Today's blog is going to be a fun post of some of the unexpected colors we got in our current litters. 

Let's start with Fern's 6! Sadly we lost one today (I think it was a chin) that was in Angie's litter (I fostered two of Fern's to Angie), it was a tiny runt and super weak and wasn't doing good for the past couple days. 
Both the parents are chinchilla, so of course I was expecting lots of chins. However, we only have 2 chins of the 6, and the rest were a surprise! 

I was hoping for squirrels, but they're so rare I wasn't expecting two of them! 

At first I thought this next baby was a black, but black isn't genetically possible out of two chins (the chin gene is recessive to the full-color C, which is what black has). After consulting some friends and reading my rabbit coat color genetics book, I realized that it's a color called self chinchilla. Normally chinchilla is the genotype A_B_c(chd)_D_ee. However, if you breed two chins together that carry the self gene (little a), you may get self chins. I didn't think Prince and Fern did, but apparently they do! So this little one is genetically a chin, it could produce chins when bred to other colors, but it also appears totally black and judges will think it's black on the show table. Isn't that interesting?!

This baby below was a HUGE surprise! It's a CHOCOLATE version of the self chin baby above! I knew Finn carried chocolate, because when bred to his mom he had a chocolate chestnut. Well Prince Charming (and Fern), do too! So this baby is genetically a self chocolate chin, which is the genotype aabbc(chd)_D_ee, but looks just like a solid chocolate. I LOVE IT!!! Such a beautiful, gorgeous color! This baby is in Angie's litter. 

In Angie and Tucker's litter, the most likely color we could get would be chestnut or opal, or maybe black or blue. Instead, we got a rare frosty! I've only had one of these colors before, out of an opal and orange. I'm in love with this color and excited to watch this HUGE chunky monkey baby grow up! 

So far, these babies' colors are getting me so excited to watch the babies grow! And we still have two more litters due soon! Miss Sarah is getting her nestbox today, and she's due on Sunday! Clementine isn't due until Thursday and I'm pretty sure she's pregnant but not positive yet. 

Thanks for reading guys, I hope you are as excited to watch these babies grow and their colors become more vibrant as I am! 

~H~

Holly's Fern started pulling fur around 11pm on August 4th, which was day 30 in her gestation. She would pull fur and nest, then rest with a mouthful of fur. By 12pm she was still nesting, and sadly I thought she may be having difficulties because usually babies are there by that time, and the only times I've seen does rest and lie down while nesting and delivering is when they are having complications. At midnight I went to bed a little heavy hearted but hoping the best for my girl. This is her third litter. 

That morning, at 7:30am, I went back out to check on her. I didn't wake up in the night to check on her because I forgot to set my alarm and slept like a baby. Anyway, there was no blood in the cage, everything was clean, and there was movement in her nest under all the fluffy fur she pulled! When I moved the fur I knew there were tons of babies! I took the box out to get a good count. 1..2...3...4...5...6...7!!! I was so surprised! This is the largest litter I've ever had and although Fern had a huge belly, I didn't think she was carrying SEVEN babies in there!! All were born alive and healthy! And NO peanuts! Way to go mama! 

Carrying for 7 babies is hard work, and especially for a doe that has 2 failed litters before. I was really hopeful that the other two does due (Maddie and Angie) would have smaller(ish) litters so I could foster some to them, so they could all get fed equally. 

Unfortunately, later that night (around 10pm), Maddie went into labor. This morning when I checked on her at 7am, she was still in labor with a stuck kit and had delivered one dead on the wire :( At around 8:30 am, she delivered the other kit but only had two overall. Sad news but this was her first time, and she'll be rebred next week for better luck hopefully. 

Angie went into labor this morning, on 8/6, on day 32 in her gestation. I was beginning to think she wasn't pregnant when day 31 came and went. However, she didn't disappoint! She was in full-blown nesting mode when I went out to feed around 8:30, but unfortunately my family left for church at 9:30 and she was still nesting away when we left. We were at church longer than usual to prep for VBS which starts tomorrow (I'm a skit actor and helper in the 2nd and 3rd grade class), so we didn't get home until around 1:30pm. When I checked on her, she had cleaned everything up, and had two babies in the box. Unfortunately one was DOA (dead on arrival), but the other was (and is!) thriving. 

Today I fostered two of Fern's tiny babies to Angie. Angie is a great mom and has taken fosters readily before, so I'm not worried. Angie is raising 3 and Fern is raising 5. We'll see if I need to foster more to Angie later on, but I'm hopeful Fern can raise the ones she has since they are big and fat already! 

As I'm writing this, miss Sarah is nesting...she's due on the 13th, and she's ready! I'm hoping for some brokens in the next two litters! 

Officially, ALL THE BUNNIES ARE MOVED INTO THE SHED!!! There are still some things to move in like all my ribbons and random extra storage but that's about it. I'm so excited to be totally done with the move-in process. It won't be long now! Here's a picture of what it looks like right now, but stay tuned for a "rabbitry tour" video all about the setup, introducing all the bunnies, and talking a bit about my organization. I'll film that one once it's totally finished. It holds all 20 cages that I have very comfortably, and I could fit another stack of 3 or 4 where the posing table is if I needed to down the line. But I like the way it is for now. I have a lot of senior does I'm selling after these current litters to make way for new growing babes. 

This show is always one of my favorites because we do a rabbit auction as a fundraiser for our club (the WSHLRC), and although I wasn't able to (or needed), any of the rabbits auctioned, there were some super nice ones! I wish I needed a solid buck because a couple of them went for only $25 even though they were stellar. They just weren't wanted or needed by anyone else in the club. A few of the does went for over $300! They were so nice and I'm glad we raised so much money for the club! 

This month I bred 5 does, and all the girls were excited and ready, so you can say that we should have a little baby boom next month! Luckily, all these babies will be born in my shed, or at least move into the shed at a couple days old. Here's all the does I bred, the bucks I bred them to, how they compliment each other and what colors are expected from each pairing.

On the 5th of this month I bred 3 does, Holly's Fern to Holly's Prince Charming, LCL's Angus to Holly's Tucker, and Holly's Madeline to Holly's Finn. On the 14th I bred M&S Sarah to Holly's Tucker, and yesterday I bred Holly's Clementine to Holly's Tucker. 

Holly's Fern x Holly's Prince Charming
Fern was bred to Prince a couple months ago but the litter wasn't successful. Since this is her third breeding I have higher hopes this time! These two balance each other's faults pretty well; Prince lacks in bone, and Fern has very thick bone. Prince has a strong h/e/c and Fern desperately needs that! Fern and Prince are both chinchillas, so their litter will be all chinchilla and possibly squirrel. 

LCL's Angus x Holly's Tucker
I bred Angie to Tucker a couple months ago but she didn't take. She's also getting older in age, I think she's almost 3 years old, so if she doesn't take this round or the next I'll sell her as a retired pet. But I'm really hopeful she has a successful litter, since Tucker is her son I've been wanting (and trying) to do this linebreeding for a long time now! These babies should have ridiculously amazing short, fat bone and a great h/e/c like daddy.  Colors to be expected are chestnut, opal, chinchilla, squirrel, black, blue, and possibly orange or tort colors. 
Weird note: When they were breeding (I know, this might be TMI), Tucker wasn't connecting with Angie right away and she was mounting him (does do this often when they're in the mood or feeling dominant), but, I swear she grunted and fell off like bucks do when they connect. Then, she laid down and Tucker mounted her and then he grunted and fell off right away, making a true connection. Is that just weird to me or what?! I've never seen a doe do that before. I guess she was just teaching him how, as the pro that she is!!

Holly's Madeline x Holly's Finn 
These are pretty old pictures of these both, but, they are all I have right now! These two have excellent bodies and pretty good h/e/c, so I'm excited to see the cross! Maddie lacks in her front legs, she has good bone but they are long. Finn will help her in that respect because his limbs are much shorter (but still thick). This pairing will most likely result in chestnuts and opals, but blacks and blues are a possibility as well. 

M&S Sarah x Holly's Tucker 
​Sarah and Tucker were bred on the 14th and she was VERY willing and excited about it, so I'm hoping she has a large litter! Both of these bunnies have great thick bone, width abounds, and Tucker has a fantastic h/e/c to balance out Sarah's fairness in those areas. I'm so excited to see what these two produce! I'm hoping for BROKENS!!! For color, the most common is chestnut, but orange, opal, cream, black and blue, as well as their broken counterparts, are possible (can I get broken OPAL please?!).

Holly's Clementine x Holly's Tucker
Yes, I know...Clementine was for sale, but then I thought about it...I am trying to produce more brokens, and her personality is to die for, and I love her bright orange color...so why was I selling her again?! She was bred yesterday on 7/18. 
I bred her to Tucker to help her thinner bone and poor h/e/c. They both have that width, and nice bodies so I'm excited about this cross! Like the Tucker and Sarah pairing, they can have chestnuts, opals, oranges, creams, and possibly blues and blacks. 

Next month, I have 6 or more does that I need to breed. Whichever does don't take or have dead litters will be rebred, as well as Holly's Rosie, Holly's Zuzu, and 3 brand-new senior does, Holly's Buttercup, Holly's Mimi, and Holly's Winnie. 
If you guys have been following my Instagram, you may remember that my 11-year-old brother fell in love with Winnie and I gave her to him for his pet bunny. That being said, he decided he wants to breed her and take care of the bunnies. I told him that he definitely can, but since he'll be using one of my bucks I get first pick (or "dibs"), before he decides to keep any for a pet or sell any. I think it'll be fun for him to go down this journey for the first time and it's an exciting experience! I haven' taken Winnie out to pose her or anything for months, and I did so yesterday with my brother to decide on a buck that would compliment her. She's gorgeous!! She has HUGE bone and short front legs. I can see her working with any of my bucks. Yes, she's broody, so she has long ears and a longer body, but I can bet you she won't produce those faults. I think we've decided to breed her to Prince Charming, who has slightly longer bone but tiny ears and a huge round head. I think I will be using Prince a lot for these does being bred next month. ​

Thanks for sticking around guys, I know this was a longer post, but with all the pictures I hope you were entertained :) I'll see you all soon. 

-Holly 
​Holly's Hollands Rabbitry

Today I filmed, edited and posted a video on Youtube all about how I decide to sell or keep a baby at such a young age. If you have been keeping up with my instagram for the past couple weeks, you would see that I recently listed two baby bunnies for sale at the age of 6 weeks (not ready to go until 8 weeks of course). One is already reserved, but I have a little boy for sale if you're interested ;) 

Anyway, I've had so many people ask to upload a video showing qualities that I look for in a baby that young, that show promise. I finally got around to filming it and I think it turned out so great! It is quite long, but it's worth the watch. You will learn so much! 

I realized today I haven't blogged in like 2 months (or more)...sorry guys! 

Anyway, there are some updates in the rabbitry! I have two new litters, out of Butterfly x Finn and Heidi x Tucker. They are 5 weeks old now, Butterfly has 3 little ones, 2 are looking pretty nice and I'll be watching them, and one will be up for reservation on Friday. Heidi has 2, a little boy and a little girl, and the girl is looking great and just like her stellar daddy! Heidi's son Thunder (the doe is Rain), will also be up for reservation on Friday. Soon, I will be filming a video all about how I choose which babies to sell and which ones to watch at this age. When I make that video, I'll post it here. 

​Speaking of videos, I posted a new video today on Youtube and it goes into detail about how the shed is coming along, plus a little tour of it! I filmed that yesterday, but since then my dad has almost completely finished it. He put up the pegboard and installed outlets for the lighting, so now the switch easily turn all the lights on. I was hoping to have the rabbits in this weekend when he finished, but one of the biggest things we need before the bunnies move in - a fan to circulate the air and keep it smelling nice - has to be ordered online, and it might not come for a couple weeks! Sadly that means the bunnies probably won't move in until closer to the end of the month :( Oh well, at least it's happening soon! 

I have lots of fun videos planned and I'm excited to share them with you all! 
I'm filming a q&a video with questions about ME (not necessarily rabbits), today, to be uploaded next week, a q&a about rabbits, an FAQ video, a video about how I choose babies to keep and sell around 6 weeks, and a shed tour before the rabbits move in when everything is installed, and a rabbitry tour once the rabbits are moved in so everyone can meet every single rabbit and hear a little bit about their story. Below the video I have more posted about new litters on the way! 

A couple days ago I bred 3 does. 

Fern bred to Prince Charming, due on August 4th. She was supposed to have babies with Butterfly and Heidi but the singleton that survived delivery passed away a few days after birth. 

LCL's Angie was bred to Tucker, due August 4th. She missed with her last breeding. 

Madeline was bred to Finn, due August 4th. She's a year old and this is the first time she's bred with a buck, I've tried breeding her multiple times but she usually hates it and doesn't lift, well she was very willing this time! 

This week I will be breeding M&S Sarah to Nemo, for mostly orange and broken orange babies. This is a litter I'm excited about!! 

This week I will also be breeding Zuzu, who produced Finn, Prince Charming and Heidi, to Finn for some W I D E  and short-boned babies! 

If you want to find out more about each doe you can see them on my Herd --> Seniors page! 

I have plans to sell a lot of senior does this year. Sarah, Madeline, Angie, Heidi and Clementine will be sold this summer most likely (Clementine is for sale right now). 

I know this blog was long and rambley, but thanks for sticking with it and check out the video I posted!! 

See you again soon, hopefully! 

Over the past couple days I've been breeding tons of does for summer litters. These babies will be the first ones born in my new shed (*Lord Willing*), and I'm so excited about these crosses. You can see more about each rabbit on my Seniors page. 

On Monday I tried breeding Fern and Maddie but they weren't having it. I did breed Angus to her son Tucker and I'm SO excited for the BONE that will be produced in this pairing! Angie is due 5/31 and she was VERY excited about breeding so I bet she'll have a nice big litter. 

On Tuesday I bred three more does. Miss Heidi was bred to Tucker as well and she is due 6/1. This will be her second litter but her first one was born all DOA so hopefully she has a live litter this time! 

​Butterfly was bred to Finn and she is also due 6/1. I think she'll have a big litter as well because she was very excited about having a date ;) That's an old picture of Finn but you get the idea haha. 

The last doe I bred was Fern! She's also due 6/1. I was going to breed her to Finn but at the last minute I changed my mind and decided on Prince Charming, to get a litter full of chinchillas! 

Since Maddie refused to breed I'll be giving her apple cider vinegar and I'll try again after these babies are born and I know how many kits I'm dealing with. I'll breed her the same day as Sarah, Rosie, and Zuzu. I'm thinking I'll sell Clementine quite soon and Beth is for sale currently. I have so many little does growing up and others that will be born, so older does have to be moved on :( 

After years of hoping, months of saving, and hours of dealing with bank issues, I finally bought my shed!! I still have to wait a couple weeks before it gets delivered and installed, but I'm so excited. On May 13, I'll be buying 7 more rabbit cages. In total, I'll have 21 cages with room to expand, but I like that amount for now. I'll keep my herd even smaller than that but use a lot of the cages for grow outs and weaning culls (rabbits I sell). 
The shed is only 10'x10', but what I've figured so far, is that I can fit 5 stacks of 24"x24" cages on one wall (the right wall), and the remaining cages (about 2 more stacks), on the left wall where my big window will be. In the back, I'll have the feed and hay bins and a water station (my rabbits drink spring or filtered water), and my posing table. The shed also has a loft, which will store carriers, extra hay, extra supplies (like water bottles, feeders), etc. In the back I'll also have shelves or stacks of cubes for storage of medical supplies and everything else. I'll also have a pegboard somewhere for ribbons and pictures. Wherever I can, I'll have a little bunny figurine. I'm so excited to get started and show you the progress! 

My three litters, with 10 babies total, have been super consistent and in AMAZING ways. It makes sense, they all have the same dad! But the tricky part is that soon I have to make decisions about who to keep and who to sell, because I CANNOT keep 10 babies . . . I currently have 2 empty cages and that's just not enough to grow them all out. So around 8-12 weeks I will have to make these hard decisions. And to be honest, ALL these babies are NICE, so far, in one way or another. I evaluated all of them today and I have ideas on who will be staying and who will be sold...but so far, I still want the majority to stay. And because of that I know they all still have lots of growing to do because I need to sell the majority. That's the hard part about having a small rabbitry. I will have to let some super nice babies go. 

But getting this kind of consistency, where all of them are potential keepers and there's no flat-out "pet quality" or disqualifications (and least not right now), is also super exciting. Sarah and Beth's litters are outcrosses, and the face that they are STELLAR means that I have a great buck on my hands! So far I've gotten 4 litters, all from different does, out of Finn, and all the babies in every one have been nice! Some of the babies out of my current litters have faults I don't like, but they still have REALLY good points that make them breeding or show quality. 

Alright, enough chat....let's get on to the pictures and evaluations! 

Let's start with the oldest babies, Franklin, Posie, and Nemo. They are 7 weeks old right now and still looking nice, the uglies definitely have arrived though. My babies, if they're going to go through uglies, typically get it out of the way by 10 weeks surprisingly.

Franklin is Beth's little cream buck. And boy do we love him! He has a super sweet, gentle personality and he loves to snuggle. Super easy to pose and work with too! Like I said, he's in the midst of uglies, and his mom or brother or sister is chewing his fur so it looks terrible right now! Right now I don't like his bone or length of limb...I wouldn't call it "weak ankle" or "flipper feet" but it's definitely long. He didn't have that as a youngster so it might be a phase, we can only wait and see. 

Franklin was the brother I liked best when they are 4-6 weeks and now I like Nemo better haha....he has an awesome round body, great topline, big head and nice ears. He has shorter bone than Franklin does too at this point....we can only wait and see as they mature...hopefully in the right direction! I definitely won't be keeping both brothers, I just don't have the space since I like the bucks from Clementine and Sarah too (haha), so one will definitely be available come 10-12 weeks. 

Right now Posie is super wide and has great ears, but her body....yeesh. Right now it's not looking so hot at all haha. I'm hoping its just uglies because right now it's sloped. Her front limb is also long, and her bone isn't so great. She also has a pretty slipped and possibly tight crown. If she doesn't get a lot better in a week or two, she'll be sold. If you like her, let me know ;) She's cute and she has a great personality!

The other babies are still super little, only 4 weeks, but I like to make my first evaluations at 4 weeks for DQs and overall body type/bone. Sometimes my first evaluations stay true throughout their development, sometimes it doesn't. It'll be interesting to see with these 7 babies. ​

This little chunk Pumpkin is the orange buck in Clementine's litter. So far there is a lot I like about him and not much I don't! He has width, a short body, big head, bone and short front limb, and nice ears! Definitely watching him but honestly, right now I'm liking Bilbo, the solid orange buck from Sarah's litter, even more.

Mimi is Clementine's chestnut doe. I'm liking her a lot! She has some things I'm hoping she grows out of, such as a little long front limb. But she has thick bone, width all around, and a big, round head! I like Sarah's little chestnut doe, Bambi, a little better. 

So excited about BUTTERCUP! She's Clementine's mini-me but even better! She has a slightly tight crown for now but I'm confident her ears will lay down as she matures. Of course they won't be as bad as her mama's! She could have thicker bone has immense width, really nice crown placement, a nice body, and short front legs. I LOVE HER color and I'm hoping she stays nice and keeps looking better, because then she can stay to replace her mom or Sarah. 

