I've been working on the sow run portion of the bank some more. It's now had one coat of undercoat/primer and two coats of aquanamel. The paint needs a week to cure so while it does that I've been installing more hardware.
I've never found a cage catch I actually like, they are ugly, awkward and a total pain at feeding time. So I'm trialling magnetic catches, they are pricey at $4 a catch but I think they'll work. I've just installed two in the sow run, one per door and I think I'm definitely going to need more. Probably two at the top and bottom at the end of the door and one more on the hinged section. So I need to head to Bunnings and buy two more sets of catches (two in each set) as well as door handles for all of the cages.
If the catches work in the sow run with a a nosy houdini cavy (Ebbie) I'll install them in the bottom level as well and have slightly more aesthetically pleasing cage locks.
An endless journey in the pursuit of cavies, knowledge and joy.
Friday, 30 December 2011
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Cages, Bedding and all things nice.
I've been taking advantage of the wonderful post-Christmas/half-yearly-clearance/summer-sale bargains. Mainly of course for the pigs.
I've been reviewing the bedding situation and although the compressed newspaper pellets are like the absolute perfect bedding, the price tag means that it's not economically viable to use it in all the cages. Now, I know there's a lot of controversy about fleece but I have to come down on the side of the 'fluffies'. I love fleece. I love that it's so cheap, that it last forever that it looks neat and clean. However I'm also the daughter of a textile artist. I quite literally learned to sew before I could walk and own three sewing machines and an overlocker. So sewing bedding just comes naturally for me.
I took advantage of Lincraft's 30% off sale and bought 3.5m of hot pink homespun ($17.12) and 3.35m of Fuchsia polar fleece ($23.42). I also saved a fortune on new curtains for my bedroom but that's another story.
Anyway up until now I've always made fleece cage liners with cotton wadding. Which to be honest worked amazingly. However cotton wadding ordinarily costs a fortune but my Mother and I bought a bulk amount of 100m a while ago. That's unfortunately almost gone now so I'm looking at alternatives.
Americans are inordinately fond of using mattress pads (what we call mattress protectors) in cavy bedding. So I figured I'd give it a try. I bought a king size dry touch waterproof mattress protector. It has an 80% cotton 20% polyester toweling center with a waterproof PU backing ($39.99). The king size is just large enough to make two changes of bedding for the wire cage and the pet store cages. Once I've finished washing the fleece to death I'll be able to sew the pads with fleece on top, mattress protector in the middle and a cotton base. Hopefully this will work and be lighter and dryer then the cotton.
In other news I've been shopping at Bunnings. I finally bought the enamel for the banks. I gave in and bought a soft pink called 'soft satin'. I thought it was the perfect calming colour for a maternity cage and should help keep boars calm. Yeah right, the only thought behind the colour choice was 'oooooh pretty!'.
I also bought a set of magnetic catches to test out which are perfect. So I'll head back again soon and buy three more sets as well as four handles. Since the doors are hinge din the center I'll use a magnetic catch on either half so I can open just one half to throw food in.
Oh and I've been working on designs for a travel cage/show box/carry cage, so more on this and pricing later.
I've been reviewing the bedding situation and although the compressed newspaper pellets are like the absolute perfect bedding, the price tag means that it's not economically viable to use it in all the cages. Now, I know there's a lot of controversy about fleece but I have to come down on the side of the 'fluffies'. I love fleece. I love that it's so cheap, that it last forever that it looks neat and clean. However I'm also the daughter of a textile artist. I quite literally learned to sew before I could walk and own three sewing machines and an overlocker. So sewing bedding just comes naturally for me.
I took advantage of Lincraft's 30% off sale and bought 3.5m of hot pink homespun ($17.12) and 3.35m of Fuchsia polar fleece ($23.42). I also saved a fortune on new curtains for my bedroom but that's another story.
Anyway up until now I've always made fleece cage liners with cotton wadding. Which to be honest worked amazingly. However cotton wadding ordinarily costs a fortune but my Mother and I bought a bulk amount of 100m a while ago. That's unfortunately almost gone now so I'm looking at alternatives.
Americans are inordinately fond of using mattress pads (what we call mattress protectors) in cavy bedding. So I figured I'd give it a try. I bought a king size dry touch waterproof mattress protector. It has an 80% cotton 20% polyester toweling center with a waterproof PU backing ($39.99). The king size is just large enough to make two changes of bedding for the wire cage and the pet store cages. Once I've finished washing the fleece to death I'll be able to sew the pads with fleece on top, mattress protector in the middle and a cotton base. Hopefully this will work and be lighter and dryer then the cotton.
In other news I've been shopping at Bunnings. I finally bought the enamel for the banks. I gave in and bought a soft pink called 'soft satin'. I thought it was the perfect calming colour for a maternity cage and should help keep boars calm. Yeah right, the only thought behind the colour choice was 'oooooh pretty!'.
I also bought a set of magnetic catches to test out which are perfect. So I'll head back again soon and buy three more sets as well as four handles. Since the doors are hinge din the center I'll use a magnetic catch on either half so I can open just one half to throw food in.
Oh and I've been working on designs for a travel cage/show box/carry cage, so more on this and pricing later.
Sunday, 25 December 2011
An Update on the Darlings
I figured it was about time I post up another random update. Cagewise I finally finished restapling all the bl**dy wire to the new doors and reattached the doors. So the cages are totally built now and the eight foot sow run is waiting for it's first coat of paint tomorrow. I ended up deciding to leave the outside of the cages raw. I might oil them at some point, or even paint them but am too poor and not in the mood to do the outside. I'll find some sort of nice pastel pink for the interior aquanamel.
So onto the babies.
Ebony Charm is getting fat and is up to 902g. All though I'm happy for her to put on a little pudge I do want her to stay in breeding condition hence the push to get the sow run done so she can run the flab off. Don't worry I'm not limiting her food in anyway. But she's in a 60 x 60 cm show pig cage and spends her days sitting between the food bowl and water bottle. I've stopped torturing her with wrapping now and given her a bit of a trim. It's still incredibly cold up here so I've only given her a bowl cut to keep her hair off the ground. I'll trim it back to rex-ish shortness when she's ready to breed but till then I'll let her keep her coat.
Edmund is gorgeous as always and his coat is amazing. So far he's an absolute joy to handle and has just reached the eight week mark. His coat seems a bit too soft but well I don't have enough experience to really tell. All I can say is that Ebbies hair is thicker and denser, but it could just be that this is Eddies baby coat. He's gaining weight well but is a bit light on. He's currently at 372g. I'd like him to be closer to 500g at eight weeks but maybe he's just not going to be a big chunky adult. He's gained 140g in four weeks, so he might just be at the 500g mark by the time he reaches twelve months.
Fortinbras does concern me. He's two weeks older then Edmund but 10g lighter and he still has the weird body shape thing going on. He has however gained 150g since I collected him. He's got a nice little potbelly and a big fat bum but the skinniest shoulders. I'm not sure if it's because he had a bad start to life losing his Mum or if it's something else. He certainly eats well. A couple of weeks ago Feather took a small chunk out of Fortinbras' ear which seems to have turned necrotic or fungal or something and got bigger. It's healing now though with constant applications of Quit-itch. His coat is also growing back now I keep it well coated in chew stop bitter spray. I'm hoping if I can get him and Feather out of the habit of chewing their coats over time I can stop using the chew stop.
Feather is doing well. He's up to 762g and doesn't seem to show any sign of stopping. So that's a 200g weight gain in four weeks and it just keeps climbing. He's six months now but I'm confident that by the time he reaches adulthood at nine-ish months he'll be a huge fat cuddlebug of a boy. I'm constantly astonished at how much the two sheba boys consume everyday. Between them they eat two cups of feed, a huge lump of hay and 3-4 cups of veggies everyday. It seems it doesn't matter how much food I load into their cage at night by morning they've totally cleared the cage of edibles. At least I don't have to worry about their vitamin C intake.
Anyway in other news we may be having a new boy joining us temporarily or permanently in February. The breeder my babies came from has offered to loan me a boy for Ebbie while Eddie does the show circuit, or I may possibly purchase a texel boy from her.
So onto the babies.
Ebony Charm is getting fat and is up to 902g. All though I'm happy for her to put on a little pudge I do want her to stay in breeding condition hence the push to get the sow run done so she can run the flab off. Don't worry I'm not limiting her food in anyway. But she's in a 60 x 60 cm show pig cage and spends her days sitting between the food bowl and water bottle. I've stopped torturing her with wrapping now and given her a bit of a trim. It's still incredibly cold up here so I've only given her a bowl cut to keep her hair off the ground. I'll trim it back to rex-ish shortness when she's ready to breed but till then I'll let her keep her coat.
Edmund is gorgeous as always and his coat is amazing. So far he's an absolute joy to handle and has just reached the eight week mark. His coat seems a bit too soft but well I don't have enough experience to really tell. All I can say is that Ebbies hair is thicker and denser, but it could just be that this is Eddies baby coat. He's gaining weight well but is a bit light on. He's currently at 372g. I'd like him to be closer to 500g at eight weeks but maybe he's just not going to be a big chunky adult. He's gained 140g in four weeks, so he might just be at the 500g mark by the time he reaches twelve months.
Fortinbras does concern me. He's two weeks older then Edmund but 10g lighter and he still has the weird body shape thing going on. He has however gained 150g since I collected him. He's got a nice little potbelly and a big fat bum but the skinniest shoulders. I'm not sure if it's because he had a bad start to life losing his Mum or if it's something else. He certainly eats well. A couple of weeks ago Feather took a small chunk out of Fortinbras' ear which seems to have turned necrotic or fungal or something and got bigger. It's healing now though with constant applications of Quit-itch. His coat is also growing back now I keep it well coated in chew stop bitter spray. I'm hoping if I can get him and Feather out of the habit of chewing their coats over time I can stop using the chew stop.
Feather is doing well. He's up to 762g and doesn't seem to show any sign of stopping. So that's a 200g weight gain in four weeks and it just keeps climbing. He's six months now but I'm confident that by the time he reaches adulthood at nine-ish months he'll be a huge fat cuddlebug of a boy. I'm constantly astonished at how much the two sheba boys consume everyday. Between them they eat two cups of feed, a huge lump of hay and 3-4 cups of veggies everyday. It seems it doesn't matter how much food I load into their cage at night by morning they've totally cleared the cage of edibles. At least I don't have to worry about their vitamin C intake.
Anyway in other news we may be having a new boy joining us temporarily or permanently in February. The breeder my babies came from has offered to loan me a boy for Ebbie while Eddie does the show circuit, or I may possibly purchase a texel boy from her.
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
My Lovely Longs
Finally uploaded some pics to share.
So we have Pipsqueak Edmund at seven weeks, all blow dried and pretty. Those white 'fly-aways' are growing out and are flying away a lot less.
And Pipsqueak Ebony in wraps. She'll never be in a pedigree class but she gives me a chance to practice wrapping. She's a lovely docile pig, doesn't seem to care what I do to her. I'm toying with trying braids.
So we have Pipsqueak Edmund at seven weeks, all blow dried and pretty. Those white 'fly-aways' are growing out and are flying away a lot less.
And Pipsqueak Ebony in wraps. She'll never be in a pedigree class but she gives me a chance to practice wrapping. She's a lovely docile pig, doesn't seem to care what I do to her. I'm toying with trying braids.
Such Fun!
We went shopping today (yes I'm a shopaholic) and purchased lots of fun things for the pigs. So I got the materials needed to convert the current awkward doors on the banks (1.2m way too long) into bifolds (8 hinges, 2.4m wood and staples for the staple gun). Plus I finally started buying tools (which makes me extraordinarily happy), so we bought the ryobi base pack with an impact drill (great idea, all additional tools are wonderfully cheap), a huge set of drill bits and drivers as well as a portable vise with it's own stand. I also bought the base coat for the cages.
So tomorrow I'll be working on the doors and turning them into wonderful folding doors. Then I can at the very least paint the sow run and move Ebbie into her proper cage. She's a total houdini and has so far been banned from the floor of the animal, two separate grass cages and the pet store cages. But I'd like her to move and run and stay in breeding condition.
I'm seriously debating on placing her with Eddie earlier then I'd originally planned. Summer is fricking freezing up here and we still haven't even reached 25 degrees. The pigs are spending all their time in cozies shivering.
Eddies coat is so soft and long I'm thinking if I wait till Feb he'll be five months old and will need wrappers soon, and Eb might eat his coat. So I'm thinking I might pop them together at the start of January. So he can stay with her till the show in Feb by which time she'll hopefully be preggers. And then he can go in wrappers without a prob.
That's if his coat stays in tact, I'm a bit suspicious I'll actually get that far.
In other news I've been practicing wrapping on Ebony and I seem to be doing well, the wraps are staying in well and she seems comfortable.
In other news I'm toying with joining the ACA. They are apparently having shows in Coffs Harbour, Cessnock and Gosford in 2012. I'm particularly interested in the Coffs shows. Coffs is only three hours from here so I can do those shows in a day which would be great. The Sydney shows are wonderful but they mean I spend all of Monday traveling. Except my uni schedule means I absolutely no questions asked have to be sitting in class at 11 am on Monday mornings. So I'd have to get up at like 3 am and race home, dump the pigs off and race to uni. Since the shows themselves are exhausting and since I've recently developed the new fun concept of migraines it's not something I'm very enthusiastic over.
Anyway I have some great new pics of Eddie with his gorgeous coat and Ebbie's new wrappers so I'll load them up and post them tomorrow.
So tomorrow I'll be working on the doors and turning them into wonderful folding doors. Then I can at the very least paint the sow run and move Ebbie into her proper cage. She's a total houdini and has so far been banned from the floor of the animal, two separate grass cages and the pet store cages. But I'd like her to move and run and stay in breeding condition.
I'm seriously debating on placing her with Eddie earlier then I'd originally planned. Summer is fricking freezing up here and we still haven't even reached 25 degrees. The pigs are spending all their time in cozies shivering.
Eddies coat is so soft and long I'm thinking if I wait till Feb he'll be five months old and will need wrappers soon, and Eb might eat his coat. So I'm thinking I might pop them together at the start of January. So he can stay with her till the show in Feb by which time she'll hopefully be preggers. And then he can go in wrappers without a prob.
That's if his coat stays in tact, I'm a bit suspicious I'll actually get that far.
In other news I've been practicing wrapping on Ebony and I seem to be doing well, the wraps are staying in well and she seems comfortable.
In other news I'm toying with joining the ACA. They are apparently having shows in Coffs Harbour, Cessnock and Gosford in 2012. I'm particularly interested in the Coffs shows. Coffs is only three hours from here so I can do those shows in a day which would be great. The Sydney shows are wonderful but they mean I spend all of Monday traveling. Except my uni schedule means I absolutely no questions asked have to be sitting in class at 11 am on Monday mornings. So I'd have to get up at like 3 am and race home, dump the pigs off and race to uni. Since the shows themselves are exhausting and since I've recently developed the new fun concept of migraines it's not something I'm very enthusiastic over.
Anyway I have some great new pics of Eddie with his gorgeous coat and Ebbie's new wrappers so I'll load them up and post them tomorrow.
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Wash Day
So my new shampoos arrived today. I bought Groomers Edge Alpha White and Groomers Edge Ultimate.
Since the Sheba boys were once again mucky and the longs had yet to be washed everyone had a bath.
I'm not sure what I think of the alpha white. On the backs of the shebas where they were a bit off white but not too mucky it turned the coat a gorgeous sparkling pure white. It also left the coat nice and dense and coarse still, which is good. However on the pee stained bellies it didn't quite live up to it's claim. Their bellies are certainly many shades lighter then they were, but they are still quite clearly yellow.
The ultimate seems a decent shampoo/conditioner however I think it's softened the coats a wee bit too much, so probably shouldn't be used less then a week before a show. But I'll see how Ebbie and Eddies coats rebound. The wash certainly did wonders for Eddie, till now he's just been a scruffy baby but the wash and a good blowdry made him look like a long, he's going to look absolutely amazing if I manage to coat him out. He has a great temperament to, he happily sat patiently on the grooming stand while I dried his coat, unlike the other he never attempted to walk backwards or climb the wall. I would've grabbed pics but my camera battery died, so pics will come later.
So I'll see how Eddies coat rebounds and then work out when it'll be best to wash him before the show. For the Shebas I think a really good scrub and destaining a week before the show and then a second wash two days before the show, to remove whatever stains they've built up.
Since the Sheba boys were once again mucky and the longs had yet to be washed everyone had a bath.
I'm not sure what I think of the alpha white. On the backs of the shebas where they were a bit off white but not too mucky it turned the coat a gorgeous sparkling pure white. It also left the coat nice and dense and coarse still, which is good. However on the pee stained bellies it didn't quite live up to it's claim. Their bellies are certainly many shades lighter then they were, but they are still quite clearly yellow.
The ultimate seems a decent shampoo/conditioner however I think it's softened the coats a wee bit too much, so probably shouldn't be used less then a week before a show. But I'll see how Ebbie and Eddies coats rebound. The wash certainly did wonders for Eddie, till now he's just been a scruffy baby but the wash and a good blowdry made him look like a long, he's going to look absolutely amazing if I manage to coat him out. He has a great temperament to, he happily sat patiently on the grooming stand while I dried his coat, unlike the other he never attempted to walk backwards or climb the wall. I would've grabbed pics but my camera battery died, so pics will come later.
So I'll see how Eddies coat rebounds and then work out when it'll be best to wash him before the show. For the Shebas I think a really good scrub and destaining a week before the show and then a second wash two days before the show, to remove whatever stains they've built up.
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Settling in.
Everyone is still getting used to their new home, humans included. Life has certainly been interesting since we moved. Some highlights have been arriving at five in the afternoon on moving day to discover the road was gone. Literally it had become a giant ditch that could destroy our cars at will. So we kind of did an uncontrolled slide down that to our new house and began hoping and praying that the movers would be able to get back up the giant ditch once they'd unpacked.
Then we've had major storms, water pouring in through the roof, a mould coated guest room... the list goes on.
Anyway the animal room is up and running, though still not the prettiest site. And I've begun bonding with my new darlings.
Weight wise all four pretties are worrying me. Fortinbras is as least 200g below what he should be, having just reached 300g at eight weeks old. Feather too has a lot of catching up to do, he's coming up to six months old but is only 700g. They are however eating a lot, and drinking a lot. They are amazing poop machines. Feather has great condition even if he is a bit skinny but Fortinbras is well funny shaped. He's got a lovely fat belly and butt and the skinniest shoulders you've ever seen. Both of them have white tummies and butts and have worked really hard to turn them yellow *sigh*.
Because of this I've just placed an order at Clipper World for their alpha white stain removing shampoo and their ultimate shampoo. Hopefully I'll be able to return the boys to sparkling whiteness by February.
Ebby's doing well, for her I'm hoping I'll be able to keep her at the 820ish grams she's sitting at now over Summer. She was getting daily exercise running around the floor of the animal room for an hour or so but she's discovered she can fit in the 4cm gap below the banks so that activity has stopped. I do have a 2m grass cage for her but the torrential down pours have turned our 'yard' into a lake, we've got a plumber/handyman coming on Monday to dig a trench to drain it. Eventually she'll move into the eight foot sow run as well which should help keep her slim. but that still needs to be painted. And I currently don't have $150 to spend on paint, I'm hoping next Monday (payday) I'll be able to pay for it since I've now bought all the Christmas gifts etc. Ebbi's a lovely animal though, so active and full of personality. Her coat is amazing as well. I'm using her as a practice animal, since she's clipped it doesn't matter if I ruin her coat again. We might even try wraps in a month or so. Once February comes round though she'll be clipped off and placed with Eddie. I'm hoping if I breed Eddie at four months old his coat might stay in tact for the show season. If not well I'll wrap him anyway and show him in the pet class.
Eddie is also doing well. I'm proud to say that in the two weeks I've had him I haven't ruined his coat, yet. I need to remember to hit him with the blow dryer before I comb him out, which I tend to forget. I'm trying to keep combing minimal to a quick thirty seconds go over once a day with the metal detangler comb (rotating pins are a god send). He's also started learning how to sit pretty on a show board. I'm in love with his colouring the stripes are sooo adorable. And his coat seems lovely and dense and crinkly. He's six weeks old now so we'll see if he and I make it to February. He's a tad light on as well and should probably be a 100g heavier but we'll see, his mother seems to be a more dainty delicate sized cavy so maybe Eddie is to.
Show wise my current goal is the Summer show on the 12th of February. I'd like to enter Eddie in The Texel Class (No. 50) and Feather in Members Pets (No. 53). I'm still not sure about Fortinbras. If he's grown out of his scrawny scrappy stage and has a decent coat I may enter him in the Sheba class. If not I might take him along and get a few peoples opinions on him. He has great lineage and amazing type, so I'm half toying with breeding either him or Feather and having a go at showing some shebas. I have a feeling showable shebas need constant attention from the day dot to get them to the show table in one piece.
Then we've had major storms, water pouring in through the roof, a mould coated guest room... the list goes on.
Anyway the animal room is up and running, though still not the prettiest site. And I've begun bonding with my new darlings.
Weight wise all four pretties are worrying me. Fortinbras is as least 200g below what he should be, having just reached 300g at eight weeks old. Feather too has a lot of catching up to do, he's coming up to six months old but is only 700g. They are however eating a lot, and drinking a lot. They are amazing poop machines. Feather has great condition even if he is a bit skinny but Fortinbras is well funny shaped. He's got a lovely fat belly and butt and the skinniest shoulders you've ever seen. Both of them have white tummies and butts and have worked really hard to turn them yellow *sigh*.
Because of this I've just placed an order at Clipper World for their alpha white stain removing shampoo and their ultimate shampoo. Hopefully I'll be able to return the boys to sparkling whiteness by February.
Ebby's doing well, for her I'm hoping I'll be able to keep her at the 820ish grams she's sitting at now over Summer. She was getting daily exercise running around the floor of the animal room for an hour or so but she's discovered she can fit in the 4cm gap below the banks so that activity has stopped. I do have a 2m grass cage for her but the torrential down pours have turned our 'yard' into a lake, we've got a plumber/handyman coming on Monday to dig a trench to drain it. Eventually she'll move into the eight foot sow run as well which should help keep her slim. but that still needs to be painted. And I currently don't have $150 to spend on paint, I'm hoping next Monday (payday) I'll be able to pay for it since I've now bought all the Christmas gifts etc. Ebbi's a lovely animal though, so active and full of personality. Her coat is amazing as well. I'm using her as a practice animal, since she's clipped it doesn't matter if I ruin her coat again. We might even try wraps in a month or so. Once February comes round though she'll be clipped off and placed with Eddie. I'm hoping if I breed Eddie at four months old his coat might stay in tact for the show season. If not well I'll wrap him anyway and show him in the pet class.
Eddie is also doing well. I'm proud to say that in the two weeks I've had him I haven't ruined his coat, yet. I need to remember to hit him with the blow dryer before I comb him out, which I tend to forget. I'm trying to keep combing minimal to a quick thirty seconds go over once a day with the metal detangler comb (rotating pins are a god send). He's also started learning how to sit pretty on a show board. I'm in love with his colouring the stripes are sooo adorable. And his coat seems lovely and dense and crinkly. He's six weeks old now so we'll see if he and I make it to February. He's a tad light on as well and should probably be a 100g heavier but we'll see, his mother seems to be a more dainty delicate sized cavy so maybe Eddie is to.
Show wise my current goal is the Summer show on the 12th of February. I'd like to enter Eddie in The Texel Class (No. 50) and Feather in Members Pets (No. 53). I'm still not sure about Fortinbras. If he's grown out of his scrawny scrappy stage and has a decent coat I may enter him in the Sheba class. If not I might take him along and get a few peoples opinions on him. He has great lineage and amazing type, so I'm half toying with breeding either him or Feather and having a go at showing some shebas. I have a feeling showable shebas need constant attention from the day dot to get them to the show table in one piece.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Yummy, Yummy feed!
So we're still working on settling in. The animal room is pretty much set up and everyone is settled in their cages but it still needs a lot more work. The banks still need to be painted and the psych ward yellow wall needs to be repainted lime green.
Anyway one thing I did do was go feed shopping today. I think I've fallen in love with my new ag store. The owner is lovely, he is very big on buying local and is also happy to order in whatever I want.
So today I bought
20kg of Mitavite Formula 3 for $28.90
20kg of Oaten Chaff for $23.50
I've ordered Extruded Lupins in which are $22.50 a bag and lucerne hay is $16 a bale.
These prices are fantastic! Hay was up to $25 a bale back home and was icky and dry and scratchy as well. So I'm very very happy. It works out to about $90 for the whole lot, the stud mix, chaff, lupins and hay which will last for like ever..
So until the lupins arrive the mix is going to be lacking in protein, but they are eating lucerne hay as well so hopefully they'll still get what they need. It'll certainly be better then the crummy pellets they have now.
The animals are overjoyed at the mix. Even the rabbit got his own tiny handful.
So the current cavy diet is:
Unlimited "mix" (12% protein, 17% Fibre, 6% fat & 0.5% Calcium)
Unlimited Lucerne Hay (18% Protein, 26% Fibre, 2% Fat and 1.4% Calcium)
Veggies to make up 20mg Vitamin C per cavy plus some extra for bulk
A large handful of either herbs (oregano etc) or grass (depending on availability)
When the lupins come in and the grass grows back it'll be
Unlimited "mix" (19-23% protein, 16% Fibre, 6.5% fat & 0.4-0.8% Calcium)
Unlimited Lucerne Hay (18% Protein, 26% Fibre, 2% Fat and 1.4% Calcium)
Veggies to make up 20mg Vitamin C per cavy plus some extra for bulk
Several Large Handfuls of grass per cavy
So I'm happy with it. The weathers really cold at the moment so I may also feed extra lupins to boost the protein levels a bit as well as some rolled oats for heat.
Anyway one thing I did do was go feed shopping today. I think I've fallen in love with my new ag store. The owner is lovely, he is very big on buying local and is also happy to order in whatever I want.
So today I bought
20kg of Mitavite Formula 3 for $28.90
20kg of Oaten Chaff for $23.50
I've ordered Extruded Lupins in which are $22.50 a bag and lucerne hay is $16 a bale.
These prices are fantastic! Hay was up to $25 a bale back home and was icky and dry and scratchy as well. So I'm very very happy. It works out to about $90 for the whole lot, the stud mix, chaff, lupins and hay which will last for like ever..
So until the lupins arrive the mix is going to be lacking in protein, but they are eating lucerne hay as well so hopefully they'll still get what they need. It'll certainly be better then the crummy pellets they have now.
The animals are overjoyed at the mix. Even the rabbit got his own tiny handful.
So the current cavy diet is:
Unlimited "mix" (12% protein, 17% Fibre, 6% fat & 0.5% Calcium)
Unlimited Lucerne Hay (18% Protein, 26% Fibre, 2% Fat and 1.4% Calcium)
Veggies to make up 20mg Vitamin C per cavy plus some extra for bulk
A large handful of either herbs (oregano etc) or grass (depending on availability)
When the lupins come in and the grass grows back it'll be
Unlimited "mix" (19-23% protein, 16% Fibre, 6.5% fat & 0.4-0.8% Calcium)
Unlimited Lucerne Hay (18% Protein, 26% Fibre, 2% Fat and 1.4% Calcium)
Veggies to make up 20mg Vitamin C per cavy plus some extra for bulk
Several Large Handfuls of grass per cavy
So I'm happy with it. The weathers really cold at the moment so I may also feed extra lupins to boost the protein levels a bit as well as some rolled oats for heat.
Saturday, 26 November 2011
The True Beginning of Samsara!
As I type Ebony and Edmund are sitting next to me, burbling away. It is so lovely to have cavies again!
Yesterday was taken up with making sure they'd all be ready for the move, packing food, washing bedding, clipping nails and recording weights.
But I've got a few minutes spare now so thought I'd share some pictures of my new babies for my avid (but currently non-existent) readers.
So to start with we have Pipsqueak Ebony Charm, she is 17 months old and is a lemon agouti, cream and white texel. She has a gorgeous white blaze. Great pedigree as well going back to quite a few well known longhairs, virtually no inbreeding either in the pedigree which is interesting. Her sire is Pipsqueak Panhandle (Golden Agouti & Gold Texel) and her dam Pipsqueak Ebony Eyes (Lemon Agouti, Cream & White Texel). Her coat is gorgeous lovely and dense with great curl. Her conditions just off but with her post-partum litter just weaned it's to be expected. I'm hoping three months in eight foot cages with plenty of grass should turn her into a lovely lean muscly sow.
Pipsqueak Edmund is her son. He's just four weeks old and seems to share the same lovely dense hair as his mother. He's a golden agouti, gold and white boy. I'm hoping to keep him in show coat and breed him to Ebony before he reaches five months and is in need or wrappers, thus (perhaps) making it possible to show him even after he's been bred. He's a golden agouti, gold and white and has a lovely striping pattern going on down his back. I'm still waiting on his pedigree. He's a bit skinny and doesn't seem overly fond of solid food so he's spending half his time with Mum and half his time on his own for now.
Pipsqueak Feather is an adorable sheba boy. We met him at a show awhile ago and my Mother fell in love with him, when she found out he was still available she just had to have him. He has a congenital defect and is missing an eye. However it doesn't seem to stop him and he's certainly a personality filled pig. He's destined for the pet class and I hope I have as much fun and success with him as I did with my darling Ccino the first sheba I ever owned. He's a hefty boy already at just four months old.
And finally Pipsqueak Fortinbras is a darling six week old sheba. He's a bit scruffy and skinny at the moment having had a toxic mother as well as being exposed to this awful heat. However he eats enough for three and should soon be as fat and plump as Feather. I'm hoping his coat will grown in and I can show him in the pedigree class, but if not he's certainly going to make a striking display in the pet class. He has the most amazing eyes. I'm used to the typical brown, ruby or red eyes but Fortinbras' eyes are like deep indigo, or a deep blue slate. I'm fairly sure cavies can't have blue eyes, so I guess they are just a true black but it's still certainly a startling quality. I couldn't really capture there color on camera unfortunately. He's eating like a horse but has had a bit of diarrhea unfortunately which can be attributed to stress and overeating so we'll see how he goes with the long drive the day after tomorrow.
Yesterday was taken up with making sure they'd all be ready for the move, packing food, washing bedding, clipping nails and recording weights.
But I've got a few minutes spare now so thought I'd share some pictures of my new babies for my avid (but currently non-existent) readers.
So to start with we have Pipsqueak Ebony Charm, she is 17 months old and is a lemon agouti, cream and white texel. She has a gorgeous white blaze. Great pedigree as well going back to quite a few well known longhairs, virtually no inbreeding either in the pedigree which is interesting. Her sire is Pipsqueak Panhandle (Golden Agouti & Gold Texel) and her dam Pipsqueak Ebony Eyes (Lemon Agouti, Cream & White Texel). Her coat is gorgeous lovely and dense with great curl. Her conditions just off but with her post-partum litter just weaned it's to be expected. I'm hoping three months in eight foot cages with plenty of grass should turn her into a lovely lean muscly sow.
Pipsqueak Edmund is her son. He's just four weeks old and seems to share the same lovely dense hair as his mother. He's a golden agouti, gold and white boy. I'm hoping to keep him in show coat and breed him to Ebony before he reaches five months and is in need or wrappers, thus (perhaps) making it possible to show him even after he's been bred. He's a golden agouti, gold and white and has a lovely striping pattern going on down his back. I'm still waiting on his pedigree. He's a bit skinny and doesn't seem overly fond of solid food so he's spending half his time with Mum and half his time on his own for now.
Pipsqueak Feather is an adorable sheba boy. We met him at a show awhile ago and my Mother fell in love with him, when she found out he was still available she just had to have him. He has a congenital defect and is missing an eye. However it doesn't seem to stop him and he's certainly a personality filled pig. He's destined for the pet class and I hope I have as much fun and success with him as I did with my darling Ccino the first sheba I ever owned. He's a hefty boy already at just four months old.
And finally Pipsqueak Fortinbras is a darling six week old sheba. He's a bit scruffy and skinny at the moment having had a toxic mother as well as being exposed to this awful heat. However he eats enough for three and should soon be as fat and plump as Feather. I'm hoping his coat will grown in and I can show him in the pedigree class, but if not he's certainly going to make a striking display in the pet class. He has the most amazing eyes. I'm used to the typical brown, ruby or red eyes but Fortinbras' eyes are like deep indigo, or a deep blue slate. I'm fairly sure cavies can't have blue eyes, so I guess they are just a true black but it's still certainly a startling quality. I couldn't really capture there color on camera unfortunately. He's eating like a horse but has had a bit of diarrhea unfortunately which can be attributed to stress and overeating so we'll see how he goes with the long drive the day after tomorrow.
Friday, 25 November 2011
Far Too Excited.
So I'm lying in bed twitching like a toddler on Christmas Eve. I've missed having cavies, the last time I even held one of my own was in February two years ago before I left for college. I still don't even know what colours Edmund and Fortinbras are. Just 15 and a half hours till I see them!
Apart from mounting excitement life continues as normal in a half packed house. We've ended up with soooo much stuff, there's at least eighty boxes as well as all the bulky hand made furniture my mother absolutely had to have. Most of the boxes are parts of her studio as well, apart from the animal cages my worldly possessions still fit in three boxes, I haven't really bought much since college. So I'm rather worried that it all won't fit in the truck. God knows what I'll do if we end up having to leave the cages behind, only the rabbits cage is collapsible the others are all huge and bulky and even the rabbit has his own huge and bulky out door cage. I'm not sure if I just fail at tetris or if I'm right and we have no hope of fitting this all on even the largest moving truck, thirty small boxes and fifty large are a huge amount of boxes. Then there's a huge American couch (shipped back when we moved from America), two arm chairs, two 2.5 x 1.5m wrought iron hand painted tables, two small versions of the aforementioned tables, an oversize kitchen dresser, various other small tables, a queen bed, a single bed, a bedroom dressing table with mirror, two sets of book shelves, four bedside tables, three large hand carved cupboards, a treadmill and about forty of those stackable plastic drawers. Then we have the eight foot bank I had built, the eight foot outdoor cage, a five foot outdoor cage, a four foot indoor cage and god knows what else.
So I'm panicking about that. I know if it doesn't all fit it's not the end of the world. If it doesn't fit we pay extra for the movers to store it and drive it up another day, or worst case send it to my Dad's house and then have the movers drive it up from there. But for some reason it's causing me acute worry. All the essential animal items are packed into the banks and I'll be carrying enough to keep everyone happy for at least a few days in the car with the travel cages. Even a week or two stuck in travel cages will harm none of the animals, and there is a massive Bunnings when I can easily get supplies for emergency cages. I'm purchasing food when I arrive so even that isn't an issue. There's a huge chemist just 6 minutes away from our new home so I can get supplies if anyone falls ill, and right next door is a vet. So I really really really need to take a deep breath and get over it.
Hmmm deep breathes aren't quite so nice when your bed is next to a rabbit cage that currently reeks of vinegar (I thought I'd give it a good scrubbing out before we moved).
Okay I am now going to calm down and stop stressing about things that are out of my control. I think I just have a problem with owning too much stuff. I feel like I'm being overwhelmed by piles of crappy useless materialistic items. I can usually ignore it, except when it's all been dragged out to be boxed.
Apart from mounting excitement life continues as normal in a half packed house. We've ended up with soooo much stuff, there's at least eighty boxes as well as all the bulky hand made furniture my mother absolutely had to have. Most of the boxes are parts of her studio as well, apart from the animal cages my worldly possessions still fit in three boxes, I haven't really bought much since college. So I'm rather worried that it all won't fit in the truck. God knows what I'll do if we end up having to leave the cages behind, only the rabbits cage is collapsible the others are all huge and bulky and even the rabbit has his own huge and bulky out door cage. I'm not sure if I just fail at tetris or if I'm right and we have no hope of fitting this all on even the largest moving truck, thirty small boxes and fifty large are a huge amount of boxes. Then there's a huge American couch (shipped back when we moved from America), two arm chairs, two 2.5 x 1.5m wrought iron hand painted tables, two small versions of the aforementioned tables, an oversize kitchen dresser, various other small tables, a queen bed, a single bed, a bedroom dressing table with mirror, two sets of book shelves, four bedside tables, three large hand carved cupboards, a treadmill and about forty of those stackable plastic drawers. Then we have the eight foot bank I had built, the eight foot outdoor cage, a five foot outdoor cage, a four foot indoor cage and god knows what else.
So I'm panicking about that. I know if it doesn't all fit it's not the end of the world. If it doesn't fit we pay extra for the movers to store it and drive it up another day, or worst case send it to my Dad's house and then have the movers drive it up from there. But for some reason it's causing me acute worry. All the essential animal items are packed into the banks and I'll be carrying enough to keep everyone happy for at least a few days in the car with the travel cages. Even a week or two stuck in travel cages will harm none of the animals, and there is a massive Bunnings when I can easily get supplies for emergency cages. I'm purchasing food when I arrive so even that isn't an issue. There's a huge chemist just 6 minutes away from our new home so I can get supplies if anyone falls ill, and right next door is a vet. So I really really really need to take a deep breath and get over it.
Hmmm deep breathes aren't quite so nice when your bed is next to a rabbit cage that currently reeks of vinegar (I thought I'd give it a good scrubbing out before we moved).
Okay I am now going to calm down and stop stressing about things that are out of my control. I think I just have a problem with owning too much stuff. I feel like I'm being overwhelmed by piles of crappy useless materialistic items. I can usually ignore it, except when it's all been dragged out to be boxed.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Five Days.
Life has reached the stage of beyond hectic. we're living in a half packed house and attempting to organize a thousand things for our move on Tuesday.
Since this blog is about cavies, I'll restrict myself to simply posting an update about my babies.
Since I last posted things have changed a bit. On Saturday we'll be collecting Pipsqueak Ebony Charm, a golden agouti, gold and white texel sow, Pipsqueak Edmund, a texel of currently unknown colour, Pipsqueak Feather, the aforementioned half blind, golf, black and white sheba and Pipsqueak Fortinbras, a three week old sheba of unknown colour.
Various circumstances have meant that I won't be getting the merino and the gold and white sheba that I'd thought I'd be getting. I'm a tad disappointed about the merino as I would love to breed some merinos as well as texels, but I'll see if I can hunt one down next year, and if not a merino I should be able to get hold of a coronet to breed in.
So I'll update again on Saturday when I have piccies of the lovely new arrivals.
Since this blog is about cavies, I'll restrict myself to simply posting an update about my babies.
Since I last posted things have changed a bit. On Saturday we'll be collecting Pipsqueak Ebony Charm, a golden agouti, gold and white texel sow, Pipsqueak Edmund, a texel of currently unknown colour, Pipsqueak Feather, the aforementioned half blind, golf, black and white sheba and Pipsqueak Fortinbras, a three week old sheba of unknown colour.
Various circumstances have meant that I won't be getting the merino and the gold and white sheba that I'd thought I'd be getting. I'm a tad disappointed about the merino as I would love to breed some merinos as well as texels, but I'll see if I can hunt one down next year, and if not a merino I should be able to get hold of a coronet to breed in.
So I'll update again on Saturday when I have piccies of the lovely new arrivals.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Thoughts of the Day.
So life has reached the point of being beyond hectic. Everything turned to chaos when the seller of the house we're buying up and died. The family intend to dispute the will but still want to sell the house to us first since it's easier to squabble over cash then an unsellable house. However all assets are frozen while the executor is named and it appears that we'll be moving into a house we don't own.
Add to that our internet connection dying and the start of the November heat waves, as well as exams and assessments for both of us and life has been beyond insane. So I'm typing this from a computer at my Mother's uni, since we have no other way of accessing internet apart from the slow and annoying Mcdonald's wifi.
Disaster has unfortunately struck in other ways, the breeder emailed today to let me know that the lil baby sheba I'd named Fortinbras died in the latest heat wave and Edmund decided to eat his coat.
Anyway I'd already figured that I'd most likely be breeding Ebony in February so at most Edmund would have made it to one show so I'm content to take him anyway, although she very kindly offered me a little texel instead. She's also offered an unweaned sheba boy who could be placed with Ebony (who's still nursing her own litter) to replace Fortinbras. So all should be well with the wheekers.
I'll be glad to leave this heat though, we were hoping to be gone before the scorchers hit, but twasn't to be so. Unfortunately I'm a bit spoiled, we always had air conditioning at home and school so I'm not coping well in this melting heat without any sort of cooling. Though the animals are even worse off. However in 11 days we'll be gone for good and I will never have to live through another 45 degree summer, I hope.
In the next eleven days we'll somehow pack a house while trundling back and forth between Newcastle, Sydney and Gosford. I'm trying not to think about everything I need to do.....
Add to that our internet connection dying and the start of the November heat waves, as well as exams and assessments for both of us and life has been beyond insane. So I'm typing this from a computer at my Mother's uni, since we have no other way of accessing internet apart from the slow and annoying Mcdonald's wifi.
Disaster has unfortunately struck in other ways, the breeder emailed today to let me know that the lil baby sheba I'd named Fortinbras died in the latest heat wave and Edmund decided to eat his coat.
Anyway I'd already figured that I'd most likely be breeding Ebony in February so at most Edmund would have made it to one show so I'm content to take him anyway, although she very kindly offered me a little texel instead. She's also offered an unweaned sheba boy who could be placed with Ebony (who's still nursing her own litter) to replace Fortinbras. So all should be well with the wheekers.
I'll be glad to leave this heat though, we were hoping to be gone before the scorchers hit, but twasn't to be so. Unfortunately I'm a bit spoiled, we always had air conditioning at home and school so I'm not coping well in this melting heat without any sort of cooling. Though the animals are even worse off. However in 11 days we'll be gone for good and I will never have to live through another 45 degree summer, I hope.
In the next eleven days we'll somehow pack a house while trundling back and forth between Newcastle, Sydney and Gosford. I'm trying not to think about everything I need to do.....
Saturday, 12 November 2011
Expensive Pets, Parrots.
You know, when I bought Atti I couldn't believe how much I was paying for this little 100g bird, even at the discounted price the breeder gave me. I had originally ordered a green cheek conure from him and not a single clutch hatched, so he instead offered me a sun conure he'd been hand rearing for someone else at a discount, though it was still three times the price of a green cheek.
What I didn't realize was how much the ongoing costs were for a bird like a sun conure. They are intelligent and veraciously curious, they need new things, new ideas and constant mental stimulation. They also tend to stash/lose whatever toys you give them. This year alone I've spent over $300 on toys for him, that doesn't include the $500 cage.
Of course he's gotten bored and upset again so I've dropped another $150 on toys, and I truly hope these last more then a few months. At our local bird store I picked up a new basic foraging system to see how Atti does before I spend money on the more elaborate systems. It's just a container on a spring that has to be tipped forward in order to access food. I also bought a new ladder (he ate the last three) and a curious foot toy a bit like a spinning top which he's fallen in love with. Thankfully it's the cheapest so I'll go back and buy the shops stock of them. So that was $35 right there. Then since he's eaten/lost all the toy making supplies I've also ordered from the parrot rescue centre:
4 x wood shape cut outs
1 x 'Lolly Bag' of Pine chews
18 x Wooden Stars (his absolute fave toy)
12 x Large Macaw sized wooden spools (the conure size only lasted 0.2 seconds)
4 x Macaw sized cardboard bangles (as above)
1 x Oversized green plastic chain
1 x Small Green Plastic chain
25 x Plastic Crazy Shape Links (well loved as is or can be used to attach toys)
4 x Plastic Pacifiers
5 x Plastic Jewel Rings
2 x Large Bangle shapes
12 x Chain Links
4 x Plastic Tops
2 x Cow Bells
3 x Vine Hearts (to be shared with the rabbit)
4 x Vine Sticks
2 x Fiddler Cubes
1 x Vine Lily
1 x Vine Star
8 x Metal Pear Links
1 x Small Yellow Plastic Chain
All for the princely sum of $110, I dearly hope these last more then a few months, as I ended up using clothes money to pay for them. The moneys also for my own sanity, a bored parrot is a loud aggressive parrot and the rabbit bites and scratches me enough, I don't need to be pierced and deafened as well.
I still need to cut new perches but since I don't feel like going to my Father's property that'll have to wait till we move. At least perches are free.
I'm afraid I have no recent pics of Atti in his adult (well almost adult) plumage but I'll leave you with a pic of his cage (which, as with everything else is macaw sized). If I ever remember to charge the camera I'll post up some current pics of Atti & Lu, who are both looking rather handsome.
What I didn't realize was how much the ongoing costs were for a bird like a sun conure. They are intelligent and veraciously curious, they need new things, new ideas and constant mental stimulation. They also tend to stash/lose whatever toys you give them. This year alone I've spent over $300 on toys for him, that doesn't include the $500 cage.
Of course he's gotten bored and upset again so I've dropped another $150 on toys, and I truly hope these last more then a few months. At our local bird store I picked up a new basic foraging system to see how Atti does before I spend money on the more elaborate systems. It's just a container on a spring that has to be tipped forward in order to access food. I also bought a new ladder (he ate the last three) and a curious foot toy a bit like a spinning top which he's fallen in love with. Thankfully it's the cheapest so I'll go back and buy the shops stock of them. So that was $35 right there. Then since he's eaten/lost all the toy making supplies I've also ordered from the parrot rescue centre:
4 x wood shape cut outs
1 x 'Lolly Bag' of Pine chews
18 x Wooden Stars (his absolute fave toy)
12 x Large Macaw sized wooden spools (the conure size only lasted 0.2 seconds)
4 x Macaw sized cardboard bangles (as above)
1 x Oversized green plastic chain
1 x Small Green Plastic chain
25 x Plastic Crazy Shape Links (well loved as is or can be used to attach toys)
4 x Plastic Pacifiers
5 x Plastic Jewel Rings
2 x Large Bangle shapes
12 x Chain Links
4 x Plastic Tops
2 x Cow Bells
3 x Vine Hearts (to be shared with the rabbit)
4 x Vine Sticks
2 x Fiddler Cubes
1 x Vine Lily
1 x Vine Star
8 x Metal Pear Links
1 x Small Yellow Plastic Chain
All for the princely sum of $110, I dearly hope these last more then a few months, as I ended up using clothes money to pay for them. The moneys also for my own sanity, a bored parrot is a loud aggressive parrot and the rabbit bites and scratches me enough, I don't need to be pierced and deafened as well.
I still need to cut new perches but since I don't feel like going to my Father's property that'll have to wait till we move. At least perches are free.
I'm afraid I have no recent pics of Atti in his adult (well almost adult) plumage but I'll leave you with a pic of his cage (which, as with everything else is macaw sized). If I ever remember to charge the camera I'll post up some current pics of Atti & Lu, who are both looking rather handsome.
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Countdown
So it's just 15 days till Edmund, Ebony, Feather and Fortinbras join my menagerie. I'm rather excited, I've missed my babies so much and it'll be lovely to hear wheeking again.
So in other news today I finally got my plasti-dip. I've had it on order for months now and it finally turned up. A few months ago I was able to purchase buccal pad separators and dental rasps however they are the old style ones with sharp piece sin the cheek depressor bit. There's been some horror stories about how when this sort is used incorrectly it can rip and animals cheeks to pieces leading to abscesses and often death from the infection. Anyway if you coat the ends in plasti-dip it makes them totally safe and easy to use. Plasti-dip is inert liquid latex that dries to a strong inert rubber. So since it's finally arrived I can finally fix the seperators so I then have a kit for checking cavies teeth. The other use is also you can use the seperators when an animals choking to remove the food etc that they're choking on. I've lost animals to both malocclusion and choking so it'll be great to have a way to prevent/treat both.
Other than that I had my law exam today, which sucked but now I just have one last exam to go and then we pack everything up and move the menagerie to Armidale. The heat here has been awful, the rabbit's gotten heat stroke twice already and needs constant attention to get him through days over 35 degrees so I'm sure he'll appreciate the move to a cooler climate.
So in other news today I finally got my plasti-dip. I've had it on order for months now and it finally turned up. A few months ago I was able to purchase buccal pad separators and dental rasps however they are the old style ones with sharp piece sin the cheek depressor bit. There's been some horror stories about how when this sort is used incorrectly it can rip and animals cheeks to pieces leading to abscesses and often death from the infection. Anyway if you coat the ends in plasti-dip it makes them totally safe and easy to use. Plasti-dip is inert liquid latex that dries to a strong inert rubber. So since it's finally arrived I can finally fix the seperators so I then have a kit for checking cavies teeth. The other use is also you can use the seperators when an animals choking to remove the food etc that they're choking on. I've lost animals to both malocclusion and choking so it'll be great to have a way to prevent/treat both.
Other than that I had my law exam today, which sucked but now I just have one last exam to go and then we pack everything up and move the menagerie to Armidale. The heat here has been awful, the rabbit's gotten heat stroke twice already and needs constant attention to get him through days over 35 degrees so I'm sure he'll appreciate the move to a cooler climate.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Crazy Wabbit....
Ever tried syringe feeding a rabbit?
I kind of assumed it's the same as guinea pigs, get them into a headlock, shove the syringe in diagonally and slowly press the plunger, uuuuh no.
Today got quite hot and we were both out tonight. Gave the bunny an ice bottle and turned a fan on him and figured that was enough. Came home to shriveled poos and a dehydrated bun. So out comes the gastrolyte and I start attempting to syringe feed it. He knew just the angle to place his tongue so the whole lot dribbled out and down my front. He can also turn into a very slippery boneless lump when needed as well, so it's near impossible to get a grip on him.
With a lot of coaxing we got 30mL in and he's now under a chair growling at me. He did deign to have a big slurp at his water bowl though, so I'm confident I didn't kill him.
I pray to god I never have to hand feed, I'm covered in gastrolyte he even got it on my glasses, I'd hate to see what he could do with pellet slurry.
I kind of assumed it's the same as guinea pigs, get them into a headlock, shove the syringe in diagonally and slowly press the plunger, uuuuh no.
Today got quite hot and we were both out tonight. Gave the bunny an ice bottle and turned a fan on him and figured that was enough. Came home to shriveled poos and a dehydrated bun. So out comes the gastrolyte and I start attempting to syringe feed it. He knew just the angle to place his tongue so the whole lot dribbled out and down my front. He can also turn into a very slippery boneless lump when needed as well, so it's near impossible to get a grip on him.
With a lot of coaxing we got 30mL in and he's now under a chair growling at me. He did deign to have a big slurp at his water bowl though, so I'm confident I didn't kill him.
I pray to god I never have to hand feed, I'm covered in gastrolyte he even got it on my glasses, I'd hate to see what he could do with pellet slurry.
Friday, 4 November 2011
Travelling
Today I've been trying to work out the logistics of moving the animals five hours North. They'll be stuck in travel carriers for at least nine hours, but could end up in them for up to 48 hours as we try to get cages etc sorted.
So I own a mazda 2, a tiny car that can fit a surprising amount of things.
On moving day it'll need to hold
A sewing machine
An overlocker (type of sewing machine)
An iMac
A Macbook and accessories
My bedding for the night
A large cat carrier containing a rabbit
A small bird cage housing a parrot
3 picnic baskets housing 4 guinea pigs
Food and water for all animals including the human for 48 hours
An emergency kit for the animals
So that should all fit but god knows what I've forgotten, thankfully my mother will drive up with her parrot so I only have to cope with one crazy bird.
Our things are currently spread between two houses so while Mum's at my Dad's with moving truck I'll be collapsing and packing everyone's cages and making sure they're all settled in their cages.
Then we'll pack our own house into the moving truck and hopefully start heading North. Stops are going to be a total pain as there's no way I can leave so many animals in the car alone for any amount of time, so will be relying on my Mother turning up to watch them while I take a break.
When we finally get there first priority will have to be the rabbit as he can't cope for long periods in a small cage, so I'll need to set his cage up with it's litterbox as soon as we arrive. The parrot will stay in his travel cage overnight with me so he doesn't totally freak.
The guinea pigs will be living in their travel cages from the 26th so hopefully won't mind another night in them and I'll just make sure to pack bedding for them so they can go into their cages in the morning.
I have to say that moving really won't be fun, hopefully it'll all go smoothly though.
So I own a mazda 2, a tiny car that can fit a surprising amount of things.
On moving day it'll need to hold
A sewing machine
An overlocker (type of sewing machine)
An iMac
A Macbook and accessories
My bedding for the night
A large cat carrier containing a rabbit
A small bird cage housing a parrot
3 picnic baskets housing 4 guinea pigs
Food and water for all animals including the human for 48 hours
An emergency kit for the animals
So that should all fit but god knows what I've forgotten, thankfully my mother will drive up with her parrot so I only have to cope with one crazy bird.
Our things are currently spread between two houses so while Mum's at my Dad's with moving truck I'll be collapsing and packing everyone's cages and making sure they're all settled in their cages.
Then we'll pack our own house into the moving truck and hopefully start heading North. Stops are going to be a total pain as there's no way I can leave so many animals in the car alone for any amount of time, so will be relying on my Mother turning up to watch them while I take a break.
When we finally get there first priority will have to be the rabbit as he can't cope for long periods in a small cage, so I'll need to set his cage up with it's litterbox as soon as we arrive. The parrot will stay in his travel cage overnight with me so he doesn't totally freak.
The guinea pigs will be living in their travel cages from the 26th so hopefully won't mind another night in them and I'll just make sure to pack bedding for them so they can go into their cages in the morning.
I have to say that moving really won't be fun, hopefully it'll all go smoothly though.
A Caviary, an Avairy and a Rabbitry....
Life has been a special kind of hectic recently. University is racing towards the end of the year and I'm not really keeping up my major assessments. However with just two exams to go I thought I'd take a break and finally get around to sharing some pictures of the soon to be animal room.
Now in the pictures I've shared before I'm sure it's plainly obvious that the house we are moving to is unique, so unique that not only does it have turrets, but every single wall both inner and outer are pierced with stained glass.
So the animal room sits next to my bedroom and is equally tiny, only 3.5 m x 3 m. It needs to house a caviary, my parrot, the rabbit and all the rest of the required paraphernalia. Design wise though it's just about perfect.
It opens onto the loungeroom and is the door on the left in this pic.
Next to it is the keyhole entryway. You can just see the animal room door on the far right. My own room opens into the entryway.
When you walk in you have a lovely big window looking out to the river and the *ahem* garden shed. The blinds will be removed and the beam above the window painted lime green. In front of/underneath the window will be Lu's dog crate with my divided wire cage on top.
On the left is the only blank (ish) wall, which adjoins my bedroom. Against this will be all the feed and the big bank of cages with the pet store cages on top.
On the right is the wall adjoining the laundry. This wall'll be a nuisance as it has a big pipe at near the bottom that can't be moved, but I can at least remove the clothes rack. Atti (aka the Brat) my parrot will have his up against this wall so he can see out the door and the window. Paraphernalia will be stored against the stupid pipe.
Then finally looking towards the door. This wall will be painted a lovely lime green. As you can see the door is stupidly positioned.
Now in the pictures I've shared before I'm sure it's plainly obvious that the house we are moving to is unique, so unique that not only does it have turrets, but every single wall both inner and outer are pierced with stained glass.
So the animal room sits next to my bedroom and is equally tiny, only 3.5 m x 3 m. It needs to house a caviary, my parrot, the rabbit and all the rest of the required paraphernalia. Design wise though it's just about perfect.
It opens onto the loungeroom and is the door on the left in this pic.
Next to it is the keyhole entryway. You can just see the animal room door on the far right. My own room opens into the entryway.
When you walk in you have a lovely big window looking out to the river and the *ahem* garden shed. The blinds will be removed and the beam above the window painted lime green. In front of/underneath the window will be Lu's dog crate with my divided wire cage on top.
On the left is the only blank (ish) wall, which adjoins my bedroom. Against this will be all the feed and the big bank of cages with the pet store cages on top.
On the right is the wall adjoining the laundry. This wall'll be a nuisance as it has a big pipe at near the bottom that can't be moved, but I can at least remove the clothes rack. Atti (aka the Brat) my parrot will have his up against this wall so he can see out the door and the window. Paraphernalia will be stored against the stupid pipe.
Then finally looking towards the door. This wall will be painted a lovely lime green. As you can see the door is stupidly positioned.
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Wheekers!
So we've taken another step forward today. My darling new babies are now in existence. So drumroll please! I am getting....
Pipsqueak Ebony Charm a gold, golden agouti and white texel. Currently sixteen months old. She's had two litters previously. The first litter was a single stillborn baby, she was postpartumed and ave birth to two babies today, one sow and one boar. Her mother was Pipsqueak Ebony Eyes. From here on she'll be known as Ebony.
Pipsqueak ? is a gold, golden agouti and white merino boar. He's 3-4 weeks old now and has just been removed from his Mum and is currently living with his brother. His parents are Pipsqueak Cosimo a merino and Pipsqueak Cosmopolitan. Cosimo has done okay on the show table taking out best baby longhair, best junior longhair and best junior in show. He has a touch of chewed/pulled coat on his back as does his brother so we'll see he goes, however I will attempt to coat him out. I'm allowed to name him for his pedigree and I'm toying with the name Pipsqueak Edmund.
I do have photos of this lil guy as well! He's the Golden Agouti with less white.
Pipsqueak ? is a baby gold and white sheba who's just a week old. The current crazy standard issues means I'm a tad doubtful that he'll get anyway on the show table, but hey since when has that stopped me? I also get to name this boy for his pedigree.
Pipsqueak ? is a junior gold, black and white sheba who I've met before. He's a darling but has an issue. He was born with a congenital defect, he's missing his left eye. However he has the coloring my mother loves so will become a much loved pet and assuming the rules haven't changed will be placed in the pet class. I get to name him too, which is awesome!
So I'll be collecting my darlings on the 26th of November so I am of course counting down the days. Juts four weeks today till I can collect my babies.
The other issue is I'll need to change my breeding plans as I don't want to leave Ebony till August before breeding her, it gives her too much time to get fat and lazy which is not conducive to healthy mother and babies. So I'd probably put her and 'Edmund' together in March, which would lead to babies by May-June and then assuming all goes well probably one more litter in August/September before retiring Ebony and using her as a companion for 2013's breeding sow.
Pipsqueak Ebony Charm a gold, golden agouti and white texel. Currently sixteen months old. She's had two litters previously. The first litter was a single stillborn baby, she was postpartumed and ave birth to two babies today, one sow and one boar. Her mother was Pipsqueak Ebony Eyes. From here on she'll be known as Ebony.
Pipsqueak ? is a gold, golden agouti and white merino boar. He's 3-4 weeks old now and has just been removed from his Mum and is currently living with his brother. His parents are Pipsqueak Cosimo a merino and Pipsqueak Cosmopolitan. Cosimo has done okay on the show table taking out best baby longhair, best junior longhair and best junior in show. He has a touch of chewed/pulled coat on his back as does his brother so we'll see he goes, however I will attempt to coat him out. I'm allowed to name him for his pedigree and I'm toying with the name Pipsqueak Edmund.
I do have photos of this lil guy as well! He's the Golden Agouti with less white.
Pipsqueak ? is a baby gold and white sheba who's just a week old. The current crazy standard issues means I'm a tad doubtful that he'll get anyway on the show table, but hey since when has that stopped me? I also get to name this boy for his pedigree.
Pipsqueak ? is a junior gold, black and white sheba who I've met before. He's a darling but has an issue. He was born with a congenital defect, he's missing his left eye. However he has the coloring my mother loves so will become a much loved pet and assuming the rules haven't changed will be placed in the pet class. I get to name him too, which is awesome!
So I'll be collecting my darlings on the 26th of November so I am of course counting down the days. Juts four weeks today till I can collect my babies.
The other issue is I'll need to change my breeding plans as I don't want to leave Ebony till August before breeding her, it gives her too much time to get fat and lazy which is not conducive to healthy mother and babies. So I'd probably put her and 'Edmund' together in March, which would lead to babies by May-June and then assuming all goes well probably one more litter in August/September before retiring Ebony and using her as a companion for 2013's breeding sow.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
A Big Fat Nothing....
So today marks five weeks till D-day. Basically nothing whatsoever is happening. I continue treading water as I wait, and wait. Of course there is plenty I should be doing, university work has piled up and I'm totally procrastinating. The issue is I have nothing to procrastinate with, so I'm watching a lot of old House episodes. Fascinating huh?
So I figure in a week or so I'm allowed to email the breeder again and see if any lovely babies have been born. Since we leave on the 29th, if it hasn't been born by the first, it obviously won't be coming with us.
Other than that our darling Luther has settled in well and I've even witnessed much binkying. Unfortunately as I should have expected, as rabbits go he's a tad defective. Not only is he allergic to hay, he can't eat any sugar, as in even vegetables are too much for his tummy. I'm thinking I'll make a warning sign to attach to his cage. With showing etc I'll be leaving him in others care for at least 3 days out of every month and the last thing I want is to come home to a rabbit with explosive diarrhea...
Right now his diet consists of compacted hay cubes (I've yet to see him actually go near one), free fed lucerne pellets and as much long green grass as he wants. I figure the grass should be able to replace hay and is probably the best possible food for him. So far he's still gaining really well (up to 2290g) so I must be doing something right...
The hay allergy is totally annoying. I have a rabbit who's allergic to hay and not grass, and me? Oh I'm allergic to all grass but not hay. I need to buy elbow length gloves or something I'm starting to get a permanent rash from picking grass so often.
I still have pictures/plans of the animal room to post up, but I'm as always on the wrong computer so will share them when I get a chance.
So I figure in a week or so I'm allowed to email the breeder again and see if any lovely babies have been born. Since we leave on the 29th, if it hasn't been born by the first, it obviously won't be coming with us.
Other than that our darling Luther has settled in well and I've even witnessed much binkying. Unfortunately as I should have expected, as rabbits go he's a tad defective. Not only is he allergic to hay, he can't eat any sugar, as in even vegetables are too much for his tummy. I'm thinking I'll make a warning sign to attach to his cage. With showing etc I'll be leaving him in others care for at least 3 days out of every month and the last thing I want is to come home to a rabbit with explosive diarrhea...
Right now his diet consists of compacted hay cubes (I've yet to see him actually go near one), free fed lucerne pellets and as much long green grass as he wants. I figure the grass should be able to replace hay and is probably the best possible food for him. So far he's still gaining really well (up to 2290g) so I must be doing something right...
The hay allergy is totally annoying. I have a rabbit who's allergic to hay and not grass, and me? Oh I'm allergic to all grass but not hay. I need to buy elbow length gloves or something I'm starting to get a permanent rash from picking grass so often.
I still have pictures/plans of the animal room to post up, but I'm as always on the wrong computer so will share them when I get a chance.
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Lu-Lu the Wabbit and Other random thoughts.
I figured it was time to update.
Firstly in regards to the bunny. Pet wise I can already see he's going to be a high maintenance creature. He has an incredibly delicate stomach that gets upset by like everything, so will be living on a diet that almost solely consists of a constant supply of fresh grass, hay cubes and pellets. Because not only can't he stomach fresh vegetables he's allergic to loose hay. Even so his weight continues rising and he's now 2270g. Unfortunately he's also decided I'm a busybody he wants nothing to do with and has claimed my Mother as is human.
This photo was taken about twenty minutes ago of the happy couple. You can't really see it from this angle but Lu has his back legs out in a full bunny flop.
Our time at the castle was fantastic and I have a tonne of photos of the new animal room, but will upload them a bit later with detailed chatter about everything I intend to do with it.
I've also received my VetnPet order and am very pleased with it. Lu has no issues with his new harness and leash inside but totally freaked out when I took him outside so this may take a fair amount of time. The quality of everything I received was amazing. So I now have a complete first aid kit for my little darlings to be.
Firstly in regards to the bunny. Pet wise I can already see he's going to be a high maintenance creature. He has an incredibly delicate stomach that gets upset by like everything, so will be living on a diet that almost solely consists of a constant supply of fresh grass, hay cubes and pellets. Because not only can't he stomach fresh vegetables he's allergic to loose hay. Even so his weight continues rising and he's now 2270g. Unfortunately he's also decided I'm a busybody he wants nothing to do with and has claimed my Mother as is human.
This photo was taken about twenty minutes ago of the happy couple. You can't really see it from this angle but Lu has his back legs out in a full bunny flop.
Our time at the castle was fantastic and I have a tonne of photos of the new animal room, but will upload them a bit later with detailed chatter about everything I intend to do with it.
I've also received my VetnPet order and am very pleased with it. Lu has no issues with his new harness and leash inside but totally freaked out when I took him outside so this may take a fair amount of time. The quality of everything I received was amazing. So I now have a complete first aid kit for my little darlings to be.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Sir Luther's Kingdom
We've continued making friends with the bunny and have discovered that he's an amazingly friendly happy bunny, who adores lounges. I've begun allowing him to spend time running around the house to get some exercise. He's such an active rabbit he must be going stir crazy locked in a cage. He seems to adore hopping around and seems to have no interest in cables at all, though I'm watching him like a hawk when he's out. He also adores the lounge, especially the doona we keep piled there.
I've also begun using a blower to groom him and it makes life so much easier. Ten minutes using a hairdryer on maximum blowing cool then five minutes brushing out any knots or matts that it picks up and voila brushed bunny. I'll still have to brush/pluck him when he moults but for now it works perfectly.
So I'll leave you with a pic of my darling, his bald patches are all velvety with new hair now...
I've also begun using a blower to groom him and it makes life so much easier. Ten minutes using a hairdryer on maximum blowing cool then five minutes brushing out any knots or matts that it picks up and voila brushed bunny. I'll still have to brush/pluck him when he moults but for now it works perfectly.
So I'll leave you with a pic of my darling, his bald patches are all velvety with new hair now...
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
More Shopping.
So in consideration of the fact that Luther is an overly curious rabbit who loves exploring and also currently has a weepy eye I rearranged my weekly purchases and just did a massive order at VetnPet. They had the perfect harness on clearance and I wasn't sure if it would still be there in a few weeks and the Terramycin ointment is marginally cheaper online, (though still expensive, one wonders if it's made of gold).
So the whole order was about $190 but it should be pretty much last for ever I hope, and is filled with all the necessary bits and bobs for successful cavy and rabbit keeping.
The complete list is
Lupine Lead Small Pet 1/2" Royal Gold - 4 foot
Lupine H-Style Harness Cats/Sml Dogs 1/2" Royal Gold 9"-14"
2 x Nutrigel 50g
Quit-Itch Lotion 250mL
Debrisol 125ml
Calcium Sandoz Syrup 200ml
Divetelact Low Lactose Milk Replacer 375g
Jorvet Mothering Kit
2 x Wombaroo Latex Teats C
Wombaroo 120ml Feeding Bottle
Kramar Detangling Comb with Rotating Pins
Stay Away Bitter Tasting Chew Deterrent
Scalpel Handle No. 4
Scalpel Blades Size 20 10's
Terramycin Pink Eye Powder 50g
Aristopet Laxative and Hairball Remover 100g
The harness, leash and laxative are of course for Sir Luther, the rest for the cavies to be. The majority is for the first aid kit as well.
Sir Luther is going well. He's claimed the lounge and spends most of the day sprawled out on it. Occasionally hopping down when he feels we aren't watching and exploring the extremely-unbunnyproofed house. So far he's been very well behaved and just examines everything minutely. The minute he realizes we're watching him he races back and bounds onto the lounge. I cannot believe the height he can get, he can easily clear three feet.
So the whole order was about $190 but it should be pretty much last for ever I hope, and is filled with all the necessary bits and bobs for successful cavy and rabbit keeping.
The complete list is
Lupine Lead Small Pet 1/2" Royal Gold - 4 foot
Lupine H-Style Harness Cats/Sml Dogs 1/2" Royal Gold 9"-14"
2 x Nutrigel 50g
Quit-Itch Lotion 250mL
Debrisol 125ml
Calcium Sandoz Syrup 200ml
Divetelact Low Lactose Milk Replacer 375g
Jorvet Mothering Kit
2 x Wombaroo Latex Teats C
Wombaroo 120ml Feeding Bottle
Kramar Detangling Comb with Rotating Pins
Stay Away Bitter Tasting Chew Deterrent
Scalpel Handle No. 4
Scalpel Blades Size 20 10's
Terramycin Pink Eye Powder 50g
Aristopet Laxative and Hairball Remover 100g
The harness, leash and laxative are of course for Sir Luther, the rest for the cavies to be. The majority is for the first aid kit as well.
Sir Luther is going well. He's claimed the lounge and spends most of the day sprawled out on it. Occasionally hopping down when he feels we aren't watching and exploring the extremely-unbunnyproofed house. So far he's been very well behaved and just examines everything minutely. The minute he realizes we're watching him he races back and bounds onto the lounge. I cannot believe the height he can get, he can easily clear three feet.
Monday, 10 October 2011
We have a Wabbit!
Sir Luther has arrived. I'm very glad I took him when I did as well. They brought his cage around and there was an inch of urine in the litterboxes, no wonder his feet were always so stained. So we had another grooming session and after four days without being touched I only found two matts. Both were between his toes, a place I hadn't thought to look before. So I'd say we're getting somewhere. I also tried out my own super duper hair dryer on him which has been used on my hair all of twice (I still have no idea why I bought a $150 hair dryer, I have curly hair, hair dryers and curly hair do not go together, but it's fantastic for animals) which has a "blower" setting and wow it was amazing on his coat. Just a pity we have no outdoor plugs here. It kind of makes a 'hairstorm' as it blows out all the loose hair I didn't manage to comb out.
So Luther has a cage on our verandah where he'll spend most of his time as well as the dog crate indoors for the days when no one is home as I worry about dogs etc. He's currently examining the dog crate in minute detail. He's so personality plus. While you hold him he does his dead-log impersonation which is perfect for grooming but put him down and he's off. I couldn't even keep him in one place to blow his coat out, I ended up just following him around with the hair dryer.
So he's still baldish, but the bald patches are now all velevety and spotty as the new coat grows through
I also tranced him for the first time today. didn't actually mean to but was trying to brush his chin so had him upside down on my lap as I patted his face and he was just totally out of it, twas hilarious.
He's currently proving to me that he's a much better groomer and he'd appreciate it if I stopped wrecking his coat...
Pics will come at some point.
After spending a few hours with him I've come to the conclusion that he's a lovely, intelligent personality filled rabbit with a behavior problem and very sharp teeth. He seems to know exactly where it'll hurt the most. I can now say with confidence I know exactly the level of pain that occurs when a rodent sinks very sharp teeth into your boob. That was great fun, not. He also nipped my arm several times and I have this lovely bruise coming up now. No signs of aggression, so I'm not sure why he's biting. He washed my hands and face and licked all over my clothes and then just bit down, and then hopped off unconcernedly only to repeat the whole thing several minutes later. I know the literature says with rabbits like this you need to give them space and let them come to you, but he's a cashmere that requires daily grooming who still lives outside. Nor can he run around our current house. So he has to be handled. I just hope he'll forgive me after we move.
He is extremely territorial over cage space to the point he'll growl, lunge and bite if I so much as drop a carrot through the bars of the cage, so these next few months should be fun. Generally I don't rescue because I'm know from experience that it doesn't matter how many hours of behavioral therapy you put into an animal they never lose the aggression and abused mentality they've learned in previous homes. However in Luther's case I've agreed to take him on and will put that time and effort into him and hopefully end up with at the very least a contented happy rabbit. He just may end up a very strange rabbit, though he is going to have to continue putting up with being handled, there is no way around that.
So Luther has a cage on our verandah where he'll spend most of his time as well as the dog crate indoors for the days when no one is home as I worry about dogs etc. He's currently examining the dog crate in minute detail. He's so personality plus. While you hold him he does his dead-log impersonation which is perfect for grooming but put him down and he's off. I couldn't even keep him in one place to blow his coat out, I ended up just following him around with the hair dryer.
So he's still baldish, but the bald patches are now all velevety and spotty as the new coat grows through
I also tranced him for the first time today. didn't actually mean to but was trying to brush his chin so had him upside down on my lap as I patted his face and he was just totally out of it, twas hilarious.
He's currently proving to me that he's a much better groomer and he'd appreciate it if I stopped wrecking his coat...
Pics will come at some point.
After spending a few hours with him I've come to the conclusion that he's a lovely, intelligent personality filled rabbit with a behavior problem and very sharp teeth. He seems to know exactly where it'll hurt the most. I can now say with confidence I know exactly the level of pain that occurs when a rodent sinks very sharp teeth into your boob. That was great fun, not. He also nipped my arm several times and I have this lovely bruise coming up now. No signs of aggression, so I'm not sure why he's biting. He washed my hands and face and licked all over my clothes and then just bit down, and then hopped off unconcernedly only to repeat the whole thing several minutes later. I know the literature says with rabbits like this you need to give them space and let them come to you, but he's a cashmere that requires daily grooming who still lives outside. Nor can he run around our current house. So he has to be handled. I just hope he'll forgive me after we move.
He is extremely territorial over cage space to the point he'll growl, lunge and bite if I so much as drop a carrot through the bars of the cage, so these next few months should be fun. Generally I don't rescue because I'm know from experience that it doesn't matter how many hours of behavioral therapy you put into an animal they never lose the aggression and abused mentality they've learned in previous homes. However in Luther's case I've agreed to take him on and will put that time and effort into him and hopefully end up with at the very least a contented happy rabbit. He just may end up a very strange rabbit, though he is going to have to continue putting up with being handled, there is no way around that.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Dog Crate Arrived.
Well the Dog Crate arrived today. It's beyond huge. Once in the animal room it'll be perfect. For now it's in my bedroom. It is surprisingly good quality considering the price. There's a dent in the metal tray but not enough to complain about or bother returning it for. Now just to set it up for a bunny.
My bedroom is a narrow 3.5m x 1.8m space that contains an entire wall of stacked drawers of my Mother's art supplies, an oversized treadmill, my bed, a huge dressing table as well as everything I own and all the pig paraphernalia. There's less then a square metre of floor space now the dog crate is in there.
So seven weeks of supreme squishiness now begins, I will be very grateful when my bedroom once again has just a bed and not every random object we couldn't fit anywhere else.
This afternoon was vet checkups for both parrots which went okay. Atticus my Conure has worms and Echo my Mother's 'tiel is fat. Worming them will certainly be interested, they like fresh water and coke, wormer will not be so nice.
So not much else to report, however Luther is set to arrive tomorrow.
My bedroom is a narrow 3.5m x 1.8m space that contains an entire wall of stacked drawers of my Mother's art supplies, an oversized treadmill, my bed, a huge dressing table as well as everything I own and all the pig paraphernalia. There's less then a square metre of floor space now the dog crate is in there.
So seven weeks of supreme squishiness now begins, I will be very grateful when my bedroom once again has just a bed and not every random object we couldn't fit anywhere else.
This afternoon was vet checkups for both parrots which went okay. Atticus my Conure has worms and Echo my Mother's 'tiel is fat. Worming them will certainly be interested, they like fresh water and coke, wormer will not be so nice.
So not much else to report, however Luther is set to arrive tomorrow.
Friday, 7 October 2011
A house of ones own!
Sooooo contracts are exchanged and our gorgeous house is now marked as sold.
So I thought I'd share it with anyone who actually reads this blog (I'm a little doubtful that I actually have an audience).
But anyway here's the link to our gorgeous castle.
http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/Rural/NSW/Rocky-River/?adid=2009034039
So I thought I'd share it with anyone who actually reads this blog (I'm a little doubtful that I actually have an audience).
But anyway here's the link to our gorgeous castle.
http://www.domain.com.au/Property/For-Sale/Rural/NSW/Rocky-River/?adid=2009034039
And a picture....
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Sir Luther.
So I went to see my pretty boy today. It's always an interesting experience visiting Lu. If the owners home there'll be three baby goats, eight dogs and various other critters wandering around the house. If one manages to make it the rabbit hutch unscathed you then have to remove three goats and eight dogs from the top of the cage while fighting to get the territorial rabbit out of the cage. This time round I arrived as the owner was leaving and she mentioned that though the dogs were locked up she couldn't get the goats into their paddock, would I mind? Since the goats follow me like I'm the pied piper it wasn't too bad but certainly a struggle with a big bunny in ones arms.
Luther and I seem to be making progress on this whole bonding thing. I'd only seen him two days ago so though there was some dirt in his coat there were no mats (alleluia) and he just needed a good brush and fluff up. I'd brought a book so after we were done arguing over the brushing of his legs I settled him on his lap and read for a bit. Apparently the websites were right, rabbits hate being ignored. Luther had a huge grooming session of his own on my lap and since I was still taking no notice proceeded to hop onto the table, examine all the grooming tools minutely and lick every square inch of them before moving onto my iphone. Since I was still ignoring him he moved onto me and washed every square inch of my arms and had a good go at the apron as well.
The minute I put him back into his cage, instead of the usual running and hiding he sprawled out in bunny flop fashion at the front and supervised as I cleaned and refreshed his dishes.
I do believe that at the very least I've piqued his interest. So we may be friends yet.
Now as to housing his current cage is a metal lawn hutch 150cm x 45cm x 45cm. All in all not a bad outdoor cage though it's old and a bit rusted but I may allow Lu to use it occasionally after we move, however it's not appropriate for an indoor cage. So his new crate shipped today and measures 120cm x 75cm x 82cm, basically massive, and though shorter then his previous cage it has a larger floor space. I've sewn two purple camo fleece blankets for him which have ties in a corner so I can tie them to the cage to prevent them sliding about to much. They aren't the full size of the cage, they're just big enough for bunny snoozing. I also need to track down a litter pan. I really want purple and Woolies is sold out of the $6 purple litter pans, my local petstore sells a murkier shade of purple for $10 which I'll buy if needed. Food bowls I'm not sure on. He has some great ceramic ones at the moment but his current owner may need to keep them, so yeah, the only place that sells purple food bowls is the RSPCA for $15 each, so Luther better really work hard to earn such luxury items LOL.
I also want to devise some sort of hideyhole area for him. I found a pattern for a fabric cube that hangs from the top of the cage that might work, as it would be easy to collapse down to move the cage again.
In other news Mother never got into the castle so still no measurements, we'll have to organize another trip up in a few weeks now. The real estate agent has agreed to reimburse her costs at least. I have been able to work out, using my great powers of deduction, that one of the rooms is 3.5m wide and I'd assume at least 3m long, so I guess I'll just work with those measurements for now.
Luther and I seem to be making progress on this whole bonding thing. I'd only seen him two days ago so though there was some dirt in his coat there were no mats (alleluia) and he just needed a good brush and fluff up. I'd brought a book so after we were done arguing over the brushing of his legs I settled him on his lap and read for a bit. Apparently the websites were right, rabbits hate being ignored. Luther had a huge grooming session of his own on my lap and since I was still taking no notice proceeded to hop onto the table, examine all the grooming tools minutely and lick every square inch of them before moving onto my iphone. Since I was still ignoring him he moved onto me and washed every square inch of my arms and had a good go at the apron as well.
The minute I put him back into his cage, instead of the usual running and hiding he sprawled out in bunny flop fashion at the front and supervised as I cleaned and refreshed his dishes.
I do believe that at the very least I've piqued his interest. So we may be friends yet.
Now as to housing his current cage is a metal lawn hutch 150cm x 45cm x 45cm. All in all not a bad outdoor cage though it's old and a bit rusted but I may allow Lu to use it occasionally after we move, however it's not appropriate for an indoor cage. So his new crate shipped today and measures 120cm x 75cm x 82cm, basically massive, and though shorter then his previous cage it has a larger floor space. I've sewn two purple camo fleece blankets for him which have ties in a corner so I can tie them to the cage to prevent them sliding about to much. They aren't the full size of the cage, they're just big enough for bunny snoozing. I also need to track down a litter pan. I really want purple and Woolies is sold out of the $6 purple litter pans, my local petstore sells a murkier shade of purple for $10 which I'll buy if needed. Food bowls I'm not sure on. He has some great ceramic ones at the moment but his current owner may need to keep them, so yeah, the only place that sells purple food bowls is the RSPCA for $15 each, so Luther better really work hard to earn such luxury items LOL.
I also want to devise some sort of hideyhole area for him. I found a pattern for a fabric cube that hangs from the top of the cage that might work, as it would be easy to collapse down to move the cage again.
In other news Mother never got into the castle so still no measurements, we'll have to organize another trip up in a few weeks now. The real estate agent has agreed to reimburse her costs at least. I have been able to work out, using my great powers of deduction, that one of the rooms is 3.5m wide and I'd assume at least 3m long, so I guess I'll just work with those measurements for now.
Bunny Love.
So two things of interest happened today,
Firstly my Mother headed to Armidale for the exchanging of contracts and to measure the house. Exchange of contracts is going ahead but our real estate agent has somehow managed to lose the house key. Conveniently everyone with a spare key is currently out of state. My poor mother who believes strongly in being kind to everyone has no idea what to do, I am encouraging her to get her bitch on and demand compensation for her motel room since she traveled to Armidale with the sole motive of accessing the house and doing measurements. If the key does not surface by tomorrow afternoon she'll have to make a second trip. With just seven and a half weeks to go and life totally hectic with our university degrees I'm not even sure if we have time to go back there again.
However Mother did make one interesting discovery. Not only is our house on a river, it also has it's very own sandy beach on said river, how much more beautiful could it be?
Secondly my credit card took a beating as I purchased a 48" dog crate for Sir Luther. Having seen one in a store I am astonished at the massive size but a 48" crate can easily be converted into four cavy 'apartments' when Luther passes on, or donated to a rescue in need so the 48" it was. I do hope he appreciates all I'm doing for him LOL. It also came with a metal tray which I believe will be hugely useful as Luther adores digging and chewing and I'm sure would make short work of a plastic tray. He's already destroyed his first litter box in less then three weeks. I wonder if you can buy metal litter boxes?
It looks like he'll be moving in soon. His current owner is struggling, she just rang me to see if I could go out tomorrow to feed, water and clean him out as she hasn't even had time to give him water, so it's probably time he moved over here where he can be cared for daily. If I can wedge his cage into my lil Mazda 2 I'll bring him over on Wednesday, if I can't she'll bring him over in a ute on Friday.
I've also pulled apart an old bird cage cover I made a few years ago in order to salvage the purple camo polar fleece it's made of and will be making Lu a couple of purple snoozing blankets.
You see, I colour code my animals, I've found if each species has it's own specific colour cross contamination is near impossible. So the bowls, blankets etc are all a certain colour for a certain species. Something that has to be considered when one keeps reptiles, birds and mammals. Since I'd already used pink for the pigs, Luther gets purple.
Firstly my Mother headed to Armidale for the exchanging of contracts and to measure the house. Exchange of contracts is going ahead but our real estate agent has somehow managed to lose the house key. Conveniently everyone with a spare key is currently out of state. My poor mother who believes strongly in being kind to everyone has no idea what to do, I am encouraging her to get her bitch on and demand compensation for her motel room since she traveled to Armidale with the sole motive of accessing the house and doing measurements. If the key does not surface by tomorrow afternoon she'll have to make a second trip. With just seven and a half weeks to go and life totally hectic with our university degrees I'm not even sure if we have time to go back there again.
However Mother did make one interesting discovery. Not only is our house on a river, it also has it's very own sandy beach on said river, how much more beautiful could it be?
Secondly my credit card took a beating as I purchased a 48" dog crate for Sir Luther. Having seen one in a store I am astonished at the massive size but a 48" crate can easily be converted into four cavy 'apartments' when Luther passes on, or donated to a rescue in need so the 48" it was. I do hope he appreciates all I'm doing for him LOL. It also came with a metal tray which I believe will be hugely useful as Luther adores digging and chewing and I'm sure would make short work of a plastic tray. He's already destroyed his first litter box in less then three weeks. I wonder if you can buy metal litter boxes?
It looks like he'll be moving in soon. His current owner is struggling, she just rang me to see if I could go out tomorrow to feed, water and clean him out as she hasn't even had time to give him water, so it's probably time he moved over here where he can be cared for daily. If I can wedge his cage into my lil Mazda 2 I'll bring him over on Wednesday, if I can't she'll bring him over in a ute on Friday.
I've also pulled apart an old bird cage cover I made a few years ago in order to salvage the purple camo polar fleece it's made of and will be making Lu a couple of purple snoozing blankets.
You see, I colour code my animals, I've found if each species has it's own specific colour cross contamination is near impossible. So the bowls, blankets etc are all a certain colour for a certain species. Something that has to be considered when one keeps reptiles, birds and mammals. Since I'd already used pink for the pigs, Luther gets purple.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
For the love of shopping.
Did some more bits and pieces shopping today. I found minature 90mL bottles of pantene shampoo and conditioner that are the perfect size for my showkit. I so don't trust a longhair to keep their coat clean in five hours of traveling so this means if necessary I can wash them the night or even morning before the show. Also bought a mini bottle of rubbing alcohol as it's always useful to have around.
I also bought two more $2 pink food bowls in a different style to the others. Though of course after I bought them I walked into a petstore that had $2 pink bowls with like twenty in stock, I could've had a matching stackable set. Oh well.
I still haven't bought paint as the weather is awful. I'll buy the paint on Sunday and get to work on those few days where there is sunshine.
Next week most of my money is going on health checkups at the vets before the move and on things for the rabbit who should be moving in with us on Wednesday. He'll start out in an old lawn cage but I'm going to need to dip into savings to buy him a new cage, I can get a massive dog crate for $90. The money I've saved is for new clothes but animals in need come first.
I also bought two more $2 pink food bowls in a different style to the others. Though of course after I bought them I walked into a petstore that had $2 pink bowls with like twenty in stock, I could've had a matching stackable set. Oh well.
I still haven't bought paint as the weather is awful. I'll buy the paint on Sunday and get to work on those few days where there is sunshine.
Next week most of my money is going on health checkups at the vets before the move and on things for the rabbit who should be moving in with us on Wednesday. He'll start out in an old lawn cage but I'm going to need to dip into savings to buy him a new cage, I can get a massive dog crate for $90. The money I've saved is for new clothes but animals in need come first.
Upgraded.
The animals have just gotten an upgrade. My mother decided to rearrange the room plans and make the turret that was to be her room a guest/sitting room which also as the only completely tiled room can be used for Luther to free range at times. Mum is now taking the tiny weird shaped room previously put aside for the pigs and the pigs move to one of the largest bedrooms.
She's doing measurement's and photos tomorrow so will post pictures and info when I have it. I'm certainly happy that curvy bit was doing my head in. It dose mean I will now be sleeping next door to my bird (arrrgh) but oh well. The training is getting through and he offers a croak 50% of the time instead of a scream, but it's all going to fall out of his head the minute we move. Right now his cage is outside his bedroom door and he screams the house down the minute he hears me wake up. It's great fun, not.
She's doing measurement's and photos tomorrow so will post pictures and info when I have it. I'm certainly happy that curvy bit was doing my head in. It dose mean I will now be sleeping next door to my bird (arrrgh) but oh well. The training is getting through and he offers a croak 50% of the time instead of a scream, but it's all going to fall out of his head the minute we move. Right now his cage is outside his bedroom door and he screams the house down the minute he hears me wake up. It's great fun, not.
Monday, 3 October 2011
Sidetracked.
So at the moment I've been a bit sidetracked by the rabbit. I'm still not sure if I actually like the rabbit, however he'll be given the best life possible and be able to live out his days in extreme comfort. I think I just prefer guinea pigs. I always thought longhair cavies require a lot of care but a cashmere rabbit's on a whole 'nother level.
So my times been spent researching the requirements of said rabbit and trying to work out how to pay for the supplies he needs. I've started him his own folder with all the bits n bobs I've collected for him and have been bargain hunting like crazy.
I found a 48" wire dog crate with a metal base for $90 which I think I'll dip into my savings and get him as he's already proven he loves to chew and dig, a plastic base would be destroyed in a week. Then I'm hitting the discount stores to find a litter pan and food bowls. I'll use my awesome crafty skills to make him some toys and he should be able to have free range in the animal room so I'm 'hoping' that will do him. Though food's going to be a right pain. He needs a decent quality pellet which I've yet to locate, veggies I can cover and for hay he'll get mainly hay cubes. He gets straight hay at the moment and gets it sooo twisted through his coat, the matts are horrendous. So hay cubes it is. If he's good I may build him a hayrack.
Guinea pig wise it's been absolutely pouring so I haven't done any painting yet, am hoping the rain'll let up soon as the cages need to air out before pigs go in and if I hold off more then a few weeks it's cutting it fine. Though I can probably house them in alternate quarters if my father ever fixes the cage that's at his house. It just needs some rusty bits removed and the divider replaced but he's been slack. I've also bought some more food bowls, pink of course at $2 each. I'm thinking each set of cages will have it's own matching pink bowls, so it's immediately obvious where each bowl lives.
I'm saving money for one last big order from a vet supply store as well as for the first four pigs (the beginnings of Samsara).
Anyway life is hectic but some very very good news is contracts are exchanged this Friday. The moving date is set at the 29th of November and I'm just holding off till contracts are signed before I let the breeder know when we'll be able to take on wheekers. I cannot wait. It will be wonderful to have a life full of wiggie-womps, wabbits and birdies.
So my times been spent researching the requirements of said rabbit and trying to work out how to pay for the supplies he needs. I've started him his own folder with all the bits n bobs I've collected for him and have been bargain hunting like crazy.
I found a 48" wire dog crate with a metal base for $90 which I think I'll dip into my savings and get him as he's already proven he loves to chew and dig, a plastic base would be destroyed in a week. Then I'm hitting the discount stores to find a litter pan and food bowls. I'll use my awesome crafty skills to make him some toys and he should be able to have free range in the animal room so I'm 'hoping' that will do him. Though food's going to be a right pain. He needs a decent quality pellet which I've yet to locate, veggies I can cover and for hay he'll get mainly hay cubes. He gets straight hay at the moment and gets it sooo twisted through his coat, the matts are horrendous. So hay cubes it is. If he's good I may build him a hayrack.
Guinea pig wise it's been absolutely pouring so I haven't done any painting yet, am hoping the rain'll let up soon as the cages need to air out before pigs go in and if I hold off more then a few weeks it's cutting it fine. Though I can probably house them in alternate quarters if my father ever fixes the cage that's at his house. It just needs some rusty bits removed and the divider replaced but he's been slack. I've also bought some more food bowls, pink of course at $2 each. I'm thinking each set of cages will have it's own matching pink bowls, so it's immediately obvious where each bowl lives.
I'm saving money for one last big order from a vet supply store as well as for the first four pigs (the beginnings of Samsara).
Anyway life is hectic but some very very good news is contracts are exchanged this Friday. The moving date is set at the 29th of November and I'm just holding off till contracts are signed before I let the breeder know when we'll be able to take on wheekers. I cannot wait. It will be wonderful to have a life full of wiggie-womps, wabbits and birdies.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Random Thoughts.
So not much has been happening. The money situations getting a bit dire but I should be able to cover the rest of the costs that are required.
I've got one more major assessment due at the moment and once that's handed in I can focus on getting the cages painted and working on the Health Guide. Then in a month two HUGE assessments, and two exams. On November 17th I am released from this study hellhole for the summer. There's a rabbit show on November 20th, a Cavy Show on November 27th. We move December 1st. At some point I'm also hoping to visit the breeder I'm collecting cavies off, or at least meeting up with her at the show. I'll also be going back and forth to care for the rabbit as well as somehow agreeing to help handrear show goats owned by the lady with the rabbit.
So basically life is hectic. I've had to start a week by week listing of the million and one things I have to do. We also have to pack up two households worth of crap, take carloads worth of crap to donate to charities and somehow coordinate the collection of five animals who will then be living in travel cages till we get to our new house and unpack their cages. I need to locate and purchase a cage for bunny rabbit too which is like another $100.
We need to take birds to the vet for a health check, as well as clipping their wings completely and doing toenails (my conures fine with this sort of fuss, the tiel is not), cages need to be scrubbed down and packed and records updated in case (god forbid) we lose them on the trip up, though its something I do not even want to think about occurring.
With the hectic nature of the move I think feeding wise guinea pigs and rabbit will be expected to all eat Peter's Lucerne pellets for one to two weeks. So I have time to purchase appropriate feed once we get to Uralla. Guinea pigs will of course receive veggies and grass during this time but bun will be fairly restricted to hopefully prevent stress induced diarrhea.
Basically we have a million and one things to consider when moving two humans, and eight animals five hours North. I will be sooo glad when this is over.
It's pretty much guaranteed we'll be getting the house, contracts are being exchanged at the end of this week or beginning of next.
I've got one more major assessment due at the moment and once that's handed in I can focus on getting the cages painted and working on the Health Guide. Then in a month two HUGE assessments, and two exams. On November 17th I am released from this study hellhole for the summer. There's a rabbit show on November 20th, a Cavy Show on November 27th. We move December 1st. At some point I'm also hoping to visit the breeder I'm collecting cavies off, or at least meeting up with her at the show. I'll also be going back and forth to care for the rabbit as well as somehow agreeing to help handrear show goats owned by the lady with the rabbit.
So basically life is hectic. I've had to start a week by week listing of the million and one things I have to do. We also have to pack up two households worth of crap, take carloads worth of crap to donate to charities and somehow coordinate the collection of five animals who will then be living in travel cages till we get to our new house and unpack their cages. I need to locate and purchase a cage for bunny rabbit too which is like another $100.
We need to take birds to the vet for a health check, as well as clipping their wings completely and doing toenails (my conures fine with this sort of fuss, the tiel is not), cages need to be scrubbed down and packed and records updated in case (god forbid) we lose them on the trip up, though its something I do not even want to think about occurring.
With the hectic nature of the move I think feeding wise guinea pigs and rabbit will be expected to all eat Peter's Lucerne pellets for one to two weeks. So I have time to purchase appropriate feed once we get to Uralla. Guinea pigs will of course receive veggies and grass during this time but bun will be fairly restricted to hopefully prevent stress induced diarrhea.
Basically we have a million and one things to consider when moving two humans, and eight animals five hours North. I will be sooo glad when this is over.
It's pretty much guaranteed we'll be getting the house, contracts are being exchanged at the end of this week or beginning of next.
Sunday, 25 September 2011
The Bunny
So since this is my blog, I'm gonna talk about whatever I want. Today's topic is the bunny,
The bunny I am in absolute love with and who will be joining our household one day soon.
He turned up in a neighbors yard three weeks ago bedraggled and severely matted. The neighbour caught him, caged him and started bringing him back to full health. In that time she discovered that bunny was a neutered buck and also a longhair, a cashmere lop to be specific. We met by total chance and she offered him to me, and what could I say?
Due to our nutty landlady who allows messy parrots but not cavies or rabbits he'll be staying at the neighbors house for a bit longer and I'll be going back and forth in order to help with his grooming and care.
I spent a couple of hours with him this morning. Even after a professional groomer had gone after him he was still covered in matts and his old moulting coat was still tangled through the new. So we spent most of that time carefully brushing the whole lot out. He was amazingly calm and just went to sleep, didn't even twitch when I clipped his extremely long nails. I'll need to redo the nails as I was careful and cut well away from the quick as I wasn't sure about Bun's opinions on such an undertaking. Since he was so calm and content I'll shorten the nails when I see him next (probs Tuesday or Wednesday). I checked his weight as well and he's a bit underweight at 2150g, as a purebred cashmere lop he should be closer to 2500. He has mites but has been treated with revolution and they seem to be clearing up. My other big issue is the staining. His coat is not happy and his feet are bright yellow, so I'm looking at various remedies for that now. His eyes are also slightly crusty but considering his enviroment that could be anything.
So tomorrow I'll call the vet and arrange an appointment for a checkup and calici vaccination and I'll get them to double check for a microchip as well. I'll get him microchipped myself once we move.
So this is my lovely bunny. He's a blue butterfly cashmere lop and we've christened him Sir Luther
The bunny I am in absolute love with and who will be joining our household one day soon.
He turned up in a neighbors yard three weeks ago bedraggled and severely matted. The neighbour caught him, caged him and started bringing him back to full health. In that time she discovered that bunny was a neutered buck and also a longhair, a cashmere lop to be specific. We met by total chance and she offered him to me, and what could I say?
Due to our nutty landlady who allows messy parrots but not cavies or rabbits he'll be staying at the neighbors house for a bit longer and I'll be going back and forth in order to help with his grooming and care.
I spent a couple of hours with him this morning. Even after a professional groomer had gone after him he was still covered in matts and his old moulting coat was still tangled through the new. So we spent most of that time carefully brushing the whole lot out. He was amazingly calm and just went to sleep, didn't even twitch when I clipped his extremely long nails. I'll need to redo the nails as I was careful and cut well away from the quick as I wasn't sure about Bun's opinions on such an undertaking. Since he was so calm and content I'll shorten the nails when I see him next (probs Tuesday or Wednesday). I checked his weight as well and he's a bit underweight at 2150g, as a purebred cashmere lop he should be closer to 2500. He has mites but has been treated with revolution and they seem to be clearing up. My other big issue is the staining. His coat is not happy and his feet are bright yellow, so I'm looking at various remedies for that now. His eyes are also slightly crusty but considering his enviroment that could be anything.
So tomorrow I'll call the vet and arrange an appointment for a checkup and calici vaccination and I'll get them to double check for a microchip as well. I'll get him microchipped myself once we move.
So this is my lovely bunny. He's a blue butterfly cashmere lop and we've christened him Sir Luther
Thursday, 22 September 2011
The cages
So the cages are here. Not as great as I'd hoped. I'm not overly impressed with the door situation. 120cm wide doors really aren't very useful. However looking at the door construction I should be able to modify them whenever they do begin driving me totally nuts. It'd be much easier to have two separate 60cm door son either side. The other thing is the whole cage rocks? Like seriously, you couldn't level it BEFORE you put the castors on. I was told I had to have 6 castors to support the weight of the cage, but since the castors are all in at different heights only 3 castors are actually in contact with the ground at any given time. Sooooo.... that will take some thought to fix that. It should be less apparent when the cage is on carpet though.
I'm also rethinking my original intentions to paint it. Partly because paint costs a freaking fortune and also because well the wood doesn't look too bad. So I might just seal the interior.
So pictures, the cages are modeled by Simon, Belle and Jupiter my plushie friends. I'll kidnap bunny sometime and post some pics of him in the cage when I get a chance. Basically these cages are absolutely, totally freaking enormous and I am very impressed. I'm also so glad I had them built at 50cm high, it's so much easier to see the whole bottom level without having to sit on the floor.
The cages
The megatron doors open
The petstore cages on top (we're they'll live when the pig room is set up)
So basically they are nice but not quite what I was after. However they'll make a fantastic base for my caviary. If I can get this building thing working I'm going to make new cages for the top which will be 4 60 cm x 60 cm cages for the show animals with front opening doors.
I'm also rethinking my original intentions to paint it. Partly because paint costs a freaking fortune and also because well the wood doesn't look too bad. So I might just seal the interior.
So pictures, the cages are modeled by Simon, Belle and Jupiter my plushie friends. I'll kidnap bunny sometime and post some pics of him in the cage when I get a chance. Basically these cages are absolutely, totally freaking enormous and I am very impressed. I'm also so glad I had them built at 50cm high, it's so much easier to see the whole bottom level without having to sit on the floor.
The cages
The megatron doors open
The petstore cages on top (we're they'll live when the pig room is set up)
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
The cages are here!
So the cages arrived they are pretty amazing however the doors weren't quite as good as I hoped. However they are still far beyond anything I've had before.
Unbeknownst to me the cage people had organized to meet another lady at our house at the same time to drop off a rabbit that they'd been grooming for her. The people were of course late and we got talking. The rabbit she was waiting on was a cashmere lop that had wandered into her yard one day. It was in incredibly poor condition but had obviously been a once loved pet and was neutered. The lady was desperate to find a home for it as she couldn't keep up with the grooming.
Now not being particularly fond of rabbits I can say no to your typically brown and white shorthair mutt.
But this regal fellow?
Yeah I was a total gonna. Then he started licking me and well.... She offered him to us free with his hutch and she can keep him till December if I help out with grooming him. We haven't said yes yet but I don't know how one can say no, I mean look at him!
Anyway I'm off to read about grooming Cashmere Lops.....
Unbeknownst to me the cage people had organized to meet another lady at our house at the same time to drop off a rabbit that they'd been grooming for her. The people were of course late and we got talking. The rabbit she was waiting on was a cashmere lop that had wandered into her yard one day. It was in incredibly poor condition but had obviously been a once loved pet and was neutered. The lady was desperate to find a home for it as she couldn't keep up with the grooming.
Now not being particularly fond of rabbits I can say no to your typically brown and white shorthair mutt.
But this regal fellow?
Anyway I'm off to read about grooming Cashmere Lops.....
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Waiting.
The cages will be here at 9am tomorrow, I am more then a little excited. I've been doing calculations and as long as I don't spend any money for the next two weeks (after all who needs to eat) I can afford the paint I need. Then I have about four weeks to get them painted before they have to be packed in preparation for the move. I also still need to get money together for the last components of the first aid but that can wait a month or so and is only about $100. Then a bit more saving to pay for the pigs and I am good to go.
House wise we're still waiting for the new contract to be written but contracts should still be exchanged in the next two weeks which is very very exciting.
House wise we're still waiting for the new contract to be written but contracts should still be exchanged in the next two weeks which is very very exciting.
Monday, 19 September 2011
Random Thoughts of the Day
My cages are ready!
They are being delivered Thursday night and I cannot wait. They've cost a bloody fortune so they better be as good as they look on the website. I want to see what the height is like as well. I ordered them extra tall at 50cm high per cage as it used to drive me nuts that I could never see into the bottom cages. It does however mean the highest I can take a stack is three cages. But I'm hoping they'll be a good basis to start with and will provide me with a 240cm x 60cm sow run/birthing cage.
However right now it feels like I'm hemorrhaging cash. I could have gone the much cheaper route and bought as needed especially with the first aid kit but that would also mean risking animals lives because I didn't have medication on hand. After watching 30 animals die because my vet couldn't diagnose clostiridia and I hadn't the foggiest what to give them to stop the contagious enteritis I never ever want to be in that position again. Soooo expensive first aid kit it is. I now have everything on hand to treat and save my animals should I ever end up with bacterial enteritis in my herd again. But I pretty much have $20 to see me through to the end of the week. I still need to raise the money for paint for these cages as well, yay.
So the only other purchases of today of note were I got my hands on some very cheap probiotics (Woolies had them marked for quick sale, except they don't expire till 2015) as well as some glycerine.
Other than that I'm just still slogging through this anthro assessment though I should have it done soon. I just have to work out what disease the ulna has, write a reference list and hand it in. Then I can have all of 20 seconds to myself before moving onto my Survey Methods assessment. I was going to use these holidays to finish the health guide, I have six days left and have yet to even look at the health guide, blah.
I'll leave you with a pic of a much much younger me (with atrocious fashion sense) at my first ever show, with my first ever pedigree pig, winning my first ever Best of Breed. The buff in front of me is Namoi Belle who won BOB, the other buff is just one I was minding for someone.
They are being delivered Thursday night and I cannot wait. They've cost a bloody fortune so they better be as good as they look on the website. I want to see what the height is like as well. I ordered them extra tall at 50cm high per cage as it used to drive me nuts that I could never see into the bottom cages. It does however mean the highest I can take a stack is three cages. But I'm hoping they'll be a good basis to start with and will provide me with a 240cm x 60cm sow run/birthing cage.
However right now it feels like I'm hemorrhaging cash. I could have gone the much cheaper route and bought as needed especially with the first aid kit but that would also mean risking animals lives because I didn't have medication on hand. After watching 30 animals die because my vet couldn't diagnose clostiridia and I hadn't the foggiest what to give them to stop the contagious enteritis I never ever want to be in that position again. Soooo expensive first aid kit it is. I now have everything on hand to treat and save my animals should I ever end up with bacterial enteritis in my herd again. But I pretty much have $20 to see me through to the end of the week. I still need to raise the money for paint for these cages as well, yay.
So the only other purchases of today of note were I got my hands on some very cheap probiotics (Woolies had them marked for quick sale, except they don't expire till 2015) as well as some glycerine.
Other than that I'm just still slogging through this anthro assessment though I should have it done soon. I just have to work out what disease the ulna has, write a reference list and hand it in. Then I can have all of 20 seconds to myself before moving onto my Survey Methods assessment. I was going to use these holidays to finish the health guide, I have six days left and have yet to even look at the health guide, blah.
I'll leave you with a pic of a much much younger me (with atrocious fashion sense) at my first ever show, with my first ever pedigree pig, winning my first ever Best of Breed. The buff in front of me is Namoi Belle who won BOB, the other buff is just one I was minding for someone.
Fun Day.
Guess what I did today? Go on guess! Yup I went shopping. Again.
Yes I'm hopelessly addicted and need counseling but hey it's better then spending money on shoes. So of course mu purchases were cavy related. Today I bought two oversize semi transparent step stools which will make great 'houses' for $5 each. I also purchased 4.8m of this plastic edging stuff to glue over the exposed edges of the plywood litter boards in the new cage I'm ordering. I've had cavies that have literally eaten there way through plyboard dividers so I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that this ensures the plywood litter boards stay intact. I also bought a small sheet of corflute which will cut down to size so I can ziptie it over the wire divider when I'm keeping show long hairs in the all wire cage. I'm hoping it will prevent neighbours chewing the wrappers.
Finally I stopped at horseland and bought this:
http://www.horseland.com.au/roma-1200-denier-hay-bale-bag.html
It will be used to store a bale of hay in the 'pig room'. Since the cavy rooms in the centre of the house I didn't want to be leaving trails of hay through the house every time I went to get the pigs a biscuit, so hay storage inside. We've also got a big calico bag which can be used in the car when we buy hay. Less mess is always good.
I also priced the paints, and my wallet is going ouch. So 1L of Dulux paint covers 16 square metres, and how many metres do I have to cover?
18.72 square metres enamel for two coats inside cage
18.72 square metres wash & wear for two coats outside cage
18.72 square metres prepcoat
And of course buying 1.5L costs the same as buying 2L. Yay.
So prices for the paints are
Wash & Wear - $50 for 2L
Aquanamel High Gloss - $60 for 2L
Dulux 1 Step - $51 for 2L
So $161 for 6L of paint. I really hope I find some other uses for this paint otherwise there's going to be a lot wasted.
But you want to know the best bit about today? While clearing out the family home I discovered all my old records and photo backups, as well as four years worth of Cavy Capers. I is very very happy.
Yes I'm hopelessly addicted and need counseling but hey it's better then spending money on shoes. So of course mu purchases were cavy related. Today I bought two oversize semi transparent step stools which will make great 'houses' for $5 each. I also purchased 4.8m of this plastic edging stuff to glue over the exposed edges of the plywood litter boards in the new cage I'm ordering. I've had cavies that have literally eaten there way through plyboard dividers so I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that this ensures the plywood litter boards stay intact. I also bought a small sheet of corflute which will cut down to size so I can ziptie it over the wire divider when I'm keeping show long hairs in the all wire cage. I'm hoping it will prevent neighbours chewing the wrappers.
Finally I stopped at horseland and bought this:
http://www.horseland.com.au/roma-1200-denier-hay-bale-bag.html
It will be used to store a bale of hay in the 'pig room'. Since the cavy rooms in the centre of the house I didn't want to be leaving trails of hay through the house every time I went to get the pigs a biscuit, so hay storage inside. We've also got a big calico bag which can be used in the car when we buy hay. Less mess is always good.
I also priced the paints, and my wallet is going ouch. So 1L of Dulux paint covers 16 square metres, and how many metres do I have to cover?
18.72 square metres enamel for two coats inside cage
18.72 square metres wash & wear for two coats outside cage
18.72 square metres prepcoat
And of course buying 1.5L costs the same as buying 2L. Yay.
So prices for the paints are
Wash & Wear - $50 for 2L
Aquanamel High Gloss - $60 for 2L
Dulux 1 Step - $51 for 2L
So $161 for 6L of paint. I really hope I find some other uses for this paint otherwise there's going to be a lot wasted.
But you want to know the best bit about today? While clearing out the family home I discovered all my old records and photo backups, as well as four years worth of Cavy Capers. I is very very happy.
Friday, 16 September 2011
Lists, Lists, Lists.
I'm still currently buried under my anthropology assessment, I'm up to determining stature of my skeleton, lucky me.
At the moment I'm mainly tinkering with ideas and half formed thoughts as well as continuing to work out a complete shopping list.
For those who aren't yet bored rigid by my anality, these are the things that have already been bought for my future cavies.
8 x 500mL water bottles
3 x 1m Pink Ribbon for tying up the water bottles
2 x Pink Food Bowls (Must find more of them)
10 x Cavy Cozies
8 x Pink Cavy Pillows
1 x Pink Lap Pad
1 x Blue Lap Pad
2 x Purple 100cm x 50cm Pet Store Cages
5 x Fleece and Cotton Liners for above cages
5 x Hot Pink Carry Cages
12 x Liners for aforementioned Carry Cages
24 x Luggage Tags for Cages
1 x Hot Pink Feed Bin on wheels
1 x Peter Gurney's Guide to Cavy Care
1 x Peter Gurney's Piggy Potions
1 x Matt Gardiners Advanced Guide to Cavy Keeping
1 x Disease of The Domestic Guinea Pig
1 x Folder filled with general care and show articles/information/forms
1 x Folder filled with breeding articles/information/forms
1 x Folder to be filled with hard copy records and photos of all animals I own
1 x Folder with the current standards book
Then in a large pink storage tub I have the beginnings of my 'dry' first aid kit
1 x SnuggleSafe
1 x SnuggleSafe Cover
25 x Gloves
2 x Hot Water Bottles
3 x Hot water Bottle Covers
1 x Pack Cotton Buds
1 x Charcoal Tablets
1 x KY Gel
1 x Buccal Pad Separators
2 x Dental Rasp
1 x Vaseline
1 x Hand Sanitizer
1 x Paraffin
1 x Hydrogen Peroxide
1 x Glucodin
1 x Sudafed
1 x Baby Food - Pureed Apple
1 x Baby Food - Apple & Blackcurrant Gel
In a Pink Carryall I have the refrigerated part of the kit
1 x Vitamin C
28 x Ural Sachets
1 x Gastro- Stop
1 x Baby Panadol
1 x Canesten Cream
Then I have a very big show kit all packed into a spare carry cage
Grooming Bag Containing
1 x Mini Pantene Shampoo
1 x Mini Pantene Conditioner
1 x Stay Away Chew Deterrent
1 x Spray Bottle for Water
1 x Detangler
Spare Balsa Wood
Spare Paper Towels
1 x Hair Bands
1 x Eucalyptus Oil
Grooming Roll Containing
1 x Pin Tail Comb
1 x Plastic Detangling Comb
1 x Afro Comb
1 x Metal Detangling Comb
1 x Scissors
1 x Hair Bands
1 x Tweezers
1 x Styptic Powder
1 x Nail Clippers
3 x Hair Clips
1 x Eucalyptus Oil
Mini First Aid Kit Containing
3 x Iodine Wipes
3 x Sterile Gauze
1 x Antiseptic Cream
1 x Hand Sanitizer
1 x Pair of Gloves
3 x Syringes
1 x Sachet of Dextrose
1 x Visine Clear Eye Drops
1 x Sachet Electrolyte Gel
1 x Simethicone
2 x Charcoal tablets
3 x Water Bottles
1 x Hair Dryer
3 x Mini Food Bowls
1 x Pink 8” x 12” Show Board
1 x Black 8” x 12” Show Board
1 x Blue Lap Pad
1 x Pink Lap Pad
1 x Old Towel
1 x Pink Fabric Bag
1 x Spare Travel Cage Lining
As well as
2 x 12” x 12” Show Boards (Pink & Black)
2 x 18” x 18” Show Boards (Pink & Black)
2 x 24” x 24” Show Boards (Pink & Black)
1 x Tall Pink Grooming Stand (Pink & Black)
Bored yet?
I'm sure you stopped reading about twenty lines back, but hey as Dory says "just keep on swimming". Soooooo this is what I still have to buy.
2 x Huge 8 foot cages I need to finish paying for
3 x 2L cans of undercoat, top coat and enamel to paint cages
1 x Plant Pot (For washing longs)
8 x Pink Food Bowls (I am determined that I will find some more)
1 x Valuwarp bandage
2 x 50mL Nutrigel
Lots of Syringes
1 x 250mL QuitItch
1 x Debrisol
1 x Jorvet Mothering Kit (Syringes with teats)
1 x Wombaroo Bottle
2 x Wombaroo 'C' Teats
1 x Divetelac
1 x Acidophilus
1 x Calcium Sandoz
1 x Stay Away Chew Deterrent
1 x Metal Detangling Comb with rotating pins
And I have a wishlist of things I can't really afford but want
1 x Otoscope
1 x Stethoscope
1 x Electric Clippers
1 x Scalpel Handle with Sterile blades
1 x Terramycin Pink Eye Powder (Costs a fortune but probs worth it)
1 x Rectal Thermometer (as above)
At the moment I'm mainly tinkering with ideas and half formed thoughts as well as continuing to work out a complete shopping list.
For those who aren't yet bored rigid by my anality, these are the things that have already been bought for my future cavies.
8 x 500mL water bottles
3 x 1m Pink Ribbon for tying up the water bottles
2 x Pink Food Bowls (Must find more of them)
10 x Cavy Cozies
8 x Pink Cavy Pillows
1 x Pink Lap Pad
1 x Blue Lap Pad
2 x Purple 100cm x 50cm Pet Store Cages
5 x Fleece and Cotton Liners for above cages
5 x Hot Pink Carry Cages
12 x Liners for aforementioned Carry Cages
24 x Luggage Tags for Cages
1 x Hot Pink Feed Bin on wheels
1 x Peter Gurney's Guide to Cavy Care
1 x Peter Gurney's Piggy Potions
1 x Matt Gardiners Advanced Guide to Cavy Keeping
1 x Disease of The Domestic Guinea Pig
1 x Folder filled with general care and show articles/information/forms
1 x Folder filled with breeding articles/information/forms
1 x Folder to be filled with hard copy records and photos of all animals I own
1 x Folder with the current standards book
Then in a large pink storage tub I have the beginnings of my 'dry' first aid kit
1 x SnuggleSafe
1 x SnuggleSafe Cover
25 x Gloves
2 x Hot Water Bottles
3 x Hot water Bottle Covers
1 x Pack Cotton Buds
1 x Charcoal Tablets
1 x KY Gel
1 x Buccal Pad Separators
2 x Dental Rasp
1 x Vaseline
1 x Hand Sanitizer
1 x Paraffin
1 x Hydrogen Peroxide
1 x Glucodin
1 x Sudafed
1 x Baby Food - Pureed Apple
1 x Baby Food - Apple & Blackcurrant Gel
In a Pink Carryall I have the refrigerated part of the kit
1 x Vitamin C
28 x Ural Sachets
1 x Gastro- Stop
1 x Baby Panadol
1 x Canesten Cream
Then I have a very big show kit all packed into a spare carry cage
Grooming Bag Containing
1 x Mini Pantene Shampoo
1 x Mini Pantene Conditioner
1 x Stay Away Chew Deterrent
1 x Spray Bottle for Water
1 x Detangler
Spare Balsa Wood
Spare Paper Towels
1 x Hair Bands
1 x Eucalyptus Oil
Grooming Roll Containing
1 x Pin Tail Comb
1 x Plastic Detangling Comb
1 x Afro Comb
1 x Metal Detangling Comb
1 x Scissors
1 x Hair Bands
1 x Tweezers
1 x Styptic Powder
1 x Nail Clippers
3 x Hair Clips
1 x Eucalyptus Oil
Mini First Aid Kit Containing
3 x Iodine Wipes
3 x Sterile Gauze
1 x Antiseptic Cream
1 x Hand Sanitizer
1 x Pair of Gloves
3 x Syringes
1 x Sachet of Dextrose
1 x Visine Clear Eye Drops
1 x Sachet Electrolyte Gel
1 x Simethicone
2 x Charcoal tablets
3 x Water Bottles
1 x Hair Dryer
3 x Mini Food Bowls
1 x Pink 8” x 12” Show Board
1 x Black 8” x 12” Show Board
1 x Blue Lap Pad
1 x Pink Lap Pad
1 x Old Towel
1 x Pink Fabric Bag
1 x Spare Travel Cage Lining
As well as
2 x 12” x 12” Show Boards (Pink & Black)
2 x 18” x 18” Show Boards (Pink & Black)
2 x 24” x 24” Show Boards (Pink & Black)
1 x Tall Pink Grooming Stand (Pink & Black)
Bored yet?
I'm sure you stopped reading about twenty lines back, but hey as Dory says "just keep on swimming". Soooooo this is what I still have to buy.
2 x Huge 8 foot cages I need to finish paying for
3 x 2L cans of undercoat, top coat and enamel to paint cages
1 x Plant Pot (For washing longs)
8 x Pink Food Bowls (I am determined that I will find some more)
1 x Valuwarp bandage
2 x 50mL Nutrigel
Lots of Syringes
1 x 250mL QuitItch
1 x Debrisol
1 x Jorvet Mothering Kit (Syringes with teats)
1 x Wombaroo Bottle
2 x Wombaroo 'C' Teats
1 x Divetelac
1 x Acidophilus
1 x Calcium Sandoz
1 x Stay Away Chew Deterrent
1 x Metal Detangling Comb with rotating pins
And I have a wishlist of things I can't really afford but want
1 x Otoscope
1 x Stethoscope
1 x Electric Clippers
1 x Scalpel Handle with Sterile blades
1 x Terramycin Pink Eye Powder (Costs a fortune but probs worth it)
1 x Rectal Thermometer (as above)
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