Meet the New 24 Carrot Bunny!!!!!! (Pic heavy)

Maybe I'm just overly excited, because I haven't bought a bun in three years!

Here's our new little bun. She's 14 weeks old, and weighs 4 lbs., 15 oz.



















She's set up high enough, she's about at the level we had our rabbits when we first moved in, for a couple of months. I don't anticipate coon issues. She's in the inner corner of the patio, beside the house on two sides.

This show was even more disorganized than y'all told me! The rabbits for sale were all around the rabbits being shown; it was nuts! The show was not nearly the size I expected. There was one guy there with champagne d'argents that were just amazing. He knew it, too, and was all too eager to go on and on about them. :lol: Once I learned they were grand champions, from lines of grand champions, I really wasn't interested. Then he said he didn't sell rabbits, so I was even less interested. Then... I learned that he bred his champagnes to have litter sizes of only 2 - 4, so the rabbits would be larger! I'm like DUDE... weren't they supposed to be a meat breed? Breeding for a small litter size kinda defeats that purpose! :roll: Anyway, I guess that's what he's concerned about because he breeds strictly for show.

I wasn't really impressed by this litter of Cals at first, but came back to them later. I thought it may have just been the way they were lying at the time. So I started looking at the single doe in the lot of them, with another guy watching over my shoulder in case I decided not to buy. :lol:

I pulled her out and put her in the classic meatloaf position, and, that way, she did look pretty well filled out to me. I looked at teeth, fur, eyes, ears, sexed her, and all that. She wasn't as wide as I might have hoped, but she is also 14 weeks old, which means she could be better once she gets past that gangly, awkward teenager stage. She came with a pedigree, which I really didn't need, but I did see some of the senior does she's related to. They were very, very nice!

So I decided to buy her, and the man who was also interested asked if he could take a look at her. I let him, and he started doing this gentle pinchy-pinchy-pinchy thing all up and down her back. I asked what he was doing, and he explained that he could basically tell what she would look like skinned that way, and he used one of the little bucks to contrast (the buck was better, even I could tell). He may or may not have bought the doe, but the doe was good enough, as was her brother (which he may have bought, I don't know), that he was interested in future does from this seller.

I got her for $15. I think she's got brown points, rather than black.

How's her weight, for her age? I thought maybe she was a little more, but she does come from a line that averages ~9.75 - 10 lbs.

She looks really nice... I think you are right that she will fill out shortly. It's hard for me to comment on her weight. If she were one of mine, raised on natural food, I'd be very pleased with her weight at that age.

Thank you, Maggie! I have to admit to being a little concerned, since Cals are one of those breeds famous for being 5 lbs at 10 weeks!

I know she wasn't raised on natural food; I think she said Atlas? Never heard of it. She's getting a small portion of our pellets, mixed with a generous helping of oatmeal, as well as all-you-can-eat hay. Hopefully, she'll transition well.

She's very nice. Congrats!!

I don't know about anyone else, but our callys, free fed pellets are 5 lbs at 10 weeks. If you don't really know how she was fed, it's hard to say. She's a nice doe either way, and will do good for you. Hope she makes it through quarantine with flying colors!

Thank you!

I'm starting to wonder whether she was free-fed or not. She's been pigging out regularly ever since she moved into her new digs about 4 hours ago. Nearly every time I look at her, she's eating. Is this normal behavior after spending the day at a show, and in a carport, before getting fed again? Or is it because most of it's oats? Or could it be that this is the first time she's had all the food she can eat?

If I didn't find a doe at the show, I was going to try to arrange a meet-up between Shay and OneAcreFarm for one of her AMAZING does. I don't know how far she's willing to travel, though. Orange might have been a bit too far. That's one reason I went ahead and bought this doe.

Is her shape okay for a meat breeder?

she's just shy of 5 lbs at 14 weeks of age? I expect she'll do just fine for you. Nice looking little animal.

Looks like a good rabbit! She's right around that gangly age so she should improve quite a lot. The eating sounds normal.. maybe she just really likes it or was too nervous to eat around the time of travel.

she IS A PRETTY ONE

She's very pretty, Miss M! She looks like she has a calm nature- usually the pictures of newly moved bunnies they look a bit wild eyed, but "the Princess" looks like she is just curious about her new surroundings. Very nice "Palace" you built for her, too!

Thank you all! Your comments are very encouraging!! :razz: This is only the second rabbit I've ever bought, so I don't have a lot of confidence in my ability to evaluate them.

She does seem like she will turn out to be pretty calm, though. She does like hiding in that box whenever anything unexpected happens -- my mom sneezed last night, and she dove into the box for a moment. Then we covered her cage with a tarp for the night, and back into the box she went! She came out the moment we were finished, though.

She seems like a very nice doe, a little weak in the midsection as well as a bit cut abouve the hips, but she has the hindquarters and plenty of time to grow into the rest.

A&BRabbitry":3h3m0in1 said:

She seems like a very nice doe, a little weak in the midsection as well as a bit cut abouve the hips, but she has the hindquarters and plenty of time to grow into the rest.

Click to expand...

I think I see what you're saying... is it that her back doesn't go super-high, and then slopes to her tail?

Miss M,

You are the proud owner of a Chocolate Cal!!!! YAAYYYY!!! I have a Choco Cal doe as well and I am trying to develop a line of Chocolates. The only downside is that Black is the only accepted color for showing in ARBA, but I think they are lovely. She is a pretty girl and I bet she will fill out nicely. She IS a bit small for her age, but if she has not been free fed, then that is likely why...I am willing to meet Shay anytime if you ever want one of mine...I actually have quite a few available at the moment, between 8-12wks of age. Where are you in Lousiana?

Chocolate Cal?!?!?! COOL! I love chocolate! :razz: (and just in time for Easter, too.....)

Shay's actually going to be in Vinton tomorrow, west of Lake Charles. I don't have a free cage any more, though. That could change after we move, though! More room, more rabbits!!! :twisted:

I'll PM you with my location.