Rabbits

Leaping Lagomorphs

May 14, 2019 By Annette1 4 Comments

Leaping Lagomorphs (also known as hares and rabbits) is the topic of the blogging through the alphabet challenge. This week the letter is L.

I first learned of rabbit hopping as a sport about five years ago now? i was preparing a rabbit class for some homeschoolers and was looking for activities one could do with their pet rabbit. Rabbit hopping came up as one of the options. Later at one of the rabbit club shows, the 4-H kids put on an agility rabbit demonstration. I learned how to start training a rabbit to do rabbit hopping.

Rabbit hopping, Rabbit jumping, or rabbit agility (different names for different folks) was started in Sweden. It gradually made it’s way across Europe, coming the North America in 2001.

I am by no means an expert on rabbit hopping, so don’t get mad if I’m wrong in some of my facts. My understanding is there are different levels. You start at beginner and then, as your rabbit succeeds, you move on to the next level. Levels get more difficult as you work your way up.

From what I understand there are a number of different ways your rabbit can compete beyond the levels.

Rabbit Hopping events:

A straight line of jumps.
A twisty line of jumps.
A line of jumps and obstacles.
High Jump
Long jump

How to Train

First you need to get your rabbit used to hopping just on the mat provided for them. They wear a harness and you gently guide them. You may or may not want to pointer train them first. Then you add the jump standard without a bar and gradually increase the difficulty and the type of obstacle.

All that remains after you have solid training is to take your rabbit out to show and see how he does with the stress of competition.

In Canada there is the rabbit hopping club (website and facebook).

In the United States there is the American Hopping Association.

Others in this Series

Letter L Link Up

Each week we will be linking up with the hosts of Blogging Through the Alphabet. Please visit some of these other blogs to get things like book lists, vegan recipes, and wonderful places to visit, just to name the topics I can think of off the top of my head.

Practice Needed

May 10, 2019 By Annette1 4 Comments

Last night I kept dozing off so never managed to wait up to write my Five Minute Friday post put out by Miss Kate. Today’s word is Practice, you can find the link up here.

Practice is one of those words that can be both a noun and a verb. It’s a noun when you talk about the way something is done, or a verb when you talk about doing it. It makes it a bit harder to then let it flow through my brain and out my fingers. Bear with me a bit perhaps. 🙂

Time and again I wait and wait 
Wondering if perhaps this might be the time. 
Might I get it right? 
If I combine this bunny and that 
Will I finally get my chocolate? 
When will I ever get a chocolate tricolour?   

I want one so bad, and yet the waiting,  
The trying, it takes so long. 
I know I could do the easier thing,  
I could simply buy one.  
That takes money though,  
Money I'd rather not spend. 
And besides, if I buy it,  
All my work up until this point 
It would be worthless, meaningless 
And I don't want that. 

This practice of keeping bunnies.  
It's not as easy as one might think 
Sometimes I'm tempted to give it 
To say, let's try for something easier. 
But as my hubby is apt to say, 
I rarely do things that are the easiest.
My practice is to work it out 
To do things the way I want them done.  

But at times I chafe at the bit 
Worrying and fussing so 
Wondering if my wait will ever be rewarded. 
And yet, patient I will be. 
Learning, practicing this game of genetics. 
Realizing that dominant and non-dominant genes
Will play themselves out. 

And oh joy... I do have a chocolate in my box. 
A healthy one too!  
No missing feet, no health issues, and 
Loppy ears too!  
A blessing, one of my own. 
Now, can I have her breed true? 
Can I ignore the call of those who want 
To buy her for a huge dollar or two? 

Patience is needed. 
As I practice breeding genetics 
In this, my bunny practice.

Choosing Rabbits to Keep

May 7, 2019 By Annette1 3 Comments

One of the challenges in having a rabbitry is deciding who you will keep and who will not keep. Sometimes it’s very easy, but other times it is very challenging. How one makes a decision depends on several factors and is affected by your over arching goal for your rabbits. This post is all about choosing rabbits to keep in your herd.

People keep rabbits for all sorts of reasons. Homesteading, showing, companion animals, pets, or as livestock. The reason you keep will change what you look for in your animals.

Why Is It Important?

It is important to keep your end goal in mind or you will end up sabotaging your own efforts. When I started raising rabbits as an adult I took my time to talk to old time rabbit raisers. They all told me “breed for what you want” and “what you breed you get”.

So if you want calm tempered rabbits (great for anyone) then don’t breed the nicely typed doe that bites you. Or if you want typey rabbits good for the show room don’t keep the poorly typed rabbit that just happens to be colour you want. If your focus in on feeding your family from the profits of your rabbit sales: show, fur, pet, companion don’t keep rabbits that don’t meet your market goals. Meat rabbits need to be as meaty as possible and need to be able to reproduce without tearing your hand off in the process … don’t keep the rabbits that do not meet your long-term criteria.

Different Styles of Keeping Rabbits

Show rabbit fanciers will focus on the rabbits they have meeting the standard for their breed. A good breeder will look first at type (how well the rabbit meets the standard) and second at colour, temperament, etc. If you have the body you need, you can get the colour you want down the road. Mind, you also need to have an animal you can handle because rabbits who bite the judge get kicked out of the competition.

A homesteader will most likely look at temperament and how well the rabbit produces what they need. Meat, wool, companionship etc. Whatever their goal is will be their primary focus. In this video below an unexpected reason was the fact that rabbits are (for the most part) quiet.

Companion animal seller, Pet rabbit seller. Should look first at health and temperament, and then at colour, type, and all other considerations.

Pet people (so people who just happen to have two random rabbits) will often just breed two rabbits together and keep any offspring they can’t sell or whatever bunny makes them the happiest. I’ve been there and done that it’s totally a way to do things. 🙂

Livestock. Just like with the homesteader the person breeding rabbits to be livestock will breed for animals that grow quickest, produce the best final result and are easy to handle. The video below speaks to what you want to look for in a meat rabbit. I do disagree with him that you need to start with purebred stock. The advantage to purebred is you know what is behind the rabbit. BUT meat rabbits, bred for their meat only, are often built differently than a show rabbit is. So look for what you need in a meat animal and start with good stock that will give you what you want.

Others in this Series

Letter K Link Up

Holland Lops

April 16, 2019 By Annette1 6 Comments

Okay, so I sat here struggling. Do I talk with you about Holland lops or about hand-raising babies? Both would fit, could I make one or the other fit a different letter of the alphabet? I decided I could put off hand-raising babies. Leaving me with Holland Lops.

In my rabbitry I predominately raise Hollands Lops. I always have something else around, but 95% is Holland lops. Those floppy ears and good attitudes make them winners. 🙂

General Body Type of Holland Lops

Holland lops are considered a fancy breed as opposed to a utility or commercial breed. They mature to around 4 lbs. They have short lopped ears that kinda look like a flat spoon. Shown in an upright posture to enhance their thick bone and massive heads. The image below tells you what the ideal holland lop should look like.

They are the smallest of the lop-eared breeds of rabbits. Others being the English Lop, French Lop, Mini Lop, and Velveteen Lop.

My holland lops are a work in progress. Pond (pictured below) is the closest example I have to the above. She still isn’t quite what she should be, but at least I’m getting closer. 🙂

Double Dwarf Gene in Holland Lops

Holland lops are a dwarf breed of rabbit which makes them subject to the double dwarf gene. The dwarf gene keeps the rabbit small, but if a rabbit receives two copies it is usually lethal within three days. There have been reports of some surviving until six months old. I am admittedly somewhat skeptical about those reports as I’ve never had a peanut born that was able to eat. (Hence dying within three days).

I currently have a kit that I am keeping an eye on. I suspect it’s a very small runt as opposed to a peanut. It’s ears aren’t the ears of a peanut, and yet it’s hind end is somewhat weak. Time will tell for sure. One day I will check the box and it will either look like a well fed kit or it will simply be gone.

If you look at the difference in the kits above you will note the round tummies on all the kits but the small one. Another indicator that something isn’t quite right. I’m not giving up hope yet as it’s stronger than expected at day three and the ears are more normal than not, the head isn’t as domed as with a peanut. It does show that Pond has the dwarf gene and that’s a good thing. 🙂 One needs to look for the positive even in the midst of potential dismay.

Continued Progress

I love the blockiness I see in this young doe. Her ears are too long but she has good width to her body and to her head. Gives me hope that I am doing something right in my breeding! 🙂

I remember how I got into breeding loppies. I helped a fellow locate some meat rabbits. As a thank you he gave me two lop rabbits he no longer wished to keep. Those two torts opened my eyes to the fun that a holland lop can be. Now almost 15 years later, their blood is still a distant part of my loppies today. I love that continuity, to be able to see where a rabbit gets some of it’s personality and type from. It’s a big reason why I continue to breed the fancy Holland Lop. A wonderful animal.

Letter H Link Up

The “G’s” of Rabbits

April 9, 2019 By Annette1 4 Comments

I didn’t know what to do for the letter G so I asked people on the homeschool review crew forum for suggestions.

They suggested: Gestation, Giant Breeds, Grooming. They also suggested other posts like “buying your first bunny and Growing bunnies” but those are posts for another day. So today I talk about the G’s of rabbits

Gestation

Most rabbits, I’d say 90% in my experience, will kindle (have babies) 31 days after mating. Gestation is very easy on rabbits and rarely do you see any sort of strain on the momma. The earliest I’ve had them come in is 28 days the latest was 38 days.

Sometimes you will see hormonal differences, momma rabbit either become more mellow or becoming more space protective.

Breeders will sometimes, between day 11-14, palpate to see if the doe is bred. I choose not to do this, figuring 30 days is nothing to wait and I normally have bunnies on a schedule and why mess with it?

People have this misconception that rabbits can have two pregnancies at one time. This is WRONG. Although rabbits have two tubes, they only have one pregnancy at a time. The misconception is due to the fact that rabbits can reabsorb their kits. If they start to do that, and then deliver their babies, the size difference and seemingly different developmental stage causes people to think separate pregnancies.

Grooming

Most rabbits need very little in the way of grooming. Like many animals, rabbits groom themselves quite handily. They occasionally need help, like baby bunnies as they are learning to care for themselves, or injured rabbits needing support.

The main time they need help is during their moult. Just like with dogs, rabbits sometimes need a good brush out when moulting. This is really easy to do. Just dampen your hands and run them through your bunnies coat against the grain. Rub off the gathered hair and repeat until all the loose hair is out of the coat. Sometimes you will need to actually pluck the loose hair out, especially around the tail/rear end area.

In the picture above I have Horatio sitting on a plank over my compost big. Horatio was in a very heavy moult and was miserable. I brought him out every day for about 8 days and plucked out the loose fur on his back end as well and running my hands backwards over this body. He was so much happier when we finished everyday. Took about 5 minutes daily. The hair you see sticking out is a tuff that needs to be plucked.

Giant Breeds

The most common giant breed in North America the Flemish Giant. These are a lovely breed of rabbit. Miss Wafer pictured below is the largest rabbit I have at 16 lbs. Her dad was a Flemish Giant. She’s a big girl but not nearly the biggest rabbit I’ve ever seen. They are known as the gentle giant, but mind you… they aren’t all docile or gentle. Wafer can be bossy. I’ve known others that nippy. On average they make excellent pets or breeding animals. They aren’t great as meat animals due to their large boney frames and slow maturation..

Just for Fun! Guinea Pigs!!!!

Others in this Series

Letter G Link Up

How to Feed Rabbits

April 2, 2019 By Annette1 14 Comments

There are literally as many ways to feed rabbits as there are people who own them. It’s amazing to me the diets that rabbits can get accustomed to. Natural feeding (no pellets), Pellets and Mixed diets tend to cover the most commonly found methods.

That fact there are so many ways to feed bunnies is, I think part of the reason it irks me when people insist there is only one way to feed rabbits. BUT people are who they are right? It’s easy to think that your way is the only way, or at least the best way. So let’s talk about the different ways to feed bunnies.

Pellets Only

There are many many rabbit breeders who insist the only way to feed bunnies properly is with a pelleted diet. Essentially kibble for rabbits. Most pellets are made with an alfalfa base, some are also made with timothy hay. A good pellet should contain everything that a rabbit needs to remain healthy, and many rabbits are raised to do well on a pelleted diet.

This method is most common with serious breeders. It makes it easier to feed exactly what each rabbit needs, gives them a stable diet, and is less fuss when travelling on the road. The disadvantage is if a rabbit goes off feed, it can be hard to get them going again if they refuse to eat pellets.

Pellets Plus (mixed diet)

An equal number of rabbit people will raise their rabbits on pellets plus something else. This could be a show or breeder supplement, or additional feed sources such a hay, green feed, oatmeal, or mixed grains.

In this diet you want to feed your rabbit a grass type hay, which is one that is lower in calcium to prevent bladder sludge in your bunnies. Green feed consists of rabbit appropriate fresh food like dark lettuces, safe garden weeds, dandelions, parsley, chicory, apple branches and the like.

This tends to be a favourite method of people across the board from breeders to pet companion people.

Pros: wide variety of feed available, if the rabbit rejects pellets, you can offer more grains, and you can adjust feed to seasonal variability. Cons: harder to balance the diet and some rabbits will become picky eaters.

Non-pelleted Diet

The hobbyist is most likely to feed a non-pelleted diet, choosing to search out needed minerals and salts for their rabbits, along with a variety of hays, branches, mixed grains and green feed. This is a more labour intensive way of feeding rabbits.

In the non-pelleted diet, the hay you want to feed is alfalfa hay as it has higher protein levels. You also want to make sure you feed a wide variety of plants and fresh greens to cover a good nutrient load. Do not wash everything first as trace nutrients are to be valued.

Pros: feeding a rabbit like they are meant to be fed. Cons: It’s a lot of hard work gathering, storing, drying needs feeds and ensuring a balanced diet.

Right and Wrong

Part of the problem people have when feeding mixed diet is people frequently forget to think about balance in the diet. A method frequently espoused is “feed bunnies all the hay they can eat, lots of veggies, and just a little bit of pellets.”

