Surprise - Tans Are Smart

So I've found out how smart Tans really are. I'd read online about them being able to learn to open cage latches, but wasn't expecting it to happen in my own rabbitry, and definately not so soon. Upon entering my apartment today after work, who was there to meet me right at the door but a certain little Tan rabbit dubbed Rusty, just hopping around and happy that somebody has finnally come home to play.





When I went into the roomwith the rabbit cages (the "rabbit room") the spring and latch that was supposed to holding his cage door shut was in two pieces in the floor, the wire the spring was made out of bent all to hell. Mhhhmmm...





So, after attaching a sturdy rock climbing clip to his latch, I can rest a little easier. I'd like to see him manipulate that. Not really.





This is the second time he's excaped, we just happened to be home the last time. My mini rex have either never figured such a thing out or not cared enough to try. These Tans are pretty smart and fun, I'll give them that. Hasn't been a dull moment since I got them.





I've decided to go ahead and find Pipkin, Rusty's little runty sister, a very nice pet home before I get too attached to her. I'm not sure if I want her traits passed down to litters, and I am fairly certain, with her hindquarters chopping off like they do and the quality of her fur (though it is getting better!) that she will never really be show quality. But I will gladly keep her as long as I can, because I looovvveee her! She is sooo friendly and sweet. I'll just hold on to her little butt and hold her every day until I find her the perfect pet home with an older child or adult who can understand the breed.





So I was relaxing after classes and work this evening and came up with a cute little logo for my rabbitry. Since I am CERTAIN at this point that I WILL be raising Tans, I've went ahead and included them in my rabbitry title. I don't raise them yet, but I will be showing Rusty and any others I may find in the meantime. I just drew it on Windows Paint for fun.

The Tans Are Here!

Say hello to the Tans!

My two Tans have been here for about two weeks now. I picked them up right before leaving for a week in New York City, and then went straight home to Charleston for Thanksgiving. So as one might imagine I've had an insane two weeks and am just now finding time to update.

They are doing great! Randy from 6thdayRabbits even gave me a free doe along with the buck I wanted, since she isn't developing as well as her siblings. She is however very cute and sweet, so I am of course hopelessly attached to her. Her fur isn't coming in as it should; it still looks and feels like kit fluff. So, I've been supplementing her with various foods such as sunflower seeds and some light fruits and yogurts to see if we can at least get that shiny Tan fur to come in. She's a little project right now, though she probably will never be a show rabbit. If nothing else, she may have a litter or two for me and/or I will make sure to find her a VERY loving pet home, because she is as sweet as pie.

I am very much in love with this breed now. They are inquisitive, outgoing, very intelligent. They're always at the cage door wanting attention, and the little doe, who I've named Pipkin, even binky's around after I pet her. She's a happy little thing. It takes a lot more to freak them out then it does with other rabbits I've had. They are very open-minded, that's for sure. Thye never run away from a person approaching their area. They never cower or are nervous. They are just going with the flow, ready for anything. That's my kind of rabbit!

I named the buck Rusty, and man he is gorgeous! He is so spunky. I've been running him a bit, and he needs to get the move on a little bit more on the table, but I think after he gets over all the new sights and smells he will be more at ease to run the table. I've been using treats like oats to bribe him from one end to the other so far. When it comes to the Tan standard, the only main things I can find wrong with him are is eye rings. They only seem to partially be there, but they may grow in as he gets older. He's only about 12 weeks old as of now. His ears seem a bit on the long side, but again he's so young it's hard to judge things like that until he grows into himself. We shall see!

Either way, they're going to be a lot of fun to show and I'm excited. I think I will definately be breeding them later on, maybe after I move in June this year. Once we get settled up in PA (where I've decided to move to go to graduate school), then I will probably begin a small Tan breeding program.

With the mini rex, I *think* we may FINNALLY get a litter soon! Lacey seems very pregnant, and with one week left to go she began pulling fur last night. SO that's a good sign for sure. I gave her a nest box early to see if she would go ahead and make a nest, but she will probably use it as a litter box. She LOVES using litter boxes, but I can't let her have one because she is quite the playful doe and loves to knock them over and dig litter out all over the place. Since she is once of the indoor bunnies, that ain't ganna fly, needless to say. So until I can find her something that cannot be knocked over, she has to settle for the corner of the cage.

So, I'll update soon with that. Hopefully CC's Rabbitry will have a full nestbox next week! In the meantime, here's some more photos of Rusty:

Cooper's Neuter

I've been meaning to post a blog on this, but kept forgetting.

Well, two or three weeks ago I bit the bullet and got my Flemish Giant, Cooper, neutered. He was bought to be a house pet, after all. The cheapest vet in my area did it for about $75.00, and it came to around $95.00 after a pain shot. It's expensive, but not out of this world expensive. Not too much more then a dog or cat operation.

Cooper came home, rested for awhile, and was his old self before the day was even over. Since then, he is noticably calmer, and his litter box habits are now flawless. He was pretty good before with the box, but once in awhile would get lazy or hormonal and pee beside the box. Well, that planted his butt outdoors in the hutches until the neuter. Now he is back inside, enjoying climate control and baby talk all day ever day.

If he gets out for a little run at least once a day, which he generally does, he exhibits no boredom, anxious, or neurotic behavior in his homemade cage (which, by the way, is plenty large enough for him!) If he doesn't get out one day, he may chew his cage door a bit, wanting some attention, but nothing more then that. Even then he usually only does it if he hears us near his cage.

Honestly, I couldn't be more pleased that I finnally altered a rabbit. This is the first time for me. Before, I'd either had rabbits to breed or had them as pets as a child before altering rabbits became such a fad in the pet world.

