After offering my help a few times, the National Silver Fox Rabbit Club (NSFRC) asked me to take over the sweepstakes entries, which were at the time six months behind. So, I became a member of the NSFRC Sweepstakes Committee, which also included the president, secretary, and webmaster of the club. It sounded simple enough to do because of how the webmaster had set up everything online with a database. It is a simple data entry process, but it is also easy to make mistakes. To explain how the sweepstakes work, the show must be sanctioned by the ARBA, which involves a fee payment, and a number will be assigned to each show. Exhibitors all talk about going to a show, but some shows actually are doubles or triples, which is two or three shows at the same venue on the same day hosted by the same club but two clubs can have shows on the same day at the same venue as well.  Once the show secretary has the ARBA numbers, the requests for specialty sanctions can be made as well. T...

Just when you think you have about seen it all with rabbits, they show you something new. Zinfandel's kindle has been one of those experiences. It took some time to track down exactly what was going on, because it is rare to happen but not unknown to at the same time, but I finally found my answer. When I first looked in the nest box I found a couple, one worse than the other with this pinkish skin with dark areas on the heads. At first I thought they might be torts! And while I do have a desire to help with the Alaska Red Fox project (another breed that Walter Garland was developing after his Silver Fox), I have absolutely no space or desire to take on that project presently. However, when their fur began to grow in, it was black...well, sort of. The color was off but certainly not tort. All the fur was tipped with white more like a steel chinchilla would be, but they were not steels either (besides the fact that they just should not be) because the coats were too...

I went to an two-day show with my friend Hannah in Virginia at the end of September, while it was still particularly hot and our Silver Foxes still had poor fur because of it. We picked up two rabbits to be shown from a Tennessee breeder on the way and there we met up with some of the best Silver Fox breeders in the country. I did not expect my rabbits to do as well with the competition that I believed would be there because some of the Mid Altantic breeders were also there, but I was pleased in general. My two senior bucks were in the top five out of six and seven, but GC Carrot Garden's Astro Man was the one who caught the eye of three judges, who placed him in first place and one even awarded him with Best of Opposite Breed. This brings his leg count up to ten. There were many senior does at this show and the breeders all commented on the higher numbers which ranged from nine to twelve depending on the show, but it was because no one was able to breed due to the heat. ...

Like every rabbit, GC Funck's Zinfandel has her quirks. I had bred her with GC Carrot Garden's Starry Knight right after the Silver Fox National show. She lifted readily and two weeks after the breeding she began to make a nest and stopped eating much of anything. I put in a nesting box because and she made a nice nest that she kept clean to be used only as a nest even though she was making it so early. However, it was pretty obvious to me a week later that she was not pregnant. I waited to be sure past her due date, because I have had a doe fool me before, but no kits. Then I had a dilemma. I wanted to breed Zin before she turned a year old, which she would do in mid September and it would be too hot to breed her in the summer. It was already hot enough to be a concern to breed her again so late in May, but we decided to try and place her in a smaller buck cage to bring into the garage. Our garage is part of the basement and even though it is well insulated, it usually stay...

Funck's Zinfandel is the best the rabbit I have had the pleasure to own so far. She has so much of what a Silver Fox should have and she proves it at every show. This past weekend at the Music City RBA double show in Murfreesboro, TN. She won BOB in both shows earning her 8th and 9th legs! She was registered at that show also as she was over the minimum weight limit, so I will be looking forward to receiving her Grand Champion certificate soon. I still cannot believe Margaret Funck was so kind in offering her to me. Margaret is also the model of what I want to be as Silver Fox breeder. Not only does she have great rabbits, but she is just a special, kind, and humble woman. May God continue to bless her! As excited as I am about Zin, I was also happily surprised by Renaissance Rabbitry's Leona who was given to me by my friend, Hannah Yost. Leona is the offspring of my Leon and her Maggie. Unfortunately, Maggie succumbed to the heat of this very hot and humid summer ...

The first time Zinfandel was bred, she was just about two weeks before her due date when she started showing signs she was interested in building a nest and she did build one, even pulled fur. She kept it as a nest, nice and clean, but as much as she seem to think she was ready to be a mother, the week before her due date, I was pretty sure it would not be that time. Although I have been wrong and caught off guard before, her due date came and went, to our disappointment. I bred her again to the same proven buck and she readily lifted. However, as I had written in previous posts, it was rather late in the season so we prepared a place for her in the garage. Yesterday, she started picking up her hay and trying to prepare a nest. Like before, she began this two weeks before her due date. In hopes that she would again keep the nest clean, I gave her a nesting box. This morning I found she had pulled fur so she is ready. But, the question: is she actually pregnant? I palpated ...

I completely understand that we all have other things to do besides dealing our rabbitries, but there are times when other breeders will post pictures of a rabbit and all I see is the messy cage that should have been cleaned. I would be embarrassed to post such a picture! This week I had taken a good looked around my rabbitry and thought that is was getting a bit too furry for my taste. Plus, we had not cleaned the fans last week. I try to do them at least once a week, but sometimes other things take priority. While my husband worked on a project this weekend that was in preparation for the new rabbitry—very excited about this!—I worked on cleaning the rabbitry alone. Some people will advise to torch the fur on the cages, but heating up the cage wire weakens the wire and welds resulting in reducing its lifespan. A rabbit can bite and pull off wire that has been subjected to being torched much easier than wire that has not, which is why I practice the more labor intensive, but wir...

As typical of my husband, he improved upon my plan for keeping Zinfadel cool this summer during her pregnancy by placing her in a carrier cage in the garage during the day. Instead, he cleared out a spot in the garage to accommodate one of the single cages for her to stay day and night. It is one of the newer buck cages, which is 36 inches wide and 24 inches deep, instead of 30 inches deep as the cage she was in outside. So, it is a bit more cramped than she is used to having, but certainly roomier than a carrier with the divider removed and able to fit a nesting box much easier.  The temperature predictions for the next few days are up to 95°! I think she will be happier in temperatures averaging in the mid 70s by comparison...still with a fan for air flow. Our other concern for Zin is light. She is on a table near a window on the west side of the garage, but I am thinking she will still need more light. This is an easy fix, so it will happen.

Living in the southeast has its challenges with raising Silver Foxes. At the top of the list is keeping them cool and healthy during the hottest and most humid time of the year. As meat breeders, we would have our last breedings in April and no breedings until September. The only schedule I had to consider was my own and cage space.  As a show breeder, I still quite strongly believe in not breeding in the summer, particularly when I have invested so much in my rabbits. However, working around show schedules has been a new challenge for me this past year. For instance, I put off breeding Luna last fall until she earned three legs as she was my best doe to show at the time and I had other does that could be bred. Still, there were gaps I would like to avoid this coming breeding season, if the rabbits cooperate. This spring I was faced with another breeding schedule dilemma with Zinfandel. I bred her to GC Starry Knight after we returned from the Silver Fox National Show in Apr...

I have seen cage tags from very simple to very fancy, from write on plastic to small charts on paper. Everyone has their own set up and flair in their own rabbitries that works for them. After using cage tags for some time, I finally realize what I really wanted for mine. Every tag should have at the minimum the rabbits ear number. The name is also a must-have for us. I also added the sex, which is always good to know at a glance (although I am using color coding for that so may not be needed now), and the color of the rabbit, which is a left over from my meat breeding days (before I began showing) with many color genetic variations as now most of my rabbits are black, but I think of it as maybe being helpful to anyone who would need to take care of my buns for me should that happen. While I can plan and chart on my computer as well as when I leaf through my rabbitry binder, it is in my rabbitry handling the rabbits or even just cleaning their cages that I think out my breeding ...

This week was busy! We butchered eleven rabbits, which are aging presently and should be ready for making dinner with vaccum sealing and freezing the rest. This freed up some cage space and lowered feed consumption, but only temporarily. Luna kindled three, but two were DOA fetal giants, so only one black survivor out of Dallan, thanks to Hannah Yost. Still, I am very hopeful this one will have the fur quality I got the first of this pairing and better type this time around would be nice also. Misty Blue Too surprised us with five out of Leon. I had not seen a fall off, but the old man is still quite fertile and even with his old weak legs, so apparently able to still impregnate a willing doe even when I cannot detect a fall off. Under all that blue fur are five healthy sleeping black kits and she even pulled more fur! Misty's surprise newborns meant we urgently needed to prep a cage with baby wire yesterday evening, because Luna was still in the kindl...

Some sales just seem to go the wrong way no matter what. Here are some things I have learned about buying and selling Silver Foxes...and some of the reasons I sell very few to very few. Not everyone is worthy of my trust. Through the years I have met meat breeders in public places without any problems so far and Silver Fox show breeders are wonderful bunch of people, but now I am far more comfortable selling at a show.  I now look over the rabbit very well EVEN if I know and trust the breeder. There is nothing worse than feeling like it may insult the seller and then find out there was a reason I should have inspected the rabbit much better than I did. I have found that a good breeder would not be insulted when I look over a rabbit—judges do this at shows all the time! An excellent breeder will help buyers do so, especially those new to rabbits if they don't know or are not sure for what they should be looking, just to be sure they are aware of and pleased with the heal...

I cannot begin to fill the gap I have left not posting in my blog for over two months as so much has been going on with shows and kindles and rabbit clubs and stuff in my life outside of rabbits...I actually still have one of those! My Silver Fox breeder friends are trying to form an official Silver Fox regional club and have specialty shows of our own twice a year. This required people to volunteer for officer and director positions, writing by-laws, and sending in an application to the ARBA. Just to make it more interesting, it was suggested that we do all that by April 1st if we want to have our first specialty show in autumn. We are down to that soft deadline being a week away and so much else is going on that I am skeptical about making it. I also began helping the National Silver Fox Rabbit Club (NSFRC) with entering show reports so that our sweepstakes points could be calculated. They had not entered any since the start of the season, July 1st. That is what has keep be...

LTW-4 Bunnies born November 25, 2018 All four are Black carrying Dilute (Blue) Sire:  Grand Champion Miss Maggie's Leon Dam:  High Rock's Twilight LTW-4 Weekly Assessments and Weight Records LTW1 - Buck - Black   carrying Dilute (Blue)  aa B_ C_ Dd E_ si most potential largest in the kindle fullness in the loins nice width not one to stay still and be posed well 12/30/2018 - Likes to explore. 12/23/2018 - Rather curious and likes to explore. 12/16/2018 - Largest of the kindle presently and looks to have nice width so far. 1/06/2019 - Constantly in motion and fights posing. 1/13/2019 - Seriously fights posing, wants to explore. 1/20/2019 - Very wide in the backside, nice in the loin, and easier to handle this time. LTW2 - Buck - Black  carrying Dilute (Blue) aa B_ C_ Dd E_ si Smallest of the kindle May have potenital 12/30/2018 - Highly active. 12/23/2018 - Handles well and rather sweet. 12/16/2...

Silver Fox is primarily a meat and show breed. They are docile enough to be pet breed, but most people do not want such large rabbits as pets, just because it is a lot of rabbit to handle. Still there are some breeders that have a pet breeder mindset when it comes to selling them. Here is a simple list to know with which kind of seller you may be dealing, which is helpful when you are new to rabbits! Let's start with the simplest first and move on to the most complicated. Silver Fox Meat/Fur Breeder Sale: Cash, bun...done! Basically, that is it. No muss, no fuss. Both seller and buyer agree where and when to meet and buyer is expected to have cash in hand. The rabbit can be any quality and age after weaning or state laws (usually 8 weeks old and up). There may be a pedigree involved or not. Silver Fox Show Breeder Sale: Discerning Typically, show breeders only want to sell rabbits that have good qualities—although not perfect, but have no disqualifying traits—an...

Yesterday my friend Hannah Yost of Renaissance Farmstead came over for a trade breeding. However, GC Leon was rather tired out quickly and there were no fall-offs with either of her two does. She opted for Starry Knight, which was his first time, and he had the energy and stamina that is grandfather no longer has.  I have noticed that Leon has been becoming weaker in his back legs and it may be close to the time he has outlived his ability to breed, but I plan to try him with another doe in a few days. I have considered using carpet or a rubber mat to help him have the traction he needs. I have been noticing this weakness for some time, but he was able to breed Hannah's doe about six weeks ago when he won BOB at the Southern Pride show. So, I think he still has some good days, but yesterday was a bad one. I truly have fallen in love with that old buck. Even though I have had him only since August, he is like the patriarch grandfather of my rabbitry. I am still hoping to ge...