Time to Update...

It has been quite a while since I have updated my blog! After a slow winter, I now have many promising babies in the nestbox! I also had the opportunity to attend a few shows. Below are a few photos of what's been going on at Woodland Rabbitry.

This is a current litter from my bkn. chocolate charlie doe, Woodland's Vega. Thanks to the intervention of my good friend Mike of Battle Road's Rabbitry, Vega is back in my barn and one of my favorite does and I'm very excited to see how her first litter turns out.

On April 25, I attended the Breast Cancer Benefit Triple Show in Sterling Heights. This was a great show for an important cause.

The newest additions to Woodland Rabbitry are 3 Buff Orpingtons and 3 Barred Rocks chicks. While not rabbits, they do share barn space with the rabbits and I enjoy watching them while doing the rabbit chores. Thanks Mike for helping me get started with these little ones!

Rabbit Feed

I've been contemplating changing feed for a while. I have always used Purina Show Formula pellets and think it is a good brand of rabbit pellets. I tried Purina's Fibre 3 as it has a high fiber content and no corn added. I like this as well, but I would have to special order it at the local feed stores. I didn't want to mess with ordering all the time. I like having a choice of places to grab a bag of feed when I need it.

I have a few different feed stores that are easy access for me and they all carry Kent brand rabbit pellets (they don't all carry Purina Show Formula). I decided to try Kent and have really liked it so far. I have many breeder friends that also use Kent and are very happy with how their rabbits are doing on it. The rabbits love it and had no problems switching over to it. Its fiber and protein content is similar to Purina Show Formula, but I like the size of Kent's pellets. They are much smaller in length and diameter than Purina's. Not that this makes a huge difference, but I believe this can make it more palatable for the rabbits (especially babies).

Let me know what feed you use and what you like about that particular feed.

Tattoo Pens

I've switched from using a tattoo clamp to an EzTatt tattoo pen on all of my rabbits. A few reasons why I like the tattoo pen better:

• It is much more efficient for me to tattoo a group of juniors with a tattoo pen than with a clamp. I don't have to wrap them up in a towel to restrain them and I don't have to spend time switching letters and numbers like I do in the clamp. Using the tattoo pen also has less steps since the ink is right in the needle.
• It is so much less stressful on my rabbits. I rarely have to restrain a rabbit with a towel or sleeve while tattooing them and I don't have to worry about hitting a vein and having blood everywhere. I do notice that it helps to stay out of the hair in the ears (thanks for the tip Tony!) as this area either is more sensitive or "ticklish".
• I can use whatever letter/number combos I want without having to buy new numbers and letters.
• I can ready the tattoo right away! This is a huge benefit to me as I can do touch ups right away if needed. A rabbit can also be tattooed at the show and go right on the table. There isn't a big black blob of ink.

Using the tattoo pen does take practice and it really helps to have decent penmanship. I would love to hear any other tattoo pen tips that people have used.

January Show

It was so nice to go to another show on the 17th! Due to weather, I had to miss the Dec. MSRBA show so the last show I was at was in November. It was great to see my rabbit friends again and have many laughs.

I didn't have much to show. Only 2 sr. bucks and a sr. doe. Two of them needed 1 more leg to grand. My black sr. buck, Battle Road's Lincoln got his 3rd leg in the first show with a BOV win and a 4th leg in the second show with a BOSB win. That sure was fun! The other buck, Battle Road's Rio (blue sr. buck), received his 5th leg with a BOV win in the first show. My bkn. black sr. doe, Woodland's Star, needed just one more leg to be granded, but ended placing 2nd of 11 just missing that last leg. She may just have to skip out on that 3rd leg as I'm eager to breed her. Thanks to the GLRCS for putting together a great show!

Winter breeding...

While I generally enjoy the winter snow and those cold days that are perfect for a warm mug of hot chocolate, I don't like trying to breed does during these cold winter months. It doesn't seem that they like it either. The shorter days and freezing temps tell their reproductive systems to slow down.

It can be difficult to get does bred in the winter, but there are always ways to fool mother nature. Some strategies that have been successful for me are:

1. Heating the barn!

• I really believe this makes a difference in getting does receptive to breeding. The barn doesn't have to be 70 degrees. I like it to be around 40 or 50ish. The first year I had rabbits (in '06), I heated the room in the barn that housed the rabbits. My reason was not for the rabbits, but for me! I hated messing with those frozen water bottles. Not until the following winter did I realize the difference the heat made in my breeding schedule. Due to cost (our electric bill had gone up $200 from heating the barn with a space heater), I decided to not heat the barn in the winter of '07. I only had one doe take with many that had been bred (multiple times too!). The barn is not heated again this winter and, again, I am having a difficult time getting my does bred.

2. Change cages

• If I need to breed a doe and she doesn't want to have anything to do with the buck, I leave the doe in the buck's cage and put the buck in the does cage. I leave them there for a day or two. When I try the breeding again, the doe is usually receptive due to being surrounded by all those "buck" smells. I use this method any time of the year that a doe is unreceptive to breeding.

3. Check the doe

• Does go through cycles and where they are in their cycle affects their receptiveness. Check the doe's vulva before you breed her. If it is light pink, she most likely will not be receptive to the buck. The darker her vulva gets (pretty much a dark purple), the more receptive she is. This isn't a method of making her more receptive, but it is helpful to know when a doe is ready to be bred.

These are only a few methods of breeding does during the winter. Please leave a comment about other successful methods you have used to get your does bred in the winter.

Winter visitors

I was just in my kitchen watching the snow fall and the birds at the feeders. One thing I love about living in 6 acres of old growth forest is all the wildlife. Now it is not the kind of wildlife that my Alaskan rabbitry friend Trent sees (moose, bear, lynx, etc...), but it is great none the less. Some of the birds that frequent our feeders on a daily basis are:
Redheaded Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Redbellied Woodpecker
Whitebreasted Nuthatch
Northern Cardinal
Bluejay
Blackcapped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Mourning Dove
Dark eyed Junco
Goldfinch
Turkey
Pileated Woodpecker

The above listed birds are usually here year round, but are joined in the summer by:
Indigo Bunting (LOVE them)
House Wren
Ruby throated Hummingbird
Rosebreasted Grosbeak
A plethora of warblers
Purple Finch
Brown Creeper
Northern Flicker
Baltimore Oriole

We also have flying squirrels on our property! While they are not a bird, I love having this mammal here. It is nocturnal so we don't get to see it. Our evidence that they are here came with a dead one we found in the backyard. =(Last year we had a huge fan of our bird feeder -- a Cooper's Hawk. I witnessed him capture a Cardinal at the feeder one day. While I didn't like having one less Cardinal to enjoy, it was amazing to see this part of nature that isn't often witnessed.

Again, how is this rabbit related? Well, I'm stretching it, but the birds often enjoy the food and habitat found in my gardens. The gardens wouldn't be as nice as if I didn't have the rabbit manure to spread on them. The goldfinch love the Echinacea (coneflowers) seedheads in the fall and I have numerous wren houses throughout my gardens which are often occupied by the brave little House Wren. By the way, if you don't have a wren house I highly recommend putting one in your yard somewhere. House Wren have a beautiful song and I love to watch them flit around. Dispite their small size, they are very territorial and have NO problem chasing the cat away!

Here's a link to more info on the House Wren along with a small clip of their song (nice little bit of spring time!)

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/bird_id/house_wren.aspx

Recent Shows

I had the opportunity to go to a couple more shows this past month. The first was in Goshen, IN. Jenni Himebaugh, Megan Gottschalk, and I rode down together. We had a lot of rabbits between the 3 of us and we wouldn't have fit everything in if we didn't have Megan's amazing packing ability! It was a double show for mini rex breeders with an all breed show and a mini rex specialty. My blue buck from Mike St. John of Battle Road's Rabbitry earned 2 more legs. He now has 4 legs. Thanks Mike for such a great rabbit! His littermate, Pearl (now with Jenni), also received 2 legs and has enough to be granded.

This past weekend we had a double all breed show in Mason, MI. I had a great time with my rabbit friends and my black buck (from Mike) received his 2nd leg.

I look forward to the next show in E. Lansing at MSU. I will be taking my niece along as she wants to learn what showing rabbits is all about. I'm looking forward to it.

2008 ARBA Convention

Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the ARBA Convention this year in Louisville, KY. A few of my rabbit friends were able to attend and did quite well!

Jenni Himebaugh of Two River's Rabbitry:
4th out of 43 Castor mini rex sr. bucks
5th out of 54 Castor mini rex sr. does
25th out of 73 Black mini rex jr. does
7th out of 122 Broken holland lop jr. bucks

Peggy Campbell:
2nd out of 100+ Broken mini rex sr. does

Megan Gottschalk:
BOV Lilac

Congratulations!