# Back in the rabbit business...New - 3 more buns - pics pg 4



## Roll farms

We've raised rabbits off and on over the years, my husband just can't seem to get bunnies out of his system.

Yesterday we were given this pair of Californians...which I know nothing about.

Buck, aka "Big Willy"







Doe, "California Girl"






Together


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## terri9630

Does the doe have gray on her dewlap?  I've never seen that before on a Cali.  We have had a few for 4-H, always bucks though.  Didn't want babies, now we have 14 NZW kits......


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## PattySh

I have Calis. The doe isn't purebred, there is too much gray on her. BUT they look like they'd make some awesome meat rabbits. I like Californians they have a nicer temperament than the NZs that I have and are easy to work with. The rabbits  are nice and meaty and grow fast. Good luck with them. I found our rabbits pretty easy.


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## Roll farms

I didn't think she was pure...but Californian is what she most closely resembles.  

They were free and it got my hubby to stop scouring Craigslist for his bunny fix, lol.


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## PattySh

GOOD DEAL!!! Very nice for free. Free ones usually breed the best. My trio of $25 ea Nz's were crap. The male was fat and lazy and hard to breed (he went in the freezer) and one female never bred til she was 2 then died when the kits were a few days old. The 3rd one was a biter!My first Cali was free I've had her for a few years and she is a great mom, raises all her kits  and so sweet. I started out with a lop and a cali now I have NZ's, NZ/CaliXs and Calis. The lop made nice meaty rabbits but they were too cute,fancy colors, cute ears , had a hard time butchering them. Prefer the white ones they all look similar.


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## dbunni

Actually she could very well be purebred.  That color is called "smut".  If it is found on the usable portion of the pelt, it is a DQ, but on the non usable portions, it is not.  Not preferred in any way.  But common to many lines that do commercial work, non show animals.  I have seen it in several meat only production houses that run Calis ...


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## Roll farms

Thanks for the info, Dbunni.  

We used to raise checkered giants, holland and french lops, and french angoras.  

I'm not really into being in rabbits again, but he lets me have my goats / chickens...so how can I say no?


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## dewey

Roll farms said:
			
		

> his bunny fix, lol.


Heheh, is that possible?  Could be easing you back into the idea. 

Cute buns!  Is your doe bred?


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## Roll farms

Dunno yet....today was their 1st time together.   I reckon we'll find out in 31 days.

I have 30 goats, 40 birds (chickens and guineas), 5 dogs, 2 cats, a prairie dog, and a Patagonian cavy...the bunny idea is ALL his.

I don't have time for any more ideas,


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## tortoise

Welcome back to bun-buns!  I do believe they are addictive.  (You can't have just one.)

I wish I could have 3 goats and about a dozen chickens, but I live in the city.


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## Roll farms

Oh boy.....He's getting 2 more does this weekend.

A chinchilla colored one and a black and white spotted one...
The lady giving them to him has no idea what breed they are / have in their genetic mix, but since he just wants to raise 'big rabbits', he doesn't really care.  

I'll post pics when they arrive.


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## SDGsoap&dairy

So much for his "fix."


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## ChickenPotPie

Roll farms said:
			
		

> I have 30 goats, 40 birds (chickens and guineas), 5 dogs, 2 cats, a prairie dog, and a Patagonian cavy...the bunny idea is ALL his.


30 goats?!  

_Let him have his rabbits!_ 


I agree his doe absolutely looks like she could be purebred.  Just not show quality.  

The color and smut is in her extremities (tail, feet, ears, muzzle, and dewlap, outside shoulder,outside hip)  That is not unusual for himi/pointed varieties.  

They're like those toys that used to come in cereal boxes that changed color when exposed to cold or heat.  lol  The places on their bodies that get cold, turn dark.  We're coming out of winter and it is very likely that her large dewlap got cold and the other marks may be due to her leaning up against something cold (like metal) on her cage.  Smut is usually molted out.  It's not undesireable to have unless you're showing her.  Her babies should get their points as they are exposed to cool nights but don't expect a lot of smut unless they're also exposed to a few very cold nights.

On a side note...it is *possible* to "write" on our Cals by making her fur cold using ice.  I think it takes a few days.  It's a not so unheard of science experiment.  I couldn't find any photos but here is a worksheet and drawings that explain the gist of it.

http://cybersummit.org/itemanalysis/2007Tests/OGT_Sci_2007/Q39_OGTSCI_07.pdf


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## Bunnylady

ChickenPotPie is right, cooling a Himi's skin makes its fur turn dark. I'm thinking that the doe may have pulled fur for a litter - that could certainly expose the skin in those areas enough to chill it. It really takes very little time to get the chilling necessary to put color on the coat. I had a couple himi colored kits get seriously chilled just once - a very near miss with them. As their baby coats came in, each hair had a band of black ticking on it. A friend who saw them a few weeks later was puzzled, "I've never seen Chinchilla's with red eyes before?" 

Himi isn't the only color that does this - Shadeds do it, too. I had a Siamese Sable Wooly that really got carried away pulling fur. She'd start about a week before the kits were due, and by the time they came, she'd be almost completely bald. There would be a 2" Mohawk of fur along her spine, everything else was either on the floor or in the nestbox. That much chilling caused her to produce fur that was nearly black, so she was countershaded!


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## Roll farms

Thank you very much for the "smut" info.  
All I know about them is that they're around 1 yr old, and she had 1 baby before.

She has been bred to him.  Should be due around April 3rd.

Here are pics of his 2 new does....

"Fluffy"...I think Checkered Giant cross to something smaller.  She's not quite as big as the Calis.  Former child's pet, born in July.







And...."B-word"...she is EVIL.  Supposed to be a Lop X.   Roughly 8 mos. old.  She is the reason Fluffy got rehomed as well, the kids ended up being scared silly of both rabbits b/c of this one's behavior.






I think she should go in the stew pot....but DH wants to see if she'll kindle / raise them b/c he loves her color.  
He'd like to keep a doe and replace this one.
She runs at / attacks anything that enters her cage, kicks, bites, and when he put her in the buck pen, she acted like she'd murder him.

Any chance of her being a decent mom when she behaves this way, or should we just cull her?


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## SDGsoap&dairy

Gah!  That one even LOOKS savage, Roll!  Ever read the Beatrix Potter book, "A Fierce, Bad Rabbit?"  That's totally your bunny.


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## dbunni

fluffy is a broken black pattern (spot pattern specifically) New Zealand!  Know that look all too well.... have lots that look like her around here!


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## hoodat

Roll farms said:
			
		

> Thank you very much for the "smut" info.
> All I know about them is that they're around 1 yr old, and she had 1 baby before.
> 
> She has been bred to him.  Should be due around April 3rd.
> 
> Here are pics of his 2 new does....
> 
> "Fluffy"...I think Checkered Giant cross to something smaller.  She's not quite as big as the Calis.  Former child's pet, born in July.
> 
> http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y299/kritter11/Fluffy.jpg
> 
> And...."B-word"...she is EVIL.  Supposed to be a Lop X.   Roughly 8 mos. old.  She is the reason Fluffy got rehomed as well, the kids ended up being scared silly of both rabbits b/c of this one's behavior.
> 
> http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y299/kritter11/Bword.jpg
> 
> I think she should go in the stew pot....but DH wants to see if she'll kindle / raise them b/c he loves her color.
> He'd like to keep a doe and replace this one.
> She runs at / attacks anything that enters her cage, kicks, bites, and when he put her in the buck pen, she acted like she'd murder him.
> 
> Any chance of her being a decent mom when she behaves this way, or should we just cull her?


You get one like that sometimes. We used to have one we called Crazyrabbit because she was so aggresive. She'd shred your hand if you weren't careful. We put up with it because she raised good litters but sometimes it's best to cull them. Normally I say take the buck to the doe rather than the other way round but if she's that wild she'd probably fight him anyway. Might be best to introduce her to the crock pot after she has one litter and see if her color but not her aggresion gets passed on.


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## Roll farms

So we traded evil bunny....

For Thumper






Ain't she CUTE???

Tomorrow we're heading to a place KB Cage and Supply to get top-fill water bottles and who knows what else...Once DH gets the bug...he goes nuts.

He's decided we need a barn addition to keep his bunnies in...
The upshot is my (goat) bucks will FINALLY get part of it for their badly needed house.


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## terri9630

Roll farms said:
			
		

> Once DH gets the bug...he goes nuts.


My husband is the same with with his dumb motorcycle.  Who buys a brand new bike just to take it apart and rebuild it?


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## Roll farms

You should see our Jeep...jes sayin'...lol.


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## cattlecait

> You get one like that sometimes. We used to have one we called Crazyrabbit because she was so aggresive. She'd shred your hand if you weren't careful. We put up with it because she raised good litters but sometimes it's best to cull them. Normally I say take the buck to the doe rather than the other way round but if she's that wild she'd probably fight him anyway. Might be best to introduce her to the crock pot after she has one litter and see if her color but not her aggresion gets passed on.


A friend of mine had a rabbit named Scratch Your Eyes Out. When he finally culled her, she lived up to her name even in death and he wound up stabbing himself in the hand with the skinning knife and getting stitches.

Just throwing this out there because it makes me laugh every time.


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## SDGsoap&dairy

Good trade!  Although- I think I'd find it easier to eat the bad one than the cute little lop eared bun.


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## Dreaming Of Goats

OOOOOhhhhhh The evil trade out was definitely a good deal! She's so cute!


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## Emmetts Dairy

They are very cute!!!  Good luck!


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## Roll farms

SCORE!

Bought DH this pair of Blue Flemish Giants yesterday, from a show breeder.  He's pickled tink. 

2 mo. old, 6# doe







6 mo. old 11# buck


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## SDGsoap&dairy

They are beautiful!


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## jodief100

When y'all decided to do something there is no halfway about it is there?  

Cute bunnies.


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## Roll farms

jodief100 said:
			
		

> When y'all decided to do something there is no halfway about it is there?
> 
> Cute bunnies.


Ummm...No.  

We went to a cage supply place last week and got new water bottles w/ screw on tops that you can fill w/out taking off the cages.  When he was there he saw a "Flemish Giant Condo" and wouldn't shut up about it...now we'll probably be going back for it.


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## Dreaming Of Goats

Beautiful bunnies!


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## Roll farms

And his madness continues....

New Flemish x French Lop(?) buck - Jethro







And 2 Flemish x French Lop(?) does (sisters), Ziva and Abby


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## Dreaming Of Goats

Pretty!


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## Dreaming Of Goats

Wait... That means you already have 9 bunnies!!!!!!!

Did the Californian Doe kindle yet?


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## Mo's palominos

Cute cute and cute !


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## Legacy

Cute. We have roosters name Gibbs and Tony and Feather head chicken named abby.

"Gibbs" is a turken with a high-n-tight and "Tony" struts around all cocky but doesn't impress the ladies so much. "Abby" has black legs so she is rather "goth".

Maybe I should continue the theme with my bunnies. I still have a few that have yet to be named.


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## SDGsoap&dairy

Jethro is beautiful!


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## 20kidsonhill

I was looking into flemish crosses or french lop crosses.  let me know what you think.  Do you know what yours are crossed with? What will you breed them too? 

I have a doe that looks alot like Ziva and Abby, everyone always comments how big she is, but I have no idea what breeds, I just now she makes nice meat rabbits. And is very friendly.


You are out of control.  

What is your plan with all those bunnies?


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