Today I was finishing up getting the barn ready and set up for my new rabbits.  One of the things I decided to do was to put my cages (three high stackers, mostly 30x36's, one stack of 30x30's) on wheels.  I did this because I have "indoor" and "outdoor" space for the rabbits, and I want to be able to easily move the cages in and out.  The outdoor space is a covered porch (barn porch) with field fencing (2x4 I think) on the walls, floor to ceiling) and an extra wide door (so I can carry pans out) that is constructed from wood and is covered with the same fencing.  Anyway... as I was figuring out how to attach the wheels, I remember someone asking about how to put wheels on cages recently, so I thought I would detail here how I did it.  This was done by me by myself, so it really isn't difficult.  Thinking it through was the hard part;  doing it was actually really easy :)


Supplies:


Pressure treated 2x2's
Pressure treated 2x4's
Bolts to fit through the holes on your cage legs (bolt length to suite yourself)
Nuts and washers to fit the bolts
Four wheels for each cage (swivel wheels on metal brackets, I used 2-1/2 inch Swivel Casters from Lowe's.  Locking casters for the front and non-locking on the back)
Wood Screws to mount the casters (I used Flat Phillips-Zinc 12x1/M5.5x25.4 from Lowe's.  These screws have heads that are large enough that you don't have to use washers with them)


Tools:


Drill
Saw
Tape measure
Pencil
Hammer


For a 30x36 cage:


First, cut the 2x2 to fit from leg to leg as in picture.  Mine measured 30-1/4 inches.  Next, attach the 2x2 to the legs by first drilling a hole in the 2x2, then inserting a bolt through the hole, adding washer and nut to secure. In the picture, you will see that I used two bolts;  this is because I drilled an additional hole into my legs, thinking that two bolts would be better.  On the other cages I added wheels to, I just used one bolt.  (Queen of Overkill! lol)   If your bolts have (as mine do) a square beneath the head, you might need to hammer the bolt head into the wood until the head sits flush on the wood).   Repeat on other leg.  Next, attach 2x2 the same way to the other side of the cage/other two legs.  (I neglected to place the washer in my picture below...you can do better )

So....next, cut your 2x4 to length, so that it fits, as shown, from 2x2 to 2x2.  If you mounted your 2x2 just right, you'll be able to extend your 2x4 a little bit beyond the cage leg, adding to the strength of things.  If you're like me, and did not mount your 2x2 just so, you will have to make your 2x4 fit between the legs, as mine does in the picture.  Either way, I really think it will be FINE.  I am the queen of over-kill lol, liking to make things as secure as possible.  But, as my Dad so often points out to me, "It doesn't have to fly"...so either way should be fine;)


Next, place your cage right side up, and slide the 2x4 into place.  From the top, (no pictures for this), using two 2-1/2 wood screws per corner, attach the 2x4 to the 2x2.  Do this by screwing from the top, through the 2x2, into the 2x4.


Then, flip it upside-down again and attach the wheels/casters.  This is where you will use the Flat Phillips 12x1 wood screws with the heads that are larger than the holes in the metal bracket of the wheels.  4 per wheel....git'er done!

Finished product!:)  Ready for you to stack one or two more cages (with legs and pan slides) on top!

These roll really well.  I was concerned about them being perfectly level, did nothing to insure that they were perfectly level, but they somehow do sit just right;)  So...give it a try:)  If you have any suggestions to improve the idea or questions, I'd love to hear both/either:):):)


Lauren

I am so excited to announce that very shortly...as in next week!!!..... I will be back in to angoras!  I am going up to New York next week to pick up a trio of French Angoras:)  A little over two years ago, just after I bought my house, I realized that between work, school, and a new home that needed a lot of work, I just did not have the time to properly maintain my French Angora herd, let alone attend shows and work on improving my rabbits.   But happily, at this point, I am in a position to be able to once again join the wonderful world of angoras:)  I am still in school, starting at Western Carolina University in the Fall to complete my Bachelors in Elementary Education, but I have at least accustomed myself to the demands of full-time college on top of full-time work;)   I am really happy and excited.  I've miss my rabbits, missed the good people and friends that I had through the hobby of raising and showing angoras.  You really won't find a better bunch of folks than rabbit breeders;) 


I have spent lots of weekend over the past couple months turning my "workshop" back into a rabbitry.  I have moved stuff, re-arranged, sold, thrown-out and re-stashed things until I have about 90% of my work-shop/shed/whatever you want to call it set up again as a rabbitry...which, for all purposes, from now on, will be referred to as my barn .  It still needs work (and rabbits lol) but I will post pictures as I can.


This afternoon I spent a few hours cleaning dropping pans that have been stored for these past couple years.  I like (love!) the dura-pans and will never go back to metal dropping pans.  It really does pay to slowly and surely switch over if you haven't done so already;)  I have always found that it is much easier to maintain my dropping pans, keeping them as clean as possible on a regular basis, then to let the urine deposits build up and then have to tackle a huge job.  Each week, I clean the pans that are being used.  I keep twice as many pans on hand as I have rabbits.  That way, when I pull a pan from beneath a pan, I dump it in the wheelbarrow, and immediately replace it with a clean pan.  Then I hose the dirty pans, and if there is urine build up, dump white vinegar into the pan to cover the bottom, or at least half of the bottom, and let it soak until the build up is dissolved.  Scrub with a "grill scrubbing pad" from Lowes, and then pour the vinegar into the next pan to be used again.  I've found that I can clean several pans with the same vinegar before needing fresh.  Afterwards, I dump the used vinegar on unwanted weeds and rinse the pans with the hose and set them to dry.  It really doesn't take as long as it sounds, and again, it pays to maintain the pans weekly instead of letting the buildup build up into a huge job;)  Same thing with my cage floors;  scrub weekly with a Vanodine/something comparable solution and your buns pads will stay clean and healthy and you'll keep the cage corners from turning into a huge ordeal;) 


One thing that is yet to be installed in my barn is a window unit air-conditioner.  I seem to be alone in my way of thinking on this subject, but I do believe in doing anything I can to avoid undue stress on the rabbits from heat.  When I lived in central Florida and the Savannah area of GA, I had no choice but to completely climate control the barn in the spring and summers.  Here in western NC, the climate is very different.  Even during this recent awful heat wave, we stayed pretty reasonably comfortable here, and shed I am using as a barn is well insulated, so I know the heat will rarely be an issue.  But my thought is "why not be prepared?".  Too..between working full time and school, I know that I may not have time to supply the buns with frozen water bottles on hot days, etc.  So the a/c is a great convenience for me, as well as a safe-guard against the (rare) severe heat.  I am really only posting my thoughts on this on the chance that it might give someone else an idea that will make things easier on them and their rabbits. 


Guess that about covers things for now.  I find that as I get older, I want to "just talk" sometime...as a blog allows us to do;)  So, once again, it is my intent to start updating my blog as my new rabbit and general life ventures re-begin;)  We'll see how I do;)


Luke (my grandson...pictures coming soon ;) ) is out "racing" with Davey Jones, my silver-laced wyandotte rooster, so I better go and rescue one from the other...;)


Lauren

It's been a while...;)

Well.... see how good I am at this blogging thing? LOL...I am going to give it a try again, try really hard to get in the habit of posting here regularly:)

It's been a long time since I posted! A few of the things that have happened since I last posted are:

I moved! At the end of July 2008 I moved to the Great Smokey Mountains of western NC;) I love it here...I am SO happy!! Look at some of the pictures I have posted on my myspace site (It's FUN...lol;) ) www.myspace.com/mtlaurel .

I am STILL trying to find a house to buy...you would think with the housing market the way it is, that buying a house would be easy:( But no...not here lol. It's as if this area is oblivious to the housing market crisis/status/dilemma/etc. This place is in it's own little world, and apparently isn't daunted by what's happening elsewhere regarding prices/demand/etc. of houses lol!! So, I'm still searching....and living (me, Jessie (my 23 year old daughter), Luke (my 22 month old grandson), my 4 dogs, cat, bird and rabbits in the basement) in my parents' little cottage behind their house. It isn't really all that little...but it IS one huge room lol...I'll try to post some pictures of it here;) It's a cute cottage..... but not so cute at this point lol;)

In January I started school:) I added a smiley just to be nice...I really LOVE grooming for a living and would be happy to do it for ever...but I realize that as a single woman I really shouldn't rely on doing that into my old age lol. So, I'll groom for now and am going to school for accounting. I don't like the "sedate" part of accounting, but honestly, I DO really enjoy accounting as a whole;) So, it'll be good:) I'm in my first semester, and have all "A"'s so far;) I don't feature that changing... I like the challenge of striving for the best;) It's just a personal thing with me, I don't feel like I failed if I don't achieve the "best"...but it's a fun thing to try to reach;)

