Lots and Lotsa Babies:)

Well, I finally got everyone out for a good photo session today and figured I'd introduce the keepers out of this spring's litters:). There are three 4 week old litters in the barn that will hopefully add more guys and gals to the roster and 3 does due this week also, so the breeding schedule for 2008 is definitely in full swing.


This is a (very fuzzy) picture of a baby I am keeping out of Evariste and Dijon. This is Spang's Natalya--8SP27

Below are some babies out of Juno and Dijon's litter. I was going to sell the Fawn doe but then decided to keep her at the last minute. This will be Spang's Mimosa--8SP11

This is a Black Pearl buck with wonderful size and density out of the same litter.

Spang's D'Artagnan--8SP12

And this is the pick of the litter and the best buck out of all the babies this spring---Spang's Giacomo--8SP14

This is Giacomo's sister--Spang's Arcadia--8SP15

And these two babies below are the keepers out of Echo and Pierre's litter. The first is a Sable doe named Spang's Benin (8SP17). Benin's Sable brother (recently named Woodstock) went home with Elaine Harvey last week as a trade back for Echo, who is a CCR rabbit:).

This is Spang's Savarna--8SP21, also out of Echo and Pierre, and by far the most beautiful baby born this spring:). I've included 3 pictures of her here because she has such incredible type and wool. She and Giacomo are the top picks for 2008 so far---I will probably breed them together in another 6 months or so.

And speaking of Savarna, here is a quick shot of Elaine and her traveling friend Judy looking her over last weekend. We had a great time checking out bunnies that day. It is always great to have another set of eyes and hands in the rabbitry to prevent barn blindness from rearing it's ugly head (as it is prone to do in a heat wave, LOL!:)

The babies shown below are a week younger than those above (at only12 weeks), and are out of Morwenna and Dijon. The first bunny shown is the best of this litter, a doe I named Spang's Sabini (8SP43)

And here is a REW buck out of the same litter with fabulous density and balance that I am calling Spang's Fabrice--8SP42

So this is about it so far! I am relieved to be expanding the herd again, to tell the truth, because I have been relying on too few bunnies during the breeding season. My next project will be to branch my herd off according to colors and begin breeding like variety to like variety in order to improve the color quality of my herd, and create several distinct lines so that when I need 'new blood' from time to time I will be able to take it out of my own barn, LOL. I have been breeding my FAs very tightly for the past year or so, but now I am going to branch out a little in order to expand the bloodlines and create more depth in the herd. It will take several more breedings to get enough bucks and does of each color to get this started, but it should work well once things get underway (I hope:^)).

Have a great week and a Happy Father's Day!:) I'll be back again next week and then more often now that the school year is over this Mon. Best of Luck with the buns!!

Litter Facts

Just posting another old article as I muck my way through the last crazy week of school. More pictures and stuff will be coming up soon as I revert to normal bunny life in a week or so. Thanks for being patient!:-)


Now that Spring is on it's way (we hope) and many of us will begin to breed in earnest over the next couple of months, I thought it would be a good time to post an excellent description of 'Parturition and Maternal Care' found in the 'Rabbit Production' book, 8th Edition, on pg. 254. Many of us die-hard rabbit people already have this book on our shelves, but I find that I refer to it again and again, especially the Chapter on 'Rabbit Production', which is concise and well-written:). Here is an excerpt:

"During the last week of pregnancy, the corpus luteum secretes prostaglandin, which destroys the corpus luteum and markedly reduces progestin secretion. There is also an increase in the hormone prolactin, which stimulates the behavior known as nest building. Nest Building is seen a few days before parturition and involves building a "material nest" of hay, straw, or whatever nest material is provided. In the day or so prior to kindling there is a loosening of the hair on the belly, thighs, and dewlap. The doe pulls this hair and interweaves it with the material nest to form the "maternal nest". The quality of the maternal nest and the time at which the nest building occurs depend on the breed of the doe, her previous experience (the quality of the nest tends to improve with successive litters), the nesting material available, and the season of the year.

Parturition occurs in response to a decrease in the progestin levels (which maintain the uterine muscles in a quiet state during pregnancy), and an increase in estrogen and prostaglandin levels, and the sudden release of the hormone oxytocin from the posterior pituitary. The exact stimulus for this release is not known. Oxytocin, estrogen, and prostaglandin stimulate contractions of the uterine musculature, which force out the kits. Reflex contractions of the abdominal musculature also assist in the birth process.

Parturition in the rabbit normally occurs in the early morning, taking about 30 minutes, with individual kits born at intervals of 1 to 5 minutes. The doe crouches in the nest and licks each of the young as it is delivered. This dries the kits, removes blood and tissue debris, and stimulates blood circulation. The firstborn kits generally begin nursing before the rest of the litter is born. This may assist in the birth process, since the suckling stimulus will result in further release of oxytocin. The entire litter is generally delivered at one time, although it may be spread over one to two days. Occasionally a single fetus will be delivered a day or more before the remainder of the litter. The kits are hairless, blind, and deaf at birth.

When parturition is complete, the doe eats the placenta and dead kits. This is common behavior among animals, even noncarnivores like the rabbit. Since the waste material may attract predators or act as a medium for the growth of bacteria, such behavior increases the chances of survival of the young.

Pg. 256

Some does, especially those that are young or exceptionally nervous or those that are disturbed during kindling, may give birth outside the nest (scattering) or may eat some or all of the young (cannibalism). The causes of these abnormal behaviors are not known, although they are most often seen with does that build poor nests. A doe that persists in either behavior for several successive litters should be culled. Scattering of the litter often results in loss of the kits because rabbits, unlike other species such as cats, do not return kits to the nest.
The doe normally nurses the litter only once each day for about four or five minutes. Prior to her arrival, the kits move to the top of the nest material to facilitate reaching the nipples. The kits change nipples very frequently during the early part of suckling, remain relatively quiet through the middle of the period, and then begin moving rapidly toward the end. At the end of suckling, the doe deposits several fecal pellets in the nest box and abruptly leaves. This is independent of whether the kits are still nursing. The kits are stimulated to urinate by wet or cold, so because of the dampness from nursing, they all urinate. They begin a pattern of behavior that includes digging through the nest material for 15 to 30 minutes. This serves to fluff and dry the nest. After this, the kits form into a group and remain quiet for about 22 hours when they again move to the top of the nest material to await the doe.

Contrary to popular belief, the doe does little to maintain the nest or the kits. she may lick one or more of the kits during suckling, but this appears to be for recognition rather than for stimulation of urination and defecation as previously thought. There is no evidence that the doe needs to lick the kits for stimulation of either of these functions."

'Rabbit Production' is a wealth of information for rabbit raisers simply because it is scientific but simultaneously easy and interesting to read:). It is a bit on the pricey side in the cage catalogs (approx. $40.00, I believe), but it is well worth the price in better knowledge of your rabbits and their needs. Many breeders, both Angora and otherwise, refer to it as much as any other book they have, perhaps more:).

Theories of Breeding

Tonight I am running another old article from my previous blog. Hopefully no one is profoundly disgusted by the fact that I am doing this (LOL!), but I have some great info. sitting here in my files and I would like to get it into the archives here ASAP so that it is accessible from this blog as well. I am extremely busy at work right now with end-of-year meetings, reports, and testing, etc. but once the 16th rolls around it will all be over and I will be back to gabbing and raising bunnies full time:). I took lots of pictures of babies this weekend and have pretty much decided who I am going to keep out of the oldest litters, but I will post those pictures in the next entry so as not to bore you out of your skull with another monotonous slew of baby photos (it seems like I have been gawking at these cutiepies too much lately:-). I am going to post 2 pictures of Oomi however, because she was absolutely beautiful before I clipped her yesterday. Just to brag for a minute, this rabbit has great wool but an even better body underneath it---one of the best bodies I have ever bred here in fact, LOL:). I bred her to Pierre yesterday for a first litter, and I am hoping that she can pass that type on to her babies.

