Update on the critters :) Happy 4th of July!!

Hi all, long time no post :) All is well here, just enjoying the slow loll of summer. Not so much the heat though, which came late and fierce. Bunnies are all doing well. Pearl delivered 2 DOA's. She had then breach. She's only had 1 previous litter and there were no issues, so I'm not sure what happened. First time I have ever had to assist a bunny with delivery. I will be rebreeding her in the fall, when I breed Plum. Priscilla palped positive so I should have a litter soon :) I found a stray bunny that the kids call Maycee - she is looking for a new home. Very sweet girl. She will stay with us until a forever home can be located. I will admit, she's not the prettiest girl in the world, but what she lacks in beauty she makes up in temperment! I also still have Bunny and Clyde, my foster pair, that are looking for a home as well. The ratty population is slowly fading. I had 2 pts last week, RRR Puck due to a very strange tumor that was inoperable due to location. It got so big it was hard for him to get around. I also had Bear put down. I have 3 more then I am debating on putting down. Havarti is only 19 mos but has already had 1 mammary tumor removed. She has a second plus a tumor under her chin that goes down her neck. It's small and she is doing well so far, but as soon as it gets in the way I am having her pts. There is concern she could lose part of her jaw in the surgery, and I think that would wreck her quality of life. Very hard decision, Harvarti is my baby. Jill and Petunia also both have mammary tumors. Pet is well over 2, perhaps over 2 1/2 and Jill is 26 months and has always been small and delicate. I don't want to put them through surgery at their age. I have 2 other girls over the age of 2 - April (27 mos) and Poppy (Pet's sister). They are doing extremely well, as are my other 3 19 month olds (Colby, Fontina, and Brie) and my 13 month olds (Syrma and Stratus). I spent so much on rat vet care in the last year that I have decided not to have any more after these guys go. It was a hard decision as I think rats are amazing little creatures, but they are heartbreaking to own at the same time. Cats are all doing well, as are the dogs, Penny (horse), and Sam (parrot). They are not overly fond of the fireworks but no one has been too bothered. We do have tricks that we do to help make the night more comfortable. For the horse, we feed her later. Penny is very food motivated and when she is eating, nothing else in the world exists. For the rabbits, we play the radio (which they are used to) and have the cooler and fans turned on high. Everyone else is in the house. Nikki still freaks out, she's the only one, so we just comfort her as best as we can and turn the tv up. We stay home with our animals - their comfort is more important then us having fun. I know when we have children we will have to do something here, but nothing outrageous or exuberant. We do expose our animals to noises throughout the year so it's not such a shock, but the combo of the noise and visual aspects of the 4th can still be scary.

We're back!

This is a long overdo post but life has been super busy with ratty woes and Gale issues so I haven't been able to announce that after a year and a half MUCH NEEDED break, we are back! I am working on remodling the barn so, at current, have just 6 fuzzies in addition to the pets. All Ear's Cubby (2 legs), tort sr buck out of GC Brian's Bryson X GC All Ear's Mercedes. GC All Ear's Pearl (4 legs), tort sr doe out of GC PFF's Nick X All Ear's Porsche. GC All Ear's Simple Man (5 legs), broken tort sr buck out of All Ear's Snickers X All Ear's Jackie O. All Ear's Priscilla (1 leg), broken black sr doe out of AlL Ear's Cubby X GC Roehe's Kaylee. All Ear's Plum, broken tort sr doe out of GC Brian's Bryson X All Ear's Cherish. And last but not least a little fuzzy Holland named JASH's Gamble, whom has very promising type and coat! Jordin does not include pedigrees on her fuzzy Hollands, but I know he is a relative of GC BBB's Sebastian, whom was my Holland herdsire when I did Hollands many moons ago! In addition to the 6 fuzzies, I have my pets still. Trini (8 1/2) and Noah (8) are still hanging in there - Trini is doing much better then old man Noah. Hannah turns 5 next month and is as sweet and cuddly as ever. Arista turned 3 this month, she's still a pistol. Melissa is about 2 1/2 and still a big baby. Andrew will also be 3 next month, he's a pudgy, fiesty little guy. And Jewel, of course, from my last Holland litter. Jewel turns 4 the end of this year and can still hold her own on the table. (*Note* all Noah, Trini, Hannah, Melissa, Arista, and the fosters are all spayed/neutered). We also have Bunny and Clyde, a foster pair I took in for a freinds rescue (adoption is available thru her). Bunny is about 5, a lionhead mix and the sweetest thing in the world. Clyde is about 2, an oversized mini rex and a total turd but easy to love. The dogs are all doing well. Daisy gave us a scare but has perked back up. She's about 17 1/4. Max (12), Nikki (7), Lulu (5), and Molly (4 in August!) are all fantastic :) The kitties are well, Rupert turns 8 pretty soon, Mia is probably closer to 9, Milo is 5 and Bombay is about 4. Penny the horse is awesome, though I have to cut off most treats for a while. She's getting too pudgy. Sam (BFA) is Sam - still my dorky bird that cusses me out when I've upset him. Ratties - sigh. The ratties have had many health issues. We have 13 - most are over 2. April is my oldest, she turns 26 months in a week or so. She's in the best health of those over 2 and may possibly outlive my old crew (and maybe 1 of the young ones). Puck has a huge inoperable tumor and is being maintained until it's time to put him to sleep. He's also 25 months. Jack is doing fairly good, though he started to get that "old rat" look this month. His sister Jill has 2 very small raisen sized tumors. She's a tiny little thing and we decided not to remove them. They both turned 2 this month. The vet is concerned Jill won't make it through surgery. Petunia is 2 1/2 and is sporting her second tumor. We have also chosen not to operate on her. Poppy (also 2 1/2) is doing well, very "young" for her age. Bear (exact age unknown, approx 2 years old) also has that "old" rat look, but is doing ok I guess. He should be due for a tooth trimming but after a year and a half of getting his teeth trimmed every 2 months they are fine. I made the mistake of telling the vet in front of him he would be pts next time due to age, aggression, and how hard the proceedue is. Guess that fixed things. The 4 siblings - Havarti, Brie, Colby, and Fontina, are about 1 1/2. Havarti is the only one with issues, she has had 2 mammary tumor removals and currently has a new tumor under her neck (looks like a thyroid goiter). I'm not sure what to do with her, every time we "fix" something something else goes wrong. Maybe 3rd time will be a charm. Knock on wood, the other 3 are perfect, as are the "babies", my 1 year old's, Stratus and Syrma. Meaner then spit and super bitey but absolutely fine :) We do plan on expanding the rabbit barn to hold 20 holes in addition to my pet holes (Jewel and Andrew will hopefully be bonded once he is neutered, Bunny and Clyde share a hole, Trini and Noah are together... had to seperate my trio of Arista, Hannah, and Melissa as they couldn't get along. As for the ratties, once they have all crossed the brige I will not keep more then a quartette (more likely a trio). I also have plans of getting a few hens (again) but not anytime soon. I put my dreams of adding a second horse away for now, we are looking at a goat friend for Penny but no rush. I do have plans on adding a 4 legged child to the family in the next couple months, but am not posting anything about it until it happens. Don't want to jinx it or anything :)