Where are we headed?

In a great direction, I hope.

  Often I find myself disappointed in the direction my herd went. My homegrowns were subpar, even for newbie standards. I had either nice bodies, or nice heads. Never both. Also the amount of DOAs my does kept having would drive anyone into madness.

  Keep in mind I used the words "went" and "were". This was before I took the time to evaluate two of 2012s litters. I don't know if it was luck, or the perfect pairing, but I am extremely pleased with Emma and Tea Cup's litters. The balance is excellent, the bodies are lovely, and the personalities are something I hope to keep! Such naturally curious and sweet babies those two does had. Makes me smile so much!


Well, that's fantastic! What about the varieties?
  Right now, I am focusing on my Agoutis. I'm off to a great start with the Opals. It took me a while to actually get Agoutis. Why? Well, all the bucks I had were Shaded, or carried Shaded. When I bred my doe to my REW, I got Sables. I waited, and I waited, and I FINALLY got an Opal buck. The rest, you know if you follow the blog (or read this post fully). Now I need to get that dominant gene in the mix. That is where Tea Cup comes in. My hope is that she will provide my buck with the genes he needs to give me Chestnuts. I will probably introduce a new buck in the mix at some point, but right now I'm focusing on what I have.

*sizzle* - little doe that is promised to a new home

But, what about the Otters?
  Psh. Otters are easy! It took me one breeding to get those things, also a shocker litter, and there is noooo way they are leaving. Especially since I now have 2 Otter does, and one buck.  All are homebreds, mind you. I do plan on getting another Otter in the mix. Buck, or doe, I'm not sure. All of mine have the same father, and I need to figure out what their faults are, and bring in a new bun to fix that issue.

Mister "I'm not as long as I look"

You have a fawn, does this mean you're working on Oranges?
  Possibly. I love her personality (Gemma's the name), and I am keeping my Tort in hopes to throw some dominant into that non-extension gene bringing out the Orange within her! I will be taking my time on this, and certainly wont start an orange project until they get closer to being recognized. For now she will stay with her sister (my POL from Emma's litter) until I decide to breed her.

Brat refuses to pose!

So, those Shadeds of yours, still working on Shadeds?
  I was thinking about continuing to breed her while I still had Espresso (Sable Martin), but with her passing I don't really want to deal with them, especially with my Agoutis. My Siamese Sable buck will be for sale when I clean him up (I just... don't even want to go there), and my Smoke Pearl is in retirement. Tortie will stay for reasons listed above, and other than that I am DONE with Shadeds for a loooooooong time. I like my Agoutis too much to risk them being "tampered" with. Sable chin... *shudders*.

Shows?
Well, I intend on keeping my showing days strictly for juniors only for a bit. Even with Convention, I may only send one or two 2012 homegrowns with a friend to be shown. I just don't have the want to show my older/"bought" stock. Time to move on, and show my own, ya know? Plus my coats have been something less than gorgeous lately.. That kind of helps too, I suppose.

Here I am, I'm not completely horrible!
  Overall I think my herd is heading in a positive direction, and I hope to bring some nice juniors to the show table, as well as selling more show rabbits and getting my name out there more.

Ok folks, thats basically all the happenings, and future happenings here at the Fuzzy Patch. I hope you have a great day, and a fantastic time with your own herd. ☺