More next time!

Theories of Breeding:

I have been doing alot of reading lately about various breeding systems, and not surprisingly there seems to be more than one idea on how to improve the quality of a rabbit line over time:).

Okay, LINEBREEDING is a system of breeding where rabbits are repeatedly bred back to other family members (uncle to niece, daughter to grandfather, granddaughter to grandfather, etc. etc. and so on down the line). The advantage to this type of breeding is that you are (assumably)concentrating superior genes and minimizing variation in a gene pool to make the breeding results more uniform and predictable. The disadvantage of this method is that when you practice it for a long period of time the overall vigor of your herd tends to decline as the animals become more homozygous, so that it becomes important to either: keep a very large herd in order to substantially widen your gene pool, or periodically introduce unrelated stock to invigorate and extend the life of your line. Linebreeding is critical to the success of any serious breeder, and the only real way to produce consistent, high-quality stock.

INBREEDING is the mating of brother to sister in order to force recessive genes to express themselves OR increase the homozygosity of a herd to the point where the GOOD qualities are so firmly set that there is an excellent chance that the traits will be passed down, even when the rabbit is bred to an inferior quality animal later and again to it's own offspring. Inbreeding is a tool to use when you have linebred for a long period of time and want to set your good traits as firmly as possible. It is also good to do when you have been diligently culling out recessives over time and want to see what remains to weed out. It's sort of the culmination of a good breeding program, in a way:).

Now, there also seem to be opposing theories as to how to go about improving the specific qualities of your line. Once school of thought says that you need to breed together animals who are virtual 'opposites', for ex. a rabbit with wide shoulders and a narrow HQ to a rabbit with narrow shoulders and a full HQ, to improve the offspring. The other theory says that you should breed only good quality to good quality, otherwise the pedigree will carry a greater variety of faults that the offspring will be much more likely to pass on, and the litters will be a grab bag of mixed results. This theory says, 'you cannot create or improve a trait that doesn't already exist in a rabbit'---you cannot breed out a quality that isn't present to begin with. To use an example, if your rabbits lack density in their coats, all the linebreeding in the world is not going to improve the problem if none of your rabbits carry genes for thick wool to begin with. Density is a quality that must be brought in from outside and purposefully injected into the line. IF you breed rabbits who have compatible but opposite traits according to the second theory (overly soft wool to overly coarse wool, etc.), you are not going to produce a rabbit with perfect medium texture, you will simply produce rabbits with large numbers of either one or the other. According to this philosophy you cannot blend an apple and orange and get a combination of the two because genes do not blend as a rule. It is the same concept with rabbits. If you want to start a quality line, you should first go around and collect various rabbits that express the traits you want in your line, and then practice intensive linebreeding to isolate and reinforce those desired traits, making the herd homozygous enough over time that all the same traits appear on all the same rabbits. It is a long and arduous task according to long term breeders, but well worth the effort when you are turning out the kind of stock that you originally pictured to begin with.

Well, so that's a little info. on general systems of rabbit breeding. Linebreeding systems are truly fascinating when you sit down and study them---they make it possible to get results that 20 years of haphazard breeding could never produce, and separate the men from the boys in terms of high quality breeding stock:).

Quick Holiday Post:)

There's a ton of stuff going on this weekend (in the barn and the garden---especially the garden) so I am going to have to make this entry short. Once school ends in 3 weeks I will try to get back to posting more often, but for now the spring workload must take precedence:-):-).

I went to a show in Harford, PA this Saturday but it didn't go well at all, so I have decided to definitively call it quits this season and breed the does who were going to enter one more show next week. Bunny numbers have been quite low this season so it has been next to impossible to keep a show and separate breeding string going. It makes more sense at this point to simply say the heck with it and get the next wave of does bred for the Fall, LOL.

