GC Shepherds Shimmer
GC PP's Glacier Ice
Shimmer getting her senior coat
Broken and Not.
It is good to be back to blogging. I had dropped my camera in June and broke it, so no new photos. The computer also broke with a bad virus that took forever to get fixed. Plus it was too hot to do much of anything but try to stay cool and keep the bunnies cool, a full time job. And I forgot to mention that I am back to work, very exciting news.
Anyway back to bunnies, Shepherds Shimmer won a Best in Specialty Show in June at the show in Massachusetts. Very exciting as she had just turned senior and beat some very nice rabbits plus won over GC RIS Shepherds Bellhop who had won BOB and BOS at the two open Shows and over GC WW Queen Latiffa who won the reverse shows BOB and BOS. I am happy that the next generation is showing some promise as my two bellringers are molting badly right now.
I am looking forward to some fall shows although not as many as in previous years. My angoras have taken a toll this summer with the heat and the younger juniors are looking a little worse for the wear. Keeping them cool with the misters and spray bottles has made their coats somewhat felted. They also don't seem to have popped the wool as in previous years. We need some cooler weather to come along, like now. Well, it is nice to be back and I hope to have some angora photos up in the next few weeks once I work the kinks out.
Keeping angoras cool
Very difficult in hot weather.
If you have an angora with any length of coat in hot weather, it is best to keep them in air conditioning. Some owners bring them in during the day and then put them back out at night when it is cooler. Shade and a short haircut is most important with bunnies that are housed outside in hot weather. Fans to move the air, frozen water bottles or frozen ceramic tiles put in each cage are a big help. I spray down the concrete floors with cold water so that it keeps things cool as it evaporates during the day. There is a misting hose that runs around the outside of the rabbitry that sprays cool water and does drop the temps by a few degrees. Ice cubes in the drinking water bottles are a help as well as those frozen blue ice packs in the cage pans where the rabbit can't reach them. A fine mist spray bottle for cooling ears is also helpful as well as keeping the rabbit calm just letting them chill out during the day. Cool treats are also enjoyed, cold baby carrots, cold kale with the rinse water still on it or some chilled apple sclices. Anything that keeps you and your bunny cool and happy is great in heat like this. Keep cool!
Smoothing out his coat.
Looking for the Judge
I'm ready, look at me!
Some show rabbits are just natural posers and some have to be worked with for awhile before they understand what to do on the show table and some are just carpet huggers. It is a joy to see a bunny that loves showing so much that he actually is up on his hind legs trying to get the judges attention. He turns to follow the Best in Show judge so he is makes sure the judge will not to miss his best points.
This is RIS GC Shepherd's Bellhop and he just loves to show. It took him longer to blossom then his sister, RIS GC Shepherd's Ring My Bell, but he has surpassed her with his wins. 8 GC legs, 1 RIS, 8 BOB (unusual for a buck to beat a doe), 1 BOS and 1 BOG. His sister has 5 GC legs, 1 RIS, 2 BOB (one at PASRBA with over 65 woolies entered), 2 BOG and 1st. Junior Doe.
Their other sister, Belladonna, is a scardy cat and becomes one with the carpet at shows. Although she is just as nice, she only has one win under her belt. If only she would struff her fluff, she would do much better at shows. She did try her best to out pose Naomi Campbell at the Harpers Bazaar photo shoot by leaning into the fan every time the assistant moved it in the models direction. Maybe she is just prefers a different type of posing.
Some are naturals, some you can teach and some are just happier staying at home. This poser cracks me up, he is just so comical. Thanks to Anita Picco for these fun photos and love Alyssa Bowlby's beautiful English Angora sitting so nicely on her carpet.
Editor Hugo Lindgrin from the NY Times Magazine.
