Lots of Change.

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There’s been quite a change in our barn lately. Most all of the dwarfs have been sold and picked up. It took less than a week. We have one otter buck left for sale, not sure why he’s the last to go, he was probably the best upcoming buck we had. I’m going to try and update his pictures soon. We didn’t show him much as a junior and not at all as a senior. If he continues to hang around we’ll probably take him to a show or two and see how he does.
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We have empty cages everywhere. It’s odd to see Hollands in every nook and cranny, lol.
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I have three days hotel pre-paid for ND Nationals that we’re no longer going to need. Because I paid well in advance I got a good rate and it’s a nice newer hotel very close to the show site. Please email me for more info if you’re interested in it. Asking exactly what it cost me.
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It’s been too cold (for me) to think about taking pictures or making a HL sales list. I know we have a few that are ready to go but brrrrrr.
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Next week we have thirteen does due. Thirteen! These will include Mom’s first tri litters! How exciting that’s going to be :D
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Not much else going on.
Melanie

NTOP Show

Mom and I attended the NTOP Seward show this last weekend. This show is one of our favorites! Good friends and good competition!
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Because Dilemma was in between litters and looking pretty good she went with us. She won a double Best of Breed :) The second judge made the comment "I'm pretty sure she has 10.5% color". LOL!
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I'm happy with our holland placements too. Cha~Ching won his first Best of Breed and Shay won a double Best Opposite Sex of Breed. My little Cheyenne daughter, I'm so happy! I need to update her pictures.
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We'll be attending the Duncan OK show this weekend and will have quite a few dwarfs for sale there.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Melanie

PS

Congratulations to everyone that attended Convention this year! Win or lose the amount of money, dedication and hard work that goes into this hobby is to be commended!
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ND Open results:
Best of Breed: Joan/Maci Zier – Broken Sr. Doe
Best Opposite Sex of Breed: Coin/Nelson – REW Sr. Buck
Best Junior of Breed: Coin/Nelson – Black Otter Buck
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ND Youth results:
Best of Breed: Andy Rieman – Otter Sr. Buck
Best Opposite Sex of Breed: Sarah Bobart and Scott Graham – REW Doe
Best Junior of Breed: Christie Abrams – Black Buck
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HL Open results:
Best of Breed: Jennifer Poprawski – Solid Senior Doe
Best Opposite Sex of Breed: Linda Jinnings – Broken Senior Buck
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HL Youth results:
Best of Breed and BEST IN SHOW!!!: Aislin Hall – Solid Senior Doe
Best Opposite Sex of Breed: Kelly Pedrotti - ? Buck
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See you in Minnesota!
GO VIKINGS

A house divided.

Or should I say barn?
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Mom and I are so different sometimes. I prefer the hollands and fuzzies, she likes the dwarfs and woolies. We’ve discussed getting a bigger more commercial breed, do you feel a but coming? She wants mini rex and I want mini satins. Technically we don’t have room for either but sometimes it is fun to play around and learn more about different breeds. The woolies were supposed to be that project. There are still a few left in the barn. I can’t help it I got attached to them.
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Sometimes our differences help in the evaluating and culling. Mom is a head and ear person and I’m all about the body. When we get a rabbit we both agree on it’s usually pretty well balanced. Having a second opinion on your herd is always a good idea. Too many breeders get barn blind or only judge their herd by what they compete with locally. It’s always good to think outside the box or in this case your showing area.
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Mom and I travel outside our area a lot and we truly enjoy it. Going to these shows helps us realize the weaknesses and sometimes strengths in our herd. I’ve heard breeders make the remark similar to the fact that they couldn’t find faults with a particular animal and/or herd. Seriously?! Maybe you should get out more. Travel outside your comfort zone and see what others are bringing to the table. Sometimes it’s a real eye opener to what’s really lacking. Please note, you do have to be honest with yourself! I'll admit to coming home from a show and wanting to cull cull cull!
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It seems I’ve rambled on with no clear direction or conclusion, but it’s Friday afternoon and that’s all that really matters.
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A few pictures for the reason for this topic to begin with…
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Sigh,

Melanie

Cha~Ching.

Here he is, the little buck that I talked about in an earlier post.

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Mom and I are really excited about him. We've been really struggling with ears and crowns so I hope this guy is the start of a lot of change in our herd.

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I was able to get our Evans up and running with only a little updating! What a relief. I've also got everything loaded back onto Mom's computer and can start working on the website again. YAY!

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:) Melanie

Small Talk.

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Due to a series of computer issues, both mine and Mom's, our rabbit picture taking, website updating and Evans input is not happening. I'm hoping we have these issues resolved soon. Blah.
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Until we get things straightened out I'll post anything we have for sale on the blog.
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Holland Lop - Keep's ChaCha, 1 BOSV leg
broken siamese sable doe
We're keeping 2 siamese sable does and a broken smoke pearl buck out of her. Good mother. Goes back to THF Saynora's Zinn.
Pictures not available at this time.
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Melanie

Slips, trips and falls. Only you can prevent them!

Avoiding Slips

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There is something so unattractive about a long folded eared slipped crown Holland, yet you see it all the time. I really can’t say much, this hazard has been the hardest for us to avoid.

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Contributing Factors
· Judges that only look at the Holland with their hand wrapped around the head
· Not enough good examples to remind us it needs work too
· Bad crown and ears being labeled as an easy fix
· Because this type of Holland still wins some breeders aren’t as apt to want to work on it
· Nice(r) bodies outweighing the other issues
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Preventing trips in your rabbitry!
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We’ve all witnessed this horror at one time or another. Chatting amongst other Holland breeders and watching the judging, when all of the sudden WHAM, a dip so bad you could trip on it.

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Contributing Factors
· Certain style of over posing that really masks this flaw
· Labeled as an easy fix
· Perhaps seen as the ‘lesser of two evils’?
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How do falls happen?
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Falls are a reoccurring problem. You see someone posing up a really nice Holland but every time they remove their hand from its chin it slumps back down to the carpet.

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Contributing Factors
· Incorrect build for a naturally upright stance.
· Breeder(s) excuse the rabbit as being ‘lazy’.
· Judges holding a Holland (by their head) up off the table with the front feet literally not touching the table while examining them.
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Why is the prevention of slips, trips and falls important?
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Each of these disasters have been labeled as ‘easy fixes’. But are they really? I think if that were the case they wouldn’t be so prominent in our wonderful breed.
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I believe Mom said it best when she said, ‘we all have the same goal in mind it’s just that each breeder tolerates different flaws to get there.’
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Happy Friday
Melanie

Greensboro NC.

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Mom and I went to a show in Greensboro NC this last weekend. Yes, North Carolina. Yep, it was quite a drive - a very pretty drive!
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It was beautiful even if it rained the whole time! I could move there, really I could.
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Our rabbits fared pretty well at the show, very well in my opinion. It was a two day drive down and we took very young seniors and molty juniors so I wasn't expecting anything. We ended up with quite a few top 5 placements (!!!) but the highlight was winning a couple classes and a Best Opposite Sex of Breed with a solid junior doe! Congrats to Tracy and Jenna for their TRIPLE BEST IN SHOW with THF Saynora's Abe, a rabbit I wanted to pocket pretty badly. He is awesome. Congrats to Jenny for her double BOS (HL), Garrett for his triple Best of Breed with Lil' Bit Farms Tazz (ND) and Brendan for his double BOB and a BIS with Lil' Bit Farms Yogi (youth ND), and to Kristen for her double BOB with Keep's Tyron (JW)!
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We had a really good time at this show. It was great to see our long distance friends again!
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Thank you to Kristen and Tim for putting up with us, err I mean putting us up.
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Oh, we also won an award for the furthest miles traveled! Woot woot! :)
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I officially have show fever. When is the next one??
Melanie

Brokens.

I took a few more junior pictures and posted them to the website. I have 3 broken dwarfs due soon and I'm anxious to count spots on these litters. So far most my brokens have been charlie/lightly marked. I think Mom finally found a decent broken buck to work with, both in pattern and type. Funny thing, she found him in our barn. We had put him 'up' to grow off and recently pulled him out to re-evaluate. He's not too bad, something I think we can work with. He's less than 5 months old and just starting to develop.
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Pictured below is my sweet doe that I talk of often, Zoyia. She's keeping Mason busy for us.

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We have a rabbit show this weekend, yay! This one should be a fun and exciting adventure.
Melanie

It's begun.

I went thru and added to the website all the Holland Lop pictures I have taken over the last few months. I was surprised to find I had periodically taken the same rabbits out and photographed them and had not posted any of them. So every couple of months I had updated pictures of the same rabbits. Going thru all those pictures gave me a good reminder not to get so far behind again.

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I still have quite a few Hollands that I'd like to get new or updated pictures of. Molts is going to hinder that process. I had really wanted updated pictures of Laramie and Zero but they are currently in a worst molt race. Zero is winning hands down.

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This morning I worked on updating the JW page with the few I have left, almost done.

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After that I'll start working on the Dwarf pages. Mom finally has a few promising does and bucks coming up and the does are in high production gear. It's been so long.

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Below is one of my favorite bucks Hunter. He just turned senior.

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I am expecting Hunter's first litter by Azalia soon. I am very excited. Azalia is a very nice full bodied doe out of my sweetie Zoyia.

Happy Labor Day!

Melanie

Molts, molts and more molts.

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If you see us at Duncan this weekend with not much to show, here's the reason why...
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Practically everything in the barn is molting. Seniors and juniors alike. All molting. Thanks guys!
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Have you ever found a junior that gives you goosebumps? I did this morning. I'm almost afraid to get too attached to him he's so promising. We've never had such a correct crown placement before. It's simply awesome. He of course is in his first head molt and his head is absolutely exploding! His fur is already nice, even as a baby. He's smoother than butter from shoulder to lower hind quarter. I am simply in awe. I'm praying he continues on this way of course. Pictures of him are coming soon.
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Below is an updated picture of our Hot Fuzz baby. The cute is irresistible!

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Until next time,

Melanie

Random Thoughts.

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This last weekend we got caught up on tattooing juniors. It's been awhile so I felt like we did 54327865 of them. While going thru them I found several really promising juniors, in both breeds. After a few tedious months of culling and selling I felt my bunny spirits lift again.
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pre-head molt junior doe

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I have started taking pictures for a very large web update. I'm embarrassed to admit that some of them will skip the junior page and head straight to the senior pages. Has it really been that long since I've updated the site??
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After taking a few pictures I'm excited about the fall show season. So many new rabbits to put on the tables! I look forward to hanging out with my bunny friends too.
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It seems like I'm not alone in fussing about buyers. Kristen of Keep's Rabbitry made some more very good points on her blog. While you're reading blogs, be sure and check out the adventures of my favorite vienna marked dwarf Conkers and his pals.
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See you at the show tables soon!
Melanie

The End is in Sight.

Adorable black silver marten fuzzy holland!

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I feel like I've lived in the rabbit barn for the last 3 weeks. We have been culling and selling, culling and selling, culling and selling. At last I think the end is in sight.

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The sales page that was once down to one page is back up to three again. This should be the last of our big summer sale!!

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upcoming junior doe

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Thank you everyone!

Melanie

Buyers Beware?

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We’ve all heard the saying ‘buyer beware’ but what about the sellers? Selling rabbits has become my most dreaded chore in this hobby.
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Just within the last few weeks I’ve heard…
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I’ve got lots of really good things coming my way so I’m no longer interested in…
- Um OK thanks
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Should I be interested in _______ would you hold him for a couple months until I can transport?
- We’re not Wal-Mart, no layaways please
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Could you come down on this $50 or $75 rabbit?
- Seriously? I’ve seen bucks with bad teeth and 4 ½ lb brood does listed on other sites for $200. Are our prices that outrageous?
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Please don’t get mad and threaten to sell out of dwarfs because I don’t raise the color you’re looking for. I like otter so that’s what is in my barn. Mom has a small side of shaded, but it’s a very very small side. If I recommend another breeder please take it as a nice gesture on my part. I am trying to help.
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We’re not Pet Smart. I cannot fill your order. I know that sounds snarky but I really do raise rabbits for me. It’s my hobby. I do this to better the breed and have my own rabbits to show. I do not do this to make money or breed you a top of the line show rabbit. Yes, I can’t keep them all so from time to time we do put out a sales list. If we have something that you think will help your herd then GREAT! Selling stock helps pay the feed and showing bill and that's about all.
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Here’s another saying, ‘it takes all kinds’.
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To lighten this post, here's some cute. Meet our first Hot Fuzz baby!
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Melanie

Well I never...

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Mom and I were out piddling in the barn Monday evening. I was taking sale rabbit pictures and she was breeding a few does. About 5 minutes after using Zayden I looked over and noticed him going around his cage gathering all the loose hay up like a nesting doe would.
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I have never seen a buck do this before! I'm glad I had my camera handy.

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With everything else that has been going on I have not even attempted to update the website. Maybe soon...

Melanie

Culling Hard.

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Mom and I are continuing with our hard cull. It seems for every rabbit that goes a litter has to be weaned and/or separated! I didn't realize how abundant our summer litters really were until now. Wow.
I've added at least eight more to the sales page and am not sure we're done yet!
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We will be delivering rabbits to the Gardner Kansas show this weekend. Because of limited room in my new rabbit hauler we will only be taking pre-sold or inquired about stock. Please let me know if there is something you'd like to look at so I can try and fit it in. Thanks =)
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Melanie

Fostering.

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With the breeds we raise it is not uncommon to have to do some nest box juggling from time to time. There are many factors including small litter size, singletons, large litters, inexperienced does and over milking to name a few.
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We have never had a problem fostering babies and even older kits. Here are just three examples.
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A friend had a wooled dwarf she wanted to give us. It was 4 weeks old at the time. We knew that we would not see each other for many months so it was at this show or never. It was decided to go ahead give it a try despite her tender age. We took her home and placed her with a Holland litter that was similar in age. I removed the mother for about an hour and let the babies bond. I replaced the doe and no one seemed to be the wiser.
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When my Cheyenne suddenly passed I had three 2 week old babies that needed fostering. I took one and gave it to a dwarf and the other two went to Dilemma. At first Dilemma seemed to know someone didn’t smell quite right so I took the kits and rubbed nesting material on them and put vet-r-x on Dilemma’s nose. By the next day they were one big happy family, double in size but happy.
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Kaylee, Mom’s favorite otter doe. She had a difficult delivery and only one kit survived. We decided to put the singleton in with Rosita’s litter and give Kaylee a wooly litter because I had sold the doe. Oh, did I mention that the wooly babies were 10-12 days old? Kaylee didn’t even bat an eye and accepted the large furry babies as her own. She seems very proud of her ‘over achievers’ who are already eyes open and running around.
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Don’t underestimate your does mothering instincts and their inability to count!
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Melanie

Summer Sale.

We're having one. I'm tempted to do a Buy One Buck Get One Buck Free sale. Why is the buck to doe ratio always so lop-sided??
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Anyways, we'll be going thru and thinning the herd quite a bit from our abundant summer litters. Watch for a list this weekend. We are thinking about the possibility of delivering to the Gardner Kansas show (August 2nd?) if anyone is interested.
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This morning it was 70 degrees out. What a nice nice change.
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Have a good weekend everyone!

Melanie

Uber Chunk.

Pictured below is a little doe out of Zayla and Zayden. What a chunk she is. These are the best pictures of her I could get, she tried nursing my hand the whole time, the little piggy! What a face she has.

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Below are Slicks first kids. 3 sable martens and 1 sable!
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Hot Fuzz babies!

-A few updated pictures of Cookie Doh. I love her! We repeated the breeding and now have 3 more blue torts! I hope at least one looks as nice as her.

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Melanie

-ps, have added a few hollands to the sales page and will probably be adding a lot more!

Wooly Dispersal Sale

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Sometimes life throws you curve balls. I'm selling my wooly herd. I am undecided on Dilemma and her son that I'm very attached to. Most all my does are on litters but I've made the list non the less. See our sales page for them.
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Thank you,
Melanie

No Way...

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Our orange doe Jinger kindled 4 DOA babies on day 28. I was disappointed. It took a little work to get Jinger going and at just over a year old this was only her 2nd litter. The 4 looked a little premature. I removed the nest box and went on. 3 days later Jinger kindled 8 more babies. Yes, 8 more for a total of 12 babies! No way. For those of you wondering Jinger is barely a 3 1/2 pound holland. Mom found them alive and healthy. There was only 1 peanut in the whole litter. Seriously, no way.
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I have 4 sable/sable martens in the box by Slick. Do I even need to mention that I'm excited?!
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I sexed my two wooly litters. A lot of bucks. I am excited that I finally have otters though, both blue and black. I've fallen in love with a blue otter doe and have high hopes for her even though she's too young to even know what her type will be.
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Melanie

Summer Break.

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We finally reached the summer lull for the show season. Whew. Our next 'planned' show isn't until mid-September. It'll be a journey for sure =) More on that when it's a for sure thing!
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We're still breeding heavy and I am so so grateful for our air conditioned barn. I do remind the bunnies almost daily how lucky they really are!
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Dilemma is being a wonderful foster mom to Cheyenne's two babies. They were about 2 weeks old and I was worried Dilemma wouldn't accept two already running around and nibbling on food kits. It seems I worried for no reason. They sit on her head to reach the feeder and line up with her for head rubs. If you didn't notice the loppy ears you'd never know they were adopted. What a good momma!

I am expecting my first litter of Hot Fuzz babies this week and I'm very excited!
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I am seriously behind on updating the site but I should be able to find the time now that summer is here! Lots of promising juniors to photograph!
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Stay cool, Melanie

A Sad Day.

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I have no words. I am so heartbroken.
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Rest in peace my beloved Cheyenne.

Cookie Doh.

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Wow, 25 babies born yesterday and today! 3 of which could be my first silver marten dwarfs! I am so excited!
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Pictured below is one of my favorite upcoming cuties. Unfortunately she cannot be shown due to a nest box injury, but I have no doubt she'll contribute greatly to the next generation of LBF bunnies!
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She is Lil' Bit Farms Boulder x THF Saynora's Cookie. I've named her Cookie Doh. She has a blue tort brother that is almost as cute. I seem to get a lot of blue tort bucks?!

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We attended the Seward show and had a blast! It was very nice to meet Becky S. and Amanda O. Even though they wouldn't give me their beautiful blue otter buck I still think they were nice and a whole lot of fun. I look forward to showing with them again soon!

Mom and I want to congratulate Philip and Brendan for their wins this last weekend!

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If memory serves me correctly Philip won Best of Breed (Lil' Bit Farms Cammie) and Best Opposite Sex of Breed (Lil' Bit Farms Frazier) in the A HL specialty show. I believe in the B show Philip won Best of Breed and Best Opposite Sex again, different doe same buck! Way to go Philip!

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Brendan won a double BOB and Reserve in Show with Lil' Bit Farms Yogi! Awesome job Brendan!

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Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Melanie

A Few Random Updates.

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Hollands:

We have quite a few litters of hollands now, even the hard to settle does are taking! We will have lots of orange bucks available soon, sigh. Due to the abundant litters Mom will be offering a few nice otter/otter project bucks and does. Including:

Carls Junior - our main herd buck and great producer , keeping his son to replace him

Kendra - placed 18th broken junior doe '08 Convention, proven good mother

^ either of these two would make a nice addition to an otter project!

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Dwarfs:

Lots of does settling and kindling, finally! I am still in the process of selling down (out?) of the ruby eyed whites. Most does have been sold and I will be going thru and adding the last of the juniors soon. My only black silver marten doe is bred to the buck I picked up at Nationals so hopefully I'll have BSM's in the nest box soon! This is my favorite color and I can't wait to expand them more!

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Woolies:

Dilemma is growing out of her puppy cut and looking oh so good! If she wasn't due next week I'd be tempted to show her again. Her head is amazing!

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Hot Fuzz adult coat is coming in fast and furious now. I'm excited to see what his final senior coat looks like! We've started using him on a few does and the excitement of Hot Fuzz babies is over whelming!
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I have four does confirmed bred and the other 3 are awaiting palpating. Hmm, those numbers seem a tad higher than my original plan of a trio/quad.

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Seward is this weekend! For those of you who have never attended, you are missing out! The holland numbers are HUGE! and the show staff is amazing! You should come!

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I have lots of updates planned for the website but so far I haven't found the time. It's been a busy busy summer.

Melanie

The Things You Hear at a Show.

