Rabbits For Sale

A friend from South Bend who I consider to be a "real" rabbit breeder came for a visit on Monday. I had asked her to come down and help me evaluate the Hollands in my barn. Now I know who is for sale and who we think is worth hanging on to. Her evaluations were very helpful. She is really good about "setting" rabbits up properly and they really look different sometimes. Or they don't and then you know the answer to the stay or go question! She also has some really nice stock I am interested in purchasing. So if anybody is looking for a rabbit give me a call!

And then there were two...

kittens, that is. Last week all three kittens disappeared into thin air the same day. No trace of them anywhere. There Momma was crying for them, the kids were crying and calling for them, it was awful! Sometime in the afternoon one came home covered in burrs. That same evening a neighbor called and said her husband had been walking around the mile a found a kitten by the road in front of our house. She was calling to see if it might be ours. The third one never returned ( the gray and white one that Rebecca had claimed). When I heard one had been found by the road I knew what had happened. The kittens went for a ride under a vehicle.

Today I was running late and drove to work faster than usual. I had a good day and finished up a little early. As I headed out of the parking lot with my windows down to enjoy the beautiful afternoon I heard this strange noise. Odd. I turned out of the hospital parking lot, through the stop sign, and heard it again. I realized what it was as I approached the gas station on the corner. I'll bet I looked really cute there jumping out of my car and running all around it yelling "here kitty, kitty, kitty." I could still hear it but couldn't see it, so up with the hood, still calling for it. I finally saw it's yellow eyes through the engine compartment. I called it up and it crawled through the engine and came straight to me. Can you believe that cat rode under my vehicle for 20 miles then waited all day?!? I still can't believe it. So we have two very lucky and not very bright gray kittens.

the Fair is over ;(

How can it go so fast?!? We plan and work for it all year and then it is over in a flash.

Mini 4H extravaganza was Wednesday afternoon. Here are some photos of our next showman. Don't you love how he smiles and looks like he is having fun?

Thursday was the auction. Rebecca sold her dairy goat wether. We are very grateful to Wolf Lake Feed for getting her a great price of $200. She was very sad to leave him in a pen in the barn, especially when the goat leader reminded her to remove his collar. I'm not sure she'll be selling a goat again. She also sold her single fryer rabbit and got another nice price of $110 from Wal-Mart. That one is easier to sell, the 4Hers usually get the rabbits back.

Photos (lots of them)

Rebecca and Nicholas learning a new skill!

Rebecca in the goat ring

Rebecca showing Tucker


Rebecca in the Rabbit show

Showing her Best of Breed Silver Fox (all three rabbits are hers- she needed help!)


Showing her best Opposite Sex of Variety (broken) Holland Lop

Showing her Best Opposite Sex of Variety (solid) Holland Lop

Nicholas in the parade

Chris' usual position- ringside!

Rebecca and the Grand Champion Guernsey



Rebecca and Maverick

Rebecca and Rejoice

Days Three and Four

Day Three was the Beef show. What a long day! I felt I had been doing pretty well until the beef show. The Show barn was packed with people, it was getting warmer outside, and having to wait all day and try to keep tabs on Nicholas set off my first migraine of the fair. Rebecca finally got to show her steer- he finished at the bottom of the class, as we expected, due to his size. It's not realistic to try to compete with those grain force fed, growth hormone injected steers when you are trying to produce a grass-fed organic slow-food type of beef. Rebecca was not discouraged. She trimmed him, bathed him and groomed him the way she wanted to and she did it by herself. She has made quite a name for herself in the dairy and beef barn- I can't tell you how many people have commented to me what a neat young lady she is. She really enjoys caring for the animals and learning from other people, but she certainly makes up her own mind as to how she is going to do it. I think for her showing is just the necessary end to all the hard work but it is not her favorite part. I couldn't get her to participate in any showmanship competition! She just would not do it. Which is too bad because she really does a nice job and I think she could have done well.

There was another demolition derby Sunday night, but when we went home to do chores I stayed home and caught up on some dishes and laundry. I had to get those dairy whites clean after the Dairy show and before the Goat show!

Day Four was the goat show. An early start, the goat show starts at 8am! Rebecca has all Oberhasli goats, a dairy breed. She had two senior doe kids in the same class, (one is hers and one is her brother's)so she had to get help there. Nicholas' finished first and Rebecca's was second. Then she had a dry yearling and took second with her. The first and second in each class go back for Champion Oberhasli, so she really need help with three goats in that competition. Our goats were too small for this judge, but she did comment on their dairy type. Same with the Obe wether, too light. He was 10th is a very large class of 55-60lb animals. My parents came to watch the goat show. They made it just before Rebecca's classes, it was perfect timing. When she finished showing we decided to go out for some real food for lunch, everyone was tired of fair food or sandwiches from home. After a yummy Mexican lunch we headed home to "rest". This time the kids did fall asleep and we all slept for close to 3 hours! Rebecca did mention that she wasn't sure she wants to do four projects next year. When we roused ourselves it was time to do chores at home and head back to the fair to check on animals then watch the Truck Pull with some good friends.

Back to work today at 630am- what a whirlwind!

Wednesday is Mini 4H Extravaganza- Nicholas will show a rabbit and his goat.

The animals that are not going to auction get to come home Wednesday night. It is also the Powder Puff Demolition Derby, which is always fun to watch. Then the auction on Thursday and we will be done with another year. How can it go so fast after you work so hard and long to prepare for it?!?

Day One and Two

We survived! And I think each day is more enjoyable than the day before. Friday was the dairy show. Rebecca showed a total of 3 cows. She ended up with the Grand Champion Guernsey. It was fun because she showed Diana last year as well but didn't take the Grand. Friday night was the 4H parade and then the motor cross in the grandstand.

Today was the rabbit show and we did much better than I expected. Rebecca showed 8 rabbits in 3 breeds and a single fryer. Our Silver Fox doe was Best of Breed, our buck was Best Opposite. In the Hollands she won Best Opposite of Variety in broken AND Best Opposite of Variety solid. She only showed one Netherland Dwarf, he won first in Siamese Smoke Pearl but not the shaded variety. The judge really liked his body, though. He said he had the best Netherland body there now we just need to breed for a better head! The Silver Fox doe got to go back for best 6 Class rabbit, but she was beat by a very nice New Zealand doe who went on to win Best In Show. her single fryer was a little light, but he didn't have anything bad to say about him. He was just a little soft through the mid-section. I was extremely pleased with her performance overall. One of the Californian does we sold to a first year 4Her went Best Opposite, so that was great, too. She was one very happy little girl. Our breeding program is getting better just when we decide to get out of that breed! I couldn't talk Rebecca into doing showmanship, she was just too tired. So we came home and "rested" for an hour, then did our own chores and headed back for the first night of Demolition Derby.

Now we are off to bed to get some rest before the beef show tomorrow. Rebecca's steer is in class 69 out of 82 classes, so I don't think we need to rush to get there. I'll try to get pictures posted soon.

Somebody should have slapped me!

6 months ago when my daughter said " I want to take 4 animal projects to the fair this year" why didn't somebody slap me silly?!? Rebecca was seriously stressed out about getting everyone down there and Chris and I did not handle her nerves well at all. We got through it, just not very smoothly. It took us 3 hours last night to get our animals checked in and settled. That doesn't even count the hours our friend spent getting the dairy cows in. I used to think the dairy, beef, goat and rabbit barns were pretty close together, but last night they seemed to be miles apart!

Tucker weighed in at 736#. Probably a little small for this competition- there are some really big steaks here this year. Rebecca handled him through the whole process and got him tied up in his spot. The vet told Rebecca how glad he was to see her in leather boots. he said it was so much better than the tennis shoes and sandals other 4Hers were wearing. I asked him if he had time to clean them before the show since she would be working in them right up until show time! She decided not to show her junior calf- he just wasn't ready to behave the way she wants. In addition, he was banded to make him a steer and our fair requires castration. Another rule we learned a little late.

Our wether weighed in at 55#. Again, small for all the Boer competition, but Rebecca is not at all about winning. She just wants to make sure her animals are comfortable and wants to have fun herself. Poor Nicholas got the job of keeping an eye on the goats while we helped Rebecca check in the steer and rabbits. The pen was not nearly tall enough so he spent almost an hour pushing them off the gates. Another member did not show up so we moved them to a pen with taller gates, but Chris is still worried it won't keep them in.

The rabbits were very easy to settle. We were two short on bowls so I have to remember to take those today. Our Silver Fox weighed more than we expected. The male had to be bumped up from junior to intermediate since he weighs a solid 10 pounds!

Today is the dairy show. Chris dropped Rebecca off at 630am to do rounds on her own animals before she starts on the dairy she is showing. Luckily the weather is cooler and a little overcast. We are packing coolers and doing chores here before we head down just before showtime. I should have pictures tonight!

Babies,babies, babies!!

I have been breeding Holland Lops for a couple of years. This is my most successful series ever! I have learned several lessons along the way. Number one: Always breed multiple does at the same time in case you need to foster some babies to another mom. Number two: Don't give up- it is not as easy as everyone thinks! So here are my babies. I bred 5 Hollands and have 3 litters- one more has pulled fur for the nest but still no babies. I also 2 Netherland Dwarfs and have 1 litter- the other one has pulled a little fur but no kits yet.

This litter of 3 Hollands looks like a solid tort, a broken tort, and a broken tort that might be a peanut (which would be ok even though peanuts don't usually make it because it tells me both parents are true dwarfs)


This litter of 4 Hollands are 2 blacks and 2 black otters.


This is the Holland litter I am most excited about- a black and a blue, which tells me both parents carry dilute- a great thing if you like lots of colors. And they are so nicely fed- see how filled out they are?


This is a litter of 3 Netherlands- Rebecca found the littlest one on the wire instead of in the box so she and Chris worked to get it warmed up and back with mom- it's still doing well tonight, so we'll just keep an eye on it. I'm not so sure about the colors here.

Tomorrow we load everyone up and head to the fair. Rebecca's first show is Friday so I will try to get results on here as soon as I can!

Grains and sweetness

Chris found about a neighbor of ours who was offering a cooking class dedicated to helping people learn to use grains and natural sweeteners. We have decided since are trying to get other people to care about the use of chemicals and to recognize wholesome food we should probably change some (a LOT!) of our own practices. This sounded like the perfect opportunity to get us started. Rebecca and I went last night to a beautiful new bed and breakfast in Albion called The Brick Arc Inn. The Inn was hosting the cooking class but they haven't even had their grand opening yet. We joined a few other ladies and learned about how to use Stevia, Rapidura, maple syrup and honey in foods instead of refined sugar. We also learned about arrowroot powder for thickening instead of cornstarch. We learned how to soak grains and whole grain flours overnight to increase their nutritional value. And we cooked! We made an oatmeal like you have never tasted before! We used leftover oatmeal to make wonderful all natural and organic chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. We made healthy pancakes and a black raspberry syrup that was really great. We also met some really nice people who will be terrific resources on our journey. So we are ready for our transition to food that has more nutritional value.Next time we learn about lacto-fermentation and then how to make yogurts and kefirs! A whole new adventure.

New chicks!

In order to have time off for the fair (without losing any pay!) I am working 11 days straight! Poor Chris and the kids are trying to get everything ready at home. In addition to the usual chores 100 Cornish Cross chicks arrived yesterday.

We had placed 3 Pekin ducklings that we had hatched into a brooder in the barn to see how it would work before the chicks arrived. We set up a puppy exercise pen inside the goat pen with lots of wood shavings on the dirt floor. We have two cats that are here all the time and a tomcat that only comes home when he is hungry. I was sure those ducklings would never make it with the cats, but they didn't bother them a bit! When we first put them out there the cats would sit and watch them but they never went any closer. I still can not believe it. So we decided it would be safe for the chicks, too. Evidently Cornish Cross chicks are a lot smaller than the ducklings, because Chris said when he put them down they ran everywhere! Right through the puppy pen and then over the board at the bottom of the goat pen and out into the barn! I wish I could have seen the three of them scrambling around trying to catch theese chicks and make the pen secure. By the time I got home the chicks were happily eating and drinking a running from one side to the other. They like to follow the ducklings who are just a few days older than the chicks but much taller. These will be our meat chickens and should be ready to process in 7 weeks.

We also have 3 kittens that were born about a month ago. Their mother, Socks, decided to have them in the landscaping right next to the front door. I tried to move them to a nice cozy spot in the barn but within 7 minutes Socks was carrying them back to her spot in the irises. So my irises and day lillies are getting trampled but the kittens are so cute.

Keeping on top of "it"

About all we're doing this week is trying to keep up! We touched up the goats shave jobs on Tuesday- no one told me that "shave everything in front of the tail" really means everything! Can you tell me how to shave a goat's face and nose? If you can I would love to know! We did the best we could and are hoping someone will take pity on us at the fair and help. The goats go in on Thursday but don't actually show until Monday.

Rebecca has been walking steers and needs to get them each bathed once this week. The large steer has warts on his face we need to remove. We didn't know they were unacceptable for fair until yesterday! They went to Schwartz Harness and Tack this afternoon to get her showstick and neckties for the steers. She has all her books ready to turn in, they are due tomorrow.

The rabbits toenails are trimmed, that's about all they need.
Nicholas still needs to finish up his scrapbooks for Mini4H, I think I'll help him with those!

So the animals are almost ready with 6 days to go!

Holiday Weekend

We started the holiday by heading to New Castle to gather with my family and watch my brother-in-law race go karts. Turns out it is one of the premier tracks in the nation! His engine wasn't quite fast enough this weekend, but I am sure they will be back. We had a great visit and a wonderful Italian dinner together. Here is David with his pit crew.

On Saturday Rebecca worked with her big steer. We think he's looking pretty good, we'll have to see what the competition looks like when we get to fair. This is Tucker. The hole in his ear is from the first 4H tag, which he ripped out. The second one is placed much deeper in his ear and has held so far.


Saturday night we went to a friends annual Fourth of July party. Always great food and a good time. The rain stopped just long enough for them to get the fireworks off.

Sunday was scheduled to be goat preparation day. To show the goats they need to be slick shaved 10 - 14 days before the fair. We have little clippers that we use for the dogs but we really needed the large animal clippers for the goats. Luckily, our friend who has dairy cows had a pair he was willing to let us borrow for a day. So while Chris built the goat stand Rebecca and I got to work washing the goats so they would be dry when the stand was ready. It worked beautifully! Isn't Chris' stand nice! I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything went. Chris used the big clippers because in addition to being borrowed they were heavy and very expensive! Rebecca used the dog clippers on their legs, bellies, necks and facs. She also trimmed their hooves herself, which is great because I really dislike trimming hooves. She worked hard all day and it shows. The goats look beautiful. I just realized I don't have a finished photo, so you'll have to wait for fair photos to see the final product!

Lobball 2009

Nicholas had his last lobball game tonight. he has played so well this year is has been so much fun to watch. Next year he moves up to the minors- plays on dirt with real umpires! Here are some of my favorite pictures of our serious player.