Deja Blue

-
I am both sad and happy to announce that Deja Blue will probably be going to a new home in May.
-
-
Deja Blue came from a litter of 3 bucks by THF Saynora's Tipsy and Lil' Bit Farms Zalia. I liked the whole litter and was having a hard time choosing between the three boys, Topsy Turvy, Swagger Lee and Deja Blue.
-

-

This decision became a whole lot easier when I was approached by a breeder wanting to apply for the Certificate of Development for the blue point. How exciting! I have always loved the blue points. I hope Deja Blue can contribute to their program and I wish them the best of luck in this adventure!!

-

Oklahoma is supposed to get an awful snowstorm this weekend. I wonder if the rabbit show has been cancelled?

-

Melanie

Whew.

-
I spent the weekend taking new photo's and updating the website. Finally.
-
Feel free to take a look, www.lilbitfarms.net

Melanie

Results May Vary.

-
Hollands and Dwarfs don't breed true. You can breed the same buck to the same doe four different times and get four different results. It's fascinating.
-
I've tried to recreate Zero multiple times, with no success. I guess he's a one of a kind. Zero is out of THF Saynora's Zinn x Saynora's Cupcake (a four-year-old doe who currently has a litter by Lane!)
-
Meet Lil' Bit Farms Zinc.
-
-
He's THF Saynora's Zinn x Saynora's Cupcake too.
-
-
Zinc is pictured just shy of his first birthday.
-

-
He's no Zero, but I mean that in a good way. Zero is a tiny buck that needs more body mass to balance that honking head of his. Zinc is a massive buck with a massive head. Same cross, different results.
-

-
Always try and remember that patience is a key ingredient to raising rabbits. Don't cull out a buck or doe based on the results (good or bad) of just one litter. Results will vary!

-

Zinc's results from Duncan, 1 Best of Breed, 1 Best Opposite Sex of Breed, 1 Best of Variety. Congrats Mom =D

-

Happy Friday

Melanie

Blue Tort Race Part 2b.

Blue tort #3. Cheyenne x Rory.
-

-
I don't have good pictures of him yet, but wanted to finish the update.

-

We showed this guy at triple show in Duncan this past weekend. He placed 1st, 1st and 2nd. In one show he went on to win Best Solid! Nice consistency!

-

He poses well. I like his head and ear, but like most of ours, I wish I could push his crown more forward. His body type is pretty nice but wished he had a touch more shoulder width. He's still got a lot of filling out to do, so for now he stays =)

He needs a name, any suggestions?
-
Melanie

Blue Tort Race Part 2a.

-
Remember this guy...
-
-
Blue tort #2. Laramie x Zebrina. Around 10 weeks old. He's now officially in his ganglies. I'll try to call it that from now on, I've been told they are not uglies.
-

-
I am iffy on his body at this stage, but I've learned it's better to have a little patience than to cull to soon. He does have a nice full rump. His fur is weirdly dense and short. I hope it molts out.
-
-
One thing I do like about this guy is his bone and front end. He's already got quite a chest! I can see the potential in his head and ear, his cheeks are starting to think about popping.
-
According to Wikipedia:

The development of pearl farming:
Today, almost all pearls used for jewelry are cultured by planting a core or nucleus into pearl oysters. The pearls are usually harvested after one year for akoya, 2-4 years for Tahitian and South Sea, and 2-7 years for freshwater.
-
I've always said I'd rather our rabbits take a little bit longer to mature and continually get better than to have them peak at 3-4 months and fall apart from there.
--
Good luck and safe travels to those attending the Duncan show. I hope to see you there =D
Melanie

Blue Tort Race Part 2.

Here is an update on Swagger Lee, we'll call him blue tort #1. Tipsy x Zalia. He's 5 months old in these pictures and he weighs a whopping 2.06. Sigh, I have dwarfs bigger than him.
-
-

-

I really like his front end.
-

-

He's got a nice short body.
-

-
I LOVE his head. Even though he may be too tiny to ever compete, I really like this guy. I'm anxious to use him on some bigger does and see what he produces.

-

I've decided to try and show him this weekend. He'll have to compete with the much larger juniors, but we'll see.

-
I'll post pics of blue tort #2 tomorrow.

Melanie

Fort Worth Results.

Dad and I attended the Fort Worth show this last weekend. What a big barn! This show always runs smoothly and efficiently. Good job guys!

-

Dad showed the hollands for me while I registered a few rabbits. He seemed to enjoy it but did comment that it 'was easier just waiting for the phone call'. Thanks Dad! =D You did a great job.

-

Here are the condensed results:

-

Show A Dwarfs:

a ton of 2nds

-

Show B Dwarfs:

Lil' Bit Farms Kodiak - BOB and BIS!!

-

-

Show A Hollands:

Lil' Bit Farms Laramie - BOV

unsure of the other placements

-

Show B Hollands:

Lil' Bit Farms Laramie - Best Broken and BOB

Lil' Bit Farms ? (broken otter) - Best Opposite Broken and BOS

Lil' Bit Farms Jinger (orange) - Best Solid

-

Dwarf Specialty:

Lil' Bit Farms Slick - Best of Breed

Lil' Bit Farms Sienna - Best Opposite

-

The awards are simply awesome, hand drawn by Jennifer Hoover and mounted on slate from a historic Texas home. It was a good size show with a large number of very nice animals. I feel overwhelmed, honored and lucky to have done so well.

-

-

I tried to get a decent shot of Slick and Sienna together with their awards. It didn't last long. Slick had um other ideas.

So here they are individually...

Lil' Bit Farms Slick

Lil' Bit Farms Sienna

Thank you to the judges and the show staff!

Hope to see y'all in Duncan

Melanie

Sahara Kit.

Nestled in with a holland lop litter, I found this:


Sahara and LB37's first kit. A little otter buck.


I admit most babies are cute at this age, but some seem to have an extra bit of cuteness.

While I do enjoy playing with, posing and taking pictures of my young ones, it is done purely for fun. I would never dream of evaluating and deciding who to keep or sell at this tender age. No rabbit leaves our barn under 8 weeks old, ever.

-

Each rabbit has a folder on my laptop and I enjoy going back thru the pictures and watching them grow from a baby up to the present date. A digital camera is a very important part of my record keeping.

It's hard to believe, but Dwarf Nationals is next month! I've got my eye on a couple, including a few upcoming juniors! More on that in another blog.

Melanie

Pedigrees.

To some a pedigree is just a piece of paper meaning nothing, if you like the rabbit before you then that's all that matters.

To some a pedigree is very important. All info on it is complete and without it said rabbit is worthless. A complete pedigree is needed to register and obtain a grand champion certificate, not only on that rabbit but two generations of their offspring as well.

I admit I like to have a pedigree, I do some of my breeding based on what is genetically behind that rabbit, 3rd generation for example. Hollands and dwarfs don't breed true so it's nice to know what's back there.

Regardless of how you feel, it is an important part of the selling process of a rabbit. You wouldn't want to buy a car without a title, right? As a seller you should be prepared with pedigree all printed and ready to give to the buyer at time of sale/pick up. If the rabbits are being shipped/transported the pedigrees should be mailed in a timely manner.

Not receiving pedigrees and having to beg/plead/hint for months to get them makes the buyer feel like the bad guy and I don't think that's right.

We use and highly recommend Evans Rabbit/Cavy Software. Evans is a wonderful program that keeps track of litters, entries, due dates, sales lists, pedigrees and so much more! I sometimes wonder how we managed before it! No more hand writing pedigrees!

Oh that reminds me, I'm off to print pedigrees for our sale rabbits for the upcoming show!

Melanie