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Well, it finally happened. I suppose it isn't as momentous as it sounds... after all, I do have a (probable) Mini Lop and a (probable) NZW. Had both of those before finally getting some Californians (papered, so I know for sure!). Still, it's not like I ever had a breeding pair of either Mini Lops or NZW... just one of each.
But here it is: I now have a second breed! (trumpets and fanfare please) Standard REX!
Two bucks and a doe. I know that's not the normal trio, but there it is.
Okay, backstory. I had bought two Cali does from Beekeeper in May, and they both lost their first litters because of stress related to some stray dogs that kept coming around. Meanwhile, the buck we had bought from OAF (Pharaoh) became stressed because of the dogs and got very ill. We had to put him down. That left us without a working buck -- the others are pets.
Come Convention time, OAF saw the thread where I talked about our dog problems and our sudden loss of Pharaoh. At the same time, I was in and out of the hospital with my mom, who had had a defibrillator implanted, and was having complications (she's fine now). It just so happened that OAF had an excellent buck that she couldn't pedigree because of a litter mix-up, but he was so nice that she had held on to him anyway. She was hoping to find a home for him in a rabbitry that could use a really nice buck, but didn't need papers. Before I knew it, she had arranged with a lady returning from Convention to pick up this buck from her, and meet me along her road home. OAF was giving us a buck to replace Pharaoh. Just blew us all away.
Then I got a note to the effect of, "She (friend picking up the buck) needs cage space because she just bought a new breed at Convention. Would you be interested in a Rex doe or buck?" When I asked how much she was asking, I learned she'd give them to us.
When we met OAF's friend, she got the Cali buck out first, and we got him situated in the minivan. Then we learned that she was giving us three Rex rabbits (I had brought three boxes from the hospital for transport... thankfully, the Cali buck came with his own box so I had a box for the extra Rex)! As you saw above, two bucks and a doe. All castors, and she said they carry (if I remember right) black, white, and maybe dilute. We got a good peek at (and Galadriel got to pet) her new breed -- Czech Frosties! As she was getting ready to pull out and continue her ride home, we realized that we had met her at the show in May, when we bought the Cali does from Beekeeper. She had Blanc de Hotots, and I had kept her card, hoping to someday get some from her.
Well, they came out of quarantine last month, but I hadn't gotten around to taking pictures of everybunny and sharing my story. So here is my long, long, long bunny post. :lol:
Here are all of our current rabbits. (Note: I know nothing about posing rabbits, and so the rabbits may not look as nice as they actually are.)
Marshmallow, the buck OAF gave us in November. Currently 7 lbs 15 oz. We gave him a silly name, because he's a funny bunny and makes us laugh, even though he tries really hard to look like a dignified rabbit.
Nefertiti, bought in May at 11 weeks from Beekeeper (1st pic, she had scrambled after Galadriel got her out, but once she got into this position, she stayed that way all the way out for her nail trim and photo shoot!). Currently 8 lbs 1 oz. I had been trying to breed her, but she kept refusing. Now, all of a sudden, Bunny-Wan Kenobi notices she's nesting. Poor girl, she's been on regular rations and had regular visits to the buck all this time. Now she's on free feed and has a nest box! Apparently, Marshmallow managed to breed her when I was distracted.
Niyuki, Nefertiti's littermate. Currently 10 lbs 5 oz, and has raised one litter of 7 so far -- Pharaoh's last litter, as we rebred Niyuki before he got sick. All but one of that litter have gone on to new rabbitries for breeding stock (last one, freezer camp). I noticed that all the males had descended testicles at 12 weeks (two weeks ago), so I am treating her as (and she is acting) pregnant. Never saw them mature that fast before!
Faline, the Standard Rex doe. We named her Faline because her delicately sculpted face reminded me of Bambi's girlfriend. Currently 7 lbs 0 oz, and finally decided out of the blue that she was ready to breed just the other day. :roll: I can't wait to find out what Rex popples are like! :bouncy:
Figwit, one of the two Rex bucks. "Figwit" is a fan name for a particular unnamed elf in the LOTR movies. It's actually an acronym. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figwit Anyway, currently 6 lbs 13 oz. He is the sire of Faline's expected popples. In the last pic, you can see some tufts of molted fur sticking out from his face. :lol:
Romeo, the other Rex buck. My mom just melted for him, he's such a sweetheart, hence the name. :lol: Currently 6 lbs 15.5 oz.
Fluffy, our probable NZW. Forgot to weigh her. Yep, all that skin belongs to one rabbit. She got a double dose. She'll be meeting Marshmallow soon. Some of you may remember my thread on putting terrycloth toddler socks on a rabbit with sore hocks... well, I decided to just continue her with the socks. No more inflamed hocks. The fur hasn't grown back, but the socks make up for it.
Thumper, in "pet me" mode -- our first rabbit, a Mini Lop. Someone moved out of their apartment, and let him loose to be free and get caught by an owl (we had two of them around). We took him in, and he started our meat rabbit herd. Gotta start somewhere.
