Phew!

Spent the morning figuring out fair entries. I hate how they are due weeks ahead of time, I hope no one goes into a huge molt!
Also tried to figure out my photo entries. I have 47 "nice" photos and about 5-10 "really nice" photos. Exhibting photos at fair becomes expensive. They have to be printed on high gloss or satin photo paper ($15 for 25 sheets), mounted on foam core ($3.25 each) and then shrink wrapped, ($2 each) A hanger must be purchased for $.25 as well. I have some pretty nice photos though, so I won't complain about the costs yet.
Went to town. Checked the PO Box. Can now send in another GC with a show report I recieved. Sent off my entries for Yreka. Entered: Honey, Miami, Habanero, Stitch, PJ, Kokomo and Hannah. I will bring BBLH7, Black Pearl and Buddy to sell. Also some miscellaneous equipment.
Went to Wal-mart. Didn't find the foam core I wanted or the acrylic paint I was looking for, or the letters I wanted to put on my carriers for nationals, so I went to scrapbooking connection. Found some letters, but that was about it. Even those were $10.99. Then went to staples. Found a foam board for my educational display on bunny butchering at fair, but found out 9x11 inch foam boards are ridicously priced!
Called ARBA. Paid my dues for my license and applications. Hope it comes faster.... ha ha!
Cloey has a solid and broken opal in the box! Peppercini's bkn chinchilla is a doe. Gigi's litter is looking nice.
Paid for my fair entries. Had to enter a few more rabbits to get a season pass. So I entered 3 of Blue Bijou's juniors. Also Buster Blue, Qunintessence and the same 7 listed above for Yreka. Sounds about right.
Better yet, the doe I am trading for Peppercini (Klara), the buck I was going to have her bred to (Yuri) passed away, so she will be bred to Tihkon. Probably equally typed, if not better, but is closer related. The BEW stock on the east coast is so interrelated, it will be interesting to do some out crossing, I am excited!
enough rambling... those were my findings for a monday. Tomorrow is the last day of the month. They are supposed to have royalty teams finalized..... soo we'll see..... :)

Pre-Fair and Entries

Well... August is almost here! You know what that means.... won't be hearin from me much. Just a preview.... August 1st -- 4-H meeting, plus family from southern CA visits. August 8th -- last 4-H meeting before fair. August 11th -- Yreka, CA double open/cavy. August 12th -- Put up rabbit coop cards and bring in non-rabbit entries, open and 4-H. August 13th -- Rabbits to the barn -- August 14th -- Open show and Showmanship -- August 15th -- Conformation show. August 16th -- Judging contest August 17th -- Mastershowmanship. August 18th -- Awards ceremony and Auction, double barn duty shifts. August 19th -- pick up rabbits and premiums. August 20th -- leave for state fair? Sept. 2nd --Triple Open/Triple Youth in Crescent City, CA.


Prefair on Saturday went well. We got all the dishes and feeders out of the cages and cleaned them, also cleaned the sitting boards. I tattoed about 25 rabbits, didn't get a single scratch even though the rabbits were non-cooperative. Took a blower to the barn and really got it clean! Went over to the poultry barn and cleaned feed dishes there, ended up getting in a water fight, felt nice though in the triple digits. Went over to the extention office to have lunch. Then painted benches and chairs. Did showmanship.


Entries are due soon. And they are adding up! Owe about $15 in open fees, then owe $42 for Yreka (entering 7 rabbits), $22 for my registrar's license and membership, but I also have to pay for registration blanks, which are $30 per 10 applications. I will need atleast 20 for the RVRF show, since I know from experience, people want to get their rabbits registered before the winter, and have tons to do from the show lull in the summer! But I also have to be conservative for Grand Rapids! That will be one expensive trip!

One.... Two.... Three.... Four..... NINE!

Cloey did it again! She had her 2nd litter yesterday, and again, she had 9 babies. There are 4 broken and 5 solid, many dilutes! She is being a great mom! Our other litters are:
Kaluah x Boomer - 1 chinchilla, 1 black
Peppercini x Boomer - 1 bkn chinchilla, 3 chinchilla, 1 chestnut
Gigi x Boomer - 1 chinchilla, 3 bkn chestnut
We will not be breeding any does until September. We will be using Mr. Miami in most of our breedings. We hope to grand out a few does so we can finally breed them. :)

Setting down convention costs

I knew it was going to cost quite a bit of $$ to go to conventions, but... this is one of my last goals in rabbits. Who knows, I might sell out of rabbits in college and never come back or finish striving for my judges license or continue showing... you never know. Either way, I have plans to go. No matter how much it will put me in debt.

I found out the dimensions of the kennel today that Delta provides. I hope we get to fly with them. I will be contacting my "chaperone" tomorrow and see what they have planned for flight.
The dimensions are: 40" L x 27" W x 30" H. I can fit two of my carriers in one of those, 6 holes (one has larger holes). We are still trying to figure out how many rabbits we can take, but if we have our way, we have plans to take 9 rabbits with us on the plane, and 5 rabbits pre-sold (so far) with John Nyberg. I still have 5 rabbits for sale that I am willing to send to convetion.

Then there is the hotel cost, food costs, entries, health certificates, my plane ticket, the kennel cost, geez..... Thank god we aren't buying stock.

Not just any bunny....

Last night I was confiding in one of my "non-bunny" friends about an issue. I had a lady contact me about Mini Lops. She was on the other side of the country and she was interested in getting rabbits from ARBA Convention. I told her what I had for sale and all the details about transporting to Michigan. She wasn't really interested in anything I had for sale, but she was interested in a junior buck I have, a junior buck I held back to replace his sire. I told her he wasn't for sale. I even offered her this bucks sister. So... I let it sit for a couple of days... I pulled him out of his cage, looked him over real well... he's a really nice animal. Will he replace his sire? Is he a unique color and does he have an unforgettable and unique personality? Maybe. Sure he does. Am I willing to sell him?
So... then I think about the reality. I am going to college. I do need to cut down on the # of rabbits I have. And then there's the point my friend brought up... "he's just a rabbit". Will I die without this rabbit? Probably not...
So... I will continue showing this buck. I sure hope he does well. He will be a junior for Yreka double and fair, but he will be a senior for the Crescent City triple, Redmond double and Grants Pass double shows. I figure I can start breeding him to my does in September after fair and CC show, get some for sure litters on the ground, and then breed him to a couple more does in October. That should give me plenty of his blood in my barn to live with. :)
That'll work, right?

Tattooing and Nest Building

Tattooed 4 rabbits that are going to fair with us next month. All the others have tattoos or won't need one until September or October. Went well. All 4 didn't want to be tattooed, but I decided to do it while it was cooler out. The heat is coming back, so I guess it was now or never.

Gave Cloey her box this morning. She immediately went to nesting. She is *very* fat and full of babies! Last time she kindled 9 and took them all to weaning! This litter we expect a better cross. We will have updates soon.

Also, we have the catalog for the double open in Yreka, CA now. August 11th. There is also a single cavy show. Contact me for more info.

Honey Bunn

Honey has always been a BIGGGGGGGGG gal. We got her last fall bred to her sire and she gave us 8 or 9 beautiful babies, if I can remeber correctly. We didn't end up keeping any, the only rabbit we were super impressed with was a buck. Some lucky soul won that rabbit in raffle in March. Anyways, Honey came to us overweight after winning 2 legs in WA. Now... Honey is one beautiful doe. I cannot empahsize the word beautiful! So I went out to weigh her today and she weighs 6.9 lbs. Just one ounce over! If all goes well, we will have her entered for our fair, and we can only hope she gets below 6.8 and does well, becuase we want to breed this gal. She is worth a GC certificate and her weight in gold. She's such a sweetie! *Pic taken December 2006

About Time...

Called the ARBA office today after waiting a month trying to find out the status on my registrar's license. The lady I got on the phone was very nice and informative. She told me I had completed all the nessecary requirements and that all I had to do was pay my licensing fee. So hopefully, I should be prepared to register rabbits by the end of the month. :)

Why I breed ...

Certainly in the hobby of raising and breeding rabbits, I do not make money. It's just that simple. Many people breed rabbits for pets, never improving their breedings for type or quality. Some have a small 4-H project to learn all the fundamentals, food, fur and fancy. Some breed simply because the rabbit atmosphere has to be the best of all other animals. I have shown horses, dogs, goats.... have been involved in 4-H for nearly nine years. No where in those divisions did I feel more welcome or more happy than I do with the rabbits.
Most of us involved with ARBA, breed rabbits around one sole reason. To improve breed characteristics through desired breedings, to create the ultimate rabbit. With 47 recognized breeds, each having their own groups and varities, unique characteristics and personalities, every breeder has their favorite, their specialty.
I choose to breed Mini Lops. Not only were they my first breed, but to this day I am still convinced they are the best breed for me. They are small (4 1/2 - 6 1/2 lbs) have great personalites, they come in a wide variety of colors (from the common chestnut to the rarer G.Tp'd Lilac Steel) and are competitive rabbits on the show table. According to most BIS won in Domestic Rabbits, they are always in the top rankings.
Mini Lop breeders have to be the best. We always want to help each other get each others rabbits to the table when we are busy, help each other with breedings and continually improving our stock and mingling at the shows. Often we know each others rabbits so well, there is no confusion on which rabbit is which, what lines they came from or who bred them!
I could personally thank some Mini Lop breeders here, and I will. (Not just because I have to in my royalty application) And I doubt half of these would ever read this, but here goes... Jenn Rose - for selling me Venice. Karin Vail - for letting me have Venice bred to your awesome buck Ganache. Andre Von Arx - for giving me the BEST advice on raising Mini Lops, what to look for, selling me Ollie, Julie, Logan, Paul and Jenie, being at the big shows with all your best rabbits, and best of all, to be the first breeder around the table to congradualte me when I win. Nicole Velotta - for providing me with the best and upmost quality stock. I love the personalities and temperments your rabbits have. Thanks for selling me Neilson, Milly (bred to Adson!) and Dean. For giving me Boomer, Stitch, Bridget and Renee (bred to Waltor!) They have helped produce my best animals! Jenn Hibbs/Joy Ekstrom - For getting into Mini Lops! For transporting Honey, Stitch and Bridget from Monroe. Jenn, for showing my ML's while I worked under Joy for my registrar's license. Petersen Family (Mike, Leslie and kids) - For doing a great job with my animals. I would have never imagined you could grand Minnow, Dean and Alex in the tough WA competition! For showing my rabbits at Canby while I worked with Randy Shumaker.
Well I think that's it for the Mini Lops..... I could probably go indepth more of why they are my favorite....But what about those Satins? How did I ever start raising those?
Summer 2005, I found myself going through the barn at our county fair. The bkn red and copper satins really struck me. I could have boughten any one of those Satins... but why should I? I knew a better Satin breeder just an hour away that could fufill my Satin order.
March 2006 - I was given two intermediate black does from Roger Hassenpflug (I told ya there was a better Satin breeder, well there you have it). They were JS and SJ respectively, which my cousin and I named Jessica Simpson and Sarah Jessica Parker. I had them bred in May for meat pens for county fair. I was given litters of 7 and 8 black babies and I took them all to fair. I entered 4 pens, 1 in open (which took 1st!!) and 3 in 4-H, which took 3rd, Res. Champ and Champ. I also had the Champ. single fryer. I decided to keep a doe from the open pen. I named her Brittney Spears.
Brittney and Jessica had litters on Feb 14 this spring. I kept a bkn black, but it was a buck. I sold him to a local breeder who also took Jessica. That winter I had bought a bkn red buck from Melissa Magee and a red doe and copper doe from the Fentons. I had used Porky in breeding to Jessica and I got a bkn blue! I kept this beauty and she's still here currently, PJ. I then sold all my Satins except PJ. I did not want to do the reds and coppers anymore. So that is where it has taken me now. I have now decided to do black, blue and broken only. I have 2 bkn blue does, a black doe and a black buck. I got those new satins from Roger and I am ever impressed. The Satins give off a different atmosphere, mainly because I am still new to the breed and I am one of the only youth breeders in my area who have them. All the others are old farts. But I respect them, I take their advice and I love learning everything about Satins!

Dealing with the heat

With it raining all night and this morning, I am *very* thankful for the weather break. Last week we were in the triple digits and it was just insane. I have always had good luck when dealing with heat, but what about those who aren't so fortunate to have a nice barn?


First thing you can do is invest in a fan just for the rabbitry. It doesn't have to be a fancy one, just somethign to get the air moving. Where we live in the Rogue Valley, the air does not move unless you move it! Circulating the air will take out a few extra degrees.


Cool water is extremely important, wether you feed from crocks, bottles or auto water. A rabbit will not drink warm water.


Ice bottles. No matter the size, but devote some freezer space to some ice bottles. Rabbits will love you for them.

Ears. A rabbit's AC system is their ears. You will notice those things get really warm when it's hot outside. Take some cool water and wet the inside and outside of them. This will cool them off quite a bit.

Do not handle your rabbits! Ever been in a bad mood? Don't want anyone to bother you? You should not handle your rabbits during the day. It will add to their stress they already are recieveing from the heat. I only handle mine in the weee morning or late at night. It's just not worth the risk.

Check, check and check again. You cannot know how your rabbits are doing unless you check on them. When I am home I check on them several times a day, probably every hour (esp in the hot part). When I am not home I ask of my family members to check on my animals for me. I am looking for rabbits that are wet in the nose, lethargic and unresponsive. I check to see how fast they are breathing.

My rabbits handle the heat well with a fan in my rabbitry and the fact my barn is under a whole lot of trees.

More Babies!

Gigi kindled to 4 healthy babies this afternoon, 3 broken and 1 solid (which is the exact opposite of her last litter, 3 solid and 1 broken). She is being a great mom.

Sold 6 rabbits today.... guess that will give us some breathing space.

Satins with pictures and info are now up on the website.

Got Blue Bijou's litter chosen to a nice 5 out of 9. The blue doe is sold and going to New Hampshire in October. We are keeping the bkn blue charlie buck "Buster Blue" and then there are 3 does we couldn't decide on. A smoke pearl steel doe and 2 broken blue does. They are all pretty nice....

