So I'm now in Armidale hunting for the perfect house. Thankfully the minute we saw the house with the composting toilet it was a no, people really should at least clean the feces off the toilet before they show the house to you....
BUT we have fallen in love with one and found a perfectly suitable second choice. The one we fell in love with is a castle. No i don't mean that as in every mans home is their castle, no I mean castle as in literal castle. Granted a very small cheap version of a castle, only one level and only two turrets but its just flat out gorgeous. It has a river along the side and back of the property boundarys, total wilderness in most of the property and almost controlled front garden and the place is huge. It belonged to a professional artist and has the most amazing studio for Mum. Its also the only house we've looked at that has a decent laundry for a wet area for Mum. If our offer is accepted I will also get to be a princess in a tower, and isn't that every girls dream? the pigs will get their own bedroom inside the house. It is down a dirt road though but it's like 8 minutes from the town centre so nice and close.
The second one is also very nice it needs a new paint but has a second lounge room for a studio for Mum and has a carport I could redo for cavies/Mum's wet area. But it certainly would be a very comfortable place to live and it's about thirty seconds from the town centre.
We're off to have another look at them today, then we're checking out the ag shops and the op shops to see whats available.
An endless journey in the pursuit of cavies, knowledge and joy.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Confession time...
So I was giving cages a lot of thought last night and realized it's probably time I confessed something...
I'm a shopaholic who tends to go overboard, way overboard. Last night I realized that if I'm only breeding one litter in 2012 then I DO NOT need banks of cages. Yes they will all pretty and lovely neatly lined up, but I sooo don't need them.
My actual plans for animals is fairly simple. I'll be buying/ordering 2 shebas boars, 1 texel/merino sow and 1 texel/merino boar the minute our contract is signed for whatever house we choose. I'm hoping to get texel/merino babies that I can then show/coat out until August. If I get proven adults then I'll still coat em out and show them in novice/pet class. As there's no point starting a major breeding operation if I discover I'm hopeless at wrapping. Then two longs will be bred in August for a November litter so I'll have babies for the 2013 show year. Longhairs don't usually have large litters, they aren't like the goldens. So even calculating for five babies, I don't need more then the cages I already have.
I have two purple pet store cages, a 2 x 4 C&C cage and a wire grid cage lined with corflute and divided into two 60 x 60cm cages. If when the litter is born in November next year I realize I need more cages, then I can look at ordering gorgeous banks. Before that I really should just work with what I have.
So in 2012 I'll be showing two shebas (hopefully in pedigree class, note to self, find a copy of that new/old standard) and two longhairs. They may all be in pet classes, but hey that won't be anything new LOL.
So yes it's reality check time. Just because I have a fair amount saved does not mean I have to spend it on cavies, or spend it at all actually. I'm sure it would prove far more useful to spend a bit more on feed then on cages I may not ever need.
I'm a shopaholic who tends to go overboard, way overboard. Last night I realized that if I'm only breeding one litter in 2012 then I DO NOT need banks of cages. Yes they will all pretty and lovely neatly lined up, but I sooo don't need them.
My actual plans for animals is fairly simple. I'll be buying/ordering 2 shebas boars, 1 texel/merino sow and 1 texel/merino boar the minute our contract is signed for whatever house we choose. I'm hoping to get texel/merino babies that I can then show/coat out until August. If I get proven adults then I'll still coat em out and show them in novice/pet class. As there's no point starting a major breeding operation if I discover I'm hopeless at wrapping. Then two longs will be bred in August for a November litter so I'll have babies for the 2013 show year. Longhairs don't usually have large litters, they aren't like the goldens. So even calculating for five babies, I don't need more then the cages I already have.
I have two purple pet store cages, a 2 x 4 C&C cage and a wire grid cage lined with corflute and divided into two 60 x 60cm cages. If when the litter is born in November next year I realize I need more cages, then I can look at ordering gorgeous banks. Before that I really should just work with what I have.
So in 2012 I'll be showing two shebas (hopefully in pedigree class, note to self, find a copy of that new/old standard) and two longhairs. They may all be in pet classes, but hey that won't be anything new LOL.
So yes it's reality check time. Just because I have a fair amount saved does not mean I have to spend it on cavies, or spend it at all actually. I'm sure it would prove far more useful to spend a bit more on feed then on cages I may not ever need.
Custom Built Cages...
