Website Update

I just updated my website background and picture! I'd love for everyone to go check it out!

I have to say, playing in Photoshop is very satisfying! I can make what I want, rather than having to search the internet for something close to what I'm looking for!

I'm looking forward to getting some updated pictures soon!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

A Holland Sell Out-

NO NOT ME! lol

I wanted to let you guys know that my friend Alison Fulbright is breaking my heart by choosing to sell out her herd.

Most notably, she is selling The Nature Trail's Bear, a GORGEOUS broken buck Grand Champion with accolades coming out his ears lol.

Her website can be found here:

http://www.hollandfarmrabbitry.com/. While it is not fully updated to include her sell out, I suggest if you see an animal you want, you should email her NOW inquiring.

We're happy to welcome HF's Bartholamew to our herd, a buck I've wanted only for forever :). If financial situations had permitted, Alison probably would have found half her herd in my barn lol.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Money Money Money

I had to wave good-bye to $60 today.

We purchased two bags of feed, two bags of shavings and a large bag of alfalfa cubes. The feed is a necessity, the shavings are too, especially when we had to skimp during our huge cage cleaning day last week and the alfalfa cubes are something new I want to try.

I have several does that enjoy gnawing on their cages, the buns beside them, their food dish, water bottles- you get the picture. In fact, one of the does has managed to chip a tooth doing this. I can't have that happening!

So, in lieu of free hay, which they seem to scatter around the cage and on the floor, I've decided to try alfalfa cubes. So far they are a big hit! Several have started tossing them around their cages, throwing them in to their food cups- in fact, I'm considering making a bunny basketball team. The Carolina Bunninators- colors Carolina blue and white of course ;).

My hope is that the alfalfa will put a little more flesh on the rabbits, while providing them toys and non-wire related gnawing opportunities. They seem to have grown tired of their plastic cat toys.

In other news, I had a pet buyer not bother to show up to pick up her rabbit. Always a good time! It's all right though, I have another buyer lined up and I think this one is a better fit anyway. Maybe the best thing that could have happened for this bunny was being unclaimed today.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Not Related to Rabbits Post!

Hey guys, wow, my first not-rabbit post! I think anyway :)

As you know, I've got four beautiful puppies that will be ready to go home on Feb. 11th!

1 Male Black and Tan, looks to be Longhair, $400.
1 Male Red, $350
1 Female Black and Tan, $400
1 Female Black & Tan Dapple, Has Found the Perfect Home :)

All of them carry longhair . AKC puppy application and puppy pack included in price, they will have full registration.

I reserve the right to cancel the sale at any time, deposit refundable if applicable.

$100 non-refundable deposit required to hold a puppy for up to 2 weeks after agreed upon pick up date.

Delivery is not an option unless discussed at time of deposit, I reserve the right to charge a gas fee for longer distances .

Thanks!
-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Like a greased pig...

I was reminded today why we don't use poison in our rabbitry.

Tim & I went out to feed and one of the junior Jersey Woolies had escaped her cage. Tim managed to get a hand on her fairly quickly, but she squealed- so he dropped her! *sigh*

We engaged in a 10 minute game of Tag, You're It! She ran one way, I followed, he tried to head her off, she ducked, dodged and weaved... man, I'm glad we don't have to survive by running down rabbits for food!

Once, she ran right through my legs, edged past him and headed towards the open door! Talk about having a heart attack!

We finally caught her and installed her in a new cage. She unfortunately was able to open her own cage, though usually we found her sitting by the open door waiting for us. I guess this time she got tired of waiting on us. Unfortunately, she enjoyed her freedom a little too much!

I'm happy to report that all the rabbits seem to be doing well on their new food.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Terrible, Terrible Set Back

Today started out not bad- little did I know.


We went to Tractor Supply- I've made the decision to switch feeds for a little while to see if it would up my conception rate in the does. We get there and I find Manna Pro, which is $11.62. But I'm looking for Manna Pro Show. I find it- no price of course. We spent 15 minutes trying to get one of the lazy workers to, oh I dunno, GET TO WORK and tell us how much the feed costs. It's $14.99 a bag! Holy crap, Purina Show is $1.50 cheaper!

But, I buy two bags because of it because it's costing me more to feed rabbits that aren't producing, ya know?

We search high and low for alfalfa cubes for the rabbits- sold out. Gah.

So we give them our $32 and take out two bags of food home.

Today, it's cold. I mean 16 degrees cold- at the hottest part of the day. So we decide to go on and feed now. I get ready to pull my pail out of the bag of Purina, in it's container and scream- 5 MICE ARE IN MY *NEW* BAG OF PURINA THAT I OPENED YESTERDAY! I might as well have just set fire to that $14! Plus, my feeding equipment is dirty. I'm not a screamer, but they jumped at me!

So I spread out my new glue traps, all $8 worth as I'm trying to figure out what to do, when I notice Miss Muffet's baby.

Now, what most of you don't know is that Muffet's other baby died a few days after Keep's Spectacular passed on. I suspected enteritis, even though I've been giving them plenty of loose hay, although I'm also thinking that it's possible she choked on a pellet. Well, the remaining baby was smushed up in to a corner. I pick her up, she's dying. Obviously dying. I rushed her inside, and I dunno what I'm hoping- that maybe the warm will help her, but it's not going to, she's going to die. It's enteritis, I've seen it before. It's a mixed blessing, I don't have an illness in my barn, but I lost two babies to enteritis- again! This summer I lost a whole litter, despite the fact I was giving plenty of hay!

So there go my two holland babies. I have 1 mini lop baby left, who has enough hay to eat to build 12 nests out of. Half of what I had left is in there with him now.

So, I got to cold switch my entire herd to a totally new feed today, because the feed store that sells Purina is CLOSED. It took three times as long to feed because of the rats ruining my pail & scoop, which I'm going to have to disinfect tonight. I can barely move my fingers, my lips are white, I'm not even kidding. I had to help Tim gets his gloves off after he watered.

Get this- he poured some of the left over water on the car and WATCHED IT FREEZE. It took, oh, about 10 seconds.

Great day.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Mocksville Show

Wow.

So as you gathered from the last post, there was a fear of snow and ice for the Mocksville show. I admit, as we sat at Tim's granny's house in Maiden, I felt a small bit of worry. The precipitation was supposed to start at 6 am. But ahh well, we'd come this far and so we decided to go anyway in the morning and keep an eye out.

Upon waking at 6:30 that morning, the first thing that struck me was the decided lack of wet stuff- in fact, it didn't start doing ANYTHING until after noon!

However, the damage had been done. It was estimated that half the entries didn't show up- I suspect that is entirely too optimistic. It was definitely one of the quickest shows I've ever been to, though the mini lops had a strong showing!

It was a "eh" show for us, as I suspected it might be. All of our rabbits were strongly in the top half of the class though, with the exception of one "blip" on the radar, where a doe was dismissed because of tendency to chew on wire. She wasn't DQ'd, she just wasn't considered, pretty much at all, in the judging because of her strange looking tooth. Ahh well, maybe she'll get that 3rd leg next time, as she did place very well in one of the shows.

Our highest placing was second! We've gotten spoiled with our placings, but I have to say, considering the quality of animals at the show, that's not a disappointing placing at all! Plus, there is always next time- that's why we show more than once!

We all seemed to have our problems though- it was apparent that winter had been very up and down, based on coat or flesh condition on the animals. I think rabbits that normally have more of a fullness to the body suffered somewhat and it was evident in the shows.

I sold three rabbits and delivered a few for Malena. I have to say, it's nice looking around and seeing my empty holes! Though- it does feel a little odd. I kept looking around thinking I had forgotten to unload someone.

I enjoyed getting to talk to everyone. I'm off to sit and digest the comments I got on the rabbits and try to plan some breedings.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Snow at Mocksville?

The various folks from NC, SC, VA and TN have been checking and rechecking weather updates for Saturday in Mocksville, NC.

You see- last night it snowed. No gasping from the yankees! A friend in Michigan didn't even know it got cold enough in North Carolina for it to ever snow. So yes, it does- but we're often unprepared for it lol.

Anyway, they are calling for more snow in Mocksville on Saturday. The thing is, while highs today are only in the 30s, the snow is already melting from the pavement & sidewalks. Tomorrow is slated to be in the 50s, so I don't think we're going to look at a huge pile up of snow and ice. I suspect anything we get will be melted and gone by Friday evening.

Saturday morning is slated for snow however, and this is what causes the concern. With the high being 41, it should be a mixture of snow and of rain. So you have to ask yourself "How comfortable am I driving in this?"

Luckily for me, I married a "mountain boy" who learned to drive on one of the worst mountain roads in North Carolina. I think we're good to go as far as the comfort level goes.

Since it seems like driving down to Mocksville (or up, or across :-p) will be the biggest problem, I'd suggest getting a hotel if you can, or finding friends nearby to stay with. This way, you won't have to be up at 3 am driving through snow to get there. Getting home I'm *really* not anticipating being a problem, especially if they salt everywhere else the way they do here. In the past four hours, two salt trucks have gone by on the already clear roads. Better safe than sorry, I guess.

