Last Sunday I spent the entire day in the rabbitry. I set up my grooming table and my scale, lined up brushes and nail clippers, and put on my kevlar sleeves. I was organized and ready!
Ladies First
The first to come out was Canyon. She was in molt, but not particularly matted. However, she was more underweight than I had hoped. It is not uncommon for rabbits to eat less during the summer heat, but she ended up being the one most under the senior weight requirements. She is also the one I hope to breed first when the temperatures drop just a bit more, but I would like to see an improvement in her condition now as well.
Second out was Twilight. She was still quite shy of me, but she accepted the grooming well. She is 6½ months old, but already over senior weight at 10 lbs. 4 oz. That was a surprise with the heat. I am happy of course, but I was hoping to show her as an 6/8 intermediate for her first show over a month away. However, she can be bumped up to the second in line for breeding depending on how things go at the first show.
Third was Canyon's daughter, the very sweet XCY1, who previously had terribly matted fur on her hocks that I had worked to clean up a couple of weeks before. She had decided that her warming pad was a great pee spot and also a great resting spot, so she was getting rather messy and I had become concerned about her developing sore hocks. We removed the warming pad and gave her a plastic pad with holes on which to rest her hocks off the wires after the mats were worked out. She had tender hocks for almost two weeks, but no sores...thankfully. I brushed her out, posed her, set her on the scale and smiled the entire time! At under 5 months, she is almost 8½ pounds and it is still rather hot. Although she is still somewhat undercut and fighting the pose, I have decided she is a keeper for now and I need to give her a name. She would be a great breeding mate for Leon and/or Starry Knight with their full to the table hindquarters!
Fourth was out was LMB2, the only one I kept from Misty Blue's last kindle of three does. I try not to get attached to her thinking she was not going to be that good, but the name was there every time I looked at her: Misty Blue Too. I thought she would be most likely a cull to maybe sell to a meat breeder, which made me very sad as she reminded me so much of her mother, however she looked better on the table than I expected. She does not really have a "wow" factor in any area at this time, but she is not terrible in any one area either. I want to show her to get judges' opinions on her, but I think she would be a great brood doe even if she is not great for showing. She has good width and is full to the table for a 4-month-old. I think she would be a great mating for any of my bucks, but I would like to particularly see what Astro Man might throw with her.
Gentlemen Follow
Fifth was XCY3, Canyon's son. He proved to be a handful! When I open his cage, he charges at me, but he is far from aggressive: he is just determined to run up to me for attention. When I placed him on the table to be groomed, he was everywhere and quite active. He just is not into being still and posing at all! As cute as his antics were, he is undercut by more than a little and generally smaller than I would like to see. I was not planning to keep him from the beginning, but to possibly sell as a meat breeder; unfortunately, he is not good quality even for that.
Sixth was Starry Knight. He is still temperamental about being handled, but he has so much promise; great fur and good type. At one point it actually looked like he was enjoying the grooming. I was particularly concerned about him as he was around 7 lbs. when I bought him in the middle of May and had not gained but a few ounces by the middle of June. Not all rabbits grow steadily, some grow in spurts. Between the move and the heat, it was not completely unexpected that he might not gain much, but not really gaining between 3 to 5 months in age was concerning me. However, he gained 10 ounces through the hottest part of the summer and is not a bad weight for being 6½ months old. I am hoping the cooler weather of fall will help him to make his show weight.
Seventh was Astro Man, who was born on the same day as Starry Knight although the two are not at all related. When he came to me, he was so brown with old fur ready to molt that now I hardly recognize him now with his black fur. I was hoping to show him as a 6/8 intermediate, but he is over senior weight. I love his depth, but he is narrow. I don't think he will do well at the shows, but I think bred to does with good width could work toward a good balance in his offspring.
The Quarantines
Eighth was Luna, who has not been eating quite as well as I hoped. After the move and still dealing with the heat, I was not surprised that she was a few ounces below senior weight. However, I am confident she will gain as temperatures cool. She is still quite leery of me, but she did well with grooming and being weighed. I am very much looking forward to see how she does at the first show in a little more than a month as she had not been shown yet and she will be a 1½ years old soon. I believe that Luna is my best doe currently.
Ninth was Leon, who was in molt overload! He was not thrilled about being groomed either, but he was a gentleman about it. I love his fur, even in molt. He has been eating well and was in mid range of senior weight. I was pretty tired by the time I got to him, but I did get to him and he looked so much better for it.
Gentlemen Follow
Fifth was XCY3, Canyon's son. He proved to be a handful! When I open his cage, he charges at me, but he is far from aggressive: he is just determined to run up to me for attention. When I placed him on the table to be groomed, he was everywhere and quite active. He just is not into being still and posing at all! As cute as his antics were, he is undercut by more than a little and generally smaller than I would like to see. I was not planning to keep him from the beginning, but to possibly sell as a meat breeder; unfortunately, he is not good quality even for that.
Sixth was Starry Knight. He is still temperamental about being handled, but he has so much promise; great fur and good type. At one point it actually looked like he was enjoying the grooming. I was particularly concerned about him as he was around 7 lbs. when I bought him in the middle of May and had not gained but a few ounces by the middle of June. Not all rabbits grow steadily, some grow in spurts. Between the move and the heat, it was not completely unexpected that he might not gain much, but not really gaining between 3 to 5 months in age was concerning me. However, he gained 10 ounces through the hottest part of the summer and is not a bad weight for being 6½ months old. I am hoping the cooler weather of fall will help him to make his show weight.
Seventh was Astro Man, who was born on the same day as Starry Knight although the two are not at all related. When he came to me, he was so brown with old fur ready to molt that now I hardly recognize him now with his black fur. I was hoping to show him as a 6/8 intermediate, but he is over senior weight. I love his depth, but he is narrow. I don't think he will do well at the shows, but I think bred to does with good width could work toward a good balance in his offspring.
The Quarantines
Ninth was Leon, who was in molt overload! He was not thrilled about being groomed either, but he was a gentleman about it. I love his fur, even in molt. He has been eating well and was in mid range of senior weight. I was pretty tired by the time I got to him, but I did get to him and he looked so much better for it.
