OFF TO CONVENTION:
Ilene and I are so excited to be meeting in Indy for convention! With only two of our Silver Fox competing, we will have lots of free time to visit with bunny friends from all over the country that we haven't seen in a few years. Plus, we will hopefully make contacts and new friends from among our three breeds. This is a buying trip for us with contacts already in the works to improve our stock. If you haven't already traveled to an ARBA convention, it is UNBELIEVABLE--seeing tens of thousands of rabbits in one venue, plus vendors galore, workshops of information, and bus trips to see the sites. I would encourage any rabbit breeder to attend! (I know that I will be unable to sleep the night before we leave!!!)
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Well the fall season is winding down and it seems that at its conclusion Mom and I have developed some spectacular Silver Fox in our breeding program. Quarry Ridge's Echo has won 4 legs, multiple BOB/BOS, and was barely edged out TWICE for Best 6 class. She is definitely a good representative of what Mom and I strive for in our Silver Fox. This show season our Foxes have been landing in the upper tiers on the show tables consistently, which means that our hard work with them is paying off.
As for news of our other two breeds: Hollands are hopping around in mass in our rabbitry. Each doe we bred in early fall has had a litter and those babies are now soon approaching weaning age. I'm finding it hard to evaluate Hollands as youngsters. They don't really grow into themselves until they are about 6 months old and even then they keep developing as they age into their senior type over their next few years. This of course makes it hard for me to see who I want to keep around and who I want to sell. The youngsters listed on the Holland page will be available at the PASARBA show in Lebanon, if not at an earlier show (if I find one!) Hotots are finally starting to produce. I am now in phase two of my breeding plan, which will be complete at phase four. I bred my "revolutionary" doe to Good Hope's Robert in hopes of putting DARK bands on its offspring. One kit has made it so far, and it is thriving! And, thank goodness, it has really DARK!!!! bands. This kit will be bred to one of my foundation stock in phase three, in order to pull out the good genes my herd carries. At phase 4 I will have my new rock of our herd, which will have the following characteristics: 1. Dark bands, appropriate size 2. A bold head 3. Thick, well furred ears 4. A high, muscular shoulder 5. A broad mid-section 6. A well-developed hindquarter 7. An ability to carry more kits (in does) 8. An apptitude to routinely breed despite climate or season I believe I can acquire each of these traits in the direction I am headed. I would like to see the breed improve beyond its current trend that I've seen on the show tables (any combination of poor shoulders, ragged bands, rough coat, rough hindquarters, big ears, poor heads, etc) in my district. There are breeders out there that I believe are in the right direction, however I strongly feel that Quarry Ridge can and will improve the Dwarf Hotot breed as a whole. We'll see! The MARCS Benefit show at the Lebanon Fairgounds in Lebanon, PA turned out to be a great success for us and some of our good friends, the Kahsay's. Our homebred Silver Fox junior doe, Funck's Echo, took Best Opposite Sex (that is basically reserve of breed for you newcomer's to the rabshow world!) both the day before at the Lebanon RBA show and at the MARCS show. We are very happy with her development and look forward to continue showing her.
The Kahsay's brought along their first string Hollands---Storm, Peyton, and Napoleon and did very well with them. Peyton went on to win Best of Variety (he was the best solid color), then he took Best of Breed, and THEN he posed quite handsomely for Best in Show. I believe he narrowly missed taking home top honors at the end of the day. The Kahsay's are just starting out their youth breeding program, and have excellent bloodlines to start with for their foundation stock. If you like THF SAYNORA Hollands, Heather and her boys have rabbits directly from Jenna and Tracey (Peyton is a THF SAYNORA buck). Please visit their site and email them for details on babies! Speaking of babies---FINALLY!!!! The results are thus: Camelot's Becca- 2 tort kits Camelot's Bibi- 2 orange kits Quarry Ridge's Rosetti- 1 surviving blue tort (her first litter and 1 lived!) THF SAYNORA's Tressemme is still due today/tommorrow. And we finally have Dwarf Hotot's coming in! Funck's Delia is pulling fur, Charity is about to pop...Funck's Gale and Jojo are soon due. So exciting! Mom and I met some fantastic Holland Lop youth breeders at the Bucks county show this past weekend. PJ's Pride Rabbitry (the Nosti's) have gorgeous Hollands and we are looking forward to working with them. I bought the only buck they had at the show, a Dewayne Scott bred tort buck (bah! I know, another tort) but I could not resist. This buck is the stockiest buck I have ever seen and his head rivals Kinney's in perfection. I cannot wait to breed him to everyone! In October, we are hooking up with the Nosti's to get some babies of their breeding. We can't wait! But as a consequence of pushing for excellence, we must say goodbye to some bunnies. Please visit our for sale page! We have some very nice bunnies that have color in their genes that could be a great addition to your breeding program!
Well the heat must have claimed my boy's boys. Only Helena, the seal Holland Lop had kits for me, but they were born dead. I am blaming the bucks. Well, I'm blaming the heat for taking away my boy's mojo. All the Holland does will be re-bred as soon as this current last (hopefully) heat wave passes by. At any rate, the beginning of October should give me nestboxes full of tiny Hollands!
On a better note, Funck's Giselle has two gorgeous kits in with her. They both have tiny block heads (thanks Applejack!) and nice eyebands. Both are presumably does and will be shown this winter as juniors. For you American Dwarf Hotot Club members out there, I hope you enjoyed your recent summer edition of Dwarf Hotot news! I was recently appointed as editor, and though there were some malfunctions with the issue, I hope it wasn't too bad! The fall edition will be mailed at the end of September, just in time so you can have some reading material for that long trip to Convention!
Hello cyberspace! Just wanted to give a quick shoutout to my new favorite feed for my Dwarf Hotots and Holland Lops: Purina Fiber3 pellets. If you have digestion problems, weight issues (over or under), and have trouble weaning kits from momma to pellets, give this low protein feed a try. You may have to order it from a feed store, but by golly it is worth every effort! I have had a 80% reduction in soft stool, my rabbits are still in good coat despite the heat (ok, Gerry and Cecila are molting messes, but they prefer their "numnum" Calf Manna over the Fiber3), and I haven't had any kits with soft stool---a major improvement! Hotot's constantly have digestion battles, and I've tried multiple feeds in the past with little success. My rabbits stay healthy, but their cages aren't the cleanest and when you raise white rabbits, cleanliness is key! Fiber 3 is worth the try, just saying!
*Carried at Clearbrook Feed and Supply in Clearbrook, VA and also in Berryville feed stores. It is summer and that means rabbitry expansion! I now have all of the Holland colors that I feel I need to make a successful color breeding program. I will be focusing on broken sables, gold-tipped steels, and chinchillas. Ma will be trying her hand at oranges and blues. The Silver Foxes are prospering--both Hannah and Athena have had litters of 4; now we have to hope for cooler temperatures to ensure good health for them. The Dwarf Hotot's have stalled, which means no juniors to show until October. I will not breed them now, only to have them kindle in the smothering August heat. I have had mothers die before and I will not have it happen again--no breeding program worth its salt would risk momma's just to get juniors on the show table in early fall. But, once the cooler temps grace WV with their presence, our breeding program is going to become intense. Ma and I are working hard to fix the faults within our program--no more thin, lengthy ears; clean, thick bands are a must; high shoulders are a must; bold heads are a must; and I have yet to see a Dwarf Hotot on a show table with a meaty, solid hindquarter. We are going to change that! When a judge picks up a Quarry Ridge Hotot come this spring, they are going to be impressed!
In other news, yes, I must get pictures on here of the new rabbits. I have been busy with the new position of being the ADHRC newsletter editor--what a task! But as soon as I have time, the pictures will be up. Well, it is getting hot here in Bunker Hill. I hope everyone is putting ice in water crocks and juicing up those fans. I hate summer--I constantly worry over my bunnies. My biggest goal is to make enough money to someday live on a farm that has an old-fashioned bank barn. Our friend Lynn has a fabulous one that she recently resconstructed. It is always cool, thanks to the thick walls of earth surrounding her hanging cages, and in the winter it is just warm enough. *Sigh* to have a bank barn...
In other news, the last show of the season is being held in Charlestown, WV, hosted by our club, the Blue Ridge Rabbit and Cavy club at the Jefferson County fairgrounds. Since it is getting steamy, we are holding a night show---judging starts at 6 PM in the EVENING! It is just a single show, but it is a long time until fall. Get your show fever on one last time until then! I will be bringing ALL my sale stock to the show. Please email me if interested in a bunny. I do have a first come, first serve list. If you do not contact me soon, the bunny you like may be taken! I am excited to announce the newest arrivals to Quarry Ridge!!
*Wilson's Athena (Silver Fox Sr. Doe) *Siblings Pierre (Holland Lop Orange Sr. Buck) *Cass' Piaget (Holland Lop Broken Sable Sr. Buck) *BunnyBarn's Java (Holland Lop Seal Jr. Buck) All have settled into life here on the farm quite well. Athena was shy at first, but now has learned that a hand in the cage means food is on the way! Pierre is a striking orange buck--his paws are practically neon orange. His first litter to the dilute carrier TressyMae will be arriving soon--fingers crossed for some interesting colors! Piaget and Java are the pets of the bunch. My little Frenchies,Piaget and Pierre, share a double divided cage. It's cute to see them both beg at the same time. Java the Coffeenut (or as Mom says, Java the Hut) is a very calm little one and his rich color is to die for. Ma won him in a raffle, and when I first heard the words "raffle bunny" out of her mouth I must admit I instantly thought "oh no." But while Java has his weak points, I'd like to try him and see if my super does can clean him up a bit. We shall see! SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!! We will be picking up two new additions to the herd at the BRRCC June show. Jessi Jackson has graciously agreed to sell me a self chin/self silver tipped steel doe and one of her herd bucks--A GOLD TIPPED STEEL!!!! I am over the moon! To think that I'll have one of the rarest of Holland colors in the barn! *faint* haha :) |
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