~Written by breeder/editor Jenna Luikart in first person view~ As for the top photo, yes, that is indeed my mean Californian doe, Nova in the recliner. She was watching the Blacklist. Anyhow, I'll tell you that I work with my rabbits a lot. And I'm the only one who does. I don't run anything commercial and I never claim any of my work as commercial. I literally have my hands on every project of mine around the farm. I design and build my own hutches, often with little or no help. I single handedly refurbished two 20 year old wire hutches last year, literally from crushed piles of mangled, rusted wire. Sure, they're not pretty, but they work for now as I'm still working on better hutches, and yes, mostly on my own. Every picture of me and my rabbits are not staged. You can tell I don't cake on make-up just to pose with a rabbit or a chicken for my websites. These were all spontaneous moments, and yes, I admit I probably look like crap in most of the pictures with me in them. If I look too poor in a picture, trust me; I'm not posting it. But yet again, I look a bit poor in all of these pictures except for the ones with baby Sandstorm in the Sprint store, and that was because, of course, I was in public. And I still wasn't wearing any make up! When my kits are born, and especially if they're all around the same age, I'll bring them inside for a play-date/ social hour. Be it my bed or a 5x5 wading pool, I'll put some carrots and a couple hiding places down, and some towels, and let them all have at it under supervision. They all have a good time, and the moms don't mind a bit. I only do this because I trust my does, and I've yet to find a reason to not trust them after I handle their kits. At every feeding, i'm communicating with all my rabbits; I talk to them, ask them questions, and pet them if they let me. Mostly I leave them alone when it comes to petting because my adults I didn't raise from kits are a little touchy. They won't bite, but they'll run away and kind of hide in a corner if you try to touch them. And then you have Nova, who knocks you in the arm and pop corns around her hutch, so you really feel uncomfortable trying to pet her! I tend to keep does in with their moms until their next kindling, too. Astra and Astella are still together, even though Astella is almost a year old! The bucks I remove from their mothers and sisters at about 13 to 15 weeks old to ensure maximum weaning but to keep accidental breedings from happening. By this point, I usually decide my pardon kits and my indefinite freezer kits, too, so I stop handling the grow outs so much for our own good! By adult age if they haven't sold yet, my kits are all fairly tame. I don't seem to have a single rabbit in my hutch that enjoys being picked up, but they're cool with lap sitting. They come trained to a water bottle or water bowl, a rabbit feeder or a feed bowl, and almost litter trained some how, too! I don't tattoo anything yet, because it's pointless. But I'll mark a spot in their ear with either a blue Sharpie or a pink Sharpie to help identify the same colored kits and to keep their parents straight!
Adults
Adults I bring inside to do nail trims, hair trims, and to take photos when needed. Sometimes one of my shows will come on before I get the last trim of the night outside, so they'll sit in the recliner in my lap until the shows go off. Yes, this totally explains Nova in the chair. No, I did not promise her weekly movie night in case she tries to say otherwise.