Silent Springs Rabbitry Blog

Summer Cleaning

2010-07-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

I had planned on getting up early yesterday to clean the rabbitry, since it was in desperate need of some cleaning. With summer comes molts, which leads to tons of hair stuck to the cages. That added with hard water buildup is no bueno. Unfortunately, I slept in too late so I didn't get a chance to get out there when the weather was still bearable.

So, I decided I would do the cleaning at night. I actually prefer that so that I don't have to get burned by the sun, haha. Anyway, I started at 8 and between cleaning cages, trays, washing all my crocks and water bottles, brushing bunnies, and other various things I didn't finish until after midnight! It was really dark so I really didn't get to fully appreciate my hard work until this morning, and I was really pleased with how good everything looked! Hopefully I won't have to clean cages again until the fall. :)

As I was cleaning I finally got the time to go over some of my juniors and let me tell you, I'm really excited with what I'm seeing in my current batch of babies! They have the compactness that I've been breeding for and have been getting that nice solid HQ I've always wanted. I can't wait to see them go out in the fall!

I still have two junior bucks still available. They are both nice and should make nice 4H/Show animals. You can check them out on the For Sale page of my website.

I will finally be taking some nice pictures for my website in the next few days....I know, about time! Once I take them and get them upload to the computer I'll be sure to post them on the website and the blog. :)

- Michael

Update on the Rabbitry

2010-07-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

The rabbits are doing well with the summer heat and my herd reduction is moving along nicely. All of my Jersey Woolies are spoken for and will be leaving next Friday, so that will clear out five cages which is amazing! I will be keeping three Woolies - 1 Buck, 1 Doe, and 1 Jr (sex unknown right now). They are all dilutes so I guess I'm working with just dilutes now! Oh well, they're really pretty colors (Blues, Blue Otters, and Brokens, my favorite!).

I still have two nice junior Mini Lops available, and that's all I'll have available for a while. They are nice bucks, go check them out on my For Sale page. I will be keeping 5 Mini Lops - a Sr Buck, two Sr Does, a Jr Buck, and a Jr Doe. I really love ALL of them, I'm really excited to see the juniors before! I got a lot of Chinchillas with my Spring litters, so I'm excited to have that color back in my barn again since Chinchillas are a favorite of mine.

I won't be attending many shows, if at all, for the rest of the year. I start college next month and I'm sure I'll be kept quite busy but I hope to apply for my judge's license next month as well. EEEK!

Well, that's all for now! I'll try to post a few new blogs before I leave for school.

- Michael

Jersey Wooly Babies

2010-05-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

Blue Otter Doe #1
Blue Otter Doe #2
Blue Otter Doe #3
Broken Black Otter Buck
Group Shot!

Here are pictures of the older of my two Jersey Wooly litters. Like the Mini Lops, they are a little over four weeks right now. If you are interested in one of these babies, please don't hesitate to email me at ssrrabbits@sbcglobal.net

Thanks!
- Michael

Mini Lops babies

2010-05-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

Broken Chestnut Doe
Chestnut Buck
Broken Chestnut Doe
Broken Chinchilla Doe
Chinchilla Buck
Broken Chestnut Doe

I *think* I have the sexes right, but I could be wrong! haha. They are just over 4 weeks old right now. All of these babies are looking really promising, I can't wait to watch them develop! :) If you might be interested in one of these babies, please send me an email at ssrrabbits@sbcglobal.net

Thanks!
Michael

Spring is in Full Swing

2010-04-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, Spring is definitely here and I think my does are aware of this!

On 4/13/10, Velotta's Bella kindled 8 healthy babies, sired by GC Silent Spring's Triton. I bred Triton to Bella right before I sold him, so these babies are really special to me since they're my only Triton babies! There are 6 Brokens and 2 Solids - all agoutis. They are all fat and sassy except for one of the runty Brokens.

Then, on 4/14/10, White Oak's Wanda kindled to 4 bouncing babies, sired by Bluestar's Edmund! I was really pleased that Wanda did everything right, since her last litter froze. :( It looks like there's 1 Broken (Unshowable) and 3 Solids. All appear to be otters - the broken looks black, while the solids look blue. Exciting, I love Blue Otters!

I fostered the runt of Bella's litter over to Wanda, since she seems to be a heavy milker. I'll try and get some pictures in a few days!

BTW, I have several animals available, check out the "For Sale" page on my website!

- Michael

Jersey Wooly babies

2010-04-04T13:32:00.001-07:00

Blue Buck - Silent Spring's HeartBreaker (KEEP)

Broken Blue Doe - Silent Spring's Jigglypuff.

These babies are out of Bluestar's Edmund and MLW's Cammie. They are so cute and I can't wait to watch them develop! The broken will be available in a few weeks... email me if you're interested in her. :)

- Michael

Current Litters and Breedings.

2010-04-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

Jessa's February litter is doing great! I weaned them last week and they're be ready to leave for their new homes soon. Even though I didn't want to, I am holding back a little broken chestnut buck from the litter to grow out! He is very promising and I'm so excited to see him develop! Most of the litter is sold, though I still have two bucks available. Email me for details. I think both of them would be great for 4H'ers since they're used to being handled.

Cammie's babies from her March litter are possibly the cutest Woolies we've ever had born here! :) There is a cute Blue Buck and an adorable Broken Blue Doe. Sadly the broken blue doesn't have a nose marking but I'm thinking of keeping her anyway! LOL. I'll get pictures up on the blog asap.

Bella and Wanda have palpated positive, though I'll need to double check in a few days. I'm so excited, since Wanda's last litter froze and Bella has just been missing every time I bred her! Crossing my fingers for some live, healthy litters from these does!

I also rebred Cammie since she was wanting to be bred and she still has great condition on this currently litter. I am hoping for some showable brokens this time!

I'll be getting updated pictures of the babies as soon as possible. (:

- Michael

Recent Show Wins!

2010-04-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

Since I'm on Spring Break and actually have some free time, I thought I'd post about the last few show's I've attended! I don't know when my next show is, since my schedule is pretty packed right now with swim meets and college events. Hopefully I'd get to at least one soon though!

Double Open Show in Tulare, CA - Great Western Livestock Show 3/13/10

Show A:
Silent Spring's Triton - 1st, BOV! 2nd Leg!
Velotta's Blake - 1st, BOSV, BOSB! 9th Leg!
Velotta's Bella - 1st, BOV, BOB! 8th Leg!

Show B:
Silent Spring's Triton - 1st, BOV, BOSB! 3rd Leg, now a Grand Champion!
Velotta's Blake - 1st, BOSV
Velotta's Bella - 1st, BOV, BOB! 9th Leg!

Carlos was also 1st out of three solid junior bucks both shows. :)

Double Youth Rabbit Show in SLO, CA. Cerro Alto 4H Rabbit Club, 3/27/10.

Show A:
Silent Spring's Carlos - 1/4 SJB! So close to a leg!
Silent Spring's Minerva - 1st, BOV, BOB! 1st Leg!!!
Bluestar's Edmund - 1st, BOG, BOB! 2nd Leg!

Show B:
Silent Spring's Carlos - 1/4 SJB!
Velotta's Blake - 2/7 to the BOB winner. :)
Velotta's Bella - 1st, BOSV, BOSB! 10th Leg!
Bluestar's Edmund - 1st, BOG, BOB! Possibly his 3rd Leg.

There were 45 Mini Lops there so I was especially excited with those wins!

I didn't get to make it to the SLO show myself since I had a scholarship interview but the Votaws were awesome and offered to take my bunnies for me! Thanks guys! :D

- Michael

Jessa's Babies!

2010-03-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Broken Chestnut Buck.
Broken Steel Buck.
Another Broken Chestnut buck.
Broken S. Tipped Steel Buck.
Yet another Broken Chestnut Buck. lol!

There are several other babies, but blogspot is limiting the amount of photos I can put in this post. :( More later!

- Michael
www.silentspringsrabbitry.com

Pictures Galore!

2010-02-20T13:31:00.001-08:00

Bluestar's Edmund, a smoke pearl buck that's is maturing nicely!

A very pregnant MLW's Cammie, due next week!

She has the cutest face!

WO's Wanda Attempting to run away from me after being fed up with her photo session!

Enjoy!
- Michael
www.silentspringsrabbitry.com

First litter of the new year!

2010-02-15T18:31:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up to 9 Mini Lops babies by my reliable doe, Silent Spring's Jessa! She's a really pretty steel doe with 2 legs that's been throwing some absolutely gorgeous babies for me. Her sister, Jana, placed 8th of of over 40 SSD's at this year's ARBA Convention in youth and has went to live with my friend Qadoshyah of Hoppin' Herd of Hares.

The sire is a broken chestnut buck that I brought in this summer, Velotta's Blake, a Grand Champion with 8 legs and a proven producer. In fact, my friend Tricia had shown one of Blake's sons at Convention and he ended up placed in the top ten (I think 5th!) out of over 40 BJB's in open!

There are 5 brokens and 4 solids. Most of them are steels and chesnuts but two of them are a bit of a mystery! I know Blake carries dilute but I had no idea Jessa carried any fun recessives. I'll have to give these babies a few days to grow some fur before I try to guess at their color!

- Michael
www.silentspringsrabbitry.com

KCRBA Show Results

2010-02-14T08:14:00.001-08:00

These results are a little late since I haven't had too much time lately. . .

I showed in Open both shows. For Mini Lops, we got Chris Zemny for the first show and Ray Stacy for the second show. As for Jersey Woolies, Scott Williamson was the judge for Show A white Ray Stacy was the judge for B.

Show A:

Mini Lops:
Silent Spring's Triton - BOSV
Velotta's Bella - 1/3, BOV, BOB! * 6th Leg
Silent Spring's Minerva - 1/1
Jersey Woolies:
Silent Spring's Diamond - BOG
Bluestar's Edmund - BOG, BOSB
White Oak's Wanda - 2/2
MLW's Cammie - BOG, BOB! * 1st Leg!

