Spang Angora Rabbitry

NY Convention Pictures

2011-10-09T16:55:00.000-07:00

It looks like I have finally managed to get things together here and post pictures of last week's show:). Below are mostly pictures from Show A where Cheryl Eng-Link was judging. The NY Convention typically has some of the highest angora entries in the state, and most of the people standing at the table here were entered with one breed or another:

Here is either Carmen or Evita sitting out on the table, awaiting judging:

And this is Zsa Zsa during the judging of the White class:

This is the YOUTH FA show, with rabbits owned by a little girl named Meghan:).

These are my buns in their carriers, awaiting the second show:

And these are some of Zsa Zsa's 'formal' pictures, taken at home after the show:). She is still holding a prime coat now and probably would have made it to Convention, but unfortunately it is not to be since she will be getting bred and retiring soon to the nestbox instead, LOL:).

Next weekend I will also be attending the Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool festival, so if anyone is interested in some sale bunnies for delivery to the event, please email me ASAP at amy@spangangoras.com. There will be several Torts and REWs available:).

Have a great week!:-)
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NYS Convention and Reserve in Show

2011-10-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

I have some pictures I'm going to post in a few days once I get this camera thing worked out, but for now I figured I'd post the results of a show I went to yesterday (Sat, Oct 1):).

I hadn't planned on attending the NYS Convention this year because A) for some reason I thought that there was only one Open show planned per day (which later turned out to be wrong, LOL), and B) I was planning on attending the DelMarVA show the previous weekend instead. Well, the DelMarVa show didn't quite pan out because of flooding here (again!), and later it turned out there were 2 Open shows on Saturday in Syracuse, so I decided to head over to try to squeeze in at least one show for this season:).

I brought 3 Sr. does along: Spang's Zsa Zsa, Spang's Evita, and Spang's Carmen, and the two shows were judged by Cheryl Eng-Link and Helen Brose, respectively. There were 33 FAs entered in both shows and 6 exhibitors.

Zsa Zsa took BOV/BOB for both shows, and Carmen won BOV Colored for both shows. Evita placed right behind Carmen in the Colored class in the second show, and I think she did it in the first show also, though I wasn't writing anything down and can't quite remember the details (apologies to anyone in case I'm wrong!:( )

In the Best in Show competition for Show B, Zsa Zsa also won the Open RIS on a very competitive table, and overall she had a wonderful, excellent day:). She earned her 7th leg and will now come home to be sheared and bred along with everyone else for the Fall litters.

Today I am getting ready for the kids to arrive home after their l-o-n-g vacation:). Though I got a lot done and it was great to have an uninterrupted break, it will be wonderful to see them again and get back to the daily madness that is normal life in the Spang family household. LOL.

Pictures will be posted in the next several days----have a great week!:-)

Bunnies for Sale at DelMarva

2011-09-22T19:07:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post a quick note to say that I will be bringing two Tort Jr. bucks with me to sell at the DelMarva show on Saturday. They are both approx. 4 months old and show quality (out of my best herd sire). If anyone has any questions before 2PM tomorrow just email me at amy@spangangoras.com. Otherwise, hope to see you at the show!

Have a fantastic weekend:-)

---Due to flood warnings up and down the east coast this weekend (again!), I will not be attending this show after all. Sorry! :(

Rabbit/ Stuff Update

2011-09-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since I've blogged, and I guess a lot has been going on in this neck of the woods:). During the hurricane we lost our power/internet for a week and the phone for almost 3 weeks (it just came back the other night:( ). As if that weren't enough, a whole bunch of flooding came afterward and the majority of the towns here had profound damage, with one nearby getting totally inundated and almost wiped of the map:(. We were very, very lucky because we are located on a hill where the water always runs down, and we also have few trees around our house (thanks to dh cutting them all down years ago, LOL), and nothing fell on the house or any of our outbuildings. The rabbitry is also on a hill so no water collected there, and all in all we were one of the very few here who had no damage or flooding whatsoever:(.

Show-wise I had planned on attending some local shows this fall, but the Cobleskill show last week ended up getting skipped because of the flooding between here and there. Looking at the NYS show website the NY Convention has basically scheduled one Open show for Saturday and one for Sunday but there are no specialties in between, so it is hardly worth making a 4 hour trip Friday night and spending money for 2 nights at a hotel for only 2 shows in 2 days, LOL.

Anyway, what ended up happening is that I remembered that the UARC was holding a Specialty in addition to 2 Open shows in MD in DelMarva on Sept. 24, so I decided that the best thing to do might be to take a road trip down there on Friday night, show 3 times, and then come home again on Saturday:). I've never shown that far south before but it looks like it's going to be a really fun show, so I'm going to round up the buns next week and go.

On another note, ALL of my kids have taken off on a cross country trip with their Grandfather for the next couple of weeks! They are going camping, visiting the National parks, seeing lots of new places they've never seen before and having an absolute BALL, and for the first time since they were born I find myself with free time that I haven't had since before I got married, LOL!

After some initial confusion I took off like a shot, and I've been cleaning and organizing things like a MANIAC:-). The rabbit barn is absolutely spotless, every rabbit (not in coat) is sheared and ready to be bred next week. Everyone is tattooed and ivomeced, every cage is labeled, and all my dishes/bottles/ and supplies have been neatly stored in assorted plastic tubs:). I keep thinking of other things that have to be done but then am amazed to find I did them already (LOLOLOL!). I cannot BELIEVE how much time there is in the day when you have it to yourself, and now I am whizzing through every room in the house cleaning, organizing, redecorating, and in some cases even repainting. YIKES!:):)

The only problem I have is that my camera is acting up and it won't allow me to post pictures. All the bun photos I've taken, etc. will have to wait until everyone comes back and I have someone technical on hand to fix it:). Until then I will just check in every once in awhile with posts and assorted text articles as I continue to zoom through this place getting lots of things done---!!!!!!!!

I hope everyone everywhere else is starting to see the temperatures drop for fall (great bunny weather!), and I hope also that others in the east who were hit by the hurricane and excessive flooding did not sustain too much damage. Best of luck for a calmer (and happier!!) fall and show season for everyone:-).

Bunny Trip to VA

2011-08-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I will be taking a trip down to VA this Wednesday, August 17 to deliver some rabbits, so if anyone is interested in acquiring something or arranging a pickup, please feel free to contact me at amy@spangangoras.com. I will have REWs, Pearls, and probably a few Torts for sale. Breeding and Sire/Dam information is available on my website on the 'Breeding/Litters' page at http://www.spangangoras.com/. Does will be $125 and bucks will be $100 along with a small delivery/gas charge for each rabbit.

Litters that will be available are out of Nikola, Natalya, and Miachi. I plan on driving South out of NY via I-78, I-81, and I-83, with an endpoint near Waterford, VA.

Thanks, and have a great week!

New Bunny Pics!

2011-08-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

I finally got some pictures taken this week, and amazingly I also figured out how to upload them on this new computer, LOL! I have a monstrous amount of new rabbits in the barn now which is great, and thankfully I also have plenty of new FAs to add to the existing herd that was getting a little thinned out. Most of these shots below are of FAs, and there are actually many more juniors in the barn that I haven't photographed yet. I put together my best combinations for breeding this spring/summer and happily it resulted in some beautiful babies who will be filling the roster for upcoming show seasons (where the older buns leave off and retire to spend the rest of their careers in the nestbox:)).

I got lots of great Torts, which I guess is the one color that good rabbits here seem to be, but there were also some stunning REWs which was great because no color in angoras can truly compete with the wool of a white rabbit:). There are 4 more French litters coming up (all 8-9 weeks old now), but no one will be bred again til September to give the bucks a chance to recover from the heat of summer.

The first two babies pictured here are Giant crosses (F2's now). Both are nearly 9 weeks old and one is Chestnut while the other is REW. There were many other GA babies born this spring (probably too many, LOL), but most have either been Black or White except for two or three Chestnuts and one Steel. The Steel baby was surprising, but it showed me that my main GA sire SFF's Rubicon is Steel beneath the white, and I will have to work that out at some point. The Steel baby was too nice (and large:)) to get rid of, and her sire is an excellent buck with superb balance and wool quality, so I will keep them both and strip the steel out later using 'ee' animals. After this I will separate my lines to keep the gene contained while (hopefully) still managing to isolate the best qualities of the GA buck:).

CHESTNUT GA CROSS---9 WEEKS

REW GA CROSS----9 WEEKS

This below is an older picture of one of Etienne's French babies at 10 wks. (Etienne usually produces my best show litters). This little girl is now almost 5 months old in Jr. prime. Her name will be Spang's Esperanza.

I thought these two pictures were very interesting because they show an F4 FA/NZ doe whose coat has changed dramatically in just over two years of life. Elenita had a perfectly textured coat when she was young, and her picture was even added to the latest Standard of Perfection. Several growth cycles later (and several litters later) she began to get much hairier. Now at approx. 2 years old, she has become so imbalanced that she is no longer fit to show. The darker color seen on the saddle area is a function of her abundant guard hair which contrasts sharply with the sides of her coat, which still have a correct ratio of guard hair to underwool. Elenita can no longer be shown, but since she has wonderful type, size, and production quality, she will stay on to breed for a much longer time. I don't worry much about her coat issue because even though an F4 generation rabbit is considered purebred, there is no question that the wool is still not 100% balanced on many of these animals, and another 2 generations are needed for them to become indistinguishable from 'genuine' purebreds.

This is a picture of Bijou last spring right before harvest (on a somewhat windy day). Her coat was slipping badly and it had become rough looking, dull, and disheveled. The picture at the very beginning of this post is Bijou again just yesterday, growing in her next new coat. She looks even, primed, and balanced again, and she should be stunning in another 2 months. The differences in coat quality for each growth phase become very apparent over time. A great wool judges can discern instantly what phase any angora is in, and some can even tell how long a rabbit has been in a particular phase (beginning, middle, end).

This here is Spang's Nikola, a Pearl doe in full coat last spring who recently weaned her first litter. I haven't looked these babies over yet, but I think there will be some nice ones in the bunch.

And this is the very best REW that was born this spring to Zsa Zsa and Anton. She is a beautiful baby with great density, type, and balance who will be named Spang's Zaragevna.

So anyway, that's it for today. I will get more GA and FA pics up as I take them, and some of the new babies coming up as well.

Have a great week and STAY COOL!:-D

Back at Last:)

2011-07-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted (I mean really, obscenely long:( ), and I think that every year from now on at this time I will have to take a formal break from blogging until the baseball season is over because with 3 kids going in 3 different directions for MONTHS there is little time for anything but cooking, cleaning, sleeping (if I'm lucky:)) and washing uniforms. Whew!!

Anyway, the season is mostly over now, so it is time to get caught up on rabbit stuff again. I did manage to get my barn pulled apart and deep cleaned several weeks ago, so everyone is now housed in a bright, clean, shiny, happy barn:). I bred LOTS of babies over the spring/summer---probably more than I've bred in years----so now it is a matter of weaning those litters off and evaluating them several weeks later to determine who stays around and who has their destinies decided elsewhere. Since so many babies were born this spring I have decided to give my does the summer off and not breed again til the fall. Clearly this was a good choice since along with everyone else on the eastern seaboard (and the entire country!), we are having HORRIBLE high temps that have more than likely rendered all the bucks sterile.

Tomorrow we have another near-100 degree day here, and then it is supposed to cool down somewhat. I've spent most of the last few days shearing as many rabbits as possible down to the skin. Aside from a few of the French adults growing in showcoats (who will be lounging in the basement to stay cool), there is no reason to keep anyone else in coat in these high temperatures.

I have found that the Giants, especially, suffer terribly in this weather. Notwithstanding their thicker, more insulative coats, they also have the problem of heavy ear and facial furnishings which prevent them from dissipating heat the way a clean-headed rabbit breed would. FAs seem to handle the weather well and so do Satin Angoras, but as long as any wool rabbit is either sheared or kept groomed so that no matting occurs to make it even hotter, most are able to cope well and get through these dog days of summer:(.

More again this weekend as I can get some pictures taken of the latest buns and get my show on the road once more:). I may be making a trip to the state of VA sometime later this summer and bringing buns down south as a result. Stay tuned for more details!

Have a great week and STAY COOL:-)

Economy in the Rabbitry--Feed

2011-05-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

As gas prices go up and the price of everything seems to be rising each day, it is a good idea to look over our rabbitry routine periodically to see if we can cut costs:).

As we have all noticed, feed prices go up when gas costs go up. Lately, feed prices have skyrocketed, which makes any breeder pause to think about how their costs can be contained. Since feed is by far the most expensive ingredient in raising rabbits, it is the first factor to consider.

Quality angora feed is not cheap, but there are things we can do to lower the price:

1) Order it by the ton. A ton of feed sounds overwhelming, but when you consider the fact that a rabbitry of 40 or more adults including nursing does and babies can easily polish off 4 or more 50 lb. bags of feed a week, it becomes a logical and attractive option. A ton of 40 lb. bags of feed amounts to 50 bags. A ton of 50 lb. bags equals 40 bags. If you order a ton of feed straight from a company you will not only get it at the wholesale price, but even with the cost of shipping you may find that you can save 5$ or more per bag under the cost at your local feed store. Add this benefit to the fact that you are eliminating a middle man who may a) be storing your feed improperly, b) forgetting to order at the right time thus leaving you hanging at the worst possible moment, and c) neglecting to keep track of expiration dates. Ordering feed yourself often makes it possible to get a batch right after it has been milled, and even if you do not have anyone to share a ton with (another breeder to split it with you, etc.), you would still have a good chance of using up the full amount by the time it expired. 1/2 tons are also available to order from most companies, but shipping costs are often the same and it is usually more economical to order the full ton.

2) Choose a less expensive feed. Though you would never want to use a feed with poor quality ingredients, there are certainly variations in price between most of the major brands. Depending on where you live, feeds which are manufactured nearby are going to be cheaper (and fresher) than brands which are milled far away. Also, some brands are available in 50 lb. bags while others are available in 40, making it smart to calculate cost effectiveness.

3) Use a lower protein feed for younger rabbits and a higher protein one for adults, especially if a lower version in the same feed line is cheaper. Angora juniors, for example, are not typically competitive on the show table and baby wool is not of great value to the spinner either, so it does not necessarily pay to feed babies a top of the line feed with a high protein level to promote wool growth. Most major feed lines offer an assortment of feed preparations with varying protein levels. A Standard 16% (or even 15%) feed will work very well for babies up to 4 months, and may better safeguard gut health since juniors of 14 weeks and below are more susceptible to enteritis.

4) Cut down the number of rabbits in your herd. This can be difficult if you are trying to maintain a gene pool of a certain size or are working on a project which requires frequent, heavy breeding. However, if cutting back means the difference between continuing or going out of rabbits altogether, you will simply have to prioritize. If you are forced to downsize, one option to consider is to take on a partner who has similar breeding goals and animals of similar quality who would be willing to trade rabbits and breedings to keep the line/gene pool healthy. Since agreements of this nature can often run into conflict, it is important to partner with someone who shares your breeding goals and is someone with whom you get along well.

More again next time as I add to this topic and try listing ways to save $$ on hay, supplements, meds, tools, cage equipment, and so on. Also, I will add a list at the end to suggest ways of bringing money in while raising rabbits. Rabbits are not typically known as money makers, but it is certainly possible to make enough profit while raising them (particularly angoras) to cover the cost of feed and other needs.

Have a great week!:-)

Bijou and---Baseball!

2011-05-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

I just clipped Bijou recently, but since she had this beautiful, beautiful coat ahead of time I figured it would be necessary to post 15 million pictures of it first, LOL. It was a little windy that day so she's slightly unkempt, but she yielded close to 11 oz. at this clip, and it will all be going to members of my mother's local spinning group:).

I had a few more litters born last week, and am expecting many more next week, including several FA litters. I will be breeding 3-4 more French does this week, and I think I will have to build many more nestboxes soon too, because the usual supply just isn't cutting it anymore, LOL.

And just as an aside, we went to my son Keith's first Babe Ruth double header game this weekend. There he is (#11!) first in the huddle with his team, then in the yard in his uniform, and last in the batter's box right before he got a big hit:). All three boys are on different teams this year so it is going to be crazy trying to keep up with them this season (much less trying to transport everyone, LOL!!)

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Anyway, have a great week and more again next time!:-)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

Just a series of pics that remind us all of Spring around here (and Easter!!:-)). I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with many, many bunny babies this spring.

HAPPY EASTER!!:-D

Rhinebeck, NY Show

2011-04-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

I just got home from the Rhinebeck show a couple of hours ago and I am still shivering even as I write (ugh!) due to the miserable weather and pouring rain we all endured. I am really glad to be home and even more glad to be taking the coats off the three remaining does I brought so everyone can finally be bred:).

There were very few Angoras present at Rhinebeck this year, but perhaps better weather next year will encourage more to attend. I brought three does to show since I was also working as Registrar, but two of them managed to earn BOB in both shows----Spang's Midori in Show A, and Spang's Bijou in Show B. I did not end up bringing my camera for pictures since I accidentally left it in my son's backpack yesterday (LOL!), but I will try to get a picture up later of Bijou in particular, who is in super, duper full coat right now.

Right now every single doe (and I mean every SINGLE one!) of breeding age with the exception of the above three rabbits are bred right now. Most are pure French litters, but others are French/Giant and a few others are Satin, so it is going to be a busy, BUSY spring:). I have realized also lately that my FA herd needs to be beefed up, so I'll be breeding lots of those through the spring and summer too. All this breeding will mean that there will be little if anything left to show this spring, but occasionally it is necessary to skip a show season or two in order to stabilize the herd and redefine one's direction:). I have always considered myself to be a breeder before anything else (including showing), so it is important to stop every once in awhile to examine plans and make adjustments accordingly.

Anyway, more again next time as I post some pictures and get on track with different subjects. Hopefully everyone out there is experiencing a HUGE surge in litters with the warmer spring weather, so have a great week!:-)

Rabbitry Planning

2011-04-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like the miserable winter has come to an end and spring has finally sprung:-). I have been spending most of my time this past week opening up the rabbitry, cleaning things out, moving bunnies around, and replacing dirty dishes, footboards, and water bottles, etc. One evening last week I made up this drawing in which I designated certain parts of my rabbitry for different breeds:

The most spacious part of the plan (that is, the inside of the barn) will always be used to house the FAs. There are approx. 40 cages in there which give me enough space (most of the time, haha:)) to fit all my babies and adults every year as long as I stagger litters instead of breeding every doe at once.

Since my Giant program is growing now, too, I am going to need more space for babies. I moved all the GAs to the outside of the barn in which there is a long row of large size cages. Opposite these cages, and up against the back of my house, there will eventually be a third row (with a walkway in between) in which I will raise a few Satin Angoras.

I may not have mentioned it before, but I recently picked up two new SA bucks at the PaSRBA show in February. I never thought of myself as owning Satins in the past, but my mother Lesa absolutely LOVES Satin fiber and spins it whenever she gets the chance:). Since she has graciously accompanied me to shows now for years and has been a constant source of help and support, I thought the least I could do was get her a couple of rabbits, LOL!

I don't know if I will ever show Satins or raise them for the long term, but they are certainly interesting to observe and contrast with the other angora breeds, and it is always good to have the experience of raising several different kinds of rabbits. Having said this though, I doubt I will ever own an English Angora because the maintenance requirement is just too high and I would never be able to cope with that many furnishings, LOL.

Anyway, lots of clipping and breeding happening tomorrow. My five most recent litters are now growing like weeds and will be in the barn soon permanently. The next wave of babies appears soon after that:).

More again next time as the spring bunny chores really take off. Most important of all there is the annual pull-the-whole-barn-apart-and-clean-every-square-inch-of-the-walls-floors-and-ceilings weekend to think about, but since that is one of the biggest jobs of the year around here, I try not to stress myself about it before I have to (*grin*).

Have a great week!

Just a Few Pics

2011-03-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

These are just a few pics today of Giant Crosses that were out for grooming this weekend. There are more in the barn waiting for their own photo sessions (LOL), but here are 3 of my does who are FA/GA and FA/NZ/GA crosses. These girls have about 2 months worth of growth on them now. I am waiting to see how far they can go (wool-wise) before needing a clipping. Once these coats are finished all three girls will be bred to Spang's Tundra, the largest REW FA/NZ/GA cross I bred this winter, and I will see what comes out:). All three of these girls are 8 months old; the Black does weigh 9 1/2 lbs. each and the Chocolate is currently at 11.

SPANG'S BOCA-0SP102

SPANG'S LOLO--0SP107

SPANG'S DAFFODIL--0SP91

More again next week as the weather continues to thaw. Happy Spring!!:-)

At Last---!

2011-03-13T16:58:00.001-07:00

Well, today was the day---rightly or not----that I finally got rid of those accursed water dishes and replaced them with the much neater and infinitely more practical water bottle, LOL. By some miracle the days are finally getting warmer here now, and while a few nights have still been in the high 20's, the majority of late have been above freezing, or at least close enough to 32 degrees that the water doesn't quite freeze at night. After watching my purebred Giant doe immerse her entire head (furnishings and all---!!) in her water dish last night, I decided that enough was enough and even if I had to haul 1000 water bottles into the house every morning to thaw if the temperature should drop back to zero, it is still better than hyperventilating every time I watch a rabbit in show coat standing, slurping, or snorkeling in it's water dish, LOL.

Anyway, so this is the first of several loads of bottles I brought outdoors today to replace. It was great to feel that spring is on it's way and I can soon get back to 'normal' life with a more efficient management schedule that allows watering just once a day instead of twice. Whew!:-)

Here also are two pictures I took several weeks ago of the last two bunnies in showcoat after the PA show---right before they were clipped and bred. This bun here is Elenita, a Sable doe who had one litter already and proved herself to be an excellent mother. She is currently bred to Anton, a Sable Pearl buck.

This is Spang's Diana right before her last haircut. I have posted several pictures of this girl already (beautiful as she is:-). She is bred to Anton now as well and is due on March 24.

What I am waiting to do now is begin breeding the first generation of Giant Cross does. All the babies from my initial F1 crosses are now approx. 8 months old, so in another month or so I will go ahead and start breeding them to see what comes up. My plan is to start with Cross does (bred to) Cross bucks to get litters that will be 25% GA, 25% FA, and 50% crossed. Any crosses I save from those litters will get bred to each other again to raise the chances of producing phenotypical GAs, and I will keep breeding and selecting for the best rabbits from there. In this last wave of breedings I have also bred two French does to two different purebred GA bucks (SFF's Rubicon--a REW and SFF's Simon---a Black) to produce an even larger pool of base offspring to work with. We will see how it all goes and I'll report my progress here as everything unfolds.

Anyway, more stuff again next week. Enjoy the nice (er!) weather in your area, and hopefully we will all be seeing green again real soon:-).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

New Website--Finally!

2011-02-26T12:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got around to revamping my website after several years of intending but never getting around to actually doing it.

After stumbling on the website 'Weebly' which is a perfect (idiot's!:-)) tool for building a website from scratch, I knew that this would be easy way to get the job done and an even easier way to update my site more often. Given my total lack of talent with computers I was thrilled to find something that even I could use, so here is the revamped version of my site at:

www.spangangoras.com.

I still have lots of changes to make and things to add (most of the links don't work quite yet), but I should have everything up and running soon. The site will now be much easier to adapt and add to without going through lots of programming 'steps' that hold no meaning for me whatsoever, making my life in general a little less confusing. *grin*

All well, lots of grooming and breeding to do this weekend. Hope everyone is starting to catch a glimpse of Spring now that February is at an end!

Have a great week:-)

Beautiful Bunny Pictures!

2011-02-20T15:37:00.000-08:00

This week I wanted to post pictures of some bunny artwork done by Rebecca Snider of GA. Becca was kind enough to donate these drawings to the United Angora Rabbit Club for use as BIS prizes, and I just wanted to post them here to see if I could show them off and give her a little exposure at the same time:).

This first drawing is of a French Angora (shown closeup in the first pic.)

This next picture is of a Satin Angora (shown close up below):

Both drawings are framed, matted, and ready for display. If you want to reach Becca to order some of these beautiful drawings for yourself (or maybe a drawing of one of your bunnies at home!) just email her at isschade@aol.com.

