Moving Out the Rabbits AND the Feed!

I'm going to be busy! Fun times.

I'm continuing on with my goal (and promise to Tim) that I will get all the rabbits out of the garage. The exception may have to be Bandit, because there just is no room for him in the rabbitry and he kicks up shavings like crazy, making him a less than ideal house companion. To this end though, I've just recently managed to clear a 4 hole stacker out of the garage! It's been sold and will be picked up this coming weekend, so I don't have the temptation to put more rabbits in to it!

I'm also looking in to where I can make cuts to my herd, so I can get the last 4 animals out of the garage. I think I might be able to put one or two more holes in the rabbitry- or I could always take my shelves out and put a 3 holer there. It's a lot to think about, since I enjoy having my shelves, but don't really use them for all that much. It's something I could easily move to the garage, anyway. Hmm...

I may end up with a few more single holes or stackers available for sale at some point. We'll just have to wait and see!

I'm also switching feeds. I don't know what to yet, I've been getting advice and opinions from lots of other breeders and it's really hard to make a good decision. I know whatever I do will likely greatly impact my herd, either for better or for worse, so it's not something I'm going to rush in to. At the same time, there is a certain urgency there because I want them back in the best condition they can be in as soon as possible.

I'll keep you guys updated on what I decide to go with.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Babies Born!

I had a litter born today- BL's Isis and Keep's Soot welcomed 4 healthy babies in to the world. Right now, it looks like a black otter, a pair of blue otters and a rew, though that could easily change.

I'm glad I took the time to check the nestbox. There was a fifth baby (black otter) that was stillborn. Because it was a large litter, the baby was quite warm, but if it had been a smaller litter it could have easily chilled the other babies. Not to mention as the little body decomposed, it would have caused the nestbox to become soiled and could have killed the other kits.

Always check the nestboxes!

I'm still waiting on a few other does to kindle. McKie's Lilly looks like she's planning on having a litter for me. I'm very pleased with her first kits, I can't wait to see what this next breeding turns out like.

-Kristen

Loving the Weather!

What beautiful weather we've been having! It was tshirt and flip flops weather today and the rest of the week is going to be mid to high 50s!

I am definitely a fan.

The rabbits are enjoying it as well- I got several more does bred and my only litter has decided to stop being lazy lumps and start bouncing around a little! Maybe they'll hop out of the box and start exploring soon.

I love being able to leave the windows to the rabbitry open! I'm hoping I'll be able to get out there and do some pressure washing soon.

The shipment of the rabbits out to California was an unmitigated mess! They couldn't find my reservation, their computers went down, they didn't tell us the animals could be sent COD. BAH! Poor Tim was stuck working it out since I was at work. Thankfully, it all ended up working out and the animals have now started the second leg of the journey, Atlanta to Sacramento.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Tryon

Looking like a hot model at his first Convention.

Sometimes we get really special bunnies. Typey ones, sweet ones, special colors- it doesn't matter what really attracts us to these bunnies at first, just that once they get our attention, they steal our hearts. I have a few of these, but Keep's Tryon has to be the one that owns me the most.

The much abused and long suffering Tryon in a costume contest.

Tryon was one of my very first homebred woolies. He was a singleton and I ended up breeding his mom to his dad again in hopes of getting more like him. At first I wasn't even going to keep him, because I really was hoping for a black. Yep, I almost sold the most special bunny in the world because of color. Especially since Keep's Burlington (who lives with Joni at Lyle Creek Rabbitry) was beautiful and black!

However, I couldn't do it- I couldn't let either of them go at first. Even after showing them as a junior and as Tryon did decently, but wasn't exactly burning up the tables.

In the back coop at Convention judging.

I took him to Convention. It was my first and I only took 4 animals- a holland doe for sale, Forest, Tryon and a little doe who I don't even really remember. Forest took 4th and I lost it. Tryon took 2nd and I was in shock. My little decent-duckling had finally bloomed.

Best of Breed

From there, Tryon has had a wonderful show career. He even held the position of Top Wooly for a period of time, though ultimately the honor went elsewhere when the points season closed.

When I went to PA for the first time, Tim called to tell me Tryon had gone off food. He had to be snuggled and catered to by Tim to get him back on feed- he missed me and was pouting because he didn't get to go.

Playing hard to get in his cage.

I showed Tryon in PA this year. By the end of the second day, he was REALLY showing his butt. He alternated between refusing to stay in his coop and running around the table, and climbing up the judge to give her love. At one point, I started clicking to him and the guy next to me grinned and asked if I thought that really helped.

