Bungalow's Lovely Day Gidget
Story on the name: One of my siblings nicknamed her Gidget after a little white Pomeranian from the movie Secret Life of Pets when she was just a baby because of her ears. I couldn't help myself, It stuck. To give her something more that just Gidget, I chose the themesong "Lovely Day" from the movie to tack on at the beginning. It also happens to be one of those annoying but cute songs that just sticks in your head until you ask yourself why am I singing this? Yeah. This is one of those scenarios where I didn't really choose her name, it just happened. How do I argue with that? Besides, she DOES look like a little white Pomeranian.
After evaluating her at 8 weeks, in the last several months, I wasn't so sure she was going to make the 2017 Convention hopeful cut. I'm grading very hard on my juniors this year, keeping only the best. I have been very busy with many other things, and I had a couple other litters that were more enthralling (or so I thought) for the time being, and I moved this young lady to one of the lower grow out cages. Couldn't make up my mind to sell her or to keep her, so I procrastinated a decision (usually not a good thing, but this time it was great!) and just hung onto her.
I didn't even pull her out for the spring shows, since I had a SR coat to mess with and other juniors to keep up with. I was STILL seriously debating about selling this doe, because I had liked her as a baby, and yet again, I was procrastinating making a decision on her. I'm SO glad I did. I pulled her out a few days ago and went over her in disbelief. I checked for her ear number (wondering if I had the right doe??) and started over grading her again. By the time I was done: WOW. This little girl has it all.
A brief touchup, a quick blowout with the blower (again wow, I LOVE easy care low maintenance coats and this certainly is one!) and she was ready to hit the tables. Shoulders, spring of rib, depth, width, DENSITY, texture, and one solid little body, it's there.
As all juniors, she still has a little maturing to do, but she has moved to a very competitive position on the show string. (and the "Keeper" status!) She just blossomed overnight. What a happy surprise, and what a lesson for me to learn! Don't give up on growing out your juniors too soon, or on waiting for a slightly later bloomer. Stick the ugly stage out, they might surprise you yet!
This little gal is the perfect example of several English angora lines currently in the Nation. They are so dense that they take a little longer to mature as a baby. One reason for this is because they are producing so many strands of wool (density), and the nutrients they are digesting are going into sustaining and growing a fantastic coat, that they go through more growth stages. Coat grows, body grows, bone stage development, texture blossoms, finish comes through on the coat, etc. I and several breeders have noticed this seems to be something specifically that occurs more with the compact body type of the rabbit breeds. That is one of the things that make English Angoras different from the other 3 recognized angora varieties, they are the only one with a compact body type. I want an English Angora to resemble a Compact, Round, Ball of Fluff. The other varieties call for different body structures, so they grow differently. This affects the wool texture and many other aspects of the time frame for presenting or evaluating a show English angora versus the other breeds.
As for Gidget (and really the name is fitting, seeing as how this all came together, and when I found this precious jewel in her cage on a stacker and evaluated her, my whole day just lit up like sunbeams. I was so thrilled! I was surprised! And this was the BEST kind of surprise, the kind I absolutely love.), she is sticking around to give the slightly younger juniors something to live up to. So welcome to the Show team on such a Lovely Day, Gidget!
P.S. I guess I'm adding a couple more cages to the showbarn.... So much for my goals of keeping a small showteam this year. Hah! (Really, I couldn't be more thrilled!)
On to the next beautiful new arrivals!
There are 5 beautiful White babies that are doing wonderfully well right now. They are all REWs, and as of the last couple days their eyes are open and they are hopping and popping out of the nestbox. Jubilee is doing AWESOME, she is being a great mama. This is a litter I've waited MONTHS to see. The potential of these babies is bound to be spectacular. They will be just shy of 6 months old the first week of October, which are the dates for Convention. (which is perfect timing to show Juniors at the ARBA National Convention Show!)
I'm so happy! But that isn't all.......
As for the babies, they are thriving and growing well. I see Lilac Torts and Blue Torts, I am waiting to tell how many of each. The brighter ones really make me think Lilac Tort for them, but then again I have high rufus running in the bloodlines, meaning I could just have a really bright Blue tort. I know considering the last litter there should be several Lilac Torts. That was my goal with repeating a breeding. I rarely repeat a same breeding, but this time I did because I was so THRILLED with the last litter.
Once again, these will be prime Juniors for ARBA convention in Indiana. I'm looking forward to it!
I'm so excited. Spring is Exciting. Babies are triple exciting. OH such fun!
Baker Creek Spring Planting Festival is May 7th and 8th in Mansfield MO. I will be demonstrating there again, this time I'll have 2 booths. Looking forward to it! I've also been trying to get some last minute spinning done, and get some displays ready. My brother is also doing a historic broom making demonstration. So much to do, so little time! But, I have every intention of having everything together (even if it happens last minute) so come out to Baker Creek if you can! It'll be amazing, it is an awesome event. Besides, you can meet a couple of the bunnies there from the Bungalow Rabbitry!
I've also been doing private demonstrations lately. Busy, fun, and exciting. Next week I'm demonstrating for 2 Second Grade School Classes in Springfield. Going to be a new setting, but I'm excited about it!
There is an update for you. I still have 4 more juniors to introduce, which means I have 5 show coats I'm working on keeping groomed up. Does this all sound exhausting? I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful team of beautiful rabbits to work with though, so I can't complain! I'll try to make some more introductions soon!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Anna