Thanks again Becca for donating your art! I'm sure they'll be gladly received at our next specialty show!:-)

More Wool Stuff

2011-02-14T13:45:00.000-08:00

At long weekend shows you invariably end up staying in hotels, and when you stay in hotels it is often very difficult to sleep:). After last week's PaSRBA show I found myself with a spell of insomnia on Saturday night in which I got to thinking about the judging of angora wool and the guidelines that individual judges use in assessing it. I thought over the years of how the best wool judges approach an angora coat, and what characteristics they considered the most important.

Everyone has their own opinion of different judges, (and everyone has a favorite to show under), but there are definitely some judges who have the ability to evaluate wool better than others due to personal experience with angoras or simply because they understand the structure of a wool coat and how that relates to it's practical function.

I have noticed a trend in shows lately for judges to evaluate angora wool (of any type) by smoothing it back and forth repeatedly from the rump to the head. They don't actually part the wool and look at the structure of it when they do this, but they do spend a great deal of time fussing with the coat in general and pushing/pulling it in every possible direction. Lately I have been hearing such terms at shows as 'flowability', 'coarseness at the tips', and a large number of other references to condition which are not necessarily relevant to the angora standard.

'Flowability', as near as I can tell, refers to the ability of a coat to flow back down to it's original position in a smooth and fluid manner. I heard several judges use this term last week in PA, and I remember hearing it at the NY State Convention last year as well. It was certainly used in both places to evaluate and place individual rabbits.

A flowing coat can mean a coat that is 'Prime', but other than this it seems to have little relevance to the structure of a coat, other than helping to determine balance and (possibly) texture. It is easy to understand smoothing/ruffling a coat to determine evenness of length since an exercise like this would expose weaknesses along the spine and might also determine a lack of density in the same place. Aside from this, it is impossible to determine the structure of a wool coat without actually parting and examining the wool down to it's base. A coat which 'flows' beautifully and evenly is likely to be LESS dense in most cases simply because a rabbit with more underwool has a thicker coat that is less inclined to move .

This practice of 'swishing the wool' may have originated with the English Angora because judges are continually fluffing and smoothing the coats of that breed every time they are removed from their cubbies or placed on a show table. I assume this is done to enhance the presentation of the coat since most English coats part and lay flat when relaxed. In French Angoras, the 'flowability' term seems mostly to be a gauge of condition, followed possibly by evenness of length and some evaluation of texture. A flowing coat does not help to evaluate real density or internal wool structure (which garner the most points in every angora breed), but I noticed that most of the judges gauging wool in this way did not seem aware of how to evaluate crimp, what the proper ratio of guardhair to underwool was for each breed, what guard hair protrusion is, and so on and so forth. Because they are unfamiliar with wool in general, they fall back on overall condition as a guide and focus on the traits that are easy to see during the 'swishing process' but do not carry as many points.

It is true that a properly textured coat will fall free and not 'stick' to itself. It is also true that overall length must be as even as possible in order to create the characteristic oval shape of the FA. 'Flowability', however, is a strange term that has been used lately to place FAs in shows, and it is ranking the thinner, more hair-like coats that flow 'better' and 'more smoothly' over the denser, more properly structured ones with a tighter crimp and better basal structure. Even if testing 'flow' was merely done to evaluate condition, there are only 5 points on condition in every angora standard. Wool in general accounts for 55 points out of 100 in the FA, while density rules at 25 points, followed by texture at 20, and length a distant third at 10.

Condition gets much attention in angora breeds and this is sensible considering that angora wool is used in spinning. On the showtable, however, condition is less important than the quality of the wool itself, and judges either overlook this or minimize it's importance by focusing on less significant areas.

I do not want to seem critical of judges, especially the new ones out there who are unfamiliar with angora wool. Coat composition is a difficult thing to learn even for those of us who breed these rabbits, but it worries me that emphasis is increasingly being placed on qualities which have no great weight in our standard, and the standard itself is being reinterpreted in some cases to include qualities which angoras were never intended to be judged for in the first place.

There are some fantastic wool judges in the ARBA, and when I think back to HOW those people judge, I realize that they very rarely 'muss up' or do fancy things with the wool. They spend a great deal of time examining the quality of each hairshaft from top to bottom and determining overall balance of the coat in terms of underwool/ guardhair ratio. They weigh the quality of each part of the coat as it serves to balance the whole, and they describe what they see at every step of the judging process to make it a truly educational experience that helps breeders know what to aim for in future litters.

Anyway, so this is what I comtemplated during one night of incurable insomnia, LOL. Angora wool is a complicated subject and difficult to judge with so many examples in place at a show. However, it is important to look at the standard for each breed and focus on exactly what it states in order to prevent confusion and keep new breeders from moving in opposing directions with their herds.

Have a great (much warmer!) week:)

2011 PA Convention

2011-02-07T14:28:00.001-08:00

Well, it was a L-O-N-G weekend this year at the PA show, but as usual the trip was well worth it because it is such a wonderful show with such fabulous people:).

I brought a total of 8 rabbits to show and 8 babies to sell, so the car was stacked from top to bottom with bunnies, bunny equipment, and lots of misc. items. Entries this year were down again, unfortunately, probably because of bad weather on Sat, but all in all it was a good turnout with a decent amount of rabbits shown.

There were 4 shows over the course of the weekend---2 UARC Specialties and 2 Open shows hosted by the PaSRBA club. Judges for the specialties were Randy Schumaker (Sat.) and Eric Stewart (Sun.), and judges for the Open shows were Jay Hreiz and Donyelle Schultz.

This was a very interesting weekend mainly because the results of each show were all over the place. Typically there is one rabbit or breeder that stands out (or even 2 or 3), but this time each show had a different result based on some very different styles and preferences of individual judges. I thought a lot about these differences over the weekend and made some observations that I hadn't before, but since this post would be way too long with this and the results of the show, I will just have to save them for next time:).

The rabbits I brought in were good, but some were beginning to slip their coats and I'm sure they would have been happier if the show had been held 2-3 weeks earlier:). In the first specialty only one of my rabbits won it's class (and grudgingly at that, LOL), and in the first Open every rabbit I had was thrown off in favor of a different style of coat. In the second Open on Sun. I got BOS with Giacomo, and in our 2nd Specialty bunnies that were owned or bred by me won every class but one, and Giacomo earned BOS again with Diana winning both BOB and the Specialty BIS.

So all in all it was a successful weekend with Giacomo and Diana picking up their 8th and 9th legs, and all the babies went home with wonderful new owners, freeing up tons of cage space and making it possible for me to breed again ad nauseum, LOL.

Here are some pictures that were taken over the weekend. The best ones were taken by Julie who is a far better photographer than I am (for sure!), and the last ones where the most interesting things that happened were not photographed, were taken by me:-).

This first photo is of the Wool, Skein, and Garment contest that UARC hosted. There were some beautiful articles included like this vest that was made by a youth entrant. Everyone who passed by made wonderful comments on it:).

This is the Wool Room filling up on Saturday:

These were my bunnies on the table in their carriers:

This is Julie and Ellen at the UARC table Sunday after everything was cleaned up and winding down:

This is a nice REW bunny owned by Karina Anderson that is the offspring of a buck I sold her mom two or more years ago:)

This is Pam and I (and several other breeders) watching the judging on Sat:

This is Randy Schumaker judging the Colored Sr. doe class:

This is Ashley and Kim holding bunnies in cubbies which really should have been wider, made of wire, and had metal risers in each hole (this is a standard cubby complaint for every wool breed---!:( ).

Here is Jay Hreiz judging the Saturday Open Show:

This is a beautiful photo that Julie took of all the Specialty winners on Saturday.

Speaking of Julie, here is a picture of her writing for Eric Stewart on Sunday at the second Specialty show!

And since I did not get any picture of her at the show (not thinking of it as usual:)), here is a picture of Diana taken at home several days before the show. This bunny, along with every other doe I brought and entered, had just weaned a litter 3 weeks prior (2 weeks before in this picture:)). Despite this handicap, she and all the others managed to grow competitive show coats and place at the top of all their classes. I know I am always bragging about the toughness and all-around versatility of the French Angora, but factors like this (that cannot even be evaluated on the showtable) just go to prove how wonderful and valuable these rabbits REALLY are. They are truly one of a kind:).

Anyway, now it is time to shear rabbits and get back to the serious business of breeding. I am working out compatible pairs at the moment and should have litters once again which strain the confines of time and space (as ALWAYS, LOL!)

Have a great week:).

Miscellaneous Stuff (again)

2011-01-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

It's been quite awhile since I've posted because I have been absurdly busy with work, kids, and assorted various things:). At this moment---along with everyone else---I have just been trying to survive the winter and get everyone in coat to keep on eating and growing wool til the PA Show comes (!!!). After that I will clip everyone down and get started with the breeding again:).

The PA Convention this year should be really fabulous. The UARC has two specialties going on (Sat. and Sun.) and we will also have a raffle table and a Skein & Garment contest in the hall. We will be holding exhibition classes for some new varieties of Angora---namely the Black Giant, Broken English, and Broken Satin. For anyone who is interested a show catalog, it can be found on the PaSRBA website here: http://www.pasrba.org

So far it looks like I will have an unusual amount of rabbits to bring this year, including some mothers who just weaned their litters 1-2 weeks ago, LOL. Normally a 'weaned' mother is not in any kind of condition to go right back to the show table, but for some reason this year everyone grew thick coats in the nursing period and ate like horses to the point of pushing maximum weight in every case and building really good meat condition. I've been trying to think what happened differently this year, but all I could come up with was that we had very cold temps very early which may have pushed a faster wool growth, and everyone also had smaller than average litters after the hot summer/fall which put less of a strain on everyone to begin with. All well, we'll see how it all goes:).

Anyway, more again next time and I will try to write something that is a little more substantive (LOL). After the show I will post a bunch of nice pics and it should be back to business as usual:).

Have a great week!

Bunnies For Sale:)

2011-01-04T09:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I am weaning litters at the moment and expect to have a large number of FA babies for sale in the first week of February. Colors will include REW, Black, Tort, and possibly Pearl and Chocolate Tort. I have not yet evaluated any of the new bunnies so am unsure of what will be for sale, but that info will be confirmed by the last week of January. These breedings were planned for delivery to the upcoming PA Convention on Feb. 5 & 6, and they will be exactly 12 weeks old and ready to go at that time:).

If anyone would like to reserve a particular color/sex/breeding then please contact me ahead of time so I can begin to make plans. Current breeding pairs are listed on the SpangAngora website at "http://www.spangangoras.com/k.html">.

I hope everyone had a WONDERFUL Holiday and you are all looking forward to an excellent year with lots of great new bunny stuff going on:-). Next weekend I will have a rundown of the upcoming PA Show and exactly what the UARC has planned in terms of showing and angora activities. Stay tuned!

Angora (New Owner) Prep Sheet

2010-12-05T16:25:00.000-08:00

Over the summer I had several experiences with new owners who showed up to purchase one or more bunnies with no carriers to take them home in, and a few even had no cages set up at home to put them in when they got there:(. After the last instance, I decided to write up a 'Prep Sheet' for prospective new angora owners which I now keep as a file and send to every person who makes an appointment to come and buy a rabbit. I thought I would include it here for anyone who can make use of it.

Please feel free to copy or customize this list in any way, and make a point (even if it seems unnecessary!) of letting people know what equipment they will need before coming and what supplies will be needed at home in order to properly care for an angora. So far I have gotten excellent feedback on this list, and I'm sure I will be revising it over time and adding new information.

BEGINNER ANGORA SUPPLY LIST

This is a list of materials that are required for the health and maintenance of an angora rabbit. Before bringing your new bunny home, please have the following items on hand:

-Sheltered Wire Cage or Outdoor hutch. Housing should be well protected from drafts and sunlight. Cages should measure 30 X 30 X 18 inches or (preferably) 30 X 36 X 18.

-32 oz. Water bottle or 32 oz. Ceramic (or Plastic) Water Crock

-32 oz. Ceramic or Plastic feed dish

-Hay (preferably Timothy)

-Quality Pelleted Feed (16-17% protein)
Quality brands include:
Heinold Wool Formula
Manna Pro
Purina Show Formula
Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe
Blue Seal 16%
Nutrena
King Feeds

-Slicker brush

-Toenail clipper (either small dog or cat scissor)

THE CAR TRIP HOME

Please bring:

-Secure metal rabbit carrying cage (available from KW Cages at http://clover.forest.net/kwcages/index.html or Klubertanz Equipment at http://www.klubertanz.com/. ) If transporting more than one rabbit, you must either have separate compartments for each OR separate carriers. They cannot be transported together.

-If a metal cage is unavailable, one or more plastic cat carriers with latched doors may be substituted. If using a cat carrier, do NOT line the floor of the cage with wood shavings, towels, or newspaper. Pad carrier floors with hay only.

**DO NOT use cardboard boxes to transport rabbits OR expect to hold rabbits in lap during transport, as both could result in severe injury to the rabbit. If no adequate mode of transport is available upon arrival, the animal in question will not be permitted to leave and the non-refundable deposit will be absorbed.

-Feed and Water dishes will not be necessary during transport unless the trip extends overnight or lengthy stops are expected. Rabbits typically do not eat or drink in transport, so it is important to provide food and drink immediately upon arrival home.

The only time a list such as this would not be needed would be if you are selling to an experienced breeder/owner. Even if someone arranges pickup at a show or fiber event, it is simple to mail this list ahead of time so that the buyer knows what is expected.

Have a great week!:-)

Giant X notes

2010-11-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

I finally got the chance to snap pictures of most of my Giant/cross keepers from this summer's breedings. These babies were all born in the middle of July and are now about 4 1/2 months old:).

This here is BOCA, an FA/GA cross. She weighs in at 7 lbs. so her bone/frame is good, but her wool is typical of what you might see in a crossbreed---lack of balance and a very high maintenance coat as a result. Surprisingly, the FA/GA crosses are proving far harder to keep matt-free than the NZ/FA/GA crosses. I will need to breed toward the easiest care coat possible that still maintains a correct ratio of GH to underwool/awn fluff.

This is DAFFODIL, the Chocolate littermate to Boca. I have said before that I am not wild about the color Chocolate because it has never been very dense in my experience, but since this girl has big bone and has already passed the 8 lb. mark, I am keeping her around. LOL.

These are the two boys out of Marin, DOMINO and OLIVER. They are not as large as the other rabbits, but their weights are still respectable and they have very good type.

And this is the best (cross) baby that was born this year. MARLEY is very large for her age (around 8 lbs.). She is typey and well balanced. Her wool is dense and easy to care for, and she feels like a lead weight when you pick her up *grin*. She is also out of an NZ/FA/GA breeding.

And this last picture is of Soraya, a black FA out of Etienne and Diego who is also 4 1/2 months old. This is a beautiful little girl who should do well on the show table next year:).

These buns only represent the first GA breedings I have done so there will be lots of work to do in the future. Since the real work in breeding is to isolate the best qualities of a herd and make them repeat themselves again and again, it will take many years and many generations to get the animal I want that can be produced the way I want it over and over the same way. Just as it is with French Angoras or any animal anywhere, each person's herd is like a signature that is refined and developed over time. Lots of work, lots of time, and lots of fried brain cells , LOL.

Have a great week:^)

Spang's Evita--0SP57

2010-11-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

Just a quick picture this week of my junior doe Evita, who is nearly 6 months old now and got her first haircut today. Evita was my best baby born this summer, and she is looking forward now to the 2011 show season:).

I've got loads more grooming to do tomorrow and this week. Keeping up with 2 breeds is a LOT of work, (LOL!) and I have recently come to the conclusion that I am not---just not---a Furnishings Person:(:(. I completely understand that there are people who are completely devoted to fluff on ears, cheeks, foreheads, and feet and I would never want to insult those fabulous people, but unfortunately I will never be one of them because I love the practicality of clean ears and faces too much, LOLOL!

Anyway, more again next time and have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!:-):-)

Handling Rabbits--Do's and Don'ts

2010-11-14T17:44:00.000-08:00

--This is another post from the old blog, but since I groomed a lot today I decided to also include pictures of Spang's Zsa Zsa, a REW doe whom I've been growing out to extremes to see if she can eat a full ration all the way to harvest. Since she has NZ in her (she's an F4 cross) I wanted to be sure that there were no issues with woolblock before breeding her. As of today, she is wearing a 6 1/2 month coat and I am thrilled to report that she is cleaning her dish everyday---YAY! More stuff again next time:-)

Handling Rabbits--Do's and Don'ts

Lots of people, particularly newer breeders, are often unsure of the best way to handle, pick up, and carry a rabbit. Different people have different methods that are used for pets, showbunnies, and angoras wearing showcoats, but here is a list of the typical do's and don'ts when it comes to running rabbits around in general:

DO's
-Keep bunny nails neatly trimmed to avoid getting them ripped out on the cage floor and to keep from being seriously scratched by your rabbit.
-Let the rabbit know that you are ready to pick them up by talking to them first and making them aware of your presence (no surprises, in other words!)
-Place one hand over the head and ears/neck of the rabbit before lifting it out of the cage, and slip the other hand under the belly so as NOT to be lifting the rabbit out by the head or scruff of the neck. Placing your hand over the head is only for restraint purposes, never for lifting.
-Use a stepladder to remove rabbits from top cages so that you are not forced to drag a rabbit forward in order to get it out.
-Always LIFT, and never PULL a rabbit out of a cage whether you are taking them out backwards or forwards.
-When removing a rabbit from the cage who is facing backward, place one hand over the head and the other one under the belly and lift the rabbit out backwards. If you cannot get one hand on the head then slip it under the belly/chest of the rabbit right up to the front legs, hold them firmly, then use the other hand to grab the rump of the rabbit and lift it safely out.
-When taking a rabbit out of a cage who is facing forwards, wrap one arm around the side and rear of the rabbit, and the other directly under the rib cage and lift up.
-Once you have a rabbit out of a cage tuck it into the crook of your arm like a football (facing backwards), and hold it against your body firmly.
-When placing the rabbit back into the cage try to do it backwards to avoid tripped/torn toenails. Reverse the hold you used to take the rabbit out of the cage facing frontwards and place one hand under the chest with the other hand grasping the rump. Lift the rabbit into the cage backwards and place it down on the cage floor.

DON'Ts
-Do not ever sneak up on a rabbit before picking it up or touching it. Always make sure he/she is 100% aware you are there to avoid sudden bolts and possible spinal injury.
-Never pick up a rabbit by the ears, head, or scruff of the neck. Repeated lifting of the skin over the neck can cause it to actually become permanently separated from the meat. The resulting flabbiness/fattiness will make it impossible to get the rabbit into show condition, and performance will suffer as a result.
-Never drag a rabbit out of it's cage. Instinct will cause it to dig it's nails into the cage floor and resist the motion, resulting in broken or ripped out toenails.
-Once a rabbit is out of it's cage, never carry it like a briefcase with the legs dangling. This is almost a sure-fire recipe for spinal injury, and one that should be avoided at all costs.
-Never hold a rabbit away from your body unless you have a very firm grip on the chest and rump of the rabbit. Any position of 'dangling' or flailing will greatly upset a rabbit of any breed, and if they must be held out they must be held firmly enough so that they feel secure and do not kick or panic.
-Never grip a rabbit's hind legs together to stop it from kicking. It is not natural for rear legs ever to be touching one another, and if a rabbit should panic or try to escape in this position both legs could break.
-Never move quickly around rabbits. Never grab them roughly, severely, or suddenly, and never surprise them from behind or above. Remember that calm bunnies are much less likely to injure themselves, and much more likely to let you handle them when they trust you to keep them safe:).

Misc. Stuff:)

2010-11-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

It has been really, absurdly busy around here since I went back to work (for the most part) full time. There has been hardly any time to do dishes, feed children, take care of animals, or clean the house I live in much less blog and check email, LOL. It has been an embarrassing couple of weeks I tell you:).

There are a couple of days off coming in the district I work in, so I will begin to try catching up on normal life. Several new bunny litters arrived this week which I will be updating to my website. Juno had a litter of 3, Diana had 9, Bijou had 7, Etienne had 5, Elenita had 2, and Natalya and Marin are due with litters tomorrow. I have noticed lately that Fall litters often tend to be smaller than the Spring ones, and I am sure this year it is directly due to the horrible summer we had and the fact that my bucks (especially the older ones) went completely and totally infertile for a period of several weeks:(.

These new litters will be 12 weeks old by the PA Convention (which is exactly why I bred them at this time, LOL). There should be plenty of babies to bring for sale even if they are too young to place on the show table yet. I am looking forward to seeing how they turn out and also how the latest Giant litters turn out, of which two more are due to be born this week.

Speaking of Giants, I managed to acquire 3 more purebred bunnies from a very nice breeder in PA named Ashley Shaw. She sold me a beautiful little doe along with a nice buck and a purebred Black buck, and I am thrilled to death because now my GA base herd is complete and I can really get to work with a decent sized gene pool in place. The GA crosses I saved from my last breedings are really coming along now, and at the last weigh-in they either equaled or exceeded my French litters of the same age. Of course, much of this is due to hybrid vigor which can be expected to wear off in the next 2 generations, but it's a good start and the buns I am holding onto are strong, hardy representatives of the breeds that were used.

Aside from this there is really nothing going on besides the usual closing up of the rabbitry for winter and preparing to break out the water dishes for everyone. This week (as everyone knows!!) is ARBA Convention week up in Minneapolis, MN, and I think the judging should have finished up by now and we will soon be awaiting the results of the show. From what I understand there is actually a larger Satin Angora entry than FA this year which is utterly amazing. Years past have seen well over 100-150 French entered at that show, but apparently there are less than 40 entered this year:(. I have heard rumors that the Pennsylvania clubs are planning to put in a bid for the 2013 location, and if that is the case then I will certainly plan on driving down and adding my numbers to the bunch. There is nothing like an ARBA convention to look forward to--the biggest (rabbit) show on earth!:-)

Anyway, more again next time when I have time to snap and post pictures. Best of luck to those traveling to and showing in MN this week. Have a fun week and get home SAFE!

Rabbit Show 101

2010-10-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

--another post from the old blog:

Visitors attending a rabbit show often come out of the experience with no idea of what actually happened, LOL. There is very little fanfare or discussion/direction going on on behalf of the judges or exhibitors at these events, so many people leave feeling confused as to what took place, what happened during the judging, and who exactly won in the end:).

This is the way a rabbit show works:

Early on the morning of a show the showroom opens early to allow breeders to enter, get themselves and their animals set up, and check in. Once the designated hour of the show comes around, the judges put on their showcoats and stand behind the row of cubbies that has been reserved for the breed/s that they will be working with that day. The exhibitors identify the table that they will be showing at, park themselves nearby with their animals, and the show begins.

While the judge stands behind the table to examine animals, a person called a "writer" sits next to him at a small table with control sheets and comment cards to write down the judge's comments for each animal and to record the winners of each class and BOB/BOS (BOB stands for "Best of Breed" and BOS stands for "Best Opposite Sex").

When the judge is ready, the writer calls for the first class to be brought up. In Angoras this is normally the "White Senior Buck" Class, so everyone who has entered WSBs brings their animals up and places them into the cubbies. Before placing the animals, the judge first checks all the entries for DQs. A DQ may include such problems as white or mismatched toenails, white spots or hairs in a colored coat, malocclusion, genital defects, signs of illness, or undesirable characteristics that are unique to each breed. Once the judge has finished the preliminary check, then he/she goes on to evaluate each animal in more detail, checking type quality, wool quality, overall balance, and so on. Once this is finished, the judge then places each animal in a cubby in the order of it's placement (This is not required but it is the method they often use to keep track of everything), and the last place animal is taken out first. The ear number of the animal is read off for the writer, the placement is given, and comments are recited as to what the strengths and weaknesses of the animal are. The animal is handed back to the owner, and the next-to-last-place animal is taken out. The routine is repeated, and the animal is handed back to its breeder again.

By the time the judge reaches the first place animal, he/she goes through the same routine again, reads off the ear number, gives comments, and then puts the class winner off to the side in a cage behind the table or in a cubby on the end if there is room. The next class is then called up, and the entire cycle repeats itself with the judge evaluating each new animal until another class winner is selected. The order of classes in the Angora breeds is usually judged as follows:

1-White Senior Buck (WSB)
2-White Senior Doe (WSD)
3-White Junior Buck (WJB)
4-White Junior Doe (WJD)
5-Colored Senior Buck (CSB)
6-Colored Senior Doe (CSD)
7-Colored Junior Buck (CJB)
8-Colored Junior Doe (CJD)

Once the White classes have been judged, the judge will then choose an animal for BOV (Best of Variety) and BOSV (Best Opposite Sex Variety). These two animals will remain on the table until the Colored classes are concluded so that a winner can be chosen between the White BOV/BOSV and the Colored BOV/BOSV. Once the Colored classes are finished and the Colored BOV, etc. have been chosen, then the judge will compare the 4 winning animals to determine which is the Best 'Overall', and that animal will be awarded BOB--the Best of Breed. The judge will then choose the best opposite sexed animal for BOS, and the judging is over. The BOB animal is entitled to advance to the BIS (Best in Show) table at the end of the day, but the show will be over for the rest of the animals that were entered.

