This post is at least a week late, and I could make endless excuses of why I didn't write it sooner. But that's pointless because really I just didn't, I don't know why. But better later than never!
Soo..about 2018.. Hello everyone! Today I'm going to talk a bit about keeping your rabbit entertained, so basically about toys and such for your bunny.
2017 was somehow the best and worst year at the same time. Lots of tears, hard decisions and thinking. But also a lot of smiles, laughter and hard work paying off.
I didn't travel across the country this year, but I still went to convention and had a ton of fun with friends. I also faced my interview fears and won the title of Duchess at OSRBA. I made some tough decisions and almost sold out, but ended up selling down. I tried Mini Lops for a short period of time and also rescued several rabbits this year. 2017 was the year quality became consistent in my herd as well. ALL OF LAST YEARS INFO WILL BE IN [ ] BESIDE THIS YEARS Money Spent: Roughly $1000 [$901] (off the top of my head, may be missing a few small things) Money Made: $2500[$1855] Lost: $0 [$0] Gained: $1500 [$954] (Since I got a horse this year and also spent a lot on presents, this is actually gone, just not on rabbits xD) This year I transitioned to buying my own feed and other needs for my rabbits, I did sell quite a few rabbits and I only bought a few. Holland Lop Litters: Babies Born Total: 69 [80] Babies Born Dead: 27 [22] Peanuts: 7 [6] Babies Weaned: 21 [36] Babies Died Before Weaning (not counting peanuts): 8 [16] Babies Died After/At Weaning: 0 [1] Total Babies Alive After Weaning: 21 [35] Babies Sold: 19 [29] Babies Kept: 2 (between grow outs and seniors) [2] Some of my babies are not weaned yet, so this may look a little funky if anyone tries to figure it out lol. I'm sure they'll be weaned fine but I can't be certain. Rabbits Bought: Mel's Alcide - Black Tort Holland Lop Buck, Show Coffee Creek Sully - Blue Tort Holland Lop Buck, Brood Blooming Angel Chester - Chestnut Holland Lop Buck, Brood Rabbits Lost: BTB's FireFly - I'm really gonna miss FireFly, she was one of the favorites, the queen of the barn and I love(d) her so much. POB's Chunk - I had to put down Chunk due to his quality of life being poor because of an injury. I really really miss this little guy and it's still hard not seeing him. Shows Attended: 6 [10] Major Winnings: Several 1sts, BOVs, BOSVs, BOBs, BOSs and 1 Runner Up B4C Legs: 10 [14] I did go to convention but did not show any rabbits there. Check out the shows page to see all the placements and major winnings: http://pocketfulobunnies.weebly.com/shows.html * I've been in rabbits almost three years, next year I plan on applying for my registrars license. I've seriously thought about selling out, but because of some special people and some special rabbits I've decided to keep going. I've learned so much with being part of the youth programs, and I've made so many good friends. I'm happy with how much more consistent my quality in babies has become, and I'm happy with where my herd is at. Thanks for sticking with me through 2017, I can't wait to see what 2018 holds. Happy New Years everyone! Hey guys! It's been a while since I've made a blog post, and I figured that it's about time I make one..and no better topic then all the juniors that I've said almost nothing about.
Hey guys!
I wanted to make this post to talk about something, mostly about downsizing, and why. Anyways, that's right - I will be downsizing my herd of Hollands. Why? Well, I'm finding taking care of my rabbits more of a chore then a joy anymore, and I'm not able to spend near as much time as I want with each rabbit. I think that's because I have too many rabbits. It's also probably related to this freezing weather, I mean, who can enjoy taking care of 30 rabbits in freezing weather?! Also, if I downsize I have less to work with but I can keep more nicer babies, as I am getting some very nice babies I have to sell because I have no space! I also want to get back into horses, as some of you may know, I had a fall a couple years ago and broke my arm. I haven't been the same confidence wise with horses since. I still rode my mare, Taffy, but she got old and passed away December 1st. It took me a while to feel okay with getting another horse, but now I'm casually looking - I want something that's calm and safe. I'm looking to do 4H with a horse possibly, and maybe/hopefully be a working student. And well, a good horse isn't free! It'd be nice to have the extra money to put towards 1) national convention and 2) a horse. Despite wanting to get back into horses, don't worry, I won't forget my bunnies! Who? I haven't decided for sure who will be for sale, but here's who I'm considering letting go of:
Now before anyone goes crazy, I have thought about these rabbits a lot and I have my reasons which will be explained more if anyone asks or when they're actually listed for sale. NONE OF THESE ARE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW. They may be in the future! I'd suggest filling out my waiting list: click here When? These rabbits may be available within the next 2-3 months. I'm thinking ahead here. When they are available and who is available will depend entirely on how things go in the next couple months. Anyways, that's what has been on my mind lately. I've given it a lot of serious thought and do want to downsize. I do have some PETS available currently, mostly from my rescue program. Please check my available pets page to see more info. Thanks for reading! So, recently I found/got a ton of pictures from my first 4-5 Hollands. I wanted to show them to you guys, so ya'll can cringe with me..
Last year before 2016 I set a handful of my goals for my rabbitry. First I'm going to go over those and then list my new ones for 2017! Lets go :P 1. Increase my rabbitry to 20 holes - DONE. Now have 27 I believe. 2. Have at least 10 litters - DONE. I had 17 litters this year. 3. Get 3rd place or better with a homegrown - DONE. Chunk won BOS as well as other homegrowns getting 1st place and "higher" wins. 4. Replace Duke - SEMI DONE. Duke is no longer going to be bred, he just needs to find a good home. I do have a chocolate tort buck that looks nice, hopefully will "replace" him, but he's still young. 5. Find a website theme I like and stick with it - DONE. I love my current theme, it's staying into 2017 and then for a while. 6. Improve crowns in Hollands - NOT DONE. I have not been able to get my crowns to where I'd like, they're almost all slipped. 7. Improve bone in Hollands - DONE. Last year I "complained" about thin bone. With Fonzie and other rabbits introduced to my herd I've been able to get bone that is a good thickness, or even crazy thick. 8. Sell all pet quality rabbits - DONE. Shen died, sold my pet quality Mini Rex and I currently don't have a pet *quality* rabbit in the barn (besides two 8 week olds, that will be sold) So those were all my 2016 goals, and all of them but 1 was accomplished. That makes me really happy. So for 2017, I'd like to accomplish the following: 1. Have at least 15 litters - I had 17 this year, so 15 should be doable! 2. Produce at least one quality chocolate or chocolate tort. - With everything that went so wrong with my chocolate program, this will actually be a bit tough. 3. Produce a Lilac Tort. Preferably nice quality. - I have the genetics for this, it's just getting one. 4. Win Best of Breed with a homegrown. - The best I've won with a homegrown is BOS. I'd love to take it to BOB next year. 5. Grand Fonzie, Chunk and Tisroc. - I need to send in the stuff for Fonzie and Chunk, Tisroc will need another leg. 6. Produce a nice Harlequin. - I have the genetics, not 100% sure on the type. But I have a whole year ;) 7. Go to paSRBA. - I highly doubt this will happen. But I'd love it. 8. Improve crown and ears in Hollands. - I hate my crown/ears. Here's to making them better in 2017. 9. Be more active on my blog. - I'm going to try, I promise. 10. Be more active on my youtube channel. - I had it going good for a while, but I need to pick it back up and keep it going. So that's 10 goals, I could honestly go on. But 10 is enough. Lets see what happens in 2017, lets make it a year to remember! 2016, what a year. Tears, smiles, laughter and fear. I lost some special rabbits this year, and I also gained some special rabbits this year. I traveled across the country with friends to compete at National Convention, and our team won. I had several rabbits, tried a new breed, got an angora. Geez. What a year. Lets go check out more details! ALL OF LAST YEARS INFO WILL BE IN [ ] BESIDE THIS YEARS
Money Spent: Roughly $901 [$630] (off the top of my head, may be missing a few small things and NOT counting convention trip) Money Made: $1855 [$590] (this is NOT counting convention donations) Lost: $0 [$40] Gained: $954 [$0] (As I was not counting convention in any of these totals, most of this money "gained" actually probably went to Convention, but if someone could tell me where the rest is, I'm listening) I've sold so many pets this year that I somehow made more then I spent, but I also purchased very few rabbits and just kept homegrowns. Also my grandparents are helping me by buying most of my feed/bedding, though I plan to start trying to do that more now that I have cages and nice rabbits. Holland Lop Litters: Babies Born Total: 80 [18] Babies Born Dead: 22 [4] Peanuts: 6 [2] Babies Weaned: 36 [6] Babies Died Before Weaning (not counting peanuts): 16 [6] Babies Died After/At Weaning: 1 [1] Total Babies Alive After Weaning: 35 [5] Babies Sold: 29 [3] Babies Kept: 6 (between grow outs and seniors) [2] Not bad at all, this really shows how strict I was on what I kept. I did just have a litter of 7 born, so did not add it into the weaning and such but did add it to the # of babies born total. Rabbits Sold: POB's Rudolph - Broken Castor Mini Rex Buck, Pet - $20 POB's Jingle - Castor Mini Rex Doe, 4H - $30 Oppie (forget prefix) - Opal Mini Rex Buck, Brood - $30 Pepper - Opal Mini Rex Buck, Pet - $20 POB's Shadow - Black Holland Lop Doe, 4H - $50 POB's Quinn - Broken Black Holland Lop Doe, Pet - $50 POB's Klyde - Black Tort Holland Lop Buck, Pet - $50 POB's Fudge - Broken Black Tort Holland Lop Buck, Pet/4H - $30 POB's Lola - Broken Black Tort Holland Lop Buck, Pet/Brood - $70 POB's Sadie - Broken Sallander Holland Lop Doe, Pet - $50 POB's Cotton - Broken Sallander Holland Lop Buck, Pet - $50 POB's Beethoven - Black Holland Lop Buck, Pet - $40 POB's Sofia - Broken Black Holland Lop Doe, Pet - $50 POB's Roxy - Broken Black Tort Holland Lop Doe, Pet - $50 POB's Fazie - Broken Black Tort Holland Lop Doe, Brood/Show - $60 POB's Fizz - Charlie Black Tort Holland Lop Buck, Pet - $50 POB's Willow - Black Tort Fuzzy Holland Lop Doe, Pet/Brood - $70 POB's Buckwheat - Black Harlequin Holland Lop Buck, Pet - $60 POB's Sophie - Black Harlequin Holland Lop Doe, Pet - $60 POB's Bumblebee - Black Harlequin Holland Lop Doe, Pet - $60 POB's Oreo - Broken Black Holland Lop Buck, Brood - $80 POB's Butterfinger - Black Tort Holland Lop Doe, Brood - $80 POB's Blaze - Black Tort Holland Lop Buck, Pet - $50 POB's Ajax - Sallander Holland Lop Buck, Brood - $80 POB's Lone Ranger - Broken Black Tort Holland Lop Doe, Brood/Show - $60 POB's Centuries - Broken Black Holland Lop Doe, Brood - $60 POB's Magic - Broken Black Tort Holland Lop Doe, Pet/Brood - $100 POB's Corki - Black Tort Holland Lop Buck, Brood - $70 POB's Krackel - Broken Black Tort Holland Lop Buck, Brood/Show - $70 POB's Sabrina - Black Tort Holland Lop Doe, Pet/Brood - $50 Rabbits Bought: Chrissy's Critters Gloriana - Broken Black Tort Holland Lop Doe, Brood SGR's Primrose - Chestnut Agouti Britannia Petite Doe, Brood PGR's Tisroc - Black Holland Lop Buck, Brood/Show Nick's NR122 "Laurel" - Black Tort Holland Lop Doe, Brood Bergstrom's Orange "Fiora" - Orange Holland Lop Doe, Brood Vista's Darcy - Smoke Pearl Holland Lop Doe, Brood Muddy Creek's Shiloh - Black Tort Holland Lop Doe, Brood Party Poison - Smoke Pearl Marten Jersey Wooly Doe, Pet/Brood ____ - Black Otter Netherland Dwarf Buck, Pet ____ - Mixed Doe + 3 Babies, Pet(s) (the last three rabbits were purchased to help a family member) Rabbits Lost: POB's Shen - Poor Shen, I'll always remember him. He was so special and I hate to have lost him. Lori's TMan - Ugh. TMan was one of the hardest things this year, I didn't get anywhere close to enough time with him. POB's Mystery - I lost this little doe right after she blossomed and won her first leg. It was like a nightmare in person, I'll always miss my sweetie. Shows Attended: 10 (11) [2 (3)] Major Winnings: Several 1sts, BOVs, BOSVs, BOBs, BOSs and 2 RISs Legs: 14 [1] I did go to convention but did not show any rabbits there. Check out the shows page to see all the placements and major winnings: http://pocketfulobunnies.weebly.com/shows.html * I've been in rabbits almost two years, wow. I've done a lot better this year then last year for sure. I'm very pleased with my achievements this year and how I've improved my rabbitry, how my sales have come and how my herd has improved. I will be making another "review" post in a day or two but about goals! Stay tuned :) |
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January 2019
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