Website Updated

I finally got my sales page updated.

I need to get in there and update all the pictures of all the rabbits. I realized Panda's picture is still of him as a junior- and now HE has kids the same as he was in that picture! Ack.

It's been so hot though, I don't anticipate this happening for a good while. It's too hot to pull the rabbits out into the 99 degree days and make them pose.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

California SB 917 Passed- Terrible News!

SB 917 passed last night and will go in to effect on January 1st, 2012. This is TERRIBLE news for everyone out there, not just the people in California.

On the surface, this bill is supposed to help stop puppy mills. Instead, it spells the beginning of the end for farmers, pet owners, responsible animal fanciers- and it may eventually spread it's taint to the other states.

Read more about SB 917 here or here!

We can still fight this, but we need to get on it NOW!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Summer of Hell

I want to preface this by saying- before this summer, I went YEARS without losing a rabbit. The odd baby here or there, maybe, but very, very rarely did I ever lose a full grown rabbit.

Then came the incident. Which was my fault.

Then came the loss of several babies. Not my fault this time.

Then came the loss of more babies. Not my fault again.

Now this.
Picture is Keep's Juniper as a junior. Right before we went to Convention and she took 4th in her class.

It took me a long while to get Juniper to kindle. She had a dead litter on the wire- 6 babies.

I rebred her and just last week, she kindled one live baby. A day later she kindled three DOAs- she had trouble giving birth. I noticed she wasn't taking care of her kit, so I gave it to Flirt, who lost her entire litter because she gave birth prematurely.

A few days later, Juniper passed 3 more dead babies. One was very, very mangled, she had a lot of trouble with it.

Today- Juniper passed away :(. It was due to complications in the kindling, I know that. I don't know if she had another baby that she couldn't pass that became toxic, if she had an infection- I just don't know.

But the summer of absolute Hell continues.

Juniper was rotten- every day, she'd pick her wiffle ball up and toss it in her food dish. Every day, I'd pick it out and throw it back to her. She was always at the front of the cage being nosy.

It's a small comfort that I spent time with the juniors last night, but took some extra time to give her some head rubs. :(.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Playing with bunnies

I spent about an hour last night outside grooming and playing with the juniors. I've realized I have chosen THE WORST time to try to sell some of these juniors, as a combination of early molts, summer ears and the uglies has conspired to make them look truly awful. Ahh well though, I always do my best to describe animals accurately and only sell the ones that I think will be helpful to someone's herd.

It was nice to be outside and playing with the babies. There are several I am really excited about, I hope they look nice around Convention time!

Keep's Calypso, my Opal doe, is due to kindle today. If she doesn't have a litter, she's going to be for sale immediately. I have to wait for my broken chestnut doe to raise her litter. She's got three adorable kits- a REW, a broken opal and a chestnut.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Officially-

I'm going to be selling out of Agouti woolies and the tan patterns. I'll have a list in a bit of what is available and pictures, of course.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Heat

Lots of folks are talking about the awful heat that is battering the East Coast. We're not slated to get any relief until sometime in early August- by relief, I mean it will be 85 instead of 95.

I've seen the death tolls growing- not just rabbits, but chickens as well. People are scrambling to keep horses, goats, pigs- any livestock or pets that live outdoors cool.

I'm happy to report that my rabbits are all doing well. I've turned the AC down cooler than my preference to help combat the high-90s temperatures.

We're making sure to keep water bottles full and both Tim and I are out checking on the bunnies every little bit. We have some frozen water bottles ready to go out as well, JUST in case anyone needs it.

I hope everyone out there is able to keep their animals doing well in this heat!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry

Litter Announcements

Keep's Juniper, my tort doe who was 4th at Convention as a junior, kindled her first live baby! She didn't nest or pull wool, so I was lucky I found the baby in time!

WO's Flirt kindled prematurely and had 5 babies that weren't ready to be born. She's getting older, I think it's time to retire her. I only got one litter out of her (she's a fairly recent purchase), but I kept two junior does that are looking very nice.

I don't have any more litters due until August.

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry