Let's start with updates. I have lots of them. We're going to talk about my dry summer, juniors, cute prejuniors that are 7 weeks old now (some are being sold, some are staying here to be watched), upcoming litters, my recent show and upcoming shows, and my NEW ADDITION! I'm sure there's more too. I'm also changing feed, which I talk about in a post below. I've had some crazy things going on my rabbits too - a doe developed malocclusion, a buck has a tooth issue caused from injury, and another baby buck somehow injured himself and bled a lot (it was scary), around his mouth, and on his paws from wiping his face. I'll delve into those problems in another post. Let's keep this one lighthearted shall we.
To start off, I had a very dry summer. My last update explains all the litters planned and does that were pregnant. For one reason or another, all 7 does did not have babies. They either had all DOA, or didn't take. I had no kits all summer. I'm attributing it to my water, but it could've been numerous things. There were first timers, older does, and does that hadn't been bred in a while so it was really random. Since then, I've had 2 successful litters and 3 more on the way, due on the 21st. All 3 of the pregnant does definitely ARE expecting, and they have big bellies are nesting like crazy. But I'll talk more about them in a little bit.
We have 8 babies total, all 7 weeks old now. Rory x Otis had 3, and Buttercup x Otis had 5, and neither of them had dead babies!! One of the other does I bred, Pickle, didn't take, and has now been sold. She's going to live in Colorado! Anyway, these babies all have long ears but they're looking nice otherwise. I have 4 listed for sale, and 4 have been added to my Juniors page - I'll be watching them for the next several weeks. I'm watching one doe and 3 bucks, and I definitely don't need that many bucks, so I'll make a decision to sell one or two of them in a couple weeks, and the doe is promising but not amazing, so I'll honestly most likely sell her in a couple weeks too, but right now I have the space to take a chance on her. Hopefully she surprises me!
The buck below, Jay, is my favorite of the prejuniors. He surprised me, and I'm glad he did. Hopefully he continues in this direction.
My last show was in September. It was my first one all year, and I had a great time. I'm officially an open exhibitor now, but my rabbits still did great even though this was my first official open show! They actually did better than I expected! I showed quite a few, and I filmed a vlog while I was there as well. I haven't edited it or posted yet, but hopefully before the end of the month it'll be live. Here's the details:
Holland Lop Specialty:
Judge:
Holly's Howie SSB 5/6
Holly's Shiloh SSB 4/6
Holly's Cinderella SSD DQed for pulled nail
Holly's Kylie SJD 5/9
Lucky Lops' Otis BSB 2/3
Holly's Maya BJD 2/9
Show A:
Judge: Kendall Bledsoe
Holly's Howie SSB 3/7
Holly's Shiloh SSB 4/7
Holly's Cinderella SSD 5/7
Holly's Kylie SJD 4/8
Lucky Lops' Otis BSB 3/5
Holly's Maya BJD 6/7
Show B:
Judge: Cindy Wickizer
Holly's Howie SSB 4/7
Holly's Shiloh SSB 3/7
Holly's Cinderella SSD 7/8
Holly's Kylie SJD 4/8
Lucky Lops' Otis BSB 1/3 and BOSV! LEG!
Holly's Maya BJD 6/8
The results are all over the place, but the comments were very helpful. I am happy to say that Otis got his 3rd leg! All of his legs are in open. Pretty exciting! My next show is December 1st. Not sure what I have planned for next year yet, but I'm looking forward to that one! Hopefully BlueJay above will be one of the nicest I bring!
My last and possibly most exciting update is the newest addition! I'm picking her up at the December show from my friend Liz from Clear Sky Rabbitry. One of the comments I got a lot at the show was that my rabbits lack chest depth. This doe has that!! Hopefully she'll bring it into my herd! I'm excited to see what she produces for us! She's also shown pretty well too.
Thank you so much for reading!