Show B:

Mini Lops:
Silent Spring's Triton - BOSV
Velotta's Blake - BOV, BOB! * 8th Leg!
Velotta's Bella - BOSV, BOSB! * 7th Leg!
Silent Spring's Minerva - 1/1
Jersey Woolies:
Silent Spring's Diamond - BOG
Bluestar's Edmund - 1/1
White Oak's Wanda - BOG, BOB! *3rd Leg!
MLW's Cammie - 2/2

Overall, I was very pleased with our results! (: Bella also got an Honorable Mention for Best in Show, which was really exciting.

I also sent Edmund and Wanda to Stockton on 2/6 thanks to my friends, the Votaw family!

Show A:
Bluestar's Edmund - 1/1
White Oak's Wanda -1/2

Show B:
Bluestar's Edmund - 1/1, BOSG! *1st Leg!
White Oak's Wanda - 1/2

That's all for now! We have several does due soon and I'll try to keep this blog updated as the babies start coming!

- Michael
www.silentspringsrabbitry.com

Jessa's Current Litter

2010-01-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted pictures in the blog for a long time, so I thought I would share pictures of Jessa's recent litter. They were born December 18, 2009, so they're almost four weeks old! The broken steel is a doe, while the steel is a buck. :)

I'm definitely thinking about keeping the buck, he is adorable! I'll know for sure in a few weeks.

- Michael

Bakersfield Rabbit Show Entries

2010-01-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

My first show of the year! Entries are due soon, so I thought I should get a rough list together. The thing I love about winter is that most of the bunnies have great coats, so I just have to make sure they have the flesh condition! Here's my potential show list.

Mini Lops:
Velotta's Blake
Silent Spring's Minerva
Silent Spring's Triton
Silent Spring's Jessa

Jersey Woolies:
Silent Spring's Diamond
Bluestar's Edmund
White Oak's Wanda
MLW's Cammie

This is the most I've shown in a LONG time. I'm really excited to see how they all do! I might switch out Velotta's Bella for Jessa, but it would be really nice if Jessa got her granding leg at this show. She's looking great, I'm going to wean off her litter in a few days.

Oh! Today I bred Jessa (to Blake again, since they throw spectacular babies!) and Bella (to Triton). Crossing fingers for babies!

- Michael

First Post of the Year!

2010-01-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

I just got done feeding the rabbits a few minutes ago. I love the winter, they always get the most dense coats this time of year.

My juniors are looking really good. I'm happy with the purchases I made a few months ago, I definitely made smart choices. Minerva is probably one of the best Mini Lops I've ever bred, and all three of my Wooly juniors are developing nicely. I can't wait to show them! My favorite is probably Edmund, because he's such a ham.

I want some Wooly babies, but none of my does are old enough to breed yet! I think I'll try to find a doe at Bakersfield. :)

- Michael

Resolutions

2009-12-31T18:56:00.000-08:00

2009 has come and gone. I thought overall it was one of my better years, I definitely learned a lot and had some amazing, once in a lifetime experiences. Now, the time has come to plan for the future and set goals which I hope to attain.

I think this next year will be a year of new beginnings for me. Some things will leave (or, I shall leave some things) and others will enter to replace them. I am trying to think of it as a the ending of one era and the formation of a new one.

Rabbit wise, I am being extremely indecisive. I know that I will most likely not be remaining here for college, but I still haven't decided which college I would like to attend (or rather, which schools will accept me). CSU Fresno & CSU Long Beach are two that I would like to attend. Based on the college, rabbit raising will probably be no longer be a possibility. I need to be realistic and acknowledge this.

Regardless of that, I am still planning on pursuing my ARBA Judge's license. I think judging would be fun and definitely worth all the studying it would involve! Plus, it would keep me involved in the rabbit world while I concentrate on schooling.

Jessa's babies are doing well. They opened their eyes a few days ago and are just the cutest things. Very adorable and well fed! :D

I need to breed a few days, since neither Bella or Pudge took. :( Grrr.

Happy New Year!
- Michael

Finals

2009-12-12T15:50:00.000-08:00

Well, once again I have succeeded in neglecting this blog. I'm sure any readers are so disappointed in my lack of routine in posting that they quit reading long ago.

Anyway, I would just like to give some small updates on me before I forget what I've been doing the past two months.

School. school. School. SCHOOL. I'm constantly fretting over it, like some twisted, obsessed stalker. I really wish I could get it out of my head, but I can't. Finals are this week, so after that I should have two weeks of sanity, at least. The only class that is bugging me is Calculus, since it's ridiculously hard to comprehend when I have a less than stellar teacher.

The bunnies are good! I did well at my last show in Lancaster, picking up Triton's first leg for BOSV and "Wanda" ( hate that name, I need to change it) got two legs for BOG. Not bad! My next show is sometime next year. Wow, that sounds odd thinking it's already going to be 2010. No babies, but to be truthful I haven't really been trying to get anyone bred. haha.

Well, hopefully the next time I post something it will be slightly more coherent and I won't be forming an stress ulcer.

- Michael

'09 ARBA Convention

2009-11-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

Well, we have been back from Convention for over a week now and things are starting to settle back down. We had so much fun at Convention, meeting great people and all the exciting things to do in San Diego!

I was very pleased with how my rabbits placed. Here are some of my top placements.

Silent Spring's Triton won 8th out of 24 Solid Jr Bucks!
Silent Spring's Jana won 8th out of 39 Solid Sr Does!!
Silent Spring's Pearl won 3rd Self Jr Doe!
Silent Spring's Diamond won 4th Self Jr Doe!

My Senior Breed Judging Team took 2nd, which I was thrilled out! The competition was very tough so I am ecstatic about that placing! (:

I also got my foundation for my Jersey Wooly herd, you can see them on my website. Additionally, I still have some bunnies available, which you can see on your for sale page.

Congrats to everyone on their Convention placings!

- Michael

Convention Entries

2009-10-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, everything is all entered. Here's my list. I entered 5 Mini Lops and 3 Jersey Woolies. :)

Mini Lops:
Kitsemble's Gus - SSB *Sold
Silent Spring's Triton - SJB
Silent Spring's Jana - SSD *Sold
Silent Spring's Faith - SSD *For Sale
Kitsemble's Sidney - BSD *Sold

Jersey Woolies:
Wooligans Atticus - Shaded Sr Buck
Silent Spring's Pearl - Self Jr Doe
Silent Spring's Diamond - Self Jr Doe

Atticus is coming from my good friend, Lisa of Wooligans Rabbitry. I can't wait to get him! Thanks Lisa. :)

In other news, Jessa kindled a few days ago to one healthy broken baby. :) Can't tell yet if it's a steel or a chestnut, thought at the moment I'm leading towards steel...

Hanford Results

2009-10-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

Show A:

Silent Spring's Pearl - 1/2, BOG, BOB - 1st leg on a homebred wooly!
Silent Spring's Diamond - 2/2
Silent Spring's Triton - 1/1, BOSV, BOSB
Velotta's Bella - 1/1, BOV *4th leg!

Show B:

Silent Springs Pearl - 2/2
Silent Spring's Diamond - 1/2, loosing to the BOB winning doe.
Silent Springs Triton - 1/1, BOSV
Velotta's Bella - 1/1, BOV, BOB *5th Leg

I was really happy with how my Woolies did, and even more excited that Pearl won her first leg! She really is a pretty doe, I'm excited for her. Bella also did really well, I will be breeding her in a few days to Gus before he leaves for Convention. Everyone liked Triton too, but he has a major molt line and really isn't able to compete right now. Hopefully he'll be done by Convention.

In other news, Jessa is nesting and is due on the 5th. I'm hoping she kindles successfully....I want babies!

Sweeps Results Out!

2009-10-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

I just got my Mini Lop Advocate with all of the Sweepstakes information in there. Considering I went to very few shows, and when I did go I hardly showed anything, I am pretty please with how I did! I was 33rd overall in the Nation! That is a significant jump from last year and my 50th overall spot. Wooohoo! I also had a few animals on the Top Lop list. I know Sidney was, and I might have had another animal or two on there as well.

Gearing up for Convention!

2009-09-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

Convention is definitely upon us with entries closing in the next few weeks! Right now, my entries are up in the air...hoping to have 5-6 really nice ones to show.

My next show is Hanford on the 3rd. I am planning on showing two Jersey Woolies and maybe two or three Mini Lops. The fair is also approaching with exceding speed, I think check in is next Friday. I only entered two Mini Lops and an educational poster.

School has been hectic, but not overwhelming. I was elected President of the Interact Club, Captain of my Academic Decathlon team, and Treasurer of the Key Club. That's all I really wanted, so I'm pleased. :) College applications come right after Convention, so I will be busy for the next few months.

Hope all of my readers are well! I've missed these lack of shows (and bunny babies)

- Michael

Refocusing

2009-08-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

After contemplating for many months, I have decided that I no longer derive the same joy for the Mini Lops that I once had. For the past few months now, a new flame has captivated my mind, and that is with the Jersey Wooly rabbit. Their smaller size is more complimentary to my cages, and the wool is a new experience that I am constantly amazed by. Of course, I will retain a small number of my Mini Lops, but will just cut down to 5-6. Watch out for the sales list, which I will be posting within the next two weeks.

With all this extra room, I will be venturing further into Jersey Woolies. I already have BEWs but would like a new group to add as well, one that is less time consuming that the BEWs. That being said, after lots of thought, I have decided on pursuing Broken & Self/Shaded groups. I know, you're thinking "That's 3 groups!", but all the colors are harmonious together and they will not hinder one another. I have already selected a buck and am in the process of acquiring two does. I will post pictures soon. Speaking of pictures, I also need to get pictures of lots of new bunnies. Hopefully tomorrow.

My first week of school sped by rapidly but not unpleasantly. I will be busy this year, more so than ever before. I am anxious to immerse myself one last time in high school activities, I will try to savor the experiences, since I will no longer be able to repeat them.

- Michael

San Bernadino Show

2009-08-23T11:04:00.001-07:00

The show was TONS of fun! Very relaxed and enjoyable. I went with the Votaws (thanks for the ride! :)) and went with 7 bunnies and came home with 5 so that was nice. My rabbits did okay, my sjb, Triton, was really liked by ARBA judge Linda Bell and Casey, my BEW Wooly senior buck, won BOB in one of the shows for his second leg. In the other shows he was 2nd to the BOB/BOSB winner. :) I also got to see lots of people that I rarely get to see (like the wonderful Teri Reymann and Berlena Reynolds!) and since I didn't have any bunnies to sell I got to do a lot more socializing/clerking than normal. :)

Today Jayden, a BEW Wooly junior buck, left for his new home! I hope Laura and family enjoys him. Now that means I've got rid of all of my for sale animals, I won't have anything available until Convention. :( While there, I am planning on a HUGE Mini Lop herd reduction, so watch out for a sales list.

- Michael

You can always tell....

2009-08-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

When school is about to start you can always tell with me. School takes up SO much of my time with all of my extra curricular activities and social outings it's hard not to put some things on the back burner. Unfortunately, this normally means my blogging negligence. It's hard enough just taking the time to care for the animals, not to mention coordinating sales, so I don't ever really feel like posting!

So be warned, this blog will probably be silent soon unless my classes are easier than I am anticipating (which I highly doubt). School starts on the 24th, so one of the last updated will probably be after the San Bernadino show, which is on the 22nd. I can't believe I'm a senior!

Speaking of the San Bernadino show...I think all of my seniors are hating me since they decided to start molting a few days ago! Some of them don't look too bad yet, I'm just not going to touch them too much until the show, LOL. I'm showing 5, a few jrs and several seniors.

- Michael

New Bunnies

2009-08-06T17:25:00.000-07:00

I picked up my new rabbits from Rebecca last night! Thanks so much for transporting, Rebecca, you did a wonderful job!

I got two new rabbits, one is a new herd buck and the other is a doe that I'll be showing for a while before breeding. :D Both are GC's, the buck has 7 legs and the doe has 3 legs. Thanks Tricia and Nicole for giving me such amazing animals! No pictures yet as they are still settling in, but soon! I also need to get pictures of the Wooly babies, which are growing like weeds! I've got my eye on a few of them, they are all very promising!

- Michael

The last are leaving...

2009-08-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

The last of the sold bunnies are finally leaving, yay! Casey, Jinger, and James will be leaving this Saturday. James will be heading over to MGM and Casey and Jinger will be staying there for a few days until they can go up to Jessica in Norcal. Steve is also leaving on tomorrow to go to Kansas with Liz.

The wooly babies are growing like weeds, I really like three of the four! I think I will be keeping those three until Convention, but I'm not entirely sure yet. . .

- Michael

Tatooing Systems

2009-07-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

Since yesterday I went over different styles of tattooers, I thought it would be nice if I shared my tattooing system with everyone! I find this the be the most simple way of me being able to identify who the parents of certain animals are as well as a general idea of their age without having to dig out pedigrees. Another reason I like my system is that it is very hard to look at the ear numbers and tell right away that the animal was bred by me. I think judges are very observant and will usually catch on to tattooing systems of exhibitors so I try to make things as neutral as possible.

For my tattooing system, I start with the first letter of the sire's name followed by the first letter of the dam's name finished with a number. I usually start with one and go up to however many were in the litter. For example, I had a litter of seven out of Sundance and Sidney. Arista, a doe out of the litter, has the ear number of SS6. 'S' for Sundance, 'S' for Sidney, and she was the 6th one I tattooed. I used to number them in order of quality, but then I realized all the one's I kept had '1's in their ear numbers.

Everyone's systems are different, so I am definitely not trying to say stop what your doing and listen to me! I've seen some other systems that I really like and would do but they don't really work for my needs.

Have fun with tattooing for Convention hopefuls! :D

- Michael

Tatooing. . . a necessary evil.

2009-07-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

In order to show any rabbit at an ARBA Show, they must be legibly tattooed in their left ear. Without it your rabbit will be disqualified. Their right ear's are not to be tattooed unless it is going to be registered. But, how do they get the tattoos? Surely they don't appear out of thin air? I don't think so, even though I'm sure they disappear often enough as the ink fades. Here are several common methods that people use to tattoo rabbits.
- an electric tattooer
- a clamp tattooer
- a needle
Of course, you will also need ink. India ink is highly desirable because it is less likely to fade than the ink that sometimes comes with your tattooer.

The needle is the most crude form of tattooing on this list and I don't like it all that much. It is highly time consuming and meticulous work. You have to poke individual holes into the ear until you form a symbol and continue this until you have finished the tattoo (which is generally several symbols long).

The clamp is a step up from the needle and is popular with many breeders. They are typically metal and you slide the symbols that you want into a slot. You then position the clamp in the rabbit's ear and press down - hard. Afterwards you lather ink into the holes that you made with the clamp. Several things could go wrong, such as you hitting a vein, which would involve a large mess for you to clean up. I have also heard of stories of the rabbits breaking their backs from this. It is thus recommended that you do not try to restrain them too much while using the clamp.

My personal method of choice is an electric tattooer. There are numerous different brands available since every breeder needs one. I personally chose the Rabbitat for it's affordability and quality. For those with legible handwriting you will probably find this option the best for you. You simply dip the tattooer into ink and then 'write' the numbers in the ear. I like to place them in lap and cover them a towel with their ear sticking out. If they get freaked out them I just stop for a minute and then begin again. I just did seven juniors yesterday and it only took me a few minutes!

The photo above is of a litter I had a few years ago when I still focused on breeding chocolates. Does anyone see any familiar faces in there? (:

- Michael

All Sold

2009-07-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

All of my for sale bunnies have been sold! Thanks everyone!

And to continue to the good news, the little BEW baby appears to have made a recovery! Yay, go Pearl! (: I need to get updated pictures soon.

- Michael

Weanling Problems

2009-07-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

These Wooly babies can be really hard to raise at times! As babies they seem to be much more fragile as a whole than my Mini Lop babies ever are. Maybe this is because they are a dwarf breed, but that's just a guess. I had to let the runt have extra feedings for the first few weeks of it's life and now one of the BEW's (my favorite!) has diarrhea . :( This is normally due to babies going from an all-milk diet to beginning to eat solids. While my Mini Lop babies hardly get this problem the wooly babies seem especially prone to it. This can disrupt their systems and cause them to get sick. This girl got sick on Tuesday and I've been feeding her yogurt to give the good bacteria in her stomach a chance to bounce back. Besides that I'm also giving her oats and hay, but she's not that interested in those. She actually did get better but for some reason she relapsed yesterday.

Normally I don't intervene this much since I feel that letting nature take it's course is the best thing to do, I really want this girl to survive since she's probably going to be the best one in the litter and I was looking forward to showing her at Convention later this year. :(

Business Cards!

2009-07-22T13:04:00.000-07:00

Since I changed my website I needed to make some new business cards. My original business cards were from Vistaprint and I was so pleased with my original cards I decided to go with them again! I personalized mine with the logo that Lauren Nicholas of LILBun Designs made for me that I love! Since I did customize mine I had to pay a little extra and the original price for 500 of the cards was around $40 without shipping. I did a bit of online digging though and found an awesome coupon and I managed to get all that I wanted for only $19 WITH shipping! It was a great deal! (: I can't wait to get them in a few weeks.

As far as bunny news, Sundance and Steven will be leaving for Washington and Kansas, respectively, in a few days. I'm sad that Sundance is leaving, I'm going to miss his mug! Oh well, I know he'll get lots of attention as his new place. (:

I'm also getting two new bunnies from Washington! From Tricia I'm getting Velotta's Blake, a gorgeous buck with 7 legs! He throws amazing babies so I hope he'll do the same for me! I'm also getting Velotta's Bella, a RGC doe with 3 legs, from Nicole! I can't thank either of them enough for parting with these beautiful animals, it means so much to me! I feel these bunnies will act as a catalyst for the quality of my herd.

- Michael

Update on the BEW's

2009-07-21T10:27:00.001-07:00

Here are some three week old pictures of my Wooly babies! (:

Here is my favorite baby of the bunch, a really cute doe!

The doe again

The whole gang.

Enjoy!

- Michael

Owww.

2009-07-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I decided I had to clean the cages since I hadn't done it in a few months and they were covered in molty bunny hair. I also cleaned all the water bottles and crocks and gave a few of the bunnies some little cat toys which they are enjoying. Anyway, I started at about 7 am and ended at 11. The high was 104* and silly me forgot to put on sun screen. Yeah, I am hurting today! Ouch. I also have a very unattractive 'sandle burn' which is annoying.

While I was cleaning cages I decided to seperate Sidney's litter. All the ones I'm selling are in a big weanling cage but my keeper's have been seperated. I still have 4 empty holes, with 1 leaving, 2 on hold, and 5 for sale? Pretty good! (: I am keeping a BJD, SJD, and SJB. The buck is a bit iffy, but I'm not showing much at Convention and figured I might as well grow him out. I absolutely LOVE the BJD, she's very promsing!

Oh, the picture at the top is of Silent Spring's Jessa, a very pretty steel doe with 2 junior legs. (: Hopefully she can get her 3rd!

BEW Cuteness

2009-07-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my Wooly babies! (: Enjoy!

My favorite baby.
The whole litter! The little black is the runt.

Microscopic ears. :P

- Michael

CA Judging Team

2009-07-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

I'm sure the local CA youth who have participated in the judging competitions this year know all about what I'm about to type, but I thought I'd share my experiences up to this point on trying to get on CA Judging Team with those who did not get a chance to participate in it.

Since I'm fairly certain a majority of my readers are active in the rabbit community, most of you know that the '09 ARBA Convention is in San Diego, CA this year! Due to this, the number of Judging and Breed ID applicants have soared, which resulted in the organizers of the team selection to make 'judge-off' competitions, where all potential applicants were seperated into our respective age groups and given 3 rabbit classes and one cavy class to go over and place. The classes had previously been judged by a licensed ARBA judge and our placements were compared to theirs, with a maximum possible score of 200. There were multiple judge-offs at shows throughout the year, though if you were planning to apply to get on a team you were required to participate in at least two. If you participated in more than two you would keep your two highest scores. The last competition was at the San Bernadino show this past month. I personally participated in the March Hanford and April Bakersfield judge-offs.

If you had done the minimum of two competitions, then you had to fill out a questionare in which you described why you thought you were qualified to be on the judging team. This was the last requirement and was due at the end of June.

From this, several people will go over our scores and answers to questionare and pick 4 people from each age group to represent California at Convention this year. We should be hearing back from them in the next one to two weeks.

Anyway, I thought that some might find this interesting. (: This is just a very rought overview, I could have went into much more detail about the judge-offs themselves. I'd like to personally thank Jennifer Munoz, who was kind enough to answer all of my questions and organizing the judge-offs. This would have not been possible without her! I'm crossing my fingers and toes that I scored well enough to make the team! Lots of worthy youth applied and it's a shame that some will have to be turned away.

- Michael

100th Post!

2009-07-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

This is a huge accomplishment for me, considering my posting record has been sporadic at best. :D

Jinger's litter is finally opening their eyes. I can't wait until they get to their cute stage in another week or so! (: They still need a bit more fluff before they become adorable, and then I'll post some pictures.

Jonah, a broken blue buck out of Faith, left with Rachael and Karen today! Jonah is a really cute buck that I was going to keep, but the buck I'm getting is broken and I didn't think Jonah is going to be as nice as him.

Who is this mystery buck? I'll let you all know in due time!

- Michael

Summer Shows

2009-07-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

The first reason I dislike summer is because the bunnies don't handle the heat well, which stresses me out trying to keep them alive! The second reason is that I don't go to any shows, because heat + traveling = stressed out bunnies! This year another reason I'm not showing it because with my herd reduction I don't have many bunnies to show. I think I have two newly turned senior does, which will take a few months to mature anyway until they get more competitive.

Besides those does, I won't have much to show for another 3-4 months. :( I guess this is a blessing in disguise though, because I really do need to be saving up for Convention! I think the only show for me before Convention will be the Santa Maria show on 9/20, so I intend to get as many comments as possible while I'm there! Then it's Convention 11/1/09 - 11/5/09! I'm so excited to finally go to a Convention! You can't even imagine how bummed I was I had to miss ML Nationals earlier this year.

- Michael

More Bunnies Leaving Soon.

2009-07-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

All six of the bunnies left for their new homes yesterday. It was so nice meeting Kara, Jennifer, and Jennifer's sister! They were all such great people. I'd like to thank Kara again for transporting for me, she's a lifesaver! The rabbitry is much more empty without them! I am now down to 23, including my 10 babies.

Heather is coming down on Tuesday to get the broken smoke pearl chinchilla buck. He's going through his gangly stage but I think she'll like him! I know he'll like not having to deal with this insane heat anymore!

Karen and Rachel will also be coming down on Tuesday to pick up a bunny to show at the local fair. I think they will either get the remaining steel buck from Hope's litter or my keeper from Faith's litter (a broken blue buck). With my herd reduction, I'm pretty sure the animals I'm selling are going to beat me at the fair. (: It doesn't matter though, because it feels just as good to see a friend win with a rabbit you bred than winning yourself.

Casey and Jinger are also on hold until I can wean Jinger's current litter, so they should be leaving sometime in August. Sundance will also be leaving in August! :( I'm sad I'm selling him because I've had so many babies out of him. He's such a reliable old man.

Speaking of Jinger's litter, they are getting cuter every day! The BEWs now have enough fur to look white. :D The little black baby is a runt, I've been letting him nurse individually with momma since I don't want to loose him! His sibling are much larger than him. :( I'm crossing my fingers with a little TLC he'll pull through though. I'll keep you all updated on it.

- Michael

Bunnies Leaving.

2009-07-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess my herd reduction is finally coming full force. Until now I'd just sold mostly juniors but today a lot of bunnies are leaving! :( It's kind of sad since I've had some of these bunnies since they were born and kept them, sometimes for years. I just need to remember that in the end this will do improve the quality of my herd in the long run.

It's really funny when you do a herd reduction, because when it comes down to it, you are capable of getting rid of most of your bunnies. But when push comes to shove, a few of them never cross my mind. I couldn't ever let some of them go. And surprisingly, those animals are normally not the ones that show amazingly well. They are usually from your first litters, your really sweet brood does, etc. They are the ones that have some sort of sentimental value to you.

Anyway, onto who's leaving today!

I just dropped off Cody an hour or so ago to Kara. He's molting horribly which is really embarrassing, but I've been trying to keep on top of it. Heck, Casey looks part lionhead right now, lol. Darn summer!

Jennifer should be here any minute. She's going to be picking up Jim Bob, Hope, Michelle, Joy-Anna, and Gizzard. I hope she likes them! I think she will.

So, that's 6 bunnies leaving today. After this I'm only going to have about 10 seniors left! I'm super excited. (:

- Michael

Website Is Finished!

2009-07-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

I finally finished moving my website over to my new domain today! I still need to figure out how to make a guestbook and still add all my links to my links page. Check it out!

www.silentspringsrabbitry.com

Nothing going on today. . . . I am going to clean cages tonight and print out some pedigrees for babies! I also need to order some new business cards, I might do that tomorrow.

- Michael

Mini Lops Available

2009-07-01T08:25:00.001-07:00

I'm still in the process of reducing my herd for the summer and while most of them have been sold, I still have several nice bucks for sale. Here they are.

SSR's Sundance Kid (RGC, 5 Legs) - Opal Sr Buck
(Velotta's Raymond (RGC, 6 Legs) x Hoppin's Cookiesn'Cream (2 Legs))
Sundance is a gorgeous buck that throws gorgeous babies. I have granded three of his offspring myself and one has gone on to win a BIS! Past his show prime now, he'd be best used as a herd sire.

Silent Spring's MF2 - Broken Smoke Pearl Chin Jr Buck
(DeSurra's Morgan (GC, 7 Legs) x Silent Spring's Faith (RGC, 6 Legs))
Promising buck in a gorgeous color! I love his head! Just starting his to go into his ganglies, but I'm expecting him to turn out nicely.
Hold for Heather?

Silent Spring's GH3 - Black Steel Jr Buck
(Kitsemble's Gus (Reg, 1 Leg) x Silent Spring's Hope (Reg))
Very sweet buck with amazing fur! Gus has really thrown this fantastic, plush fur to most of his offspring! Very full, would like to see a bit more depth to balance out the width.

.....I am also contemplating selling Casey, my BEW Jersey Wooly senior buck. Contact me if you'd like more information on him.
email -
ssrrabbits@sbcglobal.net

I'm working on getting pictures up right now!

- Michael

Blue Eyed White Genetics

2009-06-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

Since I just had a litter of BEW Woolies, I thought I'd blog about the genetics of the BEW, or Vienna, gene. First, let's start with the basics.

VV - Non-vienna carrier, or in other words an ordinary rabbit. Will not be able to throw Blue Eyed White babies.

Vv - A vienna carrier, also known as a 'VC' or a vienna marked, 'VM'. VC's show no signs of carrying the vienna gene and can still be shown. VM's sport tell-tale signs of carrying the gene, wether that be blue eyes on a normal colored rabbit, or white splashes on a normal colored coat. They are sometimes referred to as 'sports'. Both of these will throw BEW when bred to another 'Vv' or a 'vv'.

vv - A Blue Eyed White Rabbit.

Here are the different kinds of combos you can do with those three different versions of the gene.

VV x VV = 100% VV
VV x Vv = 50% VV, 50% Vv
VV x vv = 100% Vv
Vv x Vv = 25% VV, 50% Vv, 25% vv
Vv x vv = 50% Vv, 50% vv
vv x vv = 100% vv

When I first started my BEW breeding project, I got a BEW buck (vv) and a Blue Doe (VV). The resulting litter consisted of 4 Black Otters, all of them Vienna Carriers (Vv).

I then retained a Black Otter doe (Silent Spring's Jinger) and upon reaching breeding age she was bred back to her BEW sire. That would be a Vv x vv breeding. The expected outcome would have been 50% BEW and 50% VC/VM offspring. The actual litter was three BEWs and one Black VC. Luck was on my side that time! But each one is the luck of the dice, I could repeat the breeding and end up with an all BEW litter, or a litter of just VC/VM's.

The next step in my breeding program would be to keep a BEW baby and repeat the whole process over again. I know, it's a very slow process! That's why someone who breeds BEWs needs to know what they're doing or if they're planning on breeding them on a larger scale, be prepared to have lots of extra holes for unshowable Vv offspring.

- Michael

Unbearable Temperatures

2009-06-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

So far this week every single day has been triple digit heat! I like summer because I don't have school, but I hate having to take care of the rabbits! Thank goodness they only get sunlight in the morning hours, and not during the hottest part of the day. The misters have been doing a great job, much better than at my old house. I've also been going out there several times a day wetting their ears. Since rabbits don't sweat, they have to rely on other means to cool off. If you wet their ears or rub ice on them, it will cool the blood in the veins and be transported to the rest of the body. The effect will be a cooler bunny.

Today was pretty uneventful, I went to the Votaw's home and went through their extremely adorable Mini Lop babies! The litter was very consistant and nice! I picked one out for Jennifer that is super cute, I've nicknamed her 'Gizzard'. I also registered a few of their bunnies for them and then headed home.

Nothing much happening for the rest of the week, except for the Fourth of July! Jennifer is coming up on Friday to pick up Jim Bob, Michelle, Joy-Anna, Hope, and 'Gizzard'. I've also got to drop off Cody to Kara to go up to Emily in Sacramento. It's going to be a relief not to have to deal with some many bunnies anymore with this heat.

Jinger's litter is my last litter until I resume breeding in the fall. Hopefully by then I'll have a nice new buck to breed my does to. :) More on that later though.

- Michael

New Litters!

2009-06-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Today we had our first Jersey Wooly litter of the year (our last litter was the very end of last year) so I am extremely excited! Jinger had four, three blue eyed whites and one black VC! She is doing a great job for a first timer, she pulled plenty of fur and had them all in the box. I've often thought that mothering abilities run in the line....Pudge, Jinger's dam, was also an extremely successful mother. We can't wait to watch these babies grow! Our first BEW's!

In Mini Lop news, I am having a major herd reduction. Most are already spoken for, but I have a few nice bucks available. Sidney's litter is maturing nicely, there are four does and two bucks. I'm keeping my eyes on the chestnuts and the broken chinchilla. The broken chestnut was the runt and is probably just going to be a pet, which should suit him well. He's extremely sociable!

