New Updates!

Not to the blog of course. That would require creative effort, something I really do not have the patience for.

What requires little to no effort, however, is making a Facebook site and a website from one of those free website makers. Which is exactly what I did this week instead of studying for my Personal Finance blahblahblah bullcrap class. Pretty sure us broke people should be exempt from any sort of finance courses, since we have no money to finance. Whatever that is.

But anyway.

Check out the new and (hopefully) improved website for Tristar Rabbits at tristarrabbits.weebly.com!

And while you're at it, hope on over to the brand spankin' new Facebook page as well at facebook.com/tristarrabbits. Go ahead and Like the page while you're at it, since happiness for us technology generation kids is measured in Facebook Likes. Or do what most people do and just go ahead and stalk the crap outta my page. I won't judge.

Believe it or not, I have SO many fun and exciting bunny things I'd love to blog about- genetic arrhythmias and hip dysplasia in English Lops, culling for body type in Tans, my first respiratory Pasteurella case (NEVER AGAIN), and as a bonus, all the fun farm-y type things I've been up to at my new college (Watched a baby cow be born last week. No big deal.). Unfortunately, being busy with the new school year means the blog is gonna have to be put on the back burner, per usual. Not like I update this thing ever anyway, so at least no one will be disappointed!

So anyway, go ahead and check out the new websites, and while you're at it, buy my for sale bunnies because I need room for juniors and culling still makes me cry.

The Strange Lump

This. Is. SPARTA! aka the coolest rabbit ever.

I'll be the first to admit that I have my favorites when it comes to the bunnies. I try not to be too obvious about it, though; I guess I have some sort of irrational fear that the non-favorite rabbits will notice the all extra head rubs and papaya treats reserved only for the coolest bunnies, and will be overcome with jealousy... Or, most likely not, because they're rabbits and they don't care.

However, there is no subtlety when it comes down to who is my #1 bun. Sparta is the most awesome bunny ever. The coolest of the cool. She ranks right up there with the Easter Bunny, second only to my first pair of English Lops, Tris and Beau (who happen to have been her parents- obviously, awesomeness is genetic.). Sparta is my favorite bunny in the whole world, and I never miss an opportunity to remind all other other rabbits of this fact.

So, in July 2012, when I palpated a strange mass in her uterine area, I panicked just a little.

We gotta back up a little here, though. I gotta be honest- I am the worst blogger/website updated ever. I'm pretty sure the last time I update the bunny website was in early 2010. So when I added a new buck back in the spring of 2012 and decided I wanted one last litter out of Sparta, of course I didn't post about it. Duh. That would require effort. Sparta ended up kindling one single perfect little broken opal baby this past June, and she was the best momma ever- Except she didn't produce any milk, and the little kit didn't make it. Sad as that was, I found I was not-so puzzled by the lack of milk, and more confused as to why, a week after kindling, I could still feel a large baby in her. So off to the vet we went.

Back in January 2012, I started working at a local vet office as an assistant. I am very lucky to be able to work with a variety of veterinarians specialized in different fields, including two doctors who are very talented with rabbit medicine. A non-suspicious x-ray and a palpation session later, the vet was not concerned with the mass, and we decided a retained, mummified kit was the best explanation. Biggest. Sigh. Of. Relief. Ever. Until a few months later, when I could definitely that tell the "kit" was bigger, and I dragged my poor Sparta back in for more x-rays. Unlike the in previous rads, there was definitely *something* in the uterine area. Because she was still playing, eating, drinking, and pooping those giant English Lop turds, the doctor recommended bringing her in for a spay whenever I felt comfortable, and we decided waiting a month for the surgery would be ok.

Ok my x-rays skills leave much to be desired. But see that cauliflower-textured looking stuff? Much like actual cauliflower, it's not good.

Alright folks who don't believe in fate, here's the part where I change your mind. Two days later, I shit you not, an owner brought in her 5 year old, unspayed lionhead doe who was not eating, drinking or pooping, and her radiograph looked eerily similar to Sparta's. Gulp. We took a uterine tumor out of her the next morning, and I immediately scheduled Sparta for her spay to take place later that week. Double gulp.

To say I was a little nervous about the surgery is like saying Mama June from Honey Boo Boo is a little heavy. I was PETRIFIED. After all, the last time I had a rabbit spayed- Wait! I had never had a rabbit spayed before because literally every single time I had called to make an appointment for my pet house rabbits to get their baby-making devices removed, one of my rabbit friends would tell me a horror story about how their doe had bled out after surgery, or had a heart attack and died under anesthesia, or some other equally traumatizing tale, and I would freak out and cancel the appointment. And here I was, about to put my favorite bunny under the knife, and all I could picture was her guts spilling out all over the place as her abdomen erupted open, high-school-science-project-volcano style. Thanks, assholes.

Because I am totally weird, I asked to observe the surgery. Now, here's what you need to know about me: When it comes to (animal-related) disgusting things, I am not faint hearted. I have kept my cool while helping care for a puppy whose rectum has spilled out of her butthole and all over the table. I have watched with honest curiosity as the doctor sliced open and drained a fist-sized abscess on the throat of an anesthetized rabbits. I have assisted with cutting animals open, stitching them back together, and there is no end to the amount of shit, piss, vomit, blood, and anal gland fluid I've cleaned. I have assisted in many euthanasias without shedding nary a tear, leaving behind the sobbing family in the exam room without so much as a trace of sadness on my stone cold bitch face (though I do admit my eyes tend to get a little watery after these encounters, though I'm sure it's just my allergies).

Despite all this, I definitely got more than a little teary-eyed when the doctor took not one, but TWO large tumors out of my Sparta girl.

Oh come on, you would cry too.

Pictures: two uterine tumors. Ouch. :(

Sparta made it through the surgery with flying colors, and after a day of recovering in a carrier in the kitchen, she was eating on her own and acting completely normal.The doctor believes the cancer was contained in the removed tumors, and I opted not to send samples to the lab for testing. Six months later, she is still doing well and showing no signs of any more tumors.

So, in case you wanted to skip all the long windedness of this post, let me go ahead and sum up everything for you in the Moral of the Story:

• Uterine cancer is a very real and scary occurrence in rabbits.
• The House Rabbit Society likes to quote the eyebrow-raising statistic that 85% of female rabbits will develop uterine cancer by age 4. Those of us who breed are very aware that no, 85% of our does do not get cancer, and those who raise rabbits for meat can confirm this through necropsies. However, that doesn't mean reproductive cancer is non-existent in rabbits period, and we certainly see more cases of it in non-breeding animals. Which brings us to the next point...
• Spay your older, non-breeding does!
• If you value them as pets and don't want to risk an emergency spay or losing them to cancer, find yourself a rabbit savvy vet and spay your mid-age, non breeding does. Sparta was 4 when we found the tumors, and had not had a litter for 2 1/2 years. There's not enough research to tell us why does are at such a higher risk of cancer when they're not being bred, though my curious side wonders about the complications in reproductive cell growth that result when an animal that is built to reproduce does not do so. Either way, grab a good vet and spay those pet bunnies, folks.
•  Surgery is risky for bunnies.
• At the time of her spay, Sparta had an undiagnosed heart condition. Yikes. Not only that, but at 4, Sparts was considered to be old by English Lop standards. It's a known fact that rabbits don't tolerate anesthesia very well, but add in other health conditions and age, and you have the potential for disaster. Even if I had known about her heart condition, I definitely believe that despite everything, I would have still put her through surgery. The reality is, the anesthesia and stress from the surgery MIGHT have killed her, but if left in her body, the cancer certainly would have done the job. And for me, that risk outweighed the risk of surgery.
•  Find a vet you trust!
• Spays are troublesome enough in bunnies, but can be especially dangerous in complicated cases such as Sparta's. I am very lucky to have not just one, but two awesome bunny savvy vets I trust, but not everyone has that luxury. If you're thinking of spaying your doe, do some searching to make sure the vet you choose is experienced and specialized in rabbits, not just dogs and cats.
•  Don't slack on health checks.
• Probably the biggest thing to take away from this experience is how important it is to be observant and watchful for any changes in our animals. Rabbits are prey animals and hide their symptoms well, and it is so hard to detect when something is amiss with them before they become seriously ill. It was sheer luck I was able to palpate the tumor long before Sparta started showing signs of being sick; early detection led to an easier recovery time, and allowed the cancer to be removed before it spread. Always keep an eye on your bunnies and note any changes, no matter how subtle.

