Upcoming Jersey Wooly Juniors

Well, ever since that boom of standard chinchilla litters about 3 months ago there really hasn't been a whole lot of chin activity, but the jersey woolies haven't halted in their production one bit! The litters just seem to keep on coming...and the does keep on breeding.

So, due to the numerous litters at M an' M Rabbitry, there are several very promising juniors that will be good show contenders, as some of the senior stock is moulting, and older juniors wait to get their senior coats on. Here are a few of the cuties!

M an' M's Martini
Black Silver Marten Junior Doe
Sadly her dam decided to nibble on her coat a bit...so she may not be hitting the show tables for quite a while. But for the meantime, we will wait and see how she is growing before making any final decisions on this little girl.

M an' M's Martini surveying her surroundings...CUTE!


M an' M's Psyche
Sable Marten Junior Doe
M an' M's Psyche is looking pretty cute! Every day I look at her and things that I thought weren't that great are improving. So we will see as she matures just a bit, and then space and other deciding factors will be taken into consideration. So far things are looking pretty promising that she will stick around.

M an' M's Psyche -BOD Shot




M an' M's Rocket
Ruby Eyed White Junior Buck
This little guy is the last of the best of this round of wooly litters. More kits coming up of course. But this little guy is super promising. It seems that M an' M Rabbitry is a little short on bucks in the wooly department at the moment, so he may stick around to fill the void of Self Stud Muffin. Of course that is when he grows up...just a tad...^_^

Anyways, its not long until more buns are born...here are a few combos due to kindle in July.

July litters due:

Standard Chinchillas:
DC's DC1 X DC's Zel (cute combo)
DC's DC2 X DC's Zel
Hutchin's 051 X DC's Zel
M an' M's Zoli X (buck from Scott...need to get paperwork from Karli)

Jersey Woolies:
M an' M's Frida X M an' M's Bebop
Rolling Hill's MacKay X M an' M's Bebop
M an' M's Daffodil X Leapin's Eclipse
M an' M's Coconut X M an' M's Bebop
Bunnies in the Box's Sophie X RM's Grasshopper

So YES! Plenty of more super cute buns will be born this summer!

Until more bun news,

-Ashley

WA State Convention: Friends and Fun!

Now that everyone is home and is settling in again from a long and tiering weekend, I finally have time to write up a blog about Washington State Convention.

The trip went well, and the weather was very mild for Eastern Washington. We lucked out again this year with some very nice wind and pretty reasonable heat. Of course we still brought with us some fans and such to keep the buns cool after coming off the show tables.

Karli and I also got to see some of our good ol' friends again. I swear I did more chatting with friends than I did even showing and attending the rabbits for the entire weekend. But it was good fun seeing them, and also meeting several new breeders. Plus, my grand parents who live over in Soap Lake, WA came over to visit with Karli and I on Sunday, and brought us lots of good home cooked food! Thank you Grandma Janice and Grandpa Orville!

The banquet was also very nice. Between Karli and I listening to the Royalty and sweeps awards, Shonna and her husband shared some very funny stories with us. ^_^ Karli did well for her first year at the Royalty Competition and I am sure that she will do even better in 2009.

So finally I will post the show results.

For the chins. Considering that my juniors were still in baby coats and that my senior doe Zoli was moulting, I think the chins did pretty well. No legs, but they placed where I thought they would in the competition against the older, more developed juniors. I also picked up a buck and a doe from Scott, and he ended up taking M an' M's Cassidy, and M an' M's Kangaroo. So I am super excited to see how things mesh! Breedings will occur VERY soon!

For the woolies, it was quite surprising. I only entered 4. M an' M's Bebop, M an' M's Tootie Fruitie, M an' M's Zane, and M an' M's Demi (Ear Change for M an' M's Queen of Cartoons). Anyways, when we got to the show room Friday afternoon, I really didn't think my woolies would do anything. The hair was falling off of M an' M's Zane and M an' M's Tootie Fruitie's faces. M an' M's Tootie Fruitie, had also chewed off half of her coat, and M an' M's Demi was only 8 weeks old. So yeah things didn't look like M an' M Rabbitry would pull out many wins this year, but I sure was pleasantly surprised!

SHOW A:
BOB Jersey Wooly: M an' M's Bebop, 7th leg
BOG Self: M an' M's Tootie Fruitie, 1st leg

SHOW B:
BOB Jersey Wooly: M an' M's Tootie Fruitie, 2nd leg

M an' M's Bebop, Smoke Pearl Jersey Wooly Senior Buck

Also, Donna Williams took some pictures of the Best Of Breed animals up for Best in Show, and here are a few shots of M an' M's Bebop on the show table.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e84/Donnamariecan/WSRBA2008/WSRBA2008069.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e84/Donnamariecan/WSRBA2008/WSRBA2008070.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e84/Donnamariecan/WSRBA2008/WSRBA2008076.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e84/Donnamariecan/WSRBA2008/WSRBA2008076-1.jpg

M an' M's Tootie Fruitie, Black Jersey Wooly Junior Doe

It was pretty surprising that Tootie Fruitie pulled out a BOB win out of about 30+ woolies. That was really nice!

Also, in youth M an' M's Fruit Loop, Blue Jr Doe took BOB for Tawnee. Congrats to both of them!

M an' M's Fruit Loop, Jersey Wooly Blue Junior Doe owned by Tawnee of WA State

So, overall it was a super fun weekend filled with lots of good times with friends, family and good show results!

By the way, I have decided to apply for my registrar's license so wish me luck!

Until I post again,

Toodles!

-Ashley

Washington State Convention is right around the corner!

Yep, time is flying by, and I can't believe that it is almost Washington State Convention already! Its just crazy.

Well, the standard chinchillas are all looking pretty good, some better than others, of the 5 I entered, most should do pretty well on the show tables this weekend.

As for the woolies, of the 4 I entered, there is really only one animal that Is really going to do well. The others are just juniors with baby coats or a senior who is just about to blow coat, and his coat is a bit discolored. But overall it should be tons of fun, and It will be great to see some good bunny friends again that I haven't seen in a while.

Today and Tomorrow I am doing quite a few breedings. So more woolies and more chins should be bred for beautiful babies to show at national convention.

Also, M an' M's Ashlind's kits are looking pretty cute, and are just to the point of starting to come out of the nestbox. This was a combination of M an' M's Ashlind X M an' M's Zane, so they should be pretty cute!

There is also some very cute woolies and chins that are almost old enough to wean, and once I return from WA State Convention, I will wean them and get pictures up on the blog and site.

Anyways, I hope all is well with everyone else's rabbitries and that you have lots of kits to choose from.

Toodles,

-Ashley

A Perfect Harmony: Jersey Wooly and Standard Chinchilla Rabbits

For some time now I have rethinking the breeds that I raise. Karli has often said that I should just sell out of the standard chinchillas and just focus on my jersey woolies. Yes, it is true that I do better with my Jersey Woolies, then I do with my Standard Chinchillas, but that is due to the lack of exhibitors in Standard Chinchillas, and the extremely rare chances for legs.

Anyways, I really do think that having both the Jersey Woolies and the Standard Chinchillas are a perfect harmony, and this is why! (I have also included some random cute pictures that haven't made it to the blog or the site yet)

Yeah, I do agree that both the Standard Chinchillas and the Jersey Woolies have their pros and their cons, just like any of the other rabbit breeds.

For one thing the chins do eat A Lot more than the woolies, and with the increase in feed costs, and my increase in production, the feed bill has gone WAY up. They also take up more room and require larger cages. Because they are a bigger rabbit and pack down more food, they poop and pee a lot more than the jersey woolies do, and cleaning their cages is usually more often, as the trays fill up much quicker. Another thing is that the Standard Chinchillas only come in one color. I have always thought that breeders who can do one breed in one variety are very disciplined. And as you can see...that definitely isn't me!

Funny Looking M an' M's Miss-D-fy

This is not to say that the woolies aren't immune from their share of pros and cons! The woolies of course are a lot more work in the grooming department. Wooly juniors typically can only be shown for a good 4 weeks, before they have to retire to the back of the barn until they get their senior coats in. The woolies also tend to make their cage's very hairy! So even though I have to clean chin trays more often, it actually takes me longer to clean the wooly cages because I have to get all that hair off! Especially when animals are moulting....Eeeeeek! The last thing that I can think of that sometimes gets on my nerves with the woolies is feeling their bodies. If an animal has a super dense coat...sometimes I just get so fed up because I just cant feel the body to know which animal to breed him or her too!

Look Mommy, I'm Batman!
Cute nose marking on this little broken...even though she did have pretty big ears!

One thing that I especially like about the Standard Chinchillas is that they have a pretty long junior showing season. Once they are in coat at about 13 weeks, they stay in coat until that senior fur starts coming in. The chins are practically grooming free. Also, I love that with the chins I almost don't even have to feel their body to know what their type is...I can "see" it! And when I am fed up with trying to feel wooly bodies I just go to the chins and just look at the type and play with them. The Standard Chinchillas keep me sane.

A young M an' M's Cellophane

But I must give credit the woolies as they bring me a lot of joy too! Although their coats are more work, and grooming is more often, when I get a really nicely conditioned wooly, I am very proud and it means a lot to me. Plus, the woolies come in a ton of colors, and just raising Tan Patterns, Selfs and AOVs there is plenty of room to play with colors and be surprised to see what pops out of the nestbox!

Line o' Chins

Overall, I think the Jersey Woolies provide me with that Fancy, and Fantasy elements that the Standard Chinchillas do not, but the Standard Chinchillas provide the element of Sanity, and thus it all seems to work out. In the next few months or so, I do plan on increasing my Standard Chinchilla stock, as I really do want to work on them a bit more than I have in the past 2 years. Though, that is not to say that I will be down sizing my woolies to accommodate the increase in chins. I actually plan on increasing my wooly stock as well, in order to progress my woolies a little faster by devoting more holes to breeding does. Therefore, in the next couple of months I plan on acquiring more cages to expand the herd.

Anyways, I just thought that a post was in order to explain my interesting combo of rabbit breeds that I have decided to raise.

M an' M's Fruit Loop
now living with Tawnee of WA State

Therefore, Until I post again,

Toodles,

-Ashley

Convention Time, OR and WA that is...

Well, its seems like yesterday, but it has almost been a week since Karli and I started our trek down to Newport, OR for a Triple Open All Breed Show at Oregon State Convention. It was a lot of fun, and the weather was really nice! Not too warm and actually sunny!

Overall the buns did pretty well. M an' M Rabbitry Rabbits nearly sweaped the Jersey Wooly Competition winning all BOB and BOS awards for all three shows except for one BOB Show B.

Karli's buns also did very well. Taking a few legs home for RIS Show A, BOB AFL Show B and BIS Youth.

Of course the Standard Chinchilla population in Oregon is virtually nothing, so no legs for the two chins that I entered, but I was very excited to have Cliff look at some of my upcoming juniors that will be seniors at National Convention this year in Kentucky.

As for M an' M' Rabbitry Wins at Oregon State Convention, here is a quick synopsis.

SHOW A:
BOB- M an' M's Ariel - Self Sr Doe Owned by Nancy Jordan (4th leg)
BOS- M an' M's Zane - Tan Pattern Sr Buck (10th leg)
BOG- M an' M's Bebop - Shaded Sr Buck (5th leg)

SHOW B:
BOS- M an' M's Ariel - Self Sr Doe Owned by Nancy Jordan (5th leg)

SHOW C:
BOB- M an' M's Bebop - Shaded Sr Buck (6th leg)
BOS- M an' M's Ariel - Self Sr Doe Owned by Nancy Jordan (6th leg)

So overall it was a great show, with a very funny and memorable banquet! (Karli, I have pictures of you on my phone when you volunteered in the skit ^_^)

As for Washington State Convention, it is coming up super fast! Only hours until it is exactly a week until Karli and I leave for our trip to Ellensburg.

Most of the woolies are in breeding or moulting, but I did manage to find a few to enter.

As for the chins, well thats a whole nother story! I have 2 junior bucks and 2 junior does that are entered and 1 senior doe. I hope to take all three classes that I entered, but we will see when the time comes. These juniors just look awesome! Ring color, type, the only thing I am waiting on is surface color. Lets just hope it comes in before National Convention when they get their senior coats in!

Anyways, Hopefully Karli and I will come back with some stellar wins from Washington State Convention!

Also, in the past couple of weeks, there have been a lot of babies coming out of the nestboxes. Ooodles of babies to be exact! There are some very promising animals that will do well on summer and fall show tables, thats for sure!

When I get some time, after this quarter is over tomorrow, I plan on working on some cages, fixing the navigation menu on the blog, and taking some pics of the cute juniors!

Until then, just check out the site as it has pretty recent pics and some very cute juniors that are going to be GORGEOUS once they get their senior coats in.

Until I post again,

Toodles,

-Ashley