The question is… if you aren’t giving the bunny all the trace nutrients, minerals and salts they require. Items commonly found in their pellets, where are they getting them from? Are they getting them from the washed grocery greens? Are you giving them a rabbit safe salt/mineral supplement? It’s good to ask these questions, to make sure that the diet you are feeding your rabbits is good for them long-term.

A big part of me wants to espouse how I feed bunnies, but I’m not going to. I think how I manage their diet them for the most part works. Occasionally I wonder if I need to tweak it a bit, but I am not quite sure either if I should or how. I don’t want to fuss about it, and my buns are doing well.

Others in this Series

Letter F Link Up

Errors in Judgement

March 26, 2019 By Annette1 8 Comments

When I was thinking about what to do for E, I almost chose the English Lop, the problem is, I have no pictures of an English Lop and other than the remarkably loveable few I’ve met… I don’t know all the ins and outs of raising them. 🙂 Ergo I changed my focus to talk about errors in judgement. We all make them. It’s SO not fun to do so, but errors teach us something if we’ve a mind to pay attention.

Errors vary from the “oops” that wasn’t smart to the “oh man…that was SO not good…hit yourself on the head and vow to never to that again” variety. Working towards the oops rather than devastating is always a step forward.

Small Mistakes

Letting sentiment rule.

I have a three strikes and you are out rule. My thinking, over 14 years of raising rabbits, is that if every other rabbit is healthy and doing what they should be, and this one rabbit isn’t something is wrong. Problem solve it. Watch the rabbit. Adjust feed. Try again. And if things aren’t right after three cycles, it’s not going to be right so let them go. SOMETIMES I get attached to a rabbit. It never turns out good. So I keep fighting the “letting sentiment rule” mistake. And probably will until I stop having my bunnies.

Picking the wrong bunny to hold back.

Occasionally, let the sentiment mistake above, I forget what I am aiming to breed. Tricolour lops with chocolate and blue. I let other factors influence my decisions. I need to stop doing that. If I want to get to point Z down the road, the decisions I make now actually matter.

Selling off mom, before having a replacement.

Sometimes I have a doe that I adore and she’s good enough to keep babies from. I end up thinking, okay… person B wanted her and I have this half-grown youngster (or two) almost ready to breed, let her go. Do that and then someone comes in and steals those half-grown youngsters. Or a wind-storm happens that stresses them out. Or a possum comes through (let’s not go there) BAD memories that! Now I hold on to them until I’ve a grown daughter/son because Person B will wait and then perhaps I’ll get a back up.

Big Mistakes

Tiredness Hit

I made one such mistake the week of March 7, going out to shelve babies for the night and accidentally leaving a cage door open. I’ve done this in the past though I never intend to. Always happens when I’m really tired and went out too late. Anyways, this time the doe jumped out of the cage during the night. Six feet to the ground. I found her in the morning as was totally relieved to do so and thought all was well. Until I watched her “NOT MOVE”. Not moving is SO not a good thing. Two things it could be… broken back, or injured nerves. Only time would tell. Fix: Help the doe, put in a double check system for all cage doors at night.

Lack of Quarantine.

This was a mistake I made early one. Bought a rabbit and ASSUMED it was healthy. It wasn’t. As a result I lost an entire batch of young rabbits, all because one seemingly healthy rabbit wasn’t. Fix: quarantine for one month minimum with mild stressors added.

Feed

How you feed rabbits is actually rather important. They are sensitive to mycotoxins (moulds) and feed changes. Have mould they stop eating, too quick with the feed changes and upset stomachs result. Fix: no mouldy hay, no feed with corn, slow feed changes. If it is suspect just throw it out.

Trusting the wrong person

One time I went on vacation and someone asked if they could bunny sit. I said okay and then FOOLISHLY paid them as they would be gone before I got back. They left three days into my two week vacation…. how to feed cats, bunnies and birds when I’m more than 10 hours away… GAH. That was a mess. Fortunately mom and a friend helped out. Could have been totally devastating for my herd.

Rabbits

Rabbit Hopping events:

How to Train

Others in this Series

Letter L Link Up

Why Is It Important?

Different Styles of Keeping Rabbits

Others in this Series

Letter K Link Up

General Body Type of Holland Lops

Double Dwarf Gene in Holland Lops

Continued Progress

Letter H Link Up

Gestation

Grooming

Giant Breeds

Just for Fun! Guinea Pigs!!!!

Others in this Series

Letter G Link Up

Pellets Only

Pellets Plus (mixed diet)

Non-pelleted Diet

Right and Wrong

Others in this Series

Letter F Link Up

Small Mistakes

Letting sentiment rule.

Picking the wrong bunny to hold back.

Selling off mom, before having a replacement.

Big Mistakes

Tiredness Hit

Lack of Quarantine.

Feed

Trusting the wrong person

Letter E Link Up

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