It really does just make sense to do it if you only want your rabbit for a pet. Rabbits can be such hormonal little creatures, that when you think about it, it's the fair thing to do for the rabbit. Plus it helps us humans out! Cooper is now more fun to be around, easier to handle, and as flawless as a cat with his litter box habits. He is also less destructive. Therefore he is a happier animal living in captivity. I encourage altering pet rabbits, especailly indoor pet rabbits, and will definately be doing any old bucks I choose to keep from my breeding program when they are retired.

New Pages on Site

Just wanted to do a little blog entry on the three new pages I put on my bunny site. I put one up about my philosophy on meat rabbits, an informational page on pet rabbits, and a page on my personal breeding ethics. Just some interesting stuff to muse on! :)

New news in my rabbit world!

Next week is going to be a busy week for me. Monday, John and I are heading up to Charleston WV to stay the night with my parents, then over to Columbus Ohio (abuot a 3 hour drive) to meet a friend from a rabbitry called 6thdayrabbits. I'll be buying my first black Tan rabbit from him! I'm really excited to have a new breed around, and have been trying to research everything I can about the Tan standard. First chance I get I'll be trucking him off to a show to see how he does.

I will also be getting a proven broken black doe from another breeder in WV, so needless to say the driving is going to get old quick for us. But I'm sure I'll be happy once I get them all home and settled in. After this doe, I'm done buying mini rex for awhile and will be concentrating solely on breeding and producing my own winners.

I've been breeding the two does I have now, several times for Clover. So far, no taking. I'm not sure why, it could be any number of things. I seriously doubt all four of my rabbits are sterile though. It's more than likely something with the cycles of the does or inexperience with the bucks. Both bucks are young and overly-eager, and I think they may just not be hitting the mark ;). I've got patience though, and read all about the usual missed litters with dwarf breeds.

I bred Clover in what I think to be a successful transition, lol, on October 31st, so we shall wait and see.

I bred Lacey today to Huck, because I REALLY want kits from them. She's very full and a little on the large side (but not too large) and Huck is tiny with some really nice features, like head and ears out of this world. So, hopefully she took. He got her several times, and I'm putting her right back with him early in the morning, hopefully after some ovulation through tonight. I'll get a litter one of these days and really start my rabbitry!

Once I get the broken black doe, she's instantly getting bred to Bluebell. Then I will more than likely keep one or two of her kits and sell her, because she is missing one side of her pedigree and I want all fully ped. rabbits in my rabbitry.

It's still slightly tough for me to think of selling a rabbit that fast, but I'll make sure she is treated well. The people at Lucky Clover Patch Rabbitry are sooooo nice, they've been holding her for over a month now for me since it's so difficult for me to get out of town, what with this being my senior year in college and all. I'm definately going to offer them a little more then they said she costs for the boarding.

After coming back to town tuesday night, I will be leaving VERY early the next morning to go to New York City with an art class! I'm super excited, and will update on the new rabbits when I return on Thanksgiving! Until then, happy breeding to the rabbit world!

New Breed?

Well, I've been talking to some one I know on Rabbit Habbit (the forum I frequent) and I think I'm going to be getting a Tan from him. It will be a black, which is my favorite variety in the breed next to blue. They also come in chocolate and lilac. I will just be getting one to start out with so I can make sure I like them enough to breed and show on a regular basis, like the MR.

I've always liked the breed, and have never had a running breed before. The author of my favorite rabbit breeding book, Bob Bennett, breeds Tans up in Vermont if I'm not mistaken. They are a striking and attractive full arch breed that generally doesn't exceed 4 1/2 lbs, which is good for me.

A part of me says no, don't get into another breed yet, get your mini rex herd off the ground better first. Then another part says, eh, what the heck, you are doing this to have fun. A running breed will be a nice contrast with the little meaty mini rex, and their sizes will be almost identical. There is hardley any Tan competition at the shows I have been to, so it will be nice to add to that if I decided to breed them.

I've heard and read that you never get an "unshowable" tan in litters due to mismarked babies. You do however have to pay close attention to body type and arching. They have larger litters than other small rabbits, so it will be nice to have plenty to chose from, and I always have backup for getting rid of rabbit I cannot sell - dog and human consumption.

I am definately going to be getting the first Tan. After that, we'll see what I think. It kind of comes down to whether or not I would like to start another variety of MR or get the tans. I think I would rather get the tans. I've got opal and blue MR right now, and will be getting a proven broken black doe soon from a breeder friend in WV. That's enough for me to work on right now, for sure.

State Fair Results

I've slacked on the posting I know. The fall semester just started up for me at school, and things have been hectic. The State Fair show went great!

Lacey (sr. opal MR doe) won BEST IN SHOW! They called me to inform me of the win, and it just made me feel great. I knew she was a high quality girl, but I did not expect BIS!

Bluebell (jr. blue MR buck) won BOV, as did Cooper! It was great, everything I entered won something. Also, I got the results back from the Taylorsville show back in July and Lacey got a BOV! I don't think there was enough entries for her to get a leg, but she still have her BIS leg. I'm going to send away fro a best in show certificate, just because it's my first one. Very exciting!

My last show for the season is this month, on the 20th. It's in Greensboro NC. I'm very excited to see how Lacey does, then she will be bred when we return home. Her litters are going to be a strong foundation for my mini rex herd, which is great because my numbers will always be small. I don't want so many that keeping rabbits becomes a chore, I'm keeping it as carefree and fun as possible. It's not something I'm going to be making a lot of money or anything with, so if it ceases to be fun, then there is absolutely not point in doing it.

So far I'm having a great time and am glad I've started out correctly, with quality foundation stock and good equipment. My prior rabbit breeding experiments in high school really set the stage for me now.

Not too much more to post on now. I'll post results if any from the Greensboro show afterwards.