Sometimes I just don't understand how life really works, and maybe that's just it. We aren't supposed to understand.
Two rabbits became sick at the same time with similar symptoms. No cause, no reason, they just stopped eating and drinking. One of them was a 'spare' and so I went to no special lengths. I normally have a no intervention rule with them, they live or they die according to nature's intent. The other rabbit, however, was the favorite son of a lost sire. A nice looking prodigy with promise in his every look. I broke my rule and went to some lengths to save him. He passed away a few minutes ago, and I am reminded of why I created the 'no intervention' rule in the first place. Because then the guilt sets in, "did I do enough, try enough, try often enough, did I do too much." Those kinds of thoughts can eat away at you, so much so that small voices begin a debate in your head: "maybe I'm not cut out for this, maybe it was my fault, maybe I should sell out of that breed entirely." And of course the ever-present, "is it really worth it in the end?"
I went down to feed the other rabbits, because they had nothing to do with his loss, and I checked on the other sick rabbit. He appears to be more active and may perhaps be recovering. So why did they get sick? Why did one recover and one was lost? Why was it the 'spare' that made it and the 'favorite' did not? Why? Why?? Why???
The truth that every breeder and human being must eventually come to face and either accept or reject, and to reject is to go mad, is that there truly is never any rhyme or reason for death. Even medical science cannot explain the inexplicable, why one person (or rabbit) will improve and another will not given the exact same treatment measures. However as breeders, we are often closer to death than most average people. Any new breeder than cannot accept that should not continue to raise animals and likely will either begin to accept the consequences or leave the hobby.
As for me, I'll simply say, "goodbye beautiful Copper. Your life had barely begun, your future so bright. I will miss you and what you might have brought to my herd."
And now I will start again.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Conundrum
It's common to hear when a newbie comes into the hobby. They look around at the 45 accepted breeds, they might go to a convention or two. They see all the new breeds and varieties being worked on by others. And a lot of them will think to themselves, "I'd really like to give it a try, I have an idea for a new breed..." or perhaps they'll have been working on a particular breed for a short while and they think to themselves, "I wonder why X color isn't recognized, it's beautiful! I think I'll work towards getting that variety recognized."
Then if they make it a few years in the hobby, most come to realize just how difficult, time consuming, and money consuming attaining that ever-reaching goal of getting a new breed/variety through the ARBA. It literally takes time and effort that very few have in them and even fewer new folk ever really try, much less succeed.
The 'conundrum' that is the heart of it is this: in order for a breed/variety to pass the first showing at an ARBA convention, the animals must be a close representation of the proposed standard. In the succeeding years, the juniors from that original pair must demonstrate improvement over the previous year's animals. How can this be achieved by a person that barely understands the process of breeding and methods for improving an animal through genetics, selective mating, and evaluation techniques?! It's a rhetorical question, because in 99% of all cases, they simply can't. It often takes decades to achieve that kind of skill and ability. Best of luck to all the newbies with a dream. I hate to squash it, but I too once had an idea that flopped. ;) Now I content myself with simply trying to make the very best animals of my breed that I can. Fun projects are strictly that.
Then if they make it a few years in the hobby, most come to realize just how difficult, time consuming, and money consuming attaining that ever-reaching goal of getting a new breed/variety through the ARBA. It literally takes time and effort that very few have in them and even fewer new folk ever really try, much less succeed.
The 'conundrum' that is the heart of it is this: in order for a breed/variety to pass the first showing at an ARBA convention, the animals must be a close representation of the proposed standard. In the succeeding years, the juniors from that original pair must demonstrate improvement over the previous year's animals. How can this be achieved by a person that barely understands the process of breeding and methods for improving an animal through genetics, selective mating, and evaluation techniques?! It's a rhetorical question, because in 99% of all cases, they simply can't. It often takes decades to achieve that kind of skill and ability. Best of luck to all the newbies with a dream. I hate to squash it, but I too once had an idea that flopped. ;) Now I content myself with simply trying to make the very best animals of my breed that I can. Fun projects are strictly that.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Rabbit Breedings
Even though some of the rabbits are now residing in the basement, it doesn't seem to be improving their libido or desire to breed... at least, not in the Hollands. The English Spots are bred, some of the Fuzzies are bred (Mambo and Pie), and even the Woolies are bred. But the Hollands? Oh no! The does simply want nothing to do with the bucks. Have to keep trying though, because the only way to have rabbits from which to choose the next generation is to get them bred.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Po' Man Grocery List
Items essential to feed a large family in these difficult economical times. The following are grocery or food type items only:
All purpose flour (multiple uses... including bread, cakes, dumplings, etc)
Salt
Sugar
Milk
Eggs (unless you own chickens, these are a necessity)
Butter (not margarine, don't confuse the two!)
Yeast (for breads)
Chicken (either leg quarters or whole breasts)
Pork sausage (often cheaper than beef hamburger, and tastes better in sauces anyway!)
Pasta and rice (cheap and filling)
Chicken broth
Vegetable oil
Whole tomatoes and tomato paste (used for spaghetti and chili, hearty meals for large families)
Unfortunately, there is no nutritional substitute for fresh fruits and veggies, but the following are good when caught on sale:
Baby carrots
Broccoli
Romaine lettuce
Apples
Bananas
Butternut squash
Sweet potatoes/Yams (these can be bought in bulk when on sale, blanched, and frozen for long-term storage)
A garden goes a long way to helping ease the economical burden of purchasing fresh foods. Fruit trees also can help with this, but take several years to produce enough to make them worth the effort.
All purpose flour (multiple uses... including bread, cakes, dumplings, etc)
Salt
Sugar
Milk
Eggs (unless you own chickens, these are a necessity)
Butter (not margarine, don't confuse the two!)
Yeast (for breads)
Chicken (either leg quarters or whole breasts)
Pork sausage (often cheaper than beef hamburger, and tastes better in sauces anyway!)
Pasta and rice (cheap and filling)
Chicken broth
Vegetable oil
Whole tomatoes and tomato paste (used for spaghetti and chili, hearty meals for large families)
Unfortunately, there is no nutritional substitute for fresh fruits and veggies, but the following are good when caught on sale:
Baby carrots
Broccoli
Romaine lettuce
Apples
Bananas
Butternut squash
Sweet potatoes/Yams (these can be bought in bulk when on sale, blanched, and frozen for long-term storage)
A garden goes a long way to helping ease the economical burden of purchasing fresh foods. Fruit trees also can help with this, but take several years to produce enough to make them worth the effort.
Po' Man Recipes - Chicken Dumplings
Honestly, I never thought as a child that any of the food that we ate was in any particular way special. Now, realizing why we ate in more than we ate out and learning some economical recipes has brought me to realize that a family can be fed on less than $50 per week. It really can be done, but only with a little help. One of the most often enjoyed dishes for us is this recipe for chicken dumplings, which is so simple and easy and so inexpensive. One pot can feed my family of 6 with leftovers for at least the following day.
Need:
Half a chicken breast or a leg quarter
1 can chicken broth
All-purpose flour
Salt
Seasonings (celery seed, salt, pepper)
Boil the chicken in a large stock pot with at least a couple quarts of water (I fill the pot half-way), boil until the chicken is tender and comes away from the bone easily. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Add can of chicken broth and bring back to a boil. In the meanwhile, mix 2-3 cups of flour with about a teaspoon of salt, then mix in enough cold water to form a thick dough, it doesn't take much, about a cup of water, but add it slowly as you mix (I use my clean hand to mix and knead) so you don't overdo. The dough should be firm and not sticky. Adjust with flour or water until the consistency is right. Now you'll need a clean surface and a rolling pin. I clean a counter for this, sprinkle the counter with flour and set the dough down, then sprinkle more flour on the dough and rub flour on the rolling pin. Roll out the dough to desired thickness, I like between 1/8" and 1/4" for my dumplings. When thickness is achieved, cut long strips, about an inch or so wide and cut the strips into sections about 2-3" long. Add the strips one at a time to the boiling broth. Cook dumplings about 20 minutes (or so) while you remove the chicken meat from the bones and either cut into chunks or shred. Add meat back to the dumpling/broth mixture and simmer another 15 or so minutes. Season with celery seed, salt, and pepper to taste.
There you have it, a very simple, very economical meal for a large, robust family... such as ours. ;)
Need:
Half a chicken breast or a leg quarter
1 can chicken broth
All-purpose flour
Salt
Seasonings (celery seed, salt, pepper)
Boil the chicken in a large stock pot with at least a couple quarts of water (I fill the pot half-way), boil until the chicken is tender and comes away from the bone easily. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Add can of chicken broth and bring back to a boil. In the meanwhile, mix 2-3 cups of flour with about a teaspoon of salt, then mix in enough cold water to form a thick dough, it doesn't take much, about a cup of water, but add it slowly as you mix (I use my clean hand to mix and knead) so you don't overdo. The dough should be firm and not sticky. Adjust with flour or water until the consistency is right. Now you'll need a clean surface and a rolling pin. I clean a counter for this, sprinkle the counter with flour and set the dough down, then sprinkle more flour on the dough and rub flour on the rolling pin. Roll out the dough to desired thickness, I like between 1/8" and 1/4" for my dumplings. When thickness is achieved, cut long strips, about an inch or so wide and cut the strips into sections about 2-3" long. Add the strips one at a time to the boiling broth. Cook dumplings about 20 minutes (or so) while you remove the chicken meat from the bones and either cut into chunks or shred. Add meat back to the dumpling/broth mixture and simmer another 15 or so minutes. Season with celery seed, salt, and pepper to taste.
There you have it, a very simple, very economical meal for a large, robust family... such as ours. ;)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Crawling
Korben is crawling! Currently it's mostly an on-the-belly army crawl, but he has been teetering on hands and knees. I predict it won't be long for him to be fully mobile! So much for the pleasant bygone days of being able to put him in the middle of the floor and be able to find him in the same spot 15 minutes after.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Winter Storms
So it would seem that we are following a wee-end winter storm pattern this season. Our first major storm hit December 18, a Friday before the holiday. That storm dropped 18 inches of snow on our poor unsuspecting heads. Then followed some warm days that finally melted all that away and left it only a memory. However, last week-end, Friday, we had another major storm that dropped 12 inches of snow on us. We weren't quite as unsuspecting this time. Yesterday we had a low-accumulation storm that brought in another inch or two on top of last week's snow. Then this coming week-end that are once again predicting high levels of snow accumulation. Even the potential for another record-breaker! Predictions right now are calling for 8 inches, however weather models claim between 20 inches and 3 feet. Only time will tell which will be more accurate. Regardless, several rabbits will be moved inside sturdier shelter tomorrow in advance of the expected storm.
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