Losses & Revivals

I now remember why I dislike owning rabbits during the summer, heat. Not only are we here in Maryland having record highs with a heat advisory in place on an almost daily basis, the rabbits are suffering worse than us. A/C is not an option in my mind, as a fellow breeder's A/C unit stopped working mid-day on a 90*+ day and they lost every rabbit due to the change in temperature shock.

This summer I have lost 3 Jersey Woolies. I do the best I can when it comes to handling heat in the barn. I have two window fan units, two box fans on the ground that I am wanting to mount up on the ceiling at some point, and have UV blocking film on the windows that are open 24/7 until winter. I give fresh cool water daily, and during the extremely hot days add Aqua-Lyte to the water to give them more minerals. I don't have the option of bringing them inside, the change in temperature would do more harm than good.

RIP WWR Alladin, WO's Seshomaru, and Wooligan's Raleigh.

While I have been negligent to say the least when it comes to breeding, I am hoping that I will have some fall litters once things cool down enough in late August early September to actually breed the rabbits.

I have made the decision to cut out working on the Shadeds and AOVs currently. I don't have the room, time, or drive to keep the numbers I currently have, and this is one of the ways I can ease the burden on myself during the school year. I will be focusing on Agoutis and will of course have Selfs, along with Brokens in both groups. My goal is to still work on pulling out Opal, and I am sure I will be able to do that with the rabbits I will have left after the cut down.

Our fair starts August 13th and ends August 21st. I arrive back in the US on the 12th and am hoping to be able to attend our 4-H meeting that evening to help get the last minute prep work done in the barn. This is my last year at the fair as a 4-Her and am saddened by this. But it'll be fun nonetheless, and I look forward to enjoying Showmanship, Judging Competition, Showing, and of course the socializing with my friends.

Until next time,

Kelsey Nelson

KN Rabbitry

Sunshine & Summertime

Thank goodness my first year of college is over! It was not easy to keep up with the rabbits during this past semester, I meant to breed rabbits, I meant to do this, I meant to do that, did it happen? Heck no! Ah well, that’s the way things go.

This past weekend I went down to Statesville/Taylorsville NC to the Greater Appalachian Alliance Show. It was a double youth / double open show, and while the venue was beautiful (loved the drive and scenery), it was HOT. I only took 3 rabbits down to show and I picked up my newest Self herd buck, Wonder’s Kokopelli a youngish senior black who took 3rd place Self Jr. buck at the 2009 ARBA Convention in San Diego. This little boy is by Bluestar’s Sterling (broken blue buck with 15 legs) who took BOSG at the 2009 JW Nationals in Columbus Ohio!

In Show A, I took BOG AOV with WWR Sisily and BOG Shaded with Keep’s Dallas. WWR Alladin took 1st place Agouti Sr. Buck, but did not advance. The Agouti’s took the breed wins, but the judge (I cannot remember his name!) really REALLY liked Dallas and said that he really wanted to have him go on, but he lacked in coat today.

In Show B I took BOG AOV with WWR Sisily and BOSG Agouti (may have been BOG, can’t quite remember) with WWR Alladin. I was helping to make sure that all the group winners were on the table and that the others were off that I missed the judge announce the Best of Breed. I clapped, not knowing why, and then he announced Best Opposite. Brandi was helping Lisa write for the youth show and said congrats, and I didn’t know what for! Turns out WWR Alladin took BOS for a leg! I was very pleased with my little boy, as there are usually not enough in the class for group wins, so legs can be hard to come by.

I really enjoy the time I get to spend just talking bunnies with my good friends in North Carolina, so it was great to see Brandi, Joni and Kristen! I also got the chance to chat a bit with Laura, and of course spend time with a very close friend who travels down to NC quite a bit for rabbit shows who is a local 4-H buddy.

I haven’t bred any woolies yet that have produced viable litters, so these upcoming two weeks I am planning on breeding every doe. Yes, all 8 of them! I’m doing the breedings that make the most sense genetically, based on genetics and type. Here are the planned breedings:

WWR Alladin x WWR Rowyn - Chestnuts, Opals

WWR Alladin x Keep’s Dreamer - Chestnuts Opals

WWR Alladin x Lyle Creek’s Charmed - Chestnuts, Opals

Keep’s Dallas x Wooligan’s Arabella - Siamese Sable, Seal

Keep’s Dallas x Bluestar’s Candy - Siamese Sable, Seal (Brokens)

Keep’s Dallas x Keep’s High Spirits - Siamese Sable, Black

Keep’s Dallas x Sisily - Siamese Sable, Pointed White

WWR Micro Ears x Keep’s Raleigh - Chestnut, Black

Wonder’s Kokopelli x WWR Audrey - Black (Brokens)

I’ve also got some Hollands to breed for a friend, but the does are then going back to her house, so I won’t have any of those kits. My hopes are to get at least two kits from each litter to pick from, and will weed down to my favorite 6 to hang onto grow out. I’ll be culling very hard for my own purposes, and watching closely for genetic DQs. I’ve got limited holes or else I would be growing out more, but because I want to try each doe with each compatible buck before I move her on, I have to be picky. If you are interested in being notified about a particular litter, let me know, but I’m going through these kits with a fine toothed comb and picking out what I want first and foremost.

Our last show before my trip to Sweden will be June 12th, it’s a midnight madness show down in West Virginia, so it should be a fun close little show. I’ll probably only show 3-4 woolies, depending on coat and when they were bred.

Keep a look out on my website for updates coming over the summer, giving it a complete overhaul and my “goal” from now on is to update it on a bi-monthly basis.

Until next time,

Kelsey Nelson

KN Rabbitry

Breeding Show Rabbits

Showing rabbits is fun, but what is even more fun is having a rabbit of your own breeding win! It's one thing to purchase a known winner and win, it's a split moment of joy, but you expected it to happen to a point. It's slightly more exciting when a junior or un-shown rabbit you purchased, and saw the potential in, wins, you get that pride that you know how to pick a good rabbit. But you didn't produce that rabbit yourself, it has someone else's prefix.

Creating a good show rabbit doesn't happen over night. Sure you can get that once in a "lifetime" rabbit that you produced by accident from a certain cross, but when you go to repeat it, they throw only brood animals. No matter how many times you did the cross, you never got the same quality again. New breeders hear of others who got a big winner in their first litter, and think that will happen to them, when in reality it was a fluke. It was that one in a million and it happened to another breeder.

In reality, it takes a lot of time depending on the quality of your starting stock. The point in breeding is so that you can consistently produce winning animals. I'd much rather have an animal that consistently places 2nd or 3rd no matter the judge than have one that wins the class once and then places in the bottom all the other shows.

I get disappointed in breeders when they only care about constantly winning, and get very upset when their rabbits do not win. Everybody has bad days showing, some more than others, but it happens to everyone at some point. My mantra with every hobby I have is "if it isn't fun anymore, don't do it". I am in this hobby because I enjoy it! I have fun, even when I loose, I take it as a learning experience and evaluate where I am heading with my breeding program.

I didn't expect to get my first wooly and be able to grand him in about three shows, I didn't know that would happen. Sure I was hopeful that I had purchased a rabbit that could win, but without knowing what I was looking for I just wanted a learning experience and something fun to show. I guess I knew I was heading down the road to only having Jersey Woolies after getting my first BOG, but it was still unexpected.

Being able to consistently put winners on the table is an awesome feeling that I hope I can have in the near future. But, I don't want to always win, I want to have competition because that pushes you to become better. How can I hope to do well at a national level if I am not competing against quality stock locally?

This blog is written more out of being slightly taken aback at what has been said by newer breeders in the hobby. They are wanting to produce show stoppers their first litter with complete outcrosses or the like, and don't understand why they aren't. It all comes back to knowing your lines and starting with related stock from one or two sources. I have been there done that, and I have sold out of 3 breeds before understanding what I wanted to do and what it would take to achieve it. I wish I had taken that advice my first time out rather than picking and choosing and hoping they would produce well.

Until next time,

Kelsey Nelson

KN Rabbitry

How many breeds have you had?

I've been raising rabbits since 2006, and have re-started my herd about 4 times. Yes, that's right, 4 times! Why you may ask, because I improved in my understanding of what the Standard of Perfection was calling for! I started with Polish and Hollands, I sold out of the Hollands because I didn't like what I had. Got American Fuzzy Lops with the Polish, sold out of the Polish because I couldn't find the quality I wanted in my area. I got Holland Lops again, and got a Jersey Wooly to play with because I missed the up ears in my barn. I sold out of the American Fuzzy Lops because I had to put down my herd buck, and couldn't do it anymore. I bought a quad of Woolies to replace the fuzzes. Where did the Hollands go you might ask, they are being sold at this time to make room to go all Wooly.

Wow! It looks worse when I type it out like that. Do I love the Polish, yes, would I ever get back into them, yes, anytime soon, no. The Hollands are my dirty pleasure, I love a really nice Holland, so why sell out. I cannot do them, we just aren't meant to be; I won't breed them again for a while, I won't say never though. American Fuzzy Lops, nothing beats the big chunk factor and add wool and I am in heaven! But, the consistency isn't there, and I don't have the room to get them to where I want. Finally, the Woolers, ah those cute little ears, the smokin' hot bods, and those chunky faces! I think I may have found my heart breed here.

Dude, why not just stick with a breed and work on it? Well, it's MY hobby, so I do it MY way, and if I don't see myself with the breed 10 years down the road, I don't keep them. For me a "heart" breed is the breed that you can see yourself with forever, and could never not have. It's a breed I can see myself working with and possibly pulling a COD out on a color, winning at the national level, or attempting to attain that status.

It's all about starting with the best quality you can afford and find. Keeping with only a few compatible lines from only a few sources. Not picking pieces here and there and hoping they will cross. I keep emphasizing this, but I need to get this across for the newer first starting out breeders! Don't just think the big time breeders are blowing hot air, it's true! I think that may be why I went through all those breeds before settling on the Woolies, I actually did what they tell you to do! Related lines from only a few source, 2 breeders, from 3 lines; and you can see the quality.

I'm reminiscing because PaSRBA Conevention, one of the largest shows on the east coast (to my knowledge), is coming up! It's the "start" of my showing career, I did not show in it, but took in the awe my first year with rabbits. I consider it my beginning and bench mark. I would love to get to the point that I can constantly place well at this show, and the past years haven't let me down yet. I am very excited for this show, but am more excited for the January 23 in Mocksville, NC. I'm picking up my new Jersey Woolies that are coming from California. I love road trips, and showing in the south is just like coming home, they welcome you with open arms and embrace you into their show world. Yes, I am south of the Mason-Dixon line, I'm not a Yankee, but you go past Richmond, VA and something amazing happens, Southern Hospitality kicks in.

Until next time,

Kelsey Nelson

KN Rabbitry

What lines did you start with...?

I purchased Evans Rabbit Register Deluxe Edition last night, and was able to install it that night within an hour. As I entered in pedigrees of my current woolies, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of times certain rabbits appeared in all of my pedigrees.

I have to admit, I like certain wooly lines better than others. Who doesn’t have their favorite lines? Wooligans, Caudills, White Oaks, Erbs; I enjoy going onto their websites and drooling over their beautiful rabbits. While some are nationally competitive lines (Brian Caudill won Best Display at convention), this doesn’t mean I ignore more local lines. One of my favorite breeders is Kristen Drum of Keep’s Rabbitry.

Not only are her woolies drop dead gorgeous, they came from the lines I love, and she breeds for the type of wooly that I consider to be what the Standard of Perfection calls for. She has been competitive nationally, placing rabbits in the top 5 at both the 2008 ARBA convention and last years nationals. Kristen Drum is still working on establishing herself as one of the “big dogs” in the breed, but she is well on her way!

Sure you are supposed to judge a rabbit on what they look like, not their pedigree. But if you want to be competitive, you want to not only start with the best quality you can afford, you want to start with lines that mesh well together and only get rabbits from a couple of breeders. Completely outcrossing won’t results in winners consistently, and that is what you are wanting to breed for, a consistent look and quality.

I have had the opportunity to purchase many wonderful animals from a breeder who is drastically cutting down, rabbits that might not have been available were, and I was able to purchase those who I felt would benefit my herd the most. For my herd, this was a great choice because her stock is from similar lines to my current stock! I am able to take the work of an already established breeder and put it to use in my own breeding program.

Though I may only be working on my first generation of my own line, I am comforted by the fact I will be able to quickly see what parts I am lacking. I can take leaps rather than steps when it comes to improving my herd because I did start with stock that will cross well together and won't be completely outcrossing.

Until next time,

Kelsey Nelson

KN Rabbitry

2010 Goals

It's been a long time, but I figure new year, new start! I cannot believe a new decade is upon us, and I have a feeling that this will be a great year. 2009 has gone down in my books as the worst year ever for myself and my family, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

With a new year come goals, or resolutions. As a rabbit breeder I set goals that I want to meet by the end of the year. While I have personal resolutions that I am going to do, these goals for my barn are important to me, and I figure I might as well post them!

I want to not only Grand out a Jersey Wooly (homebred, purchased, whatever), but I also want to get a leg on a homebred Jersey Wooly, and a BOB with a homebred would be nice too. I want to get a leg in Open competition, which of course I need to do on a more regular basis starting in August, because I age out of youth!

I wold like to earn 1000 sweepstakes points. I do not mean be listed in the sweepstakes, or even place well in my district, I just want to earn those points! Because of how the NJWRC does their year, I would have have about 5 months of showing before the year ends. So while I will be joining in August, I want to make it my goal to earn these points and count them myself.

While winning is nice and all, if I want to be ready for open competition, I need to breed, breed, breed and then cull twice as hard. So my plan is to have lots more breedings and culling twice as hard. I'm a softy, but I know I need to do this to improve. This means learning how to palpate! Yes, I do not know how to do this, but I want and need to learn how.

I have a "project" of sorts, and while I am not ready to reveal what it is, I want to get carriers of this project well established so I can be producing the phenotypes of this color popping up more. By the end of the year I want to have at least 3 homebreds in this particular color, and well on my way to have all my colors in this particular group being carriers.

I want to internalize the Jersey Wooly standard, meaning I want to be able to know the point values of the different parts of the rabbit, and what a really good wooly is. This means that I know a bad wooly from a good wooly without looking at it, but by feeling. With focusing on one breed, it'll help to me more competitive.

Wow, that's a lot to accomplish in a year! But, I am working on them all, and as I accomplish these goals, I'll let you all know. I'm already on my way towards breeding more, with every doe in my barn being breed, some are still expecting while others are being rebred because they missed. As soon as I get litters, the culling will begin. I hope everyone had a great holiday and that we all are looking forward to this new year and decade!

Until next time,

Kelsey Nelson

KN Rabbitry