Also decided the choosings on Cloey's litter from March. She was bred to Hollywood Dun It. Of those 9 babies, we kept only one, a bkn black doe. We named her Hollywood Hannah and she is a very promising doe.

The Three B's

Went to Roger's and picked out my new Satins yesterday. Much to my amazement, he has more of a buck problem I do, having three bucks for every one doe. So.. there were not a lot of does to choose from.

I came across two broken black bucks I liked. The better broken buck was full sibling to the broken blue doe available so I had to resort to another buck. No worries though, there was a beautiful black buck, typey lil guy. I also chose his half sister, also a black. The black buck is named Boog, the black doe Bounce and the broken blue doe's name is Brook. Don't look at me, I didn't name them!



Kaluah and Peppercini are being good mothers. Waiting for Gigi to kindle. Went through B.B.'s litter and decided which juniors I want for sure from Cloey and Jenie's March litters. I held half of the litters back and I am pretty sure I made some wise decisions for my rabbitry.

Peppercini is a mom!

LHHR's Peppercini

Peppercini kindled 6 of 6 healthy kits this afternoon :) 2 broken, 4 solid. A couple of them look like dilutes! She nested and kindled well; she is being a great first time mom! Sire is her father, Velotta's Boomer.

Bad Storm, Does Nesting

Had a really bad storm last night upon arriving in town for a 4-H meeting. Over 3500 lightning strikes hit GP, hit a church steeple twice and hit the moutain ridge across from us creating a small fire. Helicopters from ODF snuffed the fire out this morning.

Kaluah and Peppercini are nesting well. Gigi will get her box tomorrow. All three does were bred to Velotta's Boomer incase we do sell him for Convention.

Speaking of Convention, we are still making plans. We have deposits on 4 rabbits and a few others pending. We will take 6 - 8 rabbits for ourselves to show.

With all this wacky weather, the bunnies are about to molt. Gosh!

Our next show is August 11th in Yreka, CA. It is a double open just over an hour away from us. Not that bad of drive. The following Monday, the rabbits head to fair. We have pre-fair on the 28th. Just two weeks away.

Saturday we should be getting our satins. We will bring home 2 or 3 does :) YAY!

Well.... today was 113*F. It was nuts; there was no air movement and we struggled to keep the bunnies as comfortable as possible. We didn't feed until 9:45, it's still 95* out. In addition, we now have dry lightning thunderstorms.... just what we need right?

Renee's litter is looking *awesome* Thanks Nicole for the breeding to Waltor. In Waltor x Renee the 1st litter, the solid opal buck picked up his 1st two legs at WSC!!!! We hope this litter is just as successful.

Have a rabbit 4-H meeting tomorrow and we're hopin to pick up the Satins sometime this week. Will have updates when we do.

Renee's cuteness :)

These are the two black steel does from Renee. They are too cute! Renee's litter will be nice and we will be holding onto them for a while.

July = No shows

Our next show is not until mid-august. We're going to go down to Yreka, CA again for the Golden County Fair, Siskyou County, California. It's a double open and hey, it's not that far to travel!
From there is our county fair, Josephine County Fair in Grants Pass. It is a cooped show, we coop from Monday evening until Saturday midnight. I always enter rabbits in youth, and enter in Open as well. I will be doing showmanship, judging and a few other events in my other club. Fair is a great time, it's an "all day, every day" event and I always sleep in the following sunday. It really requires a lot of time and dedication. I usually get home around 1 in the morning. We must report at 7:00 for morning barn duty and then there is a 2 hr indv. barn duty for every one in the barn throughout the day. The rabbits are *never* unattended and recieve constant care.
After county fair, we have a few days to prepare for Oregon State Fair in Salem. I am not sure if I am going yet this year, probably not.... Because they are a cooped show as well, and I cannot afford to stay up there a week (although we may take the chance if we can camp with other bunny/4-H friends).
Then, Labor Day weekend has to be THE BEST! RCRC holds a double open/double youth on Saturday and CRCS holds a triple open/triple youth on Sunday in Crescent City, California! Last year I had a *spectacular* time and now with the ML increase I can suspect this year's will go far better! I have been asked to register rabbits on Saturday, although I am unsure of who CRCS plans to hire/have hired.

So from mid-August on, it's all rabbit shows! (We also have 2 other weekends planned in Sept of shows and then it's MI National Convention!)
We'll sit here at home at let the rabbits start molting so they are ready for fair... ha ha.

New website, coming soon!

Our AOL site is down, and it doesn't look like it will be able to be fixed. We had meant to switch over to geocities soon, because I will be moving and won't be able to update my AOL one away from home anyways.... so it was all meant to happen. Anyways, it's not complete yet, but I will post as soon as it's near done :)