Rabbit & Cavy News

The two Polish does I bred last month each had their litters over the past few days!  Finally I’ll have some Polish babies - I am so excited!  I was worried that the one doe could have some lilac babies with the coloring in both her and the buck’s backgrounds, but the kits are all black. 

Sweety doe, Jody’s Holland, also had her litter.  She had 5 babies, but crushed two of them and one looks like it was pulled apart at birth (perhaps she had trouble delivering this last one, it looked abnormal) but the two remaining are doing fine.  We should of bred more Hollands along with her, but I wanted to treat all the other rabbits for coccidia last month so no others were bred.

Kelly hasn’t wanted to rebreed any more French Lops.  I truly think she is easing back on her rabbits - and already has a lot of them to care for.  I can’t fault her - she seems to know when she is nearing her limit of animals to care for and refuses to breed more.  She’s got the last two litters still; none of them have been shown yet because we haven’t been able to get to any rabbit shows in April! 

Well I am just excited to actually have my own Polish babies - I’ve always wanted my own rabbits to show myself.  Soon I’ll be able to attend rabbit shows, even when the kids can’t go! 

I suppose I can bring a few Hollands along to show also, since Jody and I ‘merged’ all our Holland stock at the beginning of the year.  Jody and I are now just one ‘open exhibitor’ as far as the Hollands go.  Jody hasn’t much interest in showing anymore, but does not want to give up his funny Hollands - he still cares for them every day without fail.  I have to say, the Hollands are the funniest and most personable rabbits I’ve ever seen - they captivate us daily with new antics. 

Each rabbit has a distinct personally and is so different from the next one; Little Bear is so spastic and never stops running back and forth for attention - if you listen closely to him, you can hear him humming loudly and blowing air out of his open mouth - while he runs back and forth in front of you!  “Prairie Dog”, a younger buck out of Shorty, is always sitting up on his hindlegs while he eats his hay every night, and of course, Wire, or ‘Musso’ as Jody calls him has to have a fresh piece of cardboard every night and he’s specific about it - the cardboard must be approximately 4″ square and we must put a small hole in the center so he has a ‘handle’.  In response to anyone talking to him, Wire picks up his carboard piece and carries it around his cage, whirling in small intricate circles, all the while making sure his audience is watching him.  He is truly insulted if we give him a too-large piece of cardboard, or an awkward-shaped piece and admonishes us by stuffing it in his water bowl instead of carrying it around.