Full Circle

Nearly 10 years ago, right here, I officially announced that my rabbity was closing. 

It was a hard decision, but it was something that needed to be done.  I dispersed the herd, keeping a few pets.  Over the years, those pets have passed away.  The prefix Keep's has disappeared from pedigrees.

I never forgot the bunnies. I have lost track of how many dreams I've had about showing. 

I'm really excited to announce that Keep's Rabbitry is back! -with one small caveat. 

My daughter, Harper, will be showing!  Today we picked up the first of her rabbits, a small group of Mini Lops.  That's right, Keep's is going to the lops!  I look forward to getting back to the shows and mentoring Harper in the ways of showing, breeding and being a good competitor. 

I have to admit, if she decides showing is something she loves as much as I did, perhaps in the future woolies will make their way back to the barn!  Time will tell.

-Kristen

The Time Has Come

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings." - Lewis Carroll

I've been in rabbits a long time.  In fact, I've had show rabbits my entire married life and most of my relationship with Tim.  This blog has been running since 2007, which I find hard to believe.

I have seen unimaginable highs- BISs with Mini Lops, with a Holland Lop, BOSG at Nationals with a wooly- then BOSG at Convention with a wooly... and I have seen unimaginable lows.

I love the woolies very much.  I love the people and I love the competition.  I've found myself the District 9 Director for the NJWRC, the NC State Representative for ARBA and recently was offered the NCRBA Secretary position, which I had to respectfully decline.

I'm selling out.

It's time for me.  I want to leave while I still love the hobby and while the rabbits are close to my heart.  All signs are pointing to it being time for a new beginning in my life.  Tim is supportive either way, though he keeps offering alternatives- keeping a smaller herd, showing less, etc.  I can't do that.  I'm an all-or-nothing kind of person.  My heart tells me to let it go.

I plan to keep several woolies as pets.  Panda & Poplar are staying, as is Fiona.  I'm keeping Tribute, my last Tryon son, and a little Tryon doppleganger, lovingly named Second Chance (but his nickname isn't fit to be published ;) ).

I will keep some of the rabbits until Jersey Wooly Nationals.  I want one last chance to show my best with the best.  I want the chance to say good-bye, because let's not have any pretense here- I will not "see" many of the folks who have grown dear to me ever again.  I'm so thankful for Facebook, which will at least allow me to keep in touch.

Please, don't contact me right now asking for sales lists, pictures, etc.  Those will come.  A large part of the herd will be sold at the NCRBA State Convention in March.  At that time, I will also offer those that are available at Nationals.

"Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else."- Mr. Rogers

Thank you, for taking this journey with me.

-Kristen

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  I am thrilled to present to you "Coco Puff".  He enjoys running circles around the Christmas tree, weaving in and out of the presents and stealing treats from the dog.

Coco Puff is the beloved pet of a little girl (and her family) and he rules with an iron paw.  If he wants your snack, he has no problem leaping on to the couch, climbing across laptops and up to your face to steal it right before you take that next bite.

I'm so thrilled to see one of my babies living such a spoiled rotten life and thankful that this family finds so much joy in each other.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and as much pleasure in each other and in the little things as Coco Puff has found.

-Kristen

Babies, Babies, Babies...Ohhhh

I took a look at Keep's Nim's babies today. The fat little creatures have their eyes open but are still hiding deep in their comfy nest. C'mon babies, it's not THAT cold outside! Think I will have to serve them an eviction notice soon.  Both are siamese sables and are sired by Keep's Sleep Walker, my golden fleece donation buck.  I'm so thrilled to have two litters out of him!

I can hardly KEEP TB's Toy Pansy's babies in their box.I am so ready to get this rabbit out of the house, but I can't do that until the stupid little broken kits realize they need to stay in the box- or until they get eyeballs and can handle cold temps better.  Her first litter, two of the three kits kept jumping out of the nestbox and ultimately they died, so I am fighting to keep this second litter alive.  Judging by how many times I've caught both brokens out of the box, I think it was a good decision.

Luckily Keep's Lovesong's babies are staying put- she's finally gotten the hang of being a Mama and isn't eating all the hay out of their box. *whew*.  I ended up fostering Puzzle's single baby by Orion in to her box, to free Puzzle up and to provide the singleton with some extra warmth that comes with siblings.  Lovesong's litter is out of Keep's Fury, who went to live in Michigan.  I'm so thankful I have this litter out of him, and that Lovesong is taking care of them.

Now to enjoy my last few days before the NEXT set of kits is due- right around the end of next week.  This unseasonably warm weather has been a blessing for breeding and births, but I think the good weather is at an end for us.  Sigh.

-Kristen

After Convention- so what's next?

A lot of people wonder what comes after Convention.

Something that big breeders and small breeders, famous breeders and newbies all have in common.  We all come home and we cull, cull, cull.

Cull is something of a dirty word nowadays.  The uninformed tend to think it means kill, when the word cull actually means to "the process of removing breeding animals from a group based on specific criteria." (wikipedia, ya'll!).  Even the BOB winners come home and evaluate their stock and make determinations on what fits best with their breeding programs and what needs to move along.

In my case, this is exactly what I am doing.  Some litters of juniors are reaching that age where I have to decide if I am going to grow out one, none, or all of them.  It's time to move on any does and bucks that I don't see myself using very much.  Winter is coming and I need to reduce stock to care for.  This may mean that animals end up in a pet, breeding or show home.  Yes, it may mean that I end up having to fatally cull them.  At least in the case of the last option, I know that my animals are loved, respected and cared for even as they take their last breaths.  No rotting away in a filthy cage in a neglectful "pet home" found via the first person to contact me from Craigslist. 

In any case, I've already identified some young brood stock to let go.  There are a few others that I am having a hard time with.  Is that brother larger and going to be a brood, or is his brother just particularly small?  Those ears look terrible right now, but is it because they are in their uglies, or is that going to be a permanent trend?  What about that junior in uglies?  He's nice, but is he nice enough to become a Keep's herd buck?

So many decisions to be made and Convention has done nothing but made me pickier.  I find myself looking at some of the juniors left behind with a jaundiced eye, comparing them to some of the animals I sold recently.  I think my buyers got the best of me this time, as I am missing the bucks that left me.

At least Convention has given me a new perspective on what I need to improve and who will help me do that.   The current herd better watch out- there is always a new batch of juniors just around the bend, ready to make them work for their places.

-Kristen

Why Mentor?

Mentor: a trusted counselor or guide

Mentoring.  It can be simple, a bit of guidance for a big event, but short event, like our National Convention, or it can be a lifetime of committing yourself to helping someone learn and grow.  It can even be somewhere in between.

The question today is why do it?  Why "bother" trying to teach someone, to help your current or future competition grow so that some day they catch up with you- or gasp even surpass your knowledge.  We all know how the movies go- the student becomes the Master and yadda yadda yadda.

Well to start with, I love to hear myself talk.  ;).

Honestly, the shortest, simplest answer for me is pride.  I take pride in seeing "my" youth do well.  I take pride in hearing them rattle off genetics correctly, in asking them to help me evaluate a rabbit and seeing them catch all the same things I did, and maybe catching something I missed.  Even if they don't walk around shouting from the rooftops "Oh, Keep taught me everything I know!", I hope they will remember me fondly years down the road as someone that was kind, who was never too busy to answer a question, even if they felt a bit silly asking it.  In a hobby where there can be so much nastiness, I feel it is important to make an extra effort to be that bit of kindness that may be what keeps someone going.

In any event, hopefully they take it to heart and pass on their knowledge to others. 

Our knowledge and our understanding isn't something that should be jealously guarded. It should be a beacon, drawing in the curious, those who are thirsting to understand.  We should let them in to our private little world built by mistakes and missteps and educate them. 

Plus- there is nothing like seeing one of "your" kids or "your" adults run to you first with pride shining from their eyes, to tell you their big news.

-Kristen

The Season Starts Again

Saturday was the first show of the Fall season.  It's been a long time coming, many of us haven't had a show in months.  It figures that many of the animals celebrated the first show by blowing their coats completely.

It was a very successful show, considering I went in to it with absolutely no expectations.   Keep's Orion took BOSB in Show A, while in Show B Keep's Outlaw took BOSB and Keep's Puzzle took BOB!  These three animals are on my short list to be considered for Convention spots.

This Sweeps year was finalized recently.  I placed 9th Open Overall, which isn't bad considering there was some kind of error that led to 1500 of my points not being counted. Unfortunately, I didn't discover the error until after points were finalized.

I was also 9th place in Open Herdsman, the highest placing of anyone in District 9!  Herdsman only takes BOB and BOSBs in to consideration and only 5 points may be earned per animal.  This is an exciting placement for me, as it speaks to the big wins in the herd, rather than one animal specifically.

Keep's Catching Fire with one of her BOB trophies

Speaking of one animal specifically- Keep's Catching Fire placed #5 Rabbit of the Year! I have never placed a top wooly and this is an incredible thing for me- especially considering that I was actively trying to breed her and it did prevent her from showing at several shows.

Finally, there is a category called the Award of Excellence.  This counts only bonus points from BOB and BOSB wins- in effect, how many rabbits did you win over.  I placed 8th in this contest.

It was a successful year for Keep's Rabbitry, though my "white whale", that elusive Best in Show, still eludes me.  I am very excited about some upcoming juniors, and hey- maybe this year will be my year.

-Kristen

Making Herd Decisions

It's hard to let go some of those rabbits.  You know the ones- that brood doe who throws GCs litter after litter. That buck who seems to be in every pedigree in your barn.   The first anything- first GC, first BIS, first RIS, first National winner-  it's hard.

Part of building a strong herd is learning when to let an animal go.

Ask yourself some simple questions:

1.) Has that rabbit outproduced itself?  This one serves a two part purpose.  If the rabbit has outproduced itself, move it on.  You have better now.  If it hasn't, consider how many litters you've had out of it.  If a buck has been bred to every doe in your barn and hasn't outproduced himself, he never will.  Why continue to breed him and take a step back in your program?  The same goes for does.

2.) Am I using that animal?  Too often I've blinked and realized I have a buck that is two years old, but for one reason or another, I've never used him- or only used him once.  If you find yourself passing over animals time and time again in favor of breeding others, move them out.  They are doing no good sitting in a cage.

3.) Do they contribute enough to the herd?  Maybe you have a doe that is hard to breed- she throws once baby at a time, and only catches one out of every three breedings or so.  Is she worth keeping in your herd?  I don't know about you, but I have a limited number of holes.  I prefer to keep does that pull their weight by kindling several kits at time and that breed easily. Same with bucks- lazy or picky breeders drive me NUTS.

4.) How old are they?  A lot of breeders try to move out does by 2 1/2 years old.  This isn't a bad practice to have, because again- by this age, they should have either outproduced themselves, or shown that they never are going to do so.  Let them go.

5.)  How many do you have?  This is one I am terrible about.  If you have a forty hole rabbitry and 10 shaded senior bucks, something is wrong.  (I'm looking at myself here.)  Line them up and identify your bottom three (at least).  If you have seven better bucks in the same color group, why are you keeping those bottom ones?  Identify if it is for sentimental reasons or not- then let them go! Even #8, #9 & #10 may be very nice animals that can help someone else's herd.  You don't need so many in the same class.

So there you go- hopefully this helps you identify where you can make cuts in your herd and open up some cage space!

-Kristen

Taylorsville Night Show

We had an excellent Night Show! It was cool, which was nice.  It can be worrisome showing in the summer and I have canceled a few shows in the past because I worried the heat would be too much for the bunnies.

Keep's Merlin and Keep's Cold Shoulder are the latest in a long line of Grand Champion woolies! This was their first time out as seniors and I'm so proud of both of them.

Keep's Rue won her first Best Opposite Sex of Breed at exactly 10 weeks old! I believe this show will give her two legs, as she also placed BOSG in the second show.

Keep's Tribute earned another leg for his Best of Breed win in the second show! He earned two at this show as well. 

It was a great day as far as results- several bunnies earned legs to add to their growing pile and the little junior girls did me proud!

I was able to move out a group of bunnies- I hope their new owners are pleased with them and they do well for them!  I wasn't able to bask in empty cages long, as I had babies that needed to be weaned from their mamas.

-Kristen

Happy Independence Day!

As you are enjoying those fireworks tonight, remember your bunnies. 

A Radio on in the barn can help keep the rabbits from stressing during the booms of fireworks and the whooping and hollering of any nearby neighbors.

Having corn on the cob?  Save those husks and feed them to your rabbits for a fantastic treat! Remember to feed in moderation and check to make sure there is no mold on it.  Corn husks, if kept damp, mold in a shockingly short amount of time.

If you have the heat we typically associate with July here in the South, add frozen water bottles or frozen tiles to the cages.  Relief from the heat keeps your rabbits healthy and happy.  I also recommend freezing bananas, peel and all.  Chunks of this treat keeps your animals cooler and makes sure they get nutrition (as many go off feed in extreme heat)- plus it's a nice thing to do for them.

Are there bonfires or poor air quality from lots of grilling around?  If possible, I like to close up the barn to keep the air clean for the rabbits.  Depending on the heat and other factors, this may not be possible.   Just remember, keep any fires well away from the barn!

Enjoy your 4th of July!

-Kristen

Show Weekend

Show Season is winding down! I had my last show of the "Sweeps Year" on Saturday.  There were some familiar faces missing, but we still managed to have a very good time.

In Show A, under Judge Jay Hreiz, Keep's Panda took BOB!  Joni won BOSB with one of her lovely blue does, I think it was Vala, but I could be wrong.  The consistency of her self does is so crazy it is hard to tell them apart!

Judge Don Sheets chose for Best In Show and told me that Panda was his 3rd choice- he lost out on RIS because of a little finish.  Dang it!

In Show B, Keep's Orion, a Panda son, took BOB and Keep's Catching Fire took BOSB!

I managed to sell all the rabbits I brought with me- three does, and find a pet home for a retired show buck of mine.   Of course- I brought home a buck and a doe, both Keep's rabbits that are returning home, as well as borrowed a doe from a friend.  This poor little lady keeps having dead litters, so we are hoping that a change to her environment will help her conceive a live litter.

I spent a good chunk of show B writing for Don Sheets.  He was great, explaining to me what he looks for in various breeds and even letting me put my hands on several of the rabbits.  He also went over one of the Florida White does with me and showed me a few "posing tricks". 

Overall, it was a wonderful show.  The NCRBA Youth put it on and they did such an amazing job!

-Kristen

My worst nightmare

Yesterday, a terrible fear of mine came to pass.

I walked outside with the dogs, in to the balmy, still air and thought "uh oh- this looks like tornado weather."  As the thought crossed my mind in the eerie yellow light, a blast of wind came out of nowhere and slammed me. Trees bent at unnatural angles, leaves went flying and I started to panic a bit.

As I was calling in the dogs, who naturally didn't want to come in like they are trained to because they just got outside, whine whine, the rain started.  It went from zero to violent downpour instantly and the drops were literally painful as they hit me.

Then it started.  Flicker, flicker.  Off.  On.  Flicker, flicker- off.  On.  We lost and regained power three times in five minutes, before finally it turned off.

No power? In summer? On a 90+ degree day? 

Oh no...what about the rabbits.




The storm lasted minutes. Literally perhaps ten minutes of violent downpour, then another ten of light rain and it was over.  The power outage lasted well in to the early morning, however.

Tim and I had to feed via flashlight.  The rabbits were on edge because their beloved radio wasn't working and the thunder and heavy rains from earlier had really shaken them up.  The air in the barn was warmer than I like to keep it, though thankfully the storm had cooled the outside temperatures down somewhat.  I say somewhat, because it was hardly a comfortable temperature, but at least it was no 90 degrees!

Thankfully, we were here when the power went out, but it has always been a fear of mine that the bunnies would lose AC in the midst of the summer heat and we would be out of town for the week or weekend.

Also thankfully, as you may have gathered from this blog post, we have our power back on.  The bunnies are all fine, we did checks on them every little bit until the sun went down and temperatures dropped further.

I am just thankful this all happened while we were at home and happened later in the day.  It could have been deadly had it been in the dog days of August or if we had been out of town.

-Kristen

Silver Linings

Sometimes, raising rabbits is all about the silver linings.

Keep's Tequila Mockingbird aborted her litter of three today- they were due on the 16th.  She tried to starve herself to death for the first two weeks of her pregnancy, so I'm happy that she is even alive.  That's not the only silver lining in the sad discovery I made today.

Tequila has had a very hard time conceiving- by hard time, I mean she has never before become pregnant and she is nearing a year old.  Even though this litter didn't survive, it proved that she can get pregnant- and gives me hope that her next attempt will end in a wiggling litter.

Sometimes that is how you have to look at it.  Every dead, stretched litter, like Keep's Lovesong's, means that she was able to pass the kits successfully- no stuck kits, no toxic babies that will take her life.