In Angoras the winning rabbit is almost always a Senior Doe simply because does are larger and normally have superior coats and wool balance. The BOS often works out to be a Senior Buck, though it has certainly occurred that a buck has won BOB or a junior buck or doe has won BOB over a senior animal. Judges have individual opinions and preferences as to which animals are the best, of course, and one thing you can be positively certain of is that the results of one show will almost never be the same as the one that came before it. There are some judges out there who are extremely capable with Angoras and take the time to honestly evaluate them, while others have an active dislike or grave lack of knowledge with them (unfortunately).

People may ask, "Well, if you can never get the same result in each show then how will you ever learn what the quality of your animals is to begin with?" That is an excellent question and the answer is that you can't know after attending only one show with one judge. The proof in the pudding comes when one or more of your animals consistently does well, or consistently places in the top 10, 5, or 3, or gets similar comments day in and day out from different judges. The value of a show (and the reason they were invented to begin with), is to give breeders the chance to have their stock evaluated by a neutral and independent source that is a proven judge of rabbit quality. Everyone who raises livestock knows that 'barn blindness' is a standard problem among breeders, so it is critical to have animals seen and evaluated on a regular basis.

Misc. Stuff

2010-10-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

I spent most of this (beautiful) day doing barn work and moving bunnies around, and then we went ahead and processed 21 fryers so there aren't many brain cells left to think of something interesting to write tonight (grin:).

Due to this unfortunate case of brain-freeze, then, I have decided to re-post some interesting links that I found for the UARC list today in response to a discussion going on regarding the Chinese Angora. UARC members were discussing the difference in quality between Chinese wool found in the stores over here and that which is sold by individual breeders on a smaller level throughout the rest of the world. This first link below is really a history of the Angora rabbit in various regions (as told by one writer---there are really many different versions of this 'origin' story:)). The last two links are detailed accounts of the Chinese Angora itself, which is said to be a cross between the French Angora, German Angora, and New Zealand White meat rabbit.

http://www.raising-rabbits.com/angora-rabbit.html

http://www.medwelljournals.com/fulltext/?doi=javaa.2010.359.365

http://www.cuniculture.info/Docs/Magazine/Magazine2008/FiguresMag2008/Congres-20\
08-Verone/Papers/G-GuZilin.pdf

Anyway, hope you enjoy this, and I hope that the weather is cooling off in every area to get that wool growing out again!

NYS Convention

2010-10-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I traveled up to the NYS Convention with 7 rabbits in tow (6 for showing). The NY Convention (or Grand Finals, as it is also called) is always held in Syracuse, NY at the NY State Fairgrounds complex which is very large and which is where an ARBA Convention was actually held many years ago.

I had just 2 Seniors to bring since most of my showbuns had been bred over the summer (and several had needed double clipping due to the heat), and I brought 4 junior does.

There were 43 French entered in each show with approx. 6-7 exhibitors. The judge for our first show was Scott Wiebensohn, and the judge for the second was someone we rarely see in these parts named Susie Dapper.

In show A, my REW Senior doe Zsa Zsa took BOB and earned her 6th leg, while my Junior doe out of Carmen (Spang's Evita) took BOV colored. In the second show, none of my rabbits placed at all in any class and generally went home winless, LOL.

Below are a few pics snapped in between showing and snoozing in my chair (I was in a total stupor most of the day due to only having slept 6 hours the previous two nights, LOL). The first is a general picture of the show hall as it was filling up in the afternoon. This is a very large building with aisles and aisles of cooping for exhibitors to 'store' their buns in for the weekend.

This is an adorable little fuzzy lop that was waiting to go to the table on the roof of someone's stroller:).

These were my bunnies in their carriers waiting for Show B:

This is Lorrie taking care of bunny sales between shows:

This is one of the colored French classes being judged in Show B:

And this is a cute picture of Robin Gottung holding her little EA before judging. Robin also breeds and shows Brittania Petittes.

Anyway, so that was it for the weekend:). The next show to concentrate on will be the PA Convention in Lebanon in Feb, and until then I will be breeding, grooming, clipping, and breeding some more:-).

Have a great week!

Fun-Bunny Stuff

2010-09-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend I spent the greater part of my time doing rabbit chores. Yesterday I dropped pans, cleaned the barn, and groomed every rabbit that needed it (yikes!). Today I sheared down all the 2011 PA Convention prospects, scrubbed out and sterilized every water bottle on every cage, figured out my breeding pairs for next week's Fall breedings, and did some tattooing. Whew!:-)

While I was doing my grooming I decided to take a picture of my slicker brushes, which are DoggyMan brand in two different sizes. I have one little one for dewlaps, chins, and armpits, and a bigger one for the stomach, chest, and saddle areas.

As everyone in angoras knows, Doggyman is the gold standard in rabbit slicker brushes. They are softer than any other brand and do less damage to coats than any other brand. They are fantastic. The only drawback (IMO) is that the handles have no grip to speak of and are made of the same exact material that the body of the brush is made of. Also, the handle is put together in two parts which are prone to breaking in half after a couple months of use.

Since these are not the cheapest brushes available and no one can afford to be without a means of grooming (LOL), angora people have come up with ingenious ways to doctor their tools to make them last longer and feel more comfortable in their hands.

Electrical tape or textured adhesive tapes work very well for wrapping around handles. The tape makes the handle easier to get a grip on, and it also keeps it from breaking in half so the brush lasts much longer overall.

Unfortunately tape doesn't always do a perfect job, so the second fix is to wrap rubber bands around the handles which gives you an even better grip on the brush. It may sound unbelievable, but rubber bands actually make a real difference in the amount of pressure that grooming puts on your hands, especially your wrists. For some ergonomic reason you can feel a real difference when you have multiple rabbits to do, or multiple rabbits to do fast, like before a show, etc. Some people favor the types of rubber bands used on broccoli at the supermarket, for ex. (because they are wider and flatter) but any kind will work. As you can see, it isn't pretty but it works:-).

Also, we took a trip down to the Museum of Natural History in NYC last week, and look what we stumbled upon in the Hall of Dinosaurs!

For those who do not recognize it without the fur and ears, this is the skeleton of a rabbit, specifically a ROCK RABBIT.

Below the skeleton there was a plaque explaining the relationship between the rabbit and the pika, which is the only other animal in the Lagomorph family. I tried to take a close up that was as easy to read as possible. There were also skulls of some much earlier rabbit ancestors in the hall, but they were difficult to photograph in the positions that they were in.

We took tons of pictures of different dinosaurs at this museum. I do not believe that the collection of dinosaur bones at this museum is rivaled anywhere, and it took a l-o-n-g time to get through the whole thing. Here is a picture one of the boys took of a complete triceratops:

Oh, and here is a last gag photo that the kids took of Jonathan pretending to put his head in the mouth of a stuffed tiger. Nice, huh? All well, boys will be boys:-).

Anyhow, more again next week and hopefully our weather will stay cool here after YET ANOTHER heat wave last week. At this rate we will not be taking the fans out of the barn until Christmas, for sure. I have not seen a summer like this in 10 years:(:(.

Have a great week!

New Bunnies for 2011

2010-09-19T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, the Summer breedings are pretty much over with now, and out of 50 or so babies it looks like I will be holding 9 or 10. These Jrs. will not reach Senior-hood until next year, but for now they can probably go to a few Fall shows as Jrs. and pick up some legs (maybe---?:)), and then they'll be ready for the Big Leagues on the tables next Spring:).

Below are a few of the keepers I took pictures of today (I still have more to groom tomorrow). There are also a few younger litters that have yet to be evaluated but who should have nice prospects in them out of Etienne and Diana. Those guys were recently weaned and I won't handle them to check type until they are at least 10 weeks old---so they have had more time to flesh out.

First is Spang's Anje (0SP67) out of Kimba and Anton. Anje is a large REW doe with great bone and type:

Next is Spang's Aiko (0SP54) out of Carmen and Diego, one of two sisters who should be great show rabbits as Seniors:

This is Spang's Nikola (0SP64) out of Diana and Anton. Also a typey girl:)

And this is the second (and best:)) sister out of Carmen and Diego--Spang's Evita (0SP57)

This is Spang's Duncan (0SP37) out of Marin and S'more. A MONSTER big Sable boy who I have to put on the scale tomorrow to make sure he isn't overweight already, LOL:

And finally, this is Spang's Selene(0SP61) out of Bijou and Diego. This doe is going to have a wonderful, wonderful coat just like her Mother (grin!), so I have decided to keep Bijou indefinitely to get as many carbon copies of her as possible:)
.

Anyway, more again next week when I will blog about something more interesting for a change instead of pictures, pictures, pictures. LOL.

Have a great week!

Giant Project

2010-09-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

Today I took some Giant cross babies from my most recent litters, and had my son snap a few pics of them.

These buns are approx. 7 weeks old, and are a cross between a black Giant and 2 different REW FA/NZ crosses. As you can see, many of them already exhibit the furnishings one would expect on a Giant, but I think it will be awhile until the coats are correct and can actually be considered Giant triple coats.

My plan here is to develop a line of Black and REW GAs. I got plenty of both colors in the three litters that I bred, fortunately, so I am hoping that these babies will be a nice starting point for the project.

I am hoping to select the very best/heaviest/hardiest/typiest babies out of these litters, and then breed them to Dustbunny's's Liam (the pure REW GA I have) for part II of this thing:). For culling help I have enlisted the aid of two wonderful meat breeders I know who are experts in type and bone, and that way I should manage to get excellent evaluations of everyone which will lessen the chances of me making a horrible mistake on my own, LOL.

These first two pics are of two Black crosses. Their color looks good but as far as type and meat condition go, it is still too early to know anything. Below this are two REWs who are the exactly same age, and as everyone gets older I will continue to post pics here so everyone can see how they develop. This is going to be a fascinating experiment because you never know what will happen when two different lines and breeds mesh together. It will be really interesting to see how these litters grow, and it will also be fascinating to see how long (and how many generations) it will take to make a true, functional, bone fide Giant:-). I am trying to get ahold of one or two more purebred GAs to add to my herd, and I may also try adding a purebred NZ White doe from a friend of mine who has stock from one of the top lines in the country.

Anyway, more stuff again next week. Hope everyone is enjoying the MUCH cooler weather now (in this area, at least!:))

Butler County PA Show

2010-09-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

The first show of the Fall season here is usually Cobleskill NY, but this year I have to skip that one because of a family/ kid commitment. Since I am high and dry between now and the NYS Convention in terms of shows, I thought I would try a new show in PA this week that was only 3 hours away and a double show to boot WITH an Angora specialty attached (making it a triple show!).

I brought very few rabbits thinking that there would be lots of other angora exhibitors there, but it actually turned out to be a tiny little show with hardly anyone else on the table, LOL! It was a beautiful, cool day at a really nice fairground so it was fun anyway, and the show was so well-run that we got home at a reasonable hour despite tons of shows and specialties going on at the same time:).

Here are a few shots that were taken throughout the day. Spang's Elenita earned BOB in the first show and Spang's Zsa Zsa took BOB in the second Open and the Angora Specialty, eventually earning BIS in the Specialty at the end.

These first 3 pics are of the first Open show judged by Johnny Hausser (sp?), a brand new judge who was actually one of the youth breeders featured in the upcoming movie 'Rabbit Fever', LOL! He did a wonderful job and I think he has a bright and wonderful future ahead of him as a judge:). Here he is examining both Elenita and Zsa Zsa.

This is Deb Vecchio judging the Specialty with Alex Stepnoski at the writer table. Zsa Zsa is hanging out in the end cubby.

And this is my usual bunnies-in-carriers shot. Extremely boring but an easy pic to remember to take during the day, LOLL!

And this last is a cute picture of the Youth BIS Judging with two kids holding onto their well groomed Giant and English Angoras:).

Anyway, so that's it for tonight. We are enjoying nice COOL weather here (finally!!!), and the bunnies are very relaxed and relieved. Hopefully the temps will stay low at this point so the bucks have time to recover in time for the next wave of breedings in October (knock on wood!)

Have a great week!:-)

Wool Facts

2010-08-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

--another post from the old blog

I was just flipping the 'Rabbit Production' book today and found some interesting facts on Wool growth, Molting, and adjusting feed to manipulate holding time. This is a wonderful book that encompasses ALL aspects of rabbit raising, and I find new information every time I read it:). Here are a few angora notes:

-"Females produce about 20% more wool than males"--p.441

-"Angoras reach their peak of wool production between 18 and 36 months of age. After three years of age, wool production and reproduction abilities begin a rapid decline."--p.441

-"There is an apparent antagonism between the amount of wool produced and reproductive performance"--P.441

-"Genetic selection is very important in the improvement of wool density and texture. Wool production and quality are highly heritable traits."--p.441

-"The rabbit's coat is prime when the hairs have a good sheen, are tight, and have attained their maximum length. The skin is white and the hair flows back into place evenly when the coat is rubbed from the rump to the shoulders".--p.105

-"Unprimeness is indicated by a dull, uneven coat and loose hair. The hair does not flow evenly when the coat is rubbed from the rump to the shoulders. Patches of new fibers can be seen, and these new fibers will appear in a growth pattern that varies from animal to animal. The skin of these new hair growth areas is dark and easily detected on rabbits with colored coats."--p.105

-"Heavy feeding of the young tends to cause the molt at an earlier age----Rabbits may be thrown into molt by disease, going "off feed", the sudden occurrence of unseasonable high temperatures, or other stresses."--p.106

-"Shedding first occurs on the sides of the rump and the thighs, followed by the back, then increasingly in areas down over the sides."--p.106

-"A high quality diet and high feed intake promote molting. The growth rate of hair is more rapid with a high nutrient intake, so the rate of turnover of hair is greater."--p.106

-"Restricted feeding of adult show animals reduces the amount of hair shedding and keeps the fur in prime condition for a longer period."--p.106

Basically I think that these facts demonstrate what so many good conditioners of rabbits already know----you cannot feed the same rabbit in exactly the same way year round regardless of climate or coat condition. An excellent breeder I know begins adding a top dressing to his meat rabbits' pellet ration as soon as a molt is over. He continues feeding this mix until JUST BEFORE the rabbits hit prime, and then pulls them off it and gives them nothing but pellets and a pinch of horse sweet feed while they finish building and completely prime out. The withdrawal of the grain mix at this point ensures that the growing cycle slows down and the rabbit holds prime condition longer, and the addition of sweet feed (only) makes the rabbits thirstier and improves flesh condition by increasing their fluid intake. Once a molt begins, he feeds the rabbits black oil sunflower seed to push them through it faster, and then begins the process over again once molts are finished and the new coats begin. This same formula may also work with angoras, though the sunflower seeds may not be necessary because we can clip our rabbits and get rid of the excess wool that way.

With our pellet rations, we also need to increase the amount of feed given in winter, restrict it in summer, increase when the coat is coming in, and decrease when the coat peaks and begins to go out (OR increase again when the coat slips in order to get it through the molt faster---I will be trying both those ideas in my herd to see if there is any difference in molt "speed" if you push the energy up).

Have a great week!

More Sale Bunnies!

2010-08-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

I have two more sale bunnies to add to the previous blog post, which will complete the babies offered out of the 2010 summer breedings. This Sable Pearl and Tort are both bucks, and both out of Spang's Juno and Spang's Felix (Born 6/8/10). They are $100 each:

Note** Btw, please excuse the unorthodox pose of this first boy---he is convinced he is a running breed today (grin).

Hope everyone is winding down this horrendously hot summer with at least some coats still intact (ugh!!). More bunny stuff again this weekend:-)

Bunnies For Sale

2010-08-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

I have three nice little bucks for sale at the moment. After evaluating most of the babies from the last batch that was weaned, I set several aside to keep and observe a little longer, while others will go up for sale immediately.

Lately I have been setting stricter guidelines for myself as far as what gets sold from my rabbitry, so at this point I no longer sell unshowable rabbits with the rare exception of those who end up with a non-genetic DQ such as missing toes, tails, and so on (from accidents at birth and overzealous diapering by mom:)). I have always worried about passing unwanted traits into the French Angora gene pool, and since I am selling more babies each year it has become very important (IMO) for me to restrict what goes in and out of my barn and into the genetics of the breed.

I have always tried to sell rabbits that were solid, thrifty, and functional, but I also sold babies on occasion with faults that would not necessarily earn high placements at shows (for ex. rabbits that were hippy, lacking in depth, or lower in the shoulders, etc). I have always explained faults to the customer buying the rabbit so they knew what they were getting, but I would have preferred to have always sent out top-notch rabbits so that anything getting bred would have a stronger than average chance of passing on the best possible traits.

Unfortunately it is tough to produce perfect rabbits all the time (LOL!) so naturally a period of building happens in this hobby where you are able to produce a few great rabbits who do well on the table, but the larger majority for a long time end up being bunnies that are still nice and may do well for someone somewhere, but the quality can't be boosted enough to breed good ones and sell them very often. In the beginning it seems reasonable to expect a ratio of about 20% keepers to 80% culls, but as a line improves and gets more 'concentrated', this ratio tends to shift until there are more good ones than bad ones suddenly, and the ones you once held as 'cream of the crop', now become rabbits you would sell in favor of others coming along with more highly evolved traits.

Anyway, I seem to have reached a point where my herd has become very stable and is producing animals lately that can push the boundaries of what I used to own a little further. It was a very tough couple of years with the NZ/FA experiment I was doing that at first did not seem to bear fruit, and even worse before that was the enteritis outbreak I had where literally 1/2 to 3/4 of every litter I bred died (a long story with a happy ending that I will definitely get into once I have more time:)). After several years of hitting walls everywhere, everything fell into place suddenly and the line I wanted was finally within reach. The NZs are fully incorporated at last with great benefits to type, vigor, and breeding/mothering, and the enteritis problem is over and solved so that virtually every baby born is living and thriving.

There were enough nice bunnies weaned over the last couple of months here that I had trouble knowing who to get rid of, LOL. There were a large number of buns sold in spring and summer, but now there are a few left over from the better breedings that I wanted to post, too. Below are pictures of bucks from 3 different litters with details and descriptions:

-Sable Pearl buck (born 6/8/10)
-Sire: Spang's Giacomo
-Dam: Spang's Margaux
-Large buck with very good type and wool. Will make excellent showrabbit.
-Price: $100

-Sable buck (born 6/1/10)
-Sire: Spang's Anton
-Dam: Spang's Diana
-Also very large with exc. bone and outstanding wool. Not as much depth as SP but still very balanced. Will make great showrabbit or wooler.
-Price: $100

-Tort buck (born 5/30/10)
-Sire: Spang's Diego
-Dam: Spang's Carmen
-Well-balanced buck with good type who will also have a nice, dense, senior coat. Will make great showrabbit.
-Price: $100

Please email amy@spangangoras.com with questions, and there will be more bunnies posted as I continue to evaluate litters.

Have a great week!

The French Angora Standard

2010-08-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

It is always a good idea to review the standard for your breed every 6 months or so to refresh your mental picture of what a good example should look like. As almost everyone knows who shows or breeds with the standard in mind, there are a total of 100 points allotted to each breed, and the distribution of points depends on the unique characteristics of each type of rabbit. In the French Angora breed, the breakdown is as follows:

GENERAL TYPE............35
Body.........................20
Head.........................3
Ears..........................4
Eyes..........................2
Feet and Legs..............5
Tail...........................1
WOOL........................55
Density......................25
Texture......................20
Length.......................10
COLOR.......................5
CONDITION.................5
TOTAL POINTS.............100

Of these categories, the two most important are clearly Body and Wool, with the heaviest emphasis placed on Wool. The French Angora's commercial body type is very important because it lends the correct shape and lay to the coat, enhancing it's "massiveness" and creating a sense of balance. A rabbit with extraordinary depth is much more impressive than a rabbit with a flat topline, because the lack thereof will cause the wool to separate over the back and stick straight out rather than rise up and drape down over the rabbit evenly. Lack of depth also affects the floor level/base of the coat, making it appear choppy and uneven.

Commercial type is also a great asset to the FA because it enhances it's versatility. Most French Angora lines nowadays are more than capable of reaching the 5 lb. mark at 12 weeks or younger and make excellent meat rabbits, furthering widening their appeal in the rabbit world.

The most important characteristic of the French Angora, of course, is the wool. Of the 55 points allotted to the various traits of a wool coat, density is awarded the most at 25, while texture comes in second at 20 and length is third at 10. While the FA is typically regarded as the angora with the "coarsest" wool type, it is important to note that excessive hairiness is NOT desirable in this breed and is even cited as a fault under the texture description for "an excessively hair like coat". Exhibitors and judges alike often make the mistake of viewing a superior FA as one with the highest percentage of guard hair, when in actuality it is underwool that creates density, and density which supplies the underlying support for a balanced coat and receives the greatest point distribution in the standard. It is critical for FAs to have a large amount of heavily crimped underwool to maintain the 'large' appearance of the coat. A good ratio to use for the percentage of guard hair to overall wool in this breed is 40:60. 40% of the coat should be guard hair, while the rest should be composed of a combination of guards with underwool (and is mostly underwool).

Only 5 points are assigned to color in the FA standard (and to the other Angora breeds as well, except for the Satin which receives 6). People often comment that color is unimportant in Angoras because of this, but this is positively untrue. First of all, a color that is not correct or worse yet, is totally unrecognized, will instantly be disqualified. Many judges skip over color in Angoras on the showtable because they are unfamiliar with the look of standard colors on a long wool coat, but breeders cannot use this as an excuse to ignore color in their breeding programs. The best judges in our hobby are keenly aware of color quality and also have a thorough knowledge of genetics. Unrecognized colors and color DQs rarely escape them. Also, in stiff competition at the National level (or just in a very large show), the difference between the 1st and 2nd place rabbit often comes down to tiny details such as color, condition, ability to pose (overall impression, etc.), and other minutiae. As a result, it is never a good idea to neglect any of the qualities that seem insignificant or may not carry as many points as something else.

Have a great week!:-)

Some GREAT Baby Pics:)

2010-08-01T17:56:00.001-07:00

I've got lots of grooming to catch up on tomorrow since we had relatives up all week and tons of kids running around, LOL (I will be sure to get junior pics updated asap). In the meantime my son Keith, the budding photographer, took two beautiful photos of some of our most recent babies in the nestbox.

I have five 2 1/2 week old litters now of which two are purebred and three are Giant/FA/NZ cross litters (FA/NZ crosses which are now considered 'purebred'). In the GA cross litters there are a high number of chocolates which was surprising but which clearly shows that my GA buck Milo carries chocolate along with some of my NZ/FA does.

While Chocolate is a beautiful color for spinning and really lovely, it has never been particularly desirable for the showtable because it is not one of the denser varieties in angoras. I was not altogether thrilled to see so many in these litters (LOL), but as with anything else I will just have to work things out and remember that of all the traits that need to be worked out of lines and breeds, color is not usually the most difficult.

Anyway, more again next time when I post pictures of older babies (and also a few bunnies for sale:-).

Coats Growing

2010-07-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

In between endless disgusting, hot, humid days we did manage to get two days of cool and breezy weather in which it was finally possible to take rabbits out and give them a grooming. I have several bucks and does (and babies) who are busily growing coats for the Fall season, but here are the first two I did who posed for pictures after a session with the blower:).

This white bunny is Spang's Zsa Zsa, who is now an adult and growing in her first Senior coat (currently about 1.5--2 inches long). She is a big, MASSIVE doe with great bone and density who should hold a full coat beautifully when the time comes.

And this is Spang's Elenita, whose junior pic can be found in the margin of the blog and who is now growing a gorgeous senior coat with absolutely fabulous texture and density. I love the color Sable because it's so dramatic on the show table (like Black:)), and finally there are getting to be enough buns of this color in my barn to seriously work with.

There are Juniors growing out here, too (I picked four out of the last batch to keep). I will try and post photos of them next week.