I am also slowly moving to a new domain name, due to geocities closing. My new address on the website is

http://www.silentspringsrabbitry.com/

Please update your bookmarks! It's a mess right now, but give me a few weeks and it'll look much better! :)

- Michael

Newest news...haha.

2009-05-08T19:59:00.001-07:00

The Bakersfield Show on 4/18 was very fun. I got BOB in both shows with Sidney and BOSB in one of the shows with Jim Bob. That was Sidney's 7th and 8th legs and Bob's 4th leg! (: Very proud of them. The show was well run and I look forward to attending again next year. My very first show was a Bakersfield Show....but I'll save that for another blog. It was a good day, one that sparked the rabbit bug in me.
I've also had a few litters these past few weeks. Hope has a litter of 3 - 2 steels, 1 chestnut. All bucks. The father is Gus. I really like one of the steels, it may replace the sire and dam in my breeding program. Time will tell.
Faith also had a litter 2 1/2 weeks ago, another litter of three. She has one broken smoke pearl, one broken blue, and one smoke pearl. The sire is a white buck, DeSurra's Morgan, that our friend Kate and Heidi of MGM let us borrow. The babies are adorable, my favorite is the smoke pearl, which is probably a buck. Bucks are good though, I need some new ones!
I currently have just one Convention breeding. I bred Sidney to Sundance. Hopefully the results will be nice. She is due later this month. She palpates positive, so I'm crossing fingers! Sundance normally meshes well with any doe he is bred with.
I will be updated my website soon - I have several animals I must post for sale since I will be reducing my herd for the summer more than usual.....

Michael

SLO Show

2009-04-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

San Luis Obispo was really fun! I was the registrar, so that was fun. I brought 4 juniors to sell and sold 3 of them! Now I only have a few left for sale.

Show A was judged by Doug King. Kaitlyn Dueck won BOB with a SJB and a BSD won BOSB, but I don't know the owner. I won the SSB class with Ryan, even with his sunburnt coat lol.

Armando Cabrera judged Show B. I won BOB with a Sidney, a BSD, and BOSB with Jim BOB, a SJB. I also won BOSV with Faith, a SSD. :) She was two weeks pregnant to top it off! They gave out really pretty rosettes for BOSB and medallions for BOB!

Hope is due any day know and she looks fit to burst! She is bred to Gus. :)

I also updated my website today - check it out!

Michael

My Keepers!

2009-03-21T20:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I am pretty sure I'm made a good first cut from my three litters, totaling 17 babies. Of course, I'm sure as they mature I'll cull out another one or two, but at the moment all of them are very promising and I've very excited to show them soon!

From Truffle's litter of 3, I am holding back a Broken Opal Doe who I have named Joy-Anna. She has a massive head of her dam, with a very deep, typey body of her sire. Her ears are a little long to balance right now, but they have good texture. She's also got a really pretty pattern, very spotty. :-)

Out of Sidney's litter of 8, I was going to let 4 mature out but I have decided to cull one so I'm down to 3. That group consists of a Broken Steel Buck (Jedidah), a Chestnut Doe (Jana), and a Steel Doe (Jessa). All of them are very similar have have amazing coats. Jessa is my current favorite of the moment, she's very cute.

Finally, I have managed to cull through all of Silver's babies and have decided to let the Opal Doe (Jamie) grow out. I was contemplating letting a chestnut doe mature as well, but I thought it was obvious that Jamie is the best of the litter. I am excited to breed her back to her grandsire, Sundance! :)

I will try to get pictures soon, as time allows. ;).

Michael

Wow, I suck at updating.

2009-03-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

Didn't I tell you guys I was going to be busy? I haven't had the chance to blog in a long time! Now I'm in the last quarter for school, so that's exciting. I only have one realy goal, and that's to bring up my Chemistry grade and keep the rest of my grades. I'm pretty content. I just took the SATs but I have a feeling I'll have to retake them. Blehhhh.

Anyways, the bunnies are all great! I bred Hope the other day and need to breed Faith asap. I will be attending Hanford and San Luis Obispo, so if you're going definitely let me know. I feel so 'out of it' where the showing world is concerned, I've been a hermit lately.

Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know I am still alive. . . . . ;)

Michael

Babies, babies, babies!

2009-02-10T16:34:00.001-08:00

In addition to the three does currently on litters, Silver kindled to a litter of six a few days ago :) All are agoutis, mostly chesnuts with a few opals! The sire is Cody, so I'm really excited for this cross since his last kits were very nice.

Pudge will be leaving in a few days to go back with her original breeder, Amber of Wonder Woolies Rabbitry. She will be missed, but I'm glad to know that Amber will take great care of her :)

Speaking of Pudge, her kits are looking very promising. She has a CUTE buck, along with several nice does. The buck is spoken for to a local youth, I will be keeping two does, and the other two does are pending to Mary. I don't know which doe I want to keep. The VM and the bigger VC are both really nice. I'm going to get some second opinions at a show before I decide.

I won't be able to blog very frequently from now on, since I really have to get ready for my SAT and studying for my AP Exams. Ack!

Michael

Pictures of babies

2009-01-31T16:02:00.000-08:00

Truffle's Babies

Sidney's Babies

Michael

Sidney has babies!

2009-01-25T16:10:00.000-08:00

On 1.22.09 Sidney finally gave us a litter! She had EIGHT! 4 brokens and 4 solids :) We couldn't be happier!

In other news, I did a big update of the website a few days go. Mostly making the pictures smaller (I didn't realize how large they were! My bad.) and updating the litters page. We also put pictures up of our Wooly babies who are in the cute stage right now. Check it out if you get a chance.

Michael

A very welcomed surprise :)

2009-01-21T15:08:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had Truffle out and noticed that she looked especially large. She had palpated negative when I palpated her last week and I didn't think I felt anything but sure enough I did feel some babies when I checked. I put a nestbox in there during the weekend and this morning I had seen she was pulling fur. When I got back from school and check on her and was happy to see that she had 5 babies, two of which were DOA. There are now 1 solid (blue chin/opal) and two brokens (one chesnut/one opal). I am very excited for these brokens! Also, these are my first living Ryan babies. He had a litter born in October but the doe didn't have them in the box. Just thought I'd share my excitement :)

Michael

Baby Happenings at Silent Springs.

2009-01-17T15:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, here's a list of current babies and breedings of Silent Springs Rabbitry!

12/08 - Silver kindled to two kits by Sundance Kid. One chesnut (buck) and one chinchilla (buck). The chinchilla is sale pending to Randee and family and will be leaving once he is old enough!

12/29 - Pudge kindled to four kits by Casey. 3 Black Otter VC's (two bucks, one doe) and 1 Black Otter VM (doe). I will have my eye on the VC doe, if she is nice enough I'd like to hold her back for my BEW project.

Sidney X Sundance Kid is nesting as we speak! I am really excited, since Sidney's last litter in October froze on the wire. This time she's in the garage though and has already made a nice nest. Hopefully a litter in the next few days!

Silver X Cody has palpated positive. I am hoping for some opals/blue chins in BROKEN. I've had too many solids lately. :p

Faith X Ryan is probably not pregnant. I'll need to double check in a few days and you know how first timer's like to tense up and make it hard to palpate. ;).

Well, that's it! I hope everyone had a Happy New Year!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Silver's Babies

2008-12-30T11:04:00.000-08:00

Hypnotized, lol.

Rawr goes the chesnut.

Awww, babies!

These were taken a few days ago. They are now MUCH cuter - I am in the process of getting a page ready for them right now! :-)

Michael

Long time, no post!

2008-12-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

Wow, I haven't posted in a while! I have just been super busy with school and in preparing for finals. Finally it's all over though, and I'm happy with how I did on all my tests!

Bunny wise, we had a new litter born a few weeks ago. On 12/08 our chinchilla doe, Silver, gave birth to two gorgeous little kits. There is one chesnut and one chinchilla. Silver got carried with with cleaning the chinchilla and it's missing part of it's back foot. :-( Shame because it's a cutey! The sire was Sundance Kid, so they might possibly carry chocolate!

I also have my Jersey Wooly doe, Pudge, due to kindle in the next few days here. She is definitely more grumpy and 'pregnant' acting ;). She is due to my BEW buck, Casey. Hoping for an easy delivery!

I've also got a few other does due soon :-)

Michael

Excited to get to a show!

2008-11-12T19:12:00.000-08:00

Well our next show is fast approaching, and we are very excited for it. It will hopefully be a very easy going and relaxed show. I am looking forward to just socializing all day, which will help me unwind tons, especially with some hurtful emails from some immature breeders lately. Oh well, live and let live is my motto. I am especially excited to see Katie R. and Susie C. again! Both went to Convention and did very well. I want to extend a very large CONGRATULATIONS to Katie who won BOSV Solid American Fuzzy Lop at Convention with her doe, "Harmony." :-)

Alot of my bunnies are in good condition, I'm looking forward to showing my juniors since they are maturing nicely. I also think I'm going to be showing Casey as well, before he starts to molt really badly lol.

Michael
ARBA Registrar
Silent Springs Rabbitry
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

New Buck

2008-11-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

I had Armando bring a new buck back for me at Convention. He is a very nice Gold Tipped Steel from Sara K. His name is Gus and he came with one leg for BOB and many top placments in tough competition. I can't wait for him to earn a few more legs here :-) Thanks Sara, I really appreciate you sending such a nice buck out to CA with me. And thank you to Armando, Randy, and Allen for transporting him.

Gus has been a busy boy already and bred both Sidney and Truffle. Sadly, none of my breedings took so I am rebreeding all three and crossing my fingers they take. I think the move has stressed them out so even if they did take they could have aborted. I'm also thinking about breeding Faith, but I REALLY want to show her off, LOL. She's gorgeous!!!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"

Website updated!

2008-10-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

I finally updated my website yesterday, since I hadn't for over a month! I'll try to get some new pictures of Gus, Ryan, Hope, Tommie, and Faith in a few weeks, once the weather cools down. Can you believe it's still in the 80's right now?

Good luck to everyone going to Convention in a few days, I know you'll kick butt!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Two Does Bred!

2008-10-04T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (10.03.08) I bred two does for ML Nationals Juniors! I wanted really mature juniors so I am breeding them right now. I bred:

SSR's Sundance Kid (RGC, 5 Legs) X Velotta's Sparkling Silver (Reg.)

Silent Springs Ryan (Reg., 1 Leg) X Kitsemble's Sidney (RGC, 5 Legs)

Both does were very receptive so I'm crossing my fingers they both take! Silver's siblings have thrown some EXCELLENT babies and I'm hoping she'll do the same for me. I'm also really excited for Sidney's litter, since her and Ryan are currently my two nicest bunnies and they compliment each other soooo nicely!

Michael
ARBA Registrar
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Thanks Lauren :-)

2008-10-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

For your awesome work! I would recommend anyone to Lauren who would like any kind of artwork done. She is very talented and I love her stuff. You can check out her site at :

http://geocities.com/lildogdesigns/bun/

She designed me website and also made me the banner at the top of my post :-)

Michael

ARBA Registrar

Silent Springs Rabbitry

http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

KC Fair RESULTS

2008-10-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Mini Lops: 41
Silent Spring's Ryan: 1st, BOV, BOB!
Silent Spring's Cody: 1st, BOSV!
Silent Spring's Tommie: 1st!
Silent Spring's Hope: 2nd/6!

Jersey Wooly:
Wooligans Picasso: BOB!

I was super happy with my results :-) I'm also getting a new bunny soon, but I'll blog on that later. Dunno when the next time I'll be able to update this. . . hopefully soon!

Michael
ARBA Registrar
Silent Springs Rabbitry
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Little Updates.

2008-09-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

Nothing much happening here, just wanted to let everyone know that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, lol. I've been *super* swamped with my class homework, after school activities, and trying to get ready for fair. Speaking of fair, it starts next Wednesday! Woah, too close for comfort. I'm excited for it though! Don't expect for me to be posting much for the whole of September, but I'll try to log on and tell you all of anything exciting =P

Oh, and I need to palpate Truffle in the next few days. I don't think she took. . . again. . . .urgh. Time for someone to go on a diet!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Bred Truffle yesterday. . . .

2008-08-31T15:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I bred SSR's Truffle since she didn't take this last time :( I bred her to Silent Spring's Ryan, my opal buck. Ryan has the *best* body,fur, and condition I have ever bred so far, but his head is definitely lacking so that is why I chose to breed him to Truffle, since she has an awesome awesome awesome head, ear, and crown packing. I'll be expecting blues, blacks, chesnuts and opals in broken and solid! I'm really excited!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Registrar's License

2008-08-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share few days ago I finally got my registrar's license! Woot woot :) I should be the registrar at the Santa Maria Show, so I that should be fun!

I hope everyone is having fun with this labor day weekend!

Michael
ARBA Registrar
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Meet "Casey"

2008-08-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my new Jersey Wooly buck, Wooligans Casey, that I took a few days ago. With this August heat wave he has started molting his wool cap but I'm sure it'll come back in soon enough. I am showing him at fair and am excited to see how he does! I personally love his type, but I don't have much experience with the breed ;D

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Meat Pens are here!

2008-08-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

This past week I went to my friend Angela's house to pick up the Californians she brough up from Cardiff for me. These Cals will be my meat pen for the KC Fair next month. These guys are really promising (both body and size wise) and I am excited to auction them off at the fair. I'm crossing my fingers for Grand or Reserve, even if I don't have to place to auction off the meat pen :-)

Michael

KC Fair Entries

2008-08-13T16:12:00.001-07:00

I'm postings this mainly so I'll remember who I entered, lol.

Mini Lops
SSR's Sundance Kid - SSB - Opal
Silent Spring's Ryan - SSB - Opal
Silent Spring's Tommie - SJB - Choc. Chesnut
Velotta's Sparkling Silver - SSD - Chinchilla
Silent Spring's Faith - SJD - Lilac Chin
Silent Spring's Hope - SJD - Lynx
Silent Spring's Cody - BSB - Chesnut
Kitsemble's Sidney - BSD - Chesnut

Jersey Wooly
Wooligans Picasso - Self SB - BEW

and then a meat pen, which I am picking up in a few days :D

Also, I'd like to thank Qadoshyah of Hoppin Herd of Hares for giving us a Brillante Weblog Award! Thanks!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

New Bunny

2008-08-08T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for another dwarf breed to mess around with lately and the fuzz has drawn me in again! Instead of an American Fuzzy Lop I decided to get a Jersey Wooly, since I had heard that their wool is more easy care since it has more guard hairs. I asked my friend Lisa, of Wooligans Rabbitry (wooligansrabbitry.com) if she had anything available and I was thrilled to hear she did! A little BEW buck named Wooligans Picasso. With the help of two different transporters I was able to get Picasso down to Bakersfield and I went on Tuesday to pick him up. I will have to agree about the wool differences - while my old AFL used to matt very easily, Picasso's wool is low maitenance and easy to keep up with. He is currently finishing up a molt but I hope to show him at fair (which is another blog topic which I will post about soon!)

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Rabbits Sold, etc.

2008-08-07T11:02:00.001-07:00

Just updated on who is sold and who is still available :-)

Kaden headed out a few days ago and is now living with Qadoshyah of Hoppin Herd of Hares in OK . I hope you enjoy him!

Blue Ice and Nicolette are sale pending to Lisa and will hopefully be leaving next Thursday. Blue Ice was bred to Ryan and will have the litter at Lisa's house.

Allison is sale pending to Amy and will be leaving next week. She'll be picked up at the Cardiff show. Thanks to the Owen's for transporting for me!

Raider is sale pending and will be picked up on teh 23rd to live with Kira and family in a pet home :-)

Who is still available? Nicholas and Caleb! Both pet/4H bunnies. I decided to take Sundance off for the time being until I get one more litter from him and Silver!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Updated Websited

2008-07-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Today I updated my website. I added some Articles and put some for sale bunnies on the website :-( Lots of Dilutes and chocolate carriers! Check it out -

http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Mini Lops For Sale

2008-07-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

I went throught my juniors and decided that I need to make room for some of my current babies. So I have a few bunnies available right now. Prices range from $25-$35each. Priced to SELL, the price does not reflect their quality.

Bucks -

Silent Spring's Caleb
Broken Opal Jr Buck
(Velotta's Nick,R X Milkhouse's Dusty,R,1 Leg)
Nice body, great fur! Will have a Red/Blue/White Registration.

Silent Spring's Raider
Opal Jr buck
(SSR's Sundance Kid,RGC X SSR's Apple Cinnamon,RGC)
Great head, nice body! Carries Chocolate.

Does -

Silent Spring's Allison
Black Jr Doe
(SSR's Sundance Kid,RGC X Hoppin's Mocha Fudge,R)
Really nice body. Could use more density. Carries chocolate.

If you are interested in any of these bunnies send me an email at ssrrabbits@sbcglobal.net You can see all of them on my website.I have transport to the Cardiff Show in August. I am located nearBakersfield, CA.

Thanks,
Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Watsonville, CA 7.13.08

2008-07-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I attended the Watsonville, CA show. I did not show any bunnies at this show unfortunately, too many were molting and I felt it was too long of a drive for them. I did however work with ARBA Judge, Randy Shumaker towards my registrar's license. Randy was my last judge, so I should hopefully be a ARBA licensed registrar soon :-) Randy was awesome to work with, he is a very knowledgeable judge with many breeds. We worked with Holland Lops, American Fuzzy Lops, English Angora, Satin Angora, and French Angora. I also got to see some of my friends who I haven't seen for a few months, such a Susie C. of Wooly World Rabbitry :-) She's a blast to talk to and has gorgeous Jersey Woolies and Fuzzy Lops. I had so much fun there. My next show will hopefully be the Cardiff by the Sea show on 8.16.08. Hope to see you there!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

4 Week Old Mini Lop Babies

2008-07-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

Group Shot!
Silent Spring's Tommie, a chocolate chesnut buck
broken lynx buck
lynx doe
broken chocolate chesnut buck

Here are some pictures of Emma's babies :-) They will be on the website soon! We are keeping both the solids.

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Emma's Babies

2008-06-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post about this but Emma had a litter of 4 babies on Father's Day! Very pretty colors too! Chocolate Chesnuts and Lynxes :-) The sire is Cody, so my first Cody babies! Third generation Silent Springs Bunnies :-)

All the babies together. :-)

A fatty chocolate chesnut baby, LOL.

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Pomona Show Pictures

2008-06-18T12:04:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd share a few pictures I took from the show last weekend. Enjoy! :-)

Breed ID
One side of the Show Room.
The other side of the Show Room.
A *very* cute lionhead!
A face shot of the same lionhead.

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Pomona Show Results

2008-06-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

I woke up late so we didn't end up getting to the show until 9:00. They had started Mini Lops already so I missed my first class, thank goodness I only entered one solid! And also lucky that mah buddies saved me a spot lol.

I worked with Stan Bell for the registrar part of my requirement. I only looked over a few rabbits, mostly Tans, English Lops, Himmies, and Thriantas.
Youth Show A -
Judge: Ray Stacy
43 Mini Lops
Ryan - SJB - Scratch
Cody - BJB - 1/7 - 5th Leg
Sidney - BSD - 1/3
Nicolette - BJD - 4/9

Youth Show B -
Judge: Joey Shultz
43 Mini Lops
Ryan - SJB - 2/4
Cody - BJB - 5/7.
Sidney - BSD - 1/3, BOV, BOB - 5th Leg
Nicolette - BJD - 7/9ish

Good Show! :D

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07

Updates!

2008-06-07T17:58:00.001-07:00

Well, since you last heard from me, school has ended and I am enjoying my first week of summer vacation :) ! And a lot of rabbit stuff has happened too :P.

First of all, I think I am going to Pomona on 6/14! I really hope I end up going, I want to go sooo bad. Plus, I would get to work with a registrar there :) After that I would only have 1 more judge and then I will be done!

Cinnamon has left and has started her journey to get to Nicole :) She should be there in a few more weeks. Her kids that I have kept are looking promising. Her latest litter is molting out of their junior coats so they are unpresentable, but their bodies are looking promising :) I look forward to showing them after summer (darn summer and it's no rabbit shows! lol)

I have also added a new bunny to my rabbitry - a solid black doe names Allison :) She is very promising and she carries chocolate! I will try and get pictures of her, along with all my current juniors, once they molt out of their baby coats :-)

Oh, and I updated my For Sale page today!

That's all for now!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Cinnamon's babies.

2008-05-26T13:31:00.001-07:00

I have decided to keep 2 babies from Cinnamon's and Sundance's litter. I really wanted to keep a doe, since Cinnamon will hopefully be leaving to go to Velotta's Rabbitry next month, so I am keeping the lilac chinchilla doe. I wasn't planning on keeping another buck, since I already have Cody and he is a very, very nice buck, but this chocolate chinchilla buck was too nice to let go to someone else! I am anxious to see them develop and breed them in the fall. The buck will be bred to my non-chocolate carrier does (Sidney and Silver) while his brother will get my other does. The doe will be outcrossed to Ryan, to add some new blood into the gene pool, or back to Sundance. I haven't thought up of names for them yet, but I will soon hopefully.

Both of the babies together =P
The chocolate chinchilla buck.
The lilac chinchilla doe.

Michael

Silent Springs Rabbitry

"Where Quality Comes in Color"

http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Bakersfield Results!

2008-05-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

The highlight of the show for us was taking BOSB in the Open Mini Lop Specialty with Silent Spring's Cody. This is Cody's 4th leg, all junior. He is doing really well! He still has a few more shows until he turns senior, so hopefully he can win a few more legs. I got a really nice frame for the award. Congrats to the Deucks, who won BOB with their broken doe, Lilo!

I sold Nick and Natasha to my friend, Lizz Brown, Hannah to Jess and Tina, and the lilac chinchilla junior doe to a nice 4H family :-) It was a great show! I was going to try and buy some water bottles and new hooks, but I didn't have any time. I also need a new carrier, my old 4-hole is getting too old for me!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Bakersfield 5/17

2008-05-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's who I'm entering -

Silent Spring's Ryan - SJB - Opal
Velotta's Sparkling Silver - SSD - Chinchilla
Silent Spring's Cody - BJB - Chesnut
Kitsemble's Sidney - BSD - Chesnut
Hoppin's Nicolette - BJD - Lilac Steel

Mini Lop Specialty I entered Cody and Sidney :-)

I will also be working with Ray Stacy towards my registrar's license!

Michael
Silent Spring's Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Mini Lops in California

2008-05-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
Here’s the rabbits I will have available at the 5/17 Bakersfield Show and will be getting there around 7:00 am. If you would like more pictures or information just let me know! I am willing to give discounts on Multiple Purchases and 4H discounts.
If interested in anything please send me an email at ssrrabbits@sbcglobal.net
Mini Lops:
Seniors:
Can be seen @ http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/forsale2.html
SSR’s Apple Cinnamon, RGC, 4 Legs
Broken Chocolate Chesnut Senior Doe
Brood/Retired Show
$85
Sire: Velotta’s Raymond, RGC, 6 Legs
Dam: Hoppin’s Cookiesn’Cream, 2 Legs
She’s a RGC and a chocolate color, enough said! Makes great babies, am keeping 3 of her offspring.
ON HOLD.
Velotta’s Nick, Red/White/Blue Seal Registration.
Broken Opal Senior Buck
Brood/Show
$40
Sire: Velotta’s Walter, RGC, 10 Legs, 22/86 ‘06 ARBA Convention
Dam: Velotta’s Renee, RGC, 4 Legs, 6/77 ‘06 ARBA Convention
Awesome fur, nice body. Makes great babies! I am keeping a replacement so it’s time to move him on.
Juniors:
Can be seen @ http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/forsale2.html
Silent Spring’s Natasha
Broken Opal Junior Doe
Brood/Show
$35
Sire: SSR’s Sundance Kid, RGC, 5 Legs
Dam: SSR’s Blue Ice
Promising Doe. I *love* her head/ears/crown, they are great. Nice body too, needs a fuller lower HQ.
Silent Spring’s Caleb
Broken Opal Junior Buck
Brood
$25
Sire: Velotta’s Nick, Reg.
Dam: Milkhouse’s Dusty, Reg., 1 Leg
He’s got a nice, compact body but needs a better her. He’s a young junior so it could happen. Would be an awesome showmanship animal.
Prejuniors:
All of the following are out of -
Sire: SSR’s Sundance Kid, RGC, 5 Legs
Dam: SSR’s Apple Cinnamon, RGC, 4 Legs
Prices range from $25 - $40 each. Their full brother already has 3 Jr. Legs in limited showing!
Can be see @ http://www.geocities.com/ssrrabbits@sbcglobal.net/sundanceXcinnamon2.html
Silent Spring’s SSC5 - Opal Buck
Silent Spring’s SSC6 - Broken Opal Doe
Silent Spring’s SSC7 - Blue Buck
Silent Spring’s SSC8 - Lilac Chinchilla Doe
Silent Spring’s SSC9 - Broken Opal Buck

Thanks,
Michael Perez
Silent Springs Rabbitry
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Truffle's Babies

2008-05-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Group Shot!
Chocolate Charlie Buck
Solid Chocolate Doe
Broken Chocolate Doe

Michael

Barn News

2008-04-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today Dusty left with her new owner, Sam. Hopefully she will give her some very nice babies, she certainly did for me :-)

I also sexed Cinnamon's litter a few days ago, here are the sexes -

Blue - Buck
Lilac Chinchilla - Doe
Lilac Chinchilla - Doe
Broken Opal - Doe
Broken Opal - Buck
Opal - Buck
Chocolate Chinchilla - Buck

My next breeding will be between RGC, SSR's Emma and Silent Spring's Cody (3 Legs) I am very excited for that breeding!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Test Results

2008-04-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

I got my Registrar's Test Results yesterday in the mail and I am happy to say that I passed! I got 95% on the oral and 92% on the written. Hopefully I can start working under judges soon.

In other news, I will try to make a page for Cinnamon's babies later today, after I got take some pictures of them. They are SO cute. I need to sex them as well. Right now, I want to keep the Chocolate Chinchilla (buck, I think). He is too cute!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Some Paso Robles Pictures

2008-04-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

A small part of the show room.
A very pretty Rhinelander :-)
Another pretty Rhinelander! =] I was clerking for Chris Z. who was judging them.
my award for winning this Quiz at the show =P

Sorry there weren't more pics - I was SO busy!

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Paso Robles Results

2008-04-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Show A - Chris Zemny
37 Mini Lops
SSR's Sundance Kid - SSB - 3/8
Silent Spring's Natasha - BJD - DQ - wrong undercolor
Hoppin's Nicolette - BJD - 2/6
Silent Springs Cody - BJB - 1/5, BOSV - 2nd leg

Show B - Joe Lugo
37 Mini Lops
SSR's Emma - SSD - 1/5 - 3rd Leg
SSR's Hannah - 2/5
Kitsemble's Sidney - BSD - 1/3, BOV - 4th Leg
Silent Spring's Natasha - BJD - DQ - wrong undercolor
Hoppin's Nicolette - BJD - 2/6
Silent Springs Cody - BJB - 1/5 - 3rd Leg

I had a great time at the show today, it was a lot of fun even though the weather was a bit warm this weekend. I definitely need to start bringing fans to shows, lol. I spent a part of the day clerking for Chris Zemny, who is an amazing judge. I got to see Rhinelanders for the first time in person, and they were stunning. Full arch breeds are so gorgeous and elegant! I snapped a few pics of them, which I'll have to upload onto the computer within the next few days. I'm playing "catch up" right now with my email, website, and camera lol.

So, I got another leg on Sidney, granded Emma, and got 2 more legs on Cody. Yayyy for another homebred Grand Champion! I sold 4 bunnies too, so I now have some more empty cages. I still have Dusty, Nick, and SND2 available so please inquire if you're interested.

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Golden State Youth Mini Lop Club

2008-04-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

I am the Secretary and a Director of the GSYMLC. I was also recently appointed as it's new webmaster, so I've been messing with it for the past week or so. I still need to finish/add a few more things, but I'm hoping to have it finished soon. Jenny Henderson of MG Rabbitry made the banner for me. Thanks Jenny!

Check it out and please sign take the time to sign the guestbook, it is very bare lol.

http://www.freewebs.com/goldenstateyouthmlbreeders/index.htm

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

4.12.08 Paso Robles Show

2008-04-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

This show is soooo nice! I totally love it! Only double youth, so no open exhibitors. There are usually tonssss of Mini Lops, so yay for competition! I will be working with ARBA Judge Jennifer Millburn for my Registrar's License :-)

Here's some info -
Entry Deadline:4.04.08
Sanctioned Breeds:
Mini Rex
Mini Lop
Hollnd Lop
Netherland Dwarf
Dutch
New Zealand
Judges: Armando Cabrera, Joe Lugo, Jennifer Millburn, Chris Zemny
Price:$5/both shows or $3/one show

My Show List -

**SSR's Sundance Kid - SSB - Opal
*SSR's Emma - SSD - Lilac Chinchilla
**SSR's Hannah - SSD - Chocolate Chinchilla
*Silent Spring's Cody - BJB - Chesnut
**Kitsemble's Sidney - BSD - Chesnut
*Silent Spring's Natasha - BJD - Opal
**Hoppin's Nicolette - BJD - Lilac Steel

My For Sale Bunnies -

** Milkhouse's Starlight - SSD - Blue Steel, 2 Legs
*Milkhouse's Dusty - SSD - Blue, 1 Leg
**Velotta's Nick - BSB - Opal
*Silent Spring's SND2 - BJB - Opal
**Silent Spring's SND3 - BJB - Opal
*Silent Spring's SND4 - BJD - Opal
**Silent Spring's SND5 - BJB - Opal

I'm really hoping I can sell most of these for sale bunnies! lol. I can't wait to see my ML friends, since I decided not to go to CA State Convention I haven't seen them in a while ;)

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Cinnamon Kindled!

2008-03-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

On March 27th Cinnamon gave birth to 8 (1 DOA) babies! She was bred to RGC SSR's Sundance Kid again, since I was so impressed with their first litter. Instead of chesnuts like last litter, I got some COLOR!

Here's what Cinnamon had :) ~

* 2 Lilac Agoutis
* 1 Chocolate Agouti
* 1 Blue Agouti
* 1 Blue
* 2 Broken Blue Agoutis

I am very excited for this litter and can't wait to watch them develop :-)

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Registrar's Test

2008-03-28T21:10:00.000-07:00

I have survived! lol.

Okay, so where to begin? Let's start with me leaving. I get all my stuff ready and head out to Armando's at 5:30 with my dad. While he's driving, I'm going insane and flipping at random pages of the SOP, trying to remember color DQ's especially, as well as all the other DQ's I have to remember. After what only seems like, 10 minutes, I arrive at Armando's at 6:00. I say hi and he goes over the test with me for a few minutes, just telling me what I have to do on each page. Then he leaves to go eat dinner while I take the test. As I get a quick preview of the questions I realize there are no fill in the blanks! Yea! I knew there was a possibility I wouldn't get FItB's but I was really happy I didn't :-) Most of the questions were pretty much common-sense (at least to me! lol) and I finished in around 30 minutes. I really finished in about 20, but spent a few reviewing my questions. Out of 100, I wasn't sure about 10 of them.

After I am done with the written, I go out to Armando's garage with him to go do the oral part of the test. Before we get in there he gives me an apron of his (which I need to buy one lol) While he's "cleaning up" I am looking at his cuttteeeee baby cavies! His brokens are adorable! Anyway, we start with some general colors. He puts out some brokens, a few castors, and several different otters. I also got a few Mini Satins. As he got each one out I typed his and gave critiques, as well as checking for DQ's. Out of the 8ish I checked, 2 had DQ's. One was a broken opal with no blue undercolor and the other was a Himi Mini Satin (non-recognized) He then asked me some registration questions and what was needed when registering. Finally, the part I feared! Tatooing! He picked this grouchy castor buck that scratched the crap out of me. Revenge It wasn't actually that bad! I then talked with him about who he thinks I should work under and I left :-)

So, I know I passed the oral and am pretty sure about the written! I am EXCITED! Hopefully, I can start working with juges in 2 weeks

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Mini Lops For Sale

2008-03-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

All will be available at the 4/12 Paso Robles Show. Email me @ ssrrabbits@sbcglobal.net for pictures and information :-)

Velotta's Nick, Registered
Broken Opal Senior
BuckSire:Velotta's Waltor, RGC, 10 Legs, 22/88 '06 ARBA Convention
Dam:Velotta's Renee, RGC, 4 Legs, 6/77 '06 ARBA Convention
Brood Quality
He's out produced himself with his first litter! I need to get some pictures of his replacement, because he's awesome. He lacks depth, but when bred to a deep doe he throws depth! Outcrosses very well. Holds excellent condition and fur, it's probably the best of all my bunnies. So thick and dense! Lovely. Would make a GREAT match with Starlight, the doe below

Milkhouse's Starlight, Registered, 2 Legs
Blue Steel Senior Doe
Sire:DeSurra's Brat
Dam:Milkhouse's ____, 1 Leg
Show/Brood Quality
Super body. Depth and width to spare. She's got some length to her shoulder, but that's it. She's a lovely example of her breed. Doesn't mesh well with my lines, or else I'd keep her. She has so many second places, it's crazy. Probably 5-7 of them

All of the following juniors are out of Velotta's Nick, Registered and Milkhouse's Dusty, Registered, 1 Leg.

Silent Spring's SND2
Broken Opal Junior Buck
Show/Brood/4H Quality

Silent Spring's SND3
Broken Opal Junior Buck
Brood/4H Quality

Silent Spring's SND4
Broken Opal Junior Doe
Show/Brood/4H Quality

Silent Spring's SND5
Broken Opal Junior Buck
Brood/4H Quality

Thanks,
Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Registrar's Application

2008-03-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

I sent off my registrar's application today :-) I'm hoping to take the test during Spring Back, if they are snappy with getting back to me lol.

Wish me luck! :-)

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Tulare Show Results

2008-03-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

I said I would tell you all my results, so here they are :-)

I'm only going to place decent results =P most of my bunnies did really well, except for my SSD's, but there was a huge class of 16 of them!

Saturday -

Show A - Mini Lops - 54

SSR's Sundance Kid - SSB - 3/10
Kitsemble's Sidney - 2/9
SSR's Cody - 1/3

Show B - Mini Lops - 54

Totally sucked lol.

Sunday

Show A - Mini Lops - 27

Kitsemble's Sidney - 1/7, BOV, BOSB *LEG*
SSR's Cody - 1/3, BOSV *LEG*

Show B - Mini Lops - 27
SSR's Sundance Kid - 2/4
Kitsemble's Sidney - 3/7
SSR's Cody - 1/3

Cody was a HUGE hit! He was looking super nice. I also got all my siggies for my registrar's application and am sending it off tomorrow!It was a great weekend! I registered a few, granded Sidney, and got my first leg on Cody! I also bred Truffle, my broken chocolate doe, to my friend Qadoshyah's buck, Hoppin's Daquiri.

I'm still deciding which my next show will be. Either Fresno or Paso Robles. I will go to Fresno if I can start working for my registrar's license by then, but if not I don't think I'll go.

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Computer Problems

2008-03-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

My computer is acting up so I will not be able to update my website for a while. Hopefully it'll be fixed in a few weeks time. My email is still working, so give me an email if you want to know what I've got for sale - my current sales list is outdated currently.

I'll post Tulare Results tomorrow :-)

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Tulare Shows 3.08.08 & 3.09.08

2008-02-29T18:13:00.000-08:00

I will be attending the Tulare Show on Saturday & Sunday next weekend :-) Both days there are double youth & double open, with sunday having an open Mini Lops Specialty. I am really looking forward to it, since the last show I had was over a month ago (I know, CA has a lot of shows! lol)

Here's my show list -

8th -

Youth -

Sundance Kid - SSB - Opal
Emma - SSD - Lilac Chin
Sparkling Silver - SSD - Black Chin
Cody - BJB - Chesnut
Sidney - BSD - Chesnut
Natasha - BJD - Opal

9th -

Youth -

Sundance Kid - SSB - Opal
Sparkling Silver - SSD - Black Chin
Cody - BJB - Chesnut
Sidney - BSD - Chesnut

ML Specialty -

Undecided. Possibly Sparkling Silver and Cody.

I will also be picking up my polytray trays there! :-) If you know anyone wanting some metal 36' by 24 trays in good condition email me. I am still deciding how much to sell them for, but it will be reasonable.

I hope to see many of you at the show! If you haven't met me before, but would like to come say hi, send me an email and I'll tell you how to find me ;)

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Rabbitry Happenings

2008-02-27T15:18:00.001-08:00

I am going to update the website within the next few days. I need to update the breedings, juniors, nursery, and links pages. I also have to make a page for Dusty's litter, but I am hoping to do that this weekend.

Speaking of Dusty's babies, they are doing great! Last time I check, all but one are bucks ;) *sighs* Oh well, these babies are cute! I really like the solid opal, I might be looking at one of my future herd bucks, if his body turns out nicely. I swear, agoutis have been my breeding luck for the last 8 months lol. I should say "Unintentionally specializing in Agoutis"

I just rebred Cinnamon to Sundance. I am crossing my fingers for a nice doe replacement for her! :D

Muchi, my broken opal buck, went to live with Yu. Trixie and Dallas are going to live with Amy Stewart and family :-) I am sure they will love their new additions.

I am trying to figure what seniors I am going to be selling. Let me know if you are interested in some of my senior does, or possibly a broken buck.

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

New Bunny

2008-02-18T20:45:00.000-08:00

Hoppin's Nicolette, a broken lilac steel, is the new addition coming!

I will be getting a new doe from Qadoshyah of Hoppin' Herd of Hares in a few days! She is a junior Broken Gold Tipped Lilac Steel. She should really help me with my lilacs, she is a very promising girl! I have decided to name her Hoppin's Nicolette :) Her father is JT's Amaretto and her mother is Hoppin's Sugar Dust. Sugar Dust is out of my old Herdsire, Velotta's Raymond, so Nicolette should mesh into my lines well :) I am anxious to get her when I go to visit Qadoshyah in a few days!

While visiting, we will also be breeding one of my does to her buck. I will be breeding my broken chocolate doe, SSR's Truffle, to her broken lilac buck, Hoppin's Daquiri. Hopefully they will make some pretty babies! I will probably be rebreeding Cinnamon back to Sundance soon as well :)

Dusty's babies are doing well! Their eyes opened a few days ago! Pictures soon!

Michael

Silent Springs Rabbitry

"Where Quality Comes in Color"

http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

Litters - 4 Weeks Old

2008-01-30T18:11:00.000-08:00

The litters are doing will! :-) I have my eyes on a few of the cuties! A broken chesnut buck from Cinnamon & and Broken Opal Doe from Ice. I also really like the broken opal buck, but since he's unshowable I don't really have room to grow him out just to breed him & I can always repeat the breeding. The broken opal doe is soooo cobby, it's amazing. She doesn't have as much head as her sister, but her's is not bad at all! The broken chesnut is incredibly thick & compact. He should help with a few things in my line I've been wanting to add. I want to rebreed Cinnamon back to Sundance, this time hoping for a bigger litter as well as some chocolates!

On another note, Dusty & Starlight are due to kindle this monday. I am excited to see what they have! I have given them nests already & they have been working! lol. I am excited for some more babies from these does, they produce very nice stock. I will that these babies available with me at the Paso Robles show in April, if anyone's interested. I'm only planning on keeping one baby, if that.

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
Where Quality Comes in Color
www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/

1/12 KCRBA Backyard Show

2008-01-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

I had a fun time at the show! I was clerking for Judge Randy Shumaker for a majority of the day. I got to see some DQ's I had never seen before - so it was a learning experience! :-)

In Show A & B my doe from Convention, Kitsemble's Sidney, won BOB. Those are her first 2 legs! I am hoping I can grand her out this spring so I can try to get some babies from her. She should help my herd out a lot!

On the Best in Show table, Sidney did well! In Show A she got Honorable Mention & in Show B she took Reserve in Show!

BIS in both shows when to Berlena Reynolds.

Michael
Silent Springs Rabbitry
"Where Quality Comes in Color"
http://www.geocities.com/silentspringsrabbitry07/