Saddle fitting and Fencing!

I did put the saddle on the horses a few mornings ago just to make sure the girths and everything still fit.  I still want to get a better girth for Phoenix.

 Phoenix has the black saddle.  I'll have to get new billet straps, a breast collar and the back girth still to match the saddle, but the saddle is functional the way it is.

 Tessy still has plenty of growing room in my saddle.  Both saddles are legged for me, so you can see where my feet are going to fall on both of their sides. 

Today We did the Roarke's fence.  Aunt Lisa came over to help.  Dad gave her a lift over. 

 Dad said it was her first time on the wheeler. . .

 Wasn't it fun??

 I took that snap from the wheeler of the two sleeping while we worked.

 After turning them both loose.  They still have their halters on, but in a day or two I'll probably take them off so they don't catch them on anything. 

View from the far side of the pasture, facing our barn.  The two are quite content eating away.

All the babies pictures

 I figured since I have 6 litters in the nest boxes, I'd post pictures of all of them as they are right now.  I took pictures this morning but didn't hold out for long, it's chilly out especially on the dutch and New Zealand litters.

These are Smokie's babies, all 6 survived.  3 blues and 3 blue otters, born 3-16

The english spots babies, 2 lilac and 5 blues, born 3-17

The velveteen lop babies, 3 blue torts, 3 torts, 2 broken torts!  All from 3/18

 These are the holland litter- Still not sure what color these guys are going to be, but there's 4 of them from 3/19.

The hollands were from one of the Sable Point sisters that was sent to me bred.

 The 19th ended my streak of babies for a few days.  The 24th dawned with 3 litters, the last 3 due in March.   I ahve 2 Mini rex does due in April and one Holland Lop, but that is all.  I've palpated both Mini rex does and feel nothing, but I shall wait until a week before they are due to palpate again so I know to put boxes in or not for all 3 does.

 Trisha gave me 8 more babies this morning, one baby had froze to death due to the cold weather and it didn't get back under the fur with it's littermates to keep warm.  The other 8 are fine, fed and warm. 

Kylie gave me 4 babies to her father, so he's a father and grandfather at once.  I had been told to line breed her back to her father to produce some wonderful marked babies, well it didn't work out, these kits are mismarked. 

The other sable Holland Lop doe was bred to what I am calling a bad buck, that buck hasn't with 5(I think) different does not produced any live kits, and the does are proven mothers.  She had 5 DOA kits. 

Here's some updated pictures of Skye's babies, they'll be five weeks old on Monday the 28th. 

 Ezmerelda- very sweet little girl  loves to come give me kisses every morning.

 Morgan- the only boy in the bunch.  He's my little lover boy, his daddy's my big lover boy.
Ezmerelda and Morgan have a tort sister, but she along side Amelia's one gray dutch baby are sold to a lady if she still wants them, or if she wants to wait until the weekend before easter to come pick the four babies she wants out of all the litters.

These will be the last of the babies that will be 4 weeks by easter and in theory sell-able for Easter. 

More babies, projects, and hand grazing

 I had several requests to breed out my velveteen Lops again, so I did.  Result- 8 darling babies born on the 18th!  3 solid tort, 3 solid blue tort and 2 broken torts!  At least one baby will be staying with moi- one of the broken torts.  I gave my last broken tort to Rachel to take home.

Diana and Tiana were two Sable Point Holland Lop does that Rachel brought me down from Cindy already bred.  I've waited and waited for these two does to kindle.  Yesterday(19th) I was out in the barn and was able to watch my first Rabbit birth- Thank you Diana!  Lasted all of 7 minutes from the time she hopped into the box till the time she hopped out to munch her afterbirth and start cleaning herself back up. 

 2 Babies- taken at 10 minutes old.   Not yet licked clean and dry or had their first feeding.

 The other two babies at 10 minutes old. 

 All four babies not quite 24 hours old.  3 are going to be blue tort like their dad and the 4th(under the pile) looks to be tort.  maybe a dark blue tort, but no Sable points like their mommy. 

 This is the other doe, Diana.  She's huge and ready to pop anyday now.  Her babies are to a broken Opal buck, Spencer.  Rachel's pride buck.

 Trishy in her new box that dad and I built for her today.  It was made the same size as Rosie's.  Hopefully this time her litter won't outgrow it.

 Me buliding the box.  The pictures are a bit out of order.

 The 3 different sized whelping boxes I have.  The largest on the left is Trishy's.  I only have the one anyway.  The middle box is for English Spots, Velveteen Lops, and my dutch.  The Hollands don't like it because it's so big.  The smallest on the right is for the Hollands.  I need to build more of those Holland boxes.  Does don't like sharing boxes.

