Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a safe and fun evening- or had one, if you celebrated last night!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Whiner's Line

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you.

With Convention coming up and with the entries due, then ear number changes due just recently, so many of you have listened to me whine and cry about how none of my top animals are in condition and coat- you've listened to me worry about who to take and flip flop 100 times!

Thank you for letting me whine and fuss.

I told someone earlier I need to worry less about doing well and just enjoy the Convention! I know that many of you are in the same position.

Since I will be attending Convention, this year I won't be doing my update of winners and CODs that have passed and failed. I will try to get you a full list of that after I get home!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Hard Work

I started my wooly herd with some great stock. I've bred hard, I've culled hard and I've tried to produce the best animals I could- and I try to only sell breeding animals that go above and beyond my standards. For instance- several "brood" animals I've sold have ended up as show animals, and kicked some butt on the tables.

I noticed a few years ago that I was getting one of two comments a LOT. That was "lacking a little in lower HQ". Admittedly, the rabbits were still winning and winning quite often. I decided that was something I really wanted to work on though. It wasn't a massive problem, most were only lacking a little but it bugged me to hear it so often.

I culled a lot of animals. I sold the overall better animals to keep the ones with better HQs. I linebred- and I fixed my HQ in one generation. No joke. I didn't bring in a lot of new animals, I built with what I already had. The next generation built on top of those solid HQs- and so on.

This weekend, one of the judges really made a point of talking about HQs. It was something that she felt was really important and even commented that a lot of woolies seem to be lacking in that lower HQ.I was so proud that ALL of the rabbits I put on the table received comments like "full to the ground." "Now THIS one has a butt...", etc. Every...single...one.

I can't tell you how good that made me feel. It is something I continue to be really picky on and I love that my hard work has paid off and I've produced some very consistent HQs in the herd.

It just put a big smile on my face and I think it's going to be on there a while!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Fairview Show

Wow, the Fairview Show was AWESOME!! If you didn't attend this time, definitely make plans to attend next year!

I went not expecting much- most of the Convention team is at home *hopefully* growing coats, so I pulled together a few very molty juniors, a few semi-molty seniors and one doe in coat.

Even with the one senior doe in coat, I didn't like her chances of getting her final leg that much. She is a little on the bigger side than I am used to and I knew competition was going to be tough.

Then again, what do I know? That doe ended up taking BOB in Show A! WHOA! To say I was surprised is an understatement.

I was so happy with my placements. I got lots of class wins or 2nd places, which is always a happy moment! It gives me a lot of hope for the future of my herd :).

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Keeping the Pedigrees Correct!

This is something that can be confusing for new breeders-

A pedigree is an official document. As such- IT SHOULD NOT BE ALTERED.

Exceptions are:
Adding an ear number if one is not on the pedigree.
Adding a name if one is not on the pedigree.
Adding a weight for the animal, if one is not on the pedigree.
Changing a color IF it turns out to be inaccurate.


That's pretty much it. You can not CHANGE an ear number. You can not CHANGE a prefix. The only time it is acceptable to put your prefix on an animal is if you bred the animal. Even if the animal is not pedigreed (such as a pet store rabbit), do not put your prefix on it- you didn't breed it.

If I name an animal Keep's Fluffylumpkins and you don't like the name, tough turkey. You can call him Frank, you can call him Joe, you can call him anything you want to. Pedigree wise, his name better stay Fluffylumpkins, because that is his official pedigreed name.

It's always best to just leave the pedigree alone. You don't want accusations that your pedigrees are falsified or contain false information- and that's exactly what it is when you start changing information. Plus, if you ever lose the pedigree and contact me wanting "Frank's" pedigree, you're not going to get it. In my records, he's still Fluffylumpkins. :)

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Do I regret it?

I've had folks ask before if I ever regret getting in to rabbits.

Whoa, a loaded question. I regret parts. I regret that the rabbits have caused us trouble when we first got married and were looking for a house to rent. I regret that it caused so much trouble with the previous churches and their dislike of anything that might make us happy.

I regret that I spend so much money on them. Between feed, their new barn, the electricity for the barn, cages, accessories, show entries, etc- rabbits are very expensive.

I regret that it's hard to go on vacation because we have to find someone trustworthy to take care of the animals I've invested so much in.

In my darkest times, when babies die, when I'm exhausted and have to go out in the cold rain to feed and water- I do regret getting in to rabbits.

However. The thrill of a win, the excitement of a new litter, watching babies grow in to gorgeous adults... that's incredible.

I think about the friends I've made in doing rabbits. Folks that are local, folks that are North, are South, are far to the west, are in other countries- and that's incredible.

I think about living in our previous area and the ONLY THING WE HAD was the rabbits. Our excuse to get away, to see friends, to win little victories in the struggle of misery, when hateful people tried hard to push us down and ruin us- and it's incredible.

I feel like the rabbits have cost us some convenience and some money we'd have just blown in other ways- more tv channels or eating out more. They've given me back so much more though.

I don't regret getting in to rabbits. I hope I am able to stay in for the next 80 years or so.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Entries are in!

Well, the Convention entries are in! I had a bit of an issue getting them submitted the first time around, but everything worked out fine in the end. WHEW!! The only thing still left on my "to do list" is to rent a car!

I am taking three sale rabbits- one is presold and the other two will be available before and after Convention judging. One is a broken black tort buck adn the other is a broken black buck.

I'm LOVING this cooler weather! It gives me some small hope that my rabbits might have coats in time for the show!

Our next show is on the 16th. I can't wait for it to get here! This is my club's first show and I'm hoping for a huge turnout :).

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Babies!

I finally had a litter born! It's been a few weeks since I've had babies and I'm thrilled that one of the does I got from Brandi kindled for me today. She had five, but two were peanuts, one was a DOA and the last two are looking great! One is a solid, one is a broken- and I'm thrilled to say that the broken looks like it will definitely have at least 10% color! WOOO HOO! Now I just hope it's a broken DOE, I have three broken bucks right now and nothing else.

These babies are out of my buck Keep's Tar Heel. I think I need to give him a rest from breeding, he's been with all the ladies lately. :).

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry