Yearly Archives: 2013

The Fight of the Easter Bunny

Meat Rabbits, Pet Rabbits, Show Rabbits March 17, 2013 Comments: 2
thea0211 / stock.xchng

thea0211 / stock.xchng

Once upon a time it was the season of eggs and pastels, spring was right around the corner. Parents began to wonder if little Susie would like a bunny for Easter and rabbit breeders far and wide began to bicker.

The Fight of the Easter Bunny divides into two large camps with a scattered few opinions in between. One one side you have the people who appreciate the pet rabbit buyers. On the other side are those who take the high ground that pet bunnies are the next thing to evil, mix breed rabbits are best used for meat, and anyone who sells to anyone other than a reputable breeder is hypocritical.

And the scattered few in between scratch their heads and wonder out loud, “Can’t we all just get along?!”

Both camps have valid arguments. Anyone who cares about the sanctity of any life recognizes that an animal purchased on a whim then left unattended in a cage that fills with feces is not acceptable. Rabbits have a 7-10 year life span and require the same sense of commitment and care that a dog or a cat need. If veterinary care is needed there’s a large price tag that comes with the professional; letting a rabbit loose in an empty field or dropping it off at a shelter is a sure-fire way to prove you’re a pretty low human being yourself.

On the other side, many, many people fall in love with their rabbit companions and treat them with love and affection! Most rabbit breeders begin their love of the animal with a mixed breed bun they picked up at the pet or feed store for a few bucks. It is unfair to assume there is no purpose for a pet rabbit in this world.

At Mad Hatter Rabbits we’ve decided to straddle the fence between these two camps (and I’m sure we’ll get a splinter or two on occasion). We will never breed more rabbits than we can personally provide excellent, loving, and humane care for. We also provide a blanket guarantee to accept any rabbit we have bred back if their new owner can no longer adequately meet their rabbits needs. Each animal that leaves our rabbitry goes with a booklet with recommendations of how to care for your bunny at the bare minimum requirements of the Animal Welfare Act and recommendations for how to go beyond the bare minimum into to a truly enriching relationship with a furry friend.

We don’t see the Fight of the Easter Bunny as black and white. Our primary reason for beginning to breed rabbits was to provide a healthy, organic meat source free of antibiotics and such things for our family. This is a rabbit’s natural role in the life cycle – at the bottom of the food chain as a meal for larger predators. But in our rabbit journey, we found we really enjoy rabbit shows – and it takes the same amount of feed to raise a show rabbit as it does a less type-y rabbit so we may as well work toward having excellent show rabbits with sweet dispositions, fun personalities, and great pedigrees! Finally, for those rabbits that aren’t quite up to snuff on a show table for one reason or another, their attitudes make them a reasonable option for a person who wants a companion.

If we don’t limit human beings to only one point and purpose of life – if we can comprehend a life where there is a capability to wear multiple hats – then there’s space in this world for our livestock to fulfill a multitude of purposes as well!

Anyone want to join us on the middle ground?

Common Terminology for Rabbits and Rabbit Shows

Meat Rabbits, Pet Rabbits, Show Rabbits March 14, 2013 1 Comment
Sometimes terms can be confusing. Use this guide to help!

Sometimes terms can be confusing. Use this guide to help!

A HUGE “Thank You” to Kim’s Rabbit Hutch for this helpful guide to rabbit terminology.

Buck – A male rabbit
Doe – A female rabbit
Junior – A rabbit under 6 months of age
Senior – A rabbit over 6 months of age
Intermediate or 6/8 – A rabbit between 6-8 months of age. Most common in larger breeds

Varierty – Color of a rabbit
Class – Age group of the rabbit. Either Junior, Intermediate or Senior
Broken – A color in conjunction with white. With either a blanket or spotted pattern of the color on the body.

Solid – A color of a rabbit that is covering the entire body
Agouti – A type of color that has bands and ticking. Most common colors are Chestnut and Chinchilla

Shaded – Refers to colors like Sable Point. These colors have darker colors on the nose, ears, and other parts of the body. While the whole of the body is one solid lighter color.

Molt – A coat that is shedding and out of condition.
Finish – A coat of a rabbit that either lacks finish (poor condition, molting, etc) or has a good finish (well groomed, not molting) could mean the difference between winning and losing.

Pedigree – A piece of paper charting 3 generations of the rabbit with ancestory history.

Registration – A piece of paper also charting 3 generations of the rabbit with ancestory history. This paper however states (for the rabbit it is issued to) that it has free of disqualifications and has been deamed an acceptable representation of said breed. The rabbit also recieves a registration number unqiue to that rabbit.

Ear Number / Tattoo – A series of numbers and/or letters tattooed into the rabbits left ear. Usually no more then 5 are in the ear. A circled R may be tattooed in the left ear if the rabbit has been registered.

Leg – A leg is earned by winning in an ARBA-sanctioned show as long as there are three exhibitors and five rabbits competing for the win. For example, first place in a class of five or more bunnies showed by three or more different exhibitors would earn a leg. For classes without enough exhibitors and/or bunnies, it may be possible to earn a leg by winning BOSV (if there are sufficient numbers of the related sex in the variety), BOV (if there are sufficient numbers in the entire variety), BOS (if there are sufficient number in the related sex of the breed) or BOB (if there are sufficient numbers in the entire breed). A rabbit may only earn one leg per judging.

BOB – Best of Breed
BOS – Best Opposite Sex of Breed (ie. If the BOB rabbit is a buck, BOS winner must be a doe. Which is why it’s called Opposite Sex

BOV – Best of Varierty
BOSV – Best Opposite Sex of Varierty (ie. If the BOV rabbit is a buck, BOSV winner must be a doe. Which is why it’s called Opposite Sex

BOV and BOSV winners go on to compete for BOB and BOS
BIS – Best in Show (this is big. To win it, your rabbit must get BOB. At the end of the show, all of the breeds who had a BOB winner compete to see who is the best of the best.)

1st Runner Up / Reserve to BIS – This is the 2nd place rabbit to who won BIS
2nd Runner Up – This is the 3rd place rabbit to who won BIS
DQ – Disqualification. A rabbit can be disqualified for many reasons. Most common is over the weight limit, bad teeth, or illness present.

Flesh condition – Just like it sounds. If a rabbit is “rough” in flesh it means the skin over the backbone is very loose and thin. Bones are easily felt. Most common in rabbits suffering from some illness, not being fed enough, or does coming off weaning litters.

Open – Usually refers to an all “adult show.” Which means anyone of any age is allowed to enter, but it is usually adults competing with other adults. They will usually add the letters: A, B and C to the end of “Open Show” if they are having multiple shows.

Youth – An all youth only show. Only those 18 and under are allowed to enter these shows. Youth breeders must put their own rabbits on the judging table.

Cull – A breeder goes through a litter selecting ones he/she wishes to keep. The rest are sold (or eaten, if they’re a meat breed.)

Kindling – Term used to mean giving birth to baby rabbits.
Kits – Term describing baby rabbits.
Cavy / Cavies – These are not rabbits. They are shown sometimes at rabbit shows. They are basically guinea pigs.

Running Totals

Pet Rabbits March 10, 2013 Leave a comment
kodakgold / stock.xchng

kodakgold / stock.xchng

I was watching the Hurt Locker last week. If you haven’t seen it, the movie traces the life of a man who is a demolitions expert as he disarms bombs overseas. At one point a commanding officer asks him how many bombs he has disarmed and the man tries to dodge the question. However, the C.O. pushes and suddenly a very specific number comes out of his mouth. Each bomb, even though he has disarmed many, many, has a special significance to him.

 

You may feel this is a strange way to start a blog post about rabbits, but stick with me – my point is coming! Rabbits are not bombs, but I keep a running count of these little animals in my heart. Just like that movie character, I know without a pause each little life I have been responsible for, even if only for a short while.

 

Yes, here at Mad Hatter we breed rabbits primarily as a healthy food source for our family, but that in no way means we don’t care for them deeply. Each day, often many times a day, we are out visiting them, checking on their welfare, and watching their personalities develop. Each rabbit is special to us.

 

And when it comes to numbers, I can’t tell you off the top of my head exactly how many baby bunnies we’ve bred this year to date, but I can tell you without a pause that we’ve lost 20 kits. I hate seeing a baby bunny die, I just hate it.

 

The reality? Natural selection is true and there are some babies that simply fail to thrive. Other times we have to face a hard reality that a rabbit mother does not have the same maternal instincts that a human mother would have. She can refuse to feed her litter or even eat portions of them! In our circumstances we’ve lost babies to freezing weather.

 

Some animal lovers like to think of their friends as passing over the “Rainbow Bridge.” It seems like a silly concept to me, this Rainbow Bridge… and yet it isn’t at all. There is something very wholesome about recognizing the value of life in all forms. Part of valuing life is recognizing the significance of death.

 

Many times there are no explanations for the loss of baby rabbits, but that usually isn’t a comfort to the rabbit breeder. We grieve over the loss of life and second guess ourselves for how we could have prevented it or try to come up with strategies, get advice from long-time breeders for the healthiest, most successful ways to care for our animals.

 

We have seven litters expected this week and even though I’m terribly excited for the babies, there is also a piece of me worried about what the week will bring in terms of success rates. We have three first-time moms expecting and the reality for us is most of our first timers lose one (if not all!) of their kits. So, if you think of it, send positive thoughts our way… we’re sending the same to all the other breeders we know!

 

Birthday Parties and Petting Zoos

Pet Rabbits March 7, 2013 Comments: 2
Bunny Parties are a Hit!

Bunny Parties are a Hit!

I have a sense of uneasiness about most people, and that unease turns fairly regularly into alarm when I look at small people. Specifically children.

 

I am head over heels in love with my own children but they’re very strange. And other people’s children… well, it’s hit and miss.

 

This distrust is why I first paused when we talked about doing Bunny Birthday Parties. Going to someone’s house and spending a few hours while children touched, squished, and smeared cake into our precious little buns had all the allure of walking over hot coals barefoot. Possible? Definitely. Wise? Questionable.

 

However, our good friends asked if we would participate in their bunny party and we said yes. The theme was wonderfully played out, the invitations were bunny rabbit Pinterest-worthy, the cake could practically have hopped off the table it was so life-like, and I enjoyed having brocolli, carrots, and cauliflower with dip served in addition to the typical birthday sweets.

 

We brought our rabbits to the house and waited for everyone to arrive. I pulled out one rabbit and did a quick talk about how to handle it with care and avoid the possibility of scratches, talked about how rabbits can serve multiple roles as pets, shows, or nutrition, and described the breed we brought (Rex). Then I handed a bunny to each kid (we were fortunate to work out the numbers so each child had a rabbit) and let them be.

 

The kids were great with the rabbits! They were gentle, considerate, and a few didn’t want to play the party games because it meant giving up their cuddly ball of fluff. The rabbits were the stars of the show for about an hour.

 

This has given me the courage to try Bunny Birthday Parties again – and I may… possibly… even participate with the buns in the petting zoo our 4H club is sponsoring at our local garden center next month. Wonders never cease!

 

 

The Quirky Art of Tattooing

Show Rabbits March 5, 2013 Comments: 3
Every show rabbit must had an identifying tattoo in its ear.

Every show rabbit must had an identifying tattoo in its ear.

As a kid raising rabbits, we never worried about tattoos in their ears – we knew which rabbits we had and which cages they called home. No biggie!

 

As an adult coming back into raising rabbits the need for tattoos has become apparent. Not only are tattoos required for any rabbit in a show, having permanent ear markings can come in quite handy when you’re trying to discern just which all black bunny you’re you’re checking out!

 

Almost every rabbit we have has an ear tattoo now. ARBA requires the tattoo to be in the rabbit’s left ear. If you choose to register the rabbit, they receive another tattoo in their right ear. Tattoos can be words, letters, numbers, or combinations and can be applied using a clamp or a tattoo pen.

 

We have chosen to use the KBtatts Tattoo Pen. This is the only tattoo device we’ve used so I don’t have a basis of comparison, but I don’t want to use another one… ever! I was expecting the rabbits to twitch or jump while tattooing… and they don’t. In fact, I began to wonder if I was actually tattooing correctly because they didn’t move a bit. Turns out it’s just a great pen with a quiet motor and needles that get the job done quickly and efficiently.

 

Trying to decide how to tattoo is another fun occupation. We’ve decided to use a system that begins with “H,” representing Mad Hatter Rabbitry, the number of the month the rabbit is born in (using letters for any two digit numbers), the last digit of the year, the number of the rabbit in the litter, first letter of the name of the sire and first letter of the name of the dam.

 

So, Mister, who was born in November 2012 and is the first kit out of Bucky and Duchess, has the tattoo: HB21BD.

 

Other people will use their own system or the name of the rabbit. Judges at shows get an eyeful when they see rabbits with names like “HOT STUFF,” “DINNER 4 5,” or “HONEY BEW BEW.” Hopefully judges keep a good sense of humor and breeders use common sense in their tattooing!

Funny Things Rabbit People Say

Meat Rabbits, Pet Rabbits, Show Rabbits February 24, 2013 Comments: 3
zettmedia / stock.xchng

zettmedia / stock.xchng

One of the very best things we’ve done as people who will be taking rabbit breeding seriously is join the American Rabbit Breeders Association, Inc., or ARBA. One of the supports offered by this organization is a Facebook group where breeders gather to compare stories, share remedies, and communicate best practices.

 

I’ve learned an amazing amount from reading through past posts… but one thread tickled me more than any other! For the rabbit newcomer, there are many aspects about the care and nurture of our four-legged friends that might be confusing. Other breeders shared some of the funny questions and statements they’ve gotten from rabbit innocents:

“My female rabbit keeps pulling fur and putting in the corner of our sofa.”

Friend’s reply, “Are there any other rabbits in the house?”

“Yes.”

Friend’s reply, “IS the other rabbit a male?”

“Yes.”

Friend’s reply, “Then your female is making a nest to have babies.”

“But they’re brother and sister. They wouldn’t do that!.” (courtesy of N. Anderson) (Rabbits have no regard for anything except gender!)

“How far can my rabbit swim?” (courtesy of S.H. Brown) (Rabbits don’t do well with water at all)

“I judge 4H rabbit kids & sometimes you get some very funny answers. My favorite: I asked a young man senior showman (very experienced) What is smut? He lowered is head, face blushing & answered very quietly, “My momma won’t let me look at that stuff.” It was hard not to laugh but I continued with the judging. Later that day the young man came up to me and asked about the question. I showed him in the book & explained it to him. We had a good laugh together. Gotta love those 4H kids!” (courtesy of B. McCall) (Smut is a reference to poor coloring)

“I once had a FFA mom call me in a panic because she was bunny-sitting her daughters rabbit and while playing with it noticed a large tumor on its end. I asked her to go get the rabbit and bring it back with her to the phone. She did and I asked her to turn it over which she did and started screaming! She was so freaked out because now there were two growths on the rabbit! After I stopped laughing I told her, “Congratulations you have a boy!” (courtesy of B. Rowan)

“Can I breed this 3 lbs. mini Rex doe with that 11 lbs. Satin buck?” they asked me. To which I replied, “All things may be possible but common sense says that’s not prudent.” (courtesy of J. Veale)

“I was on one group and and one woman told everyone else that rabbits store MILK in their dewlap…I was like, “Really now???” (courtesy of K. Southall) (The dewlap is an extra amount of hair used by mama rabbits to pull and line their nests)

“At our local fair last year people kept asking us “What’s wrong with all the rabbits that they are broken?” (courtesy of K. Krejci-Giminiani) (“Broken” is a coloring description. It means the color is broken instead of solid)

“I have to admit I was confused with the “legs” a rabbit has when we were new. I told L. there was no way I’d pay for a three-legged rabbit that she couldn’t even show! But we figured it out!”(courtesy of M.S. Guidry) (When a rabbit wins at a show it is awarded a “leg.” After earning three legs, it is eligible to be given the honor of Grand Champion, which is quite desirable.)

