Back from the show!

Yesterday was a long day but I had a lot of fun. Placed fairly well and brought home lots of new buns. Here are a few of my placements

Youth
Dominick, SSB: 3/6
Eva, SSD: 3/5
Sophia, SSD: 2/5
Paint It Black, SJD: 1/4

Open
Missy, SJD: 3/10

The does from Indiana arrived just fine. I'm very please with them. Here's a look at the solid show doe.I took home two brood does from Snug-a-licious Rabbitry. One is on loan and the other is here for a bit. In addition, we have a new doe for our Sable Point project:

This is Mary's Cherrio and she's quite the character. We are very happy with her and can't wait to get her bred.

On a side note, turns out that we actually don't have a blue tort in the nest box. He's just a regular old black tort, just very dark. In addition, he might also be a fuzzy! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's not!
That's all for now!

Barn News

Just thought I'd share what's going on in the barn!

It still hasn't gotten too cold around here except for a few dips. I'm anticipating when it actually does get cold because that's when I will have all my litters! Luckily it doesn't snow here until late January, early February.

I am very pleased and proud to pronounce that the very first broken blue tort was born in the barn on 11/20!! I was absolutely shocked because I didn't even know the sire carried dilute! The parents are Lexus and Diego. I'm hoping it's a good match. I started off with not having any dilute carrier bucks and now I have three! Pedigrees don't reveal everything...

Next up we have two lovely does coming from my friend Todd Naragon in Indiana. As you can imagine, I am overly excited about these gals for a few reasons. First of all, the are both blacks; one broken, one solid. The broken is a brood doe because of her head mount but has the biggest head you've ever seen on a jr. doe! The solid, the one I am most excited about, has 4 JUNIOR legs! I am so thankful that Todd was willing to part with her. She has two BOB legs, 2 BOSV legs, and possibly a leg for 1st place (waiting to hear the class size). She turns Sr. on 12/2 so I will be showing her this weekend to try to get her a Sr. leg and then grand her. Judge Joel Marshall was nice enough to transport them for me to the next show. I will be posting pictures when they arrive.

I've tried my best to get as many does to palpate as possible so here's hoping for a few litters before the end of the year. I have three unplanned-special breedings aswell! Paint It Black x Diego is due on Christmas Eve, Trixy x Diego is due on New Year's Eve, and Eva x Dominick is due New Year's day!

Happy Holidays!

Fall Herd Reduction!

I have LOTS of rabbits for sale that I'd like to move out by the end of the year. More information is on my website but here is a list of what's available:

Glendale's Lexus, Tort SSD $75
Locket's Baby Phat, Tort SSD $50
Locket's Yogi, Tort SJB $50
Spring Lake's Cha Cha Cha, Broken Black BSD $40
Lops of Love's Chammile, Broken Tort BSD $50
Locket's Soul Man, Black SJB $85 (FUZZY HOLLAND with BOS leg at 9 weeks old)
THF Saynora's Sprinkles, Frosty SSD $75

Additional pets available on sales page. www.locketlops.com

That's all for now!

Is their an excuse...

....for buying un-pedigreed stock?

One of the main things I have a problem with is when people willingly and happily buy un-pedigreed stock. Whether it be from an unknown breeder, an auction, or a raffle...I do not get it. From my experience, the people that buy un-pedigreed stock are people that want to do it their way or really just don't care. Do they not realize that when they purchase this rabbit that it can carry a slew of things? For instance, how do we know that the rabbit doesn't come from a line of over-weight rabbits, odd breedings (like a self blue seal chin x lilac tort otter), or even that the rabbit is purebred? Well..I mean..after a few generations who cares if it's purebred! Are these kind of breeders in it to support the breed or are they just breeding to produce pets?

A big concern of mine is why the rabbit is in the auction in the first place. Obviously the breeder didn't want it for a certain reason. Without any way of contacting them..we can't be sure if the rabbit is even able to produce anymore! How old is it? Is it sterile? Does he have a split p? Does he carry VD or any other hereditary disease? Are none of these taken into consideration? Is it easier to buy a rabbit with absolutely no history than it is to buy a pedigreed, well cared for, and solid rabbit from a good breeder? I guess so!

Maybe it's ignorance. They choose not to care because they are happy with their purchase. They choose not to educate themselves because they don't care? A care-free attitude is a red flag to me. Anyone that wants to be serious with rabbits should take the time to do it right.

Well...that's all for now.

Orange Litter Update

Well, Sprinkles is 3 days overdue and has been in labor since 5:00 this morning. We got really worried so we called the vet. After canceling out the option of a $500 c-section, over-night stay, spay, and vet visit....we called Dr. Wendy Feaga in MD. She told us what to do. Unfortunately, Sprinkles can never be bred again. I am extremely upset about this and wish we could've done something sooner. Hopefully I'll be able to find her a pet home. For now..I am putting aside the orange project.

Special Litter Coming

I am so excited to announce that I will be having my first Orange litter!!!! I purchased THF Saynora's Sprinkles, a frosty doe, (13th place SJD at '09 HLRSC Nationals) from Christy Gray as my start in the project. I bred her to Willow Walker's Diego in hopes for oranges (and brokens too!) They are due the 7th so I'm really hoping everything goes okay. She was super frantic about her nest building the other day but got distracted by food so she...stopped :(

More to come!!

ARBA Convention..and some thinking....

So all the Convention rush is coming to a slow. I want to congratulate the BOB winners, Jenny Poprawski of Camelot Rabbitry and Aislin Hall of Care Hare's Rabbitry (also taking BIS Youth) for their outstanding commitment to the rabbit community and their dedication in perfecting the breed.

I didn't get a whole lot into the whole ordeal mainly because I wasn't going..and God knows we ALL wanted to go. But after hearing the results, I am just in awe of these magnificent creatures and their owners. I can only begin imagine the breeder's response to hearing their rabbit called for a top placement.

To think it all started by walking out to the barn one night and deciding to put a buck with a doe and hoping for the best. These parents were carefully picked out in hopes to improve the herd and were greatly anticipated as to their arrival. Four weeks later, there's a nest full of plump, wriggly, helpless babies that you've created. You would watch these rabbits grow and pick your favorite as they mature. As the hype of Convention rolls around, you begin to chose your few select rabbits to join you on your mission in placing at *least* in the top 10..we can't get our hopes up too high now can we? These rabbits were put in their usual carriers with their usual crocks and bottles and off they went...by car or plane to their final destination. Everyone unloads the rabbits into their coop...all hoping to take the one spot...all hoping that their ONE rabbit sweeps the tables and goes down in history... While your rabbit sits patiently in its coop not knowing a darn about what's happening, you are in a frenzy over the weeks happenings. *Finally* your little one goes up to the table against some of the best rabbits out there. Rabbits that have been plastered over the internet and raved about at shows with their multiple legs and such. Anticipating the final judgment. You get a feeling in your gut as the judge slowly moves your rabbit to the first hole of the coop. Your heart is pounding...pulse rushing...stomach turning. Just to think...each and every other person standing next to you feels JUST the same way. Before you know it the agonizing pain is over and your rabbit...YOUR rabbit...takes that one spot. The only spot reserved in the nation for the best rabbit of that breed. The only single spot available for the *best* rabbit in the nation. That single number alone...sends chills down anyone's back. No one else can feel the way you do..no one else will know how you feel... or can imagine how you feel. In unison the crowd goes wild and you come back down to earth (which is now spinning again) and you are lifted by the words of praise by fellows friends to a high that is inexplicable. YOU did it. You actually did it. You walked out there that one night and put that one buck, with that one doe. And the rest, they say, is history.

*Sigh* I can only begin to imagine.

Back to reality...this makes me want to completely start over with my herd and go out there and buy the best I can buy and in 3 years walk right up to those tables and win. That's right. I, Laura Freeman of Locket Lops Rabbitry, want to WIN. Okay, I know, I'm sounding selfish, immature, and self absorbed. Let me ask you....do you want to win? Thought so. I've thought about dong it. Starting over that is. I mean..it'd only consist of me putting up for sale all the rabbits I worked hard to buy and raise and feed and what in the world am I thinking? I have jrs I want to keep, I have bucks I would never sell, and I just bought that rabbit! Good Lord, what was I thinking. I've been doing this too long to even think about selling out. Who would buy my stuff anyways? Okay, I'm getting carried away. So I guess I'll just stay put...hoping that by 2011 ARBA Convention I'll have something worth while to show. After all...it only starts with one buck, and one doe.

CONKbunny Comic

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I just wanted to share this website with everyone. Two friends of mine do a comic every week about their bunnies and it's quite hilarious. Check it out at: http://conkersbunny.blogspot.com/

Adding to the Barn

Okay. Maybe I should start out by letting you all know how I started this whole rabbit hobby. It didn't just start with a little lionhead doe, but it started out with a local breeder that very quickly became my best friend. I swear I would never been where I am now without her. She taught me everything. She taught me ALL about genetics in the easiest way possible, she taught me about how to breed and choosing breeding pairs, she taught me about treating sicknesses, and the list goes on. I would go over to her barn (10 minutes away) pretty much ever other week and just help her clean. It wasn't long before I knew everyone of her rabbits by name and face. Before I knew it, I was house-sitting for her while she went on vacation. I became very close to her and her Nethies. I loved them dearly. Then one day, while we were out at the stable watching a horse show, I asked her how the bunnies were doing. Her response was just heart-breaking. "I only have about 7 left (she used to have about 30). I sold them all to my friend, I just can't do it anymore". She hadn't told me or even mentioned the idea that she was going to get out. I was just heart-broken. You wouldn't think someone else's rabbits being sold would affect you very much...but these just weren't her rabbits...I considered them my own too. I had bred her rabbits, I had fed them, I had watched them win their first legs. I just had absolutely no words. "You can get some from her if you want, I told her to save you some" I kept that in thought and continued on with my day. I haven't talked to her much. She took some Hollands to breed for fun and I haven't talked to her since. It's a shame since she only lives 10 minutes down the road. I still can't believe that we won't be going to any more rabbit shows together. I sure did love our road-trips with her daughter. We would have so much fun together and we would laugh at the stupidest things. Like the time we went right after school got out for the year to Tennessee for the ND meeting. I don't breed them, but I'm glad I went because I met some wonderful people and learned tons. But our 4 short years of bunny talk slowly came to an end and I am grateful for the time we had together.

So, long story short, I am taking her up on her offer she made to me on March 23 (also the day I lost Mishodoe). I am going to put my otters in the back seat and only keep my pair, Spunky and Johnny's Girl, and I am going to use the rest of the space (mainly the 6 stacker) to start breeding Netherlands. She had a very established line of Shadeds and Himis so I plan to start with those. I figured I might need a new breed anyways. I hope to get some does going back to Mark Twain and Mexi, her two best bucks. Her friend said that she would probably sell me the stuff that she bred instead of what Beth bred but I guess I'm okay with that. So my next plan is to make the phone call today to see when I can get them up here. It was a hard but extremely easy decision to make. Maybe I'm doing it because I want back what I lost, maybe because I just love her animals. I really do. So I will keep everyone posted on the future arrivals.

Web Design

I've been thinking about doing some website designs for a while now. Every once and a while I see a site that I would really like to redo, hahaha. It's a good pass time and since I will have a lot of time on my hands, I thought I would put it out there. For the moment, I won't be charging much so if you want a web design, get while its cheap! I've designed 3-4 websites so far and I've gotten a lot of good responses. I especially like working with FrontPage. Tell your friends/family!

Bunnies For Sale!!

