Texan Tales (& Tails) - by TinysMom

[Mrs. PBJ]

OMG if I had the room I would so take her spay her and bond her with my other two.

But I can't risk having three unboned bunnies.

Maybe one day in the future I will be buying one.

 

[myLoki]

I think the tort boy's name should be Loki. For no particular reason. You know... it's a nice STRONG name. :whistling:whistling:whistling

t.

 

[TinysMom]

Mrs. PBJ wrote:

OMG if I had the room I would so take her spay her and bond her with my other two.

You are the type of bunny owner - that if you had the room for her - I'd get her spayed and get her to you! That way I'd know she'd be in an excellent home.

I'm sure the right person will come along - but when they do - I have to be willing to give her up.

 

[TinysMom]

myLoki wrote:

I think the tort boy's name should be Loki. For no particular reason. You know... it's a nice STRONG name. :whistling:whistling:whistling

t.

Uh huh.....right....

Is this the point where I nag you about needing pictures of Lily? Her mama passed away a couple of weeks ago and I have no one left from her family. I'm so glad she's happy and healthy with you - I know she has a great home.

Now about the name Loki....seems to me its already taken!

 

[TinysMom]

Now for my story about Harmony, Alicia & my dream.

The night before last I had a dream that was so real and vivid that when I woke up - I checked Harmony's cage - and I also asked Alicia (before telling her about the dream) - if I'd called her about Harmony.

Harmony is almost two weeks pregnant (maybe 2 weeks now - I'd have to look it up). She's at the "I wanna dig in my cage and drive mama crazy" stage.

How does Alicia come into this? Well...Alicia uses more "colorful" language than I do. Probably because I'm 50 and was brought up not to use certain words (which I do sometimes let out on occasion).

So...in my dream - Harmony is digging in her cage. I go in and tell her to stop it - she's too noisy. She turns around and tells me (in language I can understand) to go...well..anyway - she's quite expressive in what she tells me to do. I say to her, "What did you say to me?" and she repeats herself and goes back to digging.

I start to lecture her on not using that type of language in this house and she starts swearing and cursing while digging in her cage - and replying that it might be my house but its her cage and she can say whatever *#@& thing she wants to say.

So I grab her - put her in a kennel - rush down to the local airport and find out I can get her put on the plane to Ali immediately. I give her a kiss and tell her I know she'll be happier there...and I let her go.

On my way home...I call Ali and say, "Harmony is in the air on her way there. She'll be there at XXX."

Alicia is like, "What the ??" and I'm like, "She was using bad language and she'll get along better with you. Oh...by the way....she's two weeks pregnant.." and hang up as Alicia is sputtering to me about how "You can't do this to me..."

So I hang up the phone - walk in the door - and I hear Athena saying, "See Calypso - I told you I could get rid of Harmony....you're next..."

Then I woke up.

 

[JadeIcing]

I should mention I only talk that way when angry.

 

[TinysMom]

JadeIcing wrote:

I should mention I only talk that way when angry.

And you're really not that bad - I've talked to people who are worse...much worse.

I took some time this afternoon (after threatening to send Harmony to Ali's) - and petted Harmony while she rested her head on my knees. I bet we spent 20 minutes together - and I told her I was sorry for making her think I'd send her anyway. I assured her that I simply wanted her to be "Harmony" and that I would never send her away for being who God created her to be.

A couple of times I stopped petting her - and she gave me this sad look and nudged my hand again...so I'd pet her some more.

I know she's not that far along - but I suspect she's going to try to beat Nyx's record of 13 babies...she's already got a little pooch type thing on her sides...and I'm like, "oh no..you don't have to have a lot - you can beat Sophia's record of six and have less..."

She really does look like she's just a tad bit uncomfortable -not miserably sick..just...feeling bigger and grumpier.

I think we're finally connecting though - and that is a good thing.

 

[TinysMom]

I was just feeding the flemish and I decided to go ahead and palpate Athena to see if she's pregnant after all.

When I got done with her - I almost cried and begged her to PLEASE not try to outdo her earlier record of 11 babies. I explained that I'd rather see her have 6 nice big babies than 11 babies.

All I can say is - 2 weeks into her pregnancy - she's getting big too...

Calypso was the last one I bred - I'll probably check her over the weekend...

 

[undergunfire]

TinysMom wrote:

undergunfire wrote:

Peg, can you share pictures of "Lil Bit"? :biggrin:

Since I had today off....and you asked...well...(and I needed to get pictures of her anyway in case people ask about her...).

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Arrrrgg....I knew I shouldn't have asked for pictures because now I want her :grumpy! She's so adorable and "dainty" looking.

I soooo wish I could have a Flemish! I am really loving having Jenson as a "real house rabbit"...as in he has free run of the entire house but the bedroom, bathroom, and bun room. I can see having a Flemish as a "real house rabbit", but yet I don't want to make that decision until we move to PA and buy a house. Who knows...maybe Molly and Morgan can have free run of the house at that point - I think Morgan would roam around the house if it wasn't for the whole house having wood floors (he hates the slipperiness).

Either way....I am sooo sure I will one day end up with a Flemmie :biggrin:.

 

[myLoki]

TinysMom wrote:

myLoki wrote:

I think the tort boy's name should be Loki. For no particular reason. You know... it's a nice STRONG name. :whistling:whistling:whistling

t.

Uh huh.....right....

Is this the point where I nag you about needing pictures of Lily? Her mama passed away a couple of weeks ago and I have no one left from her family. I'm so glad she's happy and healthy with you - I know she has a great home.

Now about the name Loki....seems to me its already taken!

I'll upload some pictures of her tomorrow! She still pretty much hates my guts, but we have a truce. I don't try to touch her and she won't grunt and stomp. She gets very stressed if I want to pet her or hold her so I keep it at a minimum (brushing and clipping). She can be super sweet when I'm lying on the grass with them, but if I sit up... FORGET IT! LOL! Loki is still my love bun and Lily loves him to pieces. She is jealous that he still loves me more after all these years.

t.

 

[TinysMom]

ROFLOL about Lily - so sorry she is like that. Her mama and her sister were such sweeties.

Well - I found out today how to tick off BOTH Athena and Harmony in one move. (A calculated move I might add).

I put them side by side in their "mama" cages and told them they have 2 1/2 months or so to learn to live together and be nice.

I wish you could've seen the looks on their faces.

Calypso also got put up in a "mama" cage - and Sophia got a brand new cage and is in the living room since she needed to give her cage up for Calypso.

Its funny how much more affectionate Harmony (and Athena) are with me when they're on top cages and I can open the door more often to reach in and pet them. I petted Athena for a while and noticed Harmony watching....so when I was done - I petted Harmony and Athena turned around and gave me the butt. I did notice her peeking over her shoulder at me every once in a while though.

I am convinced that all 3 girls are pregnant - and I'm pretty sure that Harmony and Athena are going to have large litters. I'm not sure yet about Calypso.

I'm still trying to decide what to do about Dexter - I'll share more later though - as I'm wiped out and have got to head to bed.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Oh I have cage space for her! I lovethose ears!

 

[GoinBackToCali]

Ok retarded thing for me to say... but since I have bunnies like this.. to me her eyes look normal. its her ears that look weird. Perhaps shes less a bug eyed beauty but more a petite ear-ed ravish-er.

She is SO GORGEOUS, Peg! And she looks like a happy, well-cared for bun...who has made herself right at home!

 

[TinysMom]

GoinBackToCali wrote:

Ok retarded thing for me to say... but since I have bunnies like this.. to me her eyes look normal. its her ears that look weird. Perhaps shes less a bug eyed beauty but more a petite ear-ed ravish-er.

She is SO GORGEOUS, Peg! And she looks like a happy, well-cared for bun...who has made herself right at home!

That could be very true.

I don't remember if I've shared or not....but I've scheduled her spay for Wednesday. I'm a nervous wreck - crying a lot. I'm so scared I'm going to lose her. But I just have this gut feeling that she needs to be spayed fairly soon. Fortunately - there is a vet in Uvalde that I'd not dealt with before who used to live in Houston and did 3-4 rabbit spays per week there. So I feel fairly confident about using her.

Sophia will probably be the next rabbit spayed too.

Now to share a somewhat funny story - even if I wasn't laughing about it at first.

When I went to the state show in Belton - I had holland lop breeder help me pick out three rabbits. We looked at two brothers in particular - and picked Dexter. Of the two - one was definitely pet quality due to the lack of a good crown (although he had fairly nice type) and then Dexter had a nice crown and wasn't quite as typey but had a nice crown.

We could not remove rabbits before the show was declared ended - so the last few minutes before it ended - I was walking around holding Dexter while Eric loaded the flemish giants into their carriers. I had checked his tattoo to make sure I had the right rabbit.

I put Dexter back into his coop (beside his brother) so I could go get the two holland lop girls first (across the room) and then come back for him.

When I came back for him - something seemed a bit off - like he was one cage over or something - but I decided it was just me. His brother had already been picked up. So I picked him up - put him in the coop - and left.

I'm sure that those experienced at showing can already figure out what I did wrong.

When I went back for Dexter - I did NOT recheck his ear. As it turns out (and I found out much later) - I wound up picking up the non-show bunny Finn - and someone else (who wanted a pet bunny) - took Dexter. Unfortunately - I found out later - we both paid cash for the rabbits and the breeder didn't know who got Dexter.

So...I bring "Dexter" home - only he totally ignores us when we call him by name. He's afraid of us and won't respond at all. I start getting frustrated because I'm not seeing that cute holland lop personality I love so well. In addition - I show some pics of him in the rabbitry and hear comments about him and I'm thinking, "But wait...3 holland lop breeders HELPED me get him..".

So as I got ready to register the rabbits at the Seguin show two weeks ago - I check the tattoos and of course I see...I have Finn...not Dexter.

Amazingly - he suddenly starts looking at me and "answering" to the name "Finn".

He got dq'd at the second show for lack of a crown - the judge at the first table said he might do a bit better as he matures...but wasn't sure if he'd breed him - and definitely not to Cindy. (He said she deserved a "better" buck).

So now I find myself debating - do I rehome Finn (or Finxter as we now call him)? Now that he's moved into the living room (yesterday) and been hearing his name for two weeks - he's a different guy!

I know I probably "shouldn't" breed him...and I am not going to breed him to Cindy. But I may breed him to Sassy who I got to be a back-up doe...largely because he has such a HUGE personality.

I know I won't have a hard time finding pet homes as there are NO holland lops in Del Rio at all...I've been asked about them by people who've seen pictures but both feed stores have said that they don't know of anyone who breeds them.

The reason I'm thinking of taking him to Sassy if I keep him - is he has a shorter body than she does...and I might get something nice anyway with her crown.

I'm also thinking about contacting Cindy's breeder and asking if we can meet when she's old enough and breed her back to her daddy - and then he can have pick of the litter at the first show we're both at this fall.

Oh - and one final thing. Today I got to go up and see the rabbit that got adopted two week ago by a gal whose husband is in Iraq on his 4th tour of duty. The rabbit wasn't acting well and so I went up to see it and give it any treatment needed (she knows I'm not a vet).

The rabbit REMEMBERED me. She snuggled into me and tried to snuggle INTO my shirt. She laid in my arms and put her head on my arms (and this was after a shot and oral meds) and just laid there and let me pet her for about 15 minutes.

Their son named her "Diesel" - the dad will hopefully be home from Iraq in June for a visit and get to see the rabbit (it was his idea to get her).

I cried when we left. Although I could tell that the rabbit was in a good home and well-loved and spoiled rotten - the fact that she remembered me and snuggled with me - just broke my heart.

 

[TinysMom]

It won't be long before I will have my flemmies for a year...wow how time flies. Its hard to believe that in this time I've bred 3 litters - and have 3 more on the way. I look at what I'm getting and I'm so happy - partly because I can tell pet quality fairly early on (the obvious ones) and partly because I'm learning to watch them develop and mature and trying to picture in my mind what my rabbits will be like.

I'll never forget when I was at the state show - when I looked at Sophia - and then I looked across the way at rabbits that looked so much like her - and their tattoos were almost the same as hers (slightly different numbers).

I'll also not forget when someone looked at my juniors at Seguin and said, "They're out of Jack's rabbits...right?"

I found that the longer I was in lionheads - the more I could tell the "lines" behind a rabbit by looking at them. You just learn to recognize them.

