Breeding

While today wasn't as sunny out, the temperature made it into the low 60's and the rain seemed to hold off.  So I was able to breed another set of six bunnies. 

I bred Francis, my Velveteen Lop male with my other Velveteen Lop female, Lily. 

Then I put my very experienced Lionhead female Kayla in with my Lionhead male Napoleon.  This was Napoleon's first time breeding. 

I'm not sure with how well he actually did, as I only noticed one definite successful breeding. 

Then for my Mini Lops, I put my female Valentine in with my male, Bruce. 

They did a beautiful job.  They've thrown some really nice kits together in the past.  I'm hoping for a nice Grey or Chocolate female to raise up and allow Valentine to retire as a breeder. 

For my Holland Lops, I put my female Charity in with my male Bubba.  This was Charity's first breeding.  She did a good job and is happily relaxing back with her sisters.  It will be interesting to see the color variations from these two since they're both Blue, although Charity has some really pretty blue eyes. 

For my Flemish Giants I put my female Dadooshka in with my male Jr. 

I'm guessing their litter will be completely Brown and Black, although I could be wrong, but that appears to be the pattern from past litters that I've noticed. 

When I get ready to breed rabbits, I always bring out a piece of paper with the names of the females already bred, just to make 100% sure that they aren't accidentally bred again.  Then I also list the rabbits I do breed with the date.  I add stars to the side of each one so I know which ones I've already gotten pictures of. 

And of course, after each breeding, I make sure to give both my males and females a yogie treat.

Then last but not least, I put my Lionheads Rosie II and Zeus together. 

Zeus is still new at this, as today was his second time breeding.  And this was Rosie's first breeding, so I'm really hoping it was successful.  Zeus seems to have a very slow technique, which isn't necessarily a good thing when it comes to an impatient female. 

However, I'm excited that the bunny season has come back and that pretty soon I'll be having lots of little bunnies hopping around! 

The First Breedings

Today was so beautiful and warm out, that I decided to breed some of my bunnies.  First up, I put my experienced Lionhead female Kizzy in with my unexperienced Lionhead male Zeus. 

To say Zeus was slow in getting to work would be an understatement.  In fact, for a little bit, I was worried he would never find her interesting.  But luckily he bucked up and got the job done.  I guess I'll find out in 32 days if he was successful or not. 

Then I put my new Holland Lop female Myra in with my Holland Lop male Watson. 

It's hard to see from the picture, but Watson is laying behind her.  They're still together, as Myra wasn't allowing Watson the ability to breed her, and with as hard as he was trying, he kept getting worn out.  I'll separate them tomorrow and wait out the 32 days to see if he was able to breed her or not.

Then I put my Holland Lop female Cora in with my Holland Lop male Bubba. 

The two are both experienced and so they got right down to work.  She laid right down and lifted her tail.  I'm excited to see their babies as Bubba's so small. 

I put my Mini Lop female Eva in with my Mini Lop male Bruce. 

Bruce is very experienced, and this was Eva's first breeding.  I'm looking forward to seeing what colors I will get from these two. 

Then I put my Flemish Giant female LE in with my Flemish Giant male Rhett Jr. 

LE's starting to get pretty old for a breeder, so I'm seriously thinking of retiring her after this litter.  She's the biggest female I have, so I'm hoping she has a few females that I can keep and raise up. 

Then lastly, I put my Velveteen Lop female Lilac in with my Velveteen Lop male Francis. 

I'm hoping next week will be just as nice, and if so, I'll begin my regular breeding cycle again this year.  Except I'm hoping to breed on Tuesdays instead of Mondays like last year. 

All My Males

Yesterday was a gorgeous day with lots of sun to get some new pictures of my male rabbits. 

I started off with Phantom, my Double maned Lionhead.  In the picture below, you can clearly see his marbled eye, with 3/4 being brown and 1/4 being blue.

Then his right eye is completely blue. 

And of course, the bold blaze of white streaking down the side of his face.  The entire reason for naming him Phantom, as he looks so similar to the Phantom on Phantom of the Opera. 

And my newer addition, Zeus.  He's my Harlequin colored Double mane Lionhead male. 

It's hard to see his orange with how thick and long his fur is.  I'm really excited to see the different colors he produces this spring!

And Phantom's son as well as newest, male Lionhead addition - Napoleon! 

Now, he is really tiny...just like my old Lionhead male Piccolo was.  However, unlike Piccolo, Napoleon is rather feisty. 

But I've learned over the years that the feisty males usually get the breeding done quickest and have very healthy offspring.  So I'm excited to see how my broken Tort, blue eyed wonder will do this spring. 

Now to my one and only Velveteen Lop male, Francis!

Francis is beyond sweet and very laid back.  When I got him, he was six months old and was completely litter trained.  The couple kept him indoors and would let him run around the house while they watched TV.

I wasn't able to use him much last year, but I'm definitely looking forward to breeding him with my Velveteen Lop females, Lily and Lilac.

Apparently his cream color with the white underbelly is fairly unique in Velveteens. 

So any colors that he produces will be exciting to see!

And of course my puppy, Dixie, out helping keep an eye on all the bunnies :)

My sweet Flemish Giant male, Rhett Jr. 

It's hard to see from these pictures, but Jr is HUGE!

I'm really glad I kept him to keep Rhett Sr's line going. They have both been wonderful rabbits.  And all their offspring seem to have their awesome, laid-back personalities. 

And my new Flemish Giant male, Mad Hatter.  He still has a lot of growing ahead of him, but I'm excited to see how he does with breeding this spring.  

I really love his big head!

He's not as laid-back as Rhett Jr, but he's still young.  I've noticed some bunnies tend to calm down when they're done growing. 

Here's my Mini Lop male, Bruce. 

He, along with his brother, Benjamin was the very first male Lop I ever owned. 

While I did sell Benjamin, I kept Bruce as I just love his big, broad face.  He's produced some awesome offspring!

Here's my Holland Lop male, Gorman. 

He's a BEW, and with how sunny out it was, the camera had a hard time focusing on him. 

He was also in a bad mood, throwing his ears back and not sitting still in the least for a good picture.  But usually he's a very good boy and has even participated in petting zoos for children.

My Holland Lop male, Watson.  If there's one thing to describe about Watson, it's how tiny he is. 

He's fairly well behaved, although I didn't use him with breedings as much as I wanted to last year. 

Because of this, he's not related to any of my current females and can be bred with all of them.

Dixie, still just hanging out :)

My other Holland Lop male, Bubba.  He also participated in a petting zoo. 

Before I got Bubba, the girl who owned him used him for stud services.  So he's very experienced and in my opinion, has produced some very nice offspring as well. 

He has a really nice personality too!

One day I left his door open to feed him and he hopped right out.  Just went exploring for a little while, then behaved very when I came to get him. 

This is my newest Mini Lop male, his name is Mr. Charlie Molly.  

The people we got him from thought he was a girl and named him Molly. 

After checking him to find he was a boy, we called him Mr. Molly, until I settled on Charlie.  And so he now has the longest name of all my bunnies with the title of Mr. Charlie Molly. 

Then last but not least, my English Lop male, Nemo!

Nemo was born October 22, 2016.  So he's still rather young. 

But I'm looking forward to when he can breed with my wonderful English Lop female Jingles, and my older female, Creamcicle.  

His personality is beyond sweet and he spends hours every day running around our first floor.  Best of all, he's litter trained!  He's a big cuddle bug and I really hope his amazing personality passes through to his offspring.