# French Angora & Californian- Jack Frost



## Hens and Roos

We added French Angora rabbits this year- 1 buck-white and 1 doe-fawn.  We have had them since they were 8 weeks old or so. They are now breeding age.  My DD has been learning how to spin their fiber with a drop spindle and my DS(8) has been asking to learn.

We have been thinking about breeding them and wanted to know if those who work with Angora rabbits- clip the doe's fiber down somewhat to help keep her cleaner prior to breeding?  We have them in a heated shop so them aren't out in the elements.


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## Hens and Roos

Thought I'd post a couple of pictures.  We did go ahead and breed the pair and if all goes well, expecting kits around Feb 2nd.  It will be interesting to see what colors we might end up with.

Here is our buck-Jack Frost: He is very sweet and loves attention. He belongs to my DS(8).





Here is our doe- Cashew: she is more temperamental/reserved.  She belongs to my DD(14)


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## P.O. in MO

Can't answer your question but must say angoras are a very pretty rabbit.  I read up on them a while back after seeing them in a post here and learned a lot.  I had no idea that angora was so much warmer than wool.  Be interested to know what color kits you end up with.


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## DwayneH

are there any tricks to raising them, different than normal bunnies?


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## Hens and Roos

They do need to eat a wool blend formula of pellets to help prevent wool block- they lick/clean themselves like a cat would be can't cough up the hair balls.  The wool formula helps pass the fur through. Ours get free choice hay out of a feeder just so they don't get it into their coats. We do keep ours in wire cages- shavings and straw/hay get into the coat pretty easy and then it is harder to clean out the fiber.  We comb ours out every other week or so based on if we see the coats getting tangled.  We found that a cat slicker comb works well for us. Takes us about 15 minutes per rabbit as we have French Angoras- so their faces, ears & legs have short hair. We start at the bottom of the rabbit and work up to the top so we don't miss tangles and can separate out the layers easier.  Once they get their adult coat they shed their coat every 90 days or so. Any fiber we comb off we learning how to spin with and make into yarn.

Other than the different food and combing them out, they don't seem different compared to the Californian rabbits we raise.


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## Hens and Roos

So we added the nest box yesterday for Cashew, she checked it out and when we did evening chores she was hopping in and out of it.  We are now in the last week , we also have 1 Cali doe due as well.


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## P.O. in MO

Hope they all come thru for you, I had a new doe due last nite(second try) and the nest box is still empty this morning.


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## Hens and Roos

Thanks, good luck to you as well, we always give a few extra days or at least till day 35.


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## Hens and Roos

Well today is day 36 and no babies  for either doe.  Thinking we will be re-breeding this weekend and try again.


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## RedBrush Farm

I do not trim up my girls before breeding. Once they start nesting, I do make sure that they have pulled enough hair from their bellies so the kits can nurse. Once you have kits, you need to check often that they do not tangle up in the long hair and strangle themselves. I have had this happen and felt absolutely terrible that I had not checked more often. I have 2 litters that are just turning a week old. They were 4 and 5 days later than expected. I have another that was due yesterday, but as of today, nothing but a nice snugly nest..... Good Luck Hope you know that once you get the kits you are hooked. You will want to keep them all)


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## Hens and Roos

thanks for the tips, FA are new to us- this is our 1st pair- 1st time breeding them.  No kits, so we will probably be re-breeding in the next day or so.

Our doe is a bit on the snotty side so handling her can be a challenge.

Kind of like chicken math


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## RedBrush Farm

If it were not for chicken math, I couldn't justify my chicken obsession)


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## Hens and Roos

I think chickens are just the start and it's a losing battle from there 

my DS(8)decided he'd rather have another FA rabbit instead of chicks.....yep my kids are hooked too!


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## RedBrush Farm

Well, with us it started with chickens (rare breeds) expanded to peafowl added turkey's and then bought a flock of sheep after which I decided I just MUST have the French Angora...... Chicken math goes well beyond chickens. I tell everyone that if your going to have a farm what could be more fun than filling it up??


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## Hens and Roos

We have peafowl, and kids raise meat turkeys for fair...just haven't gotten into the other animals yet...DD is asking for Alpacas- we are learning to spin fiber

btw- like your avatar


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## RedBrush Farm

Thanks, this is one of a set of twins born Christmas morning. I would love to learn to spin the fiber from my Rabbits. I just sell it now. Don't know exactally when I could fit in another thing to learn. We looked into alpaca and even committed to a pair, but after much research on care we backed out. The biggest factor for us is they must be treated ASAP if a problem arises and none of our local vets was willing to treat them. The gentleman who had them had a vet coming from 60 miles away and told us up front was very costly. We were looking at the Suri and they were beautiful..... Maybe someday


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## Hens and Roos

We picked up an reasonably priced drop spindle and are slowly learning to spin with it.  My DD(14 years), DS(8 years) and myself are learning- we are actually looking at getting a spinning wheel.  We have a fiber shop close by that the gal has been very helpful in showing/explaining to us the steps.  I also checked out a book from the library called "Teach Yourself Visually Handspinning" by Judith Mackenzie McCuin

Right now we only have the 2 FA so we haven't tried to sell the fiber.  We have been learning to mix the FA fiber with Merino fiber.


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## Hens and Roos

So we are at day15 for our FA Cashew- we tested her with the buck and she wanted nothing to do with him so hopefully we will have a litter around March 19th or so


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## Hens and Roos

thought I would add a picture of our newest addition , picked him up the other night, he is a half-sib to our buck-Jack Frost.  So far the kids are calling him "Jack Black" and my DS(12) is laying claim to him.....I had kind of picked him out for myself  so we'll see how this works.  We are hoping that he carries the blue gene but won't know that until he is older.






So last week Thursday wasn't a good day in our house.....our newest buck- Jack Black got spooked and ended up breaking a hind leg and we had to put him down...very sad all around.


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## Hens and Roos

So we have been waiting to see if our doe Cashew was actually pregnant this time around as indicated by testing her at day 14.  This morning at chore time her nest box was loaded with fur and if you watched long enough you could see it wiggle!  At this point we have not checked and will give her a few days before doing so.


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## Hens and Roos

So, we couldn't wait and peeked briefly this afternoon- looks like she had at least 4 healthy babies- she was actually pretty cool about me looking.  I gave her some sunflower seeds afterwards


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## P.O. in MO

Congratulations on the litter.


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## Hens and Roos

Thanks, they were lively and moving and she is doing a good job taking care of them.


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## Hens and Roos

So the babies are 8 days today, the doe is doing a very good job with them and still protective so our checks are kept short and few. 

From quick counting we have 5 very good sized ones and 1 small one- they were all doing great but mid-day today the smallest was found out of the nest box and cold....we think it was attached on to the doe and she brought it out by mistake so it didn't make it.  Bummer because it was doing a great job of keeping itself full.

Here is a picture we took of 1 baby:  we think it will be either a blue or lilac tort, others are white(3) and fawn(1), the smallest one that didn't make it was colored like the one in the picture.




Of course it was not staying still and decided to pee on me- my kids found that funny!


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## P.O. in MO

Sorry you lost one but 5 is still pretty good.


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## Hens and Roos

yep 5 is good as this is her 1st litter(2nd breeding), these are big babies, we have been giving the doe extra black sunflower seeds to help her maintain body condition.  Looks like the babies eyes are starting to open.


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## Hens and Roos

So what is the general thought on when to start handling the babies?  With our Cali babies- we have waited until they start coming out of the box- roughly 3 weeks old.  Given that we are planning to use the fiber for spinning and a calm bunny is much easier to work with- is this a good time frame as well?


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## Hens and Roos

Here are a few pictures of our babies- they are ~17 days old now.  They were out of the nest box this morning, looking around and following the doe.





Here is one from a few days ago- they were napping in the nest box- the 3 white babies have gray on their ears and nose....not sure that any are ruby eyed white like the buck.





Here is our newest buck...he is different lines then what we have.  It will be neat to add his fiber into the colors we currently have.   He is about 9 weeks old


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## Hens and Roos

Took a few new pictures today and thought I'd share.  Took a few shots and extra hands to get
them all lined up, the fawn one wasn't wanting to sit still!


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## luvmypets

Stop it theyre to cute...I wish i had bunnies. Luv your new buck


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## happy acres

So sweet!


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## Hens and Roos

thanks...my youngest DS is asking to keep them all  trying to figure out what the correct color term is for the white ones- have to make sure that he could show them if one is kept.


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## Hens and Roos

So here are some updated pictures of the babies- they are about 11 weeks old now.  2 of my kids will show 4 of the babies at our local 4-H fair in July.
Fawn- male





Tort-female- not sure if she is just a tort or a blue tort




Sable- male




Sable- female




Unsure of color- female


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## Hens and Roos

So my kids showed the doe & buck plus 4 of their kits- 2 jr does and 2 jr bucks at our county fair this past week.  The buck ended up with a 3rd (white)-he is a pound under weight but had very nice fiber.  The doe ended up with a 1st (blue)- she would have won her class but her coat wasn't all back from having the kits- very nice and dense fiber.  The fawn jr buck- took 1st blue, had a little nicer coat than his litter mate- Pear jr buck- who took the 2nd blue- had better body confirmation but his coat wasn't as good as the fawn buck.   The 2 does both had very similar coats in fiber and density but the tort doe won 1st blue as the pearl doe's front shoulders were low.  The tort doe ended up being reserve champion in the class they showed in.  DD plans to keep the tort doe and so we need to find homes for the other 4 kits.


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## goatgurl

i started at the beginning of your thread and have read all the way thru.  love your bunnies, they are so cute!  i had a friend years ago who lived in the D.C. area and would comb her bunnies then spin their fur, then weave it into scarves and shawls.  even back then she sold them for hundreds of dollars each.  now  would be the time to teach the kids to spin and weave.  and I'm like you, i love blue... right now all i have are blue maran hens and roo and blue EE.


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## Hens and Roos

goatgurl said:


> i started at the beginning of your thread and have read all the way thru.  love your bunnies, they are so cute!  i had a friend years ago who lived in the D.C. area and would comb her bunnies then spin their fur, then weave it into scarves and shawls.  even back then she sold them for hundreds of dollars each.  now  would be the time to teach the kids to spin and weave.  and I'm like you, i love blue... right now all i have are blue maran hens and roo and blue EE.



thanks! we are slowly learning to spin- myself, DD and DS(9)- we started learning on a drop spindle and now have a spinning wheel- not very good at it yet...lol


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## Hens and Roos

need some feedback on question, our REW buck is 1.5 years old and needs to gain about 1.5 to 2 pounds of weight- he was underweight at fair when my DS showed him.  He is on full feed getting a wool formula, with black sunflower seeds and old fashioned oats.  Any suggestions....we are wondering if his frame is naturally small and that we might not be able to get the needed weight on him without making him fat


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## happy acres

I would think a naturally small frame would be taken into account when it comes to weight. Have you tried free choice Timothy or alfalfa hay?


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## Hens and Roos

we feed free choice timothy/grass right now but plan to switch over to alfalfa and see if that helps.  Now just to find someone who has alfalfa....several people that I know with hay have a grass mix similar to what we currently feed.


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## Hens and Roos

So we finally found a good bale of alfalfa hay, only cost me an 8 oz jar of maple syrup .  We are now slowly adding the alfalfa hay into their regular hay and will see if this helps.  The rabbits are of course excited to eat it!


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## Hens and Roos

So I thought I'd add a picture of our newest buck- we have had him May but had to let his hair grow out before showing him off   His name is Sven and he is considered a chestnut.  He is such a sweet guy, he loves attention, sits fairly still for being groomed and is awesome about getting back into his cage- does it very calmly!  We have not showed him yet but from what we already know, he has nice fiber.  He is just 7 months old









At this point we have 3 bucks and 2 does that we are working with.  We only kept the 1 doe from the litter we had earlier this year.


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## Hens and Roos

So today was spa day for the rabbits- we groomed out the 2 does and 1 buck.  Here is a picture of our doe: Cashew sitting and being pampered , she is our grumpy one to say the least but has some nice fiber!  Taking a break for now and then will go and finish the other 2 bucks.  She is one that we will breed to our blue buck- just have to make some cage space.


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## Hens and Roos

Ran out of time yesterday but was able to finish grooming out our blue buck and our white buck today.  Here is picture of Olaf and a picture of all the fiber combed off- he is still shedding.


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## SA Farm

The pile looks like another rabbit sans ears


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## Hens and Roos

SA Farm said:


> The pile looks like another rabbit sans ears



yep, we joke about removing the extra bunnies when grooming


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## Hens and Roos

Had an interesting morning so far...went out to do chores- our rabbits are spoiled and share space in our heated shop with all our equipment.  Our fawn doe - Cashew and her daughter- Peanut-have been living together since Peanut was born and getting along fine.  Well today that ended- I think hormones kicked in for Peanut now as well and all gloves were off this am!  Does were going at each other- not a good thing!  Of course all our cages are full until we cull a few out(told DH with the temps getting into the high 30's on Sat, we will be process a few of the meat rabbits).  Separated the 2 does and had to shuffle a few around but everyone now is relativity happy.   Decided that I would also go ahead and breed them so hopefully in 30 days we will have some angora babies!

Paired:
Cashew (fawn doe) with Sven (chestnut buck)= it will be interesting to see how this pairing works as chestnut is a dominant color.
Peanut (Tort or Blue Tort doe) with Olaf (blue buck)= this pairing will show us if the doe is a tort or blue tort.

Either way we should hopefully get some neat colors!


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## Hens and Roos

Added the nest boxes to both Peanut and Cashew cages.  Both have started building nests or I should say digging out the material in the nest box.  They are due on Friday March 13th


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## Hens and Roos

So last night while doing chores, we noticed that Cashew(fawn doe) had pulled some fur for her nest box- I did a quick check but no kits.  Didn't check the box this morning but this afternoon we noticed a lot of fur in the box- did a quick check and 4 or 5 babies were snuggled in there saw at least 1 with pink skin and several with dark color skin- didn't want to mess to long as this doe is our Attitude doe- but she was cool 

I will try and get a picture in the next day or so.

We are waiting for Peanut to kindle- she was in her nest box- looked like she was pulling fur- will check at chore time tonight.


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## Southern by choice

yes pics!


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## Hens and Roos

So at chore time- I checked Peanut's nest box.....and she kindled was able to do a quick count- 6 kits- 1 with pink skin and 5 with dark skin(could be blue or black or a couple of each)!  She wasn't concerned at all that I was touching--just love the does that we raise from babies on!!

Not the greatest pictures(and I'm working off a new editing program for now) this picture is the group of kits surrounded by her pulled fur!

  I am holding one of Peanut's(Tortishell) kits and the pink dot is another baby


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## goatgurl

woot, baby bunnies.  anxious to see what they are.  congrats


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## Hens and Roos

keep your fingers crossed - when I was doing chores- I happened to look next to the crate on our floor and there was a kit- not sure how it got there from out of the cage (maybe was hooked onto the doe and ended up getting tossed out) or which doe it is from.  It was pretty cold but moving just a bit- I warmed it up with my hands and the heat lamp that is set up for our current batch of chicks- it did start moving a bit so I tucked it into Cashew's box next to her warm kits....at this point all we can do is wait and see if it makes it.


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## Shorty

Congrats on the kits!!!! Hope the one that came out of the nest box is ok


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## Hens and Roos

So I did a quick check this morning and the kits from both does seem to be warm and wiggly so now we play the wait and see game!


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## luvmypets




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## Hens and Roos

So I did a little research(used a rabbit genetics calculator) and came up with the following:

Our 1st paring: Cashew(fawn)x Sven(Chestnut) can give a lot of colors but these are the ones with the highest %- Chestnut, Opal, Fawn, Orange and Red

Our 2nd paring: Peanut(Tortoise Shell) x Olaf(Blue) can also give a lot of colors but these are the ones with the highest %- Black, Blue, Tortoise Shell and Blue Tortoise Shell

It would be neat to take a picture of the kits(1 nest box at a time) lined up but I have not wish to stress out the does so we will wait.....hopefully we can handle it


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## Hens and Roos

Just a quick up date, last night at chore time- I found the same kit outside the cage on the floor- guessing something was wrong or it died and the doe put it out of the nest box.  It's sad but part of nature.


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## SA Farm

Hens and Roos said:


> Just a quick up date, last night at chore time- I found the same kit outside the cage on the floor- guessing something was wrong or it died and the doe put it out of the nest box.  It's sad but part of nature.


I'm sorry for the loss


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## Hens and Roos

thanks @SA Farm

on a happier note, we were able to get another picture of Peanut's kits- they are now 3 days old- with big fat tummies- she was feeding when we did chores this morning, once she got out of the nest box, she happily took a strawberry top to eat while I got these pictures 





there is the pink one, 2 black and 2 blue


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## Hens and Roos

Thinking that our doe Cashew pull way to much fur for her nest box, noticed that the 2 pink skin kits didn't seem to be getting fed- their belly's were not plump like their litter mates and they were wrinkly.  At am chores- found 1 of them didn't make it.  Removed some of the fur and found the other one still alive back further from the other kits- moved it into the pile so maybe it will have a chance Thinking these 2 were getting lost in the fur and didn't make it in time to eat.  They also seem a bit smaller then the rest.

I did look it over and noticed some fur coming in- looked to be fawn colored- so thinking that the kits are starting to fur about 3-4 days old.


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## JakeM

If they are still alive by the next time you check them (finger crossed!), but they still look underfed, you can flip the doe on her back and attach the baby(ies) to her teats. I've done that with a runt before with a first time mom and that baby is now eight months old and plump.

Good luck to you and your bunnies!


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## Hens and Roos

JakeM said:


> If they are still alive by the next time you check them (finger crossed!), but they still look underfed, you can flip the doe on her back and attach the baby(ies) to her teats. I've done that with a runt before with a first time mom and that baby is now eight months old and plump.
> 
> Good luck to you and your bunnies!



We had thought about attempting this, but this kit didn't make it either- the others look well fed.


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## Hens and Roos

Took a quick look at the kits this morning- they all look good with fat tummies!

Peanut has 5 kits- the pink one looks to be getting white fur(we'll see if it changes over time) and there looks to be 2 black and 2 blue- that may change as they get bigger.

Cashew now also has 5 kits(the 2 pink skin ones didn't make it) they have pink and black skin which is correct for being either Chestnut or Opal color.  I usually keep my check time short with her-her personality can be ever changing 

I will try and get some updated pictures!


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## Hens and Roos

So I am finally getting a minute to up date with some pictures- these were taken at 1 week old(2-19-2015)

Here is a group picture of Peanut's kits (5 total)





Here is a picture of 1 of Cashew's kits- she has 5 total- 4 like the one in the picture and 1 black



this one is either a Chestnut or an Opal(have to do some more on-line research to try and figure out or just give it time)

oh and I got peed on when holding the one from Cashew's box...


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## Hens and Roos

At morning chore time, Peanut had her babies out of the box and laying on the wire- they are 2 weeks tomorrow.

Here is the picture I took:


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## Hens and Roos

Last night at chores, I checked Peanut's nest box and only came up with 4 kits...1 of the blue kits was missing- when I put the kits back in the next box yesterday morning, I never checked the box for the 5th kit.  So I pulled out the nest box and DH and I counted and re-counted.  1 blue missing no clue what happened...very sad that something might have happened to it, looked around on the floor but nothing.

This morning, I went to feed rabbits first and as I was getting food out, I caught movement on the floor in front of Jack Frost's cage.....it was the missing blue kit- appeared to be a little dusty but fine- so I put it back into the nest box and Peanut actually went back in- hopefully she fed it.  Never knew that they could squeeze out of small cage holes!   So happy to have found it!


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## Hens and Roos

So it took my DS(9) to point out to me how the little kit got out- the cage they are in was set up for quail and had several bigger spots  forgot all about that.  DH fixed it last night so no more walk-about for them!

2 weeks old and their eyes are open.

This morning Cashew had some of her kits out of the next box, she'll probably have them starting to eat pellets by next week.


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## Hens and Roos

Here is a picture of the kits from Cashew's litter:


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## Hens and Roos

Picture update 

Here is a picture of Peanut's litter:




Here's a picture of Cashew's litter:


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## Hens and Roos

Haven't updated in a while- both litters are now 7 weeks old and getting big!  Our friend's wether went home so we did some shuffling around and so far put one litter into a bigger area.





This is Peanut's litter- may have 3 girls and 2 boys- have to have DH help me double check.


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## samssimonsays

LOVE THIS! They are so stinkin cute!


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## Hens and Roos

confirmed Peanut's litter yesterday and we have:
3 does- white, blue and black
2 bucks- blue and black


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## Onyx

Ah I can't wait to get more rabbits again.  I really enjoyed the hobby so much.


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## Hens and Roos

We finally got Cashew's group moved into a bigger area, I attempted to mark which rabbits were does and bucks.  The one not marked is Cashew.  The picture doesn't show very well but they are very neat colors- some of the color is underneath.


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## Hens and Roos

We determined that the black kit in Cashew's is actually a doe so we have only 1 buck from this litter.  Starting taking a few pictures of each one as time allows to show the fur color.  This is the buck's picture:









Forgot to add- we aren't quite sure what color he is....


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## Hens and Roos

noticed this morning that the buck whose pictured right about this post- doesn't always hold one ear up- it flops down- not sure if this will count against him if he is showed?


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## samssimonsays

It could potentially but I would suggest showing him and finding out. In french lops if they have too much ear control it can be a bad thing.


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## Hens and Roos

Probably will have the kids show him as we only have 3 bucks from the 2 litters(thinking my DS(13) wants to show this year as well


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## BlessedWithGoats

Hens and Roos said:


> noticed this morning that the buck whose pictured right about this post- doesn't always hold one ear up- it flops down- not sure if this will count against him if he is showed?


 Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question, but I did want to mention that my (I think mixed-breed) buck, (he died this winter), liked to do that with one of his ears too!


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## Hens and Roos

Was able to take another picture today- this is from Cashew's litter- doe- we aren't sure what color she is exactly.  She is the one DD will probably be showing for fair.







She actually looks more blue then what shows up in the pictures.


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## Hens and Roos

For those of you who tattoo your rabbits- what method do you find works the best.  We have done rabbits with both the tong set and the EZ tatt set- we had problems with the tattoos staying in...


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## Hens and Roos

Today, I had time to clean the area where these guys hang out- I had to set up a few dog crates and then move each litter into one.  I did take a picture of Peanut with a few of her kits- enjoying the sunshine.


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## Hens and Roos

at one point I had a link to dosage information if one needed to give medicines to rabbits but it isn't working- anyone have a good site to use.  I find it handy to have just in case.


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## Hens and Roos

today we worked on grooming rabbits- of course they are in various stages of blowing coat and the fair for the kids is in about 13 days .  The 2 senior bucks they are possibly taking are blowing their coat in a big way and we aren't sure if they will be good to go or not.....

we were able to get 5 groomed and hoping to do 1 more yet tonight- this will take care of all the bucks.  Tomorrow we will start grooming the does(they do a better job of staying clean)!


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## Hens and Roos

We had fair here this past week and the kids did good with all their projects.  They ended up taking 6 angoras and 4 Californian rabbits.  Both breeds were littermates and it's cool to get feedback on how well the rabbits measure up- especially the angoras!

The nice thing is that my DD(15 years) and DS(10 years) are able to show against each other and do so with out intense competition!

My DD ended up taking Best of Commercial breed with her Californian Sr. doe



Here are both kids being judged with their angora rabbits


DD took champion in the wool class with her jr. doe and DS took champion reserve with his sr. doe- these 2 rabbits are half sisters sharing the same dam.


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## OneFineAcre

Very Cool.
Congrats


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## Hens and Roos

Our rabbit project superintendents for the fair have held a rabbit/cavy raffle for the last few years on the last day of fair.  This is open to kids with only 1 rabbit or looking to get into the rabbit project. The main rule is if you pick a rabbit or cavy you are required to show the next year(parents have to sign permission sheet) This is how DD ended up getting a Californian buck a few years back and started showing the following year.....and the rest is history so to speak 

DS(13) doesn't have a lot of interest in showing animals but this year he asked to take part in the cavy part of the raffle-since we have more than 1 rabbit!  Even though he doesn't show, he has to help with chores at home and has really been my main helper when DD broke her ankle.

So we came home with not 1 but 2 cavies......because the littermate to the one DS(13) picked wasn't chosen and needed a home.....yep I have an "S" on my forehead!!! 

Both are American, and boars so they can share a cage
DS(13) named his Gilbert


DS(10) named his Myth


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## Hens and Roos

Here are Cashew's girls- they are as big as she is now!


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## Hens and Roos

here is our newest addition: a broken blue buck- his name is Ben but DS(10) calls him spot.  He just finished up quarantine and is now moved over into the shop with the rest of the rabbits.


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## Hens and Roos

Today ended up being nice here, perfect weather for cleaning cages!  Happy to say all rabbit cages are clean again!  We also groomed 5 out of our 6 French angoras and I plan to get the last one done after dinner tonight.

Now to figure out which ones we will breed so the kids will have rabbits for next years fair.


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## Hens and Roos

does anyone work with looms and know any good sites to get information from?  My SIL came across a table top loom but there was no information with it- the person she got it from said they used it but didn't remember how everything worked.  She wants to bring it to me so I can play with it over winter.

Here is what it looks like- the tag reads Structo Artcraft loom....


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## Hens and Roos

So we are playing a waiting game- our 3 French Angora does are hopefully bred and will kindle a day or 2 after Christmas. Our tort doe was bred to our broken blue buck; our fawn doe was bred to our chestnut buck and our chinchilla doe(she has been named: Chinzilla ) was bred to our REW buck  Our 2 Cali does are hopefully bred and will kindle a day or 2 before Christmas- they are both bred to the same buck.


----------



## Shorty

I can't wait to see what colors you get!


----------



## Hens and Roos

Shorty said:


> I can't wait to see what colors you get!



yes we are excited to see what we get!


----------



## Hens and Roos

Added the nest boxes for each of the Cali does- the one doe was carrying hay around under her chin.  Once the nest box was added she took most of the hay out of it and was trying to carry it all under her chin! 

Due early to mid week next week


----------



## Hens and Roos

This morning when we did chores I took a peak in the 2 Cali doe's nest boxes- nothing happening yet!  However, I just went out to the shop to find DH and noticed that Vanilla's cage had hair laying in several places and she was in the nest box!!!  Told DH no running tools and to come out of the shop.......we'll see what later today!!!


----------



## animalmom

Ohhhhh Christmas babies!


----------



## Becca'sBunnyBarn

I'm interested. Did you get any Christmas babies?


----------



## Hens and Roos

Sorry forgot to update, we quickly checked at chore time on Christmas eve and could feel wigglies in the next she built- not sure how many yet as we didn't want to upset her to much given this is her first time.  She seems to be doing a good job!


----------



## Becca'sBunnyBarn

That's wonderful! There's nothing like seeing the fur in the nestbox moving up and down and knowing you have a live litter! Congratulations


----------



## promiseacres

Congrats, I am still hoping, 2 does are day 31, 1 is day 30.


----------



## Hens and Roos

promiseacres said:


> Congrats, I am still hoping, 2 does are day 31, 1 is day 30.


 Good Luck , we are 3 angora does due in the next few days.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Here is a picture we took this am, we took a quick look. Counted 7
Vanilla is a Cali


----------



## goatgurl

awww, to cute.  congratulations!


----------



## Hens and Roos

Our 1st time doe- Vanilla is struggling, only 4 of the kits are alive.  It almost seems like she isn't making enough milk to feed them.  3 had fully bellies than the 1.  We are trying to help her out- with feeding the kits warm goat milk(lucky for them, I had froze some).  Maybe she will start producing more milk or maybe one of our angora's will kindle and we can foster.


----------



## promiseacres

Bummer, have you tried anything to increase her milk?


----------



## BlessedWithGoats

Congratulations on your new kits, and sorry for the loss of 3 of them!


----------



## Hens and Roos

promiseacres said:


> Bummer, have you tried anything to increase her milk?



not sure what to give her, of course winter has showed up here today- snow, rain, sleet and very windy so roads are not super good right now.


----------



## promiseacres

Calf manna is the most common supplement increase milk.


----------



## Hens and Roos

promiseacres said:


> Calf manna is the most common supplement increase milk.



okay, good to know- wonder if it is sold in small bags.


----------



## Hens and Roos

As we expected, the kits from Vanilla's litter didn't make it.  She was a first timer but tried her hardest to take care of them.  We will try again with her and our other Cali doe.

Our angora doe- Peanut kindled sometime early this am- she must have started having them on the wire and then got into the nest box as DS(10) spotted the one on the wire and we got it back into the box by the others.  Not sure how many she had yet- will give her a while be fore we take a peek.  She pulled a nice pile of hair- the next is lined with it and the kits are covered with it.  This is her 2nd litter and she did great the first time around so hopfully she will this time too!  She was bred to our buck- Ben who is a broken blue. 

Our angora doe- Chinzilla was working on building a nest this am, so maybe she will kindle as well  She was bred to our REW buck- Jack Frost


----------



## BlessedWithGoats

Aww, I'm sorry @Hens and Roos!   It's not easy to lose them. 
Aww, yay! Congratulations! Best wishes for Chinzilla's kindling as well!


----------



## Hens and Roos

BlessedWithGoats said:


> Aww, I'm sorry @Hens and Roos!   It's not easy to lose them.
> Aww, yay! Congratulations! Best wishes for Chinzilla's kindling as well!



thanks


----------



## Hens and Roos

we took a quick peek tonight into Peanut's nest box, she sure has a pile of kits...nice and warm and moving. 

I will up load a picture shorty that we took.


----------



## Hens and Roos

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of Peanut's litter.  My DD is holding the one kit .  Peanut has made a warm nest as you can see.










Our other Angora doe- Chinzilla(first timer) had her kits- we took a quick peek and it looks like she had 6 kits- 3 pink ones(thinking REW's) and 3 gray colored ones.


----------



## goatgurl

to cute!  glad things are going well.


----------



## HoneyDreameMomma

How adorable!  Congratulations!


----------



## BlessedWithGoats

Congratulations!! Baby bunnies are so neat!


----------



## Hens and Roos

it looks like Peanut has several kits that look similar to this one- some with more spots and others are lighter....it will be neat to see what color fur they end up with:


----------



## leanneellison1979

ive rally enjoyed reading through this thread, cant wait for the next pics x


----------



## Hens and Roos

leanneellison1979 said:


> ive rally enjoyed reading through this thread, cant wait for the next pics x



thanks, will see if I can get some updated pictures of at least Peanut's litter; Chinzilla has been very protective of her litter!


----------



## leanneellison1979

i realize how addictive breeding can be now my babies are growing but i wouldnt be any good because i cant part with them lol.. although if id set out to buy them for a reason eg for fur then im sure i would mind then but we already knew before she had them we would be keeping them. so no more balls of fluff for me so i will just use your thread to aaawwwww over lol..


----------



## Hens and Roos

Managed to get a few new pictures this morning of each litter.  Both litters are 1 week old.

Peanut's kits- 8 total









Chinzilla's kits- 6 total


----------



## Hens and Roos

Both groups of kits are growing fast-2 weeks old now- noticed that Chinzilla's kits are starting to open their eyes.  Had to put 2 kits back into the nest box- they can get out but not back in yet.  Sure glad that they are housed inside we are at 2* with a -15* wind chill and windy.....brrrrrr


----------



## animalmom

Too cute!  Love it when their eyes open and they start trying to get out of the nest box, just peeking over the edge.  Next week they'll be doing the "I'm in the box, I'm outta the box, I'm in the box" routine... when they are not pestering mom for a free drink.


----------



## Hens and Roos

We're really impressed with Chinzilla- this is her 1st litter and the kits are big and she is doing a great job.  We don't go in her box as much as we look at Peanut's litter,  Chinzilla is more protective and ready to bat at us!


----------



## leanneellison1979

aww they are beautiful. squiggles kits are now 11 weeks old and she is still feeding them. i took her to get spayed on tuesday and they wouldnt do it because shes still full of milk and feeding the kits, shes now in a pen in my living room until she dries up. i thought momma buns couldnt wait to be rid of the kits, shes got separation anxiety lol..


----------



## Hens and Roos

leanneellison1979 said:


> aww they are beautiful. squiggles kits are now 11 weeks old and she is still feeding them. i took her to get spayed on tuesday and they wouldnt do it because shes still full of milk and feeding the kits, shes now in a pen in my living room until she dries up. i thought momma buns couldnt wait to be rid of the kits, shes got separation anxiety lol..



we've seen that each doe acts differently when it comes to their litter- our does start weaning their kits around 3-4 weeks.


----------



## leanneellison1979

i wish she would. its not even the kits chasing her. its mom stamping her feet at them to feed and the shoving them under her, she chases them into the feeding corner, i really want this spay to go ahead lol..


----------



## Hens and Roos

leanneellison1979 said:


> i wish she would. its not even the kits chasing her. its mom stamping her feet at them to feed and the shoving them under her, she chases them into the feeding corner, i really want this spay to go ahead lol..



that's interesting, usually the doe is moving away from the kits!


----------



## Hens and Roos

Here is a new pictures of Peanut's litter:






watching to see what colors they become, looks like 3 broken blacks, 2 blues and not sure uet on the lighter 2 brokens


----------



## Hens and Roos

was able to get a picture of a couple of Chinzilla's kits....


----------



## Hens and Roos

our weather was pretty nice today so we went through and cleaned all the pens.  We also shifted the angora does around so that Peanut's group has 1 part of the floor pen and Chinzilla's group has the other half.

The kits from both litters are coming out of the nest box and already nibbling on pellets and hay.  They will be 4 weeks old this coming week!


----------



## Hens and Roos

Here are both litters- they are having lots of fun in their bigger area.








We have to come up with a different feeder-thinking longer so more can fit in at one time!


----------



## Hens and Roos

today was day 30 for our 3 Cali does and 1 French Angora doe to kindle- 2 of our Cali does had kits at some point today- both in their nest boxes, covered with fur.  Keeping fingers crossed that both does are successful-1 doe is a 1st timer and the other doe is the one who lost her kits when her milk didn't come in.  Kits in both boxes seemed to have full bellies.

Waiting to see if the 3rd Cali and the FA have kits 

might be a few days before we can get pictures...


----------



## Hens and Roos

only the 2 litters of kits.  had time this morning so took a quick peek- both does had at least 9 kits.  1 doe had a kit that died.  no pictures yet....


----------



## Hens and Roos

the Cali doe who just had her 2nd litter- lost all 11 of them.....doesn't look like she fed them, unfortunately we will be culling her


----------



## goatgurl

hate to hear that but with her history you are probably right to cull her.  hope the other litter is doing ok.


----------



## promiseacres

how frustrating


----------



## Hens and Roos

goatgurl said:


> hate to hear that but with her history you are probably right to cull her.  hope the other litter is doing ok.



she will be culled.  The other litter is doing very well, we did lose 1 kit because it must have been pulled out of the box and wiggle it's way out of the cage and onto the floor


----------



## Hens and Roos

our 2 litters of French Angora's are getting bigger, we have separated the bucks from the does.

this past weekend 3 of them went to their new homes- pet and also for their fiber.

Will try to add a few pictures!


----------



## Hens and Roos

Today, the kids had rabbit judging and showmanship....it went pretty well but took a long time......when we left the fair around 6 pm they were still doing showmanship(started around 11 am) so we wont know results till tomorrow on that for the kids.  DS(11) and DD(16) both felt they didn't do very well.

As for the breed judging on the Californians:
DS showed:
senior buck- got a red (2nd place)
senior doe- got a red
jr buck- got a white (3rd place)- wasn't put together to well
jr doe- top blue

DD showed:
Senior buck- top blue- rabbit was very well put together
Senior doe- 2nd blue- her coat wasn't is the best condition, otherwise she would have won
jr buck-top blue- good body type
jr doe- 2nd blue

The jr does and jr bucks are all litter mates(dam was DD's sr doe and sire was DS sr buck). 

DD also took Champion in the Californian class with her senior buck!

Our Angora rabbits didn't do as well- given the hot weather it's hard to keep their coat in good condition.

they didn't have senior bucks to show

DS showed
senior doe- she got a 3rd- she was lighter over all
jr buck- got the 2nd blue)beat out by his brother that DD showed)
jr doe- got a red- something about her body being long

DD showed
senior doe- she the 2nd blue- her coat was rough edges
jr buck-top blue- very nice(his dam is the sr doe DD showed)
jr doe-2nd blue-good body type but needs density & texture

it was hot here today so the rabbits were all crabby by the time showing them was done!!


----------



## promiseacres

Congratulations!


----------



## Hens and Roos

2016 fair is over and all animals are back home all together.  Funny how rabbit math works, we took 16 rabbits and came home with 18 rabbits.  We came home with 2 new rabbits, both does.  1 is a REW-French Angora and 1 is a REW-Satin Angora.

We will get some pictures to share once they have had a while to settle in.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Well I think I balanced the numbers again , 2 of our FA's went to their new home last night.  Just few more rabbits to go and the numbers should be at a reasonable level.  Now the decision that has to be made is if we look for a Satin Angora buck....


----------



## OneFineAcre

Congrats on a great fair


----------



## Hens and Roos

OneFineAcre said:


> Congrats on a great fair



thanks, our kids had fun and did great!


----------



## Hens and Roos

I'm to lazy to start a new thread so I will just ask here- we processed some Cali rabbits and I am working on wrapping them for the freezer.  I am using freezer wrap paper- double wrapping and them putting into jumbo sized(2.5 gallon) storage bags.

Any suggestions on what works for others would be great!


----------



## AClark

Vacuum sealer. Not for rabbits yet, but they'll fit in the bags and it keeps meat fresher a lot longer. I usually repackage bulk meats into meal sized bags with the sealer and I popped some dove open the other day that is literally 2 years old (I name and date my bags) and no freezer burn!
The bags aren't cheap but the Walmart brand ones work in the food saver no problem. I'm saving up for a bigger vacuum sealer.


----------



## Hens and Roos

We have a vacuum sealer and have tried to use it but have run into problems if there is too much liquid and if any bones are jagged.  I do like how the vacuum sealer works!


----------



## AClark

Oh yeah with vacuum sealers you need to rinse off the body and dry it (paper towels work good) as they do tend to not want to seal if there is liquid. If they are cut up pieces, I stick any sharp bones in the middle with another piece of meat to cushion it from piercing the bag. The bags with the two internal flap things are stronger and hold up better with bones I've noticed too.


----------



## Hens and Roos

AClark said:


> Oh yeah with vacuum sealers you need to rinse off the body and dry it (paper towels work good) as they do tend to not want to seal if there is liquid. If they are cut up pieces, I stick any sharp bones in the middle with another piece of meat to cushion it from piercing the bag. *The bags with the two internal flap things are stronger and hold up better with bones I've noticed too*.



I have not see these types of bags but will have to look for them.


----------



## AClark

The flaps inside are pleated, I think the bags are too. I'm out of them, I just have walmart cheap bags right now. I know the brand is food saver and that they are pleated. They are definitely more sturdy, they might even be bags for the game saver.


----------



## Hens and Roos

AClark said:


> The flaps inside are pleated, I think the bags are too. I'm out of them, I just have walmart cheap bags right now. I know the brand is food saver and that they are pleated. They are definitely more sturdy, they might even be bags for the game saver.



I was looking briefly on line last night and saw ones that are suppose to have a leakage blocker....have you seen them?


----------



## AClark

I can't say I've seen those, I'll look in my freezer at some point today and see if there isn't a number on the good bags. My husband bought them so I have no idea where he actually found them, but my guess is bed bath and beyond or walmart lol.


----------



## AClark

Ok I went to look, the full pleated bags are from FoodSaver, no mod # though, I have lots of bony things in those. The other ones are not made by food saver, the ones with the pleated inserts. I don't know who makes them as they are completely unmarked.


----------



## Hens and Roos

I will have to look next time I go


----------



## Hens and Roos

Didn't get the chance to look for those bags yet, will have to write it down so I don't forget!!

Not much going on with the rabbits since fair- they have just been hanging out, our REW angora doe's coat is coming in pretty nice these days- she had some mats that need to be taken out.  She sure is squirmy when it comes to being brushed and combed out!!

We did breed Cashew(she's our original FA doe) last week to a broken lilac buck- if she took-she is due Dec 21st- give or take a day or so.  It will be interesting to see what colors the kits are....

We are also debating which of our other does to bred so they have kits in time for the 2017 county fair.  In addition to Cashew we have Peanut, Chinzilla and Angel for FA's.  We have Jack Frost, Sven and Ben for FA bucks.  We also have Harper- she is a REW Satin angora(SA), we currently do not have a SA buck.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Added the nest box for Cashew- she is eating the hay out of it- haven't seen her start building a nest but she does have a few days to do so!


----------



## Hens and Roos

unfortunately, no kits for Cashew-thinking we will try rebreeding her and see what happens.


----------



## Bunnylady

*sigh* They'll do that to you, won't they?

Ah, well. Fingers crossed for "next time!"


----------



## Hens and Roos

Bunnylady said:


> *sigh* They'll do that to you, won't they?
> 
> Ah, well. Fingers crossed for "next time!"



Thanks @Bunnylady 

yep they sure do!  I find it funny when people find out we have rabbits....oh be careful they say otherwise you'll be over run with rabbits...my reply to that is...hasn't happened yet!

The buck is a newbie and didn't seem to have it figured out


----------



## Bunnylady

Yeah, anyone who believes in the expression "breeds like rabbits" has never tried it -or at least not been serious about it.


----------



## promiseacres

Bummer


----------



## Hens and Roos

Haven't been able to get Cashew bred but we are waiting to see if Peanut and Chinzilla kindle in the next 2 weeks.  Peanut is due around Feb 24th 2017 and Chinzilla is due around March 1st 2017.  We also bred our 2 Cali does and they hopefully are due around March 5th 2017.

Will probably try Cashew again- might try one of our other 2 bucks incase she just doesn't like the one we were trying with


----------



## Marie28

I loved reading this thread. Those kits are so cute! *fingers crossed for Peanut & Cashew!

 We have three silver foxes that we will be breeding in about 4 months (our doe is 3 month 3 weeks).We are watching our doe closely though because we though we had two does and a buck, turns out her half-sisiter was her half-brother . Thankfully they were separated soon after we got them.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Marie28 said:


> I loved reading this thread. Those kits are so cute! *fingers crossed for Peanut & Cashew!
> 
> We have three silver foxes that we will be breeding in about 4 months (our doe is 3 month 3 weeks).We are watching our doe closely though because we though we had two does and a buck, turns out her half-sisiter was her half-brother . Thankfully they were separated soon after we got them.



Good luck!  I just saw in my thread that I did a typo...it should be Chinzilla who we are waiting on, not Cashew


----------



## Hens and Roos

Peanut kindled last night- we haven't checked yet- DD noticed when she came home from a school event last night.  I will check this am at chore time!


----------



## AClark

Good luck with the new babies!


----------



## promiseacres




----------



## Hens and Roos

not the best picture but you can see a few of her kits: 3 are mostly grey and 1 is pink


----------



## Hens and Roos

So Peanut's kits are doing well-they are 1 week old today- the pink kit is putting on a tan colored coat- we check on them each day and they are doing well.  Very wiggly kits!

Chinzilla had her kits either last night or early this morning- pulled lots of fur and put them at the very back of the nest box, I only took a quick peek so didn't do a count- she has an attitude to say the least!


----------



## Hens and Roos

Was able to take another better peek at Chinzilla's litter- from the quick count I did, it looks like she has 4 pink and 2-3 gray colored kits.  She was breed to our REW buck- Jack Frost(avatar picture).

Up next to kindle are our 2 Cali does-Chai and Java- I put a nest box in for each one this morning at chore time and Chai already started building her nest.....


----------



## Hens and Roos

So this afternoon- Chai(1 of our Cali does) kindled- from what I could count she has 6 kits-she's pictured above peeking out of her nest box!

We are waiting for Java(other Cali doe) to hopefully kindle-she's at day 32 

We have hopefully 2 more French Angoras that will kindle- Frosti(REW doe) hopefully around March 19th and Cashew(fawn doe) hopefully around April 7th


----------



## Hens and Roos

so tonight while doing chores, I pulled out the Cali does' nest box to check the kits...and the 5 were in bad shape...3 already gone and other 2 probably wont make it ....seems like she made a next further back in the box that we didn't realize was there and has 3 very nice looking kits there.  Combined the 2 maybes in with the 3 and hoping for the best.  We have struggled with getting our Cali does to take and produce a litter.....our angoras on the other hand due much better


----------



## Hens and Roos

Here is one of Peanut's kits- they are 3 weeks now.  DS(11) was holding it!


----------



## Hens and Roos

Here is Frosti- she is hopefully due March 19th 2017.


----------



## Chickens

Adorable  my lil ones are 3 weeks also


Hens and Roos said:


> Here is one of Peanut's kits- they are 3 weeks now.  DS(11) was holding it!
> 
> View attachment 29404


----------



## Hens and Roos

Peanut's kits-3 weeks old and left to right- buck, doe, buck, doe (hopefully got it correct)


----------



## promiseacres

cuties


----------



## Hens and Roos

We've had a few strikes outs here lately with our rabbits...our 2 FA's Frosti and Cashew are both being rebred for hopefully May litters  and we are currently waiting to see if our Californian doe- Java has kits-day 30 is this week Thursday , she has been hay stashing and pulled some fur already.


----------



## samssimonsays




----------



## promiseacres




----------



## Hens and Roos

We ended up rebreeding Java as she didn't kindle .  We are trying our other buck to see if she has a litter this time.  She is due around May 19th and our FA Cashew is due around May 10th ....this their 3rd time.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Cashew had a her kits on Thursday May 11th 2017- 5 total(3 with pink skin and 2 dark w/pink colored ears).  One did end up out of the nest box on the floor this morning, I found it and warmed it up and put it back into the nest- hopefully it stays there!

This picture was taken Friday afternoon- she pulled lots of fur(I took some out this morning):


----------



## Hens and Roos

So Java (Cali doe) had 1 kit but it was dead on the wire .

Cashew's kits are doing well- eyes just starting to open- looks like we have 2 chestnut, 2 fawn and 1 white(eyes appear dark)


----------



## Hens and Roos

Today was rabbit judging for DD and DS(12).  They both showed a jr cali buck(littermates).  DD's buck received a 1st and was picked as Champion Californian- the judge recommended she find a short body doe to breed he with. DS(12) received a red(2nd) as his buck wasn't put together as well.

During showmanship- DD's rabbit bit her thumb so that put a damper on things, it didn't help that the showmanship judge put hand sanitizer on it and had her finish- she ended up with a white(3rd).  DS(12) did very well- he was the 3rd blue for his age group.

They both showed a jr French Angora buck and doe- all littermates.  DD received a blue on both of hers.  Her buck was the one that bit her- we do know that he is stressed out so that doesn't help. The judge mentioned that he felt the angora coats were very fine.  DS(12)'s buck received a red-the buck was starting to blow coat and had a few patches(we knew this going in).  His doe did very well- she received a 1st and was picked as reserve champion in the wool breed.


----------



## promiseacres

Congratulations!


----------



## Hens and Roos

We have a buck that we are trying to figure out what color he is. came from our tort doe x chestnut buck:




not sure if he's an opal or a lynx


----------



## promiseacres

Looks chestnut or possibly an orange to me... too brown for an opal or lynx. Opal looks blue with light under color. Lynx looks tan with blue under color. Of course I am not very familiar with angoras.


----------



## Bunnylady

Well, I am total crap at telling colors on a mature angora. Jersey Wooly - oh, yeah, easy peasy, but the "real" angoras, not so much.

I agree with @promiseacres that in that picture and on my screen, the ticking looks much too dark for a dilute (both Opal and Lynx being dilute colors). It doesn't look quite heavy enough for Chestnut - perhaps Chocolate Agouti? Not sure, may be a little too heavy for a smutty Orange. It might be a bit too heavy for a poor-quality wide band color too; but from here, it looks a lot like the Flemish Giant's Sandy, which is a wide-band Chestnut.


----------



## Hens and Roos

we aren't good with colors either ...will try and take a few more pictures of him.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Bunnylady said:


> Well, I am total crap at telling colors on a mature angora. Jersey Wooly - oh, yeah, easy peasy, but the "real" angoras, not so much.
> 
> I agree with @promiseacres that in that picture and on my screen, the ticking looks much too dark for a dilute (both Opal and Lynx being dilute colors). It doesn't look quite heavy enough for Chestnut - perhaps Chocolate Agouti? Not sure, may be a little too heavy for a smutty Orange. It might be a bit too heavy for a poor-quality wide band color too; but from here, it looks a lot like the Flemish Giant's Sandy, which is a wide-band Chestnut.



so how would we tell if he's a chocolate agouti?


----------



## Bunnylady

Hens and Roos said:


> so how would we tell if he's a chocolate agouti?



Look at a place where the dark color is at its most intense (ear lacing is good). Is it black or brown? If it's brown, he's chocolate. The eyes of chocolates are usually a slightly lighter shade of brown than the "normal" brown eyes of black-based colors, and often reflect red (the so-called "ruby glow") when you get the light angle right in subdued lighting. 

Chocolate-based colors on the pedigree can help to clue you in that the chocolate gene is likely to be present, though their absence doesn't rule the gene out. Recessive genes can lurk for generations before the right pairing happens.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Bunnylady said:


> Look at a place where the dark color is at its most intense (ear lacing is good). Is it black or brown? If it's brown, he's chocolate. The eyes of chocolates are usually a slightly lighter shade of brown than the "normal" brown eyes of black-based colors, and often reflect red (the so-called "ruby glow") when you get the light angle right in subdued lighting.
> 
> Chocolate-based colors on the pedigree can help to clue you in that the chocolate gene is likely to be present, though their absence doesn't rule the gene out. Recessive genes can lurk for generations before the right pairing happens.



thanks for the information- we will take a look at him again.  We did look at the pedigrees and both sides show chocolate, chocolate-tort and steel-chocolate


----------



## promiseacres

This is my chocolate chestnut velveteen lop...not sure it will help... but he's a cutie. 
 looks chestnut, but not quite.


----------



## Hens and Roos

Thanks for the picture- he is cute!  Finding good pictures of all the different colors is hard find but we keep looking.


----------



## Bunnylady

I had a chocolate agouti Jersey Wooly once. I named him Kodiak because his sort of gold-brown color reminded me of an Alaskan brown bear. 

In Mini Rex, red is non-extension plus rufous, but without wide-band. It can be tricky getting all of the ticking off of the reds, so one way to do it is to breed reds with chocolate genes - chocolate is so close to red in color, you really don't see a change in color on the hair. At the moment, I own one Mini Rex buck that is a red (showable) and one that is a chocolate castor (non-showable) and you almost have to have the two of them side-by-side to spot the difference.


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## Hens and Roos

for now we will hold on to Cadbury and see what his adult coat looks like.

In other happenings- we lost Cashew- our 1st FA doe-she was 4 years old.  DD went out to start morning chores yesterday and found her.....we do have her last litter- 4 bucks and 1 doe-not sure if we will hold any back.


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## Hens and Roos

So after some discussion/decisions we are at 12 rabbits.  We currently have 3 Californians, 1 mixed breed and 8 Angoras- several we are waiting to see what their adult coat comes in as


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## Deidria

Do u have any rabbits for sale?


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## Hens and Roos

we do from time to time- what are you looking for and are you close to where we are located?


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## Hens and Roos

Just finished cleaning out all the rabbits so their cages are good for awhile now!

Running behind on getting rabbits bred so the DD and DS(12) will have some to show for fair.  Bred our Cali doe yesterday and hoping to get the Angora does breed today or tomorrow- that puts it at the end of the month for kits


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## Hens and Roos

Hopefully by the end of March, 4 of our does will have kits.  We bred our Cali doe, 2 FA and 1 SA(she's bred to 1 of our FA bucks)


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## Hens and Roos

No kits as of yet....will give them a few more days and then will try rebreeding.


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## Hens and Roos

So this morning our Cali doe was pulling fur and putting it in her nest box....this afternoon she had kits no pictures yet but I did a quick check to make sure she put them all in one spot!


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## promiseacres

just saw this.


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## Hens and Roos

Didn't have time to update but our French Angora Peanut had her kits yesterday  Quick check looks like she had 3


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## BoboFarm

Yay for babies!!!


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## Wehner Homestead

Congratulations!! Can’t wait to see pics!


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## Dani4Hedgies

YEA BABIES!!!!!


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## Hens and Roos

so our kits are weaned-bucks separated from does.  They are getting big.  Given our weather we ended up taking some of the Angora's out of coat so DD and DS(13) won't be taking any to fair this year.




This is one of the kits from this year.   

We ended up having to put down our 9 year old mixed rabbit today.  He was a good bunny and liked to be petted.


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## promiseacres

Love the angora! Hate that you lost your pet.


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## Hens and Roos

We are now down to a trio of Californians( 2does and 1 buck) and 6 FA angoras (3 does and 3 bucks) Thought we had someone interested in the doe from this years litter but I guess not...


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## Hens and Roos

Got a bit of spring cleaning done the other day. Filled our garden cart full and that was just from our 6 cages still have the 2 floor pens to go.  We currently sit at a trio of Californians(2 does and 1 buck) yet and 4 French Angoras (2 does and 2 bucks).  Both DD and DS(13) have indicated that they aren't interested in continuing to showing rabbits so what ever I decide is fine.  Our Californians are getting up in age so I don't think I will replace them.  I most likely will continue with the French Angoras.


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## Hens and Roos

Sad day here, we said good bye to our buddy Jack Frost(white French Angora in our picture).  He developed a fast growing tumor on his leg.  He was DS(14)'s first rabbit.


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## B&B Happy goats

Hens and Roos said:


> Sad day here, we said good bye to our buddy Jack Frost(white French Angora in our picture).  He developed a fast growing tumor on his leg.  He was DS(14)'s first rabbit.


 sorry


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## Bunnylady




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## Hens and Roos

thanks, he was a pretty chill rabbit.  I looked back in the thread and DS(14) was 8 years old when he got him.


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