Late Summer Report from the Bunny Barns
Topic: Breeding

  The heat is still lingering this late August, and the last of the surplus  rabbits and bunnies were sold just this week. All in all, over 20 rabbits were born, raised and sent off. I have not had this amount of business in angoras in some time, and it is heartening to see the local folks gravitate to keeping these sweet things.

Along with breeding choices I have made in the stock I keep over the winter, I am slowing losing my torte color pattern genetics, which grieves me, so I am on the lookout for a torte mostly German buck. An older guy is fine, as long as he is still making babies. I made some choices for disposition this year which led me away from serious German lines, and back into my own. I am determined to keep the easy handling quality of the angoras I breed. So, I need some good genetics to breed into this next year. I also have a waiting list for torte angoras, that I was unfortunately, not able to fill this year.

 I have been working on my barns this summer, and have upgraded the cages here. To this end, there are now six 24"x 36" all wire 12 gauge cages for sale. They have seen some use, but are in good shape with 1/2" x 1" flooring, 1"x2" sides and escape proof one-hand door closures that swing out. Made by the now-gone-but-remembered Damars, they were $55 each brand new, and I will sell them for $25 each or all 6 for $120. They are assembled, and there can be no shipping. Send me an e-mail if you are interested.

New bunnies!
Topic: Breeding

Lo and behold, the wondrous Merry Martin

produced 2 lovely wee ones last week. Both seem black on day 4, but with her unique color, I will wait to see how the color comes in as their coats grow. 

Merry had a disasterous experience with her first litter last spring due to cold. This year, she had another adventure. Two days before she kindled, she got loose and spent the day in the woods near the barns. Penny and I tracked her down and got her safely home, but I feared for her bunnies with all that commotion. I was sure she had more kits, but we are grateful for the two healthy and vigorous ones she has now, as well as her cheery self!

 Will report what genders they are in a couple of weeks.  

In the meantime, Sydney failed to conceive this go-round, so she will be rebred today, along with Gretchen.

Breeding Plans for 2007
Topic: Breeding

I spent yesterday pondering my business schedule, my times away from the barns and the list of folks who want bunnies this year. I have settled on a breeding schedule...the first and second weeks of March. That said, snowstorms can interfere. 

Rabbits are seriously moody critters, and if a doe decides the weather is not right, she will refuse a breeding. Then, all bets are off for the timing of the litters. I will breed two the same day both times, to have a backup nest available if something interferes with a normal litter size. That way, the kits are given the best odds.

So now to juggle the final winter clip-off for the girls. I am planning to breed 4 does so there should be lots of wee ones around here by the end of April. If you are at all interested, please know I have a waiting list for bunnies and you can send me an e-mail to get on it from countrywool's homepage.

Good bucks but no room at the Inn
Topic: Breeding

I keep very few bucks in my herd. They are the ones who stay a bit, do their thing, and then go, to keep the genetics here diversified enough to be healthy. Bucks are generally the animals that I buy, too. I would say that for every 3 I buy, 2 don't work out. This has been a surprise to me, but I am getting used to it.

Gunther was born here and has made it through many culling decisions. I have loved him more than most, and he has tremendous promise. His color is not as deep as I want (But have I ever seen a buck with deep color? No.) And his coat is a bit cottony. But, it doesn't mat. Still, it isn't as German as it should be, or what I think it should be.

But, Gunther is the PERFECT buck in temperament. He is friendly, and kind to does, and cheerful and healthy. His back end is quite round and solid. He eats everything in his food bowl and is content to wait until the next meal. He does not spray his fellow bachelors. I can always count on him for an excellent coat and an accepting pat on the head.

And he and Penny (above) are friends.

But, he is for sale. $75. 60% German, he is 18 months old and weighs 10 pounds.

New Bunnies!
Topic: Breeding

Sydney delivered 8 healthy, fat and squeaky bunnies at 8:10 yesterday morning. She is content and eating and they are well fed and simply gorgeous. I am so totally proud of her! Just 5 weeks ago she had a disastrous first litter and was afraid of her own shadow. Now, she has tackled motherhood with a calmness and assuredness that I wonder over.

Her first pregnancy was filled with fear and she ate very little. Her second pregnancy was all about food. She ate 3x the normal ration for a rabbit and put back all her body weight, fed her developing bunnies, and then some. My husband commented that maybe it took the first loss to have her hormones kick in. What ever it was, all systems are "a go" now.

These bunnies, 4 (look to be) black (at this point) and 4 white/torte (can't tell yet!) are Taurus Sun, Cancer Rising, Libra Moon. They will be beautiful, stubborn, home loving, loyal bunnies.

We are very, very pleased with the days events!

Anticipating spring
Topic: Breeding

The bucks are getting all...er...warmed up with thoughts of spring in their minds. I am planning for breeding to start in 2 weeks, which gives me a window to get everyone clipped and cleaned up. Tomorrow Neo (pictured left at a younger age, but his behavior remains the same!) gets his winter coat shorn off. Then Gunther, his latest son, gets the same. That will leave the bucks all set to go, as Zwart is in short coat already.

But, they are already ready to go. Neo is beside himself with anticipation. I may have to send him to the Guy Barn to chill.

Plans are to have Grindle, Gretchen and Sydney rendezvous with Neo and Zwart in 2 weeks. But plans don't always pan out here, so stay tuned for what happens.

It has been my experience that rabbits in short coats will be more responsive to the mating process. And does that are newly shorn (within 24 hours) are the most responsive. So, in that vein, everyone EXCEPT the three does will get their coats off in the next two weeks, and they will then be shorn the day they are bred.

Wish us luck. I have 6 people waiting for new bunnies, plus I need more tortoiseshell and chocolate colored angoras to stay here in the barn crowd for fiber, so 2005 will see many, many litters here at the Bunny Barn.

Nesting Activity!
Topic: Breeding
I try not to get too anxious about the timing of when the does who are bred start to nest. The exception to this rule is when they start a nest at 17-21 days, which is a sign of false pregnancy, although there have been exceptions. We passed that hurdle last weekend with no movement on their parts. So, I was prepared to fill their nest boxes with hay on this Monday up and coming, which will be 6 days before they are due.

Lo and behold, when I went out to the the barn this morning, Gretel greeted me with a mouthful of her hay ration from last night.

I am not heartless, and proceeded to fill her nest box early with fresh hay so she can start the pre-kindling activity that is so typical of does. The doe's energy needs an outlet, and frantic nest building is it for cage-bound rabbits.

I have constructed deep nesting drop boxes, 24" x 7" x 7", to allow for lots of hay digging, and also so the does can find the perfect spot to remake and rearrange hay to their heart's content.

Here is Gretel, nose deep in her nest. Making plans, I am sure!

Cleaning and Fall Breeding Plans
Topic: Breeding

Clean, clean clean....it's all I do right now. I've bleached and blasted every surface I can in the barns to get them into shape for the fall breeding season. After using the same space for almost 10 years, there are spots that needed it desperately! Yesterday was quite nice for barn work, and so I swept and cleaned even more.

All the cages have been outside in the sun for almost a week and I think on Monday I will move them back in. We are due for one more week of humid weather, and then a Canadian cold front is predicted to drop in, which will be nice for all of us.

I have been chatting with potential parent rabbits while I have been cleaning to see if I can pick up on their vibes. Gretel and Liebchen, who have been this route MANY times, are somewhat detached from any commitment, but Gretchen, who is new at this, seems delighted with the potential activity. As does Zwart, who had a few opportunities last spring but wasn't too eager for some of them. Neo is always ready, but he is on hold while I get his fur mites under control, and will be out of the breeding game until later in the Fall when the Ivermectin now in his system wears off.

The first breeding will probably be in 2 weeks, and I suspect I will try Liebchen, Gretel and Zwart. Two weeks later, Gretchen and Zwart. Breeding in the Fall is somewhat dependent on the viability of the buck's sperm, and if he has been affected by the heat of the summer, it can take 6 weeks for him to be fertile again. This first go-round will probably be too soon, but we'll give it a try.

Breeding Rabbits and Heat
Topic: Breeding

A question was asked about how late to breed outdoor rabbits with the heat of the Summer coming. The answer depends on a few things.

First of all, heat doesn't have to affect late Spring (here in the northern hemisphere) breedings as long as the management of the doe is good and the weather is not brutal. Since we can't predict the weather, we have to assume it will be brutal. In that case, you need to have an alternate cool place for the doe to kindle and spend the first week or so with her kits. That's the easiest way to answer the question.

So, what does heat do that is so bad?

First of all, it put a tremendous strain on the doe. Dealing with the heat AND growing pre-born kits will make her cranky and she may go off feed. Pregnant rabbits that do not eat and drink well can develop toxic symptoms within a day or two and die. The last week of pregnancy is a poor time for things to get bad. You will want all conditions benevolent during those 7 days. I have lost 2 does that stopped eating during pregnancy and it was hot. Does that slow down on food intake need to be fed carefully and with apetizing fresh foods to keep them from developing toxemia. Once the kits are born, does get naturally hungry in order to produce milk, then things return to normal, but in the interim each day is a challenge.

Heat increases the incidence of flies and bacteria. Back in the 90's, I lost 3 newly born litters during the heat due to bacterial invasion. And it happens very quickly and to large litters. I remember one litter of 13 French babies. ALL were fawn or creme (they were beautiful!). The temp hit 92* (and stayed there) when they were 6 days old. They developed diarrhea and started dying in 24 hours. Over the next week all but 2 from that litter were gone.

Heat causes a temporary sterility in older bucks for several weeks after the heat spell. I plan to have all my breedings done by June 1, for that is when the heat CAN start up here. We usually don't see weeks of 90* until July, but a few serious days of 90* can theoretically disrupt your breeding plans. So, keep the breeding bucks cool as long as you can while you work into the late Spring.

That said, I have two final early Summer litters I am waiting on. The first is Liebchen, who is pictured above. She is due on July 2, but last time went 5 days past her date, so we'll see. She has had two false pregnancies this spring, so she may not have taken. Next year, at age 5, I will be sorry to retire her. When she was 6 months old, she stripped every shred of fur off her body to make a nest after the rabbit in the NEXT cage was bred. This doe loves being a mother. And, after much soul searching, I bred Grindle. She is VERY young, but if she does not take this Spring, or has a bad experience with her litter, she will be much more mature this Fall and will kindle well then. She seemed ready, and weighs 9 pounds already, so is very close to her full adult weight. I am feeding her carefully, for she is still growing and needs lots of extra calories.

At the end of the day, I very much like to breed in March, April and May and then again in September, October and November, although the heat of the late Summer can interrupt the bucks' abilities. I plan to be home for a full week before and 3 weeks after the bunnies are born, to keep an eye on things. Sometimes my teaching schedule interferes with breeding season and I have to rearrange my plans accordingly.