Holy Cows, Jill had 4 babies !!

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MKirst

MKirst

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Lebanon Pennsylvania
I had no idea Jill was even prego !! I just figured since Jane didn't get prego from John after a number of tries, John was sterile.

I did morning feeding like usual and she was just being her normal self rushing to be petted and to grub some morning feed.

The at noon I went out to give hay and while I was walking back the walk way I seen dark things moving in her hutch on the wire !! I was so shocked at what I seen I went into a panic .. grabbed a nestbox stuffed it with hay making a pocked and picked them up one by one. They were not really cold (although it is chilly out) put them back in with her and she tended to them.

When I found them Jill was in the middle of the cage area with the bunnies around her. She pulled absolutely no hair out. They were all clean, kinda warm to the touch and moving around and under her, no missing limbs and no deads anywhere.

I can't believe I spend hundreds of dollars on 3 bred pedigreed show rabbits and not one had their babies yet. One was due on the 29th of Sept and one on the 1st of October still nothing.

Now one of my own rabbits has babies. I was so shocked and excited at the same time !!

John would have to be the dad because I has them in the house together being house broken. John was sneaky !!!

I'm assuming they are only a few hours old, but can you tell me how they look ?

Soo exciting John and Jill had babies !! They all look like they will be dark colors, whatcha think ? Do they look like healthy babies ?

IMG_20121003_164205.jpg
 
They look just fine! If Jill has still not pulled fur, it would be a good idea to provide a substitute: dryer lint, teased cotton batting or cotton balls, even feathers from a pillow. Put some under them and some over them so they can maintain their body heat. Tomorrow morning, check their tummies to make sure they are being fed. This thread will show you what to look for, although not all kits are as full as the ones I used for the picture.
fed-vs-unfed-kit-pictures-t3052.html

As long as the popples are warm and fed within the first 24 hours or so, they should do just fine.

Congratulations! You have popples!

:mbounce:
 
:mbounce: Finally you have some popples of your very own! :clap: Way to go, Jack and Jill!

Jack and Jill went up the hill :pancake: :bunnyhop:
to fetch a pail of parsley :dinner:
Jack fell down with a pleased frown :mrgreen:
And Jill had popples after :lilbunny: :lilbunny: :lilbunny: :lilbunny:

For your enlightenment, the gruesome origins of the original nursery rhyme, with a fascinating anecdote pertaining to beheading :p :

http://www.rhymes.org.uk/jack_and_jill.htm
 
Ok, I put some lint and cotton balls all around them and under/over them. Now they feel like they have a fever. I guess that's a good thing, I read they are hotter than humans. I hope they all survive. This is so exciting !!

No No No not Jack, they are John's babies, John and Jill. Jack is Jean's hubby !!! :p
 
I do 3 feedings. 6am - noon and 8pm everyday. But because I bought these 3 bred pedigreed does I've been checking them all the time, gave them the nest boxes and attention because 2 were supposed to have babies by now. It was a surprise to see Jill with the babies !! :p

YAY John and Jill !!! :bunnyhop:<br /><br />__________ Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:29 pm __________<br /><br />This is Jill.

IMG_20120909_090837-1.jpg


This is John.

IMG_20120731_122517.jpg
 
Bunny nests are typically very warm. The kits cannot regulate their body temperatures until they are bit older and have fur, so they need to snuggle together and have good bedding. The exception to this is when you get those hot, hot summer temperatures, when they can overheat if buried too deeply. But this time of year, in your area, better a bit too warm than chilled.
 
MKirst":2abmpp5t said:
No No No not Jack, they are John's babies, John and Jill. Jack is Jean's hubby !!! :p
Click to expand...

Oops! :oops: My mistake...

Ahem!

John and Jill went up the hill :pancake: :bunnyhop:
to fetch a pail of parsley :dinner:
Jack and Jane do the same :mrgreen:
and fill a nest with kits a-gain :lilbunny: :lilbunny: :lilbunny: :lilbunny:
 
This morning at 6am is a disaster !! There is only 2 babies in the nest box !!

I checked on those babies almost every hour last night and threw till about 2am. Everything was fine, they were moving around all snug and I seen Jill over them a few times and when she jumped away I could tell they were nursing because they broke away from her when she moved forward.

I looked everywhere for these two lost bunnies. All the hay I have piled up in the hutch outside the nest box. Searched the nest box. Nothing. There's no way they got threw the cage wire it's too small openings.

Although I did find blood out on a hay pile in the cage area. This is the first sign of blood I seen yet. Do you think she ate them ?

Should I keep them with her or just bring them in the house and take to her a couple times a day ? I kinda wanna do the later.

Why in the world would she eat those babies. They looked to be doing fine. Although last night I did notice it appeared two of them would fight with the two others. Is that normal for babies to fight and bite at one and another ? The two that were doing the biting and fighting are the two still in the nest box. I can tell because they are the biggest and the one has a pink spot on the top it's head.

I dunno darn it, but now only 2 babies. :(
 
How very disturbing! :( I've never heard of infant kits fighting. Normally they just snuggle together for warmth. A doe will normally only eat her young if they are dead - just cleaning up the nest - and even then there are usually some uneaten parts to be seen. It's hard to know what is happening without more information.

What size is the cage wire? Is there a J-feeder without a cover? And where are the cages located? Shed, barn, outdoors or what? I'm leaning toward wondering if you have rats that may have carried off two of the kits.
 
MKirst":3uqghmyx said:
This morning at 6am is a disaster !! There is only 2 babies in the nest box !!

I checked on those babies almost every hour last night and threw till about 2am. Everything was fine, they were moving around all snug and I seen Jill over them a few times and when she jumped away I could tell they were nursing because they broke away from her when she moved forward.

I looked everywhere for these two lost bunnies. All the hay I have piled up in the hutch outside the nest box. Searched the nest box. Nothing. There's no way they got threw the cage wire it's too small openings.
Click to expand...

If your cage does not have "babysaver" wire, where the bottom 4in or so is 1/2"x1", on all four walls, it is very likely that the kits crawled to the edge and fell out of the cage. I don't see babysaver wire in the picture that is your avatar.

MKirst":3uqghmyx said:
Although I did find blood out on a hay pile in the cage area. This is the first sign of blood I seen yet. Do you think she ate them ?
Click to expand...

Possible, but not likely. Does usually only eat the dead ones and there is usually some parts leftover to find....

MKirst":3uqghmyx said:
Should I keep them with her or just bring them in the house and take to her a couple times a day ? I kinda wanna do the later.
Click to expand...

It won't hurt to bring them in and take them to her to nurse. I do that when it is really hot or really cold.

MKirst":3uqghmyx said:
Why in the world would she eat those babies. They looked to be doing fine. Although last night I did notice it appeared two of them would fight with the two others. Is that normal for babies to fight and bite at one and another ? The two that were doing the biting and fighting are the two still in the nest box. I can tell because they are the biggest and the one has a pink spot on the top it's head.

I dunno darn it, but now only 2 babies. :(
Click to expand...

They are too young to be fighting. What you are seeing is the nursing instinct...anything that moves or touches them, they think is mom and will struggle to get to it and nurse. Look around outside the cage and on the ground....I have had one get out of a cage WITH babysaver wire and my hubby found it burrowed into the manure pile under the cage... :p
 
The whole hutch is 6 foot long x 3 foot wide with 1/2" x 1" all sides, top and bottom. The house area of the hutch is about 1 1/2 foot by 3 foot, I have the nest box in the house area. The hutch is outside under a wisteria tree.

I don't use J-Feeders. I have two small crocks inside the cage area for water and feed. The hutch is new with no missing wire anywhere.

I've never seen a rat in the back yard and the neighbors have dozens of cats outside running around. I left my dog outside all last night too to keep strange creatures outta my back yard and to hang with John. I let John outta the hutch and he's roaming my backyard with my dog. I do this often with John. I have a fenced in back yard and I double fenced it with wire after I got Jane and John so they could hang with the dog and I in the yard. John sleeps on a patio chair, he was there most the night and early morning only following me to check the babies. He often follows the dog too.

I do know there are moles around here, the neighbor cats kill alot of moles.

I dunno, but 2 are gone. I found no body parts anywhere in or near the hutch. The cage in my avatar is just a large transport cage. Not a hutch a rabbit lives in.
 
Oh my, how exciting and now how terrible!!!! I would suspect rats, or another rabbit if they are still in a colony. I sure hope the other two survive! They will be very fat and healthy kits if they make it. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!
 
Oh Dear Lord, I found them !!!

I made up my mind to take all the hay outta the entire hutch !! Nothing !! Then I rooted threw the hay piece by piece on the ground, because this hay has clumps sometimes and I picked up a packed clump of hay and it felt heavy !! I tore it open and OMG the two babies were snuggled in the center !!!

Geezuz my first baby rabbits and oh my nerves !!!

Thank you so much OneAcre for mentioning dug under the cage in the manure pile .. that made me think of those clumps of hay I just put on the ground !!!

I will NEVER put that much hay in a hutch again. I had it packed in there. Leaf on top of leaf.

All 4 babies are in the nest box now. Shewww Thank you OneAcre !!
 

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