Our Crazy Critters

Show time!

2012-01-29T20:14:00.000-08:00

We decided to attend the KCRBA show this weekend. Not a huge fuzzy showing, about average really.

We took All Ear's Cubby (SSB), GC All Ear's Pearl (SSD), GC All Ear's Simple Man (BSB), and All Ear's Priscilla.

Show A/Jude Michael Perez
Cubby - 1/3, BOV, BOB (I have to check, either his second or third leg!)
everyone else took second.

Show B/Judge Troy Irkhe (sp?)
Cubby - 2/3 (was liked, he kept going back and forth then Cubby humped his arm... oops)
Pearl - 2/2 - just not her day!
Simple Man - 1/?, BOSV... I think that makes his 5th leg!
Priscilla - 1/?, BOV and BOB! I believe this is her third leg!

KayLynn entered the raffle and won an adorable pair of pink bunny slippers. I normally forbid her to enter for anything rabbit related but these were just too adorable. She also won a keyboard thingie (which I made her take home - lol). I didn't win anything :(

Happy New Year!

2012-01-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

I know we are already a week into the new year. Life has been crazy hectic. My new schedule at work is horrible - I'm still only at 32 hours but work at least 2 hours EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.

Rats - Macree continues to age ungracefully. He will do better a couple days, then look not so good. He's been wheezing so I have him on Bayrtil and amoxy (Puck too, though the girls, Bear, Colby, and Jack are all fine). Kimber had a sucessful tumor removal (mammary). I did not have her spayed. Shocking I know, but after losing Ava the last time I decided not to. And I regret it. I already see another lump forming. She's about 22 months old. Her 13 months old daughter, Havarti, also has a lump which looks a lot like Kimbers, only today it looked smaller to me. She goes in Tuesday, it's in a different spot and I'm beginning to wonder if it's something else. Hopefully it will be but I am going to start saving to have the cheesey sisters, Stratus, and Syrma spayed anyway. It's $300 a rat and I really don't want to take that out of my ER rat fund, plus I still have 5 rabbits to fix - might take me a while. I am looking in other areas (San Diego, LA, etc) to see if it's cheaper - if it is, I can take a couple groups in and get it done sooner. I just don't want to have not as good care to save a few (hundred) dollars.

Rabbits - Bunnies are good. I told them if hay gets any more expensive they will all have to get jobs. They totally ignored me. Noah's inoperable tumor has not progressed, he's still Noah :) It's ugly and he's not the pretty bunny that earned all those gc legs anymore, but he's still doing good :)

Everyone else - Daisy, Max, Nikki, Lulu, and Molly (dogs) are all fantabulous. The big girls (Nikki and Lulu) are enjoying the huge backyard and I sometimes have a hard time getting them in the house. They have deciding eating horse poop is their favorite hobby. Joy. Penny (horse) is good, her wound healed up with no problems. Sam (bird) is Sam, never shuts up. He's the best conversationalist in the house :) The cats are good, Mia is really bald right now (my nephews have been over a lot).

No more pet of the week

2011-12-28T18:16:00.000-08:00

I have decided to d/c pet of the week for a while, maybe permanantely. Doesn't mean I won't post petdates and pictures, just no POW for a while.

My Guinness passed away the beginning of the month. It was a very hard loss, even though I try not to have favorites, he was one of my favs. Possibly my favorite. I will miss my little nekkid guy very much.

In other rat news, Kimber had a mammary tumor removed last Wednesday. She's doing fine, still her normal Kimber self :) She'll be 22 months soon and I really hope this is her only surgery. Macree continues to go down hill and is currently on baytril and amoxy as he started sounding raspy. He'll also be 22 months old soon too. The rest of the rat pack are doing fine, no issues to report :)

Rabbitwise, Noah is the only one who continues to give me issues. I have been contemplating having him pts. One day he acts a bit lazy, the next he's back to his rowdy self. I hate when my animals get old. So depressing.

The dogs are fantastic. Lulu has become an awesome dog, the dog I always wanted. She can actually be in the house and not have to go directly to her crate! Nikki is the same as ever. Daisy will be 17 in about a month. She's become annoying in her old age, barks randomly at nothing, and has lost even more of her hearing. I don't care, she's my baby and as long as she wants to live she shall. Molly and Max are still my little trouble makers. I find it odd I can keep shirts on the poodles but Molly manages to take everything off, coller included. My little nudist.

Cats are the same as ever. I still say Mia seems older then her 8 years, but, what do I know? She's an awesome cat one minute, and not so awesome the next. She gorges her food then vomits all over the house. She throws herself against the door (bathroom, bedroom, office, whatever) if I have shut her out. She's become obessed with me as late. Maybe I should be scared. Bombers and Milo are still my sweet boys and Rupert still has a stubborn streak. No changes in the cats.

Sam, my bird, is Sam. Cusses up a storm then tells you he loves you. He reminds me of my brother come to think of it. Hmm...

Penny's wound has recovered very nicely. She had a minor freak out the other day, someone was riding his horse down the street and she could smell it and hear it. She became very alert and anxious. She needs a buddy so bad.

The animals all enjoyed extra toys and treats and a special Christmas dinner. Life is good :)

Pets of the week - Fontina, Brie, Havarti, and Colby

2011-12-07T15:46:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the 1st birthday of the only litter i have ever bred and raised. The babies are out of RRR Kimber and RRR Puck. There were 7 in the litter, we lost the little black female but the other 6 survived. 2 boys were adopted out. I can't believe my babies are turning 1!!!!

Colby is a black dumbo. He's very laid back and cuddly, super sweet. He sometimes likes to have alone time from the other boys and will hide in the tubes (he's a tube rat) but gets along fantastically with everyone. He's my peacemaker :)

Havarti is a black eye seal pt siamese dumbo. She's the most outgoing on the babies, enjoys cuddling with me for brief seconds. She's a hammock girl and practically lives in them.

Brie is a black eye himalayen dumbo. She's my pretty princess, very dainty and petite. She is very attached to mama Kimber and you rarely see either without the other. She's the kissiest of the girls and the one that lets you hold her the longest.

Fontina is a pink eyed seal pt siamese. She's the shyest of all the babies. Still quite friendly but the last to say hi. She's the only one of the babies that doesn't kiss. She enjoys the wheel and tubes more then most the girls (my hooded sisters, Poppy and Petunia, are wheel addicts so Fontina has to wait in line).

Havarti and Brie look a lot alike from a distance. Havarti has a lot more smut/shading then what shows in the pictures, but if you see them both upfront from a distance it's hard to tell them apart.

Happy birthday a day early to my little loves!

Pet of the week - Macree

2011-11-17T15:37:00.000-08:00

RRR Macree was born March 17, 2010. Macree means "my heart". He's a seal point Siamese dumbo, a total chub and a total love. Macree had a tumor removed a couple months ago and also has a hernia above his groin area. Macree loves to eat but is actually a picky eater. He mostly enjoys dried foods (will nom on uncooked pasta but won't touch cooked pasta, etc). He is the most outgoing of the boys, the first to greet me at the door, and one of the most laid back easy going ratties I have ever known. He's also my only licky boy, even his brother (Guinness) doesn't lick. He won best kitten at an AFRMA show and I had intended on using him for breeding as when I first ventured back into rats I had wanted to breed. His dam wound up having a tumor removed and it was found out his grand dam also had issues with tumors so all plans of breeding him were brought to a halt. I am still happy I purchased him, he has been a fantastic pal this last year and a half =)

Randomness

2011-11-17T15:21:00.000-08:00

Because of how hectic the holidays are and the fastly approaching due date of my SIL, pet of the week might be pet of the two weeks - lol. I will try to keep up but I have Thanksgiving, a nephew on the way, 3 birthdays, and Christmas. BUSY time for us!

To make it short and sweet everyone is great. A few of the ratties are showing their age but nothing to worry about. My critters are healthy and happy and enjoying the cool weather.

We are celebrating Thanksgiving the Saturday after the actual day. Both hubby and I work, my SIL's both like to see their family on holidays, and we don't have nephew #2 until that weekend so it just makes more sense for us. I am making a few appetizers - deviled eggs, roasted pumpkin seens, a veggie tray, a cheese log, ham roll ups, and maybe a couple others. We will have turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, corn, broccoli bleu, herb carrots, green salad with homemade vinnegrette, glazed pecans, and dried cranberries.. oh, and feta crumbles... umm.. green bean cassarole, rolls, and of course cranberry sauce. For dessert pumpkin pie, chocolate cream pie, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, apple pie, and cheesecake. Everything from scratch, everything homemade. Oh! And also green stuff (which I can't eat as it has pineapple - i think it's called watergate salad), Waldorf salad, and Ambrosia.

For Christmas I am making several types of candy - for sure, fudge, chocolate covered pb balls,chocolate (milk and white) covered pretzles, chocolate butter creams, and divinity. I may also make peppermint bark, toffee, coconut balls, and truffles. We usually do beef for Christmas dinner (Christmas even dinner this year as I work 2-10 on Christmas). Last year we had beef stew.. I'm thinking prime rib, twice baked potatoes, a couple veggie dishes, and various pies and cakes. Not sure on appetizers - we may skip that and have a hearty creamy soup instead for a first course.

I love to cook and bake and candy make. My stuff always tastes much better then it looks though, I really need to work on presentation.

Pet of the Week - Max

2011-11-12T15:36:00.001-08:00

Max turned 11 today. I have been saying he's 11 for a while then realised my math was off.
Max is a black poodle, registered as a toy but closer to the size of a mini. He was a rescue, his previous owner was a bit abusive and used to wack him with her cane on his head (she told me so herself). We happily adopted him. Max is a funny guy. He is 1 of 5 dogs, the only boy, and the only one that likes to wear clothes and bows. Seriously, he keeps his clothes clean and wears his bows with pride. He loves everyone, all other dogs, cats, people, and (especially) kids.
All of my dogs know tricks to some extent, basic commands and a couple others. Max never did catch on. Concerned, we took him in for testing. He has brain damage. Our vet believes this could be what has kept him so puppyish and why he has such a hard time learning even basic commands. Even our Lulu, whom has terrible anxiety issues and is a big behavioral problem, knows her basic commands.
Despite his issues, we love our boy and are so grateful that he is in our lives. We do not know his exact birthday and were told "mid November" but we choose to celebrate it today as it's also the anniversary of our first date (our 10th this year).

What a busy few days!

2011-11-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

Saturday we picked up 2 foster bunnies, a blue tort Mini Rex that came with the name "Bunnerz" (I have been calling him Clyde though) and a blue tort lionhead/lh mix? called "Bunny". Bunny is about 4 years older then Clyde and the sweetest most calmest girl in the world. Yes, I said "calm" and "lionhead" in the same sentance. You all can die of shock now. Of course she's spayed so that could be where the calm comes in! Clyde (also neutered) is a wild man. He does zoomies and circles everywhere, even in the pet taxi he traveled in. He's also very sweet (I love how speutering does that and have hopes it will calm my Hazel down, she's MEAN). Clyde is very protective over Bunny and dotes on her. They are super cute together and I would so adopt them if I didn't have 12 rabbits already. Of course they will be with me until they are adopted so I can enjoy spoiling them in the meantime (pictures soon!).

All my critters are good. 2 of my rats are not agining well (Guinness and Macree). They are 20 months and REALLY showing their age. Of course they have both have had tumors removed and Macree has a hernia in his groin area so that could add to how they are aging I suppose. Puck (19 months) and Jack (18 months) look awesome. Well, Jack looks awesome and Puck is aging fine, his black fur jusy rusted so it's kind of not pretty. Colby is my baby boy, he's 10 months. If he wasn't so attacked to the St Patricks Day brothers I would neuter him and intro him to the girls. Bear (age unknown) is still single and mean as ever. That rat despises me, lunges at the cage after me (and yes, he's neutered). His goal in life is to eat me I think. The girls are great, rambunctious little balls of energy. Even 20 month old Kimber, whom is my oldest ratty by 3 days, is a little fire cracker. Ok, Poppy and Petunia COULD be older, they were rescues and I have no idea of their age. I was told they were "about a year" when I got them and that's been like 6 months. April (19 months), Jill (18 months), The Cheesy sisters (Havarti, Brie, and Fontina - 10 months), and Syrma and Stratus (5 months) are all doing fantastic. I finally got the girls a new wheel and gave their old one to the boys, whom totally ignore it as I thought they would. In all honesty, the girls don't use theirs much either.

The kittys have been misbehaving lately. They have developed a habit of knocking everything off my desk and stringing my pens and what nots all around the house. Team Mia and Milo are a force to be reckoned with. Rupert finally has stopped trying to rush out of the house whenever the door is opened. He's approaching his 8th birthday but acts 10 years older. Mia is around 8 now, Bombay is about 4 and Milo just turned 5 (though I said 4, I was corrected by my cousin... can't believe I was a year off, sorry Milo!).

Dogs are all good. Daisy is really starting to get bad with barking. She'll wake up in the middle of the night barking at nothing. She's not eating as well. In February, she'll turn 17. Nikki will be 8, Molly is 4, and Max turns 11 on November 12th (which also happens to be our 10 year first blind date anniversary!).

Penny is doing great, she's been very good with walking with the halter and lead. The farrier is coming today (yay). Sam is also doing fairly well, he has started destroying his toys though. Guess it's his way of telling me he's bored with them and wants new. He's still very bad with his veggies and would be happiest if I just gave him his pellets and dried fruit and left him alone. I wonder if he'd be more apt to eat dried veggies. Hmmm...

Pet of the Week - Sam

2011-11-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

Sam is my blue front amazon. I got him in September of 2004. He (or she - honestly don't know, have never had him DNA sexed) is MY bird and he'll let you know it. He does talk to other people but he will also bite them. Hard, until they bleed. He has yet to bite me though (I'm sure it will happen). Sam either likes to be ON me, on top his cage, or in his cage. He's not too fond of being out of the cage when the big dogs are inside or when I am not in his site. He likes to kiss me on the mouth (with tongue so I can't even yawn when he's by me or he becomes fixated on my mouth). He sings excessively Old McDonald Had a Farm (and on his farm he had a duck, eieio, with a quack quack quack X 50 eieio) and You are my Sunshine. Sometimes he sings them in a sing songy way, sometimes he raps them. He LOVES rap music and dances whenever he hears it. He also adores 80's Madonna and Lady Gaga. He doesn't like country (which is unfortuante, I do). At least he'll let me listen to my Doors in quiet - he screams when country is on and sings Old McDonald or Sunshine along with his rap music and Lady Gaga but just gets quite with the Doors. He also says "Grandma", "No", "Ewww", "Gale Look", "Gale don't sit down", "I love you", "Awww Sam", "Baby", and "F***", as well as much more. He has a very good vocabulary. He likes for me to sing to him and will sing then stop at parts until I join in. He has a love hate relationship with his bell. If I take it away, he mopes. He isn't fond of toys out of the cage. He doesn't mind having his head scratched but will bite when he's tired of it. There are certain tv shows he really likes, including Phineas and Ferb, I Carly, and Bevis and Butthead. He gets mad if I talk on the phone or talk to anyone else in front of him. He hates his veggies and "human" food and would be happy if I just fed him his pellets. He enjoys baths but HATES the shower. He also hates getting his wings, nails, and beaks trimmed and will sulk in the corner of his cage for 2-3 days after and not talk (he still eats, drinks, and takes his bath just won't talk to me - I think it's my punishment). BFA's are NOT for everyone but my baby is definately for me. We are planning on getting a second parrot at some point (I'm considering an African Grey or maybe another amazon) but for now, Sam is all the bird love I need!

Pet of the week - Milo

2011-10-31T22:28:00.001-07:00

Since it's his birthday I figured we should make Milo my pet of the week =)

Milo is unlike any cat I have ever been owned by. He is fat and lazy and so friendly he's obnoxious. He is very interested in the computer and likes to sit and watch the letters as they appear on the screen. He drools when you hold him. He likes to play with bottle caps and hot wheel cars and any kind of toy you can dangle at him. He adores Nikki (the dog) and thinks she's his mom. In fact, when he was about 5-6 weeks he used to pretend to nurse off of her. Orange tabbies happen to be my favorite color on cats (second would be flame point, then calico, then any other color point) so with Milo I first fell in love with his looks. He is a very attractive kitty but his personality is even more gorgeous then his looks. He's the only cat I have ever been around that actually adores all people and will come whenever you call him.

Pet care

2011-10-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have become appalled lately at the conditions some people keep their animals in. A recent craigslist post of a rat in an aquarium with bird seed, no toys, and cedar bedding almost made my head burst from anger.

There are TONS of good articles on proper ways to keep small animals. Even if you just go with the basics and don't go all out it's still better then keeping your animal in poor conditions(it could be argued if you aren't going to go all out and give your pet the best care possible then why bother having a pet).

Rats are HIGHLY social animals and should be kept in same sexed groups of 2 or more. You CAN keep mixed groups IF 1 or both sexes are spayed/neutered. I have 16 rats - 10 girls and 5 boys. My 10 girls live in a double critter nation cage (http://www.midwesthomes4pets.com/category/default.aspx?submenu=2&catid=140). My 6 boys also have a DCN. Inside their cages are an assortment of toys, hammocks (http://robinshammocks.webs.com/), a wodent wheel (http://www.transoniq.com/images/rats.html, branches for climbing, 99 cent store baskets hung to the sides of the cage, etc. Ratties are curious little beasts and and need enrichment. I change their cage around every week, it never looks the same. Even if you just get the basics for your pair of rats, you should have an adequate cage (Martins cages, critter nations, if you have to buy in the stores petco rat manor or even some of the cages aimed for chinchillas/ferrets/larger birds can be modified into proper rat cages), 2 food dishes (1 for dry food, 1 for fresh), a hammock, a couple of hanging toys, and a wheel (wodent wheels are best but any wheel that is does has a flat surface or mesh, not the traditional open wire type you see). Bedding - NEVER EVER EVER EVER use pine or cedar. Ever. It's BAD. It can cause respitory issues, even death. DON'T USE IT. Aspen, care fresh, eco bedding are acceptable. You can also litter train your rats and buy fleece to cover the floor and levels with. If you must, you can even use black/white ink newspaper if you check to make sure the ink is soy based non toxic. Does nothing for odor control though. I use aspen mostly, with some eco bedding thrown in for comfort. I also give them paper to shread (newspaper and butcher paper). I feed Harlan Tekland lab blocks. I use the 2016 formula. I also feed whole wheat pasta (cooked and raw), cheerios, fresh veggies, fresh and dried fruit, frozen veggies, frozen fruit, eggs (boiled, scrambled, even poached), yogurt (plain), and cooked brown rice. Not all at once, they get their blocks every day and a mixture of the other stuff. A diet based on seeds is BAD. In addition to a proper cage, diet, and bedding your rat needs exercise and socialization. Get them out, play with them. Pets are there for you to socialize with, take care of, play with. Not to stick and a cage and simply have so you can tell people you have them. Oh, and another tip, I keep a brick in each cage which keeps their nails trimmed.

Rabbits - I retired from showing and breeding for many reasons. I will say most breeders that I knew CARED about their rabbits. However, our standards of care differed. Basic needs were ALWAYS met but I have always believed in going beyond basic needs. Currently my rabbits, with the exception of 1 speutered bonded pair, live by themselves. The goal is, over the course of the next year, to finish spaying and neutering all of them (have 3 boys and 4 girls left to fix) and to build a large pen or 2 large pens and bond as many together as possible. I have 12 rabbits. My current pair are seniors (7 1/2+) and will be kept together seperate from the rest of the pack. I am working on litter training as the pen will be flat. Currently my guys are kepts in 36x24 sized cages (which is the minimum size I personally would recommend for a bunny under 6 pounds). I am using wire bottomed cages with plastic rest mats and/or tiles. Wire bottomed cages are ok for smaller bunnies. I know some people/organizations would disagree BUT, if a rest mat is provided, it's fine. I have NEVER, in 12 years of bunny ownership and 8 years in the show world, had a rabbit suffer from sore hocks. I do recommend solid floors for larger rabbits (such as French Lops and Flemish Giants) and for Rex/Mini Rex. I also use aspen bedding for the rabbits in the trays. In the litter boxes, I am using carefresh but trying to find something else that doesn't cling to the wool of my fuzzies quite as bad. All of my rabbits have toys, hanging and floor toys. I do not have hiding areas in the cages, however, I will once the pen(s) done. I feed my rabbits a staple diet of rabbit pellets (plain pellets, no "colorful" additives), timothy hay, and some fresh fruits and veggies (mostly green veggies, the green tops from carrots, banana, cucumber, etc). I also feed clover, dandelions when they are still yellow, and herbs to the bunnies. Apple branches are great for them to chew. They do require some grooming, even the non wool breeds (nail clipping, wiping out their ears, wiping their vent area, etc). Floor time = important. The more the better. Would you want to spend your entire day living in a cage, day in day out. Yes, they do feel safe and cozy in their cage (or hole) but they need exercise. Rabbits can live 8-10 years... my charlie lived to be over 11. Would you want to spend 10 years in a tiny cage with nothing to occupy your time and the same food? Probably not. Of course rabbits are animals, not human. I am not denying that. But they still are living beings and if you choose to make one your pet, treat it with respect.

Birds - I have seen far to many people keep their birds in cages with no toys. Birds need toys. Toys = enrichment. They need to be cleaned often. I don't give Sam (my blue front amazon parrot) a mirror, he attacks them. But he has toys. Even toys that make tons of noise and drive me nuts. He's happy so I'm happy. I am not dwelving to much into bird care because it varies from species and even from bird to bird. I think most birds should be fed a pellet type feed, not seed. Sam gets his pellets, peanuts, sunflower seeds, dried chili peppers (his "chocolate"), fresh fruits, veggies, eggs, cooked pasta, cooked rice, and even a dorito or french fry as a very occasional treat. Sometimes he tosses everything, usually he eats half what I give him. I saw a parotlett in a tiny cage that was filthy with no toys and bird seed and wanted to cry. No bird should live in such horrible, pathetic conditions.

My point is, if you get an animal - be it a $1200 bird, $20 rabbit, $5 rat, TREAT IT WITH RESPECT. If you can't give it the care it deserves, DON'T GET IT IN THE FIRST PLACE!

Pet of the Week - Bombay

2011-10-17T20:51:00.001-07:00

Bombay is a hard guy to get pictures of. If he sees you sitting down he wants to be on top of you. He's a super sweet guy. We've had him about 2 years. It started as a foster type case. His owners lost their apartment and had to stay with family. They couldn't keep their cats, Panther and Bombay. About a year and a half after we started fostering the boys they finally found a place that would allow them to have 1 cat. Panther was older, they had only had Bombers about 9 months before we got him, so naturally they chose Pan Pan. I wasn't too dissapointed, Bombay really jived with our other cats. We estimate him to be 4. His favorite thing to do is sleep on my lap, to purr, and to eat. He does not like canned food, just wants his dry kibble. He has impeccible litter box habits (we have 4 cats, 3 boys, 1 of them has awful habits and 1 of this has poor aim). Bombay also has a habit of hiding under the chair or table and attacking feet with his paw as you walk by. I'm sorry for the friends that could not keep him but we sure got lucky with this grey mitted tabby!

RIP Bumble Bee 07/07/09 - 10/17/11

2011-10-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today our handsome old guy passed away. Bum hasn't had an easy time healthwise since turning 2, but was a trooper. I found him earlier today with his buddy Macree curled next to him. I will miss him greatly, he was such a funny guy.

Pet of the week - Daisy Mae

2011-10-10T15:32:00.001-07:00

Daisy Mae is a cream toy poodle. She was born February 1, 1995. Daisy is now blind and almost completely deaf but still has the spunk of a new puppy.

I was 15 when I got Daisy (ok, 15 1/2). So basically half my life has been spent with this amazing puppy. My daddy bought her for me for $62.50 at a yard sale (every cent he had on him). She was tied to a picnic table with a sign right next to her that said $75 obo. She was about 8 months old, matted, and scared.

She has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me in my life.

I was a no show at the show

2011-10-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

So I decided not to go to the show. Well, in all honesty, the decision was made for me when my Great Aunts sitter flaked. I could have sent the bunnies but they really aren't in great condition (MOLT city here).

I have found 3 homes for the mini lop babies, and have a couple more people interested. I am offering them with no rehoming fee (donations appriciated and will go towards spaying mom). We have a chestnut buck, a chestnut doe, and a broken chestnut doe still looking for homes =)

I will post a pet of the week later. BTW, if you wonder how I choose pet of the week it's simple. I have a list with everyones names, I close my eyes and randomly point. The closest name to my finger is pet of the week =)

Critters are all doing well, life is good!

Going to the show...

2011-10-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I said "no more shows". And I meant it, at the time. I really won't be showing often, and I won't go further then the hour and a half drive to Hanford, but I figure why not take in 2-3 shows a year with my 4 fuzzies. Still working on speutering the other 8 (4 down, 4 to go) and will be pairing them up (unless Andrew, Hannah, Arista, Melissa, Jewel, and Hazel can all get along and live in 1 huge pen). Noah and Trini are senior bunnies and will be kept in their very bonded pair, seperate from the other 6. I figure Hannah and Arista, Hazel and Melissa, and Andrew and Jewel as pairs if bonding the 6 doesn't work. That will leave me 6 36x24 holes suitible for single fuzzies (and a 4 hole 24x24 stacker that I will sell to help pay for supplies for the pens for my pairs - or the group, whichever).

I seriously doubt I will breed. Though I love my fuzzies and I enjoy babies, I hate selling and I HATE dealing with fuzzy jr coats. If I do breed, it will be a very occasional 1 litter at a time. I did promise someone a Priscilla baby so will likely be breeding her soon. I think Cubby compliments her the best as she and Simple Man have similar faults so I will breed the two of them. If she's anything like her dam, she'll have 1 gorgeous baby.

We will not be keeping a rabbitry website or even re-registering our rabbitry name (since I let our ARBA membership lapse for a month). When my bunnies pass their prime and their coats lose their luster, they will be spayed/neutered and paired/trioed up. Simple Man is my oldest show bunny, he'll be 3 in February, so I figure he has 3 or so more years to show.

We also made a decision on the rats. I will always have a few as pets, but never more then 6. I currently have 17 and it's just too many. Bumble Bee is almost 27 months; Kimber, Macree and Guinness are almost 19 months; Puck, and April are about 18 months; Jack and Jill are about 17 months; Colby, Havarti, Brie, and Fontina are 10 months; Syrma and Stratus are 4 months; Bear, Poppy, and Petunia have unknown ages but are at least a year, in the girls case my guess is closer to a year and a half. My point in all that is I have at least another year with having so many, though Guinness and Macree have both had tumors, Puck is huge and my experience with rats over 2 years has been negative. The rest seem to be the picture of health, however April is Ava's sister and she recently passed away due to surgery complications from a mammary tumor. It's been hard learning to say "no" but I am at my max capacity with critters. Life with my great aunt has become more complicated as the dementia progresses. She needs a lot more help with meal times and really can't feed herself anymore. She has also lost some mobility and is now mostly wheel chair bound. She doesn't know who I am 80%+ of the time. It's only going to get worse so I need to prepare for the future with her.

RIP sweet Ava

2011-10-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

I missed my pet of the week due to the loss of Ava. So today's post will be a memorial to her.

FFCR's Ava was born April 9, 2010. She was out of SHFR Brian and RFCR Posh and is sister to FFCR's April. She was a squishy girl, a red eyed seal pt siamese dumbo and was possibly my favorite girl (just don't tell the others I had a favorite). Ava died while in recovery from surgery (mammary tumor removal and spay on September 30, 2010.

Ava was one of my heart rats and I miss her dearly. RIP my sweet girl.

Pet of the week - Bumble Bee

2011-09-22T20:14:00.001-07:00

Bumble Bee is a burmese colored rat. He is originally from Rat Fancy Rattery, but I adopted him from Ratty Rat Rattery. He was born July 7, 2009 making him about 26 1/2 months. Bum has been with me for about 14 months. He's always been a fairly healthy, hardy ratty boy. A bit of a bully with the rats but sweet as can be with his human family. A week after he turned 2, Bum came down with a URI. He recovered and then relapsed and had to be seperated from the others for a couple of weeks while he recovered. After gaining his strength back he was re introduced to the other 5 and so far they are doing well. I do seperate him for a couple hours a day to allow him to have his veggies and other yummies as he is no longer the tough macho boy he used to be and the others tend to bully and steal food from him. He is father to Kimber and grandfather to Brie, Havarti, Fontina, and Colby. He likes to eat and does not discriminate - I could tell you most of the ratties favorite treats, Bumble Bee likes everything. He's not a big hammock fan, he prefers the igloos. When out, he pretty much stays on me and lets the "younger" boys do their own thing.

Pet(s) of the week - Noah and Trini

2011-09-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

For my first pet of the week, I decided to do Noah and Trini. They are a very bonded pair of mini rex bunnies. Noah is not doing so well which is why I decided to do these 2 first.

Jammin's Noah is a blue Mini Rex. He was born April 11, 2004 at JAMmin' Rabbitry. My friend, Katy, was his first owner. She purchased him as a young jr for show. He did very well for her earning no less then 4 GC legs. He is a very pretty boy, even now that he is older and slower. Noah came to live with me about 2 1/2 years ago after Katy had gone to college. He went through a 30 day QT period, was neutered, and then introduced to a spayed Trini. The two hit it off and have been happily married ever since. Noah is not doing well health wise. He has had 2 surgeries to have tumors removed. He has a 3rd inoperable tumor near his brain under his eye. He is now blind in that eye. Still full of life the vet assures me he is not in any pain. First sign of pain I know it will be time to let my beautiful boy go.

Little Rascal's Trini, aka Miss Trini Bo Beanie is a black/orange tri Mini Rex. She was born the summer of 2003 making her 8 years old. She was born at Little Rascal's Rabbitry in Eureka CA. My friend Nicole, whom no longer breeds or even owns bunnies, had a litter of bunnies out of 2 rabbits I held for her for a while. She offered me a baby. I was reluctant at first as I was never a huge fan of Mini Rex. Trini changed my mind. I fell in love with her at first site and we have spent many amazing years together. She was shown a few times, even picked up a leg, but was always intended to be a pet. She's not showing her age at all, possibly because she was fixed at such a young age.

Trini and Noah are an elderly couple but still play with their toys. They do sleep more then the other bunnies, and typically like to park themselves in a corner during floor time and cuddle.

Next week's pet of the month will be: Bumble Bee, my 26 month old ratty boy =)

Not much going on

2011-09-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't been feeling well so haven't been able to take any pictures. It's still my goal to have a pet of the week and dedicate 1 blog per week to an individual animal. Hoping to start this on Monday and every Monday post pics, facts, and such.

I am also going to change the name of the blog. Though it will mostly be dedicated to the pets that make our life interesting, I want it to be more generalized.

So pet updates - Rabbits - Arista's babies are adorable, they are just over 2 weeks and all over the place. I have 4 potential homes lined up. I won't be getting my boy bunnies fixed for a couple more months, had some vet bills so the neuters will wait. I can't wait until EVERYONE is fixed. Noah is holding his own. He has good days and bad but pulls through. I have thought about having him euthanised but he is still so full of life, does not appear to be in any pain. Usually my pets let me know when they are ready to go and he still seems to have life left in him.

Rats - I sucessfully bonded Macree and Jack with Guinness, Puck, and Colby. They act like they have always lived together. Of course they are middle aged basically. Guinny and Macree are about 18 months, Puck and Jack are about 16 months.. Colby is the baby of the boys, he'll be 1 in December. Bum is still with us, he was just having a hard time with Jack and Macree. They would knock him down, steal food from him - they were just bullying him. He is living alone but he's ok with that. He's in the living room getting loads of human attention and love and has put back on weight (he was losing it, I think from the other 2 bullying him). He's 26 months old. Girls are all fantastic =)

Dogs and Cats and Penny and Sam - perfect. Even Daisy in her old age is perfect.

Life is pretty good!

URI and tumors - blah

2011-08-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

First of all, I know it's been more then a week. The water pump in my moms car went out so things have been crazy trying to help her out.

Dogs are good, even my old fart (Daisy). Cats are also good, Rupe had an eye infection (he commonly gets them) but it was gone within 3 days of meds. NBD. Penny is fantabulous. Sam is super. Now, on to the bunnies and ratties.

Most of my rabbits are awesome. We did get a surprise today, our mini lop Arista had 6 babies. I am not happy about this, it's a total accidental litter and now I have to rehome 6 babies in 6-8 weeks due to a moment of pure stupidity. I had shown Edgar to prospective adopters and went to put him back. Max came running out of the little dog pen so I quickly shoved Edgar back into his pen and went after Max. Only it wasn't his pen I put him in. I had switched the bunnies around so that Edgar was in a bottom one because he decided he liked to spray and I couldn't have him in a top hole. A faceful of bunny urine is no bueno. I got Max in the house then went back to the bunny room and realised my mistake. They were together no more then 5 minutes. That was all it took. Arista was on the list to get fixed next. Now I have to wait a couple months (will move someone else up on the list). I am also having issues with Noah, my 7 1/2 year old Mini Rex. He has tumors again. The vet recommended euthanasia due to the location of one of the tumors. Noah didn't do so hot the last time he went in for surgery. I was given pain meds while I decide what to do. He's not in any pain, still plays with Trini, eats like a pig. I will probably have to say goodbye, will make the decision this weekend.

Ratty wise, I had 2 rats in the vet. Bumble Bee (25 1/2 months old) has a URI and is on meds. Bear (8 months old) has teeth issues. Bear is also very aggressive so I am not sure how we will be able to file his teeth for him every 4-6 weeks. I can't even put food in his dish without him lunging at me and trying to attack. I might have him pts. I know it sounds cruel but knocking him out every 4-6 weeks to trim his teeth isn't good for him either. All my other ratkids are doing great. Since I do not think Bum will be with us much longer, I am debating on introducing Macree and Jack to Puck, Guinness, and Colby. Would be awesome if I could keep all the boys together :)

I will be doing bunny profiles as soon as it cools off. I like taking pics of the bunnies outside.

MIA

2011-08-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

I know I promised to blog a minimum of once a week but really, nothing has been going on.

Critters are all well (mostly).

Daisy continues to show signs she will be going to the bridge soon. Her balance is off in addition to her other issues and she's not enjoying life as much. She's still eating/drinking normal and still gets excited when she smells me. She rarely goes outside, only to potty (is still very good about letting us no when she has to go and has had 0 accidents). She sleeps 23 hours a day. I am having a hard time with it, not sure how I am going to handle life without her, she's been the one constant in my life for 16 years. Which I guess is a lot of responsibility for such a small dog.

One of the ratties, Bumble Bee, is also not doing to well. He is 25 months old and developed a URI out of the blue - he's NEVER shown a sign or single symptom before, never a sneeze here. It seemed to come on over night. He's on meds but showing 0 signs of improvement and has lost a signifigant amount of weight. Rats do have a short lifespan, in my experience they live 24-30 months, though my Dream made 38 months. Still hard, and sad, to lose a pet. He's a favorite amongst the kids, especially since his neuter. I had hoped we'd get another 6+ months with him. The one downfall to rats are their short lifespan =( Guinness also had another tumor removed and has had several abcesses. He deals with it like a trooper but I worry that this will shorten his lifespan. He's one of my favs (shame on me for having favs!) - I <3 my little nekkie boy!

We are down to 12 rabbits and I believe they will all stay, though officially I am still looking for a home for Hazel, the chocolate English Spot stray we took in. We have a bonded mini rex pair - Noah (7 1/2) and Trini (8), 2 mini lops - Hannah (4) and Arista (2 1/2), a Holland Lop - Jewel (3), a Netherland Dwarf - Andrew (2), a Thrianta - Melissa (2), 4 American Fuzzy Lops - Simple Man (2 1/2), Cubby (1 1/2), Pearl (almost 2), and the baby of the family, Priscilla (8 months). And of course Hazel, the English Spot - I am guessing she's around 2-3. 4 of our rabbits are now spayed/neutered, we are slowly working on the rest. I am hoping to bond them all in 1 group. If this happens, they will get a 12x8 indoor pen that leads out to an outdoor ESCAPE proof 12x6 pen. Noah and Trini will be kept seperate from the rest of the bunch. I already allow the dogs out time together, and Hazel is the only one that has issues with any of the others (she's not spayed yet). My boys are laid back. I have a friend that has done lots of bonding who offered to help so I think it should go well. It will be probably close to a year before everything is ready but I think my bunnies will enjoy it more then the cage life.

I hope to post a picture post next week =)

NOT THE CUBES!

2011-07-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

Cube hammocks for ratties - though adorable - aren't cheap. I paid about $12 a cube and purchased 1 for each group (excluding mean ol' Bear as I didn't know he was coming back when I ordered). Anyway, Bumble Bee's group did AWESOME with theirs, no holes anywhere. Such good boys =) My girls DESTROYED theirs, which surprised me as they have never so much as nibbled a corner on their flats (or their double bunk). They loved it and it's still useable - at least 1 more time. But $12 for something that can be used for 2 weeks is outta my budget! They chewed a hole in the bottom corner on one side and all the sides.In my other boy group, Guinness my chewer did chew a hole in the top corner of theirs but it's still useable - I may even be able to fix it. He prefers the tubes that hang in the cage or the 99 cent store basket thing that hangs (a plastic hammock, if you will) which I stuff with scraps of fabric. I'll give the girls their cube back next cleaning time but, well, they are on my poop list lemme tell ya! Not sure if I want to order anymore but they are so cute with 7 little heads peeking out and 2 camped on top. I may make my own with wood sides and do a top and bottom out of fleece. In fact, I like that idea! Will just have to figure out how to attach the fleece. Hmm... maybe I don't like that idea after all - lol.

We placed one of the 5 rabbits I am still looking for homes for. I have 2 Thrianta bucks, an American Fuzzy Lop buck, and an English Spot doe still wanting homes! I am sure Edgar will be happy with his new owner and hope the other 4 find good homes too =)

One of our cats, Rupert, was attacked by a stray feral cat. BAD. Vet visit bad. Rupe likes to hang out in the small dog pen (he's either there or in the house) and this other cat jumped the fence into the pen (probably attracted by the dog food). He tore into the side of Rupes face pretty bad and Rupe lost one of his bottom fangs (after it went through his lip). My beautiful boy looks horrible. We WILL be catching that cat and taking it to the pound. There is one feral that was caught and neutered by a concerend neighborhood person (whistle, whistle, whistle) and he can stay, but, this one needs to go. MEAN, nasty cat (and female). She's yet to go into the trap but I won't give up.

All the other critters are pretty much the same. Rupert will be fine too, just scared for life (my poor poop =( ).

Updates

2011-07-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Gales aide quit so I have been busy with her. It sucks, I've been living on 3 hours of sleep during the week and have had 0 time to take pictures, barely have enough time to give the animals adequate out time.

Dogs - Lulu, Max, and Molly are great. Nikki still walks with a limp, vet thinks it may be permanant. Daisy is Daisy. She's gets more senile by the day and I constantly fear I am going to find her not breathing. I am selfish, I don't want her to go yet.

Cats - Mia is going through a "I love my mommy and don't want her to pee without me on her lap" stage. She'll actually throw herself out the door when I shut her out. The boys are great, spend 99% of their time sleeping on the couches or chairs.

Bird - Sam is awesome. He loves his bird tent made by Robin of . At first he was scared of it, now couldn't live without it. Silly amazon!

Horse - Penny is awesome. She wants a friend - we are still looking for that second horse. I am stuck on getting a gelding but will go look at a mare this Saturday (if she's still available).

Rabbits - Still have 3 looking for homes! Mouse the AFL and Hazel the ES would love to become spoiled house bunnies. Edgar, the ML, is a flashy guy and would do great in a show home, but would be happy with a pet home too =) Noah has healed nicely from his black widow bite and all the rest of the bunnies are great!

Ratties - Bumble Bee turned 2 on 07-07! He's doing ratterific! All of the ratties are great, enjoying new hammocks from Robins Hammocks =) I am getting ready to order new wodent wheels and extra shelves for the CN's soon. Spoiled ratties!

All in all, everything is terrific!

Pit Bull Project

2011-06-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

The wonderful Los Villalobos Rescue has teamed up with a local Bakersfield Vet to offer free spay and neuters for pit bull and pit bull mixes that are Kern County residents. In addition to the speuter, rabies shots and pain meds are included. If you have a pit or pit mix I URGE you to contact kerncountypitbullproject@gmail.com to take advantages of this amazingly wonderful program! My pittie mixes are both fixed but I have passed the info along to 5 different people that will benefit from this amazing program by getting their dogs spayed or neutered.

On the home front, all is ok for now.

Daisy continues to decline, she is almost 16 1/2 and I worry this our last summer together. I am keeping her hair very short in order to groom her less as it really seems to stress her out. I think her hearing is totally gone - she no longer acknowledges the sound of sirens. I am sure being blind and deaf is no fun but she still has spunk, she still smells me and will play and wag her tail so I'm not ready to say goodbye. I don't think she is either and I'm sure she'll let me know. Nikki continues to have issues with her leg. She got her foot stuck in a gopher hole a few months ago - nothing showed up on the x-ray and she'll put weight on it and run but it just doesn't seem right. It could be her milking it up a bit and she tends to favor it more when she's getting in trouble. The other 3 dogs are their perfect goofy selves.

All the other critters are fantabulous. My next post will be to celebrate my rat Bumble Bee's second birthday - he'll be 2! I also need to work on getting bunny photos. Jason erased them from the camera and I've been procrastinating taking more.

I do have 3 bunnies still looking for homes! Hazel is a broken chocolate English Spot (a stray), Mouse is a sable pt American Fuzzy Lop, and Edgar is a broken chestnut mini lop. Mouse and Hazel are available to pet homes only for a fee of $25 (refundable when I recieved proof of spay/neuter) OR no fee, however, must be altered before leaving my care at cost of potential adopter. All Ear's Edgar is out of Silent Spring's Timberwolf and Votaw's Lizzie. He has 1 leg for BOSB. $50 to a show home. Will also sell to a pet home but MUST be neutered at cost of potential adopter before leaving my care (no additional fee).

Just a quick update

2011-05-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

All the critters are doing fairly well.

Dogwise, Daisy and Nikki have both given me concern. Nikki is just 6 but already is having issues with hip dysplasia. She is a pit/shepherd mix as far as we can tell. So young to have problems =( Daisy is also getting... well.. senile. She is blind and almost completely deaf. She knows when I am near though, she can smell me, and that makes her happy enough. She can hear loud high pitched sounds but that's about it. She's over 16 and health other then those issues. And the senality.

Cats are all good, we almost had the semi feral stray that eats here caught. We call him "Hobo Carl" and are fine with feeding him, we just want to catch him and have him fixed.

Sam the parrot is happy as can be. I got him new toys (which he has almost completely destroyed already) and re-arranged his cage. It freaked him out for a couple days, he does not like change at all.

Penny the horse is on lockdown. I found a trainer but am not allowing anyone really that is around horses near her. I have also put my search for a second horse on hold. This EHV-1 thing has me freaked out. That and the hay shortage. Farmers decided to plant cotton instead of hay this year because cotton prices are so high. Not sure where that leaves the animals. I am sure any hay based feed with eventually go up. I am feeding cubes right now, we pay $10 for a 50lb bag (which lasts Penny 4 days - she's a smaller horse and 12lbs of cubes and 3lbs of oats a day is plenty for her). I can't wait until this virus goes away so I can find my second horse. I wish I had the acre and a half next to me - wouldn't give me much hay but would help!

Rabbits are good - I have 5 leg to sell before I am down to the 15 we are keeping (well, 9 for us and 6 between the kids). I am still looking for a reasonable priced vet, the goal is to get all rabbits fixed.

I'd also like to get all the rats fixed. The 9 girls are very happy and have intergrated well together - it's like they always lived together. My 2 boy groups are also good. Bear, the foster boy, is a strange guy - fairly sweet but a bit jumpy. He doesn't like to come out of his cage. 2 more weeks and I'm going to try and find him a new home.

Word has gotten out that I'll take in stray "pocket" pets and I've had lots of people contact me. They seem put off that I want to meet at a public place, am just not comfortable having tons of strangers come to my house. The latest request was to take in cavies, I referred them elsewhere as I am not set up for cavies. I have also turned down several rabbits - untl I place the 5 I want to place and get all of mine spayed and neutered I will not take anymore in. I did agree to take in a syrian hamster, am trying to find a qt home for him. I am not a hamster fan but the person said they would just turn him loose. People suck.

Anyway, I still need to get pictures of the bunnies - probably won't get to that this weekend, we have company coming in. Next weekend I hope =)

I resigned

2011-05-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

After half a dozen or so years of sitting on the board of the local rabbit club, I have resigned my position. I had asked for someone to step up - nobody wants the secretary job. I would have kept it, but, I saw that they were letting someone back in that had basically stepped away from the club and abandoned it when he was needed most. And you know what? The club THRIVED without him and we were doing so good without him. When I saw he was weaseling his way back in, I knew I had to leave. I PRAY that the club can withstand his dictatorship again. However, I can't watch something I put hours and hours of my time AND money into go through him again. I did let him bully me a little and am trying to figure out how to correct that. I wouldn't say I hate him because I am going to waste enough time on that emotion. I will say, I REALLY don't like this person. He's fake.

I also didn't like the attitudes some people have regarding rabbits. I am NOT against rabbits (or rodents) being raised for human or animal consumption IF they are treated with respect and killed in a humane matter. I am against the attitude that some people (including Mr. Fake) have that a rabbit doesn't matter. I am not going to go into what was said because it was said at a meeting but it really irritated me.

So anyway, a big chapter has been closed on my life. I truly thought I would never leave this club. And if Mr. Fake Weasel would have stayed away I probably wouldn't have. I'm not sure when the club became part of identity and I'm finding it hard to move on. I've shed tears, and my heart aches - I will miss most the people. I know a couple will continue to be my friends but most of the people I will probably never hear from again. That makes me sad. And someone I thought to be a good friend turned out not to be. If she reads this (and I know she'll know I'm talking about her) I will only say I will always care about you and your family and I'm sorry I'm not good enough to be your "non" rabbit friend.

Regardless of everything, I am happy with my decision to resign from the board. It will force someone else to step up. I should have handled it better. My emotions are hard to rein in, I am taking fertility drugs and am on this incredible roller coaster. The last one I tried is used for women that are post menopausal and can cause depression (HOT FLASHES - BLAH), and (in rare cases) can lead to suicide. That med was so close to working for me but I have decided not to take it. It made me really dreary and, well, I though seriously about offing myself at one point. And that's so not me. For one, totally against my religion and 2 - I have too much I'm looking forward to. So, even though a slight increase in dosage could have gotten me to the point I needed to be, I'll wait. I don't want to start my pregnancy depressed and suicidal - lol.

I won't lie.. I'll miss it though.

Bear

2011-05-09T23:25:00.001-07:00

A couple pictures showing off Bear's battle wounds. They truely aren't that bad and I'm sure he'll make a full recovery. He came here today, wasn't getting along with his cagemates and they decided they couldn't keep him. Poor guy, I think it's more then likely the other boys were picking on him =(

Random Ratshots! (oldies but goodies)

2011-05-09T23:00:00.001-07:00

Ratty girls are in da house!!!!

2011-05-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

Flower power! Meet the "crack" sisters. I honestly do not know if they are true sisters, they came to me 3 weeks ago (1 more week and they can meet the other girls!!) from an owner that could no longer keep them. Petunia is the black hood, Poppy is the agouti hood. I was told they were about 8 months when they came to me so I guesstimate their birthdays to be 08-01-10. These 2 make my other girls seem LAZY. They go non stop, with Poppy being slightly less active then Petunia. Petunia never EVER stops moving, it makes me dizzy! Both are super duper sweet and outgoing. And active. Did I mention how active they are??? lol

My pathetic attempt at getting a shot of all 7. So did not work, they had the yogies and cherrios consumed before the first flash. Ah well, maybe next time!

This is Ava, the current boss of the crew. She's also my biggest female. Ava is a seal pt siamese dumbo and was born on 04-10-10. She's a very pretty girl but doesn't know it. If she were human (and don't tell her she's not), she would be a "tomboy". Ava is also my kissiest girl (though most my girls give kisses).

This is Fontina, one of the baby girls. Fontina was born 12-08-10. She's very much her mothers daughter, perhaps not quite as outgoing. She's a runner, I think she's the ONLY girl that uses the wheel. Or maybe she just hogs it? Hmm...

This is little Jill, a seal pt siamese (bad) rex. Jill is Jacks sister and was born 05-03-10. Jill is the shyest rat I have (still friendly and super sweet =) She is very attached to her cagemates, especially Kimber and the baby girls.

This is one of my babies, Brie. Brie was born 12-08-10. She is a black eye himalayen dumbo. Brie is the smallest of my girls. She's the current most hyper in the group (though that will change when Petunia moves in, I'm sure).

This is Kimber, my oldest girl! Kimber is mom to Colby, Fontina, Havarti, and Brie. Her DOB is 03-14-10. She's is a super sweet girl that enjoys her out time (spending most of it on my shoulder). Kimber is very lady like, I call her Miss Priss.

Havarti is a seal pt siamese dumbo. She's the biggest of the baby girls and has the most outgoing personality. She's very well behaved, the kissiest of the 3. Her favorite thing to do is pick on her sisters. Her birthday is 12-08-10.

Sweet April, my burmese dumbo. April was born 04-10-10 and is Ava's sister. April HATES having pictures taken and always looks scared to death. She's very mellow, everyones friend, and queen of the hammocks.

My Ratty Crew! - The boys =)

2011-05-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

First let me introduce you to "Bear", my foster boy. His exact age is unknown, I'm guessing 5 months from what I was told. He is a blue hoodie, very sweet. He was apparently low man on the totem pole and was beat up pretty bad - he kinda squeals when you pick him up. You can't see them in the picture, but he has a few battle wounds poor baby.

Puck, Colby, and Guinness - my sweet, cuddly trio

Guinness is a hairless (duh). He and Macree are full brothers, making his DOB 03-17-10. He is the sweetest guy in the world! I love my nekkid boy!!!

This is Colby, a black dumbo. He is from my one and only litter, out of Puck and Kimber (his sisters are Fontina, Brie, and Harvati). Colby is pretty sweet, KayLynn calls him "hers" and he's happy to be manhandled by the 8 year old =) He even let her put a barbie hat on him, but SHHH! don't tell anyone!

This big guy is Puck, DOB 04-29-10. Puck is a black self male and tips the scales at 2lbs 2oz. I have him on a diet, I think he can lose 2-3 ounces. He's a BIG boy. He's a cuddle monster - probably mostly because he's lazy. I actually dozed off for 30 mins, Puck cuddled next to me (the other 2 boys were out, Jason watched them). Woke up and he hadn't moved.

This is Jack, DOB 05-03-10. He's a seal pt siamese (bad rex?). Jack is kinda shy but loves him mommy very much. He gives me sweet kisses and always comes when I call him.

My current oldest, Bumble Bee, is a burmese. His DOB is 07-07-09 - he's closely approaching 2! Bum get fat fast and has been put on a diet since this picture was taken. He was neutered a while ago and puffed up since then. He's fairly mellow, likes to eat (everything), and is more content on someone lap then running around playing.

Bum and Macree - 2 of the 3 that make up my lazy trio (they live with Jack)

Macree (pronounced Mah Cree) is a squish too, but doesn't have quite the weight problem Bum has. He is a seal pt siamese dumbo. He took best kitten at the AFRMA show I picked him up at!

No more breeding

2011-05-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Due to the recent experience I have had with people changing their minds after purchasing/adopting animals I will no longer be breeding rabbits. I have several that we will still show. Once their show career is over, I will speuter them and work on bonding them with rabbits that are already speuter or that are speutered at the same time. We have several that we are very attached to and will keep here. If I am able to rehome the 5 rabbits we want to rehome I'll be down to 18. 10 of those will be kept whole until their show careers end (we do plan on showing on occasion), however, the other 6 will be speutered asap (we have 2 that are already fixed). I am hoping we can bond everyone in pairs, which will allow us to build them larger pens in the future.

After these guys are not showable I cannot say we will continue to show, however, I will continue to stay active with the KCRBA and a member of ARBA. I am not against breeding (when done responsibly) or even againt rabbits being utilized for food (human or animal) if done properly. Reptiles and prey animals need to eat, if we choose to keep them in zoos we have to feed them. Rabbit is also a nutritional protien matter for humans.

I am keeping this blog to share antics of our critters, to rehome the ocassional rescue animal I might take in (and the 5 adult rabbits and 2 litters I have available.

Thanks to all that have supported my rabbitry for the last 9 years. I hope we can still be friends =)

Sad news

2011-05-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

We lost 2 ratty boys the end of April, 4 1/2 month old Romano on April 29 and 19 month old Beowolf on April 30. Beowolf has had an on and off again battle with myco and my vet and I decided it was time to say goodbye. He wasn't enjoying life and had lost his will to live it seemed. Romano was a shock, I am still unsure what happened. It was a hard weekend that's for sure and I miss both boys very much.

Poppy and Petunia have settled in quite nice. Next weekend I will introduce them to my other girls - hopefully I'll have a colony of 9 girlies =) Other then Poppy and Petunia, Guinness, Colby, Fontina, Havarti, and Brie my rats (which leaves Jack, Puck, Bumble Bee, Macree, Kimber, Ava, April, and even little Jill) are having weight issues and even the ones not having weight issues yet are starting to get pudgy. I have backed off the treats and am just giving their staple diet (which will change from Subees to HT 2014 as soon as the food comes in) and fresh veggies. I am also trying to figure out a way to encourage exercise. Obesity is as dangerous for rats as it is humans.

Rabbits are well, I am down to 23 (well, 26 as I had a litter of 3 born tonight). We have a litter due on the 9th and I commited to 2 more litters (one of which is a co-breeding and the bucks owner will be responsible for that litter). We will be placing 5 of the 23 adults I have, the rest will remain here with me. 6 actually belong to my niece and nephews bt will also stay here. We are slowly going to start speutering everyone - 6 of the fuzzies, 2 mini lops, and 2 Thriantas will be kept whole until their show careers are over. They they also will be fixed.

Available rabbits are:

All Ear's Ali, gold tp'd black steel mini lop doe (almost sr) - 1 leg for BOB at Hanford $50 (out of Silent Spring's Timberwolf and Silent Spring's Jessa)

All Ear's Carly, chestnut mini lop doe (almost sr) $50 (Out of Silent Spring's Timberwolf and Votaw's Snow White)

All Ear's Cherry Bomb, thrianta jr doe $50 (out of Chuck Baldwins lines)

All Ear's Love Story (available in 6 weeks, after litter is weaned) $50 (out of GC Brian's Bryson and All Ear's Porsche) $50

Hazel, a chocolate English Spot/ rescue $50 PET ONLY - FEE IS REFUNDABLE once proof of spay is recieved! She's a very sweet doe and will make someone an awesome pet =)

On a side note, the first 4 rabbits are only being offered because I feel they have something to offer the betterment of their breed. We will no longer be breeding after the 2 litters we have commited to are bred.

Random pet photos!

2011-04-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

Nikki and Molly

Rupe belly shot =)

My niece KayLynn and Rupert when they were both babies =)

Baby Nikki =)

Here's a belly shot of Mia! This is her typical way of sleeping =)

Pure tortue. Actually, Molly doesn't mind playing dress up =)

Nikki was spayed at a very young age but that didn't kill the mothering instinct. She thinks Milo is her baby and STILL lets him do this. Animals are so strange.

Meet the kitties!

2011-04-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

I was planning on finishing pics of the rabbits and taking pics of the ratties today but hubby took the camera to a car show soooo - this is the cat post - lol

Ladies first! This is Mia, the only girl of the 4. Mia is a very pretty cat with a very odd personality. She loves me, tolerates Jason, is very fond of Gale and sleeps with her, but hides when new or infrequent visitors come over. Her birthday is guesstimated to be 09-01-2003. She has moments where she trips out and will just start batting at the air at invisible bugs I guess. Sometimes she stares at the wall, intently. She sleeps 99% of the time on her back with her paws adorably curled. She's afraid of the camera. She also has a bad habit of overcleaning herself in certain areas and has bald spots. Her tummy is almost completely bare. Like I said, Mimi is weird - but very much loved. I have no idea what to call her color. Her pas are distinctively white so though she looks white she's actually cream with lt orangish markings. And beautiful blue eyes of course =) Mia was about 7 when we got her.

This is Rupert aka Poop, Rupe, Poopster, and Budda. He's a cream tabby DSH with very soft fur. It's different then the other cats, he really doesn't shed. Very strange. Jason got Rupe for me in 2004 when I graduated with my AS degree. His birthday was "sometime in the first week of December" so we just say December 1st. He's very laid back, super sweet - not a cuddle bug like Mia and Milo but enjoys pats and scritches. His favorite thing to do is eat. Napping comes in a close second.

This is Bombay. Bombers is friendly to a point. He'll sit by us, let us pet him, and comes when called (usually) but you can tell he started out feral from time to time. He's our youngest at almost 3 years of age. We startd out fostering him for friends while they looked for an apartment that would allow cats. They finally found one but could only take 1 cats and chose the older cat. To be fair, Bombay had only been with them 7 or 8 months prior to coming to stay with us. We fostered the cats for about 14 months. He and Milo are best buds, though Mia sometimes won't let Bomb play with "her" Milo.

Speaking of Milo... here he is! Milo was born 10/31/07. He is an orange tabby DSH and the most overfriendly well trained cat I've ever had. He acts more like a dog then a cat, plays fetchs, comes when called every time, and will drop whatever ever he's doing for attention no matter what. He annoys Jason whom prefers cats to act more like cats (like Bombay and Rupert) but, IMO, he is one of the coolest cats I've ever had. He follows me to and from the critter room (where the ratties and bunnies live) and has no fear. He is indoors 90% of the time but will only go to the bathroom outside. He yowls at the door and asks to go out like a dog! Like I said, coolest cat ever =)

The dog post

2011-04-26T15:34:00.001-07:00

This is my oldest dog, Daisy Mae. She turned 16 this past February. Most of her younger pics are not on this computer. She's now completely blind and hard of hearing but still enjoys life. Though most of her day is spent sleeping, she will still play different versions of the games we have always played and knows when mama is near. She's been my best friend since I was 15 and we have gone through EVERYTHING together.

Max is next in line. We got him in 2002. He was approximately 2 years old and will be 12 in November. He's a very sweet boy, LOVES kids and forgets he's middle aged now and becomes a puppy. He wasn't treated that well in his former homes and still hides if someone yells (even if it's a happy yell) but he's truely a fantastic guy. And yes, I made him wear a pink bow.

Nikki Bucket was found in a bucket on April Fools day in 2005 so she is about 6. She was found stuffed in a 5 gallon kirkland detergent bucket with her 4 sisters and 1 brother. Homes for 4 of the puppies were found through Rainbow Rescue, the other pup was found a home personally, and we kept Miss Nikki Bucket. Hands down, Nikki is the most fantastic and intelligent dog I have ever had the pleasure of sharing my life with.

We originally named Lulu "Mari Lu" but it just didn't work out. She's Lulu, my goofy and not so well behaved wild child. Lulu was born April 20, 2004 - our 4th anniversary! She's really a pain in the butt, I call her my problem child. She will dig a 4 foot deep hole in a matter of 2 hours, she barks at flies, and has food aggression. I have never had such a hard time with a dog and even had some profesional training with her (which I have never had to do before). It didn't work. We still love her though and look forward to another 10ish years of our resident class clown.

These are older pictures of Molly Jo. Molly is our baby and I do have tons of pics of her, just not many by herself. The first pic was taken moments after we got her at 5 weeks of age. Wasn't she adorable? She still is, in my eyes anyway. Molly was born in August of 2008 so is closely approaching 3. She has the shortest little legs and is such a chunk. She's a mama's girl - loves everyone but if I'm around, nothing else matters.

Wow, i really need to take new pictures of the dogs. I take horrible photos but have been so busy taking bunny pics I don't have a lot to choose from with the other critters. Will work on this!

2 new ratty girls

2011-04-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

Today I picked up 2 adorable little ratty girls. Their owner moved and wasn't allowed rats. They are approximately 8 months old. The black hood is called "Chonga" and the agouti hood "PJ". I am probably going to change their names. They do not know them. I'll choose something close if possible but, well, I just don't like the names. I will update with pictures soon. We painted the inside of the house so everything is in boxes right now - next weekend will be picture weekend. I am hoping these girls can intergrate with my other 7, we'll find out in a bout 3-4 weeks after qt. They look great right now. I love their hoods - very thick hoods.

I did manage to take new pictures of most the rabbits and will finish next week. I am contemplating keeping a free website since we will be breeding on occasion but not 100% sure.

Fuzzy nationals were this past weekend. Bryson joined his family the Friday before and did well over the weekend - he picked up 2 more legs and took his class at the national show (in youth). His son, All Ear's Rock Star, took BOSV and did very well at the WCC, even picking up a BOS I believe. Kaylee and Cass also did very well. Kaylee picked up another BOB so is a GC now =) I miss them but am glad they are doing well for their new owners and am sure they are happy in their new homes! Mouse will be coming home tomorrow. I am actually happy to have him back, his sire was my first homebred BOB winner (fuzzy wise). I have since taken BOB with homebreds but you always remember your first - lol.

Not much else going on, animals are all seemingly happy and healthy so we have nothing to complain about! I will post again next week - with pictures!

No more website = more blogs =)

2011-04-11T19:33:00.001-07:00

Since we have cut down to the bare minimum and won't be breeding very often I decided keeping a website wasn't necessary. I am going to work on getting new pictures of the bunnies and will do a blog about rabbits grouped into catergories (Fuzzies, mini lops, all other rabbits). Check back in a week or two to see updates. Also look for pictures of all the other critters we share our lives with =)

On another note, we bred 2 fuzzy litters. On April 4 we bred All Ear's Love Story X GC Brian's Bryson. This is a repeat breeding that produced a very nice litter of 3 bucks last time. I sold the buck when I thought we were getting completely out. I regret it and have decided to re-do the breeding. A doe would be nice =) Love Story will be available after this litter. Bryson will be available soon too. I also bred him to GC All Ear's Pearl. I'll get nothing but solid torts, but they should be nicely typed =)

Oh, and, I weighed Midge (AFL) today. She's at 1lb 12oz!!! She finally made minimum weight! She's 4 months old and the tinest little thing. I will show her next month for the first time.

Albert and his owner

2011-04-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Back in January a 4-Her came with her family to purchase 2 bunnies to show in 4-H. She purchased a chestnut mini lop out of Silent Spring's Jessa X Silent Spring's Timberwolf. She also purchased a fuzzy lop buck, I believe out of Brian's Bryson and All Ear's Love Story. I recieved this email on Sunday =)

"We bought two rabbits from you back in January. I just wanted to let you know that the mini lop "Albert" was shown today at the Porterville small animal fair for the local 4H organizations. Albert won First place, for the mini lops, Best in Show, and Reserve Best in Show. Total of 4 ribbons and one 4H pin. Thank you for such a great rabbit."

I am so excited to help out 4-Hers! My fee is generally $20-$30 to the kids and I sell them only what I would show myself. Congrats to Miss True and Albert! I hope the fuzzy does well for you too =)

Updates

2011-03-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

The Hanford show was a blast! We did pretty good and sold most of what we had for sale!

We have decided not to get out completely. Instead of keeping 30 fuzzy holes we are keeping 12, 6 of which house permanant residents. We are also hanging on to 3 more mini lops then planned and Cherry Bomb, the th jr doe. We will not be breeding TH and I doubt we will breed Mini Lops, though it's a possibility. We have deleted our website and I will either make a free website or (more then likeley) just post pictures both here and on facebook. Since I won't be breeding very often I don't plan on going all out on a website (and spending about $100 a year).

Hanford results:

American Fuzzy Lops - Show A/ Joe Lugo

All Ear's Simple Man< BSB 1/1 BOSV
All Ear's Priscilla, BJD 1/2 BOV
All Ear's Merry, BJD 2/2 (SOLD!)
All Ear's Cubby, SSB 1/1
All Ear's Munchkin, SJB 2/3
All Ear's Pearl, SSD 1/? BOV/BOB
Lugo's Cass, SJD 1/1

BOSB went to All Ear's Lover Boy, owned by Anita Rodriguez!

American Fuzzy Lops - Show B/ Ashley Garza

All Ear's Simple Man, BSB 1/1 BOSV
All Ear's Priscilla, BJD 1/1
All Ear's Cubby, SSB 1/1
All Ear's Munchkin, SJB 1/3 BOSV BOSB
All Ear's Pearl, SSD 1/? BOV BOB!
Lugo's Cass, SJD 1/1

Mini Lops - Show A/ Joe Lugo Show B/ Ashley Garza
All Ear's Dewey, SJB 1/1 in A and B
All Ear's Carly, SJD 1/3 in A 2/3 in B
All Ear's Ali, SJD 2/3 in A 1/3 BOV BOB in B
All Ear's Edgar, BJB 1/2 BOSV BOSB in A 2/2 in B
All Ear's Elvis, BJB 2/2 in A BOSV BOSB in B

Thriantas - Show A/ Joe Lugo Show B/ Ashely Garza
All Ear's Patriot, Sr B 2/2 both shows
All Ear's Goalie, Sr B 1/2 in A 2/2 in B
All Ear's Cherry Bomb 1/1 in both shows - only doe so BOSB in both shows too lol

Let for sale I have:
All Ear's Dewey, a chestnut jr mini lop buck. Show quality (not top quality) - perfect for a 4-Her or pet. $20

All Ear's Jiggy With It, broken tort jr American Fuzzy Lop buck. Jig has a tight crown but nice shoulder and hq (a tad pinched maybe), decent head coming in - ears are thick, wide, and nicely shaped. $40

Hazel, chocolate English spot/mix?. Unsure of age, she was a stray someone dumped in my yard (happens from time to time). Sweet girl, wants a forever home. She's here for 2 more weeks on pregnancy watch them will be available. $10 rehoming fee/pet contract required.

All good things must come to an end

2011-02-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

We are sad to announce that we are selling out of rabbits. We will still attend the occasional local show as we are keeping a couple bucks of each breed as pets that are show quality, but will no longer be breeding. Fable and Mookie are offered bred if picked up by the 15th. If they haven't been purchased by then I will hold on to them until their litters are weaned.

Everyone except the following rabbits are available (pictures can be seen on my website - www.allearsrabbitry.com - please email me for prices).

Cubby (AFL)
Simple Man (AFL)
Mouse (AFL)
Pearl (AFL)
Priscilla (AFL)
Midge (AFL)
Jewel (HL)
Goalie (TH)
Patriot (TH)
Melissa (TH)
Edgar (ML)
Elvis (ML)
Arista (ML)
Hannah (ML)
Andrew (ND) & Belle (HL)
Noah (MR) & Trini (MR)

I know, 18 rabbits - that's a lot of pet bunnies to keep but we are very attached to this group and some are very old.

We are keeping most of our equiptment for now as we hope to get back in one day (5+ years from now).

My prices are pretty firm on what I do have for sale, if it takes 6 months or longer to sell I am fine with that. If they never sell I am ok with that too. I will give multiple purchase discounts. Most jr's are $50. PFF's Jamie and All Ear's Munchkin are pending. Lizzie is also pending. I will have a few stackers available AFTER the rabbits are sold. I do have 3 people that have already inquired so they have first right of refusal IN ORDER of contact. This was NOT an easy decision for us but fertility tx is consuming our lives and having children is more important at this moment in time. I am not exiting the rabbit world completely, just stepping back and taking a break.

Deliver is possible, we are willing to deliver (Saturdays only) to shows or places of residence for a fee (to cover gas) IF rabbits are paid in advance. I can arrange delivery to Fuzzy nationals/ WCC in April - not sure how much room my friend has or what her fee is.

Things have been down here lately..

2010-11-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

On Sunday November 14, 2010 My Lucky Lil Runt took his last breath in my arms. It's hard losing a pet, but losing Lucky took a lot out of me. You see, Lucky was rejected by his mother and I bottle raised him from day 1. He was born on February 15, 1997. He was half the size of the other puppies and I actually spent 2 weeks feeding him every hour on the hour. I was his mom, he went everywhere with me and even slept with me. At 2 weeks, I started feeding him every 2 hours, at 3 weeks every 3 hours, at 4 weeks every 4 hours. He was 6 weeks before I could inrtoduce a mash to him (he still did not have teeth). At 2 months he finally started getting teeth but was still being fed mash in addition to kibble. It was 3 months before he could hold his head up and walk on his own. This is when I started feeding him 4 times a day instead of 6. At 1 year of age Lucky had his first hip surgery and another at age 6. He had most his teeth removed at age 8 and that was the last time Lucky was put under for anything as he almost didn't wake up. He always had hypoglycemia but only started having seizures the last 6 months of his life. He had a heart defect from birth. Lucky had a rough life and, though I miss my baby, I am glad he's out of pain and made the decision for me. He did his funny little smile as he snuggled next me to and fell asleep.

We also lost a rat last night, Wednesday November 17, 2010 - Our black berk boy, Cid. He and his cage mates have been in iso and were undergoing treatment for a respitroy infection. Cid was very overweight and wasn't responding. This was third episode since I have had them, which has been maybe 5 months. He was 13 1/2 months old. Ginny and Beowolf are improving.

Rabbit breeding has had a lot of downs lately. KayLynn has 3 beautiful ML litters, I have 1 fuzzy litter. All the rest have been DOA's or only lived a day. I have more does due and will rebreed a few that lost their litters.

Lulu was taken to the vet as well this month, I thought she had kennel cough. No, she ate a pinecone and had part of it stuck in her throat. Hopefully no permanant damage was done. She is currently barking like a seal, it's so annoying. Glad it's not Kennel Cough though.

The cats had ear infections but are 100% recovered, Daisy is now on anti inflammitorys and is a new dog. Everyone else is good. Thank GOD.

They're here! And babies!

2010-11-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

It's been a rough week in the animal department. My 12 1/2 year old dog, Lucky, had a stroke. He's been having daily seizures and I think Monday we will have to make a difficult decision to say goodbye. I am having to force feed him, he drinks willingly sometimes, but is having difficulty walking. He's not doing well and my heart is breaking. Sigh.

I have 2 rats, Cid and Beowolf, that are back on baytril and amoxy. This is the third go round since I adopted them. So frustrating, they do well for about a month of then WHAM! I am treating Ginger as well since she lives with the boys, but she doesn't seem to have any myco symptoms right now.

I have 2 cats with ear infections. Have you ever tried putting ear drops in cats that each weigh nearly 20 pounds? Not fun. Milo is getting better faster then Rupert but Rupe has allergies so I am thinking that's making the issue worse.

So I have a sick dog, sick rats, a sick cat - it's been a very very stressful week. At least the rabbits are pulling me through, although I do have a buck that is being treated for an eye injury. A few weeks back he moved during grooming and I slipped and stabbed him in the eye. He's doing better and, so far, no permanant injury. Whew. My two new arrivals are here and I love them! Great width, the buck, Brian's Dex, is short and I love the length and thickness of his ears. The doe, Brian's Asmey, is a bit flat but nice and wide and not a bad head on her. Can't wait to breed them!

On 11/11 we had a fuzzy litter born out of All Ear's Little Miss Muffet and Brian's Bryson. She had 7 but 3 didn't make it. The remaining 4 are doing fabulous, a bit small but I would expect that from such a large litter. On 11/12 Silent Spring's Jessa gave birth to a litter of 6 out of Silent Spring's Timberwolf. This morning (11/13) Silent Spring's Hannah also gave birth to 3! All Ear's Leela, bred to All Ear's Cubby, also gave birth to 2 but they were on the wire and did not survive. I will be rebreeding her in a couple days, not sure which buck I will use. Still waiting on Muffet to kindle and have 4 more due on the 15th (and 2 due on the 19th).

Random-ness

2010-08-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

RABBITS

AFL - The fuzzies are doing well =) Baby Doll and Kaylee missed - bummer but it happens. I will be re breeding Baby Doll and Simple man and will breed Kaylee and Bryson this weekend. Pearl is nesting but she palped negative - we shall see what happens. If she has missed she can wait until October. PFF's Jamie was bred to Brian's Bryson and is due the end of the month.

ML - This weekend KayLynn will be breeding Snow and Hannah, both to Hank as he's currently her only breeding age buck.

TH - I got word from the TH baby's foster home, they said he is thriving. I can't wait until he gets to come home =)

Pets - I am not sure if I posted or not but my EA, George, passed away. It was a very tough loss. His "wife" Boo is not taking it well, she's become very aggressive and lunges at me. She's not eating well and just sits and mopes. Normally I would spend extra time with a rabbit that lost their mate but she's not making it easy. Noah is really starting to look ragged, he's 7 and had a very successful show life. Trini (also 7) is still beautiful and is aging gracefully. She was only shown twice at backyard shows. Here, at my house. Not really any stress there. Belle and Andrew are as happy as ever. Andrew has Belle practically bald, he's a major fur chewer. On another note, the French Lop buck is not working out and will be going home to the breeder. He's a total maniac and kicked me HARD in the stomach - knocked my breath out. Since we are starting fertility tx, I don't think having him here is a good idea.

Ratties

Cid, Beowolf, and Ginny were all (dry) sneezing a little bit so we went to the vet. They are on baytril and doxy and are already sneezing less. The other boys are doing well - Bum and Macree are my cuddle boys, Jack not so much. The girls are very good - I am so glad I don't have chewers (well, Jack chews but the other 9 are good). I have 2 more boys coming, Guinness (black hairless) and Puck (black self). They should be arriving Friday. I have my fern cage set up for them, can't wait to meet them! =)

Everyone else =)

We have had some behavioral issues with Lulu, my 3 1/2 year old pittie mix. She's getting worse with her resource guarding and has starting displaying other issues - like destroying her blanket and toys, chewing up everything. Instead of getting better with age and training, she's getting worse. We won't (ever) give up on her but wow - what a brat! Daisy is starting to sleep more and more. She's 15 1/2, I know our time together is coming to an end. She's been with me for a long time, half my life. I can't imagine how life is going to be without her and am not even going to think about it. Max got bit by something (a spider?) and had to have the bite lanced. It was nasty but thankfully everything is ok and he's back to his spunky self. Lucky is starting to get senile. He's not quite 12 but has had several surgeries and hasn't aged as well as Daisy. He's regressing, hides under the bed when it's time to go outside to go potty and tries to bite when you get him out. Mind you, he has like 5 teeth left so can't really do any harm. He's been caught peeing in the shower several times. Better the shower then the floor I guess, easier to bleach and clean. Molly and Nikki are both fine, they are our best behaved dogs. The cats are all good, lazy - I think Mia is our most active but she's fairly lazy too. Bombay and Rupert prefer to stay outside, Milo is mostly inside. Sleeping on the couch. Sam (my bird) is awesome as ever. We recently had 7 kids stay the weekend. He was so excited, sang, talked, danced the entire time. The day they left he slept for 24 hours, got up to eat, drink, and poop. They exhausted the poor baby! Penny (the horse) was also excited for all the extra attention. She stood patiently for an hour and let all the kids brush her. She was also fed an extra bale or two of hay over the weekend, which she ate of course (Penny should have been named Piggy).

Life is fairly good here =)

Updates

2010-07-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

Rats - I will not be breeding after all. There was an issue with mammary tumors that was discovered in the lines of 6 of my 8 rats intended for breeding. I was bummed at first but am very happy that I have my rats, I love them, and am content just to spoil them rotten for their entire lives. I may add a couple more to the crew, may eventually take in a preggo foster - whatever happens happens.

Rabbits - They love their barn perhaps more then I do. Pictures of it and the bunnies can be seen on my website, www.allearsrabbitry.com. I might be cutting down the number of fuzzy holes I keep. If this happens, I will have to part with a few does. Have not decided yet. Melissa kindled just 3 babies - one was DOA and another died a couple days later. My friend Angela has a very seasoned ND doe whom also only had 1 baby and is fostering the thrianta baby as well.

Dogs - The dogs are driving me nuts. Lucky has developed a behavioral issue - he hides under the bed and growls. He does not like to go outside and tries to use my bedroom as his own personal bathroom, which I am not having. So, I ignore his attempts to gum me (he's a 12 year old poodle with horrible teeth, most are missing). Daisy is the best behaved of the bunch and she's completely blind and deaf in 1 ear - oddly enough, her teeth are perfect. She has developed a heart murmer so I am reluctant to have them cleaned anymore. She'll be 16 in February. I found a "spot" on Max and was convinced he had a tumor. His "tumor" turned out to basically be a pimple - Max has always had oily skin. He'll be 10 in November. Gotta love poodles and all of their problems - lol. Nikki and Molly are perfect as always - Nikki is a pit mix, Molly a chi mix. Lulu is a pain, a complete and total pain. The last foster dog I will ever have.

Cats - Panther went home to his owner but they didn't want Bombay. So, we have 4 cats. Mia (age 6), Rupert (almost 7), Milo (almost 4), and Bombay (who knows - 3-5 so we'll call him 4?). Mia is a pita, she gets in the trash. She's also my nap buddy - with my crazy schedule I usuallt take a nap and she joins me.

Penny and Sam - yes, I am updating on the horse and bird together. Mostly because there is nothing to update - they are the same as ever. I need to clip Sams wings and Penny needs her hooves trimmed. I need to find a new farrier, the guy we found flaked out. He was the 4th farrier that flaked out on me... hmm.. maybe farriers are all flakey?

Barns finished!

2010-07-06T11:10:00.000-07:00

The barn is basically finished, just putting on the finishing touches. Still need to paint the outside as well. Will try and get pictures soon!

Also, KayLynn is now the proud owner of 3 mini lops, Silent Springs Jessa, SSD - chestnut w/ 2 legs; Silent Sprilngs Timberwolf, SJB - chestnut; and Votaw's Elizabeth, BSD - chinchilla.

Sometimes it sucks to be a breeder

2010-06-15T23:12:00.001-07:00

Today I said goodbye to my original herdbuck, PFF's Nick. I am having sellers remorse, am crying, and pretty much hate myself. I keep 26 holes. To do so, I can't keep too many pets. Simple Man is my baby, first baby born here, born on the day my dad died... he's also Nicks grandson and, since maturing, beats him on the table. I also kept a buck out of Nick and his daughter, All Ear's Porsche. I shed a couple tears for Porsche but never get as attatched to my does as I do my bucks. Porsche was from my first fuzzy litter.

Very sad night but thus is the life of a breeder. Other then Simple Man and possibly Cubby (though I am trying to stay detached from him) there will come a time when each and every fuzzy leaves me. I am sure I will cry for them all... but I doubt any other sale will hurt as much as this one. I know I'll see Nick again at shows. But. I miss him very very much. Glad I fed before she picked him up, not sure I could go in the barn right now. Sigh.

Currently I have 17 fuzzies in the barn, not counting Boo whom lives the life of retirement and marraige with George. 6 does are due the end of the month. 3 of the jr does are on watch, not sure if any of them will stay past 5 months when I decide again whom best fits my breeding program. I have a feeling Tausha (formally Katash - just didn't fit her, Katash is a sweet wine, Tausha is not a sweet doe, very stuck up and I knew a girl named Tausha whom was very stuck up, as was her sister Susan)... anyway, Tausha, Leela, and Fearless are on the "probably won't stay" list, but I'm loving Love Story and Paparazzi. Big fan of a purchased doe, JASH's Fuzzy Fable, too.

Welcome to the family!

2010-06-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today Cid (black berk), Beowolf (mismarked black hood), and Ginger (mismarked blue berk?) joined the family! They are rats of course, and very quirky. I love discovering personalities! Gin is the most outgoing, NEVER stops kissing. Beowolf is the most laidback, sweet but shy. And Cid is a bully. He's sweet too but bullies his cagemates. Don't think he and Bumble Bee will every be friends. I am very happy to have them! Madly in love already with Gin, falling in love with Beowolf, and ready for the challenge of Cid. Of course I love him too already - he's got a big fat belly and is super squishy. He fell asleep while Jason skritched his head tonight.

Barn stuff

2010-06-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, I ABSOLUTELY hate hanging insulation!!! We are half way done with the roof of the barn and completely finished with the walls. Yay!!! After we are finished, I will never ever ever deal with insulation again. We have yet to install the exhaust fan but have purchased it and we also purchased a new cooler for the barn ($500 ish). We have spent about $400 on barn supplies other then that - all that's left to buy is the paint! We got the trailer for free so it's not costing that much to turn an old trailer from a semi into a nice, well ventilated, cool, insulated bunny barn!! =)

We did a draft of the inside of the barn and my thought of bringing back Hollands will remain just that - a thought. I just don't have the room right now. The kids are only getting 5 holes each, and we are only keeping 4 pet holes. I have room for 26 other holes and will just keep those for my fuzzies. I would have loved to have Hollands again but don't want to give up my fuzzies. So, decision made. I like staying at 40 holes anyway.

The insulation will be finished this week. Jason hopes to paint and stain the floor this coming weekend. I will be down this weekend due to medical reasons but will help if I can. I can't wait for the barn to be finished!

May 28, 2010 Twilight Show Results!

2010-05-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

The twilight show was a success! We had 135 rabbits and 33 exhibitors. Randy Shumaker judged show A, Ashley Garza judged show B. I showed several fuzzies. I let my nephew show 1 fuzzy after making sure it wouldn't affect legs - I don't want to cheat but he still has nothing to show so I felt bad. There were 4 exhibitors beside him, 3 of which were showing broken fuzzy bucks so it really didn't matter. The buck, All Ear's Simple Man - BSB, took BOSB in show A and BOSV in show B. I was stoked, he's a GC now. I cannot believe my special boy did so well! Simp and I have a bond, he was born the morning my dad died, the first live litter and sole survivor at the new house. He will never leave here, he's my baby and I love him with all my heart =)

I showed Brian's Bryson, SSB, despite the fact that he molted half his coat (only half) so has a VERY odd hair-do. He didn't really do anything in A (was the only SSB) but took BOSB in B! Goooo Bryson! All Ear's Lil' Miss Muffet, SSD, took BOV in show A and BOB in show B. I was thrilled, she has surpassed my expectations. She and Bryson were bred today, they compliment each other nicely and should be a very nice litter. All Ear's Mercedes, SSD (sable pt, age 3) took 2/5 in show A and B. All Ear's Cubby, SJB (age 11 1/2 weeks) took 2/5 in show A and B. I was super excited and a little in shock - my baby did so well! All Ear's Pearl, SJD, was the only rabbit that didn't placed similar in both shows. In A, she placed dead last. In B, she took the class.

Nathan showed his Holland Lop doe, All Ear's Jewel. She's nearly 2 and I figured she'd bomb. In show B, she took BOSV. She placed 2nd in her class in A (not sure how many) with great comments. So glad she carries the wool gene and fits into my fuzzy program! =)

KayLynn showed Steph's Andrew, her otter ND. There were 5 ND's - he took BOV and BOG in show B and BOB in show A. She also showed her Florida Whites - I think it's so funny when they write "molting" in the comment section - duh. We were advised not to show FW in molt (oops) and didn't do anything. Last place for the doe, the buck was the only Sr buck. I am also trying to figure out how to get pee stains out of a white rabbit - Slick is a Florida Yellow right now - lol. They were bred so we are expecting a FW litter in June! Yay!

Ratty news =)

2010-04-26T09:01:00.001-07:00

I have reserved 2 more girlies from FFCR! I will also be picking these 2 up in May. A seat pt siamese (FFCR/SACR Ava) and a burmese (FFCR/SACR April) - both dumbos =) I am off to a great start in the ratty worls, am still looking into adding a pair of blacks but not in any hurry!

All other critters are well - shedding/molting like crazy. Even in temp controlled climates the change in weather from cold to hot is still affecting them. I found a farrier for Penny, nice guy, whom also trains. I will be researching him a bit more but if all goes well she will start training in June. Yay! I should say we will start training in June - lol. I have to be trained too.

The rat babies have names!

2010-04-01T22:36:00.001-07:00

Today I chose names for the 2 babies that will be joining the farm. Of course the adults, RFCR Bumble Bee and RFCR Atreyu (whom will be coming as a retired pet to keep Kimber company), will keep their names. The siamese dumbo male will be called RRR Macree (pronounced Muh CREE) and the very adorable himi female will be called RRR Kimber. Macree was born on March 17th, Kimber on March 14th. Kimber is Bumble Bee's daughter, Macree is Atreyu's son.

I am still looking for more ratties in the following varieties: siamese (1 seal pt, 1blue pt - does), burmese (doe), black (doe and buck), russian blue self (doe and buck). Coat types - rex, harley, and standard. I want at least 2 harly coats, 2 rex coats. Dumbo preferred, or at least dumbo carriers. Would consider other colors that are compatible with what I am working on, but prefer to stick with the colors listed.

I am on a few waiting lists but figured I would put it out there. I would prefer to work with ratteries that are members of AFRMA and NARR. I am not yet, will be working on that this weekend. Temperaments are very important on parents and offspring.

Anyway, this blog has brought rabbits to my herd, figured it was worth a try to post the ratties I am wanting to add =)

Important dates!

2010-03-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

On April 25th (approximately) WWR Lucky (broken orange sr buck), Hobb's Kirara (fawn sr doe), and Hobb's Sugar (tort sr doe) will be joining my bunny herd. I am very excited to be bringing in some color! As much as I love my sable pts, I have always adored orange and fawn and am ecstatic for the opportunity to work with them. A huge thank you to Miss Susie Cederlof for parting with the trio, and also for holding them for me until the Monterey show! And a just as big thank you to the Votaws for bringing them home to me! =)

May 15th is another important date! On this day I will be attending my first rat show in Riverside, not as an exhibitor but purely as a spectator and to see what goes on. I will also be bringing home a few ratties with me, more on that in a later post! I am very excited that I will FINALLY be sharing my home with these wonderful creatures again, and cannot wait to start showing and breeding rats. I only hope it brings me as much joy and as many friends as showing rabbits have! =)

It's been a slow week around the farm, I had surgery Tuesday so Jason has been doing most the work. I did attempt to update the website but for some reason it did not work. I am not sure why and will mess with it this weekend. I did get the KCRBA website up and going, which I am very happy about! I am waiting on approval from the club before posting a link to the website, so that too will have to wait for another post (sorry)!

3/20/10 Hanford show

2010-03-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to have surgery on the 19th. On the 16th I found out it had been postponed a few days. I was only upset because that meant I was missing the Hanford show for no reason. I mentioned how bummed I was and Joe and Cathy Lugo graciously allowed me to do a late entry. Yay!! The Lugos rock! =) Joe is also one of my favorite judges, tied with Randy (I also like Chris Zemny, Allen Messick, even if he flicked a turd at me =P.... And who else? Hmmm.... I know there is someone else that I really like but am forgetting who... Yikes (sorry!). Honestly, we Californians are BLESSED with many wonderful judges!!

Anyway, there were 22 fuzzies entered in open, 4 exhibitors. I did pretty well, Nick took his class in A, placed 2nd in B. Simple Man placed 3rd in both shows (out of 3 - lol) but was still complemented on how short and compact he is. His head is puny, I agree, but, his fathers was until he hit 2. Simp just turned 1 so I have hope yet. He's my baby, born the morning my daddy passed away (sole survivor of his litter) and the first litter born at the new house that lived so he's very special to me.
I also showed Gus and it was his last show with me as he's missing a nail. Since Bryson and Nick are my main herd bucks I do not really have room for a buck I cannot show, so I am offering Gus for brood or pet, but will save that for another post =) Kaylee was also shown but today was not her day. She would not keep her ears down and left a lot of her wool behind (she's finally molting her baby coat). One judge gave her good comments, the other talked so fast I barely could hear - lol. I think he kind of liked her? Doesn't matter, I love her and am sure she'll do better when she matures. She's only 7 months after all =) I showed Pearl and Harbor, my 3 1/2 month old jrs. Pearl did 2/3 and 3/3 (I think). She was liked though =) Harbor placed second in show B but it was a close second. The other rabbit was in better condtion and his ears actually lopped. Harbor still holds his at airplane angle most the time. He did better in A, he took BOSB =) I am very proud of my Harbor! I was not happy at first when he beat his dad for variety, I wanted Nick to get his 3rd leg. But, I got BOSB with a homebred jr! Yay!

KayLynn also did well. She took 2 Florida Whites, Slick and Dora, and her Netherland Dwarf (Andrew). Dora placed 1/4 and was looked at for breed. She lost to the sr doe but was liked a lot by both judges. Slick took first too but was the only sr there and not nearly as drool worthy as the jr buck. Andrew took 2/3 and missed his second class. He looked puny to the first place winner. KayLynn wants to stick with ND but will also be doing FW. She may wind up just keeping Andrew for show and showmanship, he's her "baby".

The best part of the show was hanging out with Christina, chatting with Tambria, Jordin, Anita, Carol, Allison, and just not thinking about surgery for a day!

Rats?!?!?!

2010-02-13T14:56:00.001-08:00

When most rabbit breeders post about rats it's looking for ways to be rid of them.

Not me. I actually WANT them.

I have always enjoyed rats and have been owned by many in the past. Over the past 2 years I have toyed with the idea of breeding fancy rats on a small scale. Over the next year I am slowly going to build a rattery. I have very specific goals in mind so it will take time acquiring the ratties I want.

I am going to use All Ear's for my rattery name. I plan on specializing in dumbo ear rats so it works. I will focus mainly on the siamese variety, specifically seal pt, blue pt, and russian blue pt. I will also have russian blue, black, and burmese. In the future I may add in fawn and himi, we shall see how it goes. I plan on working with rex, standard, and (hopefully) harly coat. I really prefer big squishy rats so will not be working with dwarf rats at this time.

Anyway, check back for more info as All Ear's ventures into the world of ratties!

Puttin' on a show!

2010-02-01T22:50:00.000-08:00

The 26th annual double open/double youth rabbit and cavy show was held January 30, 2010. Bonnie Cabrera was the official show secretary and trained me the weeks preceding the show, during the show, and will still be training me on what the show sec does AFTER the show. She is an awesome mentor and I cannot thank her enough for answering all of my (stupid) questions.

There were a few glitches (like the awards we ordered did not come in and we had to scramble and figure out what to do, the judging list was messed up a bit and the specialty shows not included in the line up, etc) but - BUT - we were able to overcome pretty well I think. This show was a first for many - Carol Votaw ran an excellent raffle, her first time doing it. Steve Owens was show superintendent for the first time. He had no idea what to do but by the end of the show, it seemed he had ALWAYS held the position.

Hollands were our biggest class with 93 entered in open, over of half of which were entered in the specialty. The second largest breed was Mini Rex with 60 entered followed by American Fuzzy Lops with 43 entered in open. Thriantas also had a surprising number with 32 entered! There were 425 rabbits entered in both A and B. Unsure on the specialties at this point as some were taken out (thank you SOOO much Chris for judging the specialty!!!) and some were added. We had 211 entered in youth show A and 210 in B with the top 4 breeds being dutch (43), Mini Lop (32), Californian (28), Holland Lop (25), and Mini Rex (24). Open cavy entries were down, just 13, but there were 74 entered in youth.

I hope everyone that attended enjoyed the show and will be back next year! Almost every club member pitched in. We had refurbished the tables - Chuck and Jason removed all the rope that used to hold the legs up and installed chain. My mom donated a roll of carpet and Jason cut all the carpet while the rest of the club stripped the old tables free of the old carpet and staples. Jason then stapled the new carpet down. We also spray painted our old can poles. The week before the club members spent the day sanding the legs and Jason and I spent an additional hour and a half putting water seal on them. It was a group effort and many hands made it easy and fun. We hope to resolve our minor glitches before the next big show!

I also want to encourage EVERYONE to let your show secretary know you appreciate her. Her job begins long before the show does and doesn't end until a couple weeks after. The earlier you get your entries in the better. If you want to do a late entry, don't complain about the extra fee or having to fill in your own card. It adds more work after the show.

As for my placements, I did ok. My biggest win was BOB show A with my BJD Kaylee. Kolton took BOSB with his thrianta jr buck and also placed 2/14 in one show and 1/14 in the other with his thrianta jr doe. Nathan's Florida White jr doe took her class in one show (we missed the other) and Kaylynns netherland dwarf otter sr buck took his class in one show. We did pretty well, everyone was happy!

Someone read my blog!

2010-01-08T01:33:00.000-08:00

I feel like a jerk. After complaining about my barn yesterday my husband tells me today that I should have it by next weekend. I guess the tantrum worked? lol.

Anyway, my main computer is down and I don't have anything saved to the laptop. This has made life very frustrating. We have to put a new phone jack in so I can get service. The laptop is wireless, pc is not. Don't ask, long complicated story - lol. We moved the office into the living room. I refuse to give up my nursery (which the niece and nephews are currently using as a playroom). We had to change the office into a room for my great aunt Gale. I want to update my site soon, but cannot until I get the pc up and running.

I would also like to encourage EVERYONE to come to the January 30, 2010 Bakersfield show. Double open/double youth rabbit and cavy show with open Holland and open Fuzzy specialties. My husband, fellow KCRBAer Chuck Baldwin, and myself have put a lot of time into refurbishing the show tables - come see the awesome job we did! I will be learning the ropes of show secretary at this show. Carol Votaw with help from the KCRBA youth have taken over the raffle table and Anita Rodriguez has taken over the rabbit/cavy costume contest. We are very excited about this show and hope to add in breed ID and/or showmanship at next years annual show. Our judging line up is fantastic - Chris Zemny, Carol Green, Joe Lugo, Joey Shultz, Dr. Scott Williamson, and Ray Stacey for rabbits. Forgive me for blanking on the cavy judges, I know Sharon Baker is judging but I do not show cavies so really don't know thier world. I do know the judge came highly recommended and is from out of state. As sad as I was when I found out my favorite judges will be elsewhere freezing their tooshes off, I was thrilled with the judges we booked! California is blessed to have so many awesome judges! Michael Perez will be our official rabbit registrar and Armando volunteered to act as cavy registrar so be sure and bring your ARBA card and pedigrees and register those bunnies and cavies! See you all at the show!!!

Hello 2010!!!!!

2009-12-31T21:15:00.000-08:00

I am excited for 2009 to be over. Though we were blessed to buy a new home on an acre that we love, it was a tough year. We had 2 miscarriages, my dad an his mother both passed away, and we lost several other friends and family members as well. Of course there were good parts of 2009, I'd be a liar if I did not admit that, but I have a hard time remembering those. Losing my father was the most painful experience of my life, only coming close to that were the miscarriages, the 2 failed adopting, and losing my best friend and first kiss at age 15.

2010 promises to be a fantabulous year! We will finish the new bunny barn, have a fence put around the property, add a new horse and maybe a few other critters. We have decided to postpone starting a family until the latter part of 2010 and possibly early 2011. My body needs rest. We will be adding one human to the fold, my mother aunt, Gale, moves in with us Tuesday. We are very excited to have her join our family and hope our friends bear with us as we adjust to having her with us. She loves people, especially kids, so make sure you come and say "hi" to her if you see her at a show. She's recognizable, she's very short (about 5'2) and usually has a doll in her arms. Comment on how beautiful her baby is and she'll love you forever =)

We had 6 does due on the 29th. Only 3 palped positive but I gave all 6 a nest box. The 3 had their litters, mostly on the wire. No survivors. All were first time moms. The next batch is due tomorrow. All have palped negative but I gave boxes anyway. We shall see. If nothing happens, I will re-breed this Saturday and next Tuesday.

My litter born on the 7th is doing well, very cute litter. I am excited to see how they turn out!