Have a wonderful (and COOL!!!) week:-)

Life Around the Rabbitry (and Summer Stuff)

2010-07-18T17:34:00.000-07:00

I have been insanely, ridiculously busy the last two weeks, and this explains why I have been so delinquent in blog posting. LOL. Baseball and all the other organized activities have ended at this point, so now I am cleaning my house and trying to get organized with home stuff, summer (kid) stuff, and bunny stuff:).

Looking at baby production so far this year I think that I have probably bred more litters in 2010 than ever before (according to records up to July). The oldest bunches born in April have pretty much all been dispersed by now, and the next batches begin weaning tomorrow, after which 5 more litters will move to the barn with mom to grow out.

It has been extremely hot here this summer, and it has been one heck of a job trying to keep everybun cool while allowing show coats to grow in for fall at the same time. Attached below is a post from my old blog about keeping rabbits cool. Hope everyone is hanging in there and not suffering any major losses!

Summertime Angoras

Here are a few tips for keeping Angoras cool in summer:

1) Try not to time your breedings so that your bunnies are in extreme full coat during the heat of the summer. If you are a spinner and keep bunnies for wool this should be simple to do if you record the average holding time of your coats and breed your babies to molt before the warm weather comes. If you are a Show breeder you can do precisely the same thing if you live in an area where there are no shows at that time of year, otherwise you will have to investigate methods of keeping them cool or keep several indoor cages for buns in the heaviest coats.

2) Make sure there are fans in your rabbitry, and be sure that those fans are taken apart and cleaned before the start of the season, and periodically throughout the summertime to avoid fire hazards. Position fans on either end of the rabbitry between the aisles or suspend them from the ceiling in various positions so that the draft hits no one directly. A thermometer placed on the wall is also helpful, and the fans can be turned on whenever the temps. go above 80 or it is excessively humid.

3) Place ice bottles in your freezer weeks ahead of time to have on hand for the very hottest days. Buy or find 2 liter soda bottles and freeze them halfway to 3/4 full with water and place them into the cages when it gets very warm. Since soda bottles are large they will stay frozen for up to 2 hours on a hot day, and the rabbits cannot get a grip on the tubular shape to chew the plastic.

4) Keep cage pans and cages in general cleaner than usual in the summer. Urine and the ammonia it produces create heat, and if there are 50 rabbits in a building with full pans (assuming you use cages with pans), the temperature is naturally going to increase, sometimes dramatically. Also, cleaning cages more often keeps the flies down, which lessens the chance of flystrike.

5) Try to construct your rabbitry in a shady area, and if there is no shade plant some vines or fast growing shrubs or trees that will shield the structure and lower the temperature in the building somewhat. (Note: Be certain that nothing planted over the barn is poisonous!)

6) Refill water bottles with ice cold water once or twice a day and add Acid Pak on the very warmest days to keep electrolyte levels on an even keel. Also, scale down the amount of pellets you feed since rabbits do not need to create heat in the summer. In the Spring and Fall a mounded cup of Pellets for adults is appropriate for an FA, in summer it is a good idea to remove or minimize all top dressings and "hot" grains, and feed 1 level cup of pellets to each adult rabbit per day.

7) Another way to keep bunnies cool is to go into the building periodically with a wet cloth or spritz bottle to wet down the ears of your bunnies. Rabbits regulate heat through their ears, so cooling them down this way will enable them to find relief immediately. Be sure not to drip water into the ear canal, and if the rabbit in question is in coat be certain not to drip water onto the wool around the ears to avoid matting.

8) If you are breeding or have nursing does in the barn pay special attention to their comfort since they will suffer far more in the heat than bucks, young rabbits, and non-pregnant does. A late-term pregnant doe is in greater danger than a nursing doe, but both will feel the heat and have a much more difficult time than others in the barn. Also, bucks tend to be affected by heat more easily than does, (and can go sterile if the temps rise above 85 for 2-3 days in a row). The entire herd is much more susceptible to heatstroke during the first 1-2 heat waves of the year before slowly acclimating to the higher temperatures. All rabbits seem to tolerate the heat better late in the summer once they have become accustomed to it.

9) It is questionable whether it is a good idea to immerse an Angora in extreme heat stress in water. Breeders of short haired rabbits routinely use this technique, but an Angora coat complicates that approach, so unless the rabbit has been sheared down to the skin (in which case heat stroke would be unlikely), the wool will matt up to the point where it will be next to impossible to get it off, even with a scissor. It is also important to note that the skin of a matted rabbit cannot breathe and heatstroke may become imminent. Angoras should be well groomed or clipped altogether in the summer to assure proper air circulation. If a rabbit is in serious danger, bring it indoors to an air conditioned room OR to a basement or garage to lay out on the concrete floor. Soak the rabbit's ears down repeatedly with cool water, and keep it calm and quiet. Once it has recovered sufficiently, keep the animal indoors until evening with herbs such as Dandelion or Parsley, and make certain that Acid Pak has been added to cool water to give the bunny's system a boost and help it recover.

10) Another option is to hang bags of ice cubes over the fronts of your fans to blow cold air into your barn ( similar to a homemade air-conditioner). Just make sure that the bags do not leak and are not situated anywhere where they can be sucked into the fan blades.

These are a few warm weather tips, but generally speaking if angoras are sheared every summer and have adequate housing and ventilation, they are excellent at surviving and thriving. Keep a close eye on your rabbits at all times and know their habits so that stress can be identified quickly. As with everything, good management is the key to keeping Angoras healthy in summertime:).

To Breed or Not to Breed

2010-07-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

--another post from the old blog

There is a wide assortment of criteria that people use to determine whether or not a rabbit should be added to their breeding herd. In some programs, several groups of rabbits are actually maintained for different purposes in categories that have separate and distinct requirements. For example, some Angoras make excellent woolers and are kept solely for that purpose, but they are poor prospects for breeding because they have mismatched toenails, skeletal problems, or some other characteristic that is highly heritable and could pose a problem for future generations. Alternatively, other rabbits may be excellent specimens on the showtable but poor candidates for the gene pool if they don't conceive well, are poor mothers, or have a less than adequate milk supply.

The question most breeders ask themselves repeatedly (and one that is by far the toughest to answer), is "Will this rabbit advance my breeding program or handicap it?" One of the most difficult things to learn when breeding livestock is where the line must be drawn in order to keep a bloodline moving forward and keep the herd as productive and vigorous as possible.

In rabbits (or any animal, for that matter), there are several categories that physical and genetic traits fall into. The first is composed of traits that should never be bred into a herd under any circumstance, the second contains those that could be incorporated under certain conditions, and the third lists qualities that are rarely serious enough to warrant culling or keeping an animal out of the gene pool, and which may even be desirable 99% of the time.

A list like this is something that would be different for every breeder. Respective categories would vary according to individual philosophies, personal goals, and personal preferences in the areas of color, wool, type, and production capability. A show person's threshold of tolerance for certain characteristics is invariably going to differ from the person who raises Angoras strictly for wool, and a Meat breeder's needs will invariably differ from those who show, breed wool, or raise rabbits as pets. An example of the traits in these categories for most breeders is as follows:

NEVER BREED
-malocclusion
-split penis
-pigeon breast
-cowhocks
-white or mismatched toenails
-white spots, blazes, snips (in solid colors)
-does who kill/ cannibalize their litters
-does with inadequate or no milk supply
-does who repeatedly scatter litters/ have no mothering instinct
-biters/ rabbits with nasty temperaments
-disease (esp. Pasteurella)
-thin/ poor bone quality
-underweight (not nutrition-related)
Be aware that this list does not encompass various color genes that can infiltrate a herd and cause serious damage if not handled properly. Traits like this may include the Vienna gene, Steel, Harli gene, or the Dutch spotting gene.

SOMETIMES BREED
-stray white hairs or tiny white spots/snips
-unrecognized colors
-'slightly' cowhocked
-low(er) shoulders
-overly hairy coat
-overly wooly coat
-cottony texture to coat
-more than 1/2 inch gap protrusion between guard hair and underwool
-pin bones
-medium density
-mediocre mothering skills/ milk supply/ litter sizes/ conception rates
-'moodiness' that does not result in biting (esp. in mature does)

BREED READILY
-correct color but with varying intensity
-good temperament/ inquisitive personality
-solid type/ solid bone
-aggressive sires/eager breeders/receptive does/ excellent mothers
-rapid weight gain (5 lbs. @ 12 weeks for commercial breeds, etc.)
-density, good texture, high yield, excellent overall balance (in wool)
-prepotent bucks/does (rabbits who readily pass on their best traits)
-supreme health and vigor
-ability to maintain condition and a long prime period
-6 months or more holding time between molts
-unfussy (appetite, behavior, and general disposition)

These are only a few examples of traits in each category and I know I've missed some, but it is important to realize that these groupings are not definitive, but rely in large part on the goals of the individual breeder, the breed being raised (since different breeds have different requirements), and the short and long term goals that you have set in your rabbitry.

In my own situation I fall into the stricter end of this breeding spectrum. I would never knowingly breed a rabbit with any of the characteristics listed in the first group, and at this point I wouldn't normally breed rabbits falling into the second group, either. That being said, there are times when I have deliberately neglected a certain trait in order to fall back and fix another one, and when first starting out as a breeder there is little choice but to work with what one has in order to progress to something better. Over the past few years I worked hard to improve wool balance and quality, but one day I realized that I had been sacrificing type (over the hind quarter especially) in order to achieve it, so I stopped, backed up, and thought about how to fix the problem. The majority of points in every angora breed are on the wool, but the FA in particular cannot compete on a National level without being strong in both categories, so this was something that had to be corrected. For the time being I have chosen to ignore the wool a bit in order to focus on better type (especially since type is hard to set but wool improves much more quickly), To this end I brought in the F2 NZ/FA Cross from Elaine who is extremely strong in the hindquarter, and that should help to correct the problem.

A last word about color, also. When I began breeding in the beginning I felt that color was extremely important, almost to the exclusion of everything else. A few more years down the road I learned more about genetics and began to see the rabbit as a total package rather than a sum of it's individual parts, and realized that color could be sacrificed at times in order to fix a more important wool or type trait. I still would not knowingly breed in a problematic color gene (such as the ones listed above), and I would never breed snips, spots, or white/mismatched toenails, but what I WOULD do if the more important goals of my breeding program called for it is breed incompatible or outright unrecognized colors if they had the type and wool that I was looking for. A rabbit with outstanding type who showed up in a color that was not recognized or registerable would be incorporated into the breeding program simply because that is an easy fix at this point, and the line would benefit immensely as a result. Once a herd evolves to the point where type and wool become set, then THAT is the time to nitpick and pay strict attention to details such as color, focusing strictly on like to like combinations that improve the overall quality and intensity. Maybe you could even say that it is important to focus on the inside of a rabbit first (bone, skeletal quality, type detail), and progress to the outside later with density of wool, texture, and finally color.

Feed and Other Stuff

2010-06-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

It is continuing to be busy around here with new litters born and new breedings being planned and carried out. Last week Spang's Margaux gave birth to a litter of 8, and Juno (surprise, surprise!) gave birth to a litter of 6. Over the last several days I re-bred Etienne (this time to Diego), and Diana (to Beauregard), and also took 3 or 4 does to my black Giant buck Milo, so we will see how everything goes over the next couple of months as these babies are born and the existing ones get weaned:).

Out of the lack of anything better to say (I am totally strung out on kid activities this month and have little to no brain matter left:-)), I figured I would post a picture of my feed storage corner in the basement, since this type of thing always fascinates me in other peoples' rabbitries:).

Anyway, once every month or so a friend of mine from our local rabbit club coordinates a one ton order of Heinold feed for several breeders in the area. I drive out to the next town where it is stored in another guy's hardware store (a guy who is the president of the rabbit club, LOL), and I pick up enough to last me for 3-4 weeks.

In a corner of my basement where it is clean, cool, and dry, my dh put a wooden pallet next to the ramp we installed to make it easy to roll dollies loaded with feed in and out. I store my feed in two piles---one for the Wool formula (used for all adult rabbits including those over 14 weeks old), and one for the General formula, which is used for babies up to 14 weeks. Next to my feed piles I have three large rubbermaid tubs that hold 'Adult feed', 'Baby feed', and 'Grain mix', consecutively, and on top of those closed tubs are the buckets and containers I use to haul the feed and supplements in and out (luckily, my rabbitry is located right outside the basement door, LOL).

There are lots of efficient ways to store feed, but the main requirement is always that it is kept in a cool and stable environment in airtight containers to keep everything fresh and palatable to the bunnies.

More again next week when life calms down and there is more time to snap pics and do other interesting bunny work:). I hope everyone out there is enjoying a mild summer so far with tons of litters and LOTS of promising new herd dams/sires:).

Bunny Bulletin Board:)

2010-06-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

--another post from the old blog

At some point in the future I plan on setting up a nice bulletin board above my computer to put all of my bunny-related paperwork into one place:). I realize that many breeders keep all their bunny records on computer nowadays using the Evan's program or related software, but I have always been a person who needs things directly in front of me (being primarily "visual"), and have always had lists and pieces of paper all over the walls and doors of my house in order to keep our life and my bunnies' lives organized, LOL:).

Anyway, here are a few of the "bulletin board" records that I keep on hand for my herd:

1) Ivomec Schedule--This list has each bunny's name or ear # on it and a date posted as to when they were last ivomeced. Clearly this information is important in order to keep everyone on a regular schedule during show season, but it is also important to know who was dosed when to be sure that at least 3 weeks have elapsed before I do any breeding and risk a possible birth defect:(. I try to Ivomec all my showbunnies during the show season and summertime, and then give them a long break in the winter.

2) Clipping Schedule--Another list I keep has the names of each bunny alongside dates as to when each was clipped so I can keep track of how quickly the wool grows back and also get an idea of how long each bunny holds a coat. Information like this has been invaluable so far in determining the average hold time for each bunny as well as the average for my herd. I try to always clip during the slipping stage so as not to cut off the ingrowing tips of the next coat, so knowing when to expect this stage really helps me to time my coats. The next thing I hope to do in the future is get even more specific and have information next to each bunny stating how long each stage of wool growth lasts--for ex. New Growth/ Prime/Slipping/ Molt/, etc.

3) Breeding Schedule--I also have a chart hanging up that shows a list of my most important show dates and what month/week the does need to be bred in order to get Juniors and Seniors of the proper age for each one. Before breeding anyone I always try to refer to this list to find out when I OUGHT to be breeding according to a certain show date (such as Convention). However, there are times when I have to disregard this totally, like when I have a schedule change, or if a doe is older and needs to squeeze in a few extra litters before she 'retires'. Breeding really depends on the factor being considered at the moment, but I do always try to breed my best buns on the most 'important' show schedule dates.

4) Grain Mix Recipe and Schedule--I also have a list hanging up containing my exact grain mix recipe (since it has changed a few times and I don't really have it memorized:)), and also the measured amounts that my herd receives depending on the time of year or individual circumstances (ex. prego does get a specific amount until they kindle, after which they get no supplements at all until the babies come out of the nestbox and begin eating pellets with her out of the group feed dish).

These are just a few of the bunny records that I will be including when I get a bulletin board set up, but I'm sure I will be adding more info. such as tattoo numbers (where I left off after the last baby batch, etc.), calendars with breeding and kindling dates listed (instead of using my everyday family calendar:)), and a host of other tidbits that I could easily enter in my computer program but that I prefer to stare at instead:).

Current Events

2010-05-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy! Oh my gosh,the last few weeks have been insane with three kids playing baseball (on different teams!), my job, end of year school testing, garden chores, litters being born and weaned, and as usual, too many other things to count and keep track of:).

Yesterday and today two litters were born to Bijou and Carmen, and I am waiting for two more over the next day or two from Diana and Kimba. Bijou gave birth to 6 kits yesterday (1 Black and 5 REW), and Carmen had the same exact number with some Black in her litter also, combined with a bunch of regular Torts. I can't wait to see the quality of these babies since I used a REW buck for both that is probably one of the best typed buns I have ever bred out. Spang's Diego is a REW F4 cross with fabulous type and density, but I have not been able to get him to the show table as yet due to his unfortunate tendency to spray himself and all others, LOL. With an incoming coat he has been moved to 'solitary confinement' in a corner of the barn with no neighbors to the top, bottom, or sides of him. He seems to be neater as a result, but we'll see how far it gets and if the temptation to hose something winds up getting the better of him anyhow, haha:).

Aside from this there is not much else going on, except that we are having warmer days and summer is on it's way along with heat, fans, ice packs, and all the other things that make this time of year a living hell for rabbit breeders:(. I weaned all the first litters of the year now and they are doing well at 7-8 weeks. In a little while I will begin taking them out and seeing how everyone looks (who seems to have potential and who doesn't) and begin the sorting process that peaks at week 12 when I decide who will stay and who will be sold to new homes and new breeding programs.

And as if all this weren't enough, a friend who is a 4-H Poultry leader emailed me recently about some ducklings who had been hatched in a Manhattan classroom and needed new homes. Although I have never owned ducks before (and wouldn't have minded keeping it that way), my dh and kids thought differently and decided to build a new place here for them to stay:). Needless to say we now have 9 little ducklings in our yard (one of whom is pictured below). There were 2 Cayugas and 7 Welsh Harlequins in the bunch, so hopefully they will provide lots of eggs and entertainment:).

More again next time and have a great week!

Disease Factors in Rabbits

2010-05-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

--another post from the old blog

I was browsing through the Rabbit Production book again today (which I have said time and time again is my favorite rabbit resource:)), and I found an excellent description of the three most important factors in preventing disease in a rabbit herd. As everyone knows, illnesses such as Pasteurella (aka Snuffles) are among the most feared health problems in rabbits, and since there are virtually no vaccines available for rabbits, it is imperative that our herds are genetically sound and that we pay continual attention to the three factors mentioned in RP's 'Rabbit Diseases and Health Problems' chapter.

According to the book on pages 198-199, the three most important factors involved in disease control are Ventilation, Sanitation, and Observation.

1) Ventilation is crucial to healthy rabbitries because "air dilution" serves to reduce the concentration of harmful bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. This in turn gives the rabbit's immune system a better chance of fighting off a germ that may otherwise have overwhelmed it if the ventilation was poor and the population of these organisms increased.

2) Sanitation is the "physical or chemical" removal of potential disease causing organisms by scrubbing or through the use of disinfectants such as Bleach, Vanodine, or Listerine (for ex). Cage pans and floors should be kept clean, and hair and wool that is stuck to the wire in various places should also be removed. According to RP, "a single rabbit hair can carry thousands of bacteria or viruses".

3) Observation is exactly what it appears to be----keeping a close eye on how your rabbits feel from day to day. The problem with maintaining large rabbit herds is that it is easier to miss potential health problems due to the lack of time devoted to each animal. Watch your herd carefully and be aware of those who suddenly look peaked, unthrifty, or ill, or who stop eating and display signs that they are stressed or under the weather. Remove sick rabbits from the main herd immediately and isolate them in quarantine until you determine the problem and prevent the spread of contagious bacteria or viruses throughout the herd. Do NOT be soft on sick animals when they appear-----ANY sign of disease, particularly Pasteurella, should be dealt with immediately and the animal should be humanely disposed of if the disease proves incurable and the rest of your herd is at risk. Pet owners who keep a few isolated rabbits for wool may elect to pursue medical options that are available to forestall the effect of these diseases, but a show or production breeder cannot risk the health of an entire herd by coddling the weak and permitting disease symptoms to go unchecked:(.

Many individuals specialize in trying to prevent disease with the use of regular doses of antibiotics, products that keep ammonia smells down in the rabbitry, and the liberal use of drugs and medications when their rabbits get sick. All of these measures are expensive and usually unnecessary, and unfortunately serve to mask the root of a problem. The simpler solution is to breed for strong immune systems, keep the rabbitry as clean as possible, and make sure that there is an excellent exchange of air at all times. The importance of good nutrition should not be ignored either, as a rabbit in good health will be much more able to fight off disease than one who is malnourished. These tips are simple but effective, and all that any rabbit breeder needs to know to produce a healthy herd:).

Rabbit Handling

2010-05-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to post an entry about rabbit handling after a discussion that took place on the FA list. A great point was made during this discussion that since handling (and rabbit holds) are such a difficult thing to explain in words it would be nice to have a film or pictures available to study and imitate as needed. I decided to take a bunny out and post a few pics for anyone who might be interested:).

I decided to use a recently clipped rabbit for this tutorial because my hand placement would be easier to see, as well as the location of both ends of the rabbit. LOL. This is Spang's Miriam, a young REW doe who has recently been clipped.

The first picture below shows the standard method breeders and show people use to transport their rabbits from place to place. You can see that the bunny's head is tucked beneath my elbow on one side and the entire rabbit is being supported in a 'football' hold to keep it calm and avoid unnecessary movement.

The first step in the process of flipping a rabbit over to check teeth, etc. is to place it down in front of you on all fours. Grasp the rear of the rabbit with one hand, and the BASE of the ears (and back of the head) with the other so that the head is firmly in place and cannot move from side to side.

Supporting the hindquarters strongly, lift the rabbit gently and turn it over deliberately, allowing for no twisting or struggling.

To check teeth, LIGHTLY balance the rabbit on it's back and use the hand that previously held the head to quickly lift the top lip of the rabbit. A quick look is all that's necessary to rule out malocclusion. Do not dawdle in this part of the bunny examination. Most rabbits absolutely hate having their teeth checked:(.

When you are finished checking teeth (or any other part of the underside that requires checking), gently grasp the rabbit in the same position as before (on the rump and head) and flip it back to it's original position on the table, facing you on all fours.

In order to flip an angora over for belly grooming, all you have to do is employ the above method over your lap instead of the grooming table. If you prefer to sit on the floor with your legs extended out in front of you that's fine, but you can also sit on a chair and rest the rabbit between your knees where it cannot escape or injure itself.

In this position (wedged between your knees with one hand supporting head and ears firmly again), it is extremely easy to groom or clip the underside of your rabbit, even on the chin or chest, which are difficult areas to reach. Again, once you are finished, simply flip the rabbit over right side up again using the method shown above.

Bunny handling takes some time to learn, but with practice it truly becomes second nature and the rabbit feels safe and secure. There are different ways of handling rabbits and everyone must find their own comfort level, but the method shown above is the same one judges employ at shows and it has been tried and true for decades.

Hopefully this 'tutorial' has been helpful:). I will see if I can find other step by step subjects to blog about, especially since my 12 year old son is getting to be such a good photographer that I don't have to take all the pictures myself anymore, LOL.

Have a great week and see you again next time:-)

Giant Stuff!

2010-05-08T16:36:00.001-07:00

I have been running around like a crazy person since baseball season started and there are three kids playing ball here at the same time--!! Today's game got rained out and the other kids' practice was canceled, so now there are a few minutes to sit down and shift to bunny mode:).

I am planning on posting a detailed entry about how to carry and flip a rabbit for grooming (with pictures) ASAP, but first I have to get the pictures taken and everything else assembled. By next week I will be ready to post it for sure:).

All of my juniors in the barn are currently clipped down to grow Sr. coats for Fall, and we are in full-fledged breeding mode at this point. All the does I needed to breed have pretty much been done and the first crop of litters will soon be weaned. The only rabbits currently in coat now are Spang's Beauregard (a REW buck I kept in his first Sr. coat), and JG's Milo, a Black Giant Jr. buck that I picked up from Janet Gruber a couple of weeks ago:).

Milo is a spunky little guy with fabulous type and a nice coat coming in (if he was White he would make a great show rabbit *grin*). At this point I am doing absolutely nothing but keeping him groomed and watching him. I am trying to see exactly how his wool develops, what types of maintenance requirements he has, and how long he can go from coat to coat without needing shearing. So far he has a monstrous appetite (which is fantastic), and doesn't seem to need grooming more than once a week, at least not yet:). When he does get groomed it definitely takes longer than FAs of the same age because of his feet and furnishings, etc. but once he gets older I will probably just hit him with the blower once a week and do the furnishings by hand, which should save more time.

Here are some pictures I took of Milo below. In the GA breed bucks tend to have heavier furnishings than the does, and IMO this is a great thing because I don't plan on having more bucks than I need, LOL! I think (being a French person:)) that I would rather have lots of does with the cleanest allowable heads here:-).

Anyhow more again next week when there is much more time. Hope everyone is having a great spring with lots of babies!

JG'S MILO-10JG5

Babies!