He wasn't hearing what I was. Tryon pulled his head back to look at me and clicked back. We talked to each other that way all the way from the table to the carriers. I'd click for a few seconds and he'd click back that same length of time. He's got an incredible personality and we really click. He was even sitting on my hip like a baby with his front legs holding on to me. It's his preferred carry-position, weirdo that he is.

I often think that without Tryon, I really don't know where I'd be. I don't know if I'd still be doing woolies, because he really gave me the confidence I needed in my wooly herd. His babies gave me a strong start and continue to improve my herd. I'm not sure what I'm going to do as he gets older and some day I lose him. I really don't.

He's a for-life-er. He's also the first in what will be a short series of profiles on incredibly special bunnies that have touched my life.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

PaSRBA Results

Wow, it was an incredible weekend. I went up to PA with Lisa and Fayth of Sugarplum Bunnies, Brenda and Paige of Narrow Gate Farm and Hilary of Musical Bunnies. Yeah- we were PACKED in there! :).

We got up to PA Friday afternoon and got set up. We entered for Saturday and then went back to the hotel (after grabbing a quick dinner) to crash.

We woke to very icy roads. PA Convention has had bad weather for the past two years, but this year was much less traumatic than last year. We had a one hour delay and some folks ended up not coming who had hope to make it. There were a few wrecks, but thankfully most folks made it safely to the showroom.

I was thrilled to see my buddies from Rabbits of Harvest Moon in PA this year! I got to see lots of folks I don't often see and I loved it. I was also able to really hang out with some of the folks I only see on a national level. Yay!

Show A unfolded and RHM won BOB with their gorgeous tort doe and Keep's Poplar took BOSB! I was VERY pleased. Keep's Tryon took BOSG and Epiphany took middle of the class- she was VERY interested in being bred and was doing hydraulyics every time the judge touched her.

The specialty show was a good one- I am having trouble remembering my placements in it, though I know Tryon won his class and... BOSG I believe. Epiphany was showing herself off again, so I had to breed her in hopes that the next day she'd have calmed down.

On the second day, Epiphany kept her butt to the ground and took a second place in the first show. Cairo beat out his daddy for the class and then won either group or opposite- I don't remember exactly. :D I'm tired. Poplar did well- again, don't exactly remember. :D.

In the specialty, Poplar won his class, Epiphany took another second, Tryon won Group and he nearly pulled off a BOB win- he had the judge absolutely enthralled with his goofy personality. The little suck up even tried giving her kisses.

We hit the road around 4ish. Things were going along great until around 5:30ish when we started having car problems. To make an already long story a little shorter- we broke down on the side of the highway in PA!

Luckily, we all worked together really well, forming plans, getting things set in motion and around 7 or so we found ourselves in a nearby Best Western, waiting on two of the husbands to come up. Travis, Brenda's husband, came to work on the car. Kris, who belongs to Hilary, had to come pick her (and bunnies) up so she could get to work Monday morning and do payroll. Blah!

We had a good time in the hotel, spending time by the pool, watching the super bowl half time show and even catching a tiny nap. The men arrived around 2:30am and wouldn't you know it- Travis fired the car right up. He suspected vapor lock (among other things) and it being allowed to sit for so long sorted it right out. We all crashed back in to bed and at 7:30 Monday morning, jumped up, packed up and headed home!

I arrived home around 4pm on Monday. I got the bunnies settled in and jumped straight in to a hot bath.

It was exhausting, but overall it was a very fun trip.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Wow!

Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day. The does were definitely enjoying the good weather, as Tim informed me when I got home from work. He'd cleaned a few cages for me and when he was sexing the bunnies to see if they could go in the same play pen together (he's such a good husband), he saw that a few really wanted to be bred!

So, when I got home I played matchmaker and WOW he wasn't kidding. I can't wait to see some of the babies out of these pairings:

Lyle Creek's Minx x Keep's Tryon (expecting seal, broken seal, siamese sable, broken siamese sable)

WO's Flirt x Keep's Poplar (expecting black, chestnut, opal, blue- other colors possible).

Keep's Bahama x Keep's Triumph (expecting seal, siamese sable, pointed or rew)

Keep's Chapel Hill x Keep's Panda (expecting black, broken black, tort, broken tort, or blue version of all these colors)

Keep's Smoke x Keep's Triton (expecting Siamese sable, smoke pearl, sable point, smoke pearl point)

China Doll (I can't remember the prefix off the top of my head) x Bluestar's Speckle (expecting chestnut or broken chestnut, black or broken black with a chance of opal or orange!)

YAY for taking advantage of the weather!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry