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  1. Alaska Satin

    Need Advice -kits born outside the box.

    I think how many litters you can expect depends on your rabbits' genetics and the way you manage them. Some of my brood does have 5-6 litters before I retire them, but others have far more than that. If a doe gives me outstanding bunnies I tend to rebreed her more times than does that produce...
  2. Alaska Satin

    Sharpie in the "wrong" ear

    I don't know any judges who would consider a tattoo in the right ear a fault. Many rabbits DO have tattoos in both ears (left is identification, right is registration number or symbol), which actually often marks them as having a certain level of quality, given that they have been approved by...
  3. Alaska Satin

    Tattooing

    I try to tattoo all the rabbits that leave our barn, whether it's a show, meat breeder or pet rabbit, so that's usually about 8 - 12 weeks of age. I have found that people sometimes contact me years later to find out about a rabbit that has one of my tattoos in its ear. When I'm raising meat...
  4. Alaska Satin

    What color are these kits please?

    Ah, still can't really give you a confident answer; although one kit still looks slightly lighter than the other two, they're an awfully close match in these photos. Since your chocolate otter doe doesn't have any non-extension varieties in her pedigree, it seems most likely that the kits in...
  5. Alaska Satin

    Hello from a bunny lady in indiana

    Yeah, that's no Californian. Here's what they look like (there are no other colors or patterns in the breed): They don't always have that "smut" n the dewlap, but the points are always dark/colored and the eyes are pink. I agree with @RabbitsOfTheCreek that Flemish Giant mix is a good guess...
  6. Alaska Satin

    Shhhh Rabbits

    Instead of feeling like you need to shush your friends, maybe you could try helping your rabbits to feel less freaked out when someone stops in? I'd encourage you to find some way to help your rabbits be less nervous. Nervous rabbits are the ones that tend to end up with broken backs/necks...
  7. Alaska Satin

    What color are these kits please?

    It can be pretty hard to tell amber from smutty red, especially at this age when ring color has not developed; even in adult rex those colors can be tricky given the shortness of the coat and the subtlety of the ring colors in amber. But going by what I can see of their ear lacing and the...
  8. Alaska Satin

    What color is this rabbit?

    Yes, in this second photo I'd certainly believe blue otter. It's amazing how photo and computer screen effects can conspire against clarity! If you post a few other angles of the other one, especially her belly, it might be helpful. She looks like a blue silver-tipped steel, but steels...
  9. Alaska Satin

    New from KY

    Back when I was a teen, my homemade wooden hutches had wire floors about 2.5 feet off the ground. Dogs came through the yard and tore apart just about every rabbit I had, grabbing the rabbits through the wire from under the cages. It was horrifying and put me off rabbits for years. So I agree...
  10. Alaska Satin

    Meat Rabbit Diet

    I used to feed both Pro and Gro and I always had good results. I did find that the does on kits did just fine with the Pro, so I stopped paying the extra for the Gro. If a doe is looking rough while feeding bunnies, I just add some BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) to give her more fat. Our...
  11. Alaska Satin

    Bare necessities

    Before you go: make sure your rabbits are spotless. If you need to spot-bathe them, do it a few days to a week before the show if possible to allow them to groom their coats back into condition. Ditto with nails - trim them days early, so that the sharp edges will wear down before the judges...
  12. Alaska Satin

    One Bun or Two?

    Do it! :) Kids and rabbit are a great combination! And rabbits are, imo, about the lowest maintenance animal you can have (well, maybe a goldfish, but they don't double as snuggly therapy animals!). We homeschooled five kids, and the rabbits have been a fantastic part of our life (and for many...
  13. Alaska Satin

    New from KY

    Most of my rabbits, who live in wire cages, just reach around and grab the cecotrope from their vents as it's produced. I do occasionally see one (it looks like a cluster of tiny grapes, softer and wetter than a regular poop) on the wire or sitting board, but I've never seen a rabbit pick up...
  14. Alaska Satin

    What color is this rabbit?

    She doesn't have ring color so she's not a chinchilla, but it looks to me like she does have ticking. She may be a blue silver-tipped steel, which can show minimal agouti/marten markings. If she's very young, the steel ticking may still be coming in. By the way, the other one doesn't look...
  15. Alaska Satin

    Okay i just had the thought would this cross be good?

    Actually, there are some breeding programs resulting in rabbits better than either of their purebred parents, assumed to be due to hybrid vigor. (This type of breeding produces cornish cross meat chickens, most of which are gross thanks to Big Ag, but not all crossbreeding results in monsters!)...
  16. Alaska Satin

    New from KY

    Butchering age really depends on the breed, the genetic line, and to some extent how and what you're feeding. It also depends on whether your goal is fryers, roasters, stewers and/or prime pelts. All rabbits of all ages and sizes are made of meat :), it's just that most people want the most...
  17. Alaska Satin

    Sharpie in the "wrong" ear

    The right ear is supposed to be reserved for an ARBA Registration tattoo (which many rabbits never get). As far as I know, there shouldn't be any problem on the show table as long as there is a legible permanent tattoo in the left ear. I don't know how to remove the tattoo, and I would...
  18. Alaska Satin

    agouti and chinchilla and REW

    As @judymac points out above, the chinchilla gene suppresses the expression of yellow pigment. It is other genes that determine the coat pattern on the rabbit. There are three options at the A locus, being agouti <A>, tan <at_> (aka otter), and self <aa>. A chinchilla rabbit needs the Agouti...
  19. Alaska Satin

    Too many kits for mom to care for?

    All of the above responses are helpful, inlcuding the thoughts about rats; in fact, they might have been the killers rather than the doe herself. But here's another thing to consider. Many rabbit does absolutely hate mice. It has happened very rarely for me, but the only times I have ever...
  20. Alaska Satin

    Rabbit pregnant or phantom?

    It sounds like false pregnancy behavior, but I would let her keep her nest box until day 35 just in case. I've been fooled more than once, with tragic results. If she is undergoing a false pregnancy, she wouldn't have the surge of hormones that comes with kindling and nursing, so she may not...
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