Fall chores and In Training

Fall is always a favorite time of year and time for lots of activities--some I look forward to and others not so much. Following fair weekend, it was shearing time for the ewes (not a favorite activity but needs to be done), then off to Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Fesitval with a small group of ewes-Cluns and Clun Mules. Thanks to Mark & Brenda Lelli enjoyed once again being able to hopefully learn something from the across the big pond Judge in the Mule Show. Enjoyed talking sheep and seeing old friends. Brought home (unplanned but a good plan) the new flock project, an 8 week old LGD (Livestock Guardian pup)from Connie and Kerri who came up for the weekend and camped. Hmmm, that makes 2 puppies from Davenitch in 2011! Gulliver is 1/2 Italian Maremma, 1/4 Great Pyrenees, and a 1/4 Anatolian Shepherd dog. He is now 4 months old and DOES live with the sheep not in Rachel's bed. He initially was an escape artist and also got a little too closely attached to his original runt lamb buddies and ended up playing a little rough with them but besides that he is a workable fellow and is doing better than expected!

Next favorite activity was the NACFA Annual Meeting in Iowa this year. Got to visit with the regular attendees plus some newer members. October was on the road a couple of weekends to dog shows. Hope had some success and will share once I get her blog up and running. Also, played match-maker with the sheep and we'll see how that turns out next mid-March to April. Most the market lambs are gone and good to touch base with the regular lamb customers, and do appreciate the repeat business. Garden is clean and have a few things we will enjoy from it yet. Buttoning up in preparation for the winter, and just finished a new dog yard to simplify dog pottying (plus a play-yard).

To Win and to Lose?

Well following Rachel's showing of rabbits in the breed groups on Saturday, I couldn't help but not think about the Mini Rex Black Otter Jr. Doe that was awarded Best of Breed over our Black Jr. Buck, and who went onto win Best In Show!! I thought gee it is the same age category, how many people around here breed Black Otters, and the owner is local (East Troy/Mukwonago area) so I just had to ask if they bought the doe and if so from TSC (Tractor Supply)? Well the answer was yes and we had sold 5 babies including 2 Otter does at 8 weeks of age for $10 each. We kept the Black Jr. Buck (as I figured at the time we already had 2 Otter does) and he is a fine rabbit in his own right but on that day not as good as his sister. I felt pretty stupid when I realized it but Rachel and I chuckle about it and she wrote in her fair project book on what she learned "not to let my mom sell my babies so soon!"
Some would think we lost but it was a great unforgettable day. We also discovered we have some nicer rabbits than we realized before the day began, and we also made the doe's owner happy as we offered her the pedigree. Rachel will always be remembered as the girl who sold the BIS doe for $10 to TSC. The girl paid $19.99. We joke the kids will be flocking to TSC next spring to find the next BIS rabbit. Rachel is shown with her Jr. Buck who was Best of Opposite Sex and shown is the BIS sister resting in her cage after her big day!

Summer?

I guess I must have been having too much fun this summer to keep up on this blog. It is now Labor Day weekend and summer is soon to be offically gone. Lambs have been leaving, Hope is now a 6 month old puppy, Rachel is almost as tall as me and getting ready to start middle school. We are completing fair week at the Walworth County Fair and Rachel had all blue ribons on her 4H projects including a Grand Champion pet rabbit in costume, a Best of Opposite Sex Mini Rex Jr. Buck we bred, Best of Variety. Highlights were a Metra trip to Chicago Shedd Aquarium & Navy Pier, Wisconsin River trip at my sister's including pontoon boating, Wisconsin Dells Noah's Ark & Mt. Olympus, and I attended the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Specialty in Ohio with Hope's litter families. Will get back to a normal routine again. Have another busy week preparing for display and Mule Show at Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in Jefferson and the ewes will get shorn this week also. Come and see us at the Festival!

New Farm-Hand/Paw

After a cool/delayed spring it is nice to have the sheep out grazing. The first week of May was when we started tasting grass on the lawn and "Hope" our new Cardigan Corgi was interested in the sheep. Actually I wasn't prepared as she zipped right through the electronet and the sheep moved. Second time a ewe was giving her the eye and waiting so I saved her from an unpleasant lesson. The ewes and lambs moved out to their pasture. Rachel & Hope learned how protective ewes came be the day of our gator ride out to check on the sheep as a ewe came after them. Hope and Rachel each took a seat but look who's driving! No one looks worse for the wear. I need some farm hands/paws.

Happy Easter

We had a colorful Easter and Rachel liked having help on her annual Easter egg hunt! They hopped right to it!
Happy Easter from us and all our buns here at Sweet Buns Rabbitry www.sweetbunsrabbitry.com. I've included a special tribute to Samantha the Mini Lop who posed in the Easter Basket last year. She passed earlier this month and was a fine friend. She will be missed.

Meet "Davenitch R Mere Everlasting Hope"

I didn't want to announce we were on the list for a female Cardigan Welsh Corgi puppy until I knew it was a sure thing and this week we picked up Hope from her breeder, Connie Whan. We met Hope when she was 3 weeks old and hoped she would turn out as a potential show prospect so we called her Hope early on. She is the only brindle female out of 8 in the litter. Here is a few pics of her at various ages up to now. Timing of this litter was perfect as I finished my Town tax duties as Treasurer followed by lambing.

Clun Forest AI Results

Success! Indeed 11 of 12 ewes bred artificially with the Netherlands frozen semen lambed from March 21-25. We had a few struggles with 3 sets of TBV triplets born on one day and a couple losses in the following days (small lambs) plus one cervical spine deformity in one of them but she is thriving now.
We have more SAN lambs: 3 twin born rams plus 1 single born black fleeced wether and 4 ewes.
Our first TBV lambs: 5 twin or triplet born rams and 3 ewes.
Our first OWE lamb: a twin born ram but the other got hung up at the ribs in a backwards birth and he didn't make it.
Overall, 15 lambs at this point could be registerable. The pic is of one the SAN twin ram lambs and his dam.