so..Did you put fur in the nest box?

[Anntann]

That's what Mike said this morning when he went out to give Sophia her morning scritch.

FUR!! YaaaHOOOO!!! and here I'd said just yesterday that she probably wasn't pregnant.

The little minx delivered 9...NINE kits. One was dead..but looked like he was probably born alive and then maybe smashed by mom or the others (he was on the very bottom, and was still warm..but had huge amount of bruising around the tummy area (he was white skinned).

There is one that is slightly smaller than the others, but everyone is wriggly and very plump. now the less good news...7 black and 1 white. and NO spotted skins BUT we'll see what develops in the coming days.

She went 31 days from breeding (or 30.5, depending on if she settled in the morning or evening).

Obligatory kit picture. hay. fur. couple of shiny blobs View attachment nestbox1.jpg

 

[ladysown]

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Truckinguy]

Congratulations! I have two litters about nine weeks old but no does pregnant at the moment. I"ve been so busy at work all I've had time for is to feed and keep the place clean. Dang, I've gotta throw a doe in with a buck soon... I want babies too!

 

[MaggieJ]

Congratulations! Glad Sophia came through with a nice bunch of popples!

:wbounce:

 

[Miss M]

:bouncy: Popples! Congratulations!

 

[Anntann]

but NINE! and here I thought she didn't really even LOOK pregnant! I was holding out about 10% hope that she'd have 1 or 2..maybe. I even tried to check her the other day and felt nothing! :bash: gaaaahhh....

I have to admit, I didn't feel around very much, tho. Just hefted her up and felt the sides. I'd see her lying on her side and think "AH! BABIES!" but then look more closely and she just looked like she was laying flat out..nothing special.

well. live and learn. They're all still there, all still squiggling around. Well, the 8 that were alive this morning, anyway. Now I get to worry about "will she be able to feed them all?"

At least I know they won't freeze to death. She pulled enough fur to cover the entire box. She's NEKKID! from the neck to the belly!

 

[MaggieJ]

Sophia is French Angora, isn't she? Or a French/English mix? She should be able to feed 8 just fine, unless there is something unusual happening. Relax and enjoy!

 

[Anntann]

French/English, yup. She does seem to have milk, I checked just now. She's a FatLittleBunny daughter, and FLB always seems to have more than enough. I'm just a worry wart.

Sophia has turned into quite a friendly girl over the last couple of months, possibly because she gets treats all the time..and is alone on the porch now that the chicks are out at the farm. (she seems to be QUITE happy now that those noisy chickens are gone!)

You know...I've promised not to breed anyone until late September..but....those popples are just so DANG CUTE!

 

[Brody]

she'll do fine

I do love he babies too

 

[Anntann]

They're all still popping and squiggling around. I gave the smallest a bit of a noon-time snack, which it appreciated. Sophia was quite cooperative. I figured he was small, and looking a bit wrinkly, and since she had a couple of filled teats, I'd get ahead of the "omg! he's not getting fed!" curve.

She looks quite pleased with herself, I must say. Good momma. That first day they were well covered, and she'd made a tunnel down into the nest...normal nestbox, but Mike had filled it up with hay, so she burrowed down and made a lovely tunnel. Then this morning...it's hot and muggey...she'd removed some hay, and pushed aside all the fiber. Popples were laying on top of the fur, nice and warm, but not HOT. All the wool was over to the side.

She's getting all the dandelions and plantain she can eat right now. And apple leaves, although she leaves those til after everything else is gone.

 

[MaggieJ]

Sophia sounds like the best kind of bunny mummy. Kinda reminds me of how my Patches was, always so pleased to have produced babies and always so careful of their needs.

 

[Anntann]

UPDATE!
All 8 survivors are doing well. She's keeping them fed and happy. I did find one out of the nestbox, and down on the floor, (littlest guy) but he's doing fine now.

The one white guy is HUGE. Evenbunny is energetic and Sophia is staying nice. She's a glutton for greens, tho. I swear, if I put her out in the back yard, I wouldn't need a lawnmower!

 

[MaggieJ]

Glad they're doing well. Sophia is entitled to be a piggy right now... She's feeding eight, for heaven's sakes!

 

[Aileen]

Hurrah for Sophia!!!

 

[rabbitgeek]

Nice looking nest. Is that grass hay? Our rabbits seemed to do better when we used hay in the nest boxes instead of straw. I think the kits being able to nibble on the hay helped them to adjust to pellets quicker. Then I could stop buying bales of straw and only had to keep bales of hay.

Have a good day!

 

[MaggieJ]

I agree with you about using grass hay in the nest boxes, Rabbitgeek. Those kits start nibbling sooner than one would think... and the grass hay definitely gets them off to a good start.

 

[Anntann]

Yes, it's grass type (timothy) hay. We use hay for bedding and for nests. It absorbs moisture better than straw, and it smells good

And the kits are huge, all doing well, and crawling out on their own now They do nibble the hay..this lot hasn't started yet, but the last crew was munching hay from the nest tunnel by 2 weeks.<br /><br />__________ Sat Jul 17, 2010 2:51 pm __________<br /><br />and yet ANOTHER update on these guys All 8 are doing very very well. Fat little tubs with fur. Eyes open, but not really crawling around outside yet. Mostly staying in the cool shade of hte nest box and just hanging out. I'm handling them a couple times a day now in hopes that they'll stay nice and sweet. Sophia is an absolute character and turning into a sweet bunny.

The one white, which I thought was probably a himmy, is a REW. no color at all anywhere. I suppose that might change later, but by this time the himys in the other litters were showing black on the ears and nose. One of the "blacks" is a different shade of black than the others...don't know what's up with that. seems more...browny/black. it's just DIFFERENT. I'll grab some pictures this evening when it's a tad cooler out.

 

[Brody]

That's s cool

looking forward to the pictures ...

 

[Anntann]

Put picture in "in the nestbox". http://rabbittalk.com/gallery/image.php?album_id=3&image_id=200 White dudette is ALWAYS playing Queen of the mountain. (yah...I'm thinking that, too :roll: )

 

[garnetmoth]

oh what a silly top-of-the-pile sitter!

Ive heard of one black sheep in the family, what happens when you are the only white bunny?