10/6/12 New Litters/Addition

Cinnabun and Rocky had 6 kits each, totaling 4 reds, 4 coppers, 2 broken coppers, and 2 broken reds. 2 of the coppers and one of the broken coppers are already reserved, so if you see anything you like be sure to contact me soon, before all these kits find homes :-)  Some of the reds will definitely be available, and likely the remaining coppers too. The broken reds will not be for sale. 

In other news, we have a 13th addition to the barn as of this morning :-) Sterling Satins is expanding back into whites with the addition of a new stud buck.Thanks Blue Haven Rabbitry! I'm thinking "Yeti" as a barn name :-)  He's young but already filling out nicely. Gorgeous fur and HQ's.

9/19/12

Two litters due in a week!
Rudi (red buck) x Cinnabun (copper doe) and Rocky (broken copper doe).
Much of the offspring will be for sale.
In other news, I will be breeding for reds, coppers, brokens, blacks, and whites during the upcoming months and winter. Feel free to contact me with any reqests!
contact.sterlingsatins@gmail.com

Tippecanoe 4-H Show

Took 7 of my Satins from the last two litters down to the Tippecanoe 4-H show today. It was a pretty small show but very fun and a lot of really nice people. Liked the judge for Satins too (Ron Riddle). My red junior doe (A4) took BOV and my junior copper buck (X) took BOSV. Also sold all 4 of my reds while I was there. All I have left for sale right now is a Junior Copper doe. So glad that I was able to clear out cages in preparation for the two new litters I'm expecting next week. Very excited! I know I'll get good things from Cinnabun and I'm hoping that Lilo (the newbie mom) will figure it out the first time :)

Litters, Show, and New Breeding

Have some rabbits for sale. I bred Cinnabun and Ace to Rudi and the babies were born on November 7th. They are now almost 4 months old and most of them are for sale. All together we had nine, 3 from Ace and 6 from Cinnabun. All had to be fostered to Cinnabun b/c Ace never produced milk. Unfortunately, Cinnabun developed Mastits from overmilking and some of the kits being a bit to rough, so i had to take her babies out at 3 weeks, but she recovered and is perfectly healthy now. The kits were never put back in with her but I didn't lose any and we actually are having pretty good growth rates. They are definitely big enough to show. Speaking of showing, I'm taking them to the Tippecanoe 4-H show weekend after next. Going to show all 9 if not sold by then and maybe Rudi too. Some will be for sale at the show.

Broken Copper From Cinnabun

Red from Cinnabun

Also, I bred Lilo and Cinnabun again to Rudi (I really liked the results of Cinnabun x Rudi's last breeding) on the 10th. Will be watching Cinnabun closely to make sure she doesn't develop mastitis again. If they both took, this will be Cinnabun's second litter and Lilo's first.

Indiana State Convention 2011

We took Stitch and Lilo to the Indiana State Convention this past weekend. Stitch was second in his class of 6 (junior white bucks), and Lilo was second in her class of 4 (junior white does). We had a great time! And we are getting there :) I also picked up an Intermediate red buck to breed with Cinnabun and Ace to enhance the rufus factor (the gene that reddens their copper band). We got him from Blue Haven Satins, operated by the Cavender family. He's a cutey and has showed well. At this show I believe he got BOSV of the reds. Starting to plan for the National Convention now, details are starting to fall into place. I think I'll bring Stich and/or Lilo again, and Rudi (the red buck). I'm not sure that I'm really competitive, but since the Convention is in my hometown this year, I hate to pass up the opportunity. Chances are I won't be able to attend another one until it comes back here.

New Litter and County Fair News

We had a litter of 4 born on the 14th! Two are black; the other two are brokens, but I don't know what color yet. The breeding was between Nibles (white doe) and my buck Zip (a broken black). This was Zip's first time as a dad. We'll see what his genes added to the mix :) In other news, the county fair has started over here in Hamilton County, Indiana. I took Ace, Cinnabun, Lilo, and Stitch. Ace (a broken copper) and Cinnabun (full copper) are both does from Nibles first litter. Lilo (white), and Stitch (white) were all from Nibles 2nd litter. Ace won best of breed, Stitch was best opposite. Lilo showed very well, but as a junior, she just didn't have the right coat condition. I think she will be a superb rabbit once she gets over her junior molt. Her rise is just beautiful :) I am excited that Sterling Satins did well this year, and I can't wait to see how my juniors (Lilo and Stitch) and these new babies turn out.

First Litter!

As you can tell from the picture, we have kits in the nest box! They were born on December 10, 2010. I have 1 black kit, 1 steel kit, 1 broken steel kit, 2 seemingly broken copper kits, and one full copper, so 6 kits in all.  You can see the full copper on top to the right . So far I am planning on keeping a broken copper kit, the full copper, and the broken black. The 2 blacks will probably be sold. But that might change before it is all said and done. Once these kits are weaned I will probably breed Nibles to Zip and see what we get. I am happy with all the coppers but I hope to get a few more broken blacks next time. Nibles is a great mom, better than I could have hoped. She will put up with me digging around in her nest box without a single squeal or grunt. She has been devotedly nursing them, and they are growing fast. All in all, I couldn't hope for a better brood doe. I am very interested in seeing how they turn out. I'll update soon!

Here is the copper kit, who already opened his eyes. Love this color, never seen it before :)

Difference between copper and steel kit.