That is my goal - to develop my own line that when someone sees one of my rabbits in 5 years they'll go "that's out of Tiny's Texas Legends" or "that's from Peg Flint".

Of course - each breeder has their own goals and their own situations in life.

I have had some questions over the last few months about how I pick the rabbits to use - and to keep - and how I can manage to house them. I thought today I'd take a bit of time to address that - and also pick on my dear friends Dave & Karen (wabbitdad12 & wabbitmom12) because they also breed flemish giants. Ok - so I'm not going to pick on them - but I am going to use them as an example of another "small" breeder who doesn't have lots of space for breeding and who works with flemish giants also.

I think one of the smartest moves I ever made - was to send Juan Perez photos of Mercury, my main herd buck - and say, "Pick me out does that will help even out his faults."

Juan eventually recommended Calypso and Harmony and as I looked at their photos - I realized he was right. Mercury has a lot of promise - fairly decent rise - but he really needs stronger shoulders and more "density" to the does he breeds with.

Now here is where I pick on Dave & Karen - even though I don't have a picture of Titan handy. For those who don't know - if I remember right - Titan is MASSIVE - I want to say he is 22 pounds? Now I'm thinking he looks a lot like Nyx - who has a nice big rear and big ears and everything is big - but she needs more rise. So if Dave & Karen were looking for a doe - I'm guessing they would be looking for a doe who has a nice rise because that might be what Titan is missing. (once again folks - I am assuming but I'm trying to show you how different breeders can have the same breed - be looking for a rabbit - but both be looking for something totally different.

Anyway - now as I'm looking at my offspring - sometimes I can tell right away if they are pets - because I look at the size of their front paws and back feet. If a rabbit has dainty paws - that means that they don't have large bone structure - and since one of the problems with my light grays is getting them to minimum show weight even as a senior - I need to get as thick bones in my rabbits as I can. (Athena has dainty feet compared to Sophia - I'll have to try and take pictures and go from there).

Once again - back to Dave and Karen....I'm guessing Titan has massive feet and legs and stuff. So they may not focus as much on looking at the feet as looking at the balance of the rabbit overall (shoulders, width of body, etc) and as I mentioned earlier - the rise.

Each herd - of any breeder - is going to have its strengths and weaknesses and even in developing your own lines - it is a matter of getting rid of the "barn blindness" - which I'm horrible about as I look at personality so much.

But some of you are wondering I'm sure "how do you have space for so many rabbits?"

TRICKY I say...its very tricky.

I know a lot of people on the forum love NIC cages and I've used them in the past a bit. But the fact of the matter is....space is limited for me. I find that when I use dog kennels and hopefully litter box train the rabbits - I can fit three rabbits in a 36" X 23" spot - because I can stack the cages 3 high. Those are the sizes of my junior cages although right now Sophia is in one. (My rabbits get hours of playtime though). Some of my rabbits are in the GIANT size dog kennels (three mostly adult flemish used to nap together in Nyx's cage during playtime).

By using these cages - I can go "up" and expand my herd. I am doing the same thing with the holland lops - they are in the wire cages with the slide-out bottoms (so easy to clean). By going up - I can fit four or five in a stack if need be.

I understand - this may not be "ideal" or appeal to everyone's sense of how rabbits should be treated - but you also have to understand that I'm home 5 days per week usually and whenever we're up - usually someone or several someones are out playing at one time for 4-6 hours.

Breeding isn't for everyone and when I look back now at what I did with my lionhead breeding - I did it so wrong. I should have stayed small - with perhaps 3 or 4 does and a buck or two and just focused on developing one color line or two at most. Instead - I tried to get into a little bit of everything. I didn't really have any set goals - I just followed my "whims" of what I wanted to do now.

No wonder I burned out....

Since then - I've learned my lesson. (Ok - so I toyed briefly with the idea of brokens...but it was briefly and I knew better deep in my heart). I've talked to breeders I respect a lot and come to realize that I need to set GOALS to work towards besides breeding X color or for X babies or whatever. I've learned the importance of studying the rabbits I have and learning what to bring into my herd.