I just discovered a new website-
http://www.therabbitpatch.com.au/bunny_cages/
Worst of all they are close to me. I'm now seriously considering ordering cages from them before I move up. But I'm not sure if I'd want three Lay-A-long cages or three Double Dekka cages.... I'd get them with all wire doors though. I've also emailed them to see if they'd put in litter boards as well. Then get them with castors and add a coat of waterproofing enamel to the inner wood and I'm set with six cages of eight square feet. Enough to support the beginning of a caviary.
I'd have to order them before we left, as there's no way these people would deliver to Armidale. But they will deliver here so I'd have to receive them and then pack them into the movers trucks to go up with the rest of our stuff.
They say they will also custom make cages so as I want to expand I could get them to make cages that are just 60 x 60 x 120 that can easily fit in my baby Mazda. Then I can simply stack them on top of my existing cages. Granted I'd have to make multiple trips, but if I just collected one a month as I travel back and forth to shows it would work perfectly.
http://www.therabbitpatch.com.au/bunny_cages/
Worst of all they are close to me. I'm now seriously considering ordering cages from them before I move up. But I'm not sure if I'd want three Lay-A-long cages or three Double Dekka cages.... I'd get them with all wire doors though. I've also emailed them to see if they'd put in litter boards as well. Then get them with castors and add a coat of waterproofing enamel to the inner wood and I'm set with six cages of eight square feet. Enough to support the beginning of a caviary.
I'd have to order them before we left, as there's no way these people would deliver to Armidale. But they will deliver here so I'd have to receive them and then pack them into the movers trucks to go up with the rest of our stuff.
They say they will also custom make cages so as I want to expand I could get them to make cages that are just 60 x 60 x 120 that can easily fit in my baby Mazda. Then I can simply stack them on top of my existing cages. Granted I'd have to make multiple trips, but if I just collected one a month as I travel back and forth to shows it would work perfectly.
Caviary Design
So I'm currently wading through endless university work, which of course makes me ever so creative and I have a few trillion cage designs in my head.
Now I've never actually built much, I love building but I'm a girl and unfortunately sexism is still rampant. Tools were for men. So I learned how to build things with a hammer and nails, the only things I was allowed. However I'm fairly confident that I can use power tools, as long as I have them. Besides Bunnings is always offering free classes. I've been promised a complete set of power tools when we move (mainly because someone wants a chook house and cages for a veggie garden) so my mind has been wandering about what I would like to build, or whether I'd rather simply buy cages.
I adore the look of these-http://www.gtmall.com.au/4-level-162cm-ferret-cat-bird-aviary-cage.html
another person on he forums has turned a similiar cage into four level bank, which looks great.
At the same time though there's a design in my head that would be very similar but I could make it myself out of the sheets of sturdy wire mesh and a bit of wire, it would be just as stable. Then I'd simply line the cages with corflute. The cage would be 1.8m long with 120cm of double doors at the front.... It would cost a bit less too.... To create the same thing out of two ferret cages would be $340 plus $190 for the corflute, so $530 total. But the material to create wire grid cages would be $250 at most plus $190 for corflute so $440, still pricey but it may be worth it.
Or I could build wood and wire cages, however they would be heavier and harder to sanitise...
So many options, guess I'll have to wait and see what area I have before deciding....
Now I've never actually built much, I love building but I'm a girl and unfortunately sexism is still rampant. Tools were for men. So I learned how to build things with a hammer and nails, the only things I was allowed. However I'm fairly confident that I can use power tools, as long as I have them. Besides Bunnings is always offering free classes. I've been promised a complete set of power tools when we move (mainly because someone wants a chook house and cages for a veggie garden) so my mind has been wandering about what I would like to build, or whether I'd rather simply buy cages.
I adore the look of these-http://www.gtmall.com.au/4-level-162cm-ferret-cat-bird-aviary-cage.html
another person on he forums has turned a similiar cage into four level bank, which looks great.
At the same time though there's a design in my head that would be very similar but I could make it myself out of the sheets of sturdy wire mesh and a bit of wire, it would be just as stable. Then I'd simply line the cages with corflute. The cage would be 1.8m long with 120cm of double doors at the front.... It would cost a bit less too.... To create the same thing out of two ferret cages would be $340 plus $190 for the corflute, so $530 total. But the material to create wire grid cages would be $250 at most plus $190 for corflute so $440, still pricey but it may be worth it.
Or I could build wood and wire cages, however they would be heavier and harder to sanitise...
So many options, guess I'll have to wait and see what area I have before deciding....
Monday, 22 August 2011
Feeding Cavies
So the compost house looks more and more likely *sighs as she wistfully thinks of her dream of living in an actual street, with a concrete driveway and little square patch of the lawn out the back*. Being a farm brat definitely gives you a unique perspective on things...
Anyway I'm bored so I thought I'd share some of the inane chatter that runs daily through my head.
I've been reading and reading and reading about cavy feeds and I have to say I've learned quite a lot. You see when I first bred and showed I made a mistake that proved fatal for my stud, I bought cheap feed from a dodgy produce store. I lost my entire stud to enteritis because of it, not an experiment I ever wish to repeat.
Now Armidale is a rural town, they are all about sheep, cattle and horses so of I toddled to get a list of the brands they stock up there. Hay will never be an issue at least which is good to know. As to feed I'm thinking I'll feed Mitavite Athletes Plus. It has a crazy high protein content at 25%, 12% fat and 12% fibre. Now I've not been able to get exact percentages for hay but I believe that if I feed this mixed 50/50 with lucerne chaff that will bring the protein content to about 21-22%, fat to 6% and I have no idea about fibre. So it should provide a good all round feed for cavies and I can tweak the mix depending on if I'm feeding pregnant sows or old fat retired boars.
The other great thing about Mitavite Athlete Plus is the Vitamin C content. It has 1000mg per kg. So if you take your average 1kg cavy who eats on average 60g of food a day, half of which is this horse feed it means the cavy gets 30mg solely from the feed. Seems like a good deal to me. Now it is expensive at $30-40 per 20kg but I learned the hard way that skimping is definitely not good.
We'll also be growing a proper vege garden again which should provide most if not all vege needs for the cavies. I intend to grow wheat grass as well but that has it's issues. I am very allergic to grass and even handling guinea pigs that have just eaten grass causes skin problems. But although it looks spectacular the allergies not too annoying so I intend to work through it so my animals can have the best life possible...
Anyway I'm bored so I thought I'd share some of the inane chatter that runs daily through my head.
I've been reading and reading and reading about cavy feeds and I have to say I've learned quite a lot. You see when I first bred and showed I made a mistake that proved fatal for my stud, I bought cheap feed from a dodgy produce store. I lost my entire stud to enteritis because of it, not an experiment I ever wish to repeat.
Now Armidale is a rural town, they are all about sheep, cattle and horses so of I toddled to get a list of the brands they stock up there. Hay will never be an issue at least which is good to know. As to feed I'm thinking I'll feed Mitavite Athletes Plus. It has a crazy high protein content at 25%, 12% fat and 12% fibre. Now I've not been able to get exact percentages for hay but I believe that if I feed this mixed 50/50 with lucerne chaff that will bring the protein content to about 21-22%, fat to 6% and I have no idea about fibre. So it should provide a good all round feed for cavies and I can tweak the mix depending on if I'm feeding pregnant sows or old fat retired boars.
The other great thing about Mitavite Athlete Plus is the Vitamin C content. It has 1000mg per kg. So if you take your average 1kg cavy who eats on average 60g of food a day, half of which is this horse feed it means the cavy gets 30mg solely from the feed. Seems like a good deal to me. Now it is expensive at $30-40 per 20kg but I learned the hard way that skimping is definitely not good.
We'll also be growing a proper vege garden again which should provide most if not all vege needs for the cavies. I intend to grow wheat grass as well but that has it's issues. I am very allergic to grass and even handling guinea pigs that have just eaten grass causes skin problems. But although it looks spectacular the allergies not too annoying so I intend to work through it so my animals can have the best life possible...
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Hmmmm....
So House Hunting continues.
I'm currently listening with much horror to my Mother discuss the composting toilet house with a Realtor. They don't have internet.... Literally it's too rural to have broadband access. I grew up in the middle of nowhere and we still have ALWAYS had internet access since the internet was created. I am shuddering at the thought of how much it was cost to use a dongle instead....
They also have possums living inside....
I know choosing to study law meant these six years I'd have to rely on my parents with no chance of a proper job till Graduation, but umm not too sure I'm comfortable with a possum infested house, that has a composting toilet and no internet.....
In other news though my copy of Disease of the Domestic Guinea Pig is in the mail and on it's way to me... I should also be receiving buccal pad separators and dental rasps soon which will be awesome!
I'm currently listening with much horror to my Mother discuss the composting toilet house with a Realtor. They don't have internet.... Literally it's too rural to have broadband access. I grew up in the middle of nowhere and we still have ALWAYS had internet access since the internet was created. I am shuddering at the thought of how much it was cost to use a dongle instead....
They also have possums living inside....
I know choosing to study law meant these six years I'd have to rely on my parents with no chance of a proper job till Graduation, but umm not too sure I'm comfortable with a possum infested house, that has a composting toilet and no internet.....
In other news though my copy of Disease of the Domestic Guinea Pig is in the mail and on it's way to me... I should also be receiving buccal pad separators and dental rasps soon which will be awesome!
Thursday, 18 August 2011
OCD meets Impatience
So I'm still waiting and as things go it's unlikely I'll get my hands on guinea pigs until December.
Basically Saturday week is the auction and depending on how that goes we'll know if we have money for a house. At some point we will get the money but things get more complex if the house is passed in at auction. Then on Monday regardless of the results of the auction we head up to Armidale to start seriously house hunting. Unfortunately my mother who's buying the house (I'll be cadging free room and board while I finish my law degree) likes quirky houses. Currently she can't decide between the self sustaining house with the composting toilet or a 1940's fibro house that is veritable rabbit warren because each new owner extended it. I'm really hoping we don't get the composting toilet house, but either way both houses have room for a caviary indoors which is lovely and the composting toilet home is one acreage so plenty of room for a few aviaries as well.
So I'm a very creative person, I like having projects. We've been clearing out the family home and I've discovered that ten year old me had a habit of squirreling well everything. Only problem is I also liked some truly hideous fabric, but hey it's free. So combine boredom, with impatience, with creativity with endless supplies? This is what I've made so far...
I've also made extensive lists of what I intend to buy for said caviary and worked out what cages I want, and where I'll order them from, and where to buy corflute. Hmm I think I've gone a tad beyond obsessive, but hey that's me, I'm weird.
The other project I'm working on is a cavy health guide. I only intended it for my own reference but so many people have said they'd like a copy I've had to change what I was doing to make it more accessible. Then of course I thought I should do some more research and have certainly gone a tad overboard with that as well. So I'm hoping to finish that in a few weeks so then I can tinker with it over Summer.
Basically Saturday week is the auction and depending on how that goes we'll know if we have money for a house. At some point we will get the money but things get more complex if the house is passed in at auction. Then on Monday regardless of the results of the auction we head up to Armidale to start seriously house hunting. Unfortunately my mother who's buying the house (I'll be cadging free room and board while I finish my law degree) likes quirky houses. Currently she can't decide between the self sustaining house with the composting toilet or a 1940's fibro house that is veritable rabbit warren because each new owner extended it. I'm really hoping we don't get the composting toilet house, but either way both houses have room for a caviary indoors which is lovely and the composting toilet home is one acreage so plenty of room for a few aviaries as well.
So I'm a very creative person, I like having projects. We've been clearing out the family home and I've discovered that ten year old me had a habit of squirreling well everything. Only problem is I also liked some truly hideous fabric, but hey it's free. So combine boredom, with impatience, with creativity with endless supplies? This is what I've made so far...
- 10 cavy cozies, with boning to hold them open.
- 4 large cage pads to fit two petstore cages
- 12 small cage pads to fit picnic basket style carriers
- 8 tiny 30 x 30 cage pads I made when I was 10 and have no idea what purpose they served
- 4 laps pads for holding cavies
- 4 bags made of pink skull material
- A roll up kit for grooming supplies
- A bright pink grooming stand with swivel top
- A Samsara Cavies sign
- Pretty much every form of record keeping templates I could ever need
- New Glimmer & Samsara Pedigree Templates
- Fake fur hot water bottle covers
I've also made extensive lists of what I intend to buy for said caviary and worked out what cages I want, and where I'll order them from, and where to buy corflute. Hmm I think I've gone a tad beyond obsessive, but hey that's me, I'm weird.
The other project I'm working on is a cavy health guide. I only intended it for my own reference but so many people have said they'd like a copy I've had to change what I was doing to make it more accessible. Then of course I thought I should do some more research and have certainly gone a tad overboard with that as well. So I'm hoping to finish that in a few weeks so then I can tinker with it over Summer.
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Breeding Aims/Considerations
As I mentioned before I hope to breed texels and merinos, that is the curly coat longhairs. I've chosen these for a number of reasons. Firstly because I have always loved longhairs. I've owned a few as well, though pedigrees in themselves I never showed them. The personality is amazing, and honestly I find them adorable. I never kept many because of the temperature. The area where I grew up usually can get to 45 degrees in the summer and is also prone to frequent black outs. Each summer was an endless round of dipping and spraying animals in water, cooling them off, constantly changing water bottles, all the guinea pigs were also shaved to the skin. And that was the shorthairs, longhairs had no hope. So I stuck to the short hairs, though I always watched the longhair classes longingly.
