Gala's LitterMate Sister RK-021

Gala is RK-020 one of my gems and a real honey.
She's featured in my "Hot-Pocket" thread:
what-s-a-nestbox-full-of-youngsters-called-in-the-winter-t19086.html

It's kinda funny though.
I "know" Gala because of her "kinky" nesting behavior.
That stuck in my mind for some reason. But, I want to honor another
very special doe...Gala's littermate sister RK-021. I explained how I lost
her the other day in the "Aftermath" thread. I pulled her hutch card today.
I was more than mildly surprised. Here's some of her vitals':

She was born: May, 26th, 2011....one of nine. (I believe)
Her first breeding was December, 16th, 2011. (Nothing out of the normal, yet)
Here comes the good stuff:
Over the course of her life, #21 was bred 11 times.
She had 11 litters: SHE NEVER EVER MISSED.

She gave birth to 94 kits. 82 kits were raised to either market or stock.
Her largest litter was her 8th litter...13 born/13 saved.
Her smallest litter was her 6th litter....6 born/6 saved.

She lost a total of 12 kits over her career. On June 30th, 2012 she had 9.
However, on that day, it was 103 degrees outside.
#21 lost five kits that day. A lot of my does lost youngsters that day.

If you give her a "pass" due to the unusual circumstances,
she lost only 7 kits out of 11 litters.

Her last litter is about 5 weeks old now. She had 10 and saved them all.
They're in a special holding pen and they'll remain there. I'd almost bet
all of her daughters will be held back. Maybe even a son or two.

These are the kinds of does that make rabbit raising a true joy.
"Quiet, unassuming, very gentle." Good words for a great doe.

Grumpy.

Man Grumpy, that made me smile. She was a fine doe. Glad to hear you're keeping some of her kids. Hopefully at least one of them is a shining example of her mother.

That was beautiful Grumpy and made me tear up thinking about my own stellar breeders, thank you

It was also perfectly timed as the grand daughter of Silver (the star of my rabbitry) had her first litter last night she made a perfect nest, had them all in the nest box and all 11 have ping pong ball bellies

The future looks good

Dood":nvynykgo said:

That was beautiful Grumpy and made me tear up thinking about my own stellar breeders, thank you

It was also perfectly timed as the grand daughter of Silver (the star of my rabbitry) had her first litter last night she made a perfect nest, had them all in the nest box and all 11 have ping pong ball bellies

The future looks good

Click to expand...

Dood:

I've gotta smile and recall an old saying: The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
These granddames of the herd go quietly about the business of being a
very good rabbit, while giving us excellent youngsters to choose from.

You get to know them so well, it's like visiting an old and dear friend. They
rarely complain or cause problems. I've got several that like to "huff" at me
whenever I pass the front of their cage. It's not an "anger" sound, just one
of acknowledgement. Kind of like, "Hey guy! How ya doin?"

I always look forward to my time spent in the rabbitry.

grumpy.