Before I left GA, I sold all of my Giant Angoras to a breeder-friend in WV. (If anyone is looking for Giants, feel free to email me and I can direct you!:) ). I really, really loved them, but they were just more work than I knew I'd be able to handle with all the upcoming changes in my lifestyle (like having to go back to work LOLOLOL). But, I kept my French Angoras, and have since sold a few and bought one (hopefully I'll be adding one or two more to my herd very soon:) ) and am happy with the foundation that I have within the French breed. I also kept one German doe (JG's Hoffnung) who is a killer rabbit......in so many senses of the word;) She's got luscious, dense fiber, is a fantastic Mom, is sugary sweet (when she's sweet) and is as fierce as a vixen (when she's not sweet) ;) I love her personality...she's so cool;) Anyway....just recently, Janet Gruber (Jan's Giants) sent an awesome buck to me for Hoffnung;) He's so sweet, mellow, perfect gentleman (so many of the Giant and German bucks are:):) and HIS density is greater than I've ever seen:)..I can't wait to get them bred. lol, for now, Huffy (Hoffnung) is being a little witch, refusing service, even though she's so ready to be bred it's silly. She'll come around...I'm going to let them run in the house some tomorrow or the next day and see what that does for her. Ok, anyway...short story long, I now only breed French and Germans:)

I have a big grooming day planned for tomorrow, as I plan on going to a show in Dalton, GA this coming weekend (I think it's like FIVE shows...three open and two angora specialties!) . A couple of my guys need big time grooming, most are in pretty good shape. I'm really looking forward to this show....last one I've been to was back in Sept. or Oct....the NC Mountain State Fair show. As soon as we get back from Dalton, two of my French girls are getting bred. They are both over due. I am really impressed with these two, so I need to get litters out of them asap. I will also have a few babies out of them available if anyone is interested.....:):)

As I'm grooming tomorrow, I'll try to remember to take some good pic's to post here. Wait till you see MG's Bailey's "grown-up" pictures....she's turned into a beautiful girl:)

Lauren

Dying Angora Fiber

Today I brought out my stash of white angora and decided to dye it. After it's dyed, dried and separated by hand, I will then card it on my drum carder into one ounce batts. These batts will be offered for sale either here or in an Etsy store. I started an Etsy store months ago, but never did anything with it, but figure that with all this fiber I've been hording, now would be a GOOD time to add it to my shop;) Anyway, I thought I'd take pictures of my dyeing as it progresses so everyone can see the transformation from white fluffy fiber to a wet gunky mess and then into a nice fluffy, beautifully dyed fiber:)

First picture is of the white angora as it came off the rabbit. I clip with scissors and store the fiber in totes with a sachet of lavender until I either sell it for decide to use it for my own purposes:)

I forgot to take pictures of the wetted fiber in the dyepot (off to a GREAT start, aren't I? lol), but the following two pictures are of the fiber after it just came out of the dyepot. There are 4 ounces of each color....looks like a horrid mess at this point;)

The above fiber is layed out on screens over my spare bathtub to dry. After a day or so, I will start gently separating the fiber, thus, starting the "fluffing" process;) I'll post more pictures after it's dried a bit and I start hand separating it.

Aren't these colors fantastic?? I'm always thrilled with the way the angora takes on the dye. Right now I have another 8 ounces (in two batches) soaking that I will dye tomorrow. I think I'm going to do one batch of it brown and one batch turquoise. lol, I hate to be boring, but I'll probibly post pictures of those as they develope as well;)

More later:)

Lauren

French Buck pictures

I finally got pictures of the two French bucks that I have listed for sale in my previous post.

The first picture is of the opal buck. At 4 months old, he is showing great potential. His wool density is fantastic, texture is as well, keeping in mind that he is only 4 months old and is still in baby coat:) He has good crimp to his coat, and a very promising type. He's very gentle and enjoys attention/being groomed.



The next picture is of the chestnut buck. He also shows great promise (in case you can't tell, I really wish I could hang on to both of these boys lol...but I can't:( ) has the fantastic density of his brother above, as well as a bit more guard hair at this time.



For more information on these two, read my previous post...there is detailed information there:) Or you can email me at mgangoras@aol.com.

Have a great Sunday!

