yahoo!! More Mama-san babies!

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Anntann

Anntann

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yes, now that the orignal 8 are about to leave the world, she presented us with 8 new kits. (1 stillborn, so 7 surviving)

I didn't take pics of the actual kits because, well..they're black, and small and look like all newborns. This time tho, she pulled enough fur to cover the entire cage. I had to dig down into it to find them. Thought there would be 3, maybe 4, because 1) she was only bred 1 time; and 2)she was NOT heavy this time. Actually thought maybe she hadn't taken.

I was going to put a pic here, but some have dialup and it's basically a nestbox with hay and a LOT of black fur. there is a shot of it in the gallery under "nestbox" :)

There was more blood this time than last, but when she moved away after sitting on the floor for a few minutes, there was just a small splotch...so I'm hoping all is well. She's moving fine and as soon as I counted and removed the strange dead one, she hopped in the nest and recovered them all the way SHE wanted them covered.
 
Hah! :angry: How dare you move her fur around? Silly girl.

Seven is a nice size litter - congrats.

Is it cold where you are? I'm thinking I might have to bring nestboxes inside for the next couple of nights. One litter born yesterday and one being born this morning (judging by the fur flying in the cage, and the busy-ness in the nestbox). It's supposed to go down to about 12F tonight. :eek:
 
outside..yup. cold. 20F during the day, around 0F at night they say we're getting for the next week.

The rabbits are all inside the house tho :D We turned an upstairs bedroom into a chick brooder room a couple of yers ago, and now it's perfect for the rabbits. They'll all move out to the farm in a few months.

I've got the heat turned off in the room so tht it stays around 50ish. Interestingly, she pulled a LOT more fur this time than last. Poor popples are on top of a full inch of fur, and under 3 inches of the stuff. It's VERY warm in their nest :D
 
it amazes me how hot the nest gets .. even the little singleton is HOT :)

I would worry too if I had newborns without any fuzz outdoors too though - but I'm a suck and you all know it :)
 
I'll stick my hand in the nestboxes tonight, when I feed (usually around 8:30). If they feel nice and warm, I'll leave them. If they feel a bit chilly, I'll bring them in.

Our house goes down below 50F at night, so they won't get overheated in the spare bedroom. Wood furnaces don't stoke themselves, and we're burning "gopher" wood. :lol:
 
Half Caper Farm":225qoavk said:
I'll stick my hand in the nestboxes tonight, when I feed (usually around 8:30). If they feel nice and warm, I'll leave them. If they feel a bit chilly, I'll bring them in.

Our house goes down below 50F at night, so they won't get overheated in the spare bedroom. Wood furnaces don't stoke themselves, and we're burning "gopher" wood. :lol:
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gopher... :lol: I'll have to remember that designations. Last winter I just could NOT get enough wood into the room. Every time I brought up another load..it got used up fast and I'd have to gopher another armload before bed. :x:

rabbit fur is AMAZINGLY warm.

One thing that I'm finding interesting with mama...she puts tons of hay in the box first, then digs down to the bottom of the nestbox and builds the actual nest with fur. Right down at the bottom.

The 2 angora girls had the kits on TOP of hay..layered some fur under them and nested...but there was a layer of hay under that.
 
One thing that I'm finding interesting with mama...she puts tons of hay in the box first, then digs down to the bottom of the nestbox and builds the actual nest with fur. Right down at the bottom.

The 2 angora girls had the kits on TOP of hay..layered some fur under them and nested...but there was a layer of hay under that.
Click to expand...

They're all different, aren't they? The one that pulled tons of fur made a small depression in the straw, so they're insulated top and bottom. The other one dug right down to the bottom of the box (which has a wire bottom), and pulled hardly any fur. I put more straw under them, and stole fur from the other doe.

All these people who worry "how soon can I look at the kits?" - right away! Some mothers are a bit dumb. :x
 
Half Caper Farm":3l9x0hr2 said:
They're all different, aren't they? The one that pulled tons of fur made a small depression in the straw, so they're insulated top and bottom. The other one dug right down to the bottom of the box (which has a wire bottom), and pulled hardly any fur. I put more straw under them, and stole fur from the other doe.

All these people who worry "how soon can I look at the kits?" - right away! Some mothers are a bit dumb. :x
Click to expand...
I totally agree! And for those members just starting with breeding rabbits, I want to expand on this. There are so many myths about rabbits and their kits. I blame Leave it to Beaver. Remember the episode where Beaver touched a kit, not aware that momma bun would reject the kit? Gus the Fireman (good old Gus! And yes, I am old enough to have watched this show when it was first out. :wheelcha: ) came to the rescue by putting talcum powder on the rabbits so they all smelled the same. I loved that show... but it has a lot to answer for in spreading dumb stupid myths! :rant:

It just ain't so, folks... Your does will not reject their kits because you touch them! So please do check, make sure the nest is good and that there are no dead kits among the living that will decompose and contaminate the nest.
 
I actually think it's a hold over from the myths around wild animals however I am not old enough to have seen that episode of Leave it to Beaver either ;) so you are probably right oh wise one!! :p
 
I agree with the origins of the myths being wild animal behaviour... After all, the writers for Beaver had to get their ideas somewhere. But they sure did a good (bad) job of spreading the myths.
 
I took my life in my hands and grabbed a couple of the popples to photograph them. VERY active kits this time around. One was a bit skinny today, but still moving well, so maybe he just didn't get enough at breakfast. They're 2 days old, and mama is being extra protective :) She hopped right back into the nestbox when I'd finished and rearranged the whole thing. :D

photos, along with some from the angora colony are here:http://s167.photobucket.com/albums/u130/anntanns/Rabbits/Dec 28/
 
well, look like we'll lose 2 of 3, as well :( He was doing pretty good there for a day, on his own, but didn't get fed last night or this morning by Mama. The others are just so BIG now, I'm guessing he's not getting to a nipple. She doesn't have a lot of milk this time around. SO....

He's down with me now, in a tupperware thing, with wool, sitting on a candle warmer :) I'll feed him goat's milk every couple of hours. He drank a couple of drops just now, but he was all tired out and couldn't even try to find a nipple on mama when we flipped her :(

If he's not more perky in a few hours after a couple of feedings, he's going to start deydrating. Skin is already a little loose. I'll give him a chance.
 
It's tough when they get behind... so hard to keep them from getting dehydrated. You're giving him a chance, Ann, which is more than he would have without intervention. Sometimes it works. Fingers crossed for him.
 

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