Nothing but Dutch

Double Dutch's Diego

The Silver Martens are gone, and I am now a Dutch only breeder for the next few years, until Robert and I are able to afford our own house. At that time, we'll be adding his breed of choice, the English Spots, and possibly another breed for us to raise together.

I'll admit, it's nice having only Dutch faces in the barn right now, it's been almost 5 years since they've been the only breed here. I'm down to 27 rabbits (will be 25 next weekend), and it's nice having a smaller rabbitry. It's so quick to feed and clean cages now.

Show news, went to the Yelm show at the end of last month. Only showed four Dutch and one Silver Marten. Explosive the Martian was BOS both shows, but sadly there were not enough rabbits for a leg. For the Dutch, I had hoped to grand Audrey and Katarina, both did well, but there were not enough rabbits for them to win legs in their catagories. However, Diego won BOS in both shows, for his first 2 legs! He's finally molted his ugly coat, and has a nice new pretty one.

Next show is December 4th in Monroe. Hopefully this time I'll be able to grand Audrey, Katarina, AND now Diego! I'm planning to breed both does soon, as this is my last show until March, so this will be their last chance to grand out. I'll also be showing a Black jr buck and maybe 1 or 2 Blue jr bucks. I'll also be judging at this show.

Updates

Double Dutch's Katarina

Last show was October 2nd, and the Dutch did really well at it. I was only showing three. In show A, Audrey (Black Sr doe) was BOS for her second leg! In show B, she was BOSV, but there weren't enough does for a leg. Katarina (Blue Jr doe) was BOV in show A, and Best of Breed in show B! These were her second and third legs. She's only 5 months old, but I will be bumping her up to senior at the next show, so she can go for the senior leg to grand out.

For the Martians, I was only showing Explosive, who was BOS in show B, for her second leg.
In less than two weeks, I will be dropping rabbits off with their Convention transporters. Ash the Dutch will be going with Scott. She will then be passed onto another transporter, before making her way to New Jersey to her new owner Olivia.

The Martians- Torch, Blast, and Explosive will all be going with Jennifer and Lauren. Nicole's break from school falls over the week of convention, so she will be there to take care of them, and to sell them.

I'll admit, I'm a bit sad about the Silver Martians leaving, however at the same time, they've been a bit of a stressful breed, and I am ready to move on from them. It will be nice to get the rabbitry back to being Dutch only again, and start concentrating on my Dutch more so.

Next show is October 30th in Yelm. I get to be just an exhibitor at this show. I'm hoping to grand out Katarina, Audrey, and Explosive at it. In addition to them, I'll also be showing Diego (Blue Jr buck, Kat's brother) and a cute little Black Jr (will be his first show out).

Big Wins!

BEST IN SHOW- Silver Streak's Explosive

9/18/10- Colville, WA

RESERVE IN SHOW- Silver Streak's Blast
9/11/10- La Grande, OR

Nicole and I are down to our last three Silver Martens, all of which are very nice animals! Nicole showed our Blue buck Torch and Black doe Blast at the La Grande, OR show. Blast won Reserve in Show!

The next week, Nicole and I were both at the Colville, WA show, which we showed Blast, and her half sister Explosive entered in her very first show. Explosive won BEST IN SHOW!

We're very excited about showing these three at convention! All three will also be for sale there.

This Saturday, Arson will be leaving to head to his new home in Oregon. He will be living with the Webb's, who are top Silver Marten breeders.

Dutch haven't had as much exciting news. They've been molting lately, so haven't done as well. Katarina, my little Blue doe, did win a Best of Breed last weekend in Bremerton. This is her first leg.

I've been selling quite a few Dutch lately, and have sold all I've had available. I'm currently in the midst of coming up with more for sale, as I have a few people waiting on does. I have several proven brood does that will be available within the next few months, as I start to slowly work at cutting back my numbers.

Various updates

I've been dreading the coming of August for the last year, as that meant that Bella, the dog that I was baby sitting would be going back home to her owner. I was watching her while her owner was in Iraq for the last year. Just last night, I got the email from her owner, saying that because of his new orders were sending him to Georgia by October, he wasn't going to be able to keep her anymore. My family is very happy to be able to keep her :)
For the rabbits, I currently have 4 litters, that are probably around 4 weeks old. I have more litters due next week.
I had loaned Ash out to a 4-H kid to have a litter with, which I will be getting Ash back in the next week. I will be breeding her one last time, then in November, it looks like she will be traveling to ARBA Convention, then on to New Jersey to live with a friend of mine. We're still working out some of the details.
Nicole and I made the decision a few months ago, that Silver Streak Rabbitry has come to an end. We have decided to sell out of the Silver Martens. We're both moving in different directions, it would be too hard to keep up with the co owned breed. She's about to graduate from vet school this next year, and Robert and I will be getting married in another year and a half, which just complicated things. We decided that at ARBA Convention is when we'll sell out.
We have two brood does, Maddy and Pyro, which will be leaving next month to go down to Oregon.
Then we have six juniors, the best of the last three litters that we've had, plus Arson, who are all available. We've already been receiving several emails from interested people.
I judged at the Port Townsend fair last week, which was a lot of fun. They had a great group of kids, who should do great at the State Fair next month.
Next week I'm off to judge Waterville's fair. This is my third year judging for them, and it's always fun to go back to. This fair is really in the middle of no where! The next day, I'll be judging the Evergreen Fair in Monroe. I'll be judging the 4-H type rabbits.

Rabbitry Updates

Been awhile since I've done a rabbitry update.
Have been to two shows since then. The Washington State Convention was at the end of June. It was a fun weekend for the most part. We had over 100 Dutch, however I can't remember who the big winners were... I think Lisa was BOB with a Gray on Saturday, and Jill being BOS with a Blue... Might have been the same Sunday?
None of my Dutch did anything, since they all decided to blow their coats that week.
For the Martians, I think Arson won BOS both days... Then I think Scott was BOB one day (with an Arson daughter) and Sharon and Larry the next day.
Also had a 4 show weekend this month. On Friday the 16th, we had two Dutch specialties, then Saturday was two all breed shows. We had around 80 Dutch. Jan was the big winner of the weekend! She won all 4 BOB's, and 3 of the BOS, then topped that off with a BEST IN SHOW and RESERVE IN SHOW! She has a gorgeous little Blue jr doe that dominated! She also has a pretty little Black jr buck.
The only thing Jan didn't win was one BOS in one of the specialties, which Lisa won with a Black sr buck.
Most of my bunns were too young. I was happy with how a few of my juniors did. I won best Black jr doe in 3 of the 4 shows, with two different does. The one who won twice also won a BOSV. These are their first legs. Then I had a Black jr buck win first in his class (somehow beating Jan's awesome buck...). Also his first leg.
Arson was the only Martian that we showed, which he didn't do so great that weekend. Not sure who won for the Martians that weekend...
Currently have 2 Dutch litters that are about 5 weeks old, and another 4 that are a week old.
I have two Dutch that will be sold this Saturday, and another leaving next Wednesday. This will leave me with just two junior bucks for sale.
Then for those who were following Bubbly, he's moved onto a pet home :(
With it being fair season, I have no more shows to show at until September. I will be judging at both the Colville and Bremerton shows that month, and will be taking a few to show.
In the mean time, I have several fairs that I'll be judging in the mean time, which will give me my rabbit fix :)

Bubbly Update

7 weeks old

7 weeks old

7 weeks old

7 weeks old

8 weeks old

8 weeks old

8 weeks old

8 weeks old

I left for the weekend for the Washington State Convention, with Bubbly looking like a a Champagne. When I got home, I was surprised to see that his color had started darkening. He looked like a Silver Fox now. With in just a few days, he got so dark, that he looked like a Silver Tipped Steel (Steel Dutch are usually colored more like a Golden Tip Steel, as genetically, we have no way of getting the ST without the Chinchilla being bred in). Within a week, he was almost all Black. He is almost 10 weeks old now, and only has a bit of very light ticking on his legs, and some silver hairs in his tail. Up on the crown of his head, is the only area he has any Champagne color, but that's slowly disappearing also.

I'll admit, I am sad that he didn't keep his Champagne color, as he was really pretty. It's probably for the best, as I really do not have the room/time to be working on a new variety. Bubbly is available to a good pet home. Because of being an oddity, he's been handled a lot, and is very calm.

Bubbly the odd Dutch

Bubbly, my odd little Dutch, turned 6 weeks old last weekend. I took new pics of him last week, and have posted them on facebook, but figured I'd post them here too. To me, he still looks just like a Champagne colored rabbit. An overly ticked Steel could maybe explain him also, even though I've never seen a Steel this ticked (for any breed). Also, the fact that the color is silver, whereas Steel Dutch have no way of being silvered with their genetics, unless you throw Chinchilla into the mix (which there is no Chinchilla in the rabbit).

I have had two judges call him Magpie, which I don't agree with. I think there would be bars/bands over the back if he was. Another judge has said that he looks like the latest mutation, as it's through mutations that we've gotten all of the colors that we have today.

I have compared him up against a friend's Silver Fox, and he's very similar to that, other than the fact that he's a lot more silvered (as a Champagne would be).

I was wanting to take him to State this weekend, but don't want to stress him out. I will be taking him to the GNW show with me though. I have taken him to a NWRB meeting with me, where he was a big hit.

Updates

State Convention is in a week. I only entered 5 Black Dutch (no Blues :( ).

Maverick- Sr buck
Casanova- Jr buck
Rogue- Sr doe
and 2 little jr does, it'll be their first time out

Just went through them yesterday, and all but Maverick are molting :( Not expecting anything with the Dutch. Just hoping Casanova's coat comes in for the GNW show a few weeks later. We'll be having a double dutch specialty the night before, making it a quaduple show for us Dutch breeders. Mattering on Casa's weight, I will most likely bump him up to senior that weekend, in hopes of granding him, as this will be my last show until September. We normally have a Dutch specialty in August, but we moved it to the GNW show to save our club money. Only thing that sucks about that is that I had a bunch of litters bred for it...

On the Martian front, Nicole and I are only showing Arson and Coal at state.

I will have several rabbits for sale at state, both Dutch and Silver Martens. Four of my Dutch were suppose to go up to Canada, but the buyer had to back out. Here's whose available, more info can be found on both websites:

Dutch for sale:
Maverick- Black sr buck- 1 leg (BOS)
DDLEP- Black jr buck (not on my website yet, email me for details, really nice buck)
Ladybug- Black sr doe- proven brood doe- RGC/6 legs (2 BOB's of 80, 1 Reserve in Show win)
Trelawn Delta- Black sr doe- proven brood doe- Reg
Diesel- Blue sr buck- 1 leg (BOS)

I have been breeding both Maverick and Diesel to my does, and am getting some nice rabbits out of them. I just have too many bucks. Also trying to cut my brood doe number down, which is why Ladybug and Delta are available. Any of these rabbits will go nicely as a pair or trio.
I might have a Black jr doe available also...

For the Silver Martens, Coal and Maddy will both be for sale, along with our Maddy and Pyro litters. Phoenix also has a litter, that will be available a few weeks later.

I've also been updating my website a lot more lately, working at getting all the articles from my old site updated/posted. Several are now up, keep checking back for more updates!

http://doubledutchrabbitry.com
http://silverstreakrabbitry.homestead.com

Champagne Dutch?

I was a bit surprised yesterday when going through all my 2 week old litters... I came across this very oddly colored baby. It's coloring is just like what you'd find on a Champagne D'Argent. Champagne's are born all black, and get all of their silvering as they mature, with the head being the last to silver. This one is a lot more silvered over the back, than what a Champagne would be at the same age. The back is very evenly colored. However on the face, it's still patchy with black, and the belly is more black. Makes me wonder if it'll silver in these areas as it matures.

It's not an agouti (no ring color), and not any kind of Steel. It's out of two Blacks, with nothing but Blacks and Blues in it's background for 20 generations. We're thinking it has to be some kind of mutation.

Will be interesting to see how this little one developes. I'm planning on keeping it to experiment with breeding it. Will post more pics of it here and on my facebook as it grows up.

Davenport Show

Double Dutch's Casanova

Last weekend was the Davenport show. It was my first time going to an Inland Empire show, and my dad and I enjoyed it. It was a long drive (4 1/2 hours), but was in a different part of the state that I haven't been to before. Basically nothing but crops for over an hour of driving.
Friday night in the specialty, Lisa won BOB with her Gray buck. Rogue won BOS for her 5th leg. Casanova was beaten by Jan's senior buck, as the judge said he was still a bit young. However when he has something really promising, he likes to nickname them. Casanova was one of two Dutch nicknamed that night, the judge called him "Sharp". Jan's Blue jr doe was the other one that got a nickname.
In show A on Saturday, I think Rogue was BOSV... (hard to know the results when you're judging!). If so, that is leg 6. Casanova again got promising comments, but was said that he was too young. BOB went Jan's Black buck that's done quite a bit of winning these last few months! BOS was Jean's Best in Show winning Tort doe.
In show B, Casanova won Best of Breed! BOS went to a cute little Tort jr doe of Vicki's (different one than what's been winning for her). Her Tort doe went on to be Best of the Best Opposites!
For the fun of it, I stuck Casanova in the Breeders Choice competition during lunch. He end up winning it!
At the end of the show, my dad and I were talking, of the three shows-- 3 BOB's and 3 BOS's, it was 6 different rabbits to win, owned by 5 different breeders. State Convention next month is going to be extremely competitive!

NWRB Show

Last weekend was the NWRB show. I had two Black jr bucks who made their showing debut. They are both just 11 weeks old. Both are nice, but one of them I've been very excited about. That one, Casanova was Best Opposite breed in both shows! In the first show, under Cliff, he ranted and raved over him. During a break in my judging, I had gone over to the Dutch table, and it was funny, cause he was telling me to go and look at his BOV Black. Had to keep a straight face, so he wouldn't know it was my rabbit.
BOB in show A went to Jean's gorgeous Tort doe, who went on to win BEST IN SHOW! Very nice rabbit!
Show B, Vicki's nice Tort doe that's been winning lately was BOB. Torts have really been doing great lately in this area!
In the Silver Martens, Coal was BOS in show A, with Arson being BOB in show B. Scott won the other BOB and BOS.
Next show is Davenport in two weeks. We'll be leaving early Friday morning, as there is a Dutch meeting that night, and a Dutch specialty. Then Saturday, I will be judging. I'll be showing the same 5 Dutch as last weekend (Maverick, Rogue, Jewel, Casanova, and another Black jr buck), and then Arson and Coal for the Martens.
That will be the last show until State Convention, in June.

Bremerton Show

Last weekend was the Bremerton show. It was a very small show, with only enough rabbits in both my breeds for just BOB to get a leg.
Show A, Rogue won BOS, but there were not enough does for a leg. In show B she was BOV Black, which there *might* have been enough Blacks for her to win her 4th leg, but I won't know for sure until the show report comes.
In show A, Jan was BOB with a Black buck. In show B, Cassy was BOB with a Blue buck (whose dam is Double Dutch's Revlon) and Jan was BOS with her little Steel doe.
For the Martens, Arson was BOS in both shows, with Scott winning both BOB's.
I sold a very nice little Black jr buck to a Kitsap county 4-H kid. This is her second rabbit from me. I'm sure I'll regret selling him, but I have two other Black bucks the same age (one from the same litter) that I like just a bit better.
Nicole and I have two new Marten litters! Arson is the sire of both. Maddy had 7- 4 Blacks, and 3 Blues. Pyro had 6- 3 Blacks and 3 Blues. We've already had people putting in requests for these guys, before they were even born! These will be our young seniors for ARBA convention next Fall.
Phoenix will be going to her last show this Saturday, as I just bred her to Arson yesterday. These will be our older juniors for ARBA Convention! Nicole will be attending it, as she has a break in school that week, so we're hoping to do really well with our Martens!
I currently have about 4 Dutch litters, with another 7 due next week, and 5 more due in 3 weeks.
Ash is going to go live with 4-Her Dayna for a few months, so Dayna can experience having a litter. Ash will come back to me after weaning her litter, and Dayna will have a litter to keep. Dayna's family has a long history with mine. Her grandfather is best friends with my dad, I've known him since I was 4 years old. What started as him getting Dayna a "Easter rabbit" has turned into a 4-H project, with her coming back to me to get more rabbits to show. This will be her first time having a litter. They will be about 3 months old for the King County Fair this summer for her.
This weekend is Monroe. The entries are really down for it. Several breed nationals are going on this weekend. Nicole and I are showing 3 Martens (Arson, Phoenix, and Coal). Then I'll have 5 Dutch (Maverick, Rogue, Jewel, and the two little jr Black bucks, which this will be their first show).
My website is out of date. Not sure when I'll be able to update it, as we recently changed internet providers, which makes it hard for me to get online with my laptop (which is what my website is stored on). Also need to get a new virus protector on the laptop before going online with it again...