Make sure your cell phones are charged, maybe grab a blanket and a flashlight for the car just in case, and I hope to see everyone this weekend! :)

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Mocksville, 01-19-2008

Remember to get your show entries in! The deadline is tonight at 9pm *I believe*. It's a double open and double youth show! Entries go to Judy Bustle at showentry@msn.com .

We got our entries in earlier, but I need to remember to check for a confirmation! I'm sad, we're very "breed heavy" right now- as in one breed has much more of a show range than the others, because they are in the best condition and haven't been chewed on.

I'm excited, I'll be trying for the granding leg on one of my does (which is a 2008 rabbitry goal, if you remember!). One of my guys has his first show ever, and several rabbits are looking for first or second legs. I'm even bringing back a special girl of mine who hasn't seen the table in quite a while. I don't expect her to win (though she's beautiful), but I would like to see if I can get her bred while at the show. Nothing like a little stress and the smell of several hundred other rabbits to get the does in the mood!

I like to make a list of who I'm taking and who I'm selling. I'm delivering three rabbits as it is, it wouldn't do to forget one! I also need to make sure I have all the pedigrees I need- I HATE forgetting a pedigree! It's always best to have them with you, so when you need it, it's there!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Lionhead SELL OUT

Lionheads:

Roy's Fussy- tort senior doe
Fussy is not proven 100%. Her first litter was born dead and you all know my luck with babies, so she has not had another litter for me yet. She's a cute, small doe out of GREAT lines. Not a mean doe, very cute. $50

Roy's Tiny Thomas- tort senior buck
This little guy has 2 junior BOBs- and I've only shown him three times. Yeah, he's that cute. Still has a very nice mane as a senior. Very clean skirt & mane, a nice small guy with cute, short, open ears, a nice body and a nice width to his head. Hate to see him go, but they were a side project anyway. Again, out of excellent lines. $75.

Will sell the pair of lionheads together for $110.


Why am I selling out the lionheads?

Well- they are animals I flirted with breeding, to be honest. I loved Tiny Thomas as a baby and he was offered to me by his wonderful breeder Nita. I brought them home, I piddled, I piddled, I piddled again- and today I realized. These animals are too nice to be stuck in a second rate lionhead breeding program. They could really be doing something for someone else's herd. I'll have two empty holes, just on the off chance I ever get any more babies, and someone will have a nice pair of animals from one of the top breeders of lionheads in our area.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Saying Goodbye

Today, we had our first adult rabbit die in quite a while. Keep's Spectacular, a very promising, very nice looking young senior wooley passed on. He was always a small rabbit and I don't suspect illness. I think the cold and rapid weather changes were just more than his small system could handle. He was one of the pair that came in to live during our first weather drop.

I still have his sister, father and mother, so it's no tragedy of line loss, but it's never easy to lose a rabbit.

His cage will be sterilized in the morning, when there isn't risk of Tim or I getting frostbite from being out in this horrible cold, splashing in water and bleach. His water bottle and food bowl will likewise be cleaned and disinfected. Then we'll try to move on.

I still remember my first baby rabbit that died- my first DOA baby, the first adult to die- I can tell you names, colors, parents... *sigh*. Back to the drawing board.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Showing Purchased Rabbits

I show purchased rabbits. I'm not ashamed of it and I never will be.

If I purchase a rabbit as a show quality animal, I'm absolutely going to want to get other opinions on it, especially on potential faults and as a way to see if I missed anything when I evaluated the animal.

Some people choose not to show purchased animals, and that is entirely their choice.

However, I recently saw a friend post a Sell-Out list. When I asked her why, I was shocked to hear it was because some people couldn't take it that she was showing rabbits she purchased. The biggest problem they had with it, I think, was that she was winning.

I'm sorry- wait, what? A breeder is upset because someone bought great stock and wants to show it? It boggles the mind.

Nothing prevents anyone from purchasing rabbits. We all breed with the goal that one day, we'll produce nationally competitive rabbits, and- dare we dream- win BOB at a National Convention. So, when someone is so afraid of competition and has so little faith in their stock that they drive off an excellent, kind hearted breeder because they are showing purchased stock- well that is just pathetic.

If I buy an animal that doesn't have enough legs to grand, should I not show it ever because I didn't breed it? Absolutely not! Even if that rabbit has three legs, if I feel like showing the animal, I'm going to! I wouldn't expect anyone else to act any differently.

Now, this is absolutely different from ONLY buying animals to win, and not trying to breed your own- but still, if this is what you do, it's your business. There is nothing anyone can do about it.

