I've been severely neglecting my poor blog. I've been incredibly busy and honestly haven't had time to think.
I have however kept my Samsara Cavies facebook page up to date which can be found here:
www.facebook.com/samsaracavies
I'm also building an actual website which should be complete fairly soon and can be found here:
www.samsaracavies.wix.com/home
As to what has been happening, Ayanna had four babies, two DOA and two very lovely sows, one a golden agouti coronet the other a lilac, gold and white sheltie. Beatrice had a DOA himalayan sow and a lovely giant sable boar and Eugenie had a sable boar, two himalayan sows and a himalayan boar.
We went to the Canberra Royal and I won:
2 x Best of Breeds for Afflexian Rain Again
2 x Best Baby Texel for Samsara Any Other Name
2 x Best of Breeds for Zephyr Anastasia
1 x Best of Breed, 1 Reserve of Breed and 1 Reserve Marked in Show for Symphonia Laertes
1 x Best of Breed for Sathra Reynaldo
I also collected my pigs from WA as well as a lovely satin carrier boar called Tiverton Teddy, I was given a satin sheltie sow at the royal and I also recently purchased a satin black roan.
We survived summer without issues and I have now paired Afflexian Choc Tina and Janellan Fergie with Beatrice's son, and paired one of the WA sows and my new satin sheltie sow with Shemelle Charmer. All are due April/May. For more up to date info please keep an eye on my fb page.
Emma, over and out.
An endless journey in the pursuit of cavies, knowledge and joy.
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Monday, 10 December 2012
Oops
Guess I've been neglecting my blog rather a bit. So a brief summary of the last six weeks, I went to three NSW Sydney shows and won a few awards most notably Laertes won BOB against five other dals, Shemelle Charmer won Best Pet and at only one show were all of my sables refused BOB.
So not too bad. Ayanna has gotten huge and is now due any day. She looks as if she's dragging a VW Beetle along inside her belly. She's due any day now and is very close. I cannot wait to see what babies she has! The sire of this litter is Shemelle Charmer.
Both Beatrice and Eugenie are also pregnant and even though it's just seven weeks since they went in with a boar they are already filled with squirmy movement. I'm not so sure Tina is pregnant though.
So I will post pictures as soon as Yanna has the grace to pop and once the Sables litter I'll share heaps of pics of the bubs.
ANNNNNDDDD!!!! One satin sheltie sow, one satin carrier texel boar and two possible satin carrier sows (one sheltie, one texel) are all flying to me from Western Australian. However they are doing a detour to Brisbane first in order for the satin sheltie girl and a texel girl to spend six weeks with a buff satin merino boar. EEEEEEEE!!!!
I think my two breed groups are now nicely set. Longhairs in Texel, Merino, Coronet and Sheltie (with the possibility of Peruvian & Alpaca) in Satin and Normal and Dark Sables in Normal, Crested and (eventually) Satin. That gives me a full four breed groups to show in (Marked, Satin, Crested, Longhair). I've no interest in coarse coat or self, and I recently acquired a chocolate agouti for the ticked classes, so I'm quite set to have nice full shows now.
But the sable fact for the day: Up until now it's been assumed that sables are a type of Himalayan, however the English have proven they can breed true and do not necessarily require Himalayan to be created. Interestingly sables do not colour up like Himalayans either, at two months old the first hints of shading appear at the bottom corner of the eyes, at three months a small piece of shading occurs above the nose, by five months the shading has filled in and by seven months has fully darkened. So it would seem Sables best show period is after that seven month stage. So far I've seen no evidence that the shading muddies or lightens at all as they age or the temperature changes, which is very different to Himalayans.
So not too bad. Ayanna has gotten huge and is now due any day. She looks as if she's dragging a VW Beetle along inside her belly. She's due any day now and is very close. I cannot wait to see what babies she has! The sire of this litter is Shemelle Charmer.
Both Beatrice and Eugenie are also pregnant and even though it's just seven weeks since they went in with a boar they are already filled with squirmy movement. I'm not so sure Tina is pregnant though.
So I will post pictures as soon as Yanna has the grace to pop and once the Sables litter I'll share heaps of pics of the bubs.
ANNNNNDDDD!!!! One satin sheltie sow, one satin carrier texel boar and two possible satin carrier sows (one sheltie, one texel) are all flying to me from Western Australian. However they are doing a detour to Brisbane first in order for the satin sheltie girl and a texel girl to spend six weeks with a buff satin merino boar. EEEEEEEE!!!!
I think my two breed groups are now nicely set. Longhairs in Texel, Merino, Coronet and Sheltie (with the possibility of Peruvian & Alpaca) in Satin and Normal and Dark Sables in Normal, Crested and (eventually) Satin. That gives me a full four breed groups to show in (Marked, Satin, Crested, Longhair). I've no interest in coarse coat or self, and I recently acquired a chocolate agouti for the ticked classes, so I'm quite set to have nice full shows now.
But the sable fact for the day: Up until now it's been assumed that sables are a type of Himalayan, however the English have proven they can breed true and do not necessarily require Himalayan to be created. Interestingly sables do not colour up like Himalayans either, at two months old the first hints of shading appear at the bottom corner of the eyes, at three months a small piece of shading occurs above the nose, by five months the shading has filled in and by seven months has fully darkened. So it would seem Sables best show period is after that seven month stage. So far I've seen no evidence that the shading muddies or lightens at all as they age or the temperature changes, which is very different to Himalayans.
Saturday, 3 November 2012
A Sable breeding program
I thought it would be worthwhile sharing some of the things I've learned about sables since I started this journey.
I am a bit obsessive with research, it's a great habit to have for my law degree, but can also really irritate people in the real world. So if you don't want an in depth discussion of every microscopic detail I've learned about sables, probably time to stop reading.
As a start to my research I turned to the Australian standard and secondly the English standard. I read papers on sable genetics written by both Australian and English breeders. I then came to the fairly annoying conclusion that no one actually knows what a perfect sable should look like or even what their genetic makeup is. They all shared a similar conclusion that there were three ways to create a sable. These were white agouti dilute x Himalayan, cream agouti dilute x Himalayan and buff x Himalayan. Okay fair enough, you need a Himalayan to create shading and you need to avoid agouti at all costs unless you want an agouti sable. So I then start studying the pedigrees of the five pedigreed sables I own. Hang on a second, what? I own a sable from a mixed background of self chocolates and Himalayan, and then four sables which came from mating the original to a cinnamon agouti.
So I start looking at the breeders, studying matings, examining as much as I can. Every genetics paper I read tells me one thing, one thing that they all agree on... Sables don't breed true. Sable x sable gives 50% sables, 25% sable dilutes and 25% himalayans. Then, I find a breeder who has bred over 150 sable bred babies. In those 153, 137 were sables and just 16 were Himalayan. None were dilutes. The actual thread of this discussion can be seen here: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/cavycolors/messages/1467?threaded=1&m=e&var=1&tidx=1
So this then means the sables come from unknown genetics. We know how to create them, but we have no tracked what the actual gene involved is.
To me sables are magic, they are so very beautiful, and so unknown. I love a challenge and the sables are a challenge in a way the longhairs are not. The longhairs are a challenge in the grooming, they are a way of truly competing. But sables, sables are I guess an experiment in genetics. I have so missed science since I started uni, it is nice to be faced with such a challenge.
So my plan is to see if this is true. To see not only if I can breed sables that match our Australian standard, but also to see if I can get them breeding true. If I can establish a line of sables that breed true, I can prove they are not just a random genetic quirk.
In order to this I'm starting with as wide a gene pool as I can manage. It's why I've placed three sable sows with three unrelated Himalayan boars. This will be the one and only out cross until I've reached 100 babies. I intend to select for the lightest possible babies each generation. It's my belief that the lighter they start, the more distinct the shading will become as it appears that their initial colour is the belly colour when they reach adulthood.
Each sable born here will be photographed monthly for their first twelve months. Each month I will photograph each side, the head and the belly. Since I do not breed much or often this is a long term project, but I would truly like to see the sable reach it's potential. Instead of the faintly murky sables I have now, I would love to breed one where the shading is visible even in dim lighting, one which has a stark near black head against a pale beige belly.
This blog may simply turn into a documentation of my sable adventure, but I promise, every step will be documented.
I am a bit obsessive with research, it's a great habit to have for my law degree, but can also really irritate people in the real world. So if you don't want an in depth discussion of every microscopic detail I've learned about sables, probably time to stop reading.
As a start to my research I turned to the Australian standard and secondly the English standard. I read papers on sable genetics written by both Australian and English breeders. I then came to the fairly annoying conclusion that no one actually knows what a perfect sable should look like or even what their genetic makeup is. They all shared a similar conclusion that there were three ways to create a sable. These were white agouti dilute x Himalayan, cream agouti dilute x Himalayan and buff x Himalayan. Okay fair enough, you need a Himalayan to create shading and you need to avoid agouti at all costs unless you want an agouti sable. So I then start studying the pedigrees of the five pedigreed sables I own. Hang on a second, what? I own a sable from a mixed background of self chocolates and Himalayan, and then four sables which came from mating the original to a cinnamon agouti.
So I start looking at the breeders, studying matings, examining as much as I can. Every genetics paper I read tells me one thing, one thing that they all agree on... Sables don't breed true. Sable x sable gives 50% sables, 25% sable dilutes and 25% himalayans. Then, I find a breeder who has bred over 150 sable bred babies. In those 153, 137 were sables and just 16 were Himalayan. None were dilutes. The actual thread of this discussion can be seen here: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/cavycolors/messages/1467?threaded=1&m=e&var=1&tidx=1
So this then means the sables come from unknown genetics. We know how to create them, but we have no tracked what the actual gene involved is.
To me sables are magic, they are so very beautiful, and so unknown. I love a challenge and the sables are a challenge in a way the longhairs are not. The longhairs are a challenge in the grooming, they are a way of truly competing. But sables, sables are I guess an experiment in genetics. I have so missed science since I started uni, it is nice to be faced with such a challenge.
So my plan is to see if this is true. To see not only if I can breed sables that match our Australian standard, but also to see if I can get them breeding true. If I can establish a line of sables that breed true, I can prove they are not just a random genetic quirk.
In order to this I'm starting with as wide a gene pool as I can manage. It's why I've placed three sable sows with three unrelated Himalayan boars. This will be the one and only out cross until I've reached 100 babies. I intend to select for the lightest possible babies each generation. It's my belief that the lighter they start, the more distinct the shading will become as it appears that their initial colour is the belly colour when they reach adulthood.
Each sable born here will be photographed monthly for their first twelve months. Each month I will photograph each side, the head and the belly. Since I do not breed much or often this is a long term project, but I would truly like to see the sable reach it's potential. Instead of the faintly murky sables I have now, I would love to breed one where the shading is visible even in dim lighting, one which has a stark near black head against a pale beige belly.
This blog may simply turn into a documentation of my sable adventure, but I promise, every step will be documented.
Friday, 26 October 2012
Samsara Sables: The Beginning
I've mentioned a few times that I'm working on a special project, but now it's time to unveil it.
I've been working hard researching my favorite breed, the one that makes me go weak at the knees, the sable. In the time I've spent researching it, what I've learned above all else, is everyone is a bit confused. I've been told so many different things, by so many different people that in the end I realized the best way to tackle this, was to memorize the standard and look to England. Which unfortunately didn't actually help. For instance the English Rare Varieties Cavy Club has a picture of what they view as the ultimate sable, what they are aiming for here: British Cavy Council: New & Emerging Breeds. Fair enough right? the sable is a chocolate based cavy with dark sepia masking... Then you go to the website of the only sable breeder I can find anywhere: Tartuffe Cavies. Their sables are black based animals with black masking... Confused yet?
After speaking to judges, including visiting english judges and comparing chocolate based and black based sables side by side. This is the conclusion I have come to:
There are THREE varieties of self sable
Chocolate based dark sable: Chocolate pigment with deep sepia masking (aka dark sable)
Black based dark sable: Black pigment with black masking (aka seal sable, or black sable)
Chocolate based chocolate sable: Chocolate pigment with chocolate masking (aka chocolate sable)
For me the problem is defining what the standardised sable is. I own all three varieties of sable listed above (courtesy of Janellan cavies). However after speaking to the judges and the very few sable breeders I can find, and studying the standard some more, I have come to a conclusion. The sable standard calls for dark sepia masking, not black. It calls for a beige belly, not milk chocolate. To me these suggest that chocolate pigment is necessary. Since true chocolate masked sables have not been around long and our standard was written years ago I believe our standard calls for chocolate based dark sables. However if I'm wrong my genetics study has indicated all I need to do is cross a chocolate dark sable to a black himalayan to return to black based sables.
So this is all interesting theory, but what does it mean?
Well let me introduce you to the sables who are my foundation stock for this project. Please note however that Eugenie, Beatrice, Fergie and Harry are just five months old. They have a good four or five more months until they are fully shaded. You can see in the pictures that some of the shading appears strangely uneven.
Janellan Eugenie is the best one I have. Her type isn't great but her masking is the best of all five chocolate based sables. Her belly is far too dark though, but I'll be working on that.
Eugenie has been paired with Sathra Wizard in an attempt to add more contrast to the shading.
Janellan Beatrice is easily the second best with decent shading and type.
Beatrice has been paired with Janellan Helix.
The two sisters together in the sunlight, which really shows the shading off.
Janellan Harry, he isn't great, but he is still sable, and pedigree at that.
Janellan Fergie, she has white hairs and her shading isn't great, but she is a sable.
Afflexian Choc Tina is the last of my chocolate based sables. She also has chocolate masking. She is the mother to teh four sables above but the different masking shade would suggest there are different genes at play.
Tina has been mated to Sathra Rally just to see what pops out.
Then we have the two black sables. Both are from much iffier backgrounds and will never be mated as I don't really want sable dutch, sable american cresteds or sable abyssinians. However they are fun to show.
Spud isn't actually mine but I do show him as it's a good way to give a judge a visual comparison between the two colours. He's got a good mask but no shading along his spine. He also has a tonne of cream hairs.
And of course I've posted Piggles on here before. It's generally 50/50 whether a judge gives her a BOB or DQ's her.
Now in the three months since I've started talking about sables, I've been attacked, called a backyard breeder or simply informed that if I like brown pigs so much I should show chocolates. I know sables aren't a well known or well loved breed. I know it will be an uphill battle to bring them back to standard but I've also been told before that we breed cavies, we show cavies, because we love them. I've been told to choose the breed I love, the one that for me is so gorgeous it's like my heart stops when I see it. That would be the sables for me. I won't win Best In Show's with them no, but honestly I don't do this for the glory. I do it for love of cavies, love of learning and a love of the friendship that exists within the fancy.
I have all sorts of ideas and theories in my head in regards to sables. For instance an English breeder has found evidence in her own sable line that the himalayan gene can be bred out, that sables may actually breed true. It's why I'm starting with three unrelated himis now. After these three matings I intend to line breed for a good 5-10 generations to see how I go. But since all my sables are related I wanted to introduce some new blood in first, before I start intensive line breeding. With so much misinformation out there the only way I'm going to learn about sable genetics is by actually breeding them. I intend to keep meticulous photographic records, so I can study how the sables change as they grow, and also learn how to improve the shading. One day I will breed a sable with complete shading and a beige belly. I am absolutely determined.
I've been working hard researching my favorite breed, the one that makes me go weak at the knees, the sable. In the time I've spent researching it, what I've learned above all else, is everyone is a bit confused. I've been told so many different things, by so many different people that in the end I realized the best way to tackle this, was to memorize the standard and look to England. Which unfortunately didn't actually help. For instance the English Rare Varieties Cavy Club has a picture of what they view as the ultimate sable, what they are aiming for here: British Cavy Council: New & Emerging Breeds. Fair enough right? the sable is a chocolate based cavy with dark sepia masking... Then you go to the website of the only sable breeder I can find anywhere: Tartuffe Cavies. Their sables are black based animals with black masking... Confused yet?
After speaking to judges, including visiting english judges and comparing chocolate based and black based sables side by side. This is the conclusion I have come to:
There are THREE varieties of self sable
Chocolate based dark sable: Chocolate pigment with deep sepia masking (aka dark sable)
Black based dark sable: Black pigment with black masking (aka seal sable, or black sable)
Chocolate based chocolate sable: Chocolate pigment with chocolate masking (aka chocolate sable)
For me the problem is defining what the standardised sable is. I own all three varieties of sable listed above (courtesy of Janellan cavies). However after speaking to the judges and the very few sable breeders I can find, and studying the standard some more, I have come to a conclusion. The sable standard calls for dark sepia masking, not black. It calls for a beige belly, not milk chocolate. To me these suggest that chocolate pigment is necessary. Since true chocolate masked sables have not been around long and our standard was written years ago I believe our standard calls for chocolate based dark sables. However if I'm wrong my genetics study has indicated all I need to do is cross a chocolate dark sable to a black himalayan to return to black based sables.
So this is all interesting theory, but what does it mean?
Well let me introduce you to the sables who are my foundation stock for this project. Please note however that Eugenie, Beatrice, Fergie and Harry are just five months old. They have a good four or five more months until they are fully shaded. You can see in the pictures that some of the shading appears strangely uneven.
Janellan Eugenie is the best one I have. Her type isn't great but her masking is the best of all five chocolate based sables. Her belly is far too dark though, but I'll be working on that.
Eugenie has been paired with Sathra Wizard in an attempt to add more contrast to the shading.
Janellan Beatrice is easily the second best with decent shading and type.
Beatrice has been paired with Janellan Helix.
The two sisters together in the sunlight, which really shows the shading off.
Janellan Harry, he isn't great, but he is still sable, and pedigree at that.
Janellan Fergie, she has white hairs and her shading isn't great, but she is a sable.
Afflexian Choc Tina is the last of my chocolate based sables. She also has chocolate masking. She is the mother to teh four sables above but the different masking shade would suggest there are different genes at play.
Tina has been mated to Sathra Rally just to see what pops out.
Then we have the two black sables. Both are from much iffier backgrounds and will never be mated as I don't really want sable dutch, sable american cresteds or sable abyssinians. However they are fun to show.
Spud isn't actually mine but I do show him as it's a good way to give a judge a visual comparison between the two colours. He's got a good mask but no shading along his spine. He also has a tonne of cream hairs.
And of course I've posted Piggles on here before. It's generally 50/50 whether a judge gives her a BOB or DQ's her.
Now in the three months since I've started talking about sables, I've been attacked, called a backyard breeder or simply informed that if I like brown pigs so much I should show chocolates. I know sables aren't a well known or well loved breed. I know it will be an uphill battle to bring them back to standard but I've also been told before that we breed cavies, we show cavies, because we love them. I've been told to choose the breed I love, the one that for me is so gorgeous it's like my heart stops when I see it. That would be the sables for me. I won't win Best In Show's with them no, but honestly I don't do this for the glory. I do it for love of cavies, love of learning and a love of the friendship that exists within the fancy.
I have all sorts of ideas and theories in my head in regards to sables. For instance an English breeder has found evidence in her own sable line that the himalayan gene can be bred out, that sables may actually breed true. It's why I'm starting with three unrelated himis now. After these three matings I intend to line breed for a good 5-10 generations to see how I go. But since all my sables are related I wanted to introduce some new blood in first, before I start intensive line breeding. With so much misinformation out there the only way I'm going to learn about sable genetics is by actually breeding them. I intend to keep meticulous photographic records, so I can study how the sables change as they grow, and also learn how to improve the shading. One day I will breed a sable with complete shading and a beige belly. I am absolutely determined.
Monday, 8 October 2012
Pictures of The Wheepers
It's been a bit since I updated and ages since I posted up pictures... oops. So brief update all the kids are going well though there are issues with Feather. Symphonia Lavinia was caught by Symphonia Laertes on the 7/9 so she will be due on the 16/11 and Chantilly Ayanna was caught by Shemelle Charmer on the 9/10 so will be due on the 18/12. We also have several new pigs coming to join the Samsara ranks, Afflexian Choc Gem a two month old chocolate himalayan sow as well as a litter of four chocolate sables: Janellan Harry, Janellan Beatrice, Janellan Fergie and Janellan Eugenie.
Anyway on to the pictures! My apologies for the picture quality, my camera died and the one I borrowed disagreed with guinea pigs...
Anyway on to the pictures! My apologies for the picture quality, my camera died and the one I borrowed disagreed with guinea pigs...
Pipsqueak Sterling. He's been doing well but has a pretty boring life at the moment, I've got him next door to some sows so he has someone to talk to.
Pipsqueak Feather, some sad news for this boy. I recently noticed he was crying while peeing again so took him in to the vet. Although the x-ray was inconclusive urinalysis showed very large crystals. Even if I was willing to do another surgery Feather still hasn't recovered from the last one. This means that Feather is now on palliative care, he's got plenty of painkillers and we just take it day by day.
Pipsqueak Fortinbras is doing well and seems as bright and happy as usual. The unique haircut is courtesy of his three buddies.
Ferdinand is one of my newbies from Sapphire City Cavy Rescue. I wanted to be sure that Fortinbras had cagemates when Feather passes on and didn't think he'd take kindly to a cagemate disappearing for days or weeks at a time for showing or breeding so I adopted some nice pets.
Frederick is my other adopted boy. He has a bit of a different story in that he is born with deformities. Best guess is disproportionate dwarfism but basically none of his bone structures sit where they should be, his ribs press against his hips, his teeth don't meet etc. However he's happy and he eats and he gains wait so he'll stay with us until his condition starts deteriorating.
Shemelle Charmer! I am in love with this big sooky boy, he's just gorgeous. I'm still waiting on his pedigree but have seen enough of his progeny to know that this boy is going to give me some spectacular Samsaras.
ACA Champion Symphonia Laertes (yup I showed him to Champion!), being an idiot as always. Next step is to get him to a NSWCC Championship! He's halfway there.
Pipsqueak Ebony Charm. Ebbie is still gaining weight, I'm beginning to wonder if she's ever going to stop.
Pebbles being an absolute idiot.
Tommi being adorable as always, Tom is still looking for her forever home.
Zibby is my RSPCA foster, he gets desexed tomorrow as he has one of those uber aggressive personalities, I haven't managed to get him to even act vaguely friendly to a boar, he just attacks. So once his balls have been removed he can hang with the girls until he's adopted.
Symphonia Lavinia who is nearly five weeks preggers. I so cannot wait!
A really really awful photo of Piggles.
Chantilly Ayanna who clearly could not be bothered posing. Isn't her new haircut hilarious?
Samsara Any Other Name, my first Samsara baby! aint he glorious? this pic was taken when he was only a couple of days old, he's all fluffy and curly and adorable now.
Any again, coz I can!
Friday, 28 September 2012
Random thoughts of the day
All the kids had their weekly weigh in today. Everyone was up except for Laertes. Laertes is down 40g from usual, which I'm putting down to the fact he's still running with Nia. No change in condition so I'm sure he's fine. He'll move back to his bachelor cage tomorrow as It's been three weeks since Nia has been on heat, and I saw the wax plug three weeks ago. If she isn't preggers I'll just pop them back together later.
Today has been very busy as a new rabbit came into the RSPCA and I'm her new foster carer. "Trixie" is a very sweet sooty fawn charlie lop, she looks like a cross breed. Her ears are lopped but she has a fair amount of control of them, unlike Luther who can barely move his a cm. She had her vaccination today and is booked in to be desexed on Thursday. I've fallen in love already, she may end up staying if she gets on well with Lu.
In other bigger news the Samsara cavies may be moving to a new shed. They are currently in the spare bedroom which will soon need to be used as a bedroom, so it looks like we'll be moving out into a garden shed. More on that once a shed is chosen and of course built. We have a great spot for it out under an enormous old peach tree.
Lots of traveling coming up for the pigs as well. Some time in the next two weeks I'll be heading out to Grafton to collect a DEW sow who will be joining the ranks. It's an eight hour round trip, but should be worth it. Then the new girl, Laertes and Piggles will be heading down the mountain for a week in Sydney on the 16th of October. The new girl will stay on at a friends to meet a stud boar and Laertes and Piggles will be attending the show on the 21st. I will also be collecting Afflexian Choc Jem at the same time a sweet baby choc himi who will come back with me. Rosie may also be coming back, not sure on that though, she may stay on where she is until she litters. Haven't really decided. I will also be collecting something like six other pigs that are a temporary lend for the next aca display. Around the same time Ayanna will move into Charmers cage for her second litter. She's rebounded amazingly and shows no sign that she has recently littered. If I wait till after summer she's likely to be too fat and comfortable, I would rather breed her again while she remains in perfect breeding condition. Then once we get back from our week in Sydney (which also involves The Legally Blonde Musical, and a ghost tour for the human), we have a very brief break before putting one a pedigree display in Armidale on the 4th of November. Then we head back down the mountain on the 10th for the NSWCC show on the 11th. I'll pair my last litter then as well. Lavinia will also be due at his point. We then have a brief three week break before the final show of the year for NSWCC on December 2nd. Then we all collapse until the show season starts again in February....
So life will be chaotic but also very very fun, I do enjoy all the travelling and my 'show team' (currently consisting of Champion Symphonia Laertes and Piggles) don't seem to mind it either. They are both very relaxed about the driving and eat, sleep and drink while we are in motion. They ride on the drivers seat next to me in an extra large carrier (each have a 45cm x 30cm area) and don't seem to mind the activity, they then generally get a chance to stretch their legs when we arrive as I stay with another breeder, so I can unpack the wiggles into spare cages if needed.
Today has been very busy as a new rabbit came into the RSPCA and I'm her new foster carer. "Trixie" is a very sweet sooty fawn charlie lop, she looks like a cross breed. Her ears are lopped but she has a fair amount of control of them, unlike Luther who can barely move his a cm. She had her vaccination today and is booked in to be desexed on Thursday. I've fallen in love already, she may end up staying if she gets on well with Lu.
In other bigger news the Samsara cavies may be moving to a new shed. They are currently in the spare bedroom which will soon need to be used as a bedroom, so it looks like we'll be moving out into a garden shed. More on that once a shed is chosen and of course built. We have a great spot for it out under an enormous old peach tree.
Lots of traveling coming up for the pigs as well. Some time in the next two weeks I'll be heading out to Grafton to collect a DEW sow who will be joining the ranks. It's an eight hour round trip, but should be worth it. Then the new girl, Laertes and Piggles will be heading down the mountain for a week in Sydney on the 16th of October. The new girl will stay on at a friends to meet a stud boar and Laertes and Piggles will be attending the show on the 21st. I will also be collecting Afflexian Choc Jem at the same time a sweet baby choc himi who will come back with me. Rosie may also be coming back, not sure on that though, she may stay on where she is until she litters. Haven't really decided. I will also be collecting something like six other pigs that are a temporary lend for the next aca display. Around the same time Ayanna will move into Charmers cage for her second litter. She's rebounded amazingly and shows no sign that she has recently littered. If I wait till after summer she's likely to be too fat and comfortable, I would rather breed her again while she remains in perfect breeding condition. Then once we get back from our week in Sydney (which also involves The Legally Blonde Musical, and a ghost tour for the human), we have a very brief break before putting one a pedigree display in Armidale on the 4th of November. Then we head back down the mountain on the 10th for the NSWCC show on the 11th. I'll pair my last litter then as well. Lavinia will also be due at his point. We then have a brief three week break before the final show of the year for NSWCC on December 2nd. Then we all collapse until the show season starts again in February....
So life will be chaotic but also very very fun, I do enjoy all the travelling and my 'show team' (currently consisting of Champion Symphonia Laertes and Piggles) don't seem to mind it either. They are both very relaxed about the driving and eat, sleep and drink while we are in motion. They ride on the drivers seat next to me in an extra large carrier (each have a 45cm x 30cm area) and don't seem to mind the activity, they then generally get a chance to stretch their legs when we arrive as I stay with another breeder, so I can unpack the wiggles into spare cages if needed.
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Thoughts...
I haven't got much to add today. Life continues as usual in Samsara land. I have a new project that has me very excited but I won't be posting much about it until I have some definite results.
I do have new pigs coming though as a friend collected a little himi sow for me on the weekend who is likely to play a part in my project.
Mainly I've been working on organizing for the national next year which I am so very excited for. I'm hoping to take along two or three longs, maybe a dally, maybe a rex and several of my new project. Because any cavy shown at the national must be six months old, any prospective pigs must be born by mid Feb, conceived by December 9th. Which means I need to pair up by November 10th at the absolute latest. So Nia and Laertes were paired up on the 4th (wax plug seen on the 7th) and Rosie was paired up with a lovely silver agouti rex on the 8th. Yanna has rebounded really well so I'll pair her up again November 10th. Then I'm hoping to have two litters for my project... one is organized and will be paired up early November but haven't worked out the second one yet.
Other than that I've been studying hard for exams in two weeks and dreaming of the fantastic holiday I get after it... I'm driving down to Sydney to go see Legally Blonde the Musical and then spending time with friends, going on a ghost tour and finishing it all with a NSWCC show.
I've been rearranging pigs as well, well in my head at least. Rosie is unlikely to stay after she litters as she's demonstrated implicitly that she much prefers living at the stud where her boyfriends are rather than with my herd. So she'll likely go there with implicit instructions that I will take her back at any time if they don't want her. I'll see her every month and she'll get even fatter and lazier LOL. I'll probably move Nia on after she litters as well, she doesn't fit well into the sow herd and would be better off in a quite pet home.
I also need to speak to my vet about neutering Zibby and Sterling. Neither will ever get on with other boars and they are both extremely lonely. Sterling is getting snipped for several reasons. Mainly though because Any already has more curl than Sterling ever has and I know I'd rather continue with Any and Charmer. I won't be breeding enough to warrant three stud boars and I have no intentions of moving Sterling on. So instead I'll get him snipped and return him to his on true ladylove.
I have some pigs that will always stay regardless. Feather, Fortinbras, Frederick and Ferdinand are a package deal and will be with me till they die. The same goes for Ebony, Piggles, Pebbles and Laertes. Once Sterling is neutered he'll join my core of 9 must have pigs, even if only two of them are actually useful when it comes to showing or breeding. Yanna will probably have one more maybe two litters with me and then return to her breeder who rather misses the sweetie pie. I'm hoping Zibby and Tommi will one day find their own special homes, though I still haven't had any serious interest.
I do have new pigs coming though as a friend collected a little himi sow for me on the weekend who is likely to play a part in my project.
Mainly I've been working on organizing for the national next year which I am so very excited for. I'm hoping to take along two or three longs, maybe a dally, maybe a rex and several of my new project. Because any cavy shown at the national must be six months old, any prospective pigs must be born by mid Feb, conceived by December 9th. Which means I need to pair up by November 10th at the absolute latest. So Nia and Laertes were paired up on the 4th (wax plug seen on the 7th) and Rosie was paired up with a lovely silver agouti rex on the 8th. Yanna has rebounded really well so I'll pair her up again November 10th. Then I'm hoping to have two litters for my project... one is organized and will be paired up early November but haven't worked out the second one yet.
Other than that I've been studying hard for exams in two weeks and dreaming of the fantastic holiday I get after it... I'm driving down to Sydney to go see Legally Blonde the Musical and then spending time with friends, going on a ghost tour and finishing it all with a NSWCC show.
I've been rearranging pigs as well, well in my head at least. Rosie is unlikely to stay after she litters as she's demonstrated implicitly that she much prefers living at the stud where her boyfriends are rather than with my herd. So she'll likely go there with implicit instructions that I will take her back at any time if they don't want her. I'll see her every month and she'll get even fatter and lazier LOL. I'll probably move Nia on after she litters as well, she doesn't fit well into the sow herd and would be better off in a quite pet home.
I also need to speak to my vet about neutering Zibby and Sterling. Neither will ever get on with other boars and they are both extremely lonely. Sterling is getting snipped for several reasons. Mainly though because Any already has more curl than Sterling ever has and I know I'd rather continue with Any and Charmer. I won't be breeding enough to warrant three stud boars and I have no intentions of moving Sterling on. So instead I'll get him snipped and return him to his on true ladylove.
I have some pigs that will always stay regardless. Feather, Fortinbras, Frederick and Ferdinand are a package deal and will be with me till they die. The same goes for Ebony, Piggles, Pebbles and Laertes. Once Sterling is neutered he'll join my core of 9 must have pigs, even if only two of them are actually useful when it comes to showing or breeding. Yanna will probably have one more maybe two litters with me and then return to her breeder who rather misses the sweetie pie. I'm hoping Zibby and Tommi will one day find their own special homes, though I still haven't had any serious interest.
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