Well hasn't it been a hot minute since I've made an update! Life has been so crazy, but I've still managed to post on YouTube a little bit and update you guys there. I know there are some of you that love my blogs though, so I want to continue making these when I can. 
Let's start with updates. I have lots of them. We're going to talk about my dry summer, juniors, cute prejuniors that are 7 weeks old now (some are being sold, some are staying here to be watched), upcoming litters, my recent show and upcoming shows, and my NEW ADDITION! I'm sure there's more too. I'm also changing feed, which I talk about in a post below. I've had some crazy things going on my rabbits too - a doe developed malocclusion, a buck has a tooth issue caused from injury, and another baby buck somehow injured himself and bled a lot (it was scary), around his mouth, and on his paws from wiping his face. I'll delve into those problems in another post. Let's keep this one lighthearted shall we. 

To start off, I had a very dry summer. My last update explains all the litters planned and does that were pregnant. For one reason or another, all 7 does did not have babies. They either had all DOA, or didn't take. I had no kits all summer. I'm attributing it to my water, but it could've been numerous things. There were first timers, older does, and does that hadn't been bred in a while so it was really random. Since then, I've had 2 successful litters and 3 more on the way, due on the 21st. All 3 of the pregnant does definitely ARE expecting, and they have big bellies are nesting like crazy. But I'll talk more about them in a little bit. 

We have 8 babies total, all 7 weeks old now. Rory x Otis had 3, and Buttercup x Otis had 5, and neither of them had dead babies!! One of the other does I bred, Pickle, didn't take, and has now been sold. She's going to live in Colorado! Anyway, these babies all have long ears but they're looking nice otherwise. I have 4 listed for sale, and 4 have been added to my Juniors page - I'll be watching them for the next several weeks. I'm watching one doe and 3 bucks, and I definitely don't need that many bucks, so I'll make a decision to sell one or two of them in a couple weeks, and the doe is promising but not amazing, so I'll honestly most likely sell her in a couple weeks too, but right now I have the space to take a chance on her. Hopefully she surprises me! 
The buck below, Jay, is my favorite of the prejuniors. He surprised me, and I'm glad he did. Hopefully he continues in this direction. 

The does that are due on the 21st are Mimi, Butterfly, and Cleo. Cleo has been pulling fur and nesting for days, which is a good sign. She missed last time, and didn't do anything. This is most likely Butterfly's last litter, and she's such a pro! She's been nesting here and there, but as soon as I gave her the box, she leapt right in, nested and pulled a little fur! Mimi also nested as soon as I gave her the box. She's HUGE and I'm hoping for a larger litter from her, like usual! Cleo is bred to Otis, Mimi is bred to Tucker (SO EXCITED for these babies!!), and Butterfly is bred to Howie. If Butterfly does great this time around and seems to have little issues, I'll most likely breed her again. Some does can have babies until their over 4 years old. But if this litter is born dead, it'll be her last. 

My last show was in September. It was my first one all year, and I had a great time. I'm officially an open exhibitor now, but my rabbits still did great even though this was my first official open show! They actually did better than I expected! I showed quite a few, and I filmed a vlog while I was there as well. I haven't edited it or posted yet, but hopefully before the end of the month it'll be live. Here's the details:

Holland Lop Specialty: 
Judge: 
Holly's Howie SSB 5/6
Holly's Shiloh SSB 4/6
Holly's Cinderella SSD DQed for pulled nail
Holly's Kylie SJD 5/9
Lucky Lops' Otis BSB 2/3
Holly's Maya BJD 2/9

Show A:
Judge: Kendall Bledsoe
Holly's Howie SSB 3/7
Holly's Shiloh SSB 4/7
Holly's Cinderella SSD 5/7
Holly's Kylie SJD 4/8
Lucky Lops' Otis BSB 3/5
Holly's Maya BJD 6/7

Show B:
Judge: Cindy Wickizer
Holly's Howie SSB 4/7
Holly's Shiloh SSB 3/7
Holly's Cinderella SSD 7/8
Holly's Kylie SJD 4/8
Lucky Lops' Otis BSB 1/3 and BOSV! LEG!
Holly's Maya BJD 6/8

The results are all over the place, but the comments were very helpful. I am happy to say that Otis got his 3rd leg! All of his legs are in open. Pretty exciting! My next show is December 1st. Not sure what I have planned for next year yet, but I'm looking forward to that one! Hopefully BlueJay above will be one of the nicest I bring!

My last and possibly most exciting update is the newest addition! I'm picking her up at the December show from my friend Liz from Clear Sky Rabbitry. One of the comments I got a lot at the show was that my rabbits lack chest depth. This doe has that!! Hopefully she'll bring it into my herd! I'm excited to see what she produces for us! She's also shown pretty well too. 

I want my next post to be about faults I've been working on in my herd and faults I have managed to breed out for the most part. 

Thank you so much for reading! 

I've been sticking to Purina Show rabbit feed for years. I've been using it for over 5 years and it has never disappointed me too much...but I've known for a while that I should switch. Purina is often dusty and gives almost all of my rabbits runny poop that sticks to the wire...creating lots of mess. However I've stuck with it because my does breed pretty easily, I don't lose babies often (especially to faders or enteritis), which can all be caused by feed. However, I'm ready to try something new. 

I'm currently switching to Manna PRO. I have a slightly longer commute to get it, but it's several dollars cheaper and I like the ingredients more than Purina. 

Manna PRO is alfalfa based, has 16% protein, which I always use, and 16% - 21% fiber. This is less fiber than Purina so I'll be feeding more hay than usual to make up for that. It is also corn free, like Purina, which is super important to me because corn can cause digestive issues in rabbits. 

I chose Manna PRO over Manna SHO or GRO because I love the ingredients of the PRO formula best. SHO has dairy (dried whey), and that is also bad for their digestion, so that's why it's a no-go for me. GRO has 18% protein which can work for babies, however, for a feed that I use for my whole herd, it's a bit too high. 

I'm excited for this change. All the breeders I know that used it, or that switched to it from Purina, LOVE it. Their rabbits are healthy and happy! I'll be filming a video soon about it as well, so if you like to hear me talk about this change and not just read about, to see differences in the feed, etc., stay tuned! 

I'll keep you guys updated as I switch! I've been mixing the 2 feeds for over a month now, and the rabbits LOVE it so far! I've already noticed a change in their fur and poop (Purina gave some of them softer poops), and they aren't even eating Manna Pro 100% yet! Make SURE that whenever you switch feeds, you mix the two for at least a week! That way the rabbits can wean slowly from the previous feed to the new one, and they won't have any digestive issues due to the change! I'm taking such a long time to change mine because I have babies, pregnant and nursing does, and all that, so I want to make sure the change is slow enough for all those stages so no one is shocked by the change. I'll keep you guys updated as a switch 100%. Probably by the end of the month, I'll be feeding Manna PRO only! 

We currently have 7 litters on the way! Many does are first timers and one doe hasn't produced a live litter yet (this is her 3rd litter), so we will see how many babies we get by the end of the month. 
All pictures are on my Seniors page, so you can go there to see pics of the parents after you read this post :) 

Buttercup x Dwight are due on the 17th (coming up soon!). She's been nesting for about a week or so now, and I'm pretty confident she's pregnant! She only had 2 last time, but I'm hoping for a larger litter this time around. Buttercup is broken orange and Dwight is solid orange. I'm expecting mostly oranges, creams, black or blue tort and possibly frosty in solid and broken. This is a repeat breeding. In their last litter together, they produced a solid orange doe and a broken orange doe that I'm keeping (Holly's Tinkerbell). Tink is looking really, really nice. She'll be a big brood doe but she has all the right pieces, a nice crown, big head, nice body and loin, and awesome bone. I'm hoping for a similar outcome with smaller babies this time! 

Cleo x Shiloh are also due on the 17th. I bred her the same day as Buttercup in case I need to foster - Buttercup is the best foster mom ever! Cleo is a first timer, and she's a pretty high-stress doe so I'm not sure what to expect. I'm really excited for this pairing though - Cleo is short with great bone, a nice h/e/c, and nice width. Shiloh is phenomenal, also very short in body with a massive head and fabulous ear and crown. Nice width too! I visited with my friend Liz in Shelton the other day and he is her favorite from all the juniors and young seniors I brought. He's super promising and is still under a year. Both parents are chestnut, so most of the colors will be chestnut, maybe opal, and all solids. 

Zuzu x Dwight are due on the 23rd. ​Zuzu is a chestnut, and Dwight is orange, so they will mostly have chestnuts, maybe opal, black, orange, cream, blue, etc. Zuzu produced Cleo and a lot of my upcoming juniors that are super promising (I'll post about them in a blog soon), so I know that she produces awesome babies already. I'm excited for this pairing because they both have short bone, nice width, and Zuzu has a nice h/e/c. 

Rory x Howie are due on the 23rd as well. Both of these rabbits were virgins before this breeding, so we'll see if she took. Rory is tiny, only 3.00lbs on the mark, so hopefully Howie's half a pound more doesn't impact her litter. Rory is also a more high-stress doe so we'll see how she does. Rory has a poor crown but Howie's is very nice. Both of them have massive bodies and heads. Howie has longer bone but Rory has the shortest bone of any rabbit in my herd. They both have great wide bodies. Rory is opal and Howie is black. Their colors will most likely be chestnut, black, opal and blue. I'm really hoping for a blue buck or doe with the best from each parents...but who doesn't want that?! lol

Butterfly x Howie is the line breeding I am THE MOST excited about. Howie is Butterfly's son. Also, no chestnut with this pairing, lol! We'll get mostly black, blue, and black/blue tort which are colors I LOVE. Butterfly is my doe with the most legs, she has an awesome body, nice h/e/c, and nice bone. Howie is massive and has the excellent h/e/c. This is one of Butterfly's last litters - so I'm hoping it's an epic one. If this litter goes easy and smooth for her, I'll give her another litter and just play it by ear. I'll stop breeding her as soon I notice she struggles a bit more or has all dead babies. Butterfly will live out her retirement as well. She's my baby :) 

Pickle x Dwight are also due on the 29th. This is Pickle's third litter. Her line has a history of taking 3 litters to get it right so I'm betting her next litter will go great, even though her last two have been all DOA. Pickle is chin and Dwight is orange. The most common color will be chestnut and orange. No matter what, they will all carry chin, but this pairing probably won't produce chin. Whatever baby I keep from this litter (hoping that we get some nice ones), will keep my chin line going strong. If this litter is DOA too, then sadly I'll be moving her on. I've talked about Dwight's nice traits above, and Pickle has a super nice bone, and pretty nice head and awesome wide body. 

Cinderella x Shiloh, the final 7th pairing, are also due on the 29th. Cinderella is also chin. Shiloh is chestnut, so we'll get mostly chestnut again, there's a good chance of chin, opal, black, and blue. Also, all these babies will carry chin so whatever babies I keep (if any), will help further my chin project. 
She has a great head and ear, and Shiloh's awesome crown balances out her poor crown height. Her body is super nice. Her bone is ok, but Shiloh's is great. 

I am in love with my current juniors! I have two little bucks, Hershey (chocolate chin), Howie (black), Cinderella (chin), Rory (opal) and Cleo (chestnut). I love how they're all different colors, haha! I also have a couple 4-week old babies that will most likely be staying here a while and pictures of them are included below. In another post, I'll talk about my recent seniors, such as Dwight (now a daddy!), Pickle, and Shiloh! 

​Let's start with the boys! 

I GOT SO LUCKY to have a chocolate chin that is as nice as Hershey! He is amazing! He has short thick bone, a huge head, and a great body. His biggest faults are a tight crown and lack of width in his chest. But since the biggest things (head and body), are so nice, I can work with everything else! I'm in love with his color. One of the things I've been reminding myself lately to do with "colored" rabbits is to ask myself: would I keep this baby if it were a tort? In this case, I totally would. He's a nice buck regardless of his color. This breeding was a father x daughter pairing. Hershey just turned 4 months. 
Sire: Holly's Prince Charming (chin)
​Dam: Holly's Fern (chin)

Howie is an outcross, and he's nicer than I was expecting! He is massive! He has such a wide chest, thick bone, nice head and ears. His biggest fault is a weak HQ. Typically I would not keep any rabbits with this fault, but because he has a very strong loin, which almost all my other rabbits lack (including these juniors) the HQ doesn't bug me. I have some big broody does that can fix the HQ! Howie just turned 4 months. 

​Now onto the does...

Cinderella is nice, not the best doe but I'll be keeping her for a while to grow out. She has a great short body, nice head and nice curvature. I'm mostly keeping her for that short body, which a lot of my does lack. She does have longer front bone but it's not terrible. Also, a line breeding and this doe is a full sister to Hershey so has the potential of carrying chocolate! Cinderella just turned 4 months. 
Sire: Holly's Prince Charming (chin)
​Dam: Holly's Fern (chin)

Rory is gorgeous, a massive doe in a tiny package. I knew I was keeping a baby from Angie's litter no matter what (as long as they weren't fuzzy), because she passed away when her babies were only 3 days old. I didn't want to lose her line and I didn't have any does out of her. Thankfully, Rory is not a fuzzy but I thought she was until she was 5ish weeks old because she was just so fluffy! I named her Chai as a baby but changed her name to Rory once I knew she was staying. She still is a "fluffier" rabbit, but so is her daddy. Rory has a very tight crown, and won't be a show bunny, but she incredible width, awesome short thick bone, and a nice body. She reminds me SO MUCH of her dad, but her dad has a perfect crown and Rory has the better size. I can't wait to line breed those two in a few months! Rory is an outcross. Rory will be 5 months on the 4th of April. 
​Sire: Holly's Tucker (opal)
​Dam: LCL's Angus (black)

Cleo just turned 6 months TODAY! I can't believe how fast time has gone, these past few months have flown by! I'm not actually loving her type currently, but she's in an awkward just-turned-senior phase so I'll give her another couple weeks before deciding whether to sell her or not. She has amazing width and a nice short body so maybe I'll breed her a couple times before selling her. Her biggest faults are a tight crown, and she could have thicker bone. 

Tinkerbell is 4 weeks old, and looking AMAZING! These two does actually look so much better than I was expecting! She has a great head/ear/crown, and awesome bone. 
​Sire: Holly's Dwight (orange)
​Dam: Holly's Buttercup (broken orange)

Sienna, also almost 5 weeks old, is looking great! She has a tighter crown than her sister, but is still young so only time will tell. She has a big head and short body. 
Sire: Holly's Dwight (orange)
​Dam: Holly's Buttercup (broken orange)

LOTS of babies in the rabbitry currently, and it's not the end of our baby boom yet! I still have 3 does due to kindle next week (the day after Easter), and a couple more to breed. 

​As you know, Buttercup has her litter of 2 from Dwight, and they are doing great! They are so cute and fluffy at 4 weeks old now! I want to get some posed pictures of them soon. They are looking NICE! There is a solid and broken orange, named Sienna (solid), and Tinkerbell (broken). 

Mimi had SEVEN babies on the 23rd! All alive, healthy and wiggly! They are 3 days old today and doing fantastic. So far it looks like they are all getting an even amount of milk. They aren't fat but they are definitely well-fed. There are 2 broken chestnuts, a broken orange, and 4 broken chestnuts. The chestnuts may start looking more like opals or possibly chins as they mature, so only time will tell. Since mom is a solid chestnut and daddy is a broken chestnut, I was expecting primarily chestnut. ​

Next to kindle are Fern, Butterfly, and Zuzu. Fern has been bred to Finn, Butterfly has been bred to Dwight, and Zuzu has been bred to Tucker. All of these pairings are first-time crosses. Some of them are line breedings, and some are outcrosses, and none of the rabbits are first timers themselves, but I haven't bred these crosses together yet. I'm excited to see what I get! 

Today's post is not exactly a fun one. 

A deadly virus has been detected in European rabbits in Canada. These rabbits are assumed to be domesticated rabbits gone feral. It can transmit easily to domestic rabbits, since all of our most common and typical breeds are European by blood. The disease started on Vancouver Island but has spread throughout BC. Due to the fact that here in WA I am so close to Canada and many Canadian exhibitors show their rabbits here, I will not be attending shows for the safety of my herd until this disease seems to be contained or eliminated. 

​If you want more info on the disease and stay updated on its whereabouts, check out THIS BLOG and THIS FACEBOOK PAGE. 

​I am pretty bummed that I won't be going to shows for the foreseeable future. Of course there's a huge chance that there is nothing to worry about, but I really can't risk it. If the disease is eliminated or contained soon, I may be showing in May at the next Monroe show. However, it looks like it won't be. So I might not be showing all summer. 

​My current juniors are really, really nice. I'm super excited about them. But I'll do another post about how they're doing and looking at type. I just wanted to share a quick post on my show news, since I know a couple people have asked when my next shows will be. 

Here's a list of does that are currently bred and when they are due, as well as planned breedings this winter :) 

Mimi x Otis were due on the 26th or 27th, but unfortunately Mimi didn't take :( 

Clementine x Tucker are due on February 25th

Winnie x Otis are due on February 25th

​Buttercup x Dwight are due on February 25th

Zuzu x Tucker will be bred on Feb 1st

​Baby x Otis will be bred on Feb 1st

Mimi x Otis will be bred on Feb 1st

Pickle x Finn will be bred after Feb 15th 

Fern x Finn will be bred after Feb 15th 

​Butterfly x Dwight will be bred after Feb 15th 

​These are subject to change as my school schedule gets more hectic and I have less time, however I hope to get all these breedings done before spring! 

Hello there! It's been a while. 

​I just wanted to give a quick update on what's been happening around the rabbitry that I haven't been talking about. Even though I've been absent on the blog, I've been posting herd updates regularly on YouTube, so catch me there if you want some videos and more pictures! 
​I've been VERY busy lately. I went to California for a week last December to visit friends, and that was great. Then we had the holidays, obviously, and my winter quarter at school started today. After a five-week break, I had a lot to do to get ready for school and back into "the swing of things". I've also been busy at work, and switching jobs very soon. Even though I've been busy with things outside of my rabbit life, the rabbit stuff has been busy too! 

​NEW LITTERS:

We have 2 new litters that are 6 weeks old now. We have one from Butterfly x Otis named Howie, who is a little black buck. He is looking stunning at his young age, and I'm excited to watch him mature. 

There are also three babies in the Fern x Prince Charming litter. Prince Charming was recently sold, so I was hoping big things from his last litter for me. I was not disappointed! He has a self chin doe, a chin doe, and a CHOCOLATE chin buck! 

All three are GORGEOUS. Unfortunantely, because of the self chin's color, I will not be keeping or growing her out. But the other two (Hershey and Cinderella), will be kept a while longer to see if they could aid my breeding program. 

UPCOMING LITTERS:

​So far there is only one litter on the way. Mimi x Otis due on the 26th of this month. Because of my vacation last month I didn't breed any so my brother didn't have to deal with pregnant does while I was away. However, this month I'll be breeding lots of does, but rather spaced out so I don't get overwhelmed with TONS of babies all at once.

JUNIORS:

Dwight and Baby, from Butterfly's previous litter, are now 6 months old! They will be bred soon! 

​Pickle is a doe from Fern x Prince Charming's last litter. She's 5 months old now and will be bred next month.

​Shiloh is a 4-month old chestnut buck from Clementine x Tucker. He's also looking STUNNING. I'm excited to show him! His full brother Ninja is for sale, due to a tight crown and crazy upright ears. 

Cleo is a little chestnut doe from Zuzu x Finn. She's stunning right now, and I'm excited to watch her grow!

​In Angie's litter, raised by Buttercup, I am keeping the opal doe (Chai), for now. She's not looking super nice right now but becuase she's the last one from Angie, she's special, so I'll give her time. The little black doe is a FUZZY and she's for sale right now. They are about 9 weeks old and were just weaned today. 

​You can see pictures of all these juniors on my "Juniors" page of my website. Dwight and Baby have moved to "Seniors"! 

SHOW NEWS:

​I don't have any shows coming up, and probably won't go to one until May. When I do, I'll have lots of nice juniors to show off! 

​I'm not going to promise that I'll see you here soon. I don't know when I'll have time to write here again. But I do my best to post weekly on my YouTube channel, I still post often on Instagram and when I can on Facebook. To stay updated on the happenings around the rabbitry, follow me on those platforms! 

​Thanks for reading and I HOPE to post again soon! Check my YouTube channel by 1/10 for a new herd update and a clip of me posing these babies! 

​Holly

As I'm sure you all know, from reading my previous blog, LCL's Angus passed away about a week ago, due to uterine prolapse. She left behind 2 3-day old kits. Today I'm going to talk about what happened to those kits and how they're doing now. 

​I had a doe due the same day as Angie, miss Buttercup, deliver two huge dead kits over the course of 2-3 days. I also had two does with 4 week old kits, and two does due in 2 weeks. The kits couldn't wait for the pregnant does to deliver; and the does with the older kits didn't have the kind of milk these newborns would need. Their milk would be less fatty and sparse, perfect for kits at 4 weeks old, but not for babies that are only 3 days old. So Buttercup was my only option to saving these babies. 

​At first, I thought I would just feed them off of her as long as she would allow, and as long as the babies were thriving, and then wean them early at a few weeks old. I didn't trust Buttercup to take the kits. I thought she might attack them or abandon them, since they weren't hers and she had only had dead kits a day before. On the night that I found Angie dead, I nursed the babies on Buttercup for around 10 minutes, to see if she was still producing milk, and Buttercup was not very happy about it. When I nurse babies on a doe, I hold the doe in my lap on her back and put the babies on her tummy. She was still very sensitive after a hard delivery and did not like this at all. After I put her back in her cage, she bit me! She was not a happy camper. That night, I also gave her extra food and calf manna, to encourage more milk production. 

​The next day, I nursed the babies on her twice and she put up with it. The next morning, when the babies were about 5 days old, I found Buttercup inside her nestbox. I was thinking she may be trying to nurse babies, since her milk was coming more than ever now because of the calf manna, extra food, and stimulation from the kits. So I decided to pop the babies in the box, along with lots of Angie's fur since Buttercup didn't pull very much. I kept a close eye on her, as I fed and watered the rest of the herd. She messed with them a little, by cleaning and smelling them, but was never aggressive. Then they started to nurse, and she looked relaxed and nibbled on hay in the box. 

​At that point, I knew she would take them successfully. There are a few things that I think I did to prompt her to accept them, even though she did it primarily because she's a great doe. But because I had nursed the babies on her for the first couple days, she had gotten used to the idea of producing more milk and nursing babies. It wasn't weird to her when the babies latched on in the box. And because I nursed the babies on her, it stimulated her teats to produce more milk and told her body that she had babies that she needed to care for. She was ready for the babies when I gave them to her. She had lost 2 kits, but is able to raise 2 kits anyway. And those babies lost a mama but now they have one. 

​It's a sweet story and the babies are about 2 weeks old now. They are doing fantastic! There eyes have just opened and they are so sweet and docile. Buttercup gets nervous whenever I touch her babies. She's very fond of them and pretty protective. 

We have a new litter in the rabbitry! Buttercup gave birth to 4 kits on the 26th but sadly, 2 were DOA. However, she has 2 live kits! Her first two litters were all DOA babies so this is great news for her! Recently she fostered Angie's babies after she passed away, so she's already a pro at being a mom. She's doing a great job, and her babies are fat and happy. She has a solid orange, taking after daddy Dwight, and a broken orange. It looks like both are girls! I have chosen the names: Tinkerbell and Sienna! Sienna is the solid orange and Tinkerbell is the broken orange doe. They are SO CUTE! Sienna is more reserved, prefers to stay in her nestbox and Tink is all over the place! She's always at the front of the cage with her mama when I enter the rabbitry. Buttercup and Tink are twins for sure! 

Besides this new litter, we have two litters due on the 22nd by Pickle x Tucker and Mimi x Otis, and 3 does due April 2nd (the day after Easter!). Those litters are by Fern x Finn, Butterfly x Dwight, and Zuzu x Otis. Hopefully LOTS of new babies on the way!! 

​Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram (@hollyshollands) to stay updated on all the baby news and see pics of these fast-growing little ones!