Iggysbabysitter
Well-known member
I almost wanted to give up. I spent all night Tues nursing a dehydrated NZ doe (Hilda), and losing her by morning... and then Wed noticing my baby Flemish doe (Big Bertha) not gaining (I am wondering if she even is a flemish... she resembles the wild rabbits around here, only a smidgen bigger). I spent all night Wed syringe feeding her liquids, and then the next night dealing with loud gas bubbles, more syringe liquids and baby oval. And then today shopping for things to help her gain some healthy weight (now munching timothy pellets, fresh parsely, rolled oats, plantain... still addicted to flavored water though) . I can't seem to relax around her, I put her in the cage with Pepper, but had to bring her back into the house just hours later due to gas bubbles. What an exhausting hobby, I haven't slept in bed all week! It's a good thing the couch is comfortable 
The good news is Pepper (black NZ doe, around 9 weeks) has visibly gained in the week I've had her, and, although I'm not permitted to pick her up, she is letting me pet her more. She likes to run around her cages (2 40 inch long dog cages wired together, soon adding another level!). She's enjoying the garden shed, no kids to bug her, no dogs laying by her cage anymore, and lots of cool air. The male neglected hand-me-down meat mutt has really perked up in the past month, he was a walking skeleton when I picked him up at my nieces' house. He's rounded out, his fur has thickened, and his head looks square now I think he may be part lion head, he's got a very uneven coat. He's supposed to be my son's pet (ok, I feed, clean and inspect him, but DS gets to open the cage without asking me first, and let him run in the recroom), so he's caged in the house, but upgraded to a nice big cage in my sitting room.
None of them have ever played with toys before, so I'm trying to show them how to play with the toilet paper rolls, golf balls, and baby rattles. They all like their boxes-turned-into-tunnels.
So that's my litte herd. Nobody is ready to breed until after Christmas, but that's ok... maybe I'll find another American Chinchilla doe (Stella was so pretty) at the meat market... and try to sqeeze her past hubby when he's not looking. I'm not looking to keep any pedigree, just a bunch of meat mutts that look pretty. Around here, the adults are pets, and any offspring are considered food... at least that's how it's been for the past 5 years regarding the mice bred to feed the beardie. The kids seem ok with that (my oldest named one Cook, "because she's the one that makes the food!").
They all seem to be fine with the rest of our "herd"- a collie, a poodle, an iguana, a bearded dragon, and a cage with 5 mice.
The good news is Pepper (black NZ doe, around 9 weeks) has visibly gained in the week I've had her, and, although I'm not permitted to pick her up, she is letting me pet her more. She likes to run around her cages (2 40 inch long dog cages wired together, soon adding another level!). She's enjoying the garden shed, no kids to bug her, no dogs laying by her cage anymore, and lots of cool air. The male neglected hand-me-down meat mutt has really perked up in the past month, he was a walking skeleton when I picked him up at my nieces' house. He's rounded out, his fur has thickened, and his head looks square now
I think he may be part lion head, he's got a very uneven coat. He's supposed to be my son's pet (ok, I feed, clean and inspect him, but DS gets to open the cage without asking me first, and let him run in the recroom), so he's caged in the house, but upgraded to a nice big cage in my sitting room.None of them have ever played with toys before, so I'm trying to show them how to play with the toilet paper rolls, golf balls, and baby rattles. They all like their boxes-turned-into-tunnels.
So that's my litte herd. Nobody is ready to breed until after Christmas, but that's ok... maybe I'll find another American Chinchilla doe (Stella was so pretty) at the meat market... and try to sqeeze her past hubby when he's not looking. I'm not looking to keep any pedigree, just a bunch of meat mutts that look pretty. Around here, the adults are pets, and any offspring are considered food... at least that's how it's been for the past 5 years regarding the mice bred to feed the beardie. The kids seem ok with that (my oldest named one Cook, "because she's the one that makes the food!").
They all seem to be fine with the rest of our "herd"- a collie, a poodle, an iguana, a bearded dragon, and a cage with 5 mice.
