I am SO EXCITED. I am AWESOMIFIED. I am GRATEFUL. I am BLOWN AWAY!!
On Thursday, I made arrangements to go to a NZR rabbitry that specializes in brokens, and purchase a broken red doe on Satuday (yesterday). These rabbits lines were intensely shown and were highly placed in the show circuit, one winning Grand Champion in Wisconsin and Reserved Grand Champion in Indiana, and this rabbitry is known for their NZRs and brokens. The price for a rabbit reflects the work put into them, so I was prepared to pay $75 for a 4 month old untried doe. I took my mother with me for the trip since it was a 2 hour ride away from Cleveland and we could spend the day together.
We get to the rabbitry and Bob proceeds to show me in the first barn the untried does that were available. There were does that were more white than red (think Appaloosa) and there were several does that were more red than white, but nicely blanketed in color. I was rather "meh" about the blanketed does, but knowing how EN acts on the gene strand, I knew I'd get brokens regardless. I was rather wishy-washy, so Bob says, "Let's go to the other barn, I'll show you five does available in there that are proven." I happened to ask him, "Did you folks go to OSRBA at the beginning of the month?" Bob goes, "Oh yeah! We were there!! In fact, that doe in the corner went, but she was too young for judging. Funny thing happened on the way back home, my grandson thought he'd put two does in a cage, and when we got home, he put the two back in the cage over there. It wasn't until the next day I came out and yelled at my grandson, '"Do you know that's a buck AND a doe in there???"' So I separated them but she may be pregnant." He hauled her out anyway and positioned her, and she had very nice loin and correct hindquarters. I put her back in the cage myself. However....
I think my heart exploded a little and I hope the sheer excitement of the near possibilities didn't show on my face. I said, "Let's go see the other rabbits." Ha!! We saw some very nice rabbits and got to handle them--I even picked out the pinched quarters in one doe that he didn't mention!! After that, Bob was forthcoming about the faults in each doe and we discussed in depth the direction I was going with my NZR line. I told him about the absolute dearth of NZR option available by me, pedigreed or not, and I felt that I could fill a niche in the Cleveland area, and was looking for a good quality red to work with. He look around at the proven does in the barn, and said, "These does' red isn't really rich enough for what you want to do. The ones with the better red are in the first barn." I said, "Yeah, let's go take a look at the first barn again."
We went back and hauled out the two does he felt met my requirements, one of them being the OSRBA doe. He got a better look at her and said, "Oh my! She's pulled her side bald! And her tail!" and I said, "She did it to her feet too!" My excitement further blossomed as I did the math in my head; this doe is about 25 days pregnant AND she's probably pulling fur for making a nest! I also felt like a doofus for not seeing the missing fur earlier.
I tapped my lip, stared at this partially dehaired doe and he said, "I don't feel right selling her looking like that, but if you decide to take her, I'll make you a deal." I looked up and asked, "Do you have her parents?" Back to the other barn of proven stock, and I saw her daddy, who has very nice red blanketed markings and her mommy, who looked like an Appaloosa with rich red patterning. Her mommy had a litter of 8 in the nestbox and I asked about her kindling record, which was good; lots of babies, minimal deaths.
At the door of the proven barn, I said, "I like the redness of the first doe. How much of a deal would you do for your bald, possibly knocked-up, first time doe?"
"Fifty bucks." (That's $25 off!) "And if she kindles and the babies survive, I'll send you the paperwork to the buck she was bred to." (He'd sold that buck a couple days before.)
"Deal! I'll take my chances with her."
So, BE's Rabbitry's RM4 came home with me! I named her Red Megan in case she has a fiery personality like my girlfriend Meg who is a redhead AND it coincided with her tattoo.
Second thing I did when I got her home was put a nest box in with her. Sure enough this morning I came out to a made up nest! I messed it up so she has to rebuild it (I'm a believer in doing practice nests for first time does). It required her two hops to get onto her nest box top, and she is SO heavy in the back end, it screams pregnant. She's got a baby bulge too!!
So I am terribly excited!! (Egg counting time!!)
I have a 1. high quality doe who was 2. accidently to a quality buck, 3. neither whose genetics I have neither of with Wheatley or Fiona's daughter, Heaven. 4. I may get 5-10 kits of quality whom I can sell at profit, and 5. will be able to keep one or two to diversify the NZR genetics of my niche filling reds!! Even if all the kits die, I still have point #1, a high quality broken NZR doe to breed to Wheatley.
