Our Bunnies are Finally Broken

Posted on October 27, 2015 by onedogrunning

For the first time ever we have broken rabbits here at Abernathy’s!

Broken of course refers to a spotted coat color. So far we have had nothing but solids, otters and agoutis born here. Today, my new pedigreed Standard Rex doe Opal (who is coincidentally also an opal color) kindled her first litter sired by my new broken buck, Pine Tar.

She was a day late and kindled on day 32, and my other Rex doe Bluefin, who was bred at the same time to the same buck is also late and will probably kindle tonight. Can’t wait to see what she’s going to throw!

These little bunnies are just so gorgeous! There were six smaller-sized kits born in the nestbox this evening. Originally Opal had decided to move the location of her nest to the cage floor, and relocated all the nesting material there. I stuffed it all back into the nestbox the next day and she seemed fine with that, pulled fur and had her babies where she was supposed to. Since this is my first experience breeding her, it’s good to see she’s a sensible rabbit.

There seems to be some broken opals, broken castors, and a solid castor. These are really just guesses though based on the colors of the parents. I can’t wait to watch them grow out! The little spotty coat patterns look so beautiful when they’re tiny like this, like how a shrinky dink looks better once it’s been shrunk. I’m sure they’ll make very attractive adults too, but their patterns look so intricate and perfect at this age.

Another first here at the rabbitry is that these six little kits are the first fully pedigreed and papered rabbits to be born here! Yay! Both parents are from a very reputable local rabbitry and were specially selected to make a good breeding match based on their background genetics. Here’s to lots more fully-pedigreed buns!

Proud momma Opal

The Foster Litter

Posted on October 7, 2015 by onedogrunning

You might remember that we lost one of our senior rabbits not long ago, right after she had kindled a litter. Using what I have now dubbed my Foster Juggling technique, I was actually able to save every single kit! So now there are 22 healthy and happy seven week old baby bunnies that were raised by only two moms. Fantastic! Now to get them out of here!

These kits are all Standard Rex/Californian crosses and Creme d’Argent/Californian crosses. The Creme crosses are nothing new, we have bred them several times and they grow into large, friendly rabbits in shades of agouti, dark brown and black. I love these crosses and I am growing a few out to see how they do as breeders.

The Rex/Cal crosses are new, and they are interesting little bunnies. Some of them look very much like Silver Martens, while others have the tan and white markings of a Black Otter Rex. A few even have extra soft and shiny coats which must be a result of the Rex fur genetics, although actual Rex fur does not show up in the first generation. I love how chunky these kits have turned out to be, with large heads and glossy, compact little bodies.

All of the babies from all three litters are black or dark brown this time except for one little agouti girl. This is pretty much because genetically Californians are actually black rabbits although they are white-furred.

It was getting crowded in there so today I did a little bit of sexing and reorganizing of bunnies to give everyone a bit more breathing room. Some bunnies will now be enjoying tractor life, where they get moved to fresh grass each day. The smallest ones will be living with their moms for a while longer and enjoying garden trimmings like sunflower leaves and stalks and rosemary clippings.

Since I’m planning a trip soon to visit my brand-new nephew, I would love to rehome these bunnies as soon as possible. They’re all on sale for $20 each, both bucks and does.

Free Range Quail Experiment

Posted on October 6, 2015 by onedogrunning

I have all of next season’s breeding quail weighed and selected for size and color, and I was left with 30 young birds that didn’t make the cut. I put them up for sale at a discounted price but since laying season is coming to a close, there wasn’t much interest. Even despite the fact that with a little supplemental lighting they would lay well through winter. So I butchered some, and with the birds I had left, I decided to try a little experiment.

I took a dozen of the mostly wild type and Tibetan colored birds and set them free near where they’d been housed. It’s a sheltered area at the back of the barn under a few large lilacs in my fully-fenced yard. I do have cats and dogs that roam around, and my cats do sometimes kill birds, so I was interested to see what they’d do. Luckily, there have been no issues at all. The cats and quail are used to seeing each other around and the quail just don’t run so the cats don’t bother to chase. The dogs have also left them completely alone.

The quail seemed very happy to be free, and immediately started dust bathing like their lives depended on it. I had to make sure not to step on them as I walked around the yard because they blend in so well and had no fear of me. I set up a little food and water station for them which they haven’t used much.

This morning I woke up and they were all over my compost pile, happily scratching away in the sunshine. Most of them are still hanging around the same area they were released from after 24 hours. I’ll be very interested to follow their progress and see how they do over the winter.