Now onto Sarah's babies! If you can't tell, I'm in love with quite a few of them! This litter was a total outcross of a line I haven't worked with before, so I'm so excited to watch these babies mature! 

I'm so excited about Bilbo! Look at that width, head, and teeny tiny ears! His ears still stick straight up most of the time, but that's ok for now because he's still so little AND his ears are TINY! He has short, thick bone, and a cute body. 

Winnie is another little doe I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT!!! She has a perfect crown, it lays down perfectly already and might be the only I have with such perfect placement. I love every single thing about her h/e/c (head/ear/crown), to me, it looks perfect. She has awesome bone and a nice body. I'm excited for a broken chestnut - she'll probably be staying and might replace her mom.

I wish I was more excited about miss Piper! She has a huge head, super round, nice body, width galore, but  possible weak ankles and thin bone. I do love her tiny ears though, although she may have a tight crown. Most likely she'll be available at 8 weeks if she doesn't mature in a better direction. 

Now Bambi gets me excited!! Love that super round head, perfect topline and body, nice ears, and thick bone! She may have a little length of limb and a slipped crown, but that body makes me so happy and she has the width too! 

I hope you enjoyed learning about these little prejuniors and which ones might be coming available in the next few weeks/months. I get tons of questions about what I evaluate for and what I love in my herd and what I don't. I hope this helped clear that up! 

Have a great day everyone :) 

Lately I've been pondering over which does to breed next - I have TEN babies currently and a few I will be watching until they are several months old, so I'll need to postpone breeding for a couple weeks still. But since I have so many open does and lots of bucks that would work well with each of them, it's a hard decision to choose! But so far, here are the planned litters for the next coming months. I'll indicate which ones are coming sooner than later. You can see pics of each rabbit on the My Herd pages. 

Holly's Finn x Holly's Madeline 
Madeline is a first timer and I'm excited to see what she can produce. Especially since she is SO WIDE and Finn has been producing incredible width. Also, they will balance each other out because Finn lacks in his head mount and topline, and Madeline has a very showy head mount (very upright), as well as a stellar topline. And Finn balances Maddie's poor bone width and length. This breeding will be happening by the end of the month, probably within the next week. 

Holly's Tucker x Holly's Heidi
Heidi failed her first litter so she's getting a second chance. I'm excited to see what Tucker could produce with her. The main reason why I chose Tucker to breed her to is because she's full siblings with Holly's Prince Charming and Finn, and I'm selling my other buck Percy. So Tucker is really the only option for  her but I'm not disappointed haha. This one will also be happening very soon. 

Holly's Finn x Holly's Butterfly
I'm excited to see what these two could produce! Butterfly was bred to Finn's full brother Prince Charming last time, and they produced a beautiful chin doe that has been showing well for me, so I'm excited to see what this cross has in store. This will be happening whenever I breed Heidi and Maddie.

Holly's Tucker x LCL's Angus (Angie)
This is a line breeding, since Tucker is Angie's son. And I'm super excited about this cross! Angie produces incredible bone (such as Tucker's), and I'm hoping to get that cemented in my line. However, she also has a tight crown and Tucker has a slight one as well, so we'll see if this is produced heavily in this litter or not. I'm still deciding whether or not this will be with Maddie and Heidi within the next week or at some point next month. 

Holly's Finn x Holly's Zuzu 
This is also a line breeding. I did a line breeding with Zuzu's son Prince Charming last time but it didn't produce the results I wanted. It did reveal that she (and Prince), carry chocolate though! Let's see if Finn does as well. This breeding will likely happen next month. 

Holly's Finn x Holly's Rosemary 
I'm still letting Rosie adjust but I'm excited to see the width and body that will come with this cross!! This breeding will probably be a couple months down the road though. 

Holly's Prince Charming x Holly's Fern 
These are my two chins! I'm SO excited to improve my chin line. However, Fern is not yet 6 months and I'll be showing her in May, so this breeding probably won't be happening until later this summer.