Not a great photo but if you are riding in the back of a New York City taxi and watch the TV monitor you may get a chance to see the Editor of the NY Times Magazine with an English Angora bunny on his head and other places in his office. You can also go to www.nytimes.com and go to the Innovation section for the magazine to see the video of how 4 bunnies turned into so many more. The video is very funny and my Dad and I had alot of fun with the shoot. The editor was very easy going and even let me put a bunny on his head. Most fun was watching all of the very experienced staff of the magazine on the whole 6th floor go ga-ga over the bunnies. Something that we just take for granted seems to make other people go a little animal crazy. They were taking photos with their phone, knocking on the glass divider walls trying to get the bunnies attention and begging to touch one. Very cute.
So I don't know about fortune but if I get a chance to go for a shoot, I always take it. They pay very well for the time spent working and will also pay for the expenses of traveling there. The bunnies really seem to like the attention and are usually very well mannered. I even had one Jersey Wooly, Belladonna, trying to upstage Naomi Campbell by putting her face towards the fan everytime the assistant moved it in the model's direction. Everyone seems to love them, the jobs help to pay for rabbit food and it puts a very positive spin on bunnies as pets and how well they are treated.
I also get to experience situations that I would never be involved in otherwise. What other chance would I have to meet Naomi Campbell or Italian supermodel Fabrizia? Or interact with child superstars in the making? Or have my rabbits photographed by famous fashion photographers? Or my favorite of all, to get a chance to view row upon row of next seasons designer shoes and boots and try on a huge diamond flower ring from Jacob and Co.?
Ok, back to reality, time to clean the rabbit pans...........but a girl can dream..................
Blue Jersey Wooly Doe
Broken Tort Jersey Wooly Doe
Two sisters relaxing together
Well, I have had it with flys. I have never seen it so bad as it is this year. No real freeze this winter must have not killed any of them. So it is war! I have had it with them so I asked around, did some research and this is what I found. I tried my research on half of the rabbitry as an experiment. I cleaned half of the cages in the rabbitry with white vinegar, washed out all the pans, sprinkled the pans with barn lime, sweet PDZ and pine chips. Washed down all of the concrete floors with the hose, white vinegar and then floor cleaner with a herbal disinfectant. Around the outside edges of half of the rabbitry, I sprinkled cedar shavings. I put up new fly strips and I put out bait stations with fly bait. I put out cups of apple cider vinegar with a piece of fruit in the bottom. I also ordered fly parasites to place around the rabbitry.
Results are that now I no longer have any flys on one side of the rabbitry. They have now left to live on the other side. When I am done with the other side, I will spray the screen doors with fly spray.Tomorrow the seige continues with the other side until I have no more flys. I will not give up, I will win the war of human against insect. The bunnies don't seem to be bothered but they just drive me crazy so I won't rest until they are all eliminated. And if they are not all eliminated then at least the rabbitry will sure smell good. Oh well......I will let you know if it works. So far, so good.
Shepherd's Laurel
GC Shepherd's Princess Poppy
Shepherd's Lady Slipper
As promised, here are the colored english angoras that were shown at the Rhinebeck, NY show. Poppy won two more BOB, Lady Slipper won first junior doe twice while Laurel won 2 BOS awards. He went on to win another BOS award at the Baltimore and Howard show last Saturday against some really tough and handsome competition. Lady Slipper came in second to Alyssa's beautiful junior doe, Eve. Donna's beautiful black sentior doe, Berry Bright won first senior doe and I believe, BOV. An agouti senior buck came in first in the buck class. The BOB award was won by a beautiful rew junior doe owned by Anita. She is a lovely little bunny who we better all watch out for in the future.
The woolies also had some very tough competition at B&H but managed to take home a BOG self with Shepherd's Bellhop, a first self junior buck with LSR Elusive, and BOG broken with Shepherd's Polka Dot Bikini. The awards were spread through out the wooly exhibitors but BOB and BOS were won by Jenea's beautiful AOV pair. With the Hoto Nationals running along side the open show, everyone was kept hopping. We all had fun, enjoyed seeing everyone and the bunnies enjoyed the cooler weather.