My focus now is basically on two colors - and building my lines in those two colors. I'm going to be using Hermes and Nyx and her babies towards my steel lines (although I may bring in a light gray doe if I need something from that doe's strengths) and also working on light gray.

Here's hoping that five years from now...you'll see one of my rabbits somewhere and go "wow - I recognize that line..."

Hey...a gal can dream.

 

[irishbunny]

Great post Peg!

 

[Never2ManyBunnies]

I love reading your posts as I learn so much from you. I'm not a breeder, but I am seriously thinkingaboutshowing rabbits. If that works out, I may someday consider breeding (on a very small scale). With what I've learned from your prior posts, I know it is not something to take lightly! Thanks for the great posts and information.

 

[JadeIcing]

Awesome post.

 

[TinysMom]

Never2ManyBunnies wrote:

I love reading your posts as I learn so much from you. I'm not a breeder, but I am seriously thinkingaboutshowing rabbits. If that works out, I may someday consider breeding (on a very small scale). With what I've learned from your prior posts, I know it is not something to take lightly! Thanks for the great posts and information.

Cindy - I hope you do get into showing - and if you enjoy it - breeding too. I think a person can successfully breed (and enjoy breeding) with as little as a trio of two does and a buck. It takes commitment to the rabbits though - that you'll get them homes - and it takes buying stock that others believe can have babies, etc. (For instance - I'm still concerned about Cindy giving birth when I breed her - but other breeders have told me she's just fine and should not have any issues. Since several of them have told me that - I will believe them - but I do get nervous). A good way to go about it would be to start with a proven doe, a younger doe - and the nicest buck you can find.

I think I mentioned I went to see Diesel yesterday - the doe that I "gave" to the woman whose husband is in Iraq for his fourth tour of duty (he's National Guard and works Border Patrol when he's not called overseas). We wound up treating Diesel for a bit of cocci as preventative, a bit of ivermectin against potential ear mites, a bit of Safeguard (fen-something) against parasites - and started her on shots for 2 weeks since she felt like she had a fever.

I got an email earlier today - here is what Diesel's mom told me:

I just wanna say thank you again for coming all the way out here to look out our bunny. I really appreciate it. Just wanna give you an update on diesel this morning. I checked on her last night before i went to bed and let her out to run and play and whatever yall gave her seemed to work. I walked in her room and she was eating hay, what was left in er food bowl was gone and i am assuming she was drinking some because she jumped up by our fireplace and left me a nice little puddle to pick up. LOL. I just fed her again this morning when i put her out and went out to check on her a minute ago and all her food is gone again. Just wanted to let you know how she was doing this morning and say thank you very much again for coming out.

​

Its times when I get updates like these about rabbits that I feel happy - to know I placed an animal in a home where it is loved and cherished.

I have to admit - I'm becoming a nervous wreck between Angel's spay on Wednesday and watching the girls get bigger with their pregnancies. I almost took a picture today of Harmony's cage...she literally threw her litter box (with litter) all around - turned it upside down - dumped her food bowl over and then set her food bowl on top of it.

Of course I'd just cleaned her cage about 36 hours earlier...

Meanwhile - Athena was looking at me and flirting with me through the bars for treats. I gave her a pet or two and walked away.

Later on...guess who had decided to dump HER litter box?

I'm beginning to think they've decided to be friends and drive me crazy together....

Oh - and I took Angel outside a few minutes ago in the dog pen. Guess who has now figured out she is small enough to get loose?

Fortunately - I didn't have to chase her much. Boy - she does love that grass though...

 

[TinysMom]

Well - Sweet Pea (with the cocci) needs prayers again.

I took her out to weigh her - (she has put on weight - I could tell that even when I picked her up) and found she had a huge abscess on her back with three smaller ones that had "fingered" out from it.

No wonder she hasn't felt much like eating - imagine how you'd feel if you had a big boil on your back.

We gave her Pen G and were able to drain the abscess - or at least about 80-90% of it. I'm thinking that we'll be seeing a much livelier girl in the next 48 hours or so...

Still yet - it has GOT to feel miserable to have that large abscess. I've seen them before - but this was one of the worst I've seen.

She's now hopping around and flicking us off (and I don't blame her a bit).

She's also looking for some fresh food - I think I'll go get her some.