 

I hope this has given you a bit of a chuckle, as I got a chuckle while reading! Thank you to all the people who posted on the FB page… and I’d love to hear of any funny questions you’ve gotten in the comments!

To Warm a Bunny…

Silver Marten February 6, 2013 Leave a comment
10 just born Silver Marten babies.

10 just born Silver Marten babies.

We woke up this morning to 10 Silver Marten babies! This is great news – but we’re also a little nervous because this is the mama’s first litter.

Proof she’s new to this whole “baby” thing? She didn’t pull fur and had the babies in the nestbox, but not in the hole. This resulted in 10 chilly baby bunnies.

Without even thinking about it for more than a moment, I pulled my first true rabbit breeder move and loaded all 10 of those suckers close to my skin and then went about the rest of the chores. By the time everyone was fed and watered the babies had warmed and we were able to tuck them back into the nestbox.

Because the mama didn’t pull hair, we lined her hole with dryer lint then pulled hair for her. Pulling it from the tummy helps stimulate milk production, but I’ve found it’s easiest to get clumps of hair out of the rabbit’s flank area. (Left to their own devices the doe will pull hair from any part of her body she can reach, specifically her dewlap and tummy.)

As of tonight we have warm babies and a mama who is looking quite skinny now that all those offspring are out of her tummy. Time to enjoy watching them grow!

Rabbit Legends

Meat Rabbits, Pet Rabbits, Show Rabbits January 18, 2013 1 Comment
Rabbit Legends!

Rabbit Legends!

Raising these rabbits has gotten me thinking about “Rabbit Legends” – as opposed to Urban Legends. Stories of circumstances that seem completely impossible and yet… are true!

There’s a wealth of bunny misinformation around the internet and a simple Google search is as likely to lead you astray in rabbit husbandry as award you a prize! Where do you go to find out the real scoop?!

I’ve found talking to other breeders to be the best way to figure out if what you’re witnessing is normal, possible, or just plain strange! Even among breeders there are some urban legends – “rabbit legends” if you will – things that some say are impossible… and yet others have experienced firsthand.

Just for giggles I thought I’d list a few of the rabbit legends that others have had to see to believe!

Here are some “Rabbit Legends” for the ladies:

1. Concurrent pregnancies. Perhaps the most hotly debated rabbit legend is the ability for rabbits to be pregnant with two separate litters at the same time. Here’s how it happens. Flopsy is bred on Day 1. One Day 14 the breeder palpates the doe and feels nothing, so, not wanting to waste time, rebreeds her. On the original Day 31, the doe drops some babies… and has more on Day 45!

I wouldn’t have believed this was possible except it’s happened to our friend. It’s not a good thing – in fact, she lost all the babies from both litters – but it is possible. Apparently this has to do with having two uterine horns, and one side can fertilize at one point while the other fertilizes at another. Some dangers are the physically taxing effect of dual pregnancies, delivering both litters at once (one set would be to term while the other obviously underdeveloped), or the doe terminating the pregnancy on her own.

2. Absorbing the feti. (I’m not sure the plural of fetus, but it’s from Latin so, in the theme of an educated guess, I’m going with the plural Latin ending “i.”) Here’s the situation: you breed your rabbit. You know for a fact the deed was accomplished. You watch your doe, she gets fatter and fatter, she even palpates pregnant! The appointed time comes and you wait. And wait. And wait. And nothing happens.

You aren’t crazy. That sweet little doe has reabsorbed the tissues of her babies back into her body. There are various reasons for this, most blame stress, sickness, or ill-formed embryos. Some rabbits have been known to do this if they seem to feel the timing isn’t right or they can’t find a safe place to build their nest. Who knows what’s going through a rabbit’s mind – after all, they aren’t genius or they wouldn’t be at the bottom of the food chain – so it may be the result of a special little bit of rabbit crazy. Regardless of the reason, it happens!

3. Multiple delivery dates. Another situation for the rabbit legend record books? Delivering the same litter over several days. It stands to reason if you bred the rabbit on one day the delivery would take place on one day, right?

Wrong. Many, many breeders report their does giving birth over the course of 2-to-4 days! After all, who needs to condense the child-bearing experience?! All a female of any species really wants is to be in labor for hours… no! days!

Depending on the rabbit this may result in the loss of all, some, or none of the babies. But there’s no doubt, the laboring process can take as little as 10 minutes, or it can extend for days.

Let’s talk about “Rabbit Legends” for those bucks:

1. Sympathy pregnancy symptoms. One breeder has a buck who gains weight and builds a nest, right along with his mate! She was so rattled by this behavior she checked him over thoroughly, convinced she had somehow gotten the buck and doe mixed up. But, no. It was the buck who was getting all maternal! That’s a prouder papa than most rabbits!

2. Breeding through the wire.  It’s never a good idea to keep a buck and a doe in cages right next to one another. Not only because your doe can get seriously aggressive, but also because two rabbits can be horny like… rabbits! When friskiness is in order, why let a sheet of wire stand in the way?! A pair of rabbits in the mood to do the deed will do the deed, right through galvanized steel if necessary.

Quite a surprise for the breeder who walks out to their “unbred” doe and sees her pulling hair for a nest!

3. Intentional castration. It’s an ugly facet of breeding rabbits – sometimes a doe isn’t too excited about a buck getting his north and south end confused. The truth is, a buck on a love-making mission is a hot, frenzied mess – and he’ll leap at anything he can manage to mount, without concern of whether his mounting is on the backside or in a doe’s face! One breeder tells the horribly story of a buck who was confused in this way and ejaculated up the doe’s nose! Ewwww!!!!

A doe, when inclined, can participate in a Lorena Bobbit-like manuever without hesitation! This is excellent motivation for not keeping litter-mates together for too long, as well. When it comes to romance there are some pairs that can be left without supervision for extended periods of time. But there are the other does who need constant observation or that poor buck may end up with only one (or no) testicle.

It’s a sad truth, don’t trust the ladies. And if you’re a buck, keep your tendermost parts away from a lady’s whose teeth never stop growing.

A few more, health-related “Rabbit Legends”:

1. Loss of pupil. One breeder took her rabbit to the fair – it was VERY hot in the rabbit barn and suffered a heat stroke. After cooling her rabbit off, she realized her rabbit was missing a pupil! The heat of the experience had caused her to blow her eye! She recovered her health, but was blind in that eye forever.

2. Rabbit c-section. One breeder had a doe that not only survived a c-section delivery, but went on to have four more litters as VBAC. Talk about talent!

 

Do you have any rabbit legends of your own to share? Please tell us in the comments!

 

Nesting & Birth!

Meat Rabbits, Pet Rabbits, Rex, Silver Marten January 12, 2013 Leave a comment

We caught the nesting and birthing on video! Dallas was an amazing mom and we have 8 new little ones!

Each baby has its own birth sack and placenta, which mom eats. Dallas got all but two and that’s what you can see her eating in the video.

The video isn’t professional quality, but it’s more than you usually see. Enjoy!

(Also need to mention these are not her normal quarters! This is a special cage we’re using because we had to bring her inside. It was -6* last night! We will move her back to her big space as soon as we can without losing all of them to the cold weather.)

The Rabbit in my Office

Rex January 10, 2013 Leave a comment
Dallas, the pregnant rabbit in my office.

Dallas, the pregnant rabbit in my office.

There’s a rabbit in my office.

 

A very pregnant rabbit.

 

Dallas is on day 28 today and I swear she’s about to pop! Last night I held her on my lap and gently wrapped my hands around her belly. All across my fingers, in different spots, I felt little nudges as her babies bumped along inside of her and against the pressure of my hands.

 

The temperatures are predicted to drop to zero again for the next week and instead of risking losing the entire litter to freeze we decided to bring her inside for the birthing and however long it makes sense after they’re born.

 

We’ve learned this lesson the hard way – we lost every baby from our other two litters last week to the weather. I’m heartsick about it and will be doing our best to keep that from happening again… thus, we have a rabbit in our office.

 

I have to admit, I’m hoping our close quarters will give me a chance to see her actually giving birth! If it works out, be assured I will be whipping out the video camera in a flash!