 I've started getting more crocks for food dishes since my metal clip on dishes are wearing out.  I'm labeling the dishes, not for my sake but everyone else when they cover me when I'm away.  I know all my rabbits apart. 

 Dad and I had Phoenix and Tessy out to hand graze over at Alfies for hour and a half today.   Dad took "Pops" or now Gramps but most of the time we just looped the lead around his neck and left him.

I had Tessy, she's a bit more fidgety so I don't let her loose very often.  Bad photographer- I have my hands in the shadow in there.  I should have *known* better.  Bad girl, must get back into practice if I'm going to start doing Photography jobs as a side job.

Lotsa babies and pictures

 These are Smokie's Mini Rex babies, the little pink tummy's mean Otters!!!  They were born 3-16, full litter of 6 kindled.  4 Otters, 2 blues by my best guess.

 7 English Spots born 3-17!  I don't see any showable marked babies, but oh well.  I shall see if they come out Lilac like their dad or blue like their mom.

Sophie pulling fur, yeah I know, not the most interesting video.  She should have babies tonight/tomorrow.  It's always interesting to watch the doe's pull fur, knowing what's coming.

 Tessy's my favorite Photo subject. 

 Very purdy picture.  One of Rachel's off her camera while she was here.

 From Sunday, she didn't look TOOO messy. 

 Another one of Rachel's shots.  I LOVE this picture, absolutely perfect to me.  I just Love this picture and I had to share it.

 Phoenix from today after his hoovies were done.  He's still a gross mud pig.

 He had been clean this morning . . .

Closer shot.  I had to get a few of the old man in there too. 

The new fur kids in the barn

Thisis Verdon's Alex.  A sable point buck that Cindy sent down for me.  I had told them I was looking for Sable Points.   He's a very light Sable Point, father to Diana and Tiana.

This is Diana, Alex's daughter.  Cindy bred both of the girls to different boys before they came down and they are due in the next 2 weeks.    A very dark Sable Point. 

This is Tiana, Alex's other daughter.  perfect shading of Sable for me, not too light not too dark. 

Baby Firecracker.  I think she's my favorite.  Speedle's half sister, both are by Rocket.  She's a brood doe but I ADORE the coloring, hence the only reason I was able to let Freckles go, had to share the black and whites. 

This is Aurora, that Rachel bought and brought down for me.  She's only 7 weeks old when she came down but she's great in type, such a sweet heart. 

This is the little girl I bought at the show, I decided to call her Willow.  She's broken Blue tort. 

One of Skye's little girls, this tort baby is sold, I'm keeping the other two babies.

Black doe- Esmeralda and the sable point buck- Derek
The dutchie babies I didn't bother to post pictures of because they are all sold.  Cher, Diana, Tiana, Sophie, Cindy are all big and chubby with babies, still waiting for babies to be born though . . .  I'm anxious.  Cher and Cindy are all first time mommys.   Worried and anxious all at the same time.

I had to get a picture of the furry kids.  Naturally I had brushed them both out fed the bunnies and came out to take a picture and Pheeny had already rolled in the mud. 

Bunny Show!!!

With Rachel here for the weekend, we took on that Rabbit show in Lebanon Ohio.  4 Hours of sleep in a noisey care we packed up 8 rabbits and left at 5:30 am.   

 This is the new little doe I bought from the HLRSC secretary.  Her father is the #2 ranked buck in the country.  Rachel got her brother.  I'm still working on names for the ones Rachel brought me down, now I've gotta name her too.

 This is one judge, Judging Colby Jr.  He didn't do tooo badly.

 Freckles, the new New Zealand doe.  I do want a baby outof her, she's got some massive bone and awesome type.  Maybe Aunt Lisa will show her and Rosie once or twice with me this summer, when I show Hollands and the New Zealands.  I should have bought both does they had for sale, I lovie this girl.

 Quick picture of Freckles with Aragorn before I popped her into his cage.  He wasted no time with her either!   If Aunt Lisa wants, I'll hold her for a little while until she gets a cage built for her.  I'll have her in the hanging cages in a couple days once I move a few more rabbits around.  She is bigger than Rosie and Trisha! 

 This is the HUGE group of babies we had to stick in one cage until Rachel leaves me and brings her bunch home then I'll start moving them around again and this cage will go to Freckles.

 Another group shot.  the three lops you can see on the right side are mine, and the blue dutch in the foreground are mine, the others are Rachel's and there's a couple hiding still.

Not exactly in order, but super tiring day.  On the drive home her cell phone died so we had to activate the navigation on my phone instead since we couldn't reach Garmin.

The show room near the end of the show.  We could have brought chairs if we had any.  Opps, oh well.