I do have a few fun pictures to share that were taken this past week:). Sadako's babies (aged 5 months now) both got their first haircuts, and I posted a few before and after pictures, which always shock those who do not raise angoras because they never realize how skinny these rabbits really are without all the wool:). The first shot is of a little white buck that I am contemplating keeping (A 'Before' picture with his messy sprayed coat and an 'After' pic in which he is much, much cleaner:)). The second is of Kitka, whom I have fairly well decided to keep pending the quality of her first Sr. coat, which seems like it should work out okay:


Here is the
BUCK:

And this is the

DOE:

More stuff again next week once I get ahold of more baby pictures (both young and old litters), and a few other things printed up about wool and other subjects:). I hope everyone out there is enjoying their holiday weekend and getting a whole lot of work done (or not!) HAPPY SPRING/and SUMMER:-)

Wool Facts

I am currently in the process of revamping my website, and while flipping through old blog entries last night looking for stuff to add, I came across this article on Wool Facts from the 'Rabbit Production' book that I had posted several years ago and thought I would post again FYI. Enjoy!


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 learn something new every time I read it:). Here are a few notes on angoras:

-"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


These facts seem to demonstrate what so many good conditioners of rabbits already know----that you cannot feed the same rabbit in exactly the same way year round regardless of climate or coat condition. A meticulous meat breeder that I know begins adding a top dressing to his rabbits' pellet ration as soon as a molt is over. He continues feeding this mix until just before the rabbits hit prime, and then he pulls them off it and gives them nothing but pellets and a pinch of horse sweet feed while they finish building and prime out completely. The withdrawal of 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 fluid intake.

Once a molt begins this breeder feeds his rabbits black oil sunflower seed to push them through it faster. He then begins the process all over again once molting is finished and the new coats begin. This same formula could also work with angoras, though the sunflower seed may not be necessary because we clip our rabbits and get rid of the excess wool that way. Pellet rations also need to be increased in the winter, restricted in summer, increased when the coat is coming in, and decreased when the coat peaks and begins to go out (or increased again as the coat slips in order to get through the molt faster).

These are just a few fascinating facts about wool and conditioning. Check them out this season and see how they work!



P.S. I also have some new pictures to post today after alot of grooming and clipping got done, and there are also 4 new litters to report from the previous week:). Nereida/Pierre produced a litter of 8 kits---2 Black, 1 Fawn, and 5 REW, and Devaki/Dijon also produced a litter of 8 (with 1 stillborn) including 1 Black, 1 Chestnut, 3 Tort, 1 Fawn, and 1 REW. Neva and Sadako both had litters as well but there were very, very small, LOL! Neva gave birth to 1 Pearl and 1 Tort, and Sadako had 2 Pearls and 1 REW (as far as I can tell so far). I fostered Neva's babies to Sadako and rebred her again today to see if I could get a few more babies out of her before she retires from breeding, and I also bred Echo to Pierre once again in the hopes of getting some more Sables. Tomorrow I will breed Pascha to Pierre also for an additional litter in June.

Here are some pictures of Oomi that I took this afternoon after grooming. The wind was blowing her coat all over the place except for one picture where it looked neat (LOL), and it looks as though she will make probably it to the Harford, PA show and maybe even Frankfort if she stays on feed and isn't slipping too horribly:(.

And this, below, is a picture of Juno who just weaned a litter 2 weeks ago (!!) and is already ready to go back to the showtable:-):-). She is not in full coat at the moment but it looks as though she will definitely be able to enter PA this weekend and Frankfort on June 6, after which I will shear and breed her again for another great litter (I hope:)).

More again next week as I make sure to remember my camera next time to report on the Harford show, haha. Best of luck with the buns!

