Sires

Bruno caught in the act

It's finally breeding time around here.  Three weeks ago we bred our two American Blue rabbits for the first time. If all goes as planned, with a gestation period of 28 days it looks like we only have a few more days to wait for little bunnies.  I just finished making, larger more comfortable quarters for the ladies. 

And even more exciting, the bucks have arrived!  Welcome to the boys, our guests for a month, from Green Faerie Farm in Berkeley.  Ellis and Bruno are pure bred Oberhasli, a very old dairy breed originating in Switzerland, also known as Swiss Alpine.  Oberhaslis tend to be quiet, sweet natured and hardy, have high milk production, and are fairly rare in the U.S.  Only six months old but fully equipped with the right parts,  they sure have been entertaining us all with their hilarious antics.  And what's all the hoopla I've always heard about how stinky the billies can be?  These guys are actually pretty mild smelling.  Dare I say, their scent is almost reminiscent of patchouli.  Did I also mention how adorable they are...it won't be easy letting go of these two in a month.   Gestation for a goat is five months and their heat cycle is every three weeks.  We originally planned to breed only Bella and Rosemary, but since the boys are here and good breeding stock is hard to come by, we may go ahead and breed all four of our ladies.   After observing the herd for a few minutes it's clear that Bella and Rosemary have been waiting for some male attention their whole lives!