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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Belgian Hare Woes

I'm so frustrated with the Belgian Hares right now.

Trust me- I DEFINITELY know why they are rare!

I haven't had any babies in almost 9 months. The doe I brought home as possibly bred, Gem, is acting EXTREMELY frisky, trying to hump any other rabbit she comes in to contact with.

Ariel, my baby girl, is now old enough to breed. She has ZERO interest in being bred. ZERO. Rawr.

With the three Belgians, a large hunk of the rabbitry is devoted to only three solid bottom hare cages. It is amazing how much space you lose with those things.

Gem, the possibly bred Humpy McGee doe I mentioned earlier has decided to go on strike and not eat. Grass is fine, we can definitely eat that. Just not pellets, oats, calf manna, supplement- anything other than grass is being rejected. Ok, that's not just a hare problem, a few of my other rabbits have decided to do that same thing.

I'm at a crossroads here. Do I struggle on with my tiny, tiny little herd? Do I send Gem back to Whitney and sell the beautiful Ariel to a working herd, keeping my only buck as a pet? At least I do feel like I've helped educate a few folks on the hares and they have been seen at shows.

Oh speaking of another frustration. There are never more than 2-3 hares being shown. When we get that many, the judges aren't sure how to pose them and so it's a crapshoot as to who wins. Literally.

*sigh*

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

7 comments:

April @ Scrambled Eggs said...

My Dutch doe refused to breed for months. I brought her indoors for a few weeks and she was READY to breed. If it is feasible, maybe you could try bringing her inside for a while.

April @ Scrambled Eggs said...

Sorry not "weeks", "days".

Whitney said...

*hugs*

I'm sorry they're being so frustrating hun! If you want a break from them but want them back I'm happy to board your whole herd here at my place for you. :)

Keep said...

LOL My whole herd of 2? :P I may take you up on that. You're of course welcome to breed anyone to anyone. I'm trying to get less frustrated with them, then make a rational and well thought out decision.

Whitney said...

Whatever you decide I support you, and absolutely the whole herd of 2 is welcome at my house until you make any final decisions!

Dru Shepherd said...

Don't give up on them. Try a teaspoon of wheat germ or a few drops of wheat germ oil on their food. Put all three of them in a big run around pen on the grass. It might help. They might need more room to move around._Dru

Keep said...

I do try to put them out in larger pens whenever I can. Thankfully we've had a stretch of warm weather recently.