Babies and the North Haven, CT show

This was an extremely busy week that just ended with separating the oldest litters out into separate cages today and slipping nestboxes in with 4 does that are due next Wednesday. Breeding season is clearly in full swing, but it is peppered with shows and all sorts of other activities in between, making life a little more hectic than usual:). Last Thursday I did an Angora presentation for the local spinning guild which was alot of fun, and then on Saturday I went to the North Haven, CT show, while today was spent cleaning the barn and grooming/evaluating/separating babies.

I meant to take pictures of the show this weekend to post but as soon as I pulled into the fairgrounds I realized that I had left my camera on the kitchen counter:(. As a result, the idea of photosnapping was nixed, LOL. This show was one that I had never before attended but decided to give it a try because it was only 2 hours away, but it was a single show and there were very few angoras in the building---only about a dozen FAs and 3-4 exhibitors. I did get the chance to talk to alot of interesting people about their breeds, there were 3 Belgian Hare shows going on and I enjoyed watching them and talking to their breeders, and I also had a long talk with Paul Becker who is the CD holder for the Amber (Standard) Rex.

I attended this show because Oomi was in full coat and I didn't want to waste it (LOL!), but I also brought my two REW juniors out of Sadako who were used as fillers I'm afraid, because both bunnies are past baby prime and need to be sheared, and I had no idea who else would be entered:). The judge for our table was Bob Shaftoe, and Oomi earned a BOB and her first leg under him, while the BOS went to Nancy Platte with a CSB. There is another show in Harford, PA in approx. 2 weeks that I may try to get to if Oomi can last awhile longer. She has been slowing down with eating lately and I have been giving her extra hay and dandelions to keep her appetite up, but we will see how it goes and if she can make 1-2 more shows before the coat comes off.

Also, the big excitement today was that I took my oldest litters out for grooming and first evaluations, and I was thrilled with how the majority of this bunch looks so far:-). Juno's, Pascha's, and Echo's litters are all 8 1/2 weeks old right now, and I took several pics of them here and there to post tonight.

Juno's 4 babies are beautiful, and I am especially thrilled because there is a fabulous Tort buck in her litter along with a really good Sable Pearl (who also happens to be a buck:)). I took pictures of both below, but for some reason my camera is putting a funky yellow stripe in my pictures lately, and I am hoping that it is not about to bite the dust as I speak--argh!!:(:(.

This is a Tort doe from the same litter, also with wonderful wool. Aren't those little helicoptor ears cute??

And this is a Fawn doe from the same litter as well. She is an active little girl who only sat still ONLY ONCE (just long enough for me to take this picture:)), and then said, "The heck with this. Go find some other unsuspecting baby to pose".

These are the 2 Sables that I fostered over to Pascha who also got their own cage today, originally out of Echo and Pierre. Below is the buck who is the better of the two and you can see that he has GREAT wool and color, although both are large and unusually well-boned. One of these bunnies will go to Elaine Harvey as a trade for CCR's Echo, the F2 doe who was their dam, and one will stay here to perpetuate a fabulous, all-Sable line:):).

This is the little Sable doe:

Next are two pictures of bunnies from Pascha's litter. This is a Black doe with very good, rich color, and below this is the pick of the litter, a REW buck (who unfortunately looks as though he is about to roll over or so, LOL). There is also a Fawn doe in the bunch who looks promising, but she was not cooperative on the table today, so I will save her for another time.

Here are just a few more pictures of babies from Echo's litter, which I have to say turned out absolutely WONDERFULLY. I have definitely decided to repeat the breeding--these babies are HUGE with incredible bone and wool, and one doe in particular seems to have inherited her mother's precise type, while several others are not that far behind:). These results are very surprising to me because I used a buck on her this time that was inferior to the first one I tried, but obviously it was a better fit genetically and the parents have thrown good qualities in more than one baby. Below is a Sable Pearl doe, a nice rabbit with great density at 8 weeks already.

