Current Events

We have three does due to kindle this upcoming week (Hikari, Valkyrie, and Kurayami). Late last night Kari started hay-stashing, so I went ahead and gave her a nestbox. Unfortunately, she emptied it overnight and proceeded to use it as a litterbox. I cleaned it this morning and will give it back to her in the other corner where she stuffed all her hay. It has been a long time, but she used to be an excellent and attentive mother. Valkyrie and Kurayami have not given any indication one way or the other, so I'm just giving them extra hay and keeping an eye out, though it is still early.

So far from the December litters, we are planning to keep the buck (and possibly/probably the doe) from Tacoma's litter as replacement breeding stock. They are huge, healthy, meaty, have excellent rufus, decent type (as compared to other Harlequins, not compared to better developed commercial breeds), and great temperaments. Their markings are poor, but my goals for this year are focused on health, type, and utility and I will be more concerned with markings later on.

So unless something dramatic changes, may I present Hendricks' Flapjack (we just call him Jack):

I know the lighting sucks, but it was raining yet again outside so I had to do indoor pictures. Here is another pic from the top:

He is 5 weeks old and isn't positioned great in either of the two pics (his back feet are too far forward and in different spots), but it was nearly impossible to get him to sit still long enough for even these. His body feels smooth and muscular- which I want in my lines. I made the mistake of letting him play in a puppy pen before pics and he was wired up. This is how most of the rest of the pictures came out when I was trying to get him to stay still:

And a mugshot (hi Jack!):

The plan will be for Jack to replace his father Spock in the breeding line-up eventually so I am not overrun by bucks (cough, ahem, cough..yet again). I really like his sister also, but she has a tiny patch of white hairs on her nose that I am really hoping will shed out. Litters sired by Spock have had white feet before, so I know the Dutch spotting gene is lurking somewhere in that gene pool and I believe it is coming from the buck and not the does. I'm hoping these 2015 litters will help me determine for sure who the culprits are. Happy Sunday!