Sunday, August 24, 2008

Oh where has the wool gone?




I was grooming rabbits today, trying to decide what to enter in next week endend's show. Photo #1 shows one of my bucks, Camden. Oh my, I am so proud! Are your rabbits doing the same thing? I touched him and handfuls of wool came out. Photo #2 shows Camden when grooming was complete (no I did't enter him in the show). His head is particularly attractive, isn't it? Camden isn't alone is his "beauty". Check out, Cadet, in Photo #3. He isn't quite as bare, although his head is similar, and his wool is terribly uneven.

I have always wondered how long it takes to get wool from that awful state to a fresh, even, lovely coat of wool (see Purdue in Photo #4. Now that is more like it!). I will take pictures of these three bucks and post them to the blog every 1 to 2 weeks, and we will watch them change together. All three were groomed using a blower and comb today. All three bucks were also treated with ivermectin this weekend. What do you think? How long will be required for Camden and Cadet get good wool? And in that time will Purdue's wool go down hill?

If you want to take part in this experiment, then get our your camera and start recording. Let me know what you discover, since I expect the time to primed coat to be different, depending on genetics, as well as the environment.