Lauren

For Sale

I have a few really nice Angoras for sale; a few NICE Giants and two fantastic French bucks. I had originally intended to keep all but one of these bunnies, but I am going to be relocating sooner than expected and now need to minimize my herd. I will keep the parents of these bunnies, so once I am moved and situated, I can rebreed and hope for this same quality of offspring again:)

First are two show quality Giant Angora does, MG88 and MG86. They are 4 months old and showing GREAT potential. Both are SO similar that I have a very difficult time finding a reason to chose one over the other (that's why I was going to keep them both!). These girls have excellent density and wool texture at this point, both are showing crimp in their coats, are well furnished and have very nice type. Both have are very friendly and inquisitive, come to the cage door for loving and are very laid back during grooming. They are still in full baby coat at this time. Price is $125.00 each with pedigree. Following is a picture of one of these girls...they are identical lol.

Next is another Giant Angora doe, MG84, who is also show quality with the same great wool qualities as her littermates above. This doe is priced a bit lower as she does not have the abundance of ear tassling that her sisters do and is two ounces smaller than her sisters. She does, however, have a personality that just won't quit lol. She's the type that hangs out of her cage to be pet (would just fall out if you don't watch her lol), rubs on your hand like a cat, etc. She is showable, but would make someone a wonderful housebunny or wooler/pet;) Her price is $100.00 with pedigree.

Next is Saro. She's a Giant Angora doe out of Walsh's bloodlines. Her wool density/type is absolutely awesome!!! The only reason I'm offering her for sale is that I also have her sister and I do need to reduce my numbers some:( Saro is 12 months old this month, I clipped her down yesterday and she's ready to be bred:) She's a very sweet girl, grooms easily and gives an abundance of luxurious fiber. Price is $125.00 with 1 leg and pedigree.

French Bucks: I am offering for sale two french bucks who are showing great potential. They are out of Spang's Tasha (tort) by Somerhill's John-Luke (chestnut). Tasha can be seen on my website, and I MAY have a picture of John-Luke there as well. At 4 months old, both of these boys weigh either 7lbs or 7lbs 2 oz, and are SOLID:):):) They've got it all...density, crimp, bodies, personality:) (I'm so excited about this litter lol) One buck is Opal, the other is Chestnut, both are pedigreed and will be eligible for R/W/B registration:) Price each is $80.00 with pedigree.

If you would like more information, pictures, etc. on these rabbits, please email me at mgangoras@aol.com. I will offer discounts for multiple purchases and am located in GA near Savannah. I can deliver to western NC if arrangements are made soon enough:)

Have a great day!!

Lauren

Giant Litter and Upcoming Columbia, SC show

A couple weeks ago, I made the first cut from my current GA litter. I already have two nice bucks, and will be breeding two other Giant does in about a month and a half. The one little buck in this litter didn't show promise of being better than either of the two I have, so I let him go. He now resides in Florida with a very nice gal, as a pampered pet;) I'm VERY happy for him and for his new Mom!

Yesterday, I made a second cut. There are three does remaining, and one of them is a couple ounces smaller than her sisters, so I've decided to sell her. She has great density and wool quality (so far...she is only 12 weeks old:) ) and her personality is something else;) She is unbelievably sweet and demanding of attention:):) Her price is $100.00, and of course she will come with a pedigree:)

I am going to a show in Columbia, SC on May 31st, and will most likely clip and breed my other two Giant does right after that show. That will officially end my show season, and the rabbits will be off...making babies or just chillin'....for the summer:) In the fall we'll start the shows all over, including some new babies:)

About the Columbia show... The show is being hosted by Southern Pride RBCC, and it is a Double Open, Double Youth, Double Cavy, Dutch Specialty, Mini Rex Specialty and Angora Specialty....!!!....all in one day; Saturday, May 31st at Caughman Road Park, 2800 Trotter Road in Columbia, SC. Trammel Trail Treasures will be there! Judges include Stacy Easton, BIll Patrick, Michael Franke, George Long, Don Peterson and others! Breakfast and Lunch available, big raffle. Show Secy is Christy Posey, cposey@wildblue.net . To request a Show Catalog, contact Sandy Bennett at sbennett@gwm.sc.edu, 803-755-3122 or go to www.geocities.com/southerpriderabcavy
For more information on the Angora Specialty, contact myself at mgangoras@aol.com or Show Secy, Angie Kolifrath at akolifrath@gmail.com

Guess that's it for now:) Watch for posts coming about my French litter and French litter due in THREE days:):):)

Hope everyone had a great day!!

Lauren