Wave, a meat mutt doe we just never removed from Squeak, to replace Squeak. Currently 6 lbs 9 oz. She is descended from both Thumper and Pharaoh, and is stockier than Squeak. We were hoping she could continue to share Squeak's cage, but now we're not so sure. Squeak did share with one of her other daughters for a good while, and they raised kits together (Wave is one of them), but she and Wave have spats now and then.
Wave is expecting. We actually used her to get Marshmallow started breeding. He just wasn't very forward at all with the girls. Wave was ready and more than willing, but he just didn't seem to know why this rabbit was in his cage. So I stuck her in with Thumper, right next to Marshmallow's cage, figuring he would get a lesson, and she would come back to him smelling like another buck. It worked. Thumper bred her, and then I put her right in with Marshmallow. He woke up to what girls were all about! :lol: So this could be an interesting litter.
Can anybody tell me what to call Wave's color? She's sort-of white or cream with brown tips. It seems she inherited the temperature-sensitive gene, because her points got darker as it got cold. No black, just brown, as far as I've noticed.
Wave and Squeak (Squeak is Thumper's daughter):
Pinto, our retired wry-neck buck (Thumper's son). He now spends his days inside begging for treats and begging to be picked up so he can take a nap in your lap. For real!
Aslan, our other house rabbit. He was given to us by the same lady who gave us Fluffy and Nibbles (Fluffy's companion that we had to put down some time ago). Aslan is a Lionhead, if you couldn't tell. All the fencing is protecting him from chewing on wires. He would have the run of the house, but he never leaves the school room. I want to get him neutered, because he will leave little urine puddles sometimes, trying to claim his territory. Other reasons, too... but no money to do it with right now. He's a mischievous little mess, but really sweet, too. Aslan is the name of the lion in the Chronicles of Narnia series.
Just for good measure, here are some of our chickens (we have 13 grown):
Galaxy, our rooster:
Storm, our young rooster:
Our chicks. Started with 12 Buff Orpingtons and 6 Cornish X. We lost two of the Buffs. They didn't really grow much. All the others were growing a lot more. We're hoping for 6 hens from the Buffs.
Okay, well, that's everybunny!
Marshmallow is slowly warming up to us. He alternates between "I'M GONNA DIE!" and "Oh, that nose rub sure feels good." The Rex, I have to confess, are about the sweetest rabbits we've ever had. Even my beloved Shay has fallen for them. They are so soft, I think I could starve to death petting them. Okay, maybe not. But still! :lol:
To OAF and her friend: :thankyou: You have restored our rabbitry! We are so very grateful, and cannot begin to express how deeply we appreciate your kindness to us!
But here it is: I now have a second breed! (trumpets and fanfare please) Standard REX!
Two bucks and a doe. I know that's not the normal trio, but there it is. Okay, backstory. I had bought two Cali does from Beekeeper in May, and they both lost their first litters because of stress related to some stray dogs that kept coming around. Meanwhile, the buck we had bought from OAF (Pharaoh) became stressed because of the dogs and got very ill. We had to put him down. That left us without a working buck -- the others are pets.
Come Convention time, OAF saw the thread where I talked about our dog problems and our sudden loss of Pharaoh. At the same time, I was in and out of the hospital with my mom, who had had a defibrillator implanted, and was having complications (she's fine now). It just so happened that OAF had an excellent buck that she couldn't pedigree because of a litter mix-up, but he was so nice that she had held on to him anyway. She was hoping to find a home for him in a rabbitry that could use a really nice buck, but didn't need papers. Before I knew it, she had arranged with a lady returning from Convention to pick up this buck from her, and meet me along her road home. OAF was giving us a buck to replace Pharaoh. Just blew us all away.
Then I got a note to the effect of, "She (friend picking up the buck) needs cage space because she just bought a new breed at Convention. Would you be interested in a Rex doe or buck?" When I asked how much she was asking, I learned she'd give them to us.
When we met OAF's friend, she got the Cali buck out first, and we got him situated in the minivan. Then we learned that she was giving us three Rex rabbits (I had brought three boxes from the hospital for transport... thankfully, the Cali buck came with his own box so I had a box for the extra Rex)! As you saw above, two bucks and a doe. All castors, and she said they carry (if I remember right) black, white, and maybe dilute. We got a good peek at (and Galadriel got to pet) her new breed -- Czech Frosties!
As she was getting ready to pull out and continue her ride home, we realized that we had met her at the show in May, when we bought the Cali does from Beekeeper. She had Blanc de Hotots, and I had kept her card, hoping to someday get some from her.Well, they came out of quarantine last month, but I hadn't gotten around to taking pictures of everybunny and sharing my story. So here is my long, long, long bunny post. :lol:
Here are all of our current rabbits. (Note: I know nothing about posing rabbits, and so the rabbits may not look as nice as they actually are.)
Marshmallow, the buck OAF gave us in November. Currently 7 lbs 15 oz. We gave him a silly name, because he's a funny bunny and makes us laugh, even though he tries really hard to look like a dignified rabbit.