HAPPY DANCING!!!!
On Thursday, I made arrangements to go to a NZR rabbitry that specializes in brokens, and purchase a broken red doe on Satuday (yesterday). These rabbits lines were intensely shown and were highly placed in the show circuit, one winning Grand Champion in Wisconsin and Reserved Grand Champion in Indiana, and this rabbitry is known for their NZRs and brokens. The price for a rabbit reflects the work put into them, so I was prepared to pay $75 for a 4 month old untried doe. I took my mother with me for the trip since it was a 2 hour ride away from Cleveland and we could spend the day together.
We get to the rabbitry and Bob proceeds to show me in the first barn the untried does that were available. There were does that were more white than red (think Appaloosa) and there were several does that were more red than white, but nicely blanketed in color. I was rather "meh" about the blanketed does, but knowing how EN acts on the gene strand, I knew I'd get brokens regardless. I was rather wishy-washy, so Bob says, "Let's go to the other barn, I'll show you five does available in there that are proven." I happened to ask him, "Did you folks go to OSRBA at the beginning of the month?" Bob goes, "Oh yeah! We were there!! In fact, that doe in the corner went, but she was too young for judging. Funny thing happened on the way back home, my grandson thought he'd put two does in a cage, and when we got home, he put the two back in the cage over there. It wasn't until the next day I came out and yelled at my grandson, '"Do you know that's a buck AND a doe in there???"' So I separated them but she may be pregnant." He hauled her out anyway and positioned her, and she had very nice loin and correct hindquarters. I put her back in the cage myself. However....
I think my heart exploded a little and I hope the sheer excitement of the near possibilities didn't show on my face. I said, "Let's go see the other rabbits." Ha!! We saw some very nice rabbits and got to handle them--I even picked out the pinched quarters in one doe that he didn't mention!! After that, Bob was forthcoming about the faults in each doe and we discussed in depth the direction I was going with my NZR line. I told him about the absolute dearth of NZR option available by me, pedigreed or not, and I felt that I could fill a niche in the Cleveland area, and was looking for a good quality red to work with. He look around at the proven does in the barn, and said, "These does' red isn't really rich enough for what you want to do. The ones with the better red are in the first barn." I said, "Yeah, let's go take a look at the first barn again."
We went back and hauled out the two does he felt met my requirements, one of them being the OSRBA doe. He got a better look at her and said, "Oh my! She's pulled her side bald! And her tail!" and I said, "She did it to her feet too!" My excitement further blossomed as I did the math in my head; this doe is about 25 days pregnant AND she's probably pulling fur for making a nest! I also felt like a doofus for not seeing the missing fur earlier.
I tapped my lip, stared at this partially dehaired doe and he said, "I don't feel right selling her looking like that, but if you decide to take her, I'll make you a deal." I looked up and asked, "Do you have her parents?" Back to the other barn of proven stock, and I saw her daddy, who has very nice red blanketed markings and her mommy, who looked like an Appaloosa with rich red patterning. Her mommy had a litter of 8 in the nestbox and I asked about her kindling record, which was good; lots of babies, minimal deaths.At the door of the proven barn, I said, "I like the redness of the first doe. How much of a deal would you do for your bald, possibly knocked-up, first time doe?"
"Fifty bucks." (That's $25 off!) "And if she kindles and the babies survive, I'll send you the paperwork to the buck she was bred to." (He'd sold that buck a couple days before.)
"Deal! I'll take my chances with her."
So, BE's Rabbitry's RM4 came home with me! I named her Red Megan in case she has a fiery personality like my girlfriend Meg who is a redhead AND it coincided with her tattoo.
Second thing I did when I got her home was put a nest box in with her. Sure enough this morning I came out to a made up nest! I messed it up so she has to rebuild it (I'm a believer in doing practice nests for first time does). It required her two hops to get onto her nest box top, and she is SO heavy in the back end, it screams pregnant. She's got a baby bulge too!!
So I am terribly excited!! (Egg counting time!!)
I have a 1. high quality doe who was 2. accidently to a quality buck, 3. neither whose genetics I have neither of with Wheatley or Fiona's daughter, Heaven. 4. I may get 5-10 kits of quality whom I can sell at profit, and 5. will be able to keep one or two to diversify the NZR genetics of my niche filling reds!! Even if all the kits die, I still have point #1, a high quality broken NZR doe to breed to Wheatley.
HAPPY DANCING!!!!