2010-04-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

Today the first four litters of the year passed the 2 week mark, and I took everyone out of their nestboxes to change the stuffing and disinfect everything. While the bunnies waited for their little 'houses' to dry and become livable again, they all hung out in towel-lined laundry baskets, which gave me the perfect opportunity to take pictures without all that hay and wool in the way:-).

This first picture is of Etienne's litter---a few Torts, Blacks, and one Sable:

This is Marin's litter--also Torts, Blacks, Sables, and one Sable Pearl thrown in:).

Yvonne's litter had lots of variety in it--Sable, Sable Pearl, Tort, and 1 Seal there in the middle:

The three pictures below are of Natalya's litter with Sables, Sable Pearls, Torts, a Black, and 3 Seals (shown close-up in the first shot):

And this is a close-up of the two Pearls in Nat's litter, where you can see the great shading that will probably indicate very good color in the Senior coats.

After each box was cleaned and filled with fresh hay, all the litters were returned to their respective nests where they promptly and instantly fell asleep (a laundry basket can wear a baby out, alright--grin). Of course all these nests will have to be covered overnight in order to keep the occupants from jumping out as soon as they get hungry in the morning, but for now they are still content to sleep most of the day and not worry about much else:).

Anyway, more again next week when new breedings are added to the schedule and everyone who is inside will permanently be moved outside. Have a great week!

Rhinebeck Show and Open BIS

2010-04-18T17:23:00.000-07:00

Well, this weekend was the final show for the buns and I in Rhinebeck NY, and it ended on a wonderful note with an Open BIS for Spang's Carmen in Show B. As luck would have it I did not bring my camera again (of all days! *grin*), but I would probably not have had much time to use it anyhow since I spent most of the day registering rabbits, talking, or zipping around on other errands (including showing occasionally:)). LOL.

There were two shows held with Deb Vecchio and Don Havlicek judging, and there were about 25 FAs entered by 5 exhibitors. Carmen took BOB in both shows with Anton taking BOS in Show B, and Diana earned BOVs in Show A & B, also.

Since I don't have any current photos of Carmen from this weekend, I will just post the same shot I took last week in Long Island while she was on the grooming table. She is also pictured from a few weeks earlier in the margin of this blog:

Carmen is a daughter of Etienne and Giacomo and the grandaughter of Juno and Morwenna. She is 10 months old at this point, so she will get clipped and bred this week to Spang's Diego, a very nice REW boy who's been biding his time around here waiting for a bunch of girlfriends, LOL:).

Aside from this exciting weekend, the latest litters are growing like weeds and have just passed the one week mark. Margaux is pregnant for sure and Juno may or may not be (that still remains to be seen:)). In a couple of days I will be adding Carmen, Bijou, Kimba, and Diana to the Momma pool, and then we'll see how everything goes.

Anyway, more again next time as life gets back to normal and the usual bunny routines are restored. Have a fantastic week and keep on breeding!:-)

Old Bethpage, NY Show

2010-04-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the Long Island show in Old Bethpage (for the first time), and it turned out to be a very nice place:). There were few FAs and EAs entered (no SAs or GAs) and the show itself was small, probably because you had to drive through the city and onto the Long Island Expressway in order to get to it, LOL!

It took place in an old Restoration Village, and the building we were housed in was GORGEOUS. Here is a picture of how it looked on the outside:

This is how it looked like on the inside. NICE, huh??

This was the hall as it was filling up with exhibitors in the morning:

And these are some pictures I snapped of Carmen and Bijou while I was grooming:

There were only 12 FAs entered in both these shows, and the judge for the first was Donna Grimm (a member of my rabbit club at home who recently got her license:)), and the judge for the second was Bob Shaftoe. In show A, Spang's Diana took BOB with a buck belonging to Aileen Brown taking BOS, and in the second show, Spang's Diana took BOB and Spang's Anton took BOS.

Here is a picture of Donna Grimm judging:

And here is Bob Shaftoe:

One fabulous thing about watching Shaftoe judge is his extraordinary understanding of FA wool. Few people know this, but he has been a judge for 40 years and was one of the people who actually helped write the FA Standard. Something he does that practically no other judge attempts is to examine the structure of wool from the base of the hair shaft all the way up to the tip. He comments on density, density on the back, sides, and underside of a rabbit, overall evenness of density, and density as it relates to the precise stage a coat is in on that day. He examines the coat to determine whether the guards are the proper length as compared to the underwool, what type of crimp the coat has, whether a coat has the right amount of crimp to balance itself, and whether the crimp is tight enough to support the weight of a prime coat and give it body, strength, and form.

One fascinating distinction he made during the show had to do with degree of crimp in a coat. He said that if a crimp pattern is correct (the degree of 'zig zagging' is ideal) then a coat should have just the perfect amount of lift, prime texture, and condition. The gap between the length of the underwool and length of the guard hair in a well-crimped coat should be no more than 1/2- 3/4 inch, and if the crimp in a coat is LOOSE (or too relaxed, or non-existent), then the coat will not have proper strength, but will be flat and hang straight down off the rabbit instead. He said that a coat in the slipping stage will have this quality as well.

A 'slip' in an angora coat is defined as relaxation of the crimp pattern (in the underwool) of a mature coat, so that it ceases to support itself and literally begins to 'collapse'. You can see this very clearly in a French coat (and maybe the SA coat too) because the unique oval shape falls apart and becomes less distinct. As a slip advances further, 'scales' on each guard hair open up and cause a rougher appearance, and the shine associated with prime condition (where the scales are lying flat and reflecting light), also disappears. From that point the coat matts up as the open scales begin to stick to each other, and a little while later the hairs release from their follicles in a full-fledged molt.

Some other interesting points Bob mentioned (it is always a great to pick this man's brains at a small show, LOL!) is that the first place adult guard hairs begin to show up in a junior coat are at the tops of the back legs and around the base of the tail, HQ, and lower stomach. Also, the more furnishings an FA has on it's ears and face, the softer it's adult coat is likely to be. The amount of adult guards a French has is directly proportional to how clean it's face and feet will be.

I was very interested to see what Bob would have to say about my doe Bijou, whose coat is racing in but is still unfinished. I said earlier on this blog that I thought she had one of the best coats I've ever bred, so I was gratified to hear him say (after a thorough and lengthy examination, LOL) that her crimp was the best he's ever seen on an FA. (BG!)) She won BOV Colored and didn't manage to go much further, but I am glad to know that her coat is one that I can encourage in future breedings and spread the quality of to other areas of my herd.

Anyway, so that was how the weekend went. The Rhinebeck show is coming up next week, and after that I think we will be finished and the majority of my show string will need to be clipped down and bred. Last week 4 litters were born to Etienne, Marin, Yvonne, and Natalya (8,7, 13, and 11 babies respectively), and there will be more on the way as everyone else gets bred and the breeding season takes off:-).

Have a great week and enjoy this spring weather. May all your does be bred and your nestboxes be full!

The Importance of Good Conformation

2010-04-04T13:17:00.001-07:00

---Another post from the old blog

I read some posts on the Meat Rabbit list the other day that made very good sense and bear repeating for a number of excellent reasons. The posts were discussing such issues as sore hocks and other joint problems, and a poster made the important point that culling for good type and correct conformation will eliminate most of these problems in rabbits.

Good conformation is defined as a good structure ('skeletal' type) resulting in correct balance/distribution. A rabbit with good conformation is one which exhibits excellent bone and type for it's breed description, and possesses traits that are considered 'standard' for that type profile. The ARBA standards as we know them have been in place for many years. Contrary to popular belief, they were not developed solely for the purpose of developing animals that are pleasing to look at, but they were created to develop lines that are strong, hardy, and likely to endure into the future.

There are 5 different kinds of type profiles in the ARBA standard: semi-arch, compact, full arch, commercial, and cylindrical types. Since FAs are commercially typed I will focus on that here, but the same principles apply to all breeds in terms of bone, structural quality, and balance.

If a rabbit has good bone (the front leg feels solid when you wrap your fingers around it above the ankle), then chances are excellent that it will gain weight quickly and arrive at the desired weight within an appropriate amount of time. A rabbit with good bone quality is also healthier, thriftier, a better eater, and is more likely pass health and size onto it's offspring.

If a rabbit is nice and full at the lower hindquarter (not pinched or cowhocked), then the foot placement will be straighter and the feet will rest at a better angle on the wire, leading to fewer problems with sore hocks. Also, a rabbit with a wide enough rear foot placement that your flat hand can be slid between both legs will not have problems with urination on the insides of it's legs (something that can cause severe discomfort in rabbits with cowhocks).

Good depth/a proper rise will ensure that the balance point of the rabbit falls over the top of the hip and not behind or before it. This ensures that the rabbit is balanced when it moves and there is no strain over the weaker parts of the skeleton.
In terms of the unique requirements of Angoras and the necessity of being sheared, a smooth body with no protruding hips, bones, or hollow areas (poor meat condition where the flesh has not filled out over the body) will aid greatly in ease of harvest and make it much less likely that the rabbit will be nicked during wool removal.

When culling for better rabbits, always select those babies who feel solid when you pick them up, and who display excellent vigor and good appetite. When checking type on potential keepers make sure that the top of the rabbit begins to rise directly behind the ears (an immediate rise is ideal), and that the loin (very top of the hip) is high enough so that you do not feel the hip bones jutting out on either side. If the loin is high but you feel jutting bones anyway, flip the rabbit over to see whether the back legs are parallel to each other or form a 'V'. If they form a 'V' then there is probably a cowhock/weak lower hindquarter problem causing the tips of the toes to turn out and forcing the hip bones to jut higher up at the same time. Another way to check for cowhocks is to hold the rabbit under the front legs with it's back facing you and dangle both hind legs straight down. If the feet fall straight then the legs are fine, if they turn out in a relaxed position the rabbit is likely cowhocked.

Turn the bunny loose on a flat surface to see how it hops. If the hopping gait is balanced and easy then it probably indicates a well-typed rabbit. If it is awkward and abrupt (or seems to be lagging and off kilter) then there may well be a skeletal problem of some sort.

There are a few type traits that practically never improve on a young rabbit, and there are others that DO often change that we can make allowances for when culling:

Basic NON-changing traits include:

-low shoulders (indicated by a late rise or poor depth)
-lack of depth (long, flat rabbit rather than one that has a direct rise behind the ears and over the hip)
-pinched lower hindquarters/cowhocks
-jutting pinbones (a 'rocky' end)

Basic 'Changeable' traits include:

-width (a rabbit will generally not get any 'higher' but it CAN get 'wider' with age. Traits such as narrow shoulders will generally improve and fill out)
-meat condition (as a rabbit grows and eats, it's flesh condition should improve and harden. As long as the underlying skeleton is good, a breeder can expect that a healthy, well-fed rabbit will improve in this area)

Type traits do not include wool, obviously, as that is a different area that is usually a little harder to define. I have found that while I can often get an IDEA of what the Senior coat will look like based on the baby wool, it is not always as clear cut as type traits may be. A beautiful baby coat does not necessarily indicate an outstanding adult coat, particularly when you are talking about things such as non-synchronized growth which some shearing FA lines still display. The more linebred a herd is, the fewer wildcards there are and the easier it becomes to predict these factors.

Anyway, this is a little about conformation and how important it is for livestock to possess, particularly rabbits. Although there are breeders who keep rabbits strictly for wool/meat who are very conscious of these traits, there are others who feel that type is not important if they do not show. Practically speaking, good conformation should be important to EVERY breeder in the rabbit world regardless of purpose, particularly if they want a strong, thriving herd that is free of breeding and management problems.

Fulton (and other stuff)

2010-03-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I did end up traveling to the Fulton show this weekend but as luck would have it I walked out the door without my camera:(. Since this turned out not to be one of the better shows of the season I guess there was a Freudian reason for leaving it at home (LOL!), but either way I will remember to bring it next time and there will be lots more to post:).

I managed to pick up three or so legs with jrs. and my REW Cross doe Diana which was unexpected and nice, so now I will get a few more buns sheared and bred this week and wait for the season to finish up entirely so everyone else can be bred and retired to the nestbox.

One very exciting thing that happened this weekend was that I picked up 2 new Giant Angora babies! Janet Gruber traveled a very long distance from Ohio to drop them off for me (which I am grateful for:)), and so now I have one REW and one Black baby buck settling in nicely downstairs, who will hopefully help to kick off a brand new 'Spang' GA line:-).

And other than this, there is nothing much else to report. The time is coming near now where the barn will have to be pulled apart for BIG spring cleaning, and it will be nice to get everything pressure-washed, scrubbed down, and disinfected. If it comes down to needing much more space for the Giants at some point then I will think about adding a new wing to the barn to accomodate them, but we'll see how things unfold as time goes by.

More again next week as Easter approaches and there are tons of kid-related things to do including dying massive amounts of easter eggs and decorating the house with crafts and our ever growing 'bunny' collection, LOL. Have a fabulous week and an even better holiday!

Hamburg, PA Show

2010-03-21T12:14:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a long drive to a v-e-r-y long show in Hamburg, PA. Though it was fabulous to see good friends again after a long winter, it will be nice to veg. a little this week and begin getting spring chores done (like garden stuff and bunny-cleaning stuff) around the house.

I stuffed about 12 rabbits into my station wagon for the long haul, 8 of whom were entered in the show. This time I not only brought a few FA/NZ F4 juniors with me, but also two F4 Seniors to see how they would hold up in an FA Senior class. There was a HUGE amount of general entries in this show and the hall was mobbed with rabbits of every breed, but the FA entries held steady at about 25 with 3 exhibitors.

Our judge for the first show was Paul Kyle, and the judge for the second was George Long. In the first show the BOB and BOS went to Spang's Juno and Spang's Giacomo with a BOV White going to Spang's Diana (an F4 cross doe). In the second show, the BOB went to Spang's Bijou and BOS to Spang's Felix (an F4 Cross buck).

These first two pictures are of the show hall first thing in the morning. It was very large and already very crowded:):

These are my rabbits stowed on a table in the corner in their carriers.

This is Paul Kyle judging one of the White Classes in Show A:

This is Aileen Brown holding one of her Tort bunnies. Aileen is a fantastic person from PA who shows FAs and Rex, while her husband shows Holland Lops!

These are Pam Barnes' bunnies hanging out near the table waiting for Show B:)

And this is Bijou sitting on her carpet waiting for the Show B BIS judging to start, and below her is Dru Shepherd's English Angora, who went on to win BIS a few minutes later:).

So anyway, that was the story for this week and this show. I am debating now whether I should bite the bullet and take another 4 hour drive up to Fulton, NY next week since everyone is still in coat and looks good, but we'll see how it goes and how much other stuff I can manage to accomplish during the week, LOL! After next weekend there will be a number of does getting clipped and bred as I am eager to get started with the Spring breedings. A week or so after that the first April litters should start coming in:).

Have a great week and enjoy this warm spring weather!

Two Bucks for Sale

2010-03-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

I have two bucks for sale at the moment. One was born 8/7/09 and is 7 months old, and the other was born 12/17/09 and is 4 months old.

The REW buck shown below was born in August and is out of Spang's Sabini (Tort doe) and Spang's Akeno (REW buck). He is pictured here with one month's growth on his first Senior coat. He has good color (a very bright, crisp white) with great density and adult texture coming in. He has good shoulders and a nice mid-section.

The Tort buck below is 4 months old and still carrying his baby coat. He is out of Spang's Margaux (Sable Pearl doe) and Spang's Giacomo (Tort GC buck). He is going to be large with good color and a fantastic adult coat with really great density. His sire is pictured in the side bar of this blog.

Both these rabbits are available for $100 each. I can deliver them to Hamburg, PA on March 20, Old Bethpage, NY on April 10, Rhinebeck, NY on April 17, or Rutland, VT on 5/29.

Have a great week and enjoy the spring weather!:)

Snow and Bunnies

2010-03-06T15:37:00.000-08:00

Well, it looks like we are having a long awaited respite from snowstorms and power outages now, and by some miracle the temperatures have been rising and it looks like spring is actually on it's way for a change:).

With all this wintry weather the does have been reluctant to breed, but it looks like things are finally starting to pick up now. I got Margaux bred to Anton and Kimba to Akeno this week, and tomorrow I am planning at least 4 more breedings.

Here are a few pictures of our yard right after the snowstorm that dumped about 2 feet on us last week. The first shot is of our garden and garden shed, and the next is of the chickens hanging out in the only dry place left under the porch next to the dryer vent:).

And speaking of breeding, this bunny pictured below is named Mardiney's S'more. He is a Seal buck out of two rabbits I sold more than 6 years ago to a local 4Her whose mom is a very good friend of mine. This woman's daughter showed the bunnies many times over the years, even winning BIS at the county fair, and she eventually bred them together to produce a single litter from which this Seal buck was kept.

S'more is now an old man at 5 years of age. I mentioned to my friend that I was trying to revive the Sable color in my herd and she offered me the use of this fellow. I tried bringing a doe over to meet him but she was uncooperative and he was too wooly and a little too tired, LOL!

Anyway, to make a long story short, my friend then kindly offered to loan S'more to me to see if I could get some babies out of him:). I have 4 does clipped down and ready for him now, and this morning I went ahead and sheared the guy himself to give him every possible advantage in the access and mobility departments, hahaha.

Below are two pictures of this boy. He was never taught how to pose commercially so he is sitting up like a arched breed right now, LOL. His coat is hard to see in this position and he was long overdue for a clipping, but even at 5 he still had nice wool and impressive density.

Next I posted the after-clipping picture, and hopefully this baldie will now feel chipper enough to get down to business in his S-L-I-C-K new birthday suit:-)

More again next time. Have a great, warm week!:)

Bunny Stuff

2010-02-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

It looks like coats for the Spring season are really starting coming in now, which is making it necessary to have marathon grooming sessions every weekend just to keep everyone neat and presentable (especially those bucks:( ). I have to say I pine for the day when I will be able to remove these silly crocks and put my handy dandy water bottles back up. Trust me when I say that it is no fun spending 45 minutes grooming a doe only to find her standing in the water dish when you come back into the barn to get everyone fed later on--grrrr!

The warmer nights now have left everyone with unfrozen water all the time so everyone has been eating and drinking very well. The first show of the season is going to be in Hamburg PA this year, so if everything goes well (knock on wood, cross fingers and hold breath), everyone should have 4-5 inches of dense growth piled on and be very ready to compete.

The babies are looking good, and I will be starting a new wave of Spring breeding this week also. I took a few bunny pictures here to post.

This beautiful baby below is a Sable F4 Cross doe out of Kimba and Giacomo. She has fabulous depth and color right now, but as with all crosses I'll have to wait and see how the Senior coat turns out. It is absolutely wonderful to have Sables in the barn again. I am going be working my tail off 24/7 from this point forward to make sure they stay for eternity, LOL. This little girl is 11 weeks old:).

The next photo is of one of my newest does, Spang's Bijou. Bijou is a daughter of Devaki, a doe I had who consistently gave me 10 oz. per shearing, and I am positive that she will do the same, if not more:). Here she is in her first senior coat (about 2 inches so far), and below her picture I tried to take a closeup of her wool which shows the quality of texture she is already displaying at 8 months. This is an example of one of those cases where the body is not perfect (Bijou's type falls off over the loin), but it was necessary to keep her anyway because one of her other parts exploded off the map, LOL. I will be bringing this doe to shows but how she does will depend on what type of judge she gets. A meat judge will place her lower than other entries without a doubt, but a wool judge will shoot her up in the ranks, possibly even giving her top placement. This rabbit is so dense that I probably will not be able to brush her in another month. I think I will end up using the blower with a touch up afterward with the slicker.

Anyway, hopefully everyone is getting through the end of the winter alright and we are all dreaming of spring and planning our next breedings:). Have a great week and see you again next time!

PA Convention Pictures

2010-02-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures taken by my mother Lesa during the Sat. PA Show. Most of these are of only one show (the morning Open show) because later that day and on Sunday Julie and Pam took over the photography and took pics which will show up on the UARC website and the UARC Newsletter later on.

The first shot here shows the conditions at the hall parking lot on Saturday morning as everyone was attempting to get into the show:

This second picture is of Janet Gruber and I behind the UARC table. Janet is busy setting up the raffle as I am filling out entry forms, etc.

This is the wool room and grooming area as it began to fill up on Sat. morning:

These next photos below are of the first Open show with Roger Cota judging the French Angora class:

And this is a picture of Jenna (left) and Lorie (right) holding their bunnies and waiting for the White Sr. does to be called:

This is Janet again, writing for the same Sat. Open show:

And this is another shot of one side of the grooming area. Fortunately the circuits only overloaded once the whole weekend with everyone blowing their animals out this year. Last year with more exhibitors in the room the whole thing shut down several times from what I remember. LOL!

Again, I'm sorry for the lack of photos covering the entire weekend, but the other ladies took many more which I'm sure will surface shortly on the UARC site. Despite the weather this year the Convention was a very exciting show and I'm sure we'll be ready to do it all over again in 2011 (Big Grin!)

Have a great week:)

PA State Convention

2010-02-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

After a long week and weekend I am finally getting around to posting again, LOL.

We arrived home yesterday from the PA Convention, where the Lebanon, PA area got hit with a snowstorm that left close to 2 feet in some places by Sat. morning. We got in on Friday afternoon around 3PM, and left around 4 on Sun. Unfortunately I plugged my camera battery into the wall at the hotel to recharge and then promptly forgot it the next morning (LOL), so now I have no pictures to add to this post until my battery arrives in the mail, where the hotel people so graciously agreed to put it today:).

Basically there was a severe shortage of entries in every show both days due to the weather, so numbers on the tables were much lower than usual. For my own part I did not enter any rabbits at all, but that was because I had no one in the barn above 3 inches of growth, and I was not ahead of myself enough this year to be sure I had Seniors bred and juniors produced at the right time:(. Clearly I will need to get my tail in gear over the next couple of months and plan breedings to produce rabbits who are in coat for next winter, but as we know angoras are all about timing, timing, timing:-).

The UARC held two specialties at this show, and the results of Sat. and Sun. were as follows:

Saturday Show
Judge: Scott Wiebensohn

EA

BOB--Linda Cassella
BOS--Linda Cassella

FA

BOB--Pam Barnes
BOS--Charlotte Schweikart

SA

BOB--Sharon Rowe
BOS--Sharon Rowe

GA

-None shown

BIS--Linda Cassella
____________________________________________

Sunday Show
Judge: Dave Cardinal

EA

BOB--Linda Cassella
BOS--Linda Cassella

FA

BOB--Charlotte Schweikart
BOS--Pam Barnes

SA

BOB--Miranda Fasnacht
BOS--Pam Turner

GA

BOB--Miranda Fasnacht
BOS--none

BIS--Linda Cassella

The Open show results are not all known to me since I was busy elsewhere and on Sun. I wrote for the specialty at the same time as the Open was going on. There were also Youth shows happening both days that I did not get the results of (unfortunately), but I understand that the Youth BOB French Angora went on to take Youth BIS on Saturday, and that is quite a feat considering the level of competition usually present at this show.

Linda Cassella took Open BIS with a Colored EA in the Sat. show, and I believe the Open BIS on Sun. went to a Satin (short-furred breed).

Overall this was a very exciting weekend despite the weather. I'm sure next year will be better since the last time they had a storm like this in Lebanon it was 1922 from what I hear, LOL! There was also an incredibly interesting perspective given by the judges of our two Specialty shows, Scott Wiebensohn and Dave Cardinal. Scott Wiebensohn is a Brittania Petitte and English Spot breeder from the west coast, and he had some very interesting points to make about bone and balance in a rabbit. He told us that every part of a rabbit is proportional to all it's other parts, so a rabbit with extra long ears (for ex.) will also have a longer-than-average face. A rabbit with long shoulders is also more likely to be longer than usual in other areas such as the back feet, etc. Aside from gauging bone quality by wrapping your hand around a front leg, he said that another good measure is to flip the rabbit over and observe the width of the back feet across the hock area. He said that bone quality can be evaluated before a litter even leaves a nestbox this way. Thinner boned animals tend to have feet that are longer and narrower, while better boned specimens have feet that are short and broad.

Scott W. is also a spinner so he paid special attention to wool quality, and he was very open to comments from the breeders afterward:).

In contrast to Scott, Dave Cardinal (the judge of our second show), was a hard-core, serious meat judge who specializes in New Zealands and Satins. His perspective was vastly different from Scott's but also incredibly educational, because he talked more about musculature and the importance of a good loin and lower hindquarter. He stressed the need to FEEL your animals without necessarily looking at them to gauge type and bone quality. Compared to Scott who was a very visual judge (due to the need to visually assess the balance of an arched breed), Dave was almost completely tactile, relying nearly 100% on his ability to feel the meat condition and type traits. Both judges were incredibly different but very good, and it just goes to show how people interpret things in different ways, and how the breeds you raise can shape your perspective and even your method of evaluating other rabbits!

Anyhow, there were tons of people to see and meet at this show (as usual!), but it was also great to come home and get back to my normal bunny routine with my own rabbits (that is, until the next show comes along:)). Hopefully the cold will let up soon, temperatures will even out, and it will be far easier to keep the herd on an even keel of eating, drinking, and wool growing. All my litters are now currently weaned, and I am planning on breeding more does next week and over the weeks to come.

More stuff next time (with some pictures hopefully!)

Amy:)

Assorted Stuff

2010-01-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

This week I set up a different way to evaluate the rabbits I have in order to set up compatible breeding pairs. I am always checking and rechecking animals whenever I have them out to see how type and wool are developing and to keep tabs on the herd in general, but I have found that there is also such a thing as too much 'face time', LOL. Every breeder at some point or another suffers from 'barn blindness', where the eyes begin to cross and you lose the ability to judge your stock objectively. At these times, it is a good idea to step back and take a somewhat more scientific approach:).

I took a piece of paper and drew two columns (entitled DOES and BUCKS) and listed every member of my base herd on one side or the other. FYI, a 'Base herd' is composed of all the rabbits that make up the core of your rabbitry--those who are proven to be the best woolers, show animals, breeders, producers, etc. Your base herd is the source of the best stock your rabbitry is able to produce, and consists of the most valuable animals you have.

After listing each member of my base herd, I went ahead and listed the positive and negative traits of each rabbit. For ex. my NZ/FA cross doe Spang's Yvonne was listed this way:

Yvonne:

+hardy
+good type
+good bone
+no woolblock
-poor wool

You could get much more detailed than this if necessary. Instead of simply writing 'good type' you could list exactly which parts of the type are good, such as good shoulders, good depth, etc. If you were planning breedings based strictly on type (if you were working on one specific trait in this breeding cycle), then this information would come in handy to know which strengths to combine with what flaws. For my purposes this week I only wanted an overview, so further detail was not necessary.

'-Poor Wool' in Yvonne's case referred to the quality of her Senior coat, which is uneven in length, non-synchronized, and uneven in texture. The only time I might pair this rabbit with another of poor wool quality is if I wanted to set a particular type trait as much as possible. Otherwise, I would choose a buck with excellent wool to complement her so that at least a portion of the resulting litter would contain both traits. It is important to note that good wool is much easier to set than good type, so a 'poor wool/poor wool' combination might not be out of the question if both parents were capable of producing typey babies. It all has to do with what your goals are at the time.

The overall categories I included for the rabbits in my herd are as follows, but there are many traits that others would find important in their herds or that they want to strive for in the future:

Good Wool
Good Type
No tendency to Woolblock (no woolblock)
Hardy
Good bone
Poor type
Medium type
Good eater
Good drinker
Good color
Poor color
Non-synchronized coat
Even growth

These categories may seem a little haphazard, but they fit with what I am working toward at the moment and I know what they all mean in reference to my rabbits. Other breeders will have different categories and sub-categories, but the standards in angoras typically revolve around type and wool.

'Hardy' refers to a rabbit's overall thriftiness or 'toughness'. In other words, it measures their ability to stay consistent in eating/drinking/wool growth/ and maintain good health. They are the most reliable rabbits.

A 'Good Eater' description is self-explanatory (and often ties in with rabbits who are not prone to woolblock). 'Good Drinker' seems like a wierd trait but it is very important because rabbits who consume a lot of water are healthier, rarely get woolblock, and are much, much easier to condition than rabbits who do not drink as often. Even growth vs. Non-synchronized refers to coat type but may be positive or negative depending on the type of rabbit you prefer (shearing or plucking).

Looking at the traits of your rabbits on paper can make things much easier and take some of the guesswork out of choosing compatible breeding pairs. Of course, the best breeders in the rabbit world may not use any of these things, but rely instead on an instinct for identifying rabbits with potential and combining them to produce specific results. The important thing is to always keep breeding, keep checking, and keep adjusting your priorities to stay on track with the type of rabbit you are trying to produce.

Last of all it looks like I finally got some baby pics snapped! The first two below are of Margaux and her litter by Giacomo (now 5 weeks of age), and the third is of two of Natalya's babies just before weaning (now 7 weeks old).

And last of all here is just a gratuitous shot of my three sons in the Baseball Hall of Fame, which we visited last week:). It was amazing to see all the old equipment everyone used and all the old uniforms (made out of WOOL!). The boys read all about Babe Ruth and got to sit in a locker that once belonged to Hank Aaron. BIG thrills!!:-)

Current Events

2010-01-10T15:19:00.001-08:00

There has not been a lot going on here lately other than bitter cold weather and a couple of litters of babies growing out. My oldest litters are now 5 weeks old and the youngest are 3, so there will be a few more juniors hopping around and it will be time for breeding again soon as soon as Spring rolls around.

The PA Convention is also coming up in a couple of weeks, and I won't have much to bring again this year since I didn't do a lot of breeding for Winter buns. My best rabbits seem to be lining up for the Spring season right now, so what will probably end up happening is that all the proverbial eggs will be in one bunny basket this year, LOL. Once the season is over (somewhere around May or June), I will breed all the best does for some (hopefully) very good litters.

As my own kids get older and hit the teenage years, life is getting a whole lot busier then it used to be:). Between driving to different activities, cooking TONS of food (who would have thought it was possible for three boys to eat so much??!!), and stepping up our homeschool schedule at the same time, life has gotten very, very hectic:). I have my herd at a stable number of rabbits right now that makes it possible to keep up with grooming and maintenance and still produce a number of litters, but I will have to keep things relatively small for a couple of years until everyone grows up and doesn't need as much 'upkeep' anymore, LOL. Eventually I will be able to expand my herd again, start breeding more, and show more often in places that are further away (especially Convention:)).

The great thing about cold weather, however, is that it makes wool grow at an unbelievable rate. No sooner do you clip a rabbit but the coat is springing right back, and even the babies' wool seems to be coming in faster than usual right now. Despite the difficulties of managing a rabbitry at this time of year, there are certainly benefits to raising angoras in sub-zero temperatures:-).

More next time when I try to get some baby pictures posted.

Have a great week!

Nestbox Talk

2009-12-27T14:40:00.000-08:00

-another post from the old blog

There are several kinds of nestboxes available for use with bunny litters, and all have their benefits and drawbacks according to purpose, season, and management style. Here are a few basic types that are easy to find, though there are other choices and a few models that are actually improvised with found materials, etc.

In my barn I use stainless steel nestboxes because I have access to some that are really well made from my meat processor, but I also keep them indoors 24/7 except for bringing them out for feedings, so temperature considerations are not an issue.
The first kind of nestbox that you ordinarily think of when breeding bunnies is all wooden. Years ago these were made of solid wood, but nowadays they are often constructed of plywood, and are easily made at home. The benefit of a wooden nestbox is that it is extremely warm for fall and winter litters, and quite durable if well made. They are relatively inexpensive, especially if made of plywood, and are heavy enough to stay in one place. The disadvantages of wooden boxes is that they are sometimes too hot in the summer (not as practical in warmer areas), and they are difficult to clean thoroughly after litters have lived in them for 3 weeks. The belief used to be that wood did not sanitize as easily as metal, but articles I have read recently indicate that wood DOES perform fairly well in that area, as long as it is cleaned thoroughly in all the nooks and crannies, disinfected, rinsed clean, and left to bleach in the sun whenever possible. Another downside to wood is that many rabbits find it irresistibly chewable, and a box that started out with nice smooth edges in the beginning may end up very jagged and splintery----a potential problem for wool coats.

If you decide to go with wooden nestboxes when first starting to breed, always make sure that the floor is either removable for easy cleaning OR there are good sized holes drilled into the bottom for drainage. One of the biggest dangers to newborn litters is the buildup of bacteria in a nestbox that does not get cleaned often enough and remains damp and moist for days or weeks at a time.

The second most popular type of nestbox is the stainless steel box. Steel boxes are useful in hot climates because they tend to be cooler, and they are extremely easy to clean and disinfect when a litter is finished with them. Most metal nestboxes come with removable floors which makes them easy to disassemble and scrub out, and they also tend to weigh less, which is an issue if you have a large breed with many babies per litter or you move your boxes in and out of the house.

Removable floors tend to be made out of a variety of materials, and there is one company that even sells them with solid metal floors, but that is a poor option because there is no drainage in a situation like that, and the use of it is asking for an immediate buildup of dangerous bacteria. I used to use layers of cardboard and newspaper, etc, in my nestboxes (after removing the original floors first), but the boxes I currently use have pegboard floors, which work wonderfully in terms of staying clean and keeping litters healthy. I used to get crusty eyes now and again with cardboard and other materials, but at this point I put a thick layer of hay on top of the pegboard and that is usually enough to keep everyone clean for 2 weeks along with wool that the doe pulled, and then a clean layer of bedding is added for week 3 which lasts until the box is removed altogether. Eyes are always open all by themselves by day 12, and there is never any dampness in the nest.

Another type of nestbox that is often used is called a 'drop box'. A drop box is a nestbox made of wire that is literally built into the floor of a large doe cage. The biggest advantage to a drop box is that it mimics the natural nesting conditions for a rabbit in the wild (which are underground), and it provides greater than average protection for kits who get pulled out of the nest after feeding because they simply crawl around the wire until they 'drop' back into the box. The disadvantage to this type of nestbox is that it is a permanent feature of the cage, and is thus unremovable without cutting up the floor and patching or replacing it. Another problem is that it cannot usually be used with stacking cages unless there is a wider than average space between each cage and the pan rests lower down beneath it. The best rabbitry setup for drop boxes is the single line of suspended cages such as one would find in a meat operation where does are bred almost constantly and there is no interference with any cages located below or above them.

Other options that people use when expecting litters consist of heavy cardboard boxes (which need to be secured because they tip easily though they can be discarded later), cat boxes and plastic tote boxes (which also need to be secured with wire and tend to retain alot of moisture), and homemade 'above' floor wire boxes. The primary considerations for any nestbox are that it be solid, heavy enough so that the doe cannot tip or flip it over while nesting or jumping in and out, it has excellent drainage, and it is easy to clean. Some boxes have metal or wooden lids on top that partially cover the box for greater privacy and protection from drafts, and others are completely open. Does sometimes have a greater preference for one over the other, so you have to watch your herd and experiment.

So this is a bit about nestbox 'pros and cons' (LOL). If you leave your litters outside all the time and breed over the winter, a wooden box may be the best choice. If you breed for meat and have a large herd operation, a drop box may be ideal. If you keep your boxes inside all the time except for nursing, metal may be the best choice for ease of transport and cleanliness, but everything depends on what your goals are and the kinds of management techniques you employ

Bunny Stuff

2009-12-21T15:56:00.000-08:00

After getting some much needed grooming in today between all the baking, cooking, decorating, gingerbread house building, and normal daytime school stuff (LOL!), I snapped pictures of a couple of buns who are busy growing coats.

This first shot is one that was taken of Anton (a Sable Pearl buck) months ago when he was just a baby. The second is how he looks today, a whole lot bigger and growing in his very first Senior coat:).

These next two pics are of the best baby that was born here during the Fall breeding season. She is a little Tort doe that I will probably name Nadia if she ends up keeping all her great qualities:). She is 5 months old today and came out of a breeding between Margaux and Giacomo.

Btw, there were also two more litters born this week for a total of four boxes now sitting in my living room! Margaux had a litter of 7, and Yvonne (my F3 NZ/FA cross doe) delivered a litter of 8 REWs with Akeno as the sire.

More again next week, but until then have a wonderful, WONDERFUL holiday and may all your bunny wishes come true for the New Year!

'Testing Your Stock'

2009-12-13T15:53:00.001-08:00

---This is another post from the old blog. Sorry about all the older posts lately, but December is a busy month and I do want to get all the old posts transferred so that they will be readily available in the archives. Have a great week and stay warm!:-).

The best way to know what your rabbits carry genetically is by looking at what they produce in the nestbox. Of course, it is a great help to know what colors the parents were because alot can be ascertained that way, but breeding a rabbit several times and recording the colors that result can make it much easier to formulate a genotype for the sire and dam.

The basic rule of genetics is that a rabbit can only pass on what it carries or expresses to it's offspring, and since each offspring inherits half of each pair of genes from it's dam and the other half from it's sire, the colors that result will depend on how those genes interact with each other.

Some genes are dominant, which means that they will always express themselves first if the other half of the gene pair is recessive. In order to express itself (be visible in the nestbox) a recessive gene has to be paired with another recessive gene. If a certain recessive is always paired with a dominant gene in a particular herd it may never have the chance to express itself, which is why some colors can 'hide' themselves for many, many generations before finding like recessives to pair with and reproduce themselves.

A good example to use in describing how genes get passed on is the color White (or REW). White in rabbits is represented by a lower case 'c', and it takes 2 lower case 'c's to make a white rabbit in a litter. Since 'c' is a purely recessive gene, it is entirely possible for a Colored rabbit (such as a Chestnut or Self, for ex.) to be carrying it with no surface evidence whatsoever. If you were to breed that 'c' carrying rabbit to another rabbit though (White or Colored) that also carried a recessive 'c', then the result will be at least a few REW babies in the nestbox. There is a great deal of White in the majority of the Angora breeds because REW is a very competitive color in Angoras, but some non-wool breeds consider the gene a serious liability because White is not a recognized color in every type of rabbit.
If two colored parents are bred and REW babies appear in the litter (even just one), then you can be 100% certain that both parents carry the 'c' gene. Similarly, if both parents are Selfs (or one is even a REW) but you get one of the 'ee' colors in the nestbox (that would be Fawn, Red, Cream, Pearl, Tort, or Ermine) then you know that each parent must carry a recessive 'e', and so on.

To determine what color a REW really is under the white 'sheet' (because there is always a different, 'real' color in those rabbits), the best thing to do is breed it to a Self and examine what comes up in the litter. If you find Agouti babies in a nestbox out of a Self/REW breeding then you can be certain that the REW parent must be an Agouti under the White because the Agouti gene is dominant and could never have come from a Self (which is recessive too). Conversely, if you get nothing but Selfs in a good sized litter then you can be fairly certain that the REW must be Self underneath too, and you can use that information in future breedings to produce fewer unrecognized colors.

Why is it important to know what a REW is underneath in the first place? Well, the worst color combination that can be performed in rabbits is usually the Agouti/Shaded combination. Babies out of these pairings will often be a complete mishmash of color and can be so jumbled phenotypically that they cannot even be identified. They can never be shown, registered, or even sold very often because the majority of breeders will not accept unrecognized varieties into their gene pools. Even if they could be sold as pets or woolers there is always the chance that someone will take it upon themselves to experiment and breed 2 rabbits together just to 'see what happens' and end up producing an even larger cache of unrecognized colors that are unshowable, unregisterable, and unsellable.

Testing a REW first to know what color truly lies beneath the blanket allows you to use that rabbit according to it's real color in future breedings. If a White rabbit is genetically an Agouti, then you know that you can use this rabbit only with other Agoutis or Selfs, and should never use it with a Shaded. If your REW is genetically a Self then you have greater flexibility and can use it with other groups without fear of strange colors turning up. Combining 2 REWs can ONLY result in an all-White litter so you would not know what either parent carried in that case, but since REWs cannot carry Shaded genes (the 'c' being completely recessive) you would not be adding those genes to your pot to begin with.

Note: Breeders of other breeds are often mortified at the rate at which Angora breeders mix colors, and IMO they have a very legitimate point. The best and truest color comes from breeding pairs of the same variety together over several consecutive generations, and we in the Angora world would do well to imitate that policy if we want to weed out most of the color issues that plague our breed. Since wool animals are often raised by spinners as well as showpeople the desire for variety in color is strong, but the best way to achieve both variety and quality is to focus on each color separately and improve it slowly over time.

Baby Time Again

2009-12-06T09:35:00.000-08:00

Two litters were born this week to Spang's Natalya and Spang's Kimba:). Juno's breeding did not take which wasn't a surprise given her age, and Althea (my Black 'plucking' doe:)) was not pregnant either, which will earn her a trip to the 'retirement' home of my local friend who has a fiber business and uses angora in her products exhaustively:). Given the fact that Althea is young and could not conceive twice under normal conditions means that she will not be fertile/ dependable enough to stick around here, especially if she is not a show rabbit and cannot earn her keep some other way. She will now live the rest of her life at a 'luxury' bunny house where her new owner will use her wool and happily keep an FA who molts on a regular basis:).

Margaux will be due in approx. a week and half and is definitely prego (carrying hay around like there's no tomorrow:))----and Yvonne is due around the same time, though it is harder to tell what is happening with her because she never carries hay or begins building nests until the Day Of, LOL.

Below are two pics of the new litters snapped earlier today (at 2 days of age). The first is of Natalya's litter with 3 REWs and 2 Blacks, and the second is of Kimba's bunch consisting of Black, REW, Tort, and Sable. Kimba is a Sable F4 FA/NZ cross and this was her first litter. She kindled a day early with 11 kits so all her Sable babies (the little Blue looking things in the first picture:)) were promptly moved to Natalya's box because Natalya had only 5 and I wanted to be extra sure that the Sables survived. Kimba was bred to Giacomo (a Tort) since he was the best choice at the time to produce more Sables, but next Spring she will be bred to Anton (a Sable Pearl buck) which will definitely produce more Sables and Pearls to get my Sable/Pearl line off the ground:).

Other than this not a whole lot is happening at this time of year with cold weather and the holidays:). Since there are no shows at the moment there is nothing to do but breed and gear up for the PA Convention in Feb, along with growing out coats for the 2010 Spring Season, which looks as though it is going to be nice with a great selection of buns.

Btw, for those of you who don't know (and I will be posting about it again in a few weeks:)) the United Angora Club (UARC) will be hosting TWO Specialties at the PA Convention this year on Feb. 6 & 7---a Saturday and Sunday. This year's PaSRBA show is expected to bring in over 12,000 rabbits, which is only 1,000 shy of the entry at this year's ARBA Convention in San Diego! The official catalog for the PA Convention is not available yet, but it will be posted mid-December on the PaSRBA Website at http://www.pasrba.org/.

More again next week, and hopefully everyone is fully winterized and holed up for the coming winter!:-)

Nutrition and Feed Labels

2009-11-22T18:17:00.000-08:00

--another post from the old blog

I took a close look at the nutrition labels on my feed bags the other day, and did a little reading up on what types of information a breeder could expect to glean from the 'Guaranteed Analysis' and 'Ingredients' list.

First of all, different feeds have different formulations depending on what the intended use is. Commercial Meat operations normally require a high protein feed that supports fast growth and an intensive breeding schedule (about 18%), while Wool herds require a high level of protein coupled with high fiber levels to encourage healthy gut motility and maximum wool growth (usually about 17-18%). Pet rabbits or rabbits who are not being bred or stressed in any way generally just require a 'maintenance' formula, which can be lower in both fiber and protein (15-16%). While ingredients and amounts on assorted labels may vary, the essential nutrients can be grouped into the following categories:

Protein
Carbohydrates
Fats
Minerals
Vitamins

These components are listed on feedbags in various orders, usually followed by (min) or (max) to show how much or how little of the ingredient is included. In the book 'Rabbit Production' a clear description of how to read a feed label is included:

"By law, a feed tag must provide certain information, varying somewhat by state or province. Crude protein is usually listed as "minimum" or "min." In other words, the feed manufacturer can provide more protein than listed on the tag. The manufacturer is not likely to consciously do so, as protein is expensive. Similarly, the crude fiber is listed as "maximum" or "max." Again, this is to protect the buyer. Fiber sources are generally cheaper than grains. By stating a maximum fiber level, the manufacturer assures the buyer that cheap, low quality fibrous feedstuffs haven't been added to dilute the feed. If the feed has less than the maximum fiber content listed, it means that higher cost ingredients have been used. As a result, rabbit feeds generally have protein contents very similar to the tag values, whereas crude fiber levels are often lower than listed. This regulation has caused misunderstanding by some rabbit raisers, who may want their feed to contain a particular fiber level. They would prefer that the tag read "minimum" for crude fiber. However, this is not required by feed regulations.
It is impossible to look at a feed tag and say conclusively that the feed is good or bad. The information provided is insufficient to allow a judgment to be made. Crude protein is not a measurement of protein at all, but a measure of nitrogen. There is no indication on the tag of the quality of the protein (its content of essential amino acids). There is no indication of the digestibility of the protein. A crude Protein analysis does not distinguish between soybean meal and shoe leather. There is no information on a feed tag about the energy content of the feed or about the specific level of minerals and vitamins." (pgs. 150-151)

Since we cannot get specific information from the 'guaranteed analysis' itself, it often helps to look beneath at what is contained in the ingredient list. First, the best source of roughage in rabbit feed is generally considered to be Alfalfa meal. While Alfalfa is an excellent source of high fiber, it is also significantly high in a type of protein that is well digested by rabbits. It is also an excellent source of phosphorus, calcium, and potassium, and contains indigestible fiber which is helpful in preventing enteritis. In addition to this, it contains vitamin A and carotene. Considered altogether, the virtues of Alfalfa usually make it the very first ingredient in high quality rabbit feeds.

Significant sources of grain (carbohydrates) are Corn, Wheat, Milo, Barley and Oats. Corn, wheat, and milo are high energy grains, while barley and oats tend to be on the lower end of the spectrum because of their fibrous hulls. Corn (especially) is not recommended for use in hot climates or during the summertime because of the possibility of gut imbalances leading to diarrhea, and barley and oats should be scaled back during the warmer seasons as well. Oats and corn are highest in fat content, while barley is the highest in fiber content. Corn is considered to be the highest energy grain available.

The best and most reliable source of protein in rabbit feed is Soybean meal. Soybeans (heated/roasted, never raw) are palatable to rabbits, have high digestibility, and are well balanced in amino acids. Other supplements for protein found in rabbit feed include Cottonseed meal, Sunflower meal, Rapeseed meal, Safflower meal, Linseed meal, and Peanut meal.

Additional ingredients found in rabbit feed are probiotics (to reduce growth of pathogens in the digestive tract), pellet binders (such as bentonite or lignin sulfonate), flavoring agents such as thyme or molasses, Salt (a necessary ingredient to satisfy sodium chloride and trace mineral requirements), Copper Sulfate (to inhibit growth of pathogenic bacteria in the digestive tract), Yucca Extract (to reduce the release of ammonia into the air and keep odor down in the rabbitry), and enzymes such as those found in pineapple and papaya to break down hairballs in the wool breeds.

A well formulated pellet will ensure that herds are kept healthy and productive in every capacity, but a poorly formulated one can result in a range of health problems, some of which can be fatal. The storage of feed is also very important. Bags must be stored in a dry location that is rodent proof, and pellets must either be kept in the bag or stored in metal or plastic bins. The milling dates of all feeds should be checked upon pickup, and anything older than 3-6 months should likely be discarded due to loss of vitamin content and the increased likelihood of rancidity (mold or toxins developing in the feed). The best feed is a feed that is freshly milled with the highest quality ingredients. If you use your rabbits as a guide, the freshest feed is also the one that is most readily eaten, while older pellets tend to offend a rabbit's sensitive palate and are often left sitting in the dish.

Quick Grooming Note:)

2009-11-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

It's a simple thing that might seem obvious but after just having groomed a bunch of bunnies this week it is important to remember that the short hair on Angora faces molts too!! From what I see here it doesn't always seem to molt at the same rate as the body wool---especially if a bunny doesn't fully release to begin with, but it definitely does blow several times a year and it is important at those times to take a slicker and brush their little heads vigorously to get the stuff all off:). I groomed some bucks recently and couldn't get over how much fur was coming off their foreheads, so do make a point of grooming the WHOLE rabbit every time you take your bunnies out for maintenance!

