Well that was quite a day...

[Bad Habit]

Lesse...

Alaska started nesting last night. She didn't have any babies when I left this morning.

Went out to feed the meat rabbits, only to find Vicky nesting - the Polish doe who has been covered monthly since the beginning of January, but never nested. Cheered excitedly(but quietly), fed quickly, grabbed a handful of hay and went to give...

Elsa a nest box and hay to nest with.

Then I leave, have stuff to do, need some lumber to finish up the shed(it was insulated last monday, I needed lumber to make trays for some cages), pick up my first 2 free bags of kibbles, did some other errands, was gone from about 10am til 6pm.

Halfway through that, my dad texts me. He's just come downstairs and there are baby bunnies on the floor. Three, and one dead in the cage. I told him to grab some hay and put them in the box and pull the box out, I will deal with it when I get home. They *should* be okay like that. Periodically throughout the day, he'd send me texts telling me that he's found another kit. Final tally is 6 live kits(though a couple are pretty iffy) and the one dead one.

Get home. Unload all my stuff, check on Elsa's kits, decide I need more hay from outside, go out and check Vicky... Six baby polish!! Five broken chocolates, one solid. Cheer for a minute, wonder how on earth I couldn't feel 6 babies in her(they're all tiny, but no peanuts). Then realize no foster momma if Elsa doesn't take care of hers.

That's okay. Alaska is due to kindle, she usually has small litters.

Go upstairs to check Alaska... SIX MORE BABIES!! Nice and cozy, tucked into her nest with lots of fur. Happy happy, joy joy... except still no foster possibilities for Elsa!!

So... Here's hoping that Elsa pulls fur and cares for her kits, because I'm not entirely sure what I'll do with them otherwise. Tofu, my NZW doe, only has one kit, though, so I might give her Fatty for 12hrs and then the lionheads for 12hrs.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

:choir: Popples, popples, here and there, popples, popples everywhere! :choir:

:bouncy:

Congratulations on all the births! I'm glad your dad was there to save the babies.

Hopefully all the mommies will have plenty of milk for their litters. :clover:

Otherwise, I think "the Tofu plan" will work splendidly... plus, only children are so often spoiled that it will do the fatty kit good to learn how to share.

 

[Bad Habit]

Well, Fatty is learning that the juice bar is going to come much less often... I take Fatty's nest out at the morning feed and put it back at the night feed. Fatty is FAT. If it's a Fatty Doe then it will stay here to make Fatty Jrs... But if it's a Fatty Buck, it will make stew.

Yes, I apologized profusely to my dad. And thanked him. He said he didn't mind, just wondered where they all kept coming from. Seems like the DOA kit was stuck(stretched out, etc) and it got her all confused. Only her 2nd litter, but she did very well with her first.

Thank goodness I got 6 new cages hung in the shed, though! Otherwise I might not have room to put them all!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Yes, I apologized profusely to my dad. And thanked him. He said he didn't mind, just wondered where they all kept coming from.

Methinks your dad likes the bunnies more than he lets on.

 

[Miss M]

Wow, your rabbitry had a busy day!!!

So glad your dad was able to catch those kits for you!

And in another month, you might have another round, if I read your other thread correctly. :lol:

 

[Bad Habit]

I don't know how well Elsa's litter is going to do. She seems to have no interest in it, no hair pulled, she hasn't even gone back to finish cleaning them off gonna give her until I go out to feed, then they're going out to meet Fatty and learn to smell just like her. I was hoping to put them on Alaska(or even Vicky) but I don't want those poor girls to have more than 6!! I'm already concerned that they won't have the milk for 6 - Vicky should do okay, I've seen her raise 5, but Alaska has never had more than 4. This is a bit more work, but at least I know it won't tax the doe. Does make me grateful I never got Tofu rebred, though!!

It'd only be 2 litters, and I am praying that the 11wk old lionhead just wasn't mature enough. I don't want the 12wk old holland to be pregnant either, but the LH is an Alaska kit and has Alaska's hair and I really am not yet ready for her to pull it all out.

I'm thinking of it as a sign from the powers that be that I should be keeping the LH doe. I fell in love with her at market on Saturday(my mom thought I was crazy, I brought my grooming table and kept posing the doe saying "that is a NICE lionhead...") but couldn't justify keeping her.

Now, it'd be irresponsible to sell her, since she could be pregnant

plus I have 18 empty cages, so it's not like I don't have the room...