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No, this isn’t going to be a gossip column =)
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I’ve been showing and taking comments for awhile now and yep I hear a lot. Some judges seem to run down a list:
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Good head
Good ears
Good type
Good color
-- and on to the next rabbit
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It’s almost the same comments on the same class of rabbits no matter what the breed. The 8th place rabbit receives about the same comments as the 1st place rabbit. Shouldn’t there be more to it than that?
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I’ve heard some off the wall comments too. For example, ever have a holland dinged for too much crown definition or too much bone for a junior? Or how about a dwarf with too deep of a chest or too open and thick ears? Yes, I’ve heard it.
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Other judges seem to base their comments on the breed they are judging. *gasp*
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For example;
natural depth of shoulder
placement of head on shoulder
crown definition and placement
thickness of ear
curvature of head
dips behind the shoulder
long in bone
bone structure
TOPLINE
round
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It’s amazing how the above list relates with the flaws and/or strengths of the Holland Lop and/or Netherland Dwarf but you rarely hear these comments given.
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While I won’t name the ‘too much crown’ judge I will name two judges that always comment on the above, Robert Caldwell and Connall Addison. I don't really want to seem bias to just these two judges, but I do feel they deserve Kudos.
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So, thank you guys for being in tune with our breed(s)!
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Melanie

JW Nationals.

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This last weekend I attended Jersey Wooly Nationals. Thank you to the show staff for a smooth and quick show! Having risers in each coop made check-in and check-out easy!
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I originally entered 2, an agouti junior buck [Hot Fuzz] and a doe to sale. At the last minute Mom talked me into bringing an agouti junior doe. The JW club actually let exhibitors do a late entry!
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Of the ones brought to show, here's how they placed:

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Nationals:
Agouti Junior Buck - 1st
Agouti Junior Doe - 1st
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M.J.W.F.C. Specialty show:
Agouti Junior Buck - 1st and BOSG
Agouti Junior Doe - 1st
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Congrats to Brian Caudill for not only winning BOB with a self senior doe but Best Agouti and Best Opposite Broken (now residing with Melanie of Lil' Bit Farms =) I'm sure Brian had other great placements, these are just the ones I remember lol! Thank you and congrats again!
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I am very proud of Hot Fuzz. I hope he continues to follow in his mothers footsteps!
Melanie

The Good, the Bad and the Broken.

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We made it home from dwarf nationals. Wow, what a trip.

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I could not get online to update a winners list and we neglected to put the memory card in our camera. It has a feature to notify you of this mistake but it was not working! Tons of pictures taken and no internal memory. >.<

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We only took 4 dwarfs. One of those should have stayed home, he was molting his head and naturally rec'd a No Place. I guess when you're driving that far and your entries are all ready paid for, we opted to take him anyways. Sienna placed 7th in the black senior doe class. Kodiak, our young and small otter senior buck placed 11th! He was slipping his coat so I was extremely pleased with his placement! Slick won his class! I was thrilled!

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Mom and I try very hard not to have does due and/or new litters while we are out of town. We made one mistake. We were so eager to breed our new broken blue dwarf after her quarantine period that we didn't think about her due date. We came home to find these:

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Our first decently marked brokens! I am so excited!
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Thank you Dad and Matt for doing our chores!

Mel

Baby Goats = Fun.

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I seriously cannot think of anything that is more fun to watch than baby goats. Their life is spent jumping, skipping, butting and playing king of the mountain on anything and everyone. No one is safe from king of the mountain. Brothers, sisters, other goats, their humans and even our Great Pyrenees Sara all have to patiently endure the game.

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Below is Montana with his momma Darla.

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Someone crown him King already!

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I will be taking my lap top to Dwarf Nationals and will try and post the show results!

Melanie

ARGH!

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3 days until we leave for Dwarf Nationals! 3 days!
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I am looking forward to catching up with far away friends.
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I am looking forward to finally meeting the friends I've never met.
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I am looking forward to browsing the rows and rows of dwarfs.
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I am looking forward to seeing the winners, all of them.
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I am looking forward to the fact that my Mom will get to go!
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I am looking forward to the fact that our dwarfs are still *not* molting!
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I am not looking forward to the drive there and back.
See you soon!
Melanie

New Website Feature.

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This morning I added something new to the sales page of our website. It is a notification feature maintained by ChangeDetection.

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Maintaining a waiting/notification list IMO turned into a frustrating ordeal and something I have said for quite a while that I was not doing. No matter how many times I politely told someone we don't do or have _____, the response was always 'save my email for when you do'.