 
So, what's Sparta been up to since her emergency spay 6 months ago?

Oh, you know. just being adorable. And awesome.

I'd say she's still enjoying being spoiled. ;)

Baby Tans! + foster puppies

I'm not the best at keeping up with blogging apparently. To make up for all my nonexistent entries, here's a post full of baby bunny and puppy photos!

Wool Creek's Mad Hatter kindled 3 kits on April 18, two blacks and one little chocolate. The babies are feisty as can be and getting non-blurry pictures of them has proven quite the challenge.

Eyes still shut at 10 day old:

 

Here are the babies in all their cuteness at 2 1/2 weeks.

Something tells me the chocolate is going to be quite the clown. ;) 

Going from long-earred English Lops to the little prick-earred Tan babies has been quite the experience. While very sweet, these babies are already super active and would much rather run around than sit and puddle for head rubs, unlike my previous litters of English Lops. I'm still very much enjoying my Tan project, but I've made the decision to sell off my Tan stock this fall to prepare to go back to school; I'm sure I'll pick up some more of this cool breed sometime in the future when I'm ready to get back into rabbits full time.

In other non-bunny related news, I began my new job at a vet office this past January.... and promptly brought home a homeless puppy "just for the night". Vixen stayed with me for about a month before going to live with some family friends who are absolutely in love with her.

With Vixen gone, my poor pup Nova seemed a bit depressed about no longer having a playmate, so I agreed to foster puppies for a local rescue. Enter Delilah, a scrawny, oddly-proportioned pit mix who, over the course of two months, turned into a happy, well-mannered, and most importantly healthy pup. She was adopted two weeks ago and I couldn't be more ecstatic. Mostly because I'm happy she got a home, but I'm also a little bit relieved order has been restored to the house. Though not a bad dog at all, Delilah was definitely way too intense for what I'm used to; having a puppy in the house who didn't have an "off switch" was just a little crazy.

I've really enjoyed my venture into being a puppy foster, but I'm definitely taking a break for now as my baby bunnies grow and need more care and attention. Nova is getting lonely again, so I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I bring home another pup to visit.

My rabbitry website desperately needs updated, and I have a few plans for my English Lops that need to be revealed. Hopefully I'll get myself in gear and get all that updated!

Vertical Earred Bunnies??

There's some new faces here at Tristar Rabbits... And no, they aren't lops!


Meet Ax, one of my two new Tans! He and his lovely girlfriend made the trip today from Pennsylvania down to Virginia to be the beginning pair in my spring Tan project. If these two silly bunnies cooperate, I should hopefully have some Tan juniors on the show tables this spring.

I plan on eventually getting up a new post with some more pictures and information on my new breed... I just have to get through hell exam week first!

On Fat Rabbits: The English Lop Min. Weight Change

"I am NOT fat, I'm big boned!"

Ms. Nyx eats less than 1.5 cups of feed a day along with her constant supply of hay. She has a large cage with room to stretch out, and she gets time to run around the fenced back yard. All of her five siblings fell in with their parent's weight range of 10-11.5lbs at adult weight. And somehow, Nyxie tips the scales at 15lbs- 3 pounds more than my x-large cat.

One of the reasons why I made the decision in January 2011 to stop breeding English Lops was due to the then recent Standard change in minimum weight requirement. In the past, English Lop does were required to weigh 10lbs to be shown, and bucks needed to weight in at least 9.5lbs. The .5lbs added to both the buck and does minimum weight requirement has not only forced a fair amount of breeders out of the breed due to their once showable rabbits suddenly no longer making weight, but also, in my opinion, makes for an unhealthy attitude towards breeding English Lops.

It is no secret that English Lops are not at all a hardy breed. Continuous unhealthy breeding in the breed's past has made ear infections, abscessing, and respiratory infections, among other health issues, all too common in the breed. While those issues can be dealt mainly with culling rabbits who show those symptoms out of the breeding program, one other main problem is often ignored: sore hocks. Although it is a common infliction in the English Lop breed, because sore hocks are generally viewed to be a environment-caused problem as opposed to genetics, not every breeder takes the appropriate breeding practices to be sure it doesn't show up in their lines. The truth is, while sore hocks certainly can be and often are environmentally caused, genetics play a huge role as well. A few breeds that are often genetically prone to sore hocks, for example, are Rexes, Belgian Hares, and giant breeds such as Flemish Giants.

So why is it that English Lops are so prone to sore hocks while their larger lop cousins, the French Lops, are not? Again, it's genetics. French Lops' breed type profile is Commercial Type- a breed type that is also assigned to Californians, New Zealands, Rexes, and other meat breeds that are expected to support a large, meaty rabbit. The English Lops are a Semi Arch type; their body type is simply not build to support such a large amount of weight.

Also differing between the two big Lops is fur type. French Lops have a Rollback fur type- It is supposed to be, as described in the Standard, "very thick and dense". Compare that to the Flyback fur of the English, which "must be fine and silky to the touch"- It's obvious that while French Lops will genetically have thickly furred hocks, this is simply not a physical possibility in an English Lop that correctly conforms to the Standard of Perfection for the breed.

Sore hocks are not the only weight-related issue that is seen in rabbits. Heart attacks are not uncommon in the jumbo-sized Flemish Giants, and neither are they unheard of in English Lops. I have noticed that my still-overweight rescue mini lop, Clover, has difficulty bending over to eat his cecotrophs, and I have to wonder if the joint problems that plague overweight dogs ever crop up in rabbits. It blows my mind why a breed club of a large, medium boned, fine furred breed that suffers from weight-related illnesses would even suggest, let alone vote to raise the weight limit.

So herein lies my problem with Nyx. Although she is just 3.5lbs heavier than her mother, the extra weight has an obvious effect on her. Despite living on solid flooring for the entirety of her life, Nyx does suffer from sore hocks, and I am constantly worried that they will worsen or become infected. Even in a large cage that is always kept clean and dry, she has difficultly cleaning herself, and part of her belly is bald from urine scald. Her overly large size makes for a very interesting time on the judging table, as her disproportional body shape makes her actually long ears look short, her broad head look small, and her body round and shapeless as if she is part French Lop. Though she is a sweet bunny and I adore her very much as a pet, Nyx is a perfect example of why breeders should NOT be trying to breed ginormous English Lops. Nothing good can come out of rabbits bred larger than their bodies can support, and I truly believe the decision to raise the weight limit was a poorly made one that is pointing the breed in the wrong direction.

That all said... I do not know WHY Nyx is so big. Her parents were normal-sized. Her set of grandparents I owned were normal sized. The rabbits listed on her pedigree are all under 11.5lbs. (OK, there is ONE 13 pounder, but she's listed way back there.) Her siblings were all 10-11ish lbs at adult weight, and they were all raised the exact same. She's limited fed and I try to exercise her the best I can. I can't say that her size is genetic-based, as I know of no related bunnies that ended up that big, and so I can't say she'd throw giant English Lop babies should she ever be bred. Size variation is such an interesting thing in bunnies, and something I'd love to look into more eventually- Soon as I finish campaigning my max English Lop weight idea!

Blast From the Past

It's been years, and these two goofy faces still remind me why I so love my breed.

I still miss my goobers every day. <3