In a few months I move to Armidale, a cold place where it snows occasionally in winter and the summer temperatures max at 35 degrees. Summers will still be a challenge, but I will actually be able to keep longhairs. So therefore longhairs it is.
Longhairs have another benefit over other breeds. You don't need to breed many litters in pursuit of perfection. Granted breeding is still a big part of it but it's the care and work put into the presentation that means more. Thus even with there short show life I can keep to one or two litters a year.
I also am considering working with shebas but that really depends. I'm not huge on politics, and would rather just show my pretty piggies, so if I can breed and show shebas without getting into the political side of it all I think I may.
My plan for next year and the beginning of the stud is fairly simple. I intend to purchase a curly coat sow and boar hopefully from Pipsqueak lines. Then if the pair are of breeding age and in breeding condition to put them together by the end of January so there should then be babies by April which could be tabled in July. Then one of those babies could be bred by September-ish providing a second litter in early December for the 2013 show season. Or if the pair are only babies they would probably be shown for awhile if possible and bred in August-September to provide November babies ready for the beginning of the 2013 show season. Either way at most two litters.
As to any babies produced, unless I can find them homes within the fancy, they will be kept. Armidale is an agricultural town that doesn't much appreciate small pets. I owe a duty to any creature I breed to ensure they have the best home possible, thus the majority of babies born will be kept. This should be possible by ensuring I only breed when needed. Babies are wonderful but I don't believe in breeding without a specific purpose.
In a few months I move to Armidale, a cold place where it snows occasionally in winter and the summer temperatures max at 35 degrees. Summers will still be a challenge, but I will actually be able to keep longhairs. So therefore longhairs it is.
Longhairs have another benefit over other breeds. You don't need to breed many litters in pursuit of perfection. Granted breeding is still a big part of it but it's the care and work put into the presentation that means more. Thus even with there short show life I can keep to one or two litters a year.
I also am considering working with shebas but that really depends. I'm not huge on politics, and would rather just show my pretty piggies, so if I can breed and show shebas without getting into the political side of it all I think I may.
My plan for next year and the beginning of the stud is fairly simple. I intend to purchase a curly coat sow and boar hopefully from Pipsqueak lines. Then if the pair are of breeding age and in breeding condition to put them together by the end of January so there should then be babies by April which could be tabled in July. Then one of those babies could be bred by September-ish providing a second litter in early December for the 2013 show season. Or if the pair are only babies they would probably be shown for awhile if possible and bred in August-September to provide November babies ready for the beginning of the 2013 show season. Either way at most two litters.
As to any babies produced, unless I can find them homes within the fancy, they will be kept. Armidale is an agricultural town that doesn't much appreciate small pets. I owe a duty to any creature I breed to ensure they have the best home possible, thus the majority of babies born will be kept. This should be possible by ensuring I only breed when needed. Babies are wonderful but I don't believe in breeding without a specific purpose.
The beginning of Samsara
So my new stud name is now official and registered. Samsara Cavies is born. I still don't actually own any cavies but give me time.
So firstly a bit about me. My names Emma Bridget, I'm a tad insane and I'm currently a law student. I spent last year living at college without any animals, and it just about killed me. Due to various circumstances the few animals I had left had to be rehomed. So this year all I have is a sun conure. What I have learned in this time though is that, for me, the humble guinea pig is the perfect pet.
When I was 9 my Mother bought me three guinea pigs from a pedigree breeder. A saffron, a buff and a silver agouti. I loved the trio of sows, creatively called Saffron, Buffy & Midnight, but the love was short lived. A feral Tomcat dispatched them fairly quickly. By then I wasn't overly enthused at the idea of new guinea pigs, but a new cat-proof cage was built and the same breeder agreed to sell me two more animals.
For this I will be ever grateful. She sent me home with a 9 month old buff sow who to me was the most gorgeous creature on earth and a tiny 3 week old black baby the sow had been rearing. Then we heard there was a show on and off we went with 'Belle' in tow. I turned up, was told I should show her, so signed up to the cavy club on the spot and plunked her on the table on a towel. She won. Unplucked, certainly unwashed. That's when I realized two things. First I was hooked for life and secondly some cavy breeders are unbelievably kind. I never asked why she gave me Belle, but I do know that she gave me a show stopper cavy even though she knew we were simply looking for pets.