YVRB Show

Yakima show was a couple of weeks ago. We had about 47 Dutch there. Rogue won a BOV and BOSV Black. There were only enough rabbits for her to get one leg, for the BOV. This is her 3rd leg, which makes her a Grand Champion!
Show A BOB went to Vicki's gorgeous Tort doe, that should have won at the Yelm show!
BOS was Jan's Black buck.
Show B BOB went to Jean's Chocolate doe, with Jan getting BOS again with her Black buck.
For Silver Martens, Arson won BOS in show A, but got panned in show B. In both shows, Scott won BOB with two different does, both of which were Arson daughters!
Have a lot of shows coming up, Bremerton is this weekend, with Monroe the following week, and Davenport two weeks later (which we're having a Dutch specialty at). I will be judging at all three.
Have a few litters around 3 weeks old right now, and another 6 litters due in a few weeks. I need to get quite a few rebred still.
Already have people reserving rabbits to buy at State Convention. I have four that will be going up to Canada. He already has a few of my does that he got from a breeder who sold out of Dutch down here. He'll be getting Ladybug, Diesel, Maverick, and one more Black brood doe that I haven't decided on yet. This gives me a couple of months to breed both Maverick and Diesel to all of my does before they leave!

ERBA Show

Just realized I never put my results on here. The ERBA show had to be moved at last minute, because the stable was double booked. The show end up being in an open arena. It was a very cold show! Luckily the sun was out, it could have been even colder (last year it snowed at this show...). I was really happy with how the rabbits did. I only took five Dutch with me, and three Silver Martens.

Dutch Results:
Show A
Rogue (Black jr doe)- Best of Breed (2nd leg)
Maverick (Black jr buck)- Best Opposite Sex (1st leg)

Show B
Jewel (Black jr doe)- Best Opposite Sex (1st leg and 1st show!)
Maverick- Best Opposite Sex Variety (not enough for a leg :(

Silver Marten Results:
Show A
Arson (Black sr buck)- Best of Breed (14th leg)

Show B
Arson- Best Opposite Sex (15th leg!)


Currently have 5 litters, and 6 more due next week. One of my litters reaches weaning age this weekend, but sadly there are no keepers in it. I have a gorgeous little Black doe in it but her undercut just barely touches her elbow. Made the mistake of looking at her type when Nicole was over yesterday... My other litters look to have some nice ones coming up luckily.
Nicole took Arson yesterday, and brought me Ember and Cinder. We decided to sell Ember (Black buck), as he just can't beat his dad. Nicole has a breeder whose able to transport rabbits to some shows for her, so we're hoping Arson might be able to make it to both Yakima and Davenport. Not that he needs any more legs... ;)
Next show for me is the Yakima show on April 10th. Will be judging at it.

Updates

Been awhile since I've updated this. Been busy, and not to mention my laptop had two really bad viruses on it, so was unable to use it for a month. Luckily my uncle and cousin were able to fix it, without me losing everything on it (I'm really bad about backing up Evans, has been a year...).
Have been to one show since the last post, the Saint Helens, OR show. Dutch did so-so. It was the last show for three of my does. I was hoping to grand Gemma, and she came really close, winning a first, but sadly there were only 4 in her class. Diamond picked up her first leg for a BOSV.
For Martens, Arson was BOB both shows, and now has 13 legs. He will be going to his last show for awhile next week, as next month he'll be going to live with Nicole to be bred to Pyro. As Nicole is starting clinics (in vet school), she won't be able to make it to as many shows, so all our juniors will be living with me.
Currently, I have 5 litters, ranging from a few days old to two weeks old. Haven't really looked through them yet, but the few I've seen look really nice! These will be my state convention juniors.
I bred five does last week, and will be breeding a few more today.
Currently, I have four brood does available. I have way too many of them, so had to make some cuts. I made the really hard decision to move both Zoe and Jill's Wild Blue Venus on. These two have been the best producers in my barn, but are just getting older. Them, along with Trelawn Ruby D, are all around 4-5 years old, and are harder to get bred, and have been having smaller litters. I figure it's time to let them go, and work in someone else's barn while they're still capable of having litters. They still throw really super rabbits. Ladybug is also for sale.
The next few months are full of shows. This month has both Yelm and Kennewick. I was going to go to both, but decided I had too many shows lined up, so have decided to not go to Kennewick. I will be at Yelm though. Then Nicole will be showing two of our Martens at Kennewick. In April, I'll be at both Yakima and Bremerton. I will be judging at both of these. Then in May I have Monroe and Davenport. This will be my first time going to Davenport. I'm secretaring a Dutch specialty at it on Friday night.