Yesterday the black male gerbil went to his new home. He's going to be well loved by a couple little boys who were very excited to pick him up!
Today I added new photos (taken today) of the New Zealand/Harlequin litter. They're out of the next box now and checking out the rest of the cage. I expect them to start eating pellets and trying the water bottle any day now. I also checked gender, and it looks like #1 and #3 are boys, and #2 is a girl.
Yesterday the black male gerbil went to his new home. He's going to be well loved by a couple little boys who were very excited to pick him up! This morning the little beige male from the 7/21 litter went to his new home. He'll be joining another (male) chinchilla and a wonderful family. We've enjoyed him for the last eight weeks - he's been a sweetheart and such a cuddly and playful baby too! Congratulations Jeff and family on your newest addition!
I took new photos today of the Harlequin / New Zealand litter, the gerbil breeding trio, the two black gerbil babies that were just weaned, the gerbil litter that is still nursing (as best I could), and the baby guinea pig. I feel accomplished being able to update the website again. I just need a few more photos to finish the Meet The Animals page, but I forgot all about that today while I was taking photos.
My main goal right now is to find homes for all of the hamsters, all of the gerbils, and all of the kitties. I'm not as worried about chinchillas and rabbits and guinea pigs right now. So if you (yes, you - the person reading this post), happen to know someone looking for a hamster or a gerbil or a kitty... the prices on those three types of animals are negotiable to appropriate homes - so let them know there are animals looking for new homes here! Yesterday I bred Paris to Porkchop. Breeding was witnessed, but this will be her first litter, so we'll see how it goes. Today I attempted Sweetheart to Porkchop, but I don't think he achieved anything. She's just so fluffy it seems to be difficult for Porkchop to find his mark. I watched for several minutes as he attempted, but I did not witness any successful attempts. They were left alone for a while, so I guess it's possible, but I'm not holding my breath at this point. I'm a little disappointed, but Porkchop gave it his best.
The Harlequin/NZ litter is growing quickly and their orange coloring is darkening into a beautiful red shade. I can hardly wait for them to be bigger and hopping around. I think they're going to be absolutely beautiful. In other news, Starfyre the black and white male Syrian (teddy bear) hamster goes to his new home. Yay! The second level of the new rabbit shelves is now attached. It's just a matter of getting the separator part (to run under the top cages to avoid the bunnies on top from soiling the bunnies below), and the roof purchased and built. Sounds simple enough, but it's going to be very expensive and it's going to take a lot more work than the three days I've already put into building the shelving structure. After the roof is on, I'll work on the tarp walls and the heating system (still working on the logistics of that though). Once it's all set up, I can move the bunnies over to their new structure! Handsome little Buck 2 with the propeller ears has gone to his new home. He's the only one in the entire litter that ended up with one up and one down ear. Now it's just Doe 3 and Buck 4 left to find homes from this litter.
The three Harlequin/New Zealand kits looked good when I checked on them this afternoon after our rain storm had passed. Mom is diligent and gets stressed out when I open the nest box, so I only check once a day right now. I think she'll calm down a bit as the babies get older. They've got adorable markings. I'm excited to see them grow. Following the dog attack this week, I bought lumber, had it cut, and have worked for two days now on assembling a new stand set-up that will house all of the bunnies farther up off the ground, and offer a more organized space, and the possibility of fencing to avoid future issues. It's about half done. The main stand is set up, but the second level and the roof are not on yet. This is my first big project that I've designed myself, so it's pretty fun seeing it come together as we put our sweat and time into nailing everything together. It's 16 feet long and when it's all set up, it should be nice and warm during the winter, and able to be opened for a breeze in the summer. Today I tried Stew to Porkchop one last time. This will be her third breeding attempt. I watched them successfully pair three times, but pairing was witnessed the last two breedings too. If Stew fails to produce a litter this time, she will be sold. I'm planning to breed Paris to Porkchop tomorrow, and Sweetheart to Porkchop on Tuesday (as weather permits). This should produce two or three litters in October, which will be the last until next year. These are all test breedings. For Stew it's to determine if she'll be staying. For Paris, it's because waiting for next spring may put her over the proper age to begin breeding, and for Sweetheart it's to confirm if she can carry a litter, since she was supposed to have been pregnant when I brought her home. As of next year, I do plan to switch up which bunnies are paired with which, but as of right now, all of my other bucks are under age. All of the males should be ready for next year when I will start breeding them again. I'm so glad I couldn't sleep last night and was up late watching TV on the couch. I heard a scream and knew immediately that someone or something was harassing the rabbits. I ran to the door and as I threw it open the rabbit screamed again. No sooner had I stepped out the door, two large dogs ran past me. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good enough look to properly identify them, but the white one was clearly a thick muscular (bully) breed, and the other was a black dog, both with long tails (not docked) and both in the 65-75+ pound size.
I immediately checked cages and discovered Porkchop missing and his cage door bent and open. My husband ran for a flashlight to start looking for Porkchop while I checked the other bunnies. Paris's cage was also torn open with the door hanging, but due to the odd shape of her cage, she had been able to get into a second compartment that the dogs were not able to grab her from. I secured her cage as best I could, and went on a search for Porkchop. I found him halfway across the yard laying on his right side. He was breathing, but not moving. I stroked him and spoke gently to him. I ran my hands over him in the dark to try to check for injuries. I picked him up and gently rolled him over to check his other side. He was completely limp except his breathing and his eyes were wide with panic. I tried to set him upright on his feet but he flopped over. I thought he'd probably broken his back, and that I would have to face the consequences of responsible ownership by humanely ending his struggle. I decided to put him back in his cage while I called animal control. In the amount of time it took me to go in the house, get my phone, and leave a message for animal control, Porkchop perked up. I was surprised to see him sitting up in his cage. I checked on him an hour later and he was moving around and seemed to be alright. This morning I did a thorough examination from head to toe. Porkchop is terrified and he tried repeatedly to kick and get away when I touched him. I'm sure he's sore and scared. That said, he's alright. His fur is stiff and cowlicked with dried dog slobber, his coat is full of dirt and loose fur, but no blood. I did discover his ears need some ointment, but that's likely from itching, not the dogs. He'll be medicated today to relieve the ear issue, and I'll watch him and hope his temperament returns to normal following this near-death experience. I have added an additional latch to Porkchop's cage to prevent the door from being forced open. I repaired Paris's cage somewhat, though it can still use some other repairs to be ideal. I'm buying lumber today to build a new stand that will house all of the bunnies in a row and keep them even farther up off the ground. From there I plan to add a roof and sides to make a little bunny barn (when completed it will have heat in the winter and a fan in the summer). This will hopefully prevent future issues of this type. In what seems like lesser news now... Dora has started pulling fur this morning in vast quantities. She has fur in her nest box, fur in her cage, fur all over the ground, fur flying through the air, and fur in her mouth carrying more into the nest. It wouldn't surprise me at all if she ends up half naked when she's done. I expect babies today or tonight, so I should have a head count (hopefully) by tomorrow morning! Yesterday I picked up a new chocolate colored lionhead doe. She's just a baby now, but she's already got a full mane and long plush fur throughout her coat. She loves to snuggle and has been great with the kids so far. I have no plans to breed her at this point, as my bucks are way too big to breed to a lionhead, and at the moment, I'm not looking to get into smaller breeds. Shadow Lady will be a pet for the kids, as she'll stay small enough for them to pick her up easily. It'll be a nice opportunity for the kids to have a smaller bunny they can still carry around and play with even as an adult.
In other news, the Harlequin doe (Dora) that was bred to the New Zealand buck (Porkchop) is due tonight or tomorrow night. She's quite heavily pregnant at this point. Her belly nearly drags on the floor, her tummy extends down behind her legs when she stands up, and when she lays down she has to put her feet back because she no longer has any leg room! She has a nest box and has not been pulling any fur. Today I gave her a large amount of loose hay and she immediately set to building a nest. Hopefully we'll have a new litter in the next 24-48 hours! I've added a new page to the site. This page introduces all of the breeding chinchillas and rabbits, so people can see who the parents are, where the babies are coming from, and get a feel for the size of my little breeding groups (no mass-production here, everyone has a name, a personality, and and is part of the family). The page is called Meet The Animals. I will try my best to keep it as updated as the rest of the website. |
AuthorFollow along with the joys and heartbreaks of one small-time hobby breeder. Archives
January 2016
Categories
All
|