, but I do enjoy the little pair I have. It is a lot like my Fuzzy lops. I have just one pair, although I started out with many more and simply got down to only a couple. With my school and work, and of course the horses and the farm, my time just gets very limited and I want to assure that all my animals get enough attention.

Regardless, I always have mixed emotions sending bunnies home. I want them to have a fantastic life, but also worry about them as well. It is hard not to miss a little bunny you raised and adored for several weeks and then to let them go. I hope new owners will stay in touch with me and send photo's, but that doesn't happen very often.