The following are for sale at the Charles Town, WV show on 6/6.

RTR's Ocho
Sr. Buck
Tort
$100

Spring Lake Zsa Zsa
Jr. Doe
Black
$75 (asking what I paid, plus she might be pregnant)

Locket's Broken Blitz
Jr. Doe
Broken Black Otter
$50

Rain Rain Stay Away!!

We started the roof today. Rain is coming and we aren't quite done so we are hoping we can get it finished before the storms start! Here's a look at what's been going on.














This is Sunny our French Lop. Thought I would share his neat little condo.

The roof is several inches higher now and we plan to add skylights so the bunnies can have natural light.

More pictures to come!!

Big News!

A few months ago I joined Rabbit Habbit Forum where I met a lot of nice people. Among those people was Julie Cahill of Oak Ridge Rabbitry. She IM'd me on my yahoo chat and we started talking. We easily became really good friends; we had a lot in common! After a few weeks of hour long conversations over chat, we got the idea that we would want to become a co*op. We talked about how cool it would be to walk into a show and have kick butt Hollands!

After much thought, we decided to buy our first co*owned rabbit from Rev's Rabbitry. She's a really nice doe named THF Saynora's Trixy. She's a blue tort senior doe. After that we figured we might as well go somewhere with it. So instead of a co*op, we settled on a partnership!

For the next few years (until Julie gets out of college) we will do joint breedings, co*ownings, and show together. It's just so we can get used to working with each other and see if a co*op would work for us.

It's VERY exciting knowing that my (and hers) herd will improve MUCH faster!!!

That's all for now!

Warning! Under Construction!

Right now my barn is 12' x 16'. Sounds big right? Not really! I only have space for about 15 cages which isn't nearly enough to keep all the rabbits I want. So we decided that we would do a 4' extension to make is 12' x 20'. It's just enough room to add another hanging unit for my torts. You can imagine it will fill up pretty quickly. I just wish I had more room for my otters. I don't see them going anywhere very soon so I have time to work with my torts and blacks while my otters just sit pretty.

Anyways, we are supposed to start next weekend with the barn. We have to redo the roof too..so many leaks! If it would ever stop raining we could get started! We had the intentions of tearing it down and just using a carport but I didn't feel that that would be any more support for the roof...plus it was only 10 x 20.

Pictures will be up of the construction soon! That's all for now.

Welcome to the barn

Welcome! In my blog, I hope to share my experiences, ideas, frustrations, news, and stories with everyone about Locket Lops Rabbitry.

Locket Lops is located in Virginia Beach, VA. I have been breeding rabbits with the help of my family for almost three years. We started with an orange Lionhead doe from the pet store. She was our first bunny since we lost B.W., a black and white mix, in 1999. We contact a local breeder, Beth Vincelette, who got us started with breeding. We had our first litter in February of 2007.

After a year, we moved away from Lionheads and moved onto Holland Lops. We got a trio from Cecil Waller of Waller's Wabbits and we were off! It only took a few litters before we got serious about this addicting rabbit habit. The summer of 2008, we built a pole barn and Joe Mabe of Lops of Love Rabbitry brought me two hanging units of cages and four Hollands. I was thrilled to have a real rabbitry set up, as I was used to random cages and hutches. We settled on a rabbitry name which at the time was Bunny Yard Gardens.

If you are wondering about the name, my mom wanted to have a gardening business so that is where the 'Garden' portion came from; and the barn was located in what we called the "bunny yard". So it fit. Eventually, the bunny portion of the business blossomed and took over. However, that is not why I decided to change the name.

Now, we have a growing herd of fifteen rabbits. Thanks to the help of Tracy Lukeman, Candace Feathers, Joe Mabe, Cecil Waller, Gary and Susan Smith, Cass Kinnear, Ashlee Richards, Todd Naragon and many more; I could not have done it with out you! I really want to thank Cass for all her help getting me in the right direction in helping me find my herd buck. Your advice was and is much appreciated.