Texan Tales (& Tails) - by TinysMom

[SnowyShiloh]

Oh... Oh my gosh. Peg. You know my desire for a Holland Lop. You know that I trust you more than pretty much any other breeder ever. Did you know that the markings of all of those Hollands are my absolute favorite color combos/markings for Hollands? I had no idea you were getting into breeding them. Just last night I was thinking I wished you'd breed them :inlove:

 

[TinysMom]

SnowyShiloh wrote:

Oh... Oh my gosh. Peg. You know my desire for a Holland Lop. You know that I trust you more than pretty much any other breeder ever. Did you know that the markings of all of those Hollands are my absolute favorite color combos/markings for Hollands? I had no idea you were getting into breeding them. Just last night I was thinking I wished you'd breed them :inlove:

I bought my first three in March - and the last two in April.

I am breeding the girls this weekend. I tried today and Zuba was willing...but the girls were so NOT willing yet even though I checked their privates first.

So hopefully we'll have our babies the first/second week in July and they'll be ready for homes in October or a bit later.

 

[TinysMom]

Shiloh - just for grins - Frontier Airlines flies from San Antonio to Denver - then Denver to Fairbanks....

Just for your information...

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Ah, and here I was thinking that October would be the perfect time for a little drive down to Anchorage to visit Paul's parents and *ahem* the airport like we did when Skyler flew here... Straight to Fairbanks is even better

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Peg, I replied to your PM and just finished reading the last several pages of the blog :biggrin:

Hodgepodge of comments:
I forgot to say before, I love your bunny barn to be! How cool is that? Will you install air conditioning or tons of fans or what? And Angel is such a sweetheart. What a pretty girl and how lucky that you won her in the raffle. Also I loooove the broken Flemmies! I'd wondered before why there aren't broken ones. I love bunnies with spots. The one in the picture looks just like Rory if he was a Flemmie

As for the loppies, I think Finnster is pretty darn cute, even if he's supposed to be his brother. I want to pick him up and squeeze him! Did his ears come down yet? What are the other Hollands' personalities?

Sorry to hear that you didn't really click with the Flemmie breeders. I know what it's like to have a group that you don't really fit in with, and other groups where everything's fantastic. One of the main reasons I think you're such a great breeder is that I know you love your bunnies and want what's best for them- you don't just see them as a hobby to tinker with.

 

[TinysMom]

I think Finnster is keeping his ears as helicopter ears a lot to send Karen good wishes for her classes....at least that was his claim when I talked to him about the need put his ears down....

Seriously - his ears are doing better and he's such a cutie. Both Finn and Zuba love to periscope at supper time to get their supper before the girls (bad mama - it works sometimes too!).

Both boys are flirts basically.

Cindy and Sassy are fairly time - but I'm going to need to work with Sher (who is a big girl now) to get her more tame. She's become very feisty and I have the scars to prove it.

In fact, I weighed the girls today. Cindy was 2 pounds and 15 ounces. I was thinking she was really small - till I weighed Sassy who looks larger - and she is 3 pounds. Then I weighed Sher (after a huge fight) and she was a bit over 4 pounds.

I have to admit - I do have a favorite among them...it is Cindy. It isn't just because she won 2 BOBs...but because I love her markings - AND her personality - so much. Unfortunately - she and Angel seem to be a bit jealous of each other and if they both get playtime at the same time - fur flies. Angel believes she's the diva bun and gets aggressive - but ONLY towards Cindy.

Next fall I want to add to my holland lines (once we have the barn). While I love the torts and broken torts - I want to add a trio of chocolates and a tri (broken harlequin) doe. I had a chance at one the last show I went to - and I debated about it so long that someone else got her first.

Oh - about the air conditioning - we'll definitely have a window a/c and hopefully some fans in the building also. Something I'm toying with is having a "guest / visiting area" in the front 6' or so of the building - with pens for bunnies that are adoptable and chairs for people to sit in. I might even have a small grooming area in that section.

Then I'd like to have folding (accordian) doors like they use in churches and schools to close so that people don't go into the rest of the rabbitry without my invitation.

At least that is a dream so far...we'll see how it develops as it goes along.

 

[wabbitmom12]

TinysMom wrote:

I think Finnster is keeping his ears as helicopter ears a lot to send Karen good wishes for her classes....at least that was his claim when I talked to him about the need put his ears down....

Well that must be why I think I did pretty good on my test yesterday!! Thank you, Finnster! :hugsquish:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

That's so kind of Finnster to keep his ears like that for Karen. What a nice boy! I know that helicopter ears aren't ideal, but they sure are adorable. Hard to beat helicopter ears for cute The other Hollands sound sweet too, even feisty Sher!

I think the little bunny meeting area in the bunny barn, complete with accordion door, sounds like a great plan. If Paul and I are ever fortunate enough to have a house custom built, we plan to have the bunny room right off the living room so we can see them, and have one of those accordion doors so we can close it off if necessary (like if we have a bunch of people over who would freak the bunnies out).

 

[irishbunny]

I love the idea of having a visiting area in your rabbitry. I also really like Cindy, the markings of her face are so cute!

 

[TinysMom]

I'm going to share some pictures later tonight (I hope) of the hollands and the babies - but I just have to take a minute to share something else.

I've been crying off and on all dad today - even gave myself a migraine from it. As many of you know - Wabbitdad and Wabbitmom had to make the "final act of love" choice for their dear flemish Velvet. I feel like I'm reeling from this loss - and even though they could see it coming (and mentioned it in their blog) - I just feel so "empty" right now.

I would have loved to have met Velvet - for she was "Auntie Velvet" to my own dear Nyx. I would have loved to have stolen her and brought her here to love on my babies too...she was just so special.

I think I haven't hurt this bad about a forum bunny passing since Ali lost her Samantha three years ago. I remember feeling like I'd been punched in the gut when that happened. I feel that way right now too - I don't even want to eat - I just want to cry and cover my head with the pillows and sleep.

So why a I writing this?

I'm asking folks - in honor/memory of Velvet - go hug your bunny tonight...or give them another treat - or take a picture. But do something WITH your bunny...make some sort of a memory.

For me - I've been going into the rabbitry and loving on all the bunnies today. I laid on the bed and cried into Zeus' fur...and he didn't exactly like it - but I think he understood.

I always hate it when the forum loses a bunny - I especially hate it when we lose a flemish - but this is one of those times when I feel like I've been hit by a train or something. My grief is just so...bad right now.

Anyway - enough about me. Thanks to those of you who do this in Velvet's memory..and in her honor. She certainly was a special bun....as are all of our buns.

 

[fuzz16]

rip velvet...its always sad when a bunny passes that has touched our hearts. ill make sure to love on all my buns today

 

[irishbunny]

Aww that post really touched me, I went straight out and shared a banana between all the bunnies and gave them all extra nose rubs

RIP Velvet, you will be missed x

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Poor Velvet We get so attached to bunnies on this forum. I can't believe Pebbles and Clover are gone, but the shock of their deaths was kind of tempered by the shock of Skyler's death since he passed away earlier in the afternoon than Clover and the day before Pebbles

In any case, I made sure to give all my bunnies an extra cuddle for Velvet. It pains me so much to know that some day I won't be able to cuddle my bunnies anymore. It's a good thing they're cuddle loving bunnies because I don't know if I'd be able to give up the snuggles!

 

[TinysMom]

Well - this is probably gonna be a bit of a long update...no pics yet but I will upload them tonight.

First of all - I tried breeding Calypso with Mercury again...no go. She kept running from him and then she'd put her tail up - but leave her bum down so he couldn't get to her. I was getting frustrated -but then - at one point - I heard her whimpering at him and it hit me - perhaps she DID get pregnant when I attempted to breed them before.

So I put her back in her cage and loved on her a bit. She was pretty darn upset but she calmed down when she got a few Cheerios (aka "Crunchies").

Last night the five of the six babies got playtime on the kitchen floor. One of them can still get out of the pen and one was sleeping in the back of the cage and Harmony wouldn't let me take him/her. It was fun to watch them take a long run and then binky several times in a row. I love how joyful babies can be at this age...life is so "new" and "fun" to them.

Today Athena and her two got playtime on the kitchen floor for a couple of hours - later on Harmony and her four will get some playtime together too.

But I'm going to start taking the babies out at suppertime for group playtime so that the mamas can eat in peace without babies trying to nurse cause mama is trapped since she wants food. Both mamas seemed happy last night when I did that.

By the way - as is usual - it seems like each mama (Harmony in particular) has one baby that is closer to mama than the others. I'm not sure if it is something that mama does - or if the baby just chooses to hang out with mama more - but it seems to happen in every litter I've had of the flemish.

Oh - I need to share about one of the younger girls. Annie Oakley is such a character - I'm halfway hoping I can bond her to Zeus.

First of all - she is ALWAYS submissive to any other bunnies. She even lets Angel hump her head (which I stop right away).

But she also has the sweetest spirit about her. She loves people and will periscope by my side to beg me to pick her up and hold her. She will climb in my lap if she can and stay there for half an hour at a time- giving me kisses much of the time.

She is one rabbit that even if she wasn't the best type of rabbit - I'd want to breed her to bring that personality into my herd.

Anyway - today she got to share an apple with me - and she was so happy and had such fun. I'd take a bite and let her have a bit from the other side of the apple (I was going to share about 1/2 of it with the rabbits anyway). She thought she was just such a princess to pick her own bites. I let one of Nyx's kids take a bit and Annie tugged on my arm with her paws to have me give her another bite of the apple.

I would take a photo of her - but the dogs groomed her the other day (have I mentioned she likes to go groom them and hang out with them and they groom her back)...so she is a bit...um....not quite bald...but bald on her head. She looks hilarious. She doesn't care - in fact - the dog will be sleeping and she'll go nudge her head under the dog to get it to groom her.

Yeah - she's a character.

Today Robin & I cleaned cages. I still have 7 more to do - I think she has 7 more left too. Hers are the harder ones that I can't do as easily...I think we worked about an hour - maybe 90 minutes at most. Of course its pretty easy - I have a lot of cages with the tray underneath (gotta love that woody pet type stuff that I use in the tray)...and most of the other cages have litter boxes. One of my lionhead does...Darling...was so thrilled. She'd been using her litter box so well - that I didn't have to move her to pull out the base of her cage and dump any poops. (I did reach in and spray the base with my disinfectant stuff though). You could see her sit up and preen at the idea she got to STAY in her cage and not have to be held by Robin.

When I clean the last cages in a bit - I'm going to have to do some moving bunnies around. It seems like since he got moved - Sting is taking great delight in teasing Athena - or doing something to irritate her. She is getting so frustrated with him. So he'll get moved so that she won't keep trying to fight with him through the bars.

Some of you may remember Truly - the chocolate doe we got around Easter time? She's getting to be a BIG girl...she doesn't play well with others and has to have her play time alone. But she seems pretty happy - I just can't believe that she's as big as she is.

I suppose this wouldn't be a full update without mentioning the hollands - right? I'm hoping all three does are pregnant - Cindy is her nornmal sweet self - which is good. Sher hates me I think...and she's grumpy. Sassy is...just Sassy. She is usually happy but doesn't flirt. Sher is the one I need to work on socializing as she tears me apart when I go to hold her.

Zuba and Finster have both become lovebugs with us....I'm so glad now I didn't rehome Finster when I First found out he wasn't showable. I wound up breeding him with Sassy - I figured I'd see what he might give me and she is an experienced doe.

I guess that is pretty much it - Angel has become a diva bunny and when she's allowed playtime she wants to dominate everyone. That is so NOT good. If you can picture this - a little polish humping the head of a 7-8 pound flemish giant? Yeah...its hilarious. What is even funnier is that Annie will let her do it and then just lay her head down as if to say, "whatever you want...".

Angel now knows if she does it and I see her- I will pick her up unless she stops. So she runs away - waits for me to turn my back and tries to dominate someone else. (Hint: It doesn't always work Angel....not all light gray flemish does are Annie!).

I'll try to upload pictures this afternoon/evening and share them.

 

[TinysMom]

I will share more later - when I can see through the tears.

RIP Calypso. Your passing was a total shock - nothing to warn us you were ill. I wish I knew what happened.

I feel like part of my dream for my own lines have died.

I'm speechless.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

OMG Peg I'm so sorry you lost another one. I can't imagine the heart ache your going through.
:hugsquish:

 

[fuzz16]

so sorry you lost another...sometimes things happen for a reason. your in a tough spot right now but you cant give up on your dreams.

rip calypso.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Peg, I'm so sorry I'm sure it would be hard to lose her anyway, but it must be so much harder when you had such big plans for her RIP Calypso!!

 

[TinysMom]

First of all - thank you to everyone for your kind words - both here and on Facebook.

I spent several hours sleeping earlier this evening - it was the only way I could handle the grief.

My grief is actually sorta three-fold. First of all - I miss her terribly. Secondly, I feel bad because I never really "bonded" with her the way I did with Harmony and part of that is - I know that she really loved Alicia and missed her. I know she had feelings for Ali and I just never measured up - and the last month or so - I sorta gave up on trying to win her over and tried to make her happy - but withdrew a bit emotionally (and she was ok with that). But finally - her death is the death of part of the dream - that of creating TWO lines from Juan's rabbits and then crossing them back and forth along with my earlier does that are basically from Jack's lines.

I've come to the conclusion - based upon her body temperature when I found her (literally about 30 seconds before her heart stopped beating) - that she must've had an infection and been hiding it from me. Sure - she'd been a bit quiet lately - but she had her quiet days and her more active days and it wasn't any different than usual. She was eating, drinking, taking treats, etc. So I don't think that she allowed herself to show signs that I could've missed.

When I finally got up about midnight - Robin brought me out one of Harmony's babies - it was the doe that was pick of the litter (I can tell that at this age for her as she has very BIG bone structure and I really need to add that to my lines). I loved on her and she cuddled into my arms and let me pet her for about 20 minutes. I realized - the dream isn't dead...its simply changed. For now I'll have ONE of Juan's lines to cross into Jack's lines...and let's face it - that's all it takes to start my own lines.

I'm thinking of calling the doe that I'll keep from the litter "Katie Elder" but I'm not sure - I'd rather have the name of a nicer legendary woman. Why? Cause even at this age - Katie is sweeter than her littermates...and it shows in her personality as she interacts with them and with her mama.

By the way - the litter has two bucks (both of which are looking very nice) and four does. Whichever buck I keep for this line - will probably be named "Ranger" for the "Lone Ranger". I like the name.

I guess that is it for now. I just feel so numb - I can't bring myself to write Calypso's RB thread yet.

I've lost rabbits before - too many to count. But I can't remember a younger one like this (I think she was turning one this week) that died so suddenly that I had no warning....at least not a flemmie.

The hardest part for me - is I feel like I let Ali down and I let Juan down...because they both cared about her too - and I know Ali had strong feelings for Calypso. In a way - the grief is really hard for her too because Calypso lived with her for a month.

 

[JadeIcing]

As I said you didn't let me down. It sucks big time but it is not your fault. If you had known you would have done anything to help her.