From then on I showed till I was 16. Most of the animals I tabled came from other breeders. Quite a few breeders were happy to give me sows who had been retired but were beyond gorgeous and I happily showed them and enjoyed my time as part of the club. Things went downhill when I was 14. I wasn't ready for what happened when you bred, I only bred a few litters before throwing in the towel. Only two litters were problem free. One was from a rescue sow and the other was an sc cream sow who I had great hopes for, who was accidentally mated to the wrong boar leaving me with 5 pets to rehome. When I was 16 clostiridia swept through the stud, 30 animals dead in just a few weeks. I gave up.
So this is a new start. This time round I will be aware of the risks involved with breeding. The risks involved with rushing headlong into anything. This time I've chosen to breed and show texels and merinos. The very nature of these breeds puts brakes on any out of control breeding. If I can only manage to coat out two animals a year, there is certainly no point in breeding more than two litters a year.
The other issue will be showing. I'm about to move to Armidale. I intend to show in Sydney. Thankfully my father lives near Cessnock, and well he has no choice about me turning up to stay with guinea pigs in tow. So it'll be a 3-4 day effort every month to show. The five hour drive down on the Saturday, the two hours to the show on Sunday and then two hours back and five hours back to Armidale on the Monday or Tuesday. Petrol wise it may be expensive but probably far more fulfilling then more nicknacks/materialistic items.
I won't be getting animals till Decemberish but I can at least record ravings/thoughts/ideas here. Hopefully one day I may also be able to record litters....
So firstly a bit about me. My names Emma Bridget, I'm a tad insane and I'm currently a law student. I spent last year living at college without any animals, and it just about killed me. Due to various circumstances the few animals I had left had to be rehomed. So this year all I have is a sun conure. What I have learned in this time though is that, for me, the humble guinea pig is the perfect pet.
When I was 9 my Mother bought me three guinea pigs from a pedigree breeder. A saffron, a buff and a silver agouti. I loved the trio of sows, creatively called Saffron, Buffy & Midnight, but the love was short lived. A feral Tomcat dispatched them fairly quickly. By then I wasn't overly enthused at the idea of new guinea pigs, but a new cat-proof cage was built and the same breeder agreed to sell me two more animals.
For this I will be ever grateful. She sent me home with a 9 month old buff sow who to me was the most gorgeous creature on earth and a tiny 3 week old black baby the sow had been rearing. Then we heard there was a show on and off we went with 'Belle' in tow. I turned up, was told I should show her, so signed up to the cavy club on the spot and plunked her on the table on a towel. She won. Unplucked, certainly unwashed. That's when I realized two things. First I was hooked for life and secondly some cavy breeders are unbelievably kind. I never asked why she gave me Belle, but I do know that she gave me a show stopper cavy even though she knew we were simply looking for pets.
From then on I showed till I was 16. Most of the animals I tabled came from other breeders. Quite a few breeders were happy to give me sows who had been retired but were beyond gorgeous and I happily showed them and enjoyed my time as part of the club. Things went downhill when I was 14. I wasn't ready for what happened when you bred, I only bred a few litters before throwing in the towel. Only two litters were problem free. One was from a rescue sow and the other was an sc cream sow who I had great hopes for, who was accidentally mated to the wrong boar leaving me with 5 pets to rehome. When I was 16 clostiridia swept through the stud, 30 animals dead in just a few weeks. I gave up.
So this is a new start. This time round I will be aware of the risks involved with breeding. The risks involved with rushing headlong into anything. This time I've chosen to breed and show texels and merinos. The very nature of these breeds puts brakes on any out of control breeding. If I can only manage to coat out two animals a year, there is certainly no point in breeding more than two litters a year.
The other issue will be showing. I'm about to move to Armidale. I intend to show in Sydney. Thankfully my father lives near Cessnock, and well he has no choice about me turning up to stay with guinea pigs in tow. So it'll be a 3-4 day effort every month to show. The five hour drive down on the Saturday, the two hours to the show on Sunday and then two hours back and five hours back to Armidale on the Monday or Tuesday. Petrol wise it may be expensive but probably far more fulfilling then more nicknacks/materialistic items.
I won't be getting animals till Decemberish but I can at least record ravings/thoughts/ideas here. Hopefully one day I may also be able to record litters....
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