I met Dexter a few days ago. His mom is a feral cat who delivered kittens in the neighbor's junk yard, but when she disappeared earlier this week, Dexter became an unexpected foster baby. I left him alone, hoping his mom would come back, but when his health started to deteriorate and it was clear that his mom wasn't coming back, I took him in. He's about 3 weeks old and needs to find a surrogate mom, or an experienced bottle-feeder. In the event that a suitable handler of either type cannot be found, he'll be ready for a new home in about 3 weeks (when he's 6 weeks old and eating hard food). If you know someone in Brainerd with 3-4 week old kittens and a momma cat who wouldn't mind an extra mouth - please let me know!
Today I took new photos of the bunnies because after yesterday's extreme heat, all of the bunnies suddenly have lop ears! Every last one of them went lop within the last 24 hours! So, new photos are posted in the Rabbits tab. In other news Buck #1 has found his new home.
Today Maganda and the blue bunny both found their forever homes. Maganda will be joining an adult family with a dog down by the cities. The little blue bunny surprised everyone by turning out to be a buck! But regardless, he is heading up north to his new home with a wonderful family and a young woman who adores him. He's definitely going to be missed. He was my all-time favorite bunny so far.
This morning I met a young woman and her mom, and they fell in love with my little blue doe. I had originally hoped to keep her for future breeding, but after much thought, I decided I just didn't have the space, nor an appropriate buck. With the addition of the two new Harlequin does, I no longer have the additional cage space to keep the blue doe and a buck to match. I've also decided to stick with my bigger breeds as I had originally planned. Besides, I know she'll have an excellent home with this family.
In other news, a second litter of gerbils has arrived in the color point cage. The 6/20 chinchilla brothers are both spoken for, and they'll be able to stay together! The younger chinchilla litter is doing well and growing quickly. Right now I have plans in place for Maganda, the blue doe, and both of the older chinchilla boys to either meet potential families or go to new homes this month. I'm hoping to find homes for more of the hamsters, kitties, and bunnies this month too. I would be thrilled if I could place all of them before the school year starts! Today I swapped Cadbury, the New Zealand Red buck from our very first litter (Mama Bun x Big Red), for a black Flemish Giant buck (a future breeder for my daughter's Flemish doe she'll be getting in a few weeks). The Flemish pair should be ready to breed in the spring!
I also picked up two new Harlequin does. I bred one to Porkchop (New Zealand Red) so that I should have two litters at the same time (one litter of purebred NZ, and one litter of Harlequin/NZ). The other female will have to wait for spring. If everything goes according to plan - I could potentially have one litter at the end of August, and two litters the first week in September. That said, I don't know that the Angora doe is actually pregnant as she was thin and in poor condition when I got her (supposedly already bred). Also, my NZ buck is unproven, so I hope he's not a dud! I guess I'll just have to wait and see! If all else fails, I can sell Porkchop and buy a new buck in the fall when the exotic auctions come through again. I'm supposed to pick up a few new hutches tomorrow so I have more space for the bunnies, and better shelter until I can get the covered bunny hut built. The rabbit show went well. Our French Angora buck took first place for French Angora Junior Buck, and took Best of Breed as well (Champion - purple ribbon)! Porkchop took blue ribbon for New Zealand Sr. Buck, Cadbury took blue ribbon for New Zealand Intermediate Buck, Stew took red ribbon (second place) for New Zealand Intermediate Doe. Our Flemish doe was discovered to have a tooth problem, so she will be going back to her breeder, and we'll be getting a new doe out of the next available litter in a few weeks. She did take fifth place though.
We plan to breed Stew to Porkchop when they get home from the fair. Five bunnies are at the fair, the show is tomorrow morning. As of when we dropped them off, two of the bunnies had no competition, and the other three bunnies only have one other bunny in their breed and age category. There was still two hours left for check ins though, so we'll see tomorrow. The bunnies I thought were competition for Marshmallow (French Angora), turned out to all be Jersey Woolies instead. Not sure how we can have the only French Angora in the entire fair...
The baby bunnies are growing by leaps and bounds. What at first I thought was just a little bit of a shaggy coat has turned into full fluffy fur on five of the eight babies. Three of the agouti browns still have short fur like mom, but the rest are all getting long fluffy fur like their dad had. They're turning out so neat looking! Still no lopped ears though. I'm hoping to get some updated photos in the next couple days, but things are pretty hectic with the fair being in town. In other news, we're supposed to be meeting two people Friday - one to pick a hamster, and one to look at little Mahal. I hope Mahal and the hamster find their permanent homes. It's always exciting to start that journey for someone by introducing them to their newest furry family member. The Crow Wing County Fair started today. It's exciting to think that the day after tomorrow we'll be bringing our bunnies in (to be judged the following day). My oldest daughter will be showing her new Flemish Giant doe. We'll also be bringing three New Zealands (Porkchop, Cadbury, and Stew) and one Angora bunny (Marshmallow). It should be fun. While they're away at the fair, I'll be re-arranging some of the cages and repairing one of them that needs a nail or two and a wire repair. Staying home will be Pickles (mom of the NZ/Lion/Lop litter), Anakin (who has a silly haircut due to the matting from his previous home), and Sweetheart (who arrived here after the cut off for fair entries). Maybe next year these three can be entered at the fair. We'll wait and see.
I'm thrilled to announce that Obsidian, the black kitten from the Roadside Litter has been adopted! He'll share his home with three little girls who are sure to adore him. Congratulations on your new home Obsidian!!
By a stroke of luck I happened upon an ad for a black Angora doe. The price tag was crazy high, but I figured we'd check her out anyway. We drove three hours round trip to pick her up. She's not in very good condition. She's matted around her neck, base of tail, and her entire tummy, but she's patient and doesn't mind my brushing and pulling. I'm trying to avoid cutting it all off like poor Anakin, as she's not as badly matted. This doe is also drastically underweight. I can feel her spine and hips through her coat. I'm giving her free-feed to get her weight up. The lady I bought her from said she'd put her with a buck and that she's possibly pregnant now. While I hope that she is (as I do want another doe), I don't hold out much hope, especially considering her current lack of weight. Regardless of if she has a litter next month or not, I will not consider her for breeding until next spring at the earliest, and only if she's up to a good weight and her fur is back to what it should be. Today I got half an ounce of fur off of her and she's still looking rough, and matted underneath. She ate about a quarter cup of food and drank 2/3 of a water bottle the first night she was here. I take her appetite as a good sign that her weight issue is something she can recover from, and not a more serious medical issue. I will be putting her into a bigger cage with a built-in nest box just in case her previous breeding did take. For now, I'll continue to free feed her and wait to see how things go.
If anyone is looking for black angora fiber for spinning, I do have the half ounce I pulled off of her today (using a brush and pulling by hand - not cut, so the mats are brushed out). Asking $5 for the 1/2oz, otherwise, I'll be trying to get more off of her tomorrow as well. It'll be $10 per ounce once I get that much. Please keep in mind that although she is a black rabbit, the fur she's dropping is more of a grey color. One ounce of fiber should be enough to spin enough yarn for one scarf (or so I'm sold - I don't spin). |
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