Things are going great with the bunnies right now! I have Ronald sold, he'll be going to his new home after the show on April 26th. He will be a possible 4-H bunny but mostly a pet.
Jingle is also almost sold. My friend is very interested in him for a spoiled pet and therapy bunny. He has the best personality, I really think he could be great for that!
So we won't have any babies for a little while. I miss little two week olds...my favorite age, so cute and tiny, carefree and fearless! I can't wait until I have more.
Hopefully we have babies on the way! I can't wait. I bred Holly's Cinnamon to Blue Storm's Sir Lancelot, it was both of their first times but they were both SO excited about it I *think* we might have a successful take! I'm praying for live babies! :) They are both so absolutely beautiful, I just can't wait to see what they give me!
I already have two babies sold from this litter, both does. Once for a show and breeding doe, the other as a pet. I want to keep a couple for showing, not sure if I'll breed or not. But if they have a typy, small little buck I might keep him to replace Sir Lancelot...we'll see. This is only his first litter!
Cinnamon is due April 6th or 7th and these babies will be weaned around the end of May. I will sell a select few to people that are already waiting, but will probably keep some to show in July.
I'm also SO excited to be adding all-wire cages to the rabbitry soon! I'm going to be ordering them sometime next week. It was just time to upgrade and since it will be a while before I can get my shed, we (my parents and I), decided this was the next best thing. Not only will the cages be easier to clean, but they will also keep the bunnies healthy with good ventilation and daylight (but not all-day sunshine). As long as they are protected from the elements and from predators, there's no drawbacks to having them outside.
I'm also going to be getting 6 cages to start with, which is 2 more then I have currently. That means I *might* be able to get another doe, or keep one to add to the herd, leaving still 2 cages for weaning.
I want to increase the bone and mass in my herd this year. Maybe next year I'll work on crowns...me herd has a strong slipped crown problem.
People say wire cages are a no-no because of sore hocks, but Holland Lops are so small and have such thick, furry padding on their feet they don't really have to worry about that. I've heard it's just as common for a rabbit to get sore hocks on solid floors as on wire. It depends on the breed. Breeds that put more weight on their back feet or that have very thin fur on their feet shouldn't have wire floors, or at least something to get off the wire.
I can't wait to share pictures once they arrive and the bunns are all settled in! :)
~Holly