Have a great week:-)

Stess, Timing, and Routine

2009-11-08T17:00:00.000-08:00

---another post from the old blog

I have been thinking quite a bit lately about Stress in rabbits. I have always been a strong proponent of routine and consistency with animals, and I believe this idea translates to every other thing that we do in our lives. When I first got into bunnies I realized that the calmer the surroundings of the herd were and the more consistent their daily routine, the less health problems they seemed to have. I often heard (and continue to hear today) stories of problems people are having with their bunnies' health: breeding problems, conditioning problems, woolblock problems, eating problems, weight problems, etc. etc. etc. When you question them further about the details, it almost always comes out that some sort of inconsistency in management is taking place that the person often has no idea is having any effect on their herds. What exactly does 'inconsistency' mean? Let's use feed as an example. Say you buy a certain feed for your bunnies that is considered a 'quality pellet' for angoras, and begin feeding it. After a certain period of time you notice that the condition of your rabbits has not improved despite the fact that you have switched from a standard pellet to one that contains more protein to sustain and grow a wool coat, and you were told by breeders with excellent stock that you would get results. All other things being equal, it is now time to go beyond your feed and take a look at your feed routine. Begin by asking yourself these simple questions:

1) Do you feed your bunnies at the same time every day?

2) Do you feed your bunnies the same amount every day (measured)?

3) Do you continue to feed the same brand without switching to other feeds when you run out--substituting cheaper pellets to stretch the expensive stuff, let the bunnies go several days on hay and grain before picking up the next batch of feed, and so on and so forth?

4) Do you add lots of treats to the bunnies' diets that are not technically 'bunny approved'? For ex, do you allow 'human' foods such as processed foods or foods that contain sugar, artificial ingredients, and other additives? Are treats given often?

5) Do you supply fresh water daily?

6) Are parts of the bunnies' individual days unpredictable as a rule?

The point I am trying to make is that simply buying good products won't do the job in producing high quality show bunnies and excellent woolers. The ingredient that is much more important (that we neglect to mention or think about) is the importance of routine. Rabbits are flight animals, which dictates that they live in a constant state of alertness and experience chronic levels of stress. In Nature this is beneficial because it enhances survival, but in domestic rabbits it can pose serious problems in terms of achieving maximum growth, optimal weight, and most of all, good condition. In human beings Stress is at the root of serious health problems, and in children it has been connected with learning difficulties, psychological problems, and interference with physical growth in some cases. Rabbits are even more susceptible to stress than people, so in order to raise good stock we need an environment that is healthy and a routine that is consistent and regular.

Pick one time of day to feed your bunnies and stick with it. Try aligning your feed schedule with the time rabbits normally eat in the wild, (near or around dusk), and fill their dishes in the late afternoon or early evening. Feeding on a schedule decreases stress by allowing the herd to know exactly when it can expect to be fed. A regular schedule also leads to improved eating and more predictable weight gain.

Always feed your bunnies the same amount each day. Keep an old measuring cup in your feed bucket and bring it out with you religiously to measure feed for every rabbit every day. If you need to increase feed for whatever reason (wintertime, does with litters, etc.), do so slowly, at an amount of no more than 1/8 cup extra feed per day until you reach the desired ration. Erratic feeding leads to upset stomachs, and upset stomachs lead to bunnies who won't eat or drink properly and lose condition.

Pick the best brand of feed you can afford and feed it day in and day out no matter what. This is not to say that emergencies don't happen and feed supplies at stores don't run out unexpectedly (because they do), but always do your part to have the same fresh feed on hand, enough bags in storage to last you through the month, and (ideally) more than one source for the same brand of feed should one location run out at the last minute. I have an agreement worked out with my own feed store so that they order enough of what I need each month in addition to the normal feed order and put it aside for me to pick up the same week. Keeping the feed brand consistent in your herd is important for obvious reasons---again---less digestive upset and a better chance for the feed you're using to pass on it's benefits over time.

Human treats for bunnies are never a good idea. Rabbits are herbivores, which means that they have NO REQUIREMENT for deli meat, bacon, dried fruit with sugar added, or sweetened human cereal. Certain herbs and greens will do no harm and can even be beneficial in small amounts, but even they should not be dietary staples, and overuse will accustom your rabbits to foods that cannot possibly sustain them or keep them healthy in the long run.

Fresh water is critical to good condition because bunnies with no access to water will not eat. The best Conditioners are usually the rabbits who drink the most, and these also tend to have the fewest problems with woolblock.

Paying attention to wool cycles and removing coats promptly when a molt begins is also important for maintaining condition, since a woolblocked bunny obviously won't eat at all. Timing is a critical issue. Bunnies who are fed good quality feed on a timely schedule thrive---bunnies who are maintained on a regular harvest schedule thrive, also. In other words, WHEN and HOW you do a thing is almost always more important than WHAT you do to your bunnies to develop a quality line. Keep rabbit schedules as boring and regimented as possible so that stressful surprises do not occur. Handle your bunnies only as much as necessary to avoid excessive self grooming and added stress. Provide the best quality feed and care possible and do not change it without a very, very good reason.

So anyway, that is the bunny philosophy for tonight:). I realize that there are people out there who claim rabbits should be 'bombproofed' to make them 'cope' better with the stresses of life and showing , but there really are physical limits to how much any rabbit can tolerate by nature, and a stressed rabbit will NEVER condition as well or look as good as a rabbit in a solid, regular management program at the end of the day. Quality and consistency are key and the most important ingredients in any endeavor, particularly bunny raising!

Pluckers and Shearers

2009-11-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

There has been a great deal of discussion lately on the lists regarding French Angoras who are raised to be plucked vs. those that are bred to be sheared. While grooming last weekend I took a doe out of the barn that I had been experimenting with to see how far she would go into 'total molt', and she definitely delivered:).

To back up a little, the majority of rabbits in my breeding program do not molt. What I mean by this is that most do not ever get to the point where their wool is released totally, making it possible to pluck their coats. Most go into a long drawn-out slipping stage where their wool declines in quality and has to be removed by clipping. Many of them will drop bits of wool here and there in the cage pan when the time for a harvest is near, but none ever blow their coats completely to the point where it is falling off and the fluff is flying around 24/7, LOL. This is acceptable and exactly what I prefer my rabbits to do because they are bred for show before anything else, but it is different from what the original French Angoras were bred to do, and different from what many fiber breeders at the present time prefer their animals to do. My own feeling is that a rabbit that is sheared is healthier than one that is plucked, but this is my personal opinion.

When I first got into FAs, the first bunnies I had were serious pluckers. I was told to comb their wool out when they began to molt so I did, but later on I acquired different stock that did NOT molt easily, and the rabbits had to be clipped in order to harvest their wool. Clipping worked better for my management needs than combing/plucking because the rabbits could be bred to molt (or 'slip') on a schedule that coincided with the spring/fall show schedules. The wool could be removed all at once with no delay and less strain on my hands, and there were far fewer issues with woolblock in my herd. I began breeding more rabbits who did not 'molt' and I crossed those who did into the ones that didn't so the offspring gradually grew even coats as well. For several years I had 'tweens' in my herd who seemed to both molt and need clipping (if that makes sense), but most eventually evened out with several babies still cropping up with non-synchronized senior coats a couple times a year. At present, 95% of my herd are clipping rabbits (not counting the NZ crosses), but there is still a tiny core in the barn that leans more toward the plucking-style coats.

This rabbit shown below is one of my 'pluckers:)'. Her name is Althea which means 'Black Night', and she is an old line rabbit that I kept exclusively because of her excellent color. She was born dark with no white hairs, snips, or faded color, and she managed to keep this color throughout her 2 years, throwing it onto a beautifully colored litter that was kindled last spring. She is not a show rabbit as she does not have good type and can never grow wool densely enough to compete with the buns that are sheared, but I keep her in an effort to pass her color to the rest of the herd.

After reading a discussion on the FA List about plucking and clipping, I decided to let Althea revert back to her natural molt cycle to see how long it would last and whether she would really release her coat to the point where it could be harvested without any pull or resistance. In the past I have clipped her even though she grows back unevenly because her function has been solely as a breeder (I did not want her to go off feed or shed multiple coats, etc). This time I let her go for a period of 5 months during which I was able to see two distinct coats coming in. At the end of the 5th month there were two coats of two different ages present (one new and one just coming into molt), and at this point Althea began to consume less feed and drink less water. She continued to look healthy and move normally, but instead of 1 mounded cup of feed she scaled back to 3/4 cup. Soon thereafter the water consumption fell off, so I decided to remove both coats and give her a break before the next breeding.

This first picture below shows Althea after she came in and I set her on the grooming table. You can see the various lengths of different coats growing in here. The newer growth is much darker than the old.

I picked up a slicker brush and began brushing out her old coat. Within a few minutes of grooming the old growth COMPLETELY and totally released with no resistance whatsoever (I mean completely off and onto the floor!). I am convinced that Althea is indeed a full-fledged 'plucker' of the sort that was described in our FA list discussion:-).

Here is a picture of her back after I had brushed out most of the old coat, leaving a patch of new growth in the middle:

After brushing for awhile I then clipped her down completely, and you can still see the pattern of growth coming up beneath her skin.

Anyway, so this was an interesting demonstration of a true plucking-style FA that develops a coat in stark contrast to the shearing rabbits on the other end of the spectrum. Plucking vs. shearing makes for an interesting comparison that every FA breeder should have the chance to observe sometime. I have always said (and very strongly feel) that it is important for every person to know what they have in their breeding programs so that they do not wind up clipping rabbits that should be plucked, and vice versa. Every FA is different (especially nowadays), so it is vital to know what you have in your herd so your goals can be aligned with your functions.

Have a great week!:-)

Fulton, NY Show

2009-10-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (10/24) we attended the Fulton show which is basically the last NY show of the fall season. There was an Open show in the morning and a Specialty in the afternoon hosted by the NY Angora Club. There was an unusually high number of FAs entered in both shows, which was fabulous! 47 were entered in the first and nearly the same amount was entered in the second, with 8 exhibitors. The judge for the first show was Helen Brose, and the Specialty was judged by Bob Shaftoe.

I brought 7 buns along with me to enter---3 Seniors and 4 Juniors. I don't normally bring a lot of juniors to shows simply because they are rarely able to compete with seniors and I don't like to stress them if it's not 100% necessary, but yesterday I loaded 3 FA/NZ cross babies (F4 generation) up for the first time to see how they would stack up against the purebreds. I don't feel that their wool is as good as the purebreds yet because they do not seem to have as much basal density and crimp, but the senior coats on the older ones are coming in evenly now and the seniors are starting to come closer to competitive show quality. This was a perfect show to test crosses in because there were 24 juniors entered alone, and a great deal of healthy competition for them.

In the morning Spang's Juno took BOB and Spang's Giacomo earned BOS. Spang's Etienne was the 2nd place Colored Sr. doe, Spang's DuBois (cross buck) took BOSV in the White class, Spang's Felix (cross buck) was the 1st place Colored Jr. buck, and Spang's Carmen (pure doe) was 1st place Colored Jr. doe.

In the second show Juno and Giacomo got BOB/BOS again, and Etienne took 2nd place CSD again. None of the juniors won their classes in this show, but 3 of 4 earned places in the top 3. At the end of this show Juno went on to take Specialty BIS.

Below are just a few pictures that were taken during the first show in the morning. The first two are of Helen Brose judging the Colored classes, and the last is of me taking buns out of the cubbies after the judging was over, LOL.

All in all it was lots of fun (as always:)), and now the season is over and I will be clipping everyone down and doing massive tons of breeding. There are some promising babies coming up out of the youngest litters who are almost 12 weeks old, and after this the herd will be smaller and more manageable again (at least until the next batch arrives, LOL).

On one final note, I would like to wish everyone who is heading out to San Diego next week for the ARBA Convention a safe trip and lots of luck. I am sure the weather will be perfectly ideal out there, and I look forward to hearing how it goes from the people who bring their laptops and report back to the lists.

Have a great week!:-)

A Good (Long:)) Story

2009-10-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

Since this is the weekend of the famous Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY, I thought I would relate some neat things that I learned this week about the Spinners in my family.

First I guess I should go farther back to relate a little history about my family. My mother (who travels with me to rabbit shows all the time) is originally an immigrant from a German village in the former Yugoslavia known as Verbas. The culture her family was part of was known as the 'Donau Schwaben' (or in English) the 'Danube Swabian' culture. Ethnic Germans living in what is now the country of Serbia, they had a unique way of life that involved unusual food dishes and a very devoted tradition of knitting, sewing, and fiber related handiwork. Every girl (and many men) growing up in this culture learned how to knit and embroider from a very early age, and they were known far and wide for their exceptional skill in this area.

My grandmother was the youngest of a large family, and for extra money she used to raise silkworms as a child and then sell the coccoons to a local silk factory. As an adult she married a man in the neighboring village (also Donau Schwaben), and they had several children. Once WWII began, her husband (my Grandfather) was drafted into the German army as part of the maintenance unit, and she was left at home in the village with her children.

One day towards the middle/end of the war, the people of Verbas got the horrifying news that the Russian army was on the march across Yugoslavia and headed straight toward the town burning and pillaging everything as they came. My Grandmother, who was in labor with my mother at the time, was unable to leave with the rest of the town so she stayed on for 3 more days until the baby was born. She and her inlaws (who stayed to wait with her) then loaded the bare necessities into a horse-drawn wagon, and ran out of the deserted town in the nick of time with her baby and two of the older children, minus one son who had died earlier and was buried at the local cemetery.

So my family escaped the town at the last minute and managed to join up with the wave of other refugees. They spent the next several days rushing through the countryside to the sound of falling bombs and the warning drums pounding non-stop in the towns telling everyone to evacuate. Over the next several years my Grandmother traveled across Europe with her children alone, staying in various shelters and DP camps in various countries in an effort to reach safety.

Eventually, several years later, she and my Grandfather (who had joined them again) arrived in New York City with their children, and they settled in a part of Queens where the remnants of the Danube Swabian population were finding new homes. They managed to find work at one of a number of knitting mills that had been set up by countrymen who were capitalizing on the business they knew best. Over time they were able to move out of the room they lived in behind an old storefront, and into a real house where life became more settled.

My own mother grew up and met my father (a Hungarian immigrant), and together they moved upstate after I and my siblings were born. Several times a year we went back to the city to visit my grandparents and the rest of our extended family, who were constantly making things such as knitted clothing, toys, and other handmade things for all the kids. There was never much money, but it didn't matter because their tiny house was always filled with delicious food every Christmas, and there were amazing handmade gifts under the tree and on the tree. Even today, years after her death, I still have all the sweaters and knitted toys that my Grandmother ever made for me. Most now sit on the beds of my kids--- on the same down featherbeds she threw in the wagon before they left her village so long ago.

My great grandfather in Yugoslavia made his living as a Weaver. My grandmother was an avid knitter, crocheter, and embroiderer all her life. Three of her four children became serious spinners and knitters, and my uncle Gunther, who owned and worked in knitting mills most of his life, recently picked up handspinning and won the skein contests at the Rhinebeck and Maryland festivals three years after learning, with 2 and 3 ply laceweight skeins prepared from scratch. His second skein, (the 3 ply) was made on an antique 1800s spinning wheel that he found and oiled up one day before spinning his winning skein.

Gunther came to the Rhinebeck festival with his grandaughter this weekend (who also spins), and my mother went to meet him and pick up fiber for her own projects. My aunt, a spinner and knitter as well, did not attend the festival this year but came up several times in the past.

This story doesn't have much (if anything) to do with rabbits, LOL. After hearing that my uncle is doing well with his spinning (which I hadn't known before), I got to thinking about how far a thing can come, and how deeply rooted a way of life can stay despite war, displacement, death, and tragedy. A needle and thread may seem like nothing big or important, and a sheep or rabbit don't matter very much more, but the simple things are the biggest and most important because they are far less likely to be taken away. It is a comfort to know that every time we go into our barns to groom, harvest, or plan future generations of angoras (and their precious wool), we participate in a legacy that is tied to the past and present of everyone.

Have a great week!

NY State Convention

2009-10-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Due to a severe head cold that hit me the day of the show last weekend and lasted all through the week (and due to the fact that the kids caught it, too) this post is a week late:-).

Last weekend was the NY State Convention in Syracuse, NY, and I went up on Saturday just for the one day double show. There were 34 French entered with 7 exhibitors, and the judges were Pam Nock (Show A), and Ruth Ann Bell (Show B). I brought 5 Seniors to enter, and Spang's Juno took BOB in the first show with Spang's Giacomo earning BOS, and Giacomo took BOS in Show B again.

The day before the show I took a few pictures of my Fall show buns, so

here they are in all their glory:). Giacomo is shown above here, followed in order by Spang's Karenina, Spang's Juno, Spang's Davita, and my ultimate favorite doe this Fall, (in 2 pictures) Spang's Etienne:). Etienne is a beautifully typed doe with one of most even coats I've ever bred yet. Believe it or not she just weaned her first litter 5 weeks before this picture was taken, LOL!

Next are a few scenes from the show. Here's the grooming area:

The show hall itself (a very big one!):

Some of my buns in their carriers groomed and waiting for the show:):

Pam Nock judging the first show with Giacomo on the end after winning the Colored Sr. buck class (Doesn't it look like he's saying, "What the heck is this? Where in the heck is my luxury condo at home?" )

Pam again blowing into Davita's coat (Colored Sr. doe class):

And these are the Colored Sr. does, typically the biggest and most competitive FA class . As you can see there were not enough cubbies to hold everyone here, so that is me on the end holding one of the 'spillovers':

This is Ruth Ann Bell judging Giacomo in Show B:

All in all this was a fun show (with the exception of my sore throat and rip roaring headache:-)), and next we will be heading to the last show of the season in Fulton, NY, provided that everyone stays on feed and keeps their coats whole and intact. I am also in the middle of culling the last of the Fall litters which yielded some pretty little babies, and I will be shearing and breeding again over the next 1-2 weeks.

More again next time (and this time it won't be late, LOL!). Have a great week and enjoy the co0000l Fall weather:-)

Back again (with Babies for Sale:))

2009-09-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! After a super busy summer it looks like Fall is here again and it is time to get back to the usual work and blog schedule, LOL. Hopefully everyone out there has had a productive summer with lots of litters and great show/wool prospects. I did a load of breeding here also, and as of now there are 7 litters of various ages jumping around in the barn. In addition to breeding I also took the time to wrap up the practical requirement for my Registrar's license, and once I get the certificate in the mail I will be a true blue bonefide ARBA Registrar!:-) It was incredibly interesting working at the various shows with different judges (I worked under Josh Humphries, Bob Shaftoe, and Brian Sawchuk) to see how they all bring different strengths and points of view to the judging table. There is nothing (I mean nothing) like handling umpteen zillion rabbits over the course of one day to teach a person everything there is to know about type, but even if I never got anything else out of it besides the experience, this was definitely a fascinating and unbelievably educational summer:).

I will also be attending my first show of the season in Syracuse this weekend (at the NYS Convention). I did not bring rabbits to any of the shows I was working at because it would have been a nightmare trying to work behind and in front of the table at the same time, but now I have about 5 bunnies who are in full coat and seem ready to strut their stuff (I hope, LOL).

Also, there are a couple of bunnies for sale in this post who can be delivered to shows in Syracuse, NY on Oct. 3, the Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival on Oct. 17-18, or the Fulton, NY show on Oct. 24. The REW and Tort babies pictured above (and below) are two of five that will be offered for sale out of Spang's Indira's litter--born 7/16/09. Indira is a Registered Tort doe with 2 legs who will go back to the tables to finish her GC as soon as the next coat comes in. She earned an Open RIS at the last show she was entered in in Rutland, VT. Spang's Giacomo, the sire, is a GC Tort buck. Both parents have Red/White/Blue pedigrees.

3 REWs are for sale in this litter (2 does and 1 buck), and 2 Torts (both bucks). Pictured here are pics of one baby of each color, but the rest of the litter is pretty much identical. All rabbits are priced at $100.00 ea, and interested individuals may contact me at amy@spangangoras.com.

This last photo below is just one of a 12 week old girl out of Devaki's litter (see what a difference 2 weeks can make? This baby can actually pose!:-D). I will be holding onto this one for awhile because she seems to be a carbon copy of her mother who produces 10 oz. of wool at every shearing (!G) Out of Etienne and Yvonne (whose litters are about 14 weeks old now), I will keep 2 does and 2 bucks, and the other litters are still too young to know anything about, LOL.

Anyway, more again next week when I will have a full report (with pictures!) of the Syracuse show, and other interesting things to chat about. I hope:-).

Happy Fall and get ready for the wool to start growing!

Summer Break

2009-07-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I hate to admit it but I am going to have to take a summer break from blogging once again from today until the middle of September rolls around:(. I have a ridiculously full plate at the moment with kid and other activities, and I am arranging shows to finish up the practical part of my Registrar's license which needs to be handled as well. I will be back right away as soon as Fall starts and the shows get going, and I should have an entirely new crop of babies to show off and post pics of as well:). So far there are 4 new litters in my barn with 5 more coming up over the next week or two, so things will definitely be insanely busy:-).

Anyway, have a great, GREAT summer, and I hope all the buns stay happy and cool until Fall comes again and we all have the chance to relax:-). I can easily be reached by email if anyone needs to get in touch with me, otherwise I'll see you all again in Sept.

Happy Grooming!
Amy:-)

Wool

2009-07-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

--another post from the old blog!

Well, I was happily taking pictures of my babies at 9 weeks when my camera batteries suddenly went dead, and the absence of a spare set forced me to stop what I was doing and put the batteries into the recharger til tomorrow:(. Well, that works out alright since I can just post them tomorrow instead---but as I was grooming and checking out coats and texture on the babies and some of the adults today, I noticed a few extra things about wool that I thought I would brainstorm with tonight:).

Lately I've been in the habit of grooming out my babies, plopping them onto the grooming table, and then standing back to look at them from zillions of different angles:). First of all I look hard at the profile (which is probably the best angle to check for balance), and then I check them from the front and then from the TOP, in a kind of aerial view. When looking at the profile the thing I am mainly checking for is balance. Now, good balance means that no part of the rabbit is out of sync with any other part. No part is too high, or too low, or too flat, and no part sticks out abnormally far in any direction (if that makes sense:)). A rabbit with excellent balance looks good any way it sits from pretty much any angle, but a rabbit that lacks balance looks awkward, and when you look at it you find yourself wishing that it had more height, depth, roundness, etc. etc. etc, making the concept a very difficult thing to define. The longer I am in rabbits the more I realize that MUCH of what we look for in a good one is hard to explain and put our finger on, but as is so often said about anything exceptional, you'll know it when we see it:).

Next, I try to examine the rabbit head on to determine ear carriage, headset, and the 'evenness' of the coat from the front. The FA is widely known for it's distinctive 'oval' shape, but what we don't realize at first is that it is oval from the front of the animal as well. A good coat should present even density all around the head and back, and the hem of the dewlap should be perfectly even so as not to break up the baseline of the coat. Ear carriage and headset are not critically important in angoras, but I like to see that they are still in balance with the rest of the animal and the head snuggles back into a 'pillow' of wool behind the face.

Today I just had two baby REW does out (which I'll post pictures of tomorrow), and while both were perfectly equal in terms of type, one had a distinctly silkier coat than the other, which had the type of textured coat that you would usually expect to find on an adult. Interestingly, there was no real difference in density between the two rabbits because the same amount of of underwool was present on both, but there was certainly a difference in the shape of the animal, which could clearly be seen by viewing the coat from above.

In FA coats (and probably all angoras to different extents), everything seems to come down to this: there are two types of 'hair' in a French Angora coat, and each has a specific and unique function. The underwool, which is CRITICAL for density in the angora breeds, is a 'crimped' type of wool with tiny zigzags present in each shaft of hair from the skin level to the tips. These 'zigzags' are what give strength to the wool, meaning that their shape enables them to support a heavy coat from underneath. The zigzags in underwool also provide Compression (like springs), so that when you grab a fistful of healthy prime wool in your hand and let it go, it 'springs' back rather than falls limply out of your hand. An excellent coat with a BALANCE of guard hair and underwool should be completely self supporting in an FA. It should stand out evenly all around the animal and give it life and density, while a 'bad' coat will look flat and limp because there is no crimp or 'strength' to support the hair from underneath and give it loft.

Guard hair has a completely opposite function in a wool coat----it provides Shape and Finish. When I looked at these two little does today I realized that while both had equal amounts of density, the one with the textured coat had a beautiful, uniform shape which remained the same no matter how she sat or moved. The baby with the silkier coat had an oval shape too, but it was not as defined as the other one's, and it was more likely to alter it's shape as it moved around. Time would prove the difference here, but if I had to guess I would say that the silkier baby is going to have a harder time holding it's coat in the future. She may not be able to hold it as long, and when it starts to slip it will probably look disheveled and much 'messier', shortening her time on the showtable and making the quality of the wool decline more rapidly. It is very clear to me today that what I am shooting for is a perfect ratio of guard hair to underwool to provide balance and density, but I am ALSO looking for the proper TEXTURE, because that is the quality that ropes in density and gives it the shape, form, and longevity that a good FA coat needs.

I think the next thing I will check out is what happens to the crimp when the coat gets old and starts to molt. If my observation about the zigzags holds up, the underwool should gradually lengthen, relax, and straighten, which would explain why the compression of an old coat decreases (or we get 'lack of life to the wool', as a judge would say), and we find that the coat as a whole gets flatter with the straightening and begins to lose it's shape before it actually releases.

In conclusion, I guess we could say that an excellent prime coat with lots of density HAS to have nice, tight, crimp from the skin to the tips, while a molting coat or a coat without density will be lax, fairly straight, and in some cases lack crimp entirely when you blow into the wool. When choosing your keepers it is important to feel the wool but also look at it, and never hold onto anything that does not show evidence of the critical supporting underwool and textured guard hair that make an outstanding FA coat !

Current Events

2009-07-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks in the rabbitry so I thought I'd give an update of what's been going on this week:).

At this point all the spring litters have been sorted out and the keepers have been set aside, and the summer litters are starting to come in:). Starting last week there were 2 litters from Etienne and Yvonne. Etienne is a Tort who hasn't been shown yet---she had 3 Torts and 2 REWs with Giacomo. Yvonne (one of my REW F3 doe) gave birth to a litter of 7 with the same sire as Etienne---2 Torts and 5 REWs. Yesterday and early this morning Devaki and Juno had litters. Devaki had 1 Black, some Torts and a REW or two (it is hard to tell what is what yet colorwise:)), and Juno had only 2, which were promptly fostered into Devaki's bunch.

There are more litters expected over the next couple of weeks, and I will be rebreeding Juno tomorrow along with Sabini, who was just sheared yesterday and is ready for her first litter. Morwenna was due earlier in the week but didn't have anything. It is rare for her to miss, but she is getting older now at age 3. She was rebred also and I'll see how she does in a month:).

We have had UNBELIEVABLY cool weather here in NY this summer, including a ridiculous, record amount of rain:(. The holiday weekend was the first sunny time we've had in weeks, and hopefully things will continue to improve as the summer goes on:).

I took a few pics of my new buns, though there are many more babies in the barn that need to be brought out and photographed. I am really excited about the type on some of these new buns. Both the NZ crosses and the purebreds are getting higher and higher, and there was only one DQ this spring out of 63 babies born. This bunny below is a keeper out of the first litter of the year (born 1/25) right before her clipping. This is Spang's Karenina--9SP1:

I also kept another doe out of this litter from Morwenna--Spang's Davita:).

Below is one of the dark Pearls that came out of Juno's last litter, a very nice (and BIG) buck that I am calling Anton. He has a sister who was very small in the beginning but that I have decided to hold onto to see how she turns out. She also has really wonderful type.

These next two photos are of 2 REWs that came out of NZ/FA does. Both have good NZ type, though the wool on the buck (2nd picture) is much better at this point (there are about 6 of these babies total in the barn right now). It will be interesting to see what happens with these rabbits in the F4 generation. As yet none of the crosses have been able to be shown after the senior coat came in, but maybe some of these will finally make it:).

This last series of pictures is of Spang's Sabini, who grew a beautiful prime coat this summer just as soon as all the shows were over (LOLOL!). I sheared her last night in preparation for her first breeding, so hopefully she will have some nice little ones to show off this fall:).

Aside from this there is not much else going on (other than the day-to-day maintenance stuff). I have several rabbits to get registered this week, and I need to line up shows for the fall to finish up my Registrar's license (which by some miracle I did happen to pass. LOL!).

Hope everyone out there is having a COOL summer (though I hear the temps have been high out west). Be back again next week with more stuff:-).

Dandelions (the Bunny Miracle Food)

2009-06-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

-another post from the old blog

Dandelions today are viewed as modern day nuisances that are impossible to kill, but in reality this weed is nothing short of a miracle food for bunnies and humans alike. They were grown as an extremely valuable medicinal plant long before they popped up in the cracks of our sidewalks, so I thought I would research the benefits of this important plant and list them here.

Here are a few facts about the Dandelion (taraxacum officinale) that I dug up on the web earlier today. After reading about all the benefits this so-called weed offers, you will understand precisely why they are so healthy for bunnies and why you may want to start feeding them to your own family in the future as well!

FACTS
-Dandelion leaves are higher in beta carotene than carrots
-Dandelions have a greater iron and calcium content than Spinach
-Dandelions contain more potassium than bananas
-Dandelions contain more lecithin than soybeans
-Dandelions contain 64 nutrients and health promoting substances, including the vitamins B-1, B-2, B-5, B-6, B-12, C, E, P, D, biotin, inositol, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, thiamin, and riboflavin
-There are approx. 14,000 IU of Vitamin A in 100 grams of Dandelion
-Dandelion root contains the sugar 'inulin' (helpful to diabetics), along with numerous other medicinal substances
-Dandelions are high in trace minerals
-Dandelions are considered a traditional tonic. They strengthen the entire body, especially the liver and gallbladder, working as a gentle diuretic to improve the way kidneys cleanse the blood and recycle nutrients. They also act as a general stimulant to the system, especially the urinary organs. They are helpful in use with kidney and liver disorders, and are also beneficial for the bladder, spleen, pancreas, stomach, and intestines.
-Dandelions detoxify the body and are a great invigorator. They help to cure woolblock, ease indigestion, stimulate milk production in lactating does, and stimulate appetite in general. They also boost the immune system.
-Early colonists brought dandelions to America from Europe to plant in the New World because of their well-known medicinal properties.
-The reason Dandelions are so rich in nutrients is because of the long tap root (extending 2-3 feet in some cases). The roots are able to grow down into the mineral rich subsoil, suck the nutrients in and transport them to the surface.
All parts of the dandelion plant are edible, but the roots are more potent than the leaves.
-Dandelions are so healthy that they can be used as the sole diet for animals off feed, capable of sustaining life for weeks.
-Dandelions can be taken regularly and the entire plant can be dried for use during the winter

Basically, for the Angora bunny, dandelions have three great functions. They stimulate appetite in bunnies who have gone off feed for any reason, they stimulate milk production in does with large litters, and they cure woolblock:). Since they have started to grow again in the yard and garden I will be passing them out regularly to my herd, (particularly on hay and seed days), but considering that there are so many other good things about them, I am also going to start adding them to our own meals in the form of salads and maybe even teas:).

*Note---ALWAYS be sure never to use dandelions for yourself or your bunnies that have been directly sprayed or are located in the vicinity of any kind of chemical herbicide or fertilizer. Grow your weeds naturally for the sake of your bunnies and family, LOL:).

Breeding

2009-06-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

--This is a post from the old blog, but it seemed relevant to re-post in the middle of the Spring/Summer breeding season.

Someone at a show recently asked that I write a post about breeding, so here it is, LOL.

Some people have a great deal of trouble getting their angoras bred, and others have very few issues at all. I believe that there are several factors involved in a successful breeding program, and different lines and breeds may exhibit different rates of conception as well.

First of all, it is very easy to encourage and increase problem breeders in your herd. What I mean by this, is that angora breeders generally focus on breed traits such as wool yield and coat quality to the extent that the more basic fundamentals of rabbit raising often get overlooked, and a herd can become less "functional" over time. As I have often said before, the strength of a breed such as the French Angora is that it is a true multi-purpose livestock animal. It produces heavy wool yields on a commercial quality meat body, and is pound for pound one of the most efficient livestock animals that exists. It is important, with a breed such as this, not to neglect it's meat value at the expense of wool only. The FA is primarily a Fiber animal, but when we fail to select for strong breeders in our herds we make it impossible for the meat aspects of the breed to perpetuate themselves, and the wool qualities fail at the same time.

If you have reluctant breeders in your herd----or rabbits who almost never conceive/fail to get milk, etc.----do NOT keep these rabbits or any of their offspring in your herd if you are serious about improving your production. A heavily line/inbred herd will normally have a decreased reproductive rate to begin with due to homozygosity, so it is a good idea to occasionally introduce an outside doe if you find the vigor of your herd declining. If your herd is NOT heavily linebred then basic culling is the only answer----do not keep those rabbits who are poor mothers or poor milkers, and eventually the production of your herd will improve. Selection for these types of traits is not always something that Angora people think of, but we need to remember that rabbits are rabbits, so if we fail to pay attention to the basics of herd management we will have nothing to show or harvest to begin with:(.

Conception can become a problem if a doe is allowed to sit dormant for an extended period of time between breedings. In my own barn I try not to let 'older does' (the 2-3 years and older) go for more than 2 months between litters after weaning. What I try to do is keep only those bunnies who are capable of being championed early so that they can have their first 3 legs by the time they are 9 months--1 year old. At this point I clip them down and breed them immediately to get the first litter out of the way, and then if the doe happens to be one who can bounce back with good wool growth and type again after the litter, I bring them back to the show table again, and then shear and breed them again. If a doe is retired from showing OR it is a doe who was never shown to begin with (a "parts rabbit", so to speak), then those rabbits will be bred all year round with one month off between litters until approx. 3-4 years old, when they are retired completely due to their age.

The does who are the most heavily bred have the best conception rates of all. They almost never miss breedings and almost always have good sized litters who grow up healthy and robust. It is important to note that the longer an adult doe goes unbred, the greater the opportunity exists for fat to build up around the internal organs to inhibit reproduction and make it less likely that the doe will ever conceive. A good rule of thumb is to get your bunnies championed early if possible (if you show), and then don't be afraid to breed heavily afterward and continue a tight schedule until their retirement. A rabbit in good health is essentially a breeding machine (as any good meat producer will tell you), so it is important to encourage good production by maintaining a regular breeding schedule.

Other things to remember when preparing to breed are to breed at appropriate times of the year. Rabbits breed all year round if kept on a tight schedule, but the ideal seasons are Spring and Fall (particularly Spring). In Spring even the hay we feed contains a higher amount of a compound called 6-MBOA (6-methoxybenzoxazolinone) which stimulates reproductive readiness in wild animals and enhances libido. The length of the days are also directly related to receptivity, and the sperm counts of younger bucks are quicker to bounce back after the heat of summer into Fall as well.

Here is a list of other tips to encourage the breeding process:

1--clip bucks and does down before breeding so that the coat is out of the way and the doe's wool will only be approx. 1 in. long when it comes time to kindle (making it less likely to wrap around baby necks and feet).
2--Breed once first thing in the morning, and then again one hour later.
3--Cage reluctant does next to smelly bucks at least 2 hours before breeding to increase receptivity.
4--take the doe for a ride in the car along bumpy side roads.
5--make positively certain that your herd is well-nourished with a good quality pellet that contains adequate supplies of Vitamins A and E. Supplement brood does with lots of green, leafy plants and herbs which contain a great deal of Vitamin A such as Comfrey before breeding and during gestation.
6--If you feel that your does are overweight, place them on a restrictive diet for 3-4 weeks before breeding to enhance conception rates. In sophisticated meat operations, rabbitry owners are careful never to let their breeding does get too fat----they want them lean and mean, not overweight and lazy:).
7--Try to keep bucks as cool as possible in hot weather. Whenever the temperature goes above 80 degrees F for any length of time, the fertility of bucks will almost always decrease. Younger bucks recover their sperm counts fairly quickly, but older ones can remain sterile for up to 4 months.
Restrained breeding is a technique that some breeders use when a doe seems reluctant, but the conception rates for this method is lower than if you simply let the doe and buck breed naturally. Try to let nature take it's course whenever possible.

To summarize (here at the end now), here are the best ways to encourage good production in your herd:

----Select away from bad mothers, reluctant breeders, and bad milkers, and breed only the offspring of those does who have an excellent track record in the production department.

----Keep your herd does in production, working show dates around your litters, and then keep them constantly bred afterward until they are old enough to retire.

----Clip coats down before breeding and expose the doe to the buck ahead of time (in separate cages).

----Maintain a healthy herd with no vitamin or mineral deficiencies.

One more thing I forgot to mention comes back to what I have often said about the importance of maintaining a predictable schedule in your rabbitry. If your rabbits are managed in the same way every day with no surprises or changes in routine, they will have much lower stress levels which contribute to increased readiness for breeding. A well-cared for herd is much more likely to perform better in EVERY area, including showing, conditioning, and most definitely breeding.

Bunny for Sale

2009-06-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have a very nice bunny here for sale out of a litter born last winter on 1/25. She is a Fawn out of Spang's Morwenna (a Tort GC with 3 legs) and Spang's Henryi (a Fawn buck who will be registered next week:)). She is very solid with a good body and really fantastic wool and density.

There were 3 does in this particular litter, and since I am keeping 2 I will not need the third, LOL. This girl will have a 3 generation Red/White/Blue pedigree with 8 Grand Champions included, and she will be priced at $125.

For more info. please email me privately at amy@spangangoras.com. I will be moving litters around all week (now that work is finished. Yippee!:)) and getting ready for the next batches of litters that are due at the end of this month. More to come later on. Hope all of you are having a great week!:-)

Frankfort, NY Show

2009-06-07T16:33:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday the Mohawk Valley Club held their annual show in Frankfort, and I zipped out for the first time in several years to attend it. This is a very nice show in a very nice venue, and even though it was a warm day the doors on the ends and sides of the hall were all open so there was a perfect flow of cool air coming in throughout the day.

I normally don't have anything in coat left at this time of year, but I did manage to dig 4 bunnies out (LOL)---one near the end of her coat, one near the end of her jr weight limit, and two who were NOT in full coat yet but will have to be clipped soon anyway for breeding and for the upcoming summer temperatures.

There were about 25 FAs entered in the shows with 5 exhibitors. The judge for the first show was Helen Brose, and the judge for Show B was Paul Jurgelonis. In Show A the BOB went to Spang's Fabrice and the BOS went to Spang's Sabini (Spang's Karenina picked up her 3rd jr. leg also), and in Show B the BOB went to a Jr. buck that was owned by Marilyn DeMaree and BOS went to a Colored Sr. doe who was owned by either Marilyn or Charlotte Schweikart (sorry, I should have found out exactly who owned these bunnies, LOL).

Here are several pics that were snapped during the show:

The first is of the Angora grooming area (which actually took up a lot more space than just this one wall, LOL).

And these are my own bunnies resting in their carriers after grooming:

This is a picture of my good friends Brian Sawchuk and Donna Grimm who live near my house and are also members of my local rabbit club. Brian is a judge already but Donna is currently working on her license. This was her 6th show out of 8 toward finishing the whole thing up.

This is Dru Shepherd moving stuff around and taking care of her pretty EAs (Hey Dru!:-)

And this is Nancy Platte who came to the show with her buns and also with her husband who was judging. Nancy writes for him often at the shows and occupies herself in between classes with knitting (as any wool person will:-))

And these are Linda Cassella's bunnies (also EAs):

This is Marilyn DeMaree and myself watching the judging in Show B:

And this is the judge in the second show lining up one of the FA Senior classes on the table.

Now, I do not want to openly criticize this judge (I do not know him and this is the first time I have ever had him at a show), but there is no reason whatsoever to be lining angoras up like this in front of their cubbies, mashing them together harder like sardines every time they moved, and then leaving them there during the entire course of judging while checking for DQs and everything else. I realize that not everyone here raises wool breeds, but long term judges like these should at least be aware that random, comical stunts like this result in nothing more than matted coats and overheated, ANNOYED rabbits. I won't say anymore because I do not want a verbal lashing from anyone (at least not tonight:)), but it was a very good thing that these rabbits were healthy and a VERY good thing that it was the end of the show season rather than the beginning:(. I am glad he found this amusing and got a kick out of it all, but it is not the way to handle ANY wool breed, particularly one in full coat in 80 degree weather (end of commentary:( )

Anyway, so that is about it for this week. The next few days here will be spent in separating and evaluating babies since everyone else is pretty much clipped (whew!). Hopefully we will luck out and have a nice cool summer, and the next litters will be born in 70 degrees.

More next time and have a great week!:-)

Posing and Handling

2009-06-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

--Another post from the old blog:

Here are some interesting excerpts from an article I found on Handling and Posing rabbits in the ARBA Handbook (pg. 35), written by Joey E. Shults. Joey writes:

"Proper handling technique is very important for the safety of not only the rabbit, but the handler as well. Before we begin, I would recommend the beginner should wear long sleeves for added protection. First and foremost, remember that you do not handle the rabbit in a rough or careless manner---rabbits have feelings, too".

"How do you safely take a rabbit out of its cage? To remove a rabbit from its coop (cage), if you are right-handed, put your left arm in the coop. Place your left hand palm down over the rabbit's shoulder with your thumb in front of the ears. Gently cup your hand around the shoulders and squeeze your thumb against your index finger, grasping the rabbit to the point that you feel you have control of the rabbit. Then put your right hand in the coop underneath the rabbit's belly, lifting the rabbit to the cage door".

"It is very important to lift rather than drag the rabbit toward you, so as not to pull or break the rabbit's toenails on the wire."

A few paragraphs down Shults goes on to say, "When placing a rabbit back in its coop, use the same procedure, being sure to place rabbit back in cage tail end first".

At shows, in particular, I have noticed that people have many different ways of handling their rabbits:). Joey Shults advocates removing them from the cage head first, but other breeders prefer removing them tail first, and placing them back in the same way. The head first method is fine as long as you make certain to LIFT the animal at the same time to avoid ripped out toenails, but never grab the skin over the shoulders and drag a rabbit forward under any circumstances:(. At home in my own barn, I almost always take bunnies out of their cages rear-end first. I turn them so that their backs are facing me, and place one hand underneath the chest and the other directly under the hindquarter to lift them straight up and out. When removing rabbits from upper level cages it is a good idea to use a stepstool so that you are at an even level with the cage door. If you remove a rabbit tail-end first there tends to be less chance of getting bitten or scratched since you are not approaching the rabbit head on and they perceive you as less of a threat, but DO always remember to speak as you approach so they are all aware that you're coming.

Shults also gives excellent advice about posing in the same article (pg. 36). He says,

"Posing, by definition, is to "strike an effect", or in this case to put a rabbit in a comfortable position so one can determine conformation and bone structure. To pose the rabbit, place the rabbit on the table and put the tip of the front feet even with the eyes and the tip of the rear feet even with the hip bone. The hipbone is the bulge of the thigh on the rabbit's side while in the sitting position. Be sure that the rabbit's tail is showing and not tucked underneath the body. The rabbit should be allowed to assume a comfortable pose, but should remain still for close scrutiny".

"Many rabbits have been beaten at a show, not for lack of type, but for lack of being able to show off that type to the judge, or pose. The rabbit should never be poked rudely, or pushed down during the posing. Remember, the properly handled and posed rabbit is not only a joy to behold, but a joy to handle as well."

Even with a breed such as the Angora, the importance of posing cannot be underestimated. When I attended the Convention in IN last year, the posing ability of the animals on the BIS table was nothing short of remarkable, and I am certain that it had at least something to do with their excellent placements. If a well-typed bunny can freeze on the showtable long enough for the judge to get a look at it from all angles, it certainly has a chance to do well, or at least get a more accurate evaluation. Whenever you take a bunny out for grooming, set it on the table in the commercial pose and put it back into place every time it moves for approx. 5 min. If you repeat this exercise often enough you will eventually have a rabbit who poses automatically whenever it is placed on a table, and you will have a better chance of showing your bunnies to their best advantage.

Rutland, VT Show

2009-05-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a busy but fun day at the double show in Rutland, VT. I brought 7 buns along with me, and there were approx. 20-25 entered overall by several different breeders.

I have very few pictures of this show due to all the running around that was happening, LOL. The judge for the first show was Rusty Westhoff, and Giacomo took BOB in that one while the BOS was won by a beautiful Steel doe owned by Brenda (Sorry, I can't remember her last name but she is an extremely nice lady who is just getting into FAs:) ). The second show was judged by Josh Humphries, and this time Indira took BOB while the BOS went to Giacomo, and in the BIS competition for Show B Indira also took Reserve in Show, next to Linda Cassella's Colored EA Sr. doe:).

I also decided to bring two 4 month old does along from Morwenna's last litter, and both did pretty well also, placing at the tops of their classes with one taking first in each show.

As far as the Registrar's Test went, I think I passed though I don't want to say anything for sure because we all know what happens to people who count their chickens before they're hatched, LOL. I will know the results in 2 weeks and if everything went well I will start looking for judges to work with to fulfill the second half of the requirement:).

Below are two quick pictures that were taken by my mother (and perpetual travel partner:)) while I was off doing bunny stuff. The first is of me grooming somebunny (either Giacomo or Indira, I think), and the second is of the buns sitting around in their carriers between shows.

I will be sure to post a good picture of Indira as soon as there is time, but this coming week will otherwise be devoted to clipping down rabbits and getting 5-6 does bred while the temperatures are still cool:(. I will also start the fun work of getting babies separated and evaluated over the next couple of weeks, and then I will have some idea of who is who and what is what in each litter, LOL.

More again next week and have a FUN Memorial Day weekend!:-)

Pearls (and Stuff)

2009-05-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

This has been a rabid, insane week, which hopefully will come to an end soon:-). Our whole barn has been taken apart and scrubbed from top to bottom, cages have been pulled out and disinfected, babies have been weaned and tattooed, show rabbits have been entered and groomed for the VT show this weekend, and I have been studying my HEART out for this Registrar's Test I am taking this Saturday after the show. Just a word of advice for anyone who has ever considered studying for a Registrar's test, btw---do NOT try and do it in one month, or 3 weeks, or even 2 weeks (like I am trying to do right now-!!!!!!---not smart, practical, or even responsible:( ). There is a ton of information to know here, and hundreds of details that you would never have thought meant anything except that they really do--especially to those who work like crazy trying to raise and perfect all these breeds. There are tons of details as well as requirements/measurements to remember/DQs/class rules, faults, and colors. I will do the best I can but it may not pan out. I'll probably be repeating the same rant in another 6 months when it comes time to take this thing again (*grin*).

Below I have a recent picture of one of Juno's Sable Pearl babies at age 7 weeks. Below that is the original I took of the same baby at about 3 weeks. As you can see, the wool is growing out nicely now, and the cream color is beginning to show beneath the shading, and this baby (along with the others in the litter including 1 Tort) should be very nicely shaded as adults.

After reading some of the threads on the Genetics List and looking it up on my own I have come to the conclusion that what I have here is probably NOT the standard c(chl)c Pearl which is lighter in body color, but a Chin-based pearl, otherwise known as a Sallander. This particular line has definitely thrown Chins in the past which is what brought me to this conclusion, and this particular doe (Juno) has thrown heavily shaded Torts and Pearls in every litter without exception. I will have to look into this some more and work out the details, but if this is what I have then it is the ONLY way to go for Pearl, IMO:-). Despite the fact that it is not preferred according to the genetics books which advocate the c(chl)c combination, I will always love that heavier degree of shading. As long as it continues to be showable I will breed as much of it as I can:-).

More again this weekend and enjoy the spring weather!

Lotsa fun with the buns:-)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.

2009-05-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

to all the Moms out there (both bunny and human:):)

First Spring Litter (Growing Up!)

2009-05-03T17:09:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few quick pictures of Morwenna and Henryi's litter, which is currently 14 weeks of age and approaching real Juniorship:-). There were nothing but Torts and Fawns in this litter, and there was actually one 5th baby who went home with his new owner a week or so ago because his mom accidentally bit off a toe at birth, rendering him unshowable.

These guys all look fairly good, with exceptionally calm, quiet dispositions for FAs (how unusual is it for every baby in a 14 week old litter to sit this still for a picture, anyway? LOL!)

This pick of the group at this point is a little Fawn doe, the second picture from the top. She is very typey and looks like she'll have excellent wool, but since this is a slow maturing line it will take time to determine how good she actually is.

Morwenna will be re-bred very shortly, this time to Giacomo for an all-Tort litter that I'm hoping will concentrate all the best traits in the barn. The other babies are coming along and eating me out of house and home which is a sure sign that everyone is healthy. Spring is the greatest time for new possibilities and potentially spectacular showbunnies!!

More again next week:-)