And this is the pick of Echo's litter, an absolute carbon copy of the doe typewise who seems blessed with her sire's great density on top of that. I am dying to see how this girl develops over the next several months. If she stays this solid and grows a nice senior coat, she will make an excellent showrabbit indeed:-).

And this is one more picture of another doe from the same litter, also well- typed and with a good bit of wool:

There are two more litters in the barn who are still too young to check over at 7 weeks, but there are bunnies in both who look promising so far. Also, there are 4 does due with litters this week and it looks like all are pregnant (we hope:)). Devaki has been bred to Dijon, Neva was bred to Dijon (not a compatible breeding colorwise but unfortunately there were few options in her case), and Nereida and Sadako were bred to Pierre.

More again next week when life is calmer and there are new litters to report. I will leave now with 2 last pictures of chicks that our kids put outdoors into the main coop today. Since the mink invaded our henhouse and left nothing but carnage last winter we were forced to order a whole new batch of chickens this Spring. Hopefully they will last longer than the first ones did:-).

Have a wonderful week!!

Building a Bunny

Building a bunny (or a herd) is very much like building a house. First you need to have a great foundation, a good underlying framework, and last of all the finishing touches such as a roof, siding, and paint.

The foundation of a bunny of any breed is it's skeletal structure. Even the smallest breeds in the rabbit fancy require excellent bone and mass in order to fill out what type they have completely and properly. Without good bone and a solid skeleton a rabbit will not be in vigorous health, and it will not have the ability to pass inherent strength onto future generations.

After good bone comes comes good type, which can mean many different things depending on what category the breed belongs to. Any rabbit, whether it is commercial, compact, arched, or cylindrical must fill out it's type and be well-fleshed out. Sometimes meat condition is a matter of conditioning and sometimes it is genetic, but good genes play a large part in the ability of any rabbit to flesh out. A genetically disadvanted animal is much less able to reach it's potential regardless of what it is fed or how it is cared for.

Good type is important in every breed (even the wool breeds), because a poorly typed rabbit will be prone to health problems, and an angora cannot carry it's coat properly if it is flat on top or low over the shoulders, etc. A wool coat can part in places where it shouldn't as a result of poor type, and it can lose the oval/rounded effect that is so important to the French and Satin breeds, and to the English and Giant breeds as well which also rely heavily on an even, 'high' shape.

After a good foundation of bone and type, wool or fur can be considered, followed by color. Of course, incorrect color can get a rabbit disqualified immediately, but of all the traits a rabbit possesses, color is more or less the easiest to fix unless a particularly difficult gene is present. The usual consensus among breeders is that type and bone are the most difficult traits to fix, followed by wool/fur, followed by color. For this reason, a good breeding program should focus on the skeleton (foundation) first, followed by the wool (siding), and finally color (of the house:)). Once the biggest characteristics have been taken care of, you can begin to focus on nitty gritty details such as increased wool yield, richness of color, and overall balance of the coat, etc. Building a herd is a long process at best but it goes much more quickly when a long term plan is in place, and it helps when a plan can be compared to something rational and sensible such as building a house from the ground up:).


More stuff next week (and hopefully some baby pictures), but first here are several pictures that I shot a few days ago of 2 different things. One is a little doe out of Sadako's last litter that I will hopefully be adding to my herd over the summer (if all goes well with her first Sr. coat), and the other is a sight for sore rabbit breeders' eyes everywhere-----a FIELD OF DANDELIONS in the spring!!! I was so happy to see these beautiful little things the other day that I took a picture of the most populated spot in my yard immediately. Finally the herd can go back to a nice supplementary diet of greens several days a week in addition to everything else, and I am sure they will have no problem with this whatsoever:0).


This is my little 4 1/2 month old doe (who will be named 'Kitka' if I keep her):

And this is the luscious field of weeds that will be providing untold joy and nourishment to zillions of bunnies here before this summer is through.

More again next week. I hope that wherever you are you have not been enduring harsh weather conditions this week, and best of luck with the bunnies at this wonderful start to the season:-).