Raising rabbits, or any animal, isn't always about the successes.  Sometimes, it's about the failures that weren't as bad as they could have been.

-Kristen

Natural Treats for Rabbits

Rabbits love treats- especially the sugary, expensive kind you can buy in pet stores.  Yogurt treats, seed treats, flavored wood treats- well maybe not the flavored wood treats so much, but they are like people- the worst the treat is for them, the more they want it.

Rabbits also enjoy a wide variety of healthier options as well though.  To treat your pets or your herd, you can cut up small slices of apple and share it around!  Bananas are well received in my barn, peel and all.  Clover and fresh grass is always a good option.

Did you know that rabbits love tomatoes?  It never occurred to me, though I know wild bunnies sometimes get in to our summer gardens and have a field day.  You have to watch feeding the tomatoes though, they can definitely stain coats and faces!  One of my pet woolies actually went off feed for a day or two because she was waiting to get more tomatoes and turned her nose up at pellets.

Sunflower seeds are a good treat and actually are an ingredient in several homemade conditioning mixes. 

My rabbits enjoy yogurt.  You have to make sure not to get any "lite" yogurts- nothing with aspartame or any kind of fake sugar, because that is toxic to rabbits.  They don't get this nearly as often as they would like because it is messy and time consuming to share it around.

They also love strawberries.  Unfortunately for them, I also love strawberries, so they have to make due with a strawberry top or two every once in a while.  These also can stain faces and fur!

It's amazing how many treats rabbits will eat that are outside the "norm" of carrots.  However, you have to make sure to feed in moderation and monitor how they eat their regular feed.  Several of my show team can't be given treats because they go off feed and it's not worth it to have them lose the condition.

-Kristen

New Beginnings

On May 26th, Keep's Cat Call gave me five beautiful babies!  Cat Call is a sable point and the sire, Keep's Bump It Up, is a siamese sable.  I'm thinking that four of the five a sable points! Eeeek!  Cat Call did a fantastic job with her nest this time, I think she finally has it figured out.

Today, Sky's Eve kindled some lovely little Florida White babies.  Eve is an excellent mother and I know she'll take great care of her babies.  I was tickled that she had them on our anniversary!

The last new beginning at Keep's rabbitry comes for a little buckling.   Coco Puff went to his new home today, where he will be living very happily with a little girl who has done her research and waited patiently for the perfect little bunny to come her way.  Coco is going to be absolutely spoiled rotten.

It has been a day of new beginnings all around.  More beautiful babies to enjoy and saying goodbye to one little guy who is starting his new life as a loved pet.

-Kristen

Typing Juniors

I spent a pleasant hour after the single show I attended (well it was a double, I only stayed for Show A) going over the upcoming juniors in the barn.  It's funny, I have a ton of little babies (still with mama) and quite a few almost-senior-juniors, but the inbetween age I only have a few.

First up was DayDreamer's litter- looks like two bucks and a doe.  The tiniest buck is going to be a pet for a little girl who has been waiting patiently for one from me.  Because he's so tiny, I think he will fit the bill perfectly!  The other brother I plan to grow out- he has a beautiful body, but I'm not so sure about those ears.  He's right in the uglies age, molt and all, so I am trying to ignore them for right now.  When measured, they are still small!  The only doe in the litter is going to be a big brood doe- figures! I'm not sure if I will keep her or not.  Her mom is a brood doe, but I'm sorely lacking in does right now.  We shall see how she develops.

I checked on Puzzle's foster baby, the broken black doeling out of Rumor Has it and Panda.  Ouch.  Talk about a disappointment.  She is a rare doeling out of Panda.   Maybe Panda is just a "buck-sire", because all his boys do pretty well on the table.  This girl- very wide spread ears and a distinct lack of HQ.  She's all 'tude too! Her full brother, different litter, just beat Panda for a BOG (as a junior) today and has shown very well so far- meanwhile this little girl is...meh at best.  Since she is also heading in to uglies, I'll see what the next few weeks bring.

Snickers' doeling (Keep's Kit Kat)- the one that was sheared down by her Florida White foster siblings, is developing beautifully!  Her topline is amazing and the density to her coat is just beautiful. Unfortunately, since she's still growing everything back, that's all I really know right now.  I'd like to see a little more width, but hey, it could easily come in with time, especially since her parents are both nice animals.  I can't wait to see her continue to bloom!

That's really about it.  I've got my eye on a few upcoming babies, one or two in particular that I can't wait to evaluate.   That is really what rabbit breeding is about, isn't it?  Appreciate this generation, but always have your eye on the next one.

-Kristen

Out of the comfort zone-

Joni at Lyle Creek Rabbitry did a blog recently where she spoke of how rabbits have helped her come out of her comfort zone.

I have to admit, this past weekend we both really took a flying leap out of those comfort zones!

We planned to go to the Knoxville, TN show.  I was bummed about missing Nationals and it was the only show within a reasonable distance.  I won't be able to make Columbia, SC next weekend, so I though, why not.

We planned to go with some other friends, but on Wednesday they had to cancel.  While I totally understand why they canceled, Joni and I were a little disappointed to cancel our plans.  Tim had a meeting and wouldn't be able to drive me to the show.

Then I had an idea.  A bit of a scary idea, but hey- I figured why not throw it out there.

I would drive the 2 hours to Joni's house, then let her drive my car a bit over 2 hours towards Tennessee.  As we got closer to the city, I would then take back over and do the city driving, since she hates that part.

Joni agreed and so we undertook the trip, driving a state away by ourselves.  It doesn't seem like a big deal, but hey, we were pretty proud!

Keep's Knight and Keep's Merlin both took BOSBs.  They are little black junior bucks, born a day apart to two different groups of parents- I don't think they are related in any way.  I am pretty proud of the way they keep going back and forth on the tables.

-Kristen

Rain, Rain, Go Away

The poor rabbits- they haven't seen sunshine in almost 2 weeks.  While we are all enjoying the cooler temperatures this May, it would be so nice to get that beautiful sunshine out! 

The cooler weather is keeping some funky coats on  bunnies that very much need to molt.  However, it is helping poor Panda put a coat back on! He started webbing as his dead coat was refusing to drop off, so he and I had an intense several grooming sessions.  He's only now starting to not look like a poor little homeless ragamuffin.

Keep's Fiona kindled today.  She was so overdue that when I entered the successful birth in to my pedigree software, it popped up saying "This is more than 5 days past the due date.  Are you sure you entered it correctly?"  I definitely did, and her one little baby is as large as those that were born on their correct due date. Gotta love the challenges of the bunnies.

I did some rebreeding recently.  I am excited to see the new babies.  Meanwhile the most recent weanings have left me with absolutely no cage space.  Every time I move a rabbit out, it seems like a litter is being weaned! Accck!

I am hoping everyone else has had the kind of litter luck I have! Even though there were some dead babies, every doe bred gave me at least 1 live kit.  I evaluate feed and the health of the herd based on conception rate and 100% definitely makes me happy.  I also got a first time doe started and a doe who was having trouble conceiving started back up!  Hooray!

So far, it has been a successful May :).

-Kristen

Out with the old, in with the new-

I had a 100% conception rate  this last breeding.  Ok, so it was only a set of three does, but all of them kindled!  I now have 7 new babies in the barn, with more on the way.  This isn't including the three that are close to opening their eyes, or the ones still with their moms!

With all the juniors I am growing out and the new babies born, it occurs to me that it is time to do a herd reduction- if nothing else, so I have somewhere to put all these babies.

I'm happy that all of the Florida White babies will be gone in the next few days.  This will be good timing, since the senior doe, Eve, has been rebred!

I dislike having to move out the senior animals- often I wish I could keep them "just for one more litter".

I find that right now, I have too many bucks.  More importantly, too many half sibling bucks! It's time to make some decisions.  I can't keep them all, after all.

Oh well, perhaps some day the sun will come back, the days will warm up (it is May, isn't it?) and I will get out there and finalize my sales list.  Someday.

Until then- maybe there is time for just one more litter...

-Kristen

More babies!

Keep's Rumor Has It had FIVE babies on 4/20!  Unfortunately, one died for no reason that I can tell and one is a peanut, which leaves her with three healthy agouti babies.  I can handle that! It's a great number for a litter.

On 4/21, Keep's Cat Call finally got it right and had her litter in the nestbox.  Unfortunately, one of her babies didn't make it.  The other, a sable point, has been fostered over to Rumor.

It looks like Keep's Catching Fire missed this round.

The next set of babies aren't due until next week. I am hoping to stay with the 66%+ conception rate that this mini round gave me!

-Kristen