Meet our youngest "lonely only"... Pudge

[MaggieJ]

He's a greedy little piggy... but he is cute and cuddly.

I've begun to shorten his feeding times. If Jasper had his way with Sage the afternoon Pudge was born, then she will have a litter in just over a week. So Pudge needs to start eating solids. I've seen him nibble a bit of hay but he just sniffs at oatmeal as though to say "Bunnies eat this stuff?" He'd rather guzzle milk still and I figure if he'd too full of milk he won't learn.

 

[Cattle Cait]

Do you have new pics of him? He's adorable!

 

[MaggieJ]

I'll try to get an updated picture soon. He's even cuter now, drat him!

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

look at him as 'well marbled' instead of 'cute'-- you did say he was meat, right?

 

[MaggieJ]

Meat or future breeder. A nice, large youngster of either sex with a bloodline I'd like to include always has a chance... and a little bunny can hope and try to make himself/herself irresistible.

 

[Brody]

I;'d say baby Pudge is doing a good job

 

[Shara]

You should SERIOUSLY let Pudge attain maturity, even if you do eat him/her...I mean, I don't know about everyone else, but I am DYING to know how big it turns out!

 

[MaggieJ]

New pictures! Brace yourselves! 22 days old and 604 grams tonight... 21.3 oz.

Pudge at 16 days, for comparison.


Pudge tonight, 22 days. The same ruler is in the background... you can hardly see it.


Look at those feet!


Camera shy?

 

[eco2pia]

what a nice red belly! He is a nice looking big boy...

 

[MaggieJ]

We're having fun with him.

 

[Shara]

OH WOW! He's HUMONGO!!!

 

[Anntann]

omg...HUMONGO is right! he's...he's....by the way..do we KNOW that Pudge is a "he" now?

 

[MaggieJ]

No, still not sure. He was having a bit of problem with pasty butt - seems okay since we cut back his feeding times and he started eating solids - but I didn't want to put any pressure on the area. Poor little guy had to have butt baths in a yogurt container two nights running and he looked a little sore. I'll try sexing him in a few days.

 

[Miss M]

Holy super-sized bunnies, Batman! Maybe s/he has some extra-meaty genes to pass on, eh? :mrgreen:

 

[Cattle Cait]

:shock:

He's huge!!! And yet, he's so adorable! I think he should be kept as a stud bunny. Jest sayin'.

 

[MaggieJ]

He's a good candidate for keeping as a back-up buck... If he is a buck. He might have to be a cage bunny instead of a colony bunny though. This early growth doesn't really mean much... Most rabbits would grow fast on all that milk. We'll see how he looks when he's been weaned for a month or two. Since we never butcher rabbits until about 14-16 weeks, we don't need a quick decision.

 

[Shara]

OR if he is a doe, maybe it'll be a larger than normal doe, able to carry larger litters? THAT would be cool!

 

[MaggieJ]

If Pudge is a doe, she'll certainly get a chance to prove herself in the colony (barring any unforeseen health problems etc., of course).<br /><br />__________ Wed Mar 09, 2011 8:14 pm __________<br /><br />Pudge is four weeks old today. And the scales say.... 840 grams or 29.6 oz. That's a gain of exactly 9 oz. this past week.

Pudge has a little buddy. We brought Alice's "lonely only" back from the colony to be Pudge's cagemate. This kit was born January 18 and is a bit larger than Pudge, but only a bit. It's slow growth was worrying us a bit so we thought it might do better up here with one little friend. They spend a lot of time grooming and snuggling, so I think it's good for both of them.

 

[Shara]

Awe, how sweet. Any news on doe or buck yet?

 

[MaggieJ]

Nope. Took a peek but it wasn't clear to me. Aging babyboomer eyes, here... and the parts are still pretty small. :roll: