Re: AppleCheeks - The Zoo

by JuniperBerry55 Mon 12 Mar 2018, 10:13 pm

Oh, those rabbits are absolutely gorgeous! They look so soft and plush.

by AppleCheeks Tue 13 Mar 2018, 7:35 pm

JuniperBerry55 wrote:Oh, those rabbits are absolutely gorgeous! They look so soft and plush.

It's all in the breed - standard rex. The rex gene is a recessive genetic mutation that causes the guard hairs to be the same length as the undercoat instead of like most rabbit breeds where the guard hairs are longer. The coat is short and dense and feels kind of like velvet without the synthetic feeling haha.

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The results are in..

*drum roll

by River Tue 13 Mar 2018, 9:54 pm

Congrats on your boy! I was very happy to get a sexually dimorphic species...the wait would have killed me. I am so incredibly impatient. Laughing

by AppleCheeks Wed 14 Mar 2018, 2:43 pm

River wrote:Congrats on your boy! I was very happy to get a sexually dimorphic species...the wait would have killed me. I am so incredibly impatient.

I can relate! Indian Ringnecks are technically sexually dimorphic but it can take up to 2-3 years for them to develop their rings (though most tend to develop at 1-1.5 years) and I am far to impatient for that! Especially with him only being 3 months.
Bean on the other hand, obviously isn't sexually dimorphic being a lovebird so she did need to be DNA'd to be sure. I've heard so many horror stories about birds becoming egg bound so I wanted to be fully prepared and aware of potential causes for illness if anything were to happen.

My mum gave me a good laugh the other day. Conversation went something like this..

Me: We have another boy in the household!
Mum : Atlas is a boy I take it?
Me : Sure is! I'm sure Dad is thrilled haha
Mum : Zombie is a girl right?
Me : yes?
Mum : oh well, baby birds.
Me : Baby birds? What are you on about?
Mum : Boy. Girl. K I S S I N G.
Me : lol what?! They're different species Mum, it ain't happening. On top of that even if it were to happen, eggs are easily removed before they result in babies..

by AppleCheeks Wed 21 Mar 2018, 3:02 am

These are just so gosh darn cute! Callie, Gremlin, Pip and two of our moos in key ring form!
AppleCheeks - The Zoo - Page 5 Img_6610

by AppleCheeks Sat 24 Mar 2018, 2:50 am

At this point I start to wonder if it seems like I just get new animals all the time. I swear that isn't the case but.. hey.. 2 new rabbits.
I have been waiting for an orange or fawn doe for AGES. The first one I found was about a year ago but transport kept falling through and things kept coming up so I told the breeder it would probably be easier for her to find said rabbit a different home (it had been MONTHS of trying to sort transport and it just wasn't happening). So a friend had one born back in January and after confirmation of gender, we started to organise a way to get her to me (friend is an 8hr drive from me) and well here she is! Finally!

Treasure.
AppleCheeks - The Zoo - Page 5 Img_6518

And then of course, wee Coal.
So the very jumbled transport situation to get Treasure to me included her staying with a mutual friend for a few nights because I had work and just couldn't make it to the halfway mark when Treasures breeder would be there.
Our mutual friend has sadly been forced to rehome her rabbits due to her failing health and a.. unsupportive family. So I offered to take some on and try rehome them or offer them a permanent spot in my "retirement community" lol. Coal caught my eye and I couldn't say no to her Wink

by AnonymousMouseOwner Sat 24 Mar 2018, 3:01 am

Your rabbits are SO cute. Is Treasure a fawn color? That's a really pretty color! I rescued a stray rabbit once, but I couldn't keep him because I wasn't in a situation where I could properly care for a rabbit. He was the sweetest though, and one day I hope to own a rabbit with a personality as sweet as his. I also loved his looks, it might just be me, but I love short haired rabbits with the classic ears that stick straight up. Lops and lionheads are cute and all, but for some reason that classic rabbit look really appeals to me.

You seem to know a whole lot about rabbits, do you have any idea what breed he might've been? Here's two photos of him...

Spoiler:

by River Sat 24 Mar 2018, 8:58 pm

Maybe I'm wrong, but he looks like a poorly marked Californian or a Californian mix. Usually a Californian would have a brown nose and ears but I've seen gray tips before, especially with mixes. Given size, body type, and coloring that's all I can think of. I know I wasn't asked but I had to say something. Laughing

by AppleCheeks Sun 25 Mar 2018, 4:36 am

AnonymousMouseOwner wrote:Your rabbits are SO cute. Is Treasure a fawn color? That's a really pretty color! I rescued a stray rabbit once, but I couldn't keep him because I wasn't in a situation where I could properly care for a rabbit. He was the sweetest though, and one day I hope to own a rabbit with a personality as sweet as his. I also loved his looks, it might just be me, but I love short haired rabbits with the classic ears that stick straight up. Lops and lionheads are cute and all, but for some reason that classic rabbit look really appeals to me.

You seem to know a whole lot about rabbits, do you have any idea what breed he might've been? Here's two photos of him...
Spoiler:

Thank you! Brings my total up to 13 Shocked

Mind you, two are retired and live in a 20 sq m grass pen (locked in a hutch at night for safety and out during the day) and two are bucks who will be going to their new homes in Spring where they will be used for breeding - they're really fantastic bucks but colourwise aren't going to help me with the lines I'm working on but they will benefit my friend who will be getting them. I could have just left it at a thank you haha, my bad!

Treasure is either "fawn" or "orange". So basically genetics wise, an "orange" is a tort (or what I call a sooty fawn) on an agouti base. "Fawn" is the same except they are also blue. Ah genetics. I wish you were simple. She's a bit too.. dull to be an orange especially compared to her brother. Genetically fawn and orange are both possibilities but so are the poor versions of each colour but with that said, yes, it's likely she is a fawn.

River wrote:Maybe I'm wrong, but he looks like a poorly marked Californian or a Californian mix. Usually a Californian would have a brown nose and ears but I've seen gray tips before, especially with mixes. Given size, body type, and coloring that's all I can think of. I know I wasn't asked but I had to say something.

You're pretty spot on with what I would guess too. As River said, Californians usually have brown ears, nose, feet and tail but you can get other coloured points depending on the genes involved. That said, yes, grey points are more commonly seen in a Californian mix. Chances are, possibly an NZ white mix with a Californian - it's a common cross in the meat market (sorry for anyone that might have an issue with this).
Here's an example for you. These two are sisters, Californian x NZ white. Sort of around the 8-10 pounds mark. They've darkened slightly since the picture was taken but their points are still very much grey!
AppleCheeks - The Zoo - Page 5 29542010

by Winter Moose Mon 26 Mar 2018, 11:27 am

@AppleCheeks

I was looking through this thread and saw that your dog is allergic to dust mites. My dog also has severe allergies to dust mites AND plants. Well, he’s allergic to everything they tested for to some extent, save cats, feathers, and fungi. He’s actually mildly allergic to human dander. Like Callie, he was diagnosed at 6-8 months of age. He used to have shots every three weeks, and he takes 4 Benadryl at least twice a day. In the warmer months he often has to wear a cone to keep him from scratching, at least it was a fabric cone with supports instead of plastic.

Anyway, I figured you’d like to know you’re not alone. I know all his medical information probably wasn’t necessary...

by AppleCheeks Mon 26 Mar 2018, 4:48 pm

Winter Moose wrote:@AppleCheeks

I was looking through this thread and saw that your dog is allergic to dust mites. My dog also has severe allergies to dust mites AND plants. Well, he’s allergic to everything they tested for to some extent, save cats, feathers, and fungi. He’s actually mildly allergic to human dander. Like Callie, he was diagnosed at 6-8 months of age. He used to have shots every three weeks, and he takes 4 Benadryl at least twice a day. In the warmer months he often has to wear a cone to keep him from scratching, at least it was a fabric cone with supports instead of plastic.

Anyway, I figured you’d like to know you’re not alone. I know all his medical information probably wasn’t necessary...

Not on topic but I just have to say, as someone living in New Zealand, I always find it rather funny when someone talks about giving their dog Benadryl - I know its an antihistamine for you guys but round here, its a cough syrup lol.

Im thankful that despite it being an issue for Callie for 4 years now, its still 90% isolated to her feet and is 90% non-existent in Autumn/Winter. This year has been her worst mind you, this summer has just been wet, hot and humid as hell so the dust mites have gone mental. We are.. attempting to keep her "treatment" a little more natural. Colostrum, Quercetin w/ bromelain, ACV, iodine foot soaks, coconut oil to make sure her feet don't dry out. I swear so much of it is a balancing act - you want to make sure the skin doesn't get to moist because otherwise you run the risk of fungal infections but you can't dry it out to much because otherwise it gets itchy and they lick more. I resort to using Apoquel when things do get really bad for her which usually happens once sometime mid summer and ALWAYS following vaccines.

To be honest though, I'm forever questioning how bad her allergy actually is. Callie is such an obsessive dog that sometimes I wonder if its partially an OCD issue. Never the less, it'll be an ongoing battle for the rest of her life. Ah joy.

Thank you for your post by the way, always nice to know someone out there gets what you're going through.

by Winter Moose Mon 26 Mar 2018, 6:09 pm

@AppleCheeks

No problem! Neo is also very OCD about licking wounds and scratching itches as well, so I also think it is partly that. That’s funny that Benadryl is cough syrup in NZ, I’ve never heard that before.

by Peachy Wed 28 Mar 2018, 6:00 pm

Oh my goodness! I'm set on not bringing anymore animals into the house for a long while, but I don't think I could have said no Coal to either. In Love

by AppleCheeks Mon 30 Apr 2018, 2:54 am

To get a second lovie or not..
Firstly, there is NOTHING wrong with having a solo lovie providing you can give them plenty of attention. Beanie is out more often than not and usually ends up at work with me - I am her person, her companion. I absolutely love how bonded she is to me and she's a total snuggle bug.
That said, I know that lovies can really strongly bond to other lovies and sometimes I feel bad that she doesn't having company of her own species - not that she seems to mind whatsoever.

If I got another lovie, I run the risk of losing my snuggle bug, my partner in crime. But maybe she would be happier with the company..

by Peachy Mon 30 Apr 2018, 10:45 pm

On another hand... maybe you'll just get two snuggle bugs out of it! Smile

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