Random Pictures.

These are a few of my favorite animal pictures from around Mom's farm.

my kitty who lives at Mom's

our goat play ground

one of these is not like the other

Our Great Pyrenees Sara

Callie watching the koi fish

Cujo at the pond

My goal for this weekend is to do some rabbit chores. We had company last weekend so I don't feel I accomplished what I needed to. I will probably be adding Sub Zero and a broken chestnut buck to the sales page. We simply have too many bucks and even more coming up!

Good luck and safe travels to those attending the Neosho show!

Melanie

Kid Watch.

Spring is fast approaching! The days are getting longer and warmer and that means baby goats!! We bred the does to be due around mid March. There is nothing quite like baby goats bouncing around the pasture! To help pass the time, here's some of our 2008 kids!

nap time

I see you

watcha eatin'?

hey, where's our lap?

that's better

Bowl O' Kid

Bucket O' Goat
[bucket may not be available in your area]

don't wanna share

Oh the excitement!

Melanie

Rollercoaster Ride.

Whoever said ‘breed like rabbits’ obviously didn’t know what they were talking about.

The dwarfs are my never ending rollercoaster ride. I have struggled and struggled with them. I have purchased - well I don’t even want to think about how many - we’ll say countless does and most all of them never produced one litter for me. We’ve tried the hay diet, corid, switching feed, cutting back on feed, AVC, more light, moving them outside and a few other tricks and tips. We’ve bred does 10+ times before giving up and sending them with the cull man. I sometimes think the word got out that I am a dumping ground for bad does. In all honesty, it’s been heart breaking.

I have been to the point of selling them all numerous times. Mom has been there every time to encourage me to continue on and push forward.

Raising rabbits is not easy and I don’t know of any breeder [backyard or top] that doesn’t go thru the highs and lows of getting babies / not getting babies.

This hobby is a rollercoaster ride. Think about it, every rollercoaster has a high point which thru a series of twist and turns, ups and downs takes you back down to the landing spot on level ground. The key I guess is getting to the end of the ride and saying, heck yeah let’s do it again!

Right now I’m standing on the platform looking up trying to decide if I want to ride the ride one more time.
Melanie

Meshing.

We've worked with one line almost exclusively in our hollands. I'm very happy with it [THF Saynora] and would highly recommend them any chance I get.

We recently added a trio from Coin/Nelson into the mix. Meshing lines can be scary. You usually don't know how the two lines will mesh, what new flaws will pop up and what you're going to mess up that you already like in your herd. I think the key when bringing in something new is to remember what you were trying to fix and keep only those with the strongest of those traits. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

It took a bit to get one of the does going, but we finally have babies out of the cross.

Pictured below are the litter out of Lil' Bit Farms Logan x CN's J1. A black doe, broken black doe and a sable point buck. Finally some does =D

Is there anything cuter than baby hollands? I don't think so!!

Melanie

Playing Favorites.

If it ever came down to it I don't think we could never really 'sell out'. I have my favorites.

Zero. That irreplaceable mug. Zero doesn't really overly beg for attention but he likes it just the same. He tolerates me toting him around the barn like a rag doll while rubbing that big fat forehead of his. He loves arms.

Lil' Bit Farms Zero

Zalia. Such a cute face. Zalia is Zero's litter sister. She loves being a mom. She's always at the front of her cage waiting for you to check her babies and to get the 'atta boys' that come along with it. Her babies have the *best* personalities and are extremely affectionate like her.

Lil' Bit Farms Zalia

Zoyia. aka Julie's bunny. Zoyia is Zalia's daughter. Yes, she has that *best* personality. She too loves being a mom and passes on her wonderful personality. Out of all the does she's the most vocal and demanding with her attention seeking. She loves to be held and snuggled.

Lil' Bit Farms Zoyia

Cheyenne. The doe that did us proud. Cheyenne did very well for us on the tables but won our hearts in the down time between shows. She loves her people and will mash her face and nose in between the wire vying for attention. Cheyenne is on her second litter, 3 and 2 foster dwarfs, and is doing a fantastic job. At the time of her first breeding she was #6 Top Lop but we felt she was more needed in the breeding program than on the show tables. By the looks of her first born, it was a wise decision on our part!

Lil' Bit Farms Cheyenne

Laramie. My favorite bunny. Laramie was a shy youngster, when his door was opened he'd stomp and run to the corner of his cage. We almost lost Laramie and it took a lot of prayer and nurturing to pull him thru. At the time when I needed it most, he took Zinn's spot as my Luv Bun. When I walk into the barn in the morning Laramie spins around and in one leap is at the front of his cage buzzing for his morning head/cheek rub. If I'm half asleep and walk by, the buzzing turns into grunting and frantic pacing. It works every time! I never thought bunnies could be jealous, but I swear Laramie is. Laramie has been our winning-est holland and best producing buck too.

Lil' Bit Farms Laramie

Don't forget to spend some quality time with your bunnies this weekend =)

Melanie

This and That.

Wow, where did that 3 day weekend go?!

We had 3 litters and have 3 more does due, all hollands! Maybe the hollands are trying to take over the barn :0 Oh no wait, there is one dwarf due! Yippee!

Saki, Dilemma and Rosita's kits are all starting to venture from their nest boxes. I honestly never thought I'd see babies in Saki and Dilemma's cages. Both are enjoying being mothers and can be seen thru out the day grooming away on their youngsters. Both Saki and Dilemma's surviving kits are bucks while the fosters are all does. Both does are out of Bear bred back to Bear. Hmmm, never realized all that until now.

I have been terribly busy with non rabbit related work and am now behind with my rabbit chores. Please bear with me as I try to catch up! I have emails to answer, does to breed/palpate, juniors to wean, pictures to take and a sales list to try and start / finish! Oh and cages to clean!

My favorite bunny, Laramie as a junior

-thankful it's almost Friday

Melanie

Sub Zero's Kits.

Our little Sub Zero x Jeanie kits are growing! I love the color in this litter. I would love them even more had the buck to doe ratio been at least 50/50, lol. Sigh, 3 bucks and 1 doe.

I've already labeled one as feisty.

And sneaky.

Almost.

There. All 4 of 'em.

The color on the two solids is so intense. Had I been thinking I would have used a different ground cover to shown them off more.

Have fun and safe travels to those attending the Abilene show!

Melanie

Hail!

Thank you to those that emailed and phoned to make sure we made it thru the storm!

We're all OK!

The large hail made quite a noise on the tin barn but the rabbits weathered just fine, no one stressed or freaked out. Cheyenne kindled 3 healthy babies in the midst of it all. She's still very grouchy and growly, but I think she'll be fine in a day or two.

Melanie =)

Blue Tort Race.

I just realized I have 3 (three) upcoming blue tort bucks! All worth growing out IMO. All 3 are bred different. All 3 have their own look.

SwaggerLee. What a sweet heart! Zalia's kits are the most personable! Strengths: head, bone, short body, PERSONALITY. Weaknesses: ears, very small, personality - yes, he has a hard time focusing

Un-named Cheyenne buck. He's just now starting to look like something worth hanging on to. I don't think we've had a youngster with this short of ears at the height of uglies. Usually they are below jawline, his aren't. Strengths: poses well, ears, promising head, promising body. Weaknesses: to young to really know, at this stage maybe needs more bone

Un-named Laramie kid. Strengths: major cute factor. Weaknesses: way to young to tell, but did I mention he's oh so cute

Time will tell who makes the cut, but for now I'll enjoy watching them grow and hope for the best. That's part of the fun, seeing who blossoms into the next winner.

Melanie

BUDs

I love a good brood doe! I think they are probably the most under rated essential item in a good rabbitry.

My personal preference is to buy brood stock and try and make our own show rabbits. From the email requests I get it seems it's about a 60/40 split between people wanting a 'good show doe' versus a quality brood doe.

IMO even a brood doe should have her good qualities, so not every doe in our barn is labeled as 'brood' and either put into production or sold as such.

Our best producing holland doe would have to be, THF Saynora's Rosita. Man, I love that doe. Her offspring have done awesome for us on the show tables and I'm hoping that her kids will step up and do us proud in producing the next generation of LBF bunnies. Cheyenne will technically be the first. Cheyenne's first litter was a single, a blue tort buck [pictured in post below]. So far I like him but he's only 9 weeks old. I talk about Rosita a lot, so here she is.

THF Saynora's Rosita [pictured on a litter of 4]

Even with um a few litters under her belt her strengths are evident in these pictures. She has a good natural pose, depth of body and short bone. Rosita will retire here with us ;)

It's always important to remember 'where you came from'. Everyone had to start somewhere and the start you get IMO makes or breaks new breeders. Do your research and choose wisely.

Melanie

Uglies.

Our line of hollands definitely goes thru a gangly awkward stage. It usually starts at around 6 weeks and lasts until 9-10 weeks and then they start to pop. Once narrow faces start to get cheeks and foreheads. They become chunky again. I know quite a few breeders who cull when they wean, we couldn't do that. We have to have a bit of patience and a few empty cages on the bottom row.

Case in point, Cheyenne's first baby. Man was he a cute baby! Something happened at around 4 weeks, it's like he got beat with the ugly stick. *How bad was he? Bad bad. His once cute loppy ears went straight up. And wow his face. It was so narrow and uuugly. Poor Cheyenne, I didn't have the heart to tell her.

Because he was Cheyenne's first and Rory's only, he got weaned and put in a bottom cage. A week later while feeding I discovered he was starting 'the change'.

His cheeks popped and his ears dropped again. I'd forgotten how cute his ears were while they were sticking straight up!

Mom keeps telling me I need to take pictures while they are at this stage, and she's right. Most people wouldn't believe me if I told them what 'so and so' looked like at that stage. I really need to do that with our next ugly duckling.

If you're just starting out in rabbits it's important to learn how your line develops! Don't be in a hurry to cull out your first litters. Some lines mature slowly and only get better with age. Others seem to peak at 4-5 months and go downhill from there.

*3 bonus points or a gold star to those who recognize this quote and where it came from

Melanie

More Babies.

Two of our new does from Katie kindled yesterday/last night, two more to go! They both had very nice sized litters, 4 and 5 all very healthy. The 4 are our first THF Saynora's Zayden babies, who I need to try and get pictures of. Wonder how his molt is coming?

Unfortunately we lost one of Dilemma's kits =( She still has one and two foster babies. With it being mid-winter, it could have been a lot worse.

Dilemma - getting ready for babies

-

Saki's babies are growing and getting fur, so exciting! I can't wait until these babies are out of the box and running around!

Saki's two and a foster baby

I'm really wanting to get some black silver marten dwarfs. If you have or know of someone that will have a few nice ones for sale, I'd love to hear from you. We will be attending a few local shows, ND Nationals and Ohio Mini Convention/JW Nationals.

Melanie

Stats.

Here are our current litter stats:

Holland:
confirmed bred - 7
on litter - 9
due - 5

Netherland Dwarf:
confirmed bred - 2
on litter - 4
due - 2

Jersey Wooly:
on litter - 3
- I only have 3 does!

Baby Counts:
holland - 29
dwarf - 28
wooly - 6

All this is from memory so I may be off a tad. And yes, this means our barn is very full right now!
We might be selling a couple proven does and/or juniors as cage space is needed.

I made our reservations for Dwarf Nationals and JW Nationals, how exciting!
Melanie

Cute, I has it.

Wow is all I can say about Dilemma's upcoming buck. Hot Fuzz is the name I've given him.

Another upcoming cutie! He's out of Laramie and THF Saynora's Zebrina. He's one of 4 bucks in the litter, thanks Zebrina! I hope he continues to impress me as he matures and develops.

An upcoming REW doe.

Dilemma just kindled 2 healthy babies. Rosita had 4. J1 had 3, pretty good for a first time doe! Tamara is nesting now. =D I love new babies and all the excitement they bring as the grow and develop!

Melanie