Snowball

The colored bunnies get a lot of attention on the blog. It's not that I'm more fond of them, because while they are fantastic personalities, the REW bunnies are just as interesting. It's only that it's really difficult to take a picture of a snowy white bunny with red eyes. Here's what happens when the sun is shining -

Can you see what side is up? Turns out the light in January here on the Oregon Coast is perfect for photographing the white bunnies. Here's Snowball before shearing the other day -

 

 

Snowball is a really sweet bunny, always eager for a treat, climbing the side of her cage to encourage me to feed her first. She's a joy to shear, too, sitting quietly and letting me get on with it. She's not too keen on being set on the table for pictures, though. I guess we need to practice more.

Here she is after her harecut -

 

A good day's work!

Shop (and bunny) Update!

The weather here on the Oregon Coast has been quite cold for the last few days - daytime highs only about 20* the last couple of days and nights much colder - but the buns are happy enough outside. They are protected from the wind and are hopping about as usual. While they are fond of cooler temps, I am not! Their water freezes overnight which is a PITA, but easy enough to deal with in the big picture.

I put boxes in their cages the other night as the forecast was for high winds. I thought they might like to huddle inside them (like they did last year with much appreciation) but they were having none of it, especially Whitey, who pitched a fit and then flung herself right out of her cage! Luckily she ran away from the dog who was tethered nearby (she watches every move I make and would have snatched up that rabbit for me, I'm sure) and I caught her without injury. She is still mad, however, and I had to flatten her box and offer her special treats so that she would look at me. That bunny holds a grudge!

Finally got some angora fluff up for sale in The Shop!

Is this a cute idea, or no? A take-out style box filled with fluff and a tiny drop spindle. A tag completes the package, making a perfect gift for a spinner.

This particular fluff is from Macy Grey, my pretty, polite, calm and sober bunny. Never one for hysterics or holding a grudge (Whitey, I'm looking at you!) she's a joy to handle and shear, giving the most fluff by weight of any of the buns. That might be because she's so well behaved that I can always cut her closer and more consistently than the others.

I also listed a bit of alpaca fluff -

This box holds an ounce of fiber from Lucky, one of the lovely alpacas at Humming Angels in Lebanon -

The color is an awesome cinnamon and I have more available if you're interested. I've come to the conclusion that I'll never get all of the fine fibers I've been stashing spun up before I'm too old to see such fine yarn, so some of it has to go!

More to come in the next few days along with some handspun yarn - it's drying as I type and should be ready to measure tomorrow.

Finally, some progress with The Shop!

It's Shearing Time Again

Mrs. Weasley Before:



Look at those ear tufts! I've spent a lot of time grooming them so they would grow out with no matts. Her coat came in almost all creme this time, but the red guard hairs are growing out for her next shearing.



My records show that I sheared her 12 weeks ago, almost to the day. I should have paid more attention to when her coat started to shed and sheared her right then because I think I lost a good portion of Prime fiber and there's a short undercoat growing in again. Maybe her haircuts need to be 10 or 11 weeks apart. It's hard to judge when you're a newbie ;-)



All in all it went well but took way too long. The wind was blowing (the forecast is for some nasty weather starting Monday night) and she was not pleased at being exposed and I was totally chilled by the time it was done. Notes for next time.

After pictures tomorrow if the weather holds. She's looking kinda spotty with the red hairs growing in randomly.

Diet Changes...

The Real Food diet is going well. Too well, it seems. There have been some instances of Poopy Butt. A little research points to diet as the main culprit. Specifically that fat rabbits get poopy butts. Huh. So everyone is on a reduced diet (nothing too drastic to start with, never fear) with unlimited hay until we get the situation resolved. I've been spending too much time huddled over an upside down rabbit with a tiny pair of scissors lately...TMI? I could post a tutorial if anyone wants the nitty gritty details and if you aren't squeamish. Just leave a comment...

Prime Angora Fiber for Sale on Etsy

I've finally gotten organized and listed some fluff in my Etsy shop.

Here's Mrs. Weasley's offering -



And Studley's -



More will be coming soon, and I have a bunch sitting around in bags, so if you're interested in getting your hands into some of this luxury fiber, drop me a note at catmccall at gmail dot com and tell me what you want ;-)

Red gets her coat taken away

That's what Red (Mrs. Weasley) looked like before. She was shedding out bits of hair and the ends were getting really dirty, so I decided to take it off. The length was well over 3" for the prime coat and even her belly was nearly 3" long, thick and fine. My notes show that I sheared her last 11 weeks ago, so I guess we're on schedule, but it feels like this shearing is early.

Here we are during the process:



Aren't I a fashion statement? Shearing took place in the back yard on top of the (empty) dog kennel, so no neighbors saw me in all my color clashing glory. My family, of course, is used to this sort of thing. Why bother to match when you know you're not going anywhere and your clothes will have rabbit hair and poop on them when you're done? Functionality over fashion, I say! It's not like the rabbit cares...

No After pictures because my back was killing me - I just moved on to the next chore.

So, I think this is a good time to talk about how the Real Food diet is going. We settled on the following mix:

6 parts whole oats
4 parts commercial pellets (18% protein)
1 part black oil sunflower seeds
1 part rolled barley
1 part wheat berries
and free-choice orchard grass hay at all times. We tried some cheaper hay, but the bunnies were having none of it so we put it to other uses.

All measures are by volume, not weight. I haven't done a cost analysis yet but will report back when I do. The initial buy of barley, wheat and sunflower seeds seemed high, but they will last a lot longer than the oats and pellets. Seven rabbits were eating one bag of pellets (50 pounds) every 10 days, at a cost of $16.00 per bag, and each rabbit was cleaning up at least a cup of pellets a day. With the new mix, they eat a bit less than a cup each.

All of the rabbits are happy with the new diet and are in good weight. A bit heavy, perhaps, but I'm not breeding them, so they don't need to be lean and mean. Except for Studley - he would prefer only sunflower seeds in his dish, thankyouverymuch, and digs through the dish, tossing out the pellets until all of the sunflower seeds are gone and then he eats the rest. Bad bunny!

I also give them greens from the yard and/or garden on a nearly daily basis which they all love. Chard is a current favorite, as are blackberry leaves.

As far as wool production is concerned, I think it's up. I still need to weigh how much fiber Red produced, but I'm betting it's better than the last shearing. I do know it's longer and seems thicker, at least on her belly. All of the rabbits are ready to be shorn 2-3 weeks early, with only Macy and Studley still a bit short, but they are last on the shearing list. The white rabbits are blowing bits of their coats and have needed a bit more grooming than before the last shearing. I'll get to them this week, Macy and Studley next week.

All of the buns are eager and happy at feeding time and seem to have better attitudes than when they were getting only pellets. Weather may have something to do with it - we haven't had a Summer here, so temps are in the low 60's, pretty ideal for angora rabbits. It's been dry for the last few weeks with some pretty high winds, but they are protected in any case. All in all, I'd say they have a good life right now. If they were still in the Valley they would be broiling in their heavy coats and I would be putting frozen water bottles in their cages twice a day.

A Word of Caution

If your Dory-Man mows the lawn and the area where the blackberries grow, be sure to rake before putting angora rabbits in near-full coat out in their pens for a bit of sun. Yeah. Their bellies will pick up every stray burr and thorn and loose sticky leaf and you will spend a very long time trying to get the mess put to rights. The rabbits will not be pleased by your inexperience and will make the whole process miserable.