Nothing is more rewarding than winning with a homebred, but speaking from experience, winning with a rabbit you purchased as a young junior is pretty sweet too. It speaks to your "eye" for the rabbits, for choosing a nice creature, for keeping it in excellent condition.

A doe of mine, The Nature Trail's Miss Muffet, got her first leg, beating out rabbits her breeder had brought. When I congratulated Laurie on breeding her, she waved it off and told me I was the one responsible for getting her in and keeping her in winning conditioning, all she did was breed the rabbit.

What a great attitude to have.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Feed Troubles

I'm more than a little bit upset with our feed store.

I feed Purina blue bag and it's been a very good feed for me. Usually I can get it consistently, it keeps the animals in good condition...it's a little pricey, but I can deal with that.

However, several weeks ago we noticed our feed store was getting low on the blue bag. I was assured they had ordered more. Well, the next time we went, nope, no blue bag feed had come in the shipment. We got the comment "Oh our supplier apparently decided not to work since it's near New Years".

To begin with, and at the risk of sounding like a total witch- that's not my problem. My problem is 40 hungry rabbits who need to keep on a consistent diet, or risk illness. But what can you do? So, we grabbed some of the Pet Chow, the green bag of Purina, which is almost as good and can be used without proper transitioning. It keeps them in similar condition and is a great stop-gap against waiting a week for a new shipment.

We go to get food last week and "Oh, they just didn't send any blue bag. They sometimes like to liquidate almost everything the have so they won't be taxed on inventory". Again, this is NOT my problem. Frankly, if I were the feed store, I'd be going with a new supplier. We had troubles with them at first, because every time we went to get feed, the price fluctuated- sometimes by several dollars.

It was when we were charged $15 for a bag of feed that had cost us $12 the previous week that I got ugly and we got a price stabilized, written down in ink. We were told that the price fluctuated because the supplier changed the price weekly. I accepted this extremely strange explanation.

Now, when I buy feed, I buy it for me, recommend it to pet people and even will tell them where I get it- all for free. This is free advertising for the feed store. We've dealt with these people because the feed is cheaper and it's closest. But I'm sick of excuses. I want my feed. If they can't get it for me, I'll go elsewhere, I'll take my referrals with me and I don't feel too inclined to inform them of this change to save them on ordering the feed- after all, obviously they can't get it in the first place.

I've been getting the run around on this feed for three weeks now. We're down to half a bag, so we'll be needing to get new soon. If they don't have it this time, then mark my words, that's it- over, finished, kaput- I will be finding someone new to take my business, and my referrals, to.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Graphic Designs for Sale

Hey all! I'll be offering graphics, logos, avatars and web pictures for sale!

Custom made avatar & banner- $7

Custom made web picture- $10

Custom made web picture, avatar & banner- $15

Borders and/or text on pictures- $0.50 each

Logo- $7

Website background- $5-$10 depending on the style

Website buttons- $1 each.

Additional packages or work can be done, just inquire and we'll set up prices. I will accept paypal payments, or personal checks.

In the case of personal checks, allow 14 days for the check to clear before work will begin.

A webpage devoted to this information or additional options as they come available will be placed on my site as soon as possible, as well as examples of my work :)

*will do pictures or logos for anything*

All right, thanks for checking out my public service announcement :).

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Upcoming Show!

My next show is going to be in Mocksville, on the 19th. I have a feeling that my show entries are going to be slim pickins though.

I've got two does, one with a pair of legs and one with 4 (including a BIS) that are due 9 days before the show. With luck, they'll have to stay home and take care of their litters. I am, however, tempted to take my first BIS doe with me and see if she's still in good enough condition to win a few legs- and hope that the stress of the show puts her in to baby-making mode!

I've got some pre-juniors that don't need to go to the show, and a junior wooley that has been chewed on, so he can't come either. I do have one junior I'll get to take for his first showing! YAYY! I'm not expecting huge results for him though, his mama really bloomed as a young senior.

I think the bucks are going to rule the day- I've got three mini lops bucks to take, two of whom are brothers and I need to decide between. I've already got an inquiry on the one I don't keep, and I've been keeping her waiting for long enough, I feel. I may take my broken sable point holland buck, but he's such a young junior that I may change my mind about that- competition in hollands around here is awesome, and especially in the buck department! Assuming my agouti wooley gets his wool cap back, I may take him for fun as well :).

Ahh well, it might be a nice change to not have a ton of animals in a ton of classes! Heck, I may even bring my little lionhead buck and give him another spin around the table. He took two BOBs in his first three shows!

This is of course, assuming that the weather stays nice! We won't be able to drive 2 hours in a snow and ice storm lol.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry