2011 Texan Tales & Tails

[TinysMom]

Oh - will do more on this later - BUT -


HAPPY BIRTHDAY DUKEY!!!!

He's one year old today!

(Also - a year ago today I got Jar Jar, Ellie Mae & Brady Hawkes).

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I am so sorry about Magnum. The Hollands are cute, but nothing is cuter then a flemmie.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Happy Birthday and Gotcha days! arty0002:inkelepht:inkbouce:



So Joshua and I were talking buns this weekend. Apparently he is very interested in possibly geting a Flemish! I would love a Flemish with lop ears. So I was wondering, what are the personalities like in Meatball's babies? Could you please compare/contrast the mixes with the plain Flemish?

It will take a bit of time to make him think it is his idea to get another bun, but it can be done :big wink:

 

[TinysMom]

Well.....once Meatball has babies - I'll be glad to share!

There is a big personality difference between e-lops and flemish...almost like night and day.

 

[TinysMom]

:cry4::cry4::cry4::cry4::cry1::cry1::cry1::cry1::bawl::bawl::bawl::bawl::in tears::in tears::in tears::in tears:

My hollands are growing up.

I put them on the bed today to let them play and two of the bucks kept humping each other and getting upset.

Its gonna be time to separate them (gotta get another cage I think).

I at least separated the girls from the boys - when I saw one boy hump a girl and she lifted her tail....(he was humping her head though)...I was like "yep - you may not have those boy bits yet...but time to separate y'all.."

My babies...they're growing up!

Oh - one is probably gonna be named Toby - more on that later.

 

[TinysMom]

Its gotta be close to time for these babies...I think the bucks are starting to pace in their cages and think about pulling fur and making nests......

 

[MiniLopHop]

Bucks are making nests? :?

 

[TinysMom]

MiniLopHop wrote:

Bucks are making nests? :?

Not this time - but I have had them do it before.

But - the bucks are getting antsy and pacing in their cages (a couple) - like they know something is going to happen.

However, I have had bucks make a nest ....I forget which one or ones...its been a while.

 

[Nela]

I so wish you were setup with a live cam :biggrin:

 

[TinysMom]

Nela wrote:

I so wish you were setup with a live cam :biggrin:

I would currently need FIVE live cams.....

I swear the girls are going, "You go first.." "No you go first..." "I'm not going first..." etc. etc. etc.

My twins, Robin & Eric turn 27 today....it would be hilarious if between all the does we had 27 babies (Lord...please NO!!!)

But a few babies would be nice....

 

[TinysMom]

Robin says "Cure for PMS"

Art said, "I've never had PMS - but cure me anyway!!"

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Oh, goodness! How old are the Hollands? We decided to separate Maximus and Mabel at 10 weeks, which will be Sunday. So far I have seen nothing in the way of humping or balls or anything. Makes me sad to separate them because they love each other but I keep telling myself they can be back together soon!!

And Happy Birthday to Eric and Robin

 

[myheart]

TinysMom wrote:

Robin says "Cure for PMS"

Art said, "I've never had PMS - but cure me anyway!!"

LOL!!! :roflmao:

With the heat and humidity, along with the PMS, I might need to double-dip on that cure!! :biggrin:

 

[plasticbunny]

Babies??? Babies babies babies babies babies???

 

[TinysMom]

I'm not sure what to think or say. I was about ready to declare myself wrong (I can't palpate worth beans and its hard to palpate these big girls) - but Harmony who ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS dives into her supper - doesn't want it tonight. She won't even touch the oatmeal (her favorite part of supper).

I could've sworn I felt kicks in her yesterday when I checked her...

Meatball who has looked pregnant for well over a week - won't let me touch her - she growls and boxes at me and she is also not touching her supper.

I am remembering the fact that it was VERY VERY HOT before I bred everyone - so it is quite possible that my bucks were sterile and just shooting blanks.

I'm going to give them till Friday and I'll take out the nestboxes then.

I will say that I am convinced that Thunder is NOT pregnant and that Dotty did not get pregnant either. (I have four little bucks that are just dying to start breeding though!!)

 

[TinysMom]

I want to share two things here....first of all -

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[align=left]It is so funny because Art & the kids are this way and it drives me bonkers! So what if something is wrong or someone is wrong? Know what I mean?

Anyway - just had to share so you know what I live with.

Now the second thing....and I'm hoping I don't get flamed.

We might be rehoming Sasha and Oreo. I'm really struggling with the decision and I need to talk about it with someone - so y'all are it.

First of all - Oreo's health problems - he has started sneaking into the other dog's food - and whatever issues he was having before are gone - he can now eat regular dog food with no reaction. I need to talk to the head of the liver shunt list to see if it was just a reaction to the shots he'd had since the test results were never conclusive about a liver shunt.

But it looks like he can eat normal dog food now and be ok.

But that isn't why I want to rehome him.

Yesterday we lost a rabbit and we're not 100% sure exactly why - but the rabbit had a seizure after the dog grabbed her. We think he wanted to play with her like he plays with the cat and she freaked and died.

The problem is - it was Robin's rabbit that lived in her room and would come out and be with us sometimes.

If this was the first rabbit we'd lost - that would be different. It is not.

We've gone to great lengths to keep the rabbits away from the dogs....and it appears as though Sasha's training has gone downhill to the point she wants to chase the rabbits with Oreo.

I've tried to block off areas so that the rabbits could get some playtime without the dog harassing them - but once Art forgot that I had a rabbit out and left the gate open and one buck got harassed (he's ok now - I thought we might lose him but we didn't).

I'm tired of this - it isn't that he hurts them deliberately or ties to kill them - he tries to play with them as toys. Of course the rabbits freak and go into seizure or shock and pass away.

I'm at my limit - seeing Robin cry last night as she got a frozen fruit bar and thought about how Roxie would love to steal a few bites - and then realizing that Roxie wasn't there any more - tore my heart apart.

We're talking about having Art ask Dale (his best friend at work) if he would take Oreo - and possibly Sasha too. Dale lives in the country and they would be outdoor dogs - but he would be good to them (he just lost one of his dogs to old age). They would be able to run around and bark and yes - chase wild rabbits and squirrels (something I'm NOT fond of) - but they were not really meant to be house dogs and Oreo barks too much to be an outdoor dog here in town.

Millie would be a little bit lonely - but I think she'd be happier that way....Sasha irritates her to no end and while she grooms the puppy and stuff - I think she'd love to be with us as our only dog.

Please help me here - am I a horrible person?

I've tried to do everything I can think of to protect the rabbits other than having them in another building....but I'm just so tired. We've lost three rabbits now - I don't want to lose any more.

Please help!!!


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[plasticbunny]

You are at a crossroads, and which path do you choose? Your dogs can't live with the bunnies, and your bunnies can't live with the dogs. There is no way to keep them separated all the time. To go to the extreme lengths it would take would be so stressful that the joy of your pets and the joy of your hobby would evaporate, rendering both pointless.

So, as far as I can see it, you have a decision between rehoming the dogs, or rehoming the rabbits.

The rabbits do seem to fulfill your needs better than the dogs, as they are petsAND anenjoyable activity because you breed them (as well as a small income, I'm sure). If the dogs can be found a good home and not dropped off at a shelter, I don't think there is any shame in that. If your lifestyle no longer fits in with having so many "playful" dogs around, that's just how it is.

Find them a good home, because they deserve that, but don't feel guilt or failure for rehoming them.

 

[Nela]

Oh poor Robin, so soon after her birthday too I'm sorry about the bun.

It's a tough one for sure. I really don't know one way or another but know that I support you and I hope that you findpeace for your family. Many hugs!

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Aww that's so sad Normally I am of the opinion that pets are mine/yours forever once they're taken into the home. But you have so many bunnies and the doggies are a danger to them. Is it fair to the bunnies to risk their lives and limit their out of cage play time because of the dogs? I don't think so. Especially if you make sure to find them really good homes, which of course you would do.

 

[TinysMom]

Nela - it actually happened ON her birthday so that made it pretty hard. Roxie was a rabbit we took in last year and she didn't get along well with the other girls but she really enjoyed being in Robin's room and being "her" rabbit. She would often come out and be with us and the dogs never bothered her before.

Erin - I don't "make" money at all with the rabbits - I pay a huge amount every month on their feed bill - almost as much as our car payment is. In addition - I'm getting out of breeding flemish giants (I think I wrote about that a few days ago) - and I may try to rehome a few of the adult ones I have - not sure about that.

If Art's friend agrees to take him - Oreo will probably be the only one to go - as Art doesn't think Dale would take TWO dogs.

Art goes out to Dale's place sometimes to help work on the house/property and we know Dale would take good care of Oreo and that he'd have a good home.

I would never drop him off out in the country or even given him to the dog pound....I would make sure he (or he and Sasha) went to a good home.

We've tried a non-shock collar to get him to stop barking...no go. I could keep him caged a lot of the time - but he barks so much.

This is tearing me apart. I always look at our pets as being with us for the rest of their lives....the idea of giving one up is hard (we have done it before when we moved and could not take animals with us - but we always found them good homes).

I have to say that a large part of me wants Oreo gone. It isn't that I don't love him - but its almost like I have a love/hate relationship with him.

I wonder if I would feel differently if we had CHOSEN to adopt him - versus having him dropped off on our road and finding him as a puppy....know what I mean?

Even though it wasn't the wisest decision - I CHOSE Millie and Sasha and brought them home to live. We had said "no more dogs" after I brought home Sasha.

I don't know...I wish I knew what to do. I will probably try to take some photos of Oreo and Sasha in the next couple of days - no matter what happens.