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Most of these I classified as 'whim buyers'. They didn't really know what they wanted, a specific bloodline for example, but wanted to know when anything became available. Anything! Most of the time 'whim buyers' fill their barns after their first couple of shows they attended and no longer wanted to be notified of sales stock. I am hoping this new system works out well. There is no maintaining on my end! YAY!

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In baby goat news. The young doe, Kadee Dott, has accepted her role as mommy. Even though her baby was a single, I believe him to be the smallest we've had!

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On a very sad note (at least to me) the boy goats will be for sale. They are registered and can be sold intact or as wethers. Darla's baby boy is by far the most personable and outgoing. He is a total riot! Hanna's baby boy is cobby and stocky, but a little shyer. KDott's is the smallest, personality to be determined ;)

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This weekend's plans include building a junior cage, hay feeders and going thru and hopefully thinning the herd a bit. Our cages are FULL and as hard as it's going to be rabbit(s) need to be sold. We momentarily considered going to a show in Hutchinson Kansas but decided with two big shows coming up it'd be better to save our rabbits for those shows. Mom and I are firm believers in not 'over showing' our rabbits. Too many shows back to back can cause stressed bunnies and poor flesh condition.

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There is a chance of rain again this weekend, but I'm going to try and get updated pictures of the baby goats!

Melanie

Another Boy!

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Our last pygmy doe delivered today. We were worried about her because of her size and her age. She slipped under the fence at 8 months old and helped herself to the buck.
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She had one caramel boy with a little assistance. Both mom and baby seem fine, or so Mom tells me. Darn work!
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counting down the time until 5:00
Melanie

Time Flies...

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...when you're having fun.

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So much going on right now, it's been crazy. We have 4 adorable baby goats that have to be played with and spoiled. I had planned on taking updated pictures of them this weekend, but it's been raining!

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We have around 9 new holland and 4 dwarf litters. That's roughly 35 new kits! In the hollands we have lots of interesting colors coming up - opal, blue otter, orange, creme and broken black silver martens! Opal? Seriously?! Having new colors pop up is fun! They're getting right at that just-out-of-the-nest-box-cute age, so maybe pics of them soon!

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Pictured below is one of my hopefuls. He's roughly 10 weeks old, super smooth body with a cute head coming in.

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I don't know, just something about him I like already. His dam is a THF Saynora doe that came via California!
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Above is one of my favorite upcoming juniors. I've always liked him but he went thru a fur chewing stage. I am so happy to see his sides evening up with beautiful chestnut fur! Hopefully he'll make his showing debut at the Ohio Mini Convention! (no one tell him please!)
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It's so hard to believe that ND Nationals is less than two weeks now! My once primed favorite otter buck is showing signs of slipping his coat. Isn't this hobby FUN?!
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Melanie

Done!

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Today I'm sending off our entries for both ND Nationals and JW Nationals!
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We entered 5 dwarfs. The juniors did not cooperate at all with timing their molts, so alas no juniors to show! But hey, at least we finally have some right?!! We came up with ONE possible sale rabbit, a lilac Himalayan buck that I go back and forth on. I simply cannot decide on him.
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Wooly entries were so much easier. I did those in my head. Two juniors, Hot Fuzz and Jazz Hands.
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My next goal is to go thru the holland juniors and make a sales list. I know I have people waiting and I apologize but evaluating juniors in mid-molt is no fun. So, I keep putting it off while I watch and hope they finish soon! We will have 3 otter project seniors for sale at the Ohio Mini Convention. I will be putting them on the sales page soon.
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Today we give 8 nest boxes! How exciting! I love new litters and all the possibilities they bring.
Melanie

A Good Weekend.

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I had a good weekend. The weather finally cooperated for me and I got all the cages power washed. It's a tiring job but something I love to do.

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Our old goat Darla required a C-section. The vet was only able to save one of the twins, a dark caramel boy.

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This little guy has such personality! He's already claimed me as mine.
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Shortly after the trip to the vet my Hanna delivered triplets!!! One boy and two beautiful girls.

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I love baby goats, so expect to see lots more of them in the upcoming weeks =)
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This next week we have to decide on our National entries, both show and sale. Watch the sales page for available stock!=

Melanie