Lyle Creek Rabbitry

"Breeds like Rabbits"

     Hmmmm, must not be show rabbits that they were talking about.  You breed a rabbit and 31ish days later a cute litter of babies.  At least one of those babies turns out to be a fantastic show rabbit!!  Well at least thats supposed to be how it works.  Seems like if you are breeding for a specific show season or show this does not work.

     This morning I went out to what I thought would be two more litters of babies.  One Doe had one DOA and the other had two DOAs. "sigh"  Its sad to see this, but part of breeding dwarf rabbits.  The very chilly nights do not help out and the fact that we are breeding during a time when Rabbits do not usually have babies.  I also have one other Doe that had one DOA earlier this week.  I left her nestbox in because I felt more babies in her.  (Well not being great at palpating, I "think" I felt more babies)  Could have been full intestines.  Anyway I left her nestbox in and this morning she has pulled a bunch of fur for the box. 

     On a good note, Charmed's two babies are growing and now have their eyes open.  The sablepoint/smoke pearl (?) looks very very promising.  QT's four are also doing well.  All are fat little babies and growing fast.

I have two more rabbits due but not for three weeks.  The Does that had dead litters will be rebred.

     I am also looking forward to next week's show in Taylorville.  It will be so good to talk to friends and show some rabbits.  I really need to trim nails of the rabbits I will be taking. First  I need to get a list going of the rabbits I am taking as.  I pretty much have in mind who will be going but need to check them to be sure. 

Congratulations to all the winners at Nationals in San Diego!!!!  Wish I could have been there.  Going to a convention one day is on my list of "things I want to do". 

2010 will be MN and 2011 will be Indianappolis!!

I have not had much to report being in between shows and not having any Does due.  This past Sunday I did have a Doe poduce a litter of babies so thought I would post my upcoming litters.

Hare's Mystic Moon (smoke pearl) X Lyle Creek's Charmed (REW)

Born Sunday a litter of two.  One REW and one Smoke Pearl (?)

Jersey Wooly

Keep's Burlington (Black) X Wooligan's Delaney (siamese Sable)

Due Nov. 7

Holland Lops

Lyle Creek's Quizno (black) X Lyle Creek's Opal (tort)

Due Nov. 7th

Lyle Creek's Deja Blu (blue tort) X Lyle Creek's QT (broken tort)

Due Nov. 5

The Nature Trail's Crazy Horse (broken tort) X Keep's Salsa (seal)

Due Nov. 5

I have two does that did not take and need to be rebred, but the above breedings will hopefully poduce some nice juniors for the Spring shows.

I have plans to replace the linoleum floor in the rabbitry.  It was cheap and thin and is not holding up well.  I plan on buying a thicker gauge linoleum and replacing it during some days off work next month.  I am even concidering another pressure washing of cages before winter sets in.  The weather right now is beautiful with cooler nights and absolutely gorgious days. 

I have a small rabbitry, only 21 holes.  I still like to label each cage with the rabbits name and tattoo.  I can look at each rabbit and know who it is, but there are times  that other people have to care for the rabbits, for this reason cage tags are important.  If there is a problem with a rabbit your caregiver can let you know who it is, instead of "the brown rabbit in the middle cage".  I can also leave a note on who does not like a hand in their cage.  I have one Doe who is cage aggressive excpecially when she has babies.

I also like to make up my show list in the rabbitry where I can check the rabbits to make sure they are not molting.  Having the tattoo handy means I can make up a complete list that is ready to email in to the show secretary.

I tried a couple systems before I found one I like and that the rabbits cannot reach to destroy.  This system is magnetic so if I move a rabbit from one cage to another I can easily pull the tag off and move it with the rabbit.  If I sell the rabbit I can glue a new paper over the old and have a new tag ready to go.

First off I purchased these metal name holders from a cage dealer.  They are not real expensive and are attached to the cage with metal tabs that you bend around the wire.

For the name part I went to K-Mart and purchased magnetic business card holders.  They come in a package of 20 or so.  They are actually made to pull the cover off and attach a business card to.  Instead I cut paper to the size of the magnetic back and put it on.  I write the rabbits name and at the bottom their tattoo.  More information could be put on as you like.  You could also have a second tag holder for breeding information.

I have a dry erase board where I keep due dates written so don't have that on individual cages.  So far this system has worked well and I have not had a rabbit be able to get to it to distroy the tag.

This Saturday is the GAA show in Taylorsville.  I just sent in my entries and am ready to go.  The weather is cooler and should make a very enjoyable show day.  I don't have a lot to show but am excited about the ones I do have to show.

Everyone is tattooed so all I need to do is check toenails and get the carriers ready.  I have a lot of rabbits to take so labeling the carriers is always a big help. 

The extra latch on Quizno's cage has worked in keeping him in his cage.  I did not mind him out so much but worried about him jumping from his cage to the floor, he's on the second level.  I am trying to give him more time out of his cage to make up for not allowing him to escape.

The baby bunny who is a fader is still hanging on.  I am only giving it oats, hay and water.  It's mom has pellets so it can eat pellets if it wants.  The crock of water is always almost empty so they do seem to prefer that to the bottle.  I'm still not sure its going to make it, but it does have a strong will to survive so I am trying to help it as much as possible. 

I syringed water down both babies yesterday.  I also added a crock of water, both babies drank immediatly from it.  Unfortunately one of the babies did not make it.  I believe it was to far gone.  The other baby had an immediate improvement from the water.  It started munching on hay and bouncing around the cage.

I am now more convenced that these babies are having an issue with dehydration instead of with food.  Neither had any outward signs of illness.  I still believe those "poopy butt" is a food issue although it could still stem from lack of fluid.

The fact that these two were perfectly healthy the day before and had been eating pellets for about a week.  The Doe is a first time mom and maybe she tried weaning them too fast from her milk or refused to let them nurse.

In the future when I start seeing babies with an interest in the water bottle or feed I plan on adding a crock of water.  I want to make sure these babies are keeping hydrated during this tough transition time.

This is more proof why babies should NOT be sold before 8 weeks old.  They are so delicate at this stage and it does not take much of an upset for them to go from healthy to crashing and dieing.

Your Doe has a nice litter of babies.  The babies are doing well, growing, thriving.  They reach that adorable 3-4 week old stage.  All of a sudden they are lethargic, go down hill and you lose them.  Weaning entenitis, silent entenitis, faders.....  There are many names, but now too many answers.

I have two right now that yesterday were fine, now today lethargic.  When I first put a bowl of pellets in for babies I add oats.  This helps to transition most babies.  Yogurt (with live cultures) is supposed to help and my husband is picking up some for me as I write this.  I have also heard of baby food spinach and Pepto. 

I wonder if it is not so much a problem with transitioning to food but maybe dehydration.  The Doe starts producing less milk.  She does not allow the babies to nurse as much.  Although I have seen these babies drink from the water bottle, maybe they are not getting enough water.  I plan to start adding a crock of water on babies that are starting to eat pellets as well as continuing with oats and hay.

Although I absolutely hate losing a baby, there is a limit to how much I will do to intervene.  I believe in order to have a healthy adult herd, the babies need to be the stronger ones.  In nature the strongest survive.  We want rabbits that are able to take the stress of raising babies and also the stress of being shown.