Nefertiti, bought in May at 11 weeks from Beekeeper (1st pic, she had scrambled after Galadriel got her out, but once she got into this position, she stayed that way all the way out for her nail trim and photo shoot!). Currently 8 lbs 1 oz. I had been trying to breed her, but she kept refusing. Now, all of a sudden, Bunny-Wan Kenobi notices she's nesting. Poor girl, she's been on regular rations and had regular visits to the buck all this time. Now she's on free feed and has a nest box! Apparently, Marshmallow managed to breed her when I was distracted.
Niyuki, Nefertiti's littermate. Currently 10 lbs 5 oz, and has raised one litter of 7 so far -- Pharaoh's last litter, as we rebred Niyuki before he got sick. All but one of that litter have gone on to new rabbitries for breeding stock (last one, freezer camp). I noticed that all the males had descended testicles at 12 weeks (two weeks ago), so I am treating her as (and she is acting) pregnant. Never saw them mature that fast before!
Faline, the Standard Rex doe. We named her Faline because her delicately sculpted face reminded me of Bambi's girlfriend.
Currently 7 lbs 0 oz, and finally decided out of the blue that she was ready to breed just the other day. :roll: I can't wait to find out what Rex popples are like! :bouncy:
Figwit, one of the two Rex bucks. "Figwit" is a fan name for a particular unnamed elf in the LOTR movies. It's actually an acronym. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figwit Anyway, currently 6 lbs 13 oz. He is the sire of Faline's expected popples. In the last pic, you can see some tufts of molted fur sticking out from his face. :lol:
Romeo, the other Rex buck. My mom just melted for him, he's such a sweetheart, hence the name. :lol: Currently 6 lbs 15.5 oz.
Fluffy, our probable NZW. Forgot to weigh her. Yep, all that skin belongs to one rabbit. She got a double dose.
She'll be meeting Marshmallow soon. Some of you may remember my thread on putting terrycloth toddler socks on a rabbit with sore hocks... well, I decided to just continue her with the socks. No more inflamed hocks. The fur hasn't grown back, but the socks make up for it.
Thumper, in "pet me" mode -- our first rabbit, a Mini Lop. Someone moved out of their apartment, and let him loose to be free and get caught by an owl (we had two of them around). We took him in, and he started our meat rabbit herd. Gotta start somewhere.
Wave, a meat mutt doe we just never removed from Squeak, to replace Squeak. Currently 6 lbs 9 oz. She is descended from both Thumper and Pharaoh, and is stockier than Squeak. We were hoping she could continue to share Squeak's cage, but now we're not so sure. Squeak did share with one of her other daughters for a good while, and they raised kits together (Wave is one of them), but she and Wave have spats now and then.
Wave is expecting. We actually used her to get Marshmallow started breeding. He just wasn't very forward at all with the girls. Wave was ready and more than willing, but he just didn't seem to know why this rabbit was in his cage. So I stuck her in with Thumper, right next to Marshmallow's cage, figuring he would get a lesson, and she would come back to him smelling like another buck. It worked. Thumper bred her, and then I put her right in with Marshmallow. He woke up to what girls were all about! :lol: So this could be an interesting litter.
Can anybody tell me what to call Wave's color? She's sort-of white or cream with brown tips. It seems she inherited the temperature-sensitive gene, because her points got darker as it got cold. No black, just brown, as far as I've noticed.
Wave and Squeak (Squeak is Thumper's daughter):
Pinto, our retired wry-neck buck (Thumper's son). He now spends his days inside begging for treats and begging to be picked up so he can take a nap in your lap. For real!
Aslan, our other house rabbit. He was given to us by the same lady who gave us Fluffy and Nibbles (Fluffy's companion that we had to put down some time ago). Aslan is a Lionhead, if you couldn't tell. All the fencing is protecting him from chewing on wires. He would have the run of the house, but he never leaves the school room. I want to get him neutered, because he will leave little urine puddles sometimes, trying to claim his territory. Other reasons, too... but no money to do it with right now. He's a mischievous little mess, but really sweet, too. Aslan is the name of the lion in the Chronicles of Narnia series.
Just for good measure, here are some of our chickens (we have 13 grown):
Galaxy, our rooster:
Storm, our young rooster:
Our chicks. Started with 12 Buff Orpingtons and 6 Cornish X. We lost two of the Buffs. They didn't really grow much. All the others were growing a lot more. We're hoping for 6 hens from the Buffs.
Okay, well, that's everybunny!
Marshmallow is slowly warming up to us. He alternates between "I'M GONNA DIE!" and "Oh, that nose rub sure feels good." The Rex, I have to confess, are about the sweetest rabbits we've ever had. Even my beloved Shay has fallen for them. They are so soft, I think I could starve to death petting them. Okay, maybe not. But still! :lol:
To OAF and her friend: :thankyou: You have restored our rabbitry! We are so very grateful, and cannot begin to express how deeply we appreciate your kindness to us!
