# SA Farm's Kindling thread!



## SA Farm

So since my rabbits got to take most of the winter off, since it's been the worst winter here since '81-'82 and insulated nest boxes just didn't do the trick even in early December , I went a little overboard with breeding my rabbits for March and am now bracing myself for the many babies to come!

I have 4-5 does due from the 1st to the 22nd and I keep telling myself to wait to breed the last one, but I find myself far too tempted to get it over with since it'll be her first litter and I'll have plenty of experienced mothers to pawn her kits off to if I need to. To breed or not to breed her, that is the question!?

Anyhow, I'm also trying to stay sane while I wait to be entirely overrun and overwhelmed by babies! (and not just bunny babies either)


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## SA Farm

Well, I guess I'll introduce you all to my rabbits. I mostly breed NZWs, but I keep a few pet bunnies that get bred occasionally as well.

Midnight is my dwarf mix doe, 1 and a bit years old. She's due on the 1st. Her and a pic of her last litter.

 
I have 2 NZW does (Zap and Jade) due, Zap (8 months) on the 22nd and Jade (~1 year) I'm not sure when since she was living with the buck for about a week, so I'm hoping she is, but not counting on it. A couple of pics of a few kits from her last litter:
  
And I have a Lionhead cross doe, Angel (same age as Midnight), bred by a Holland Lop due on the 5th:
 
Here's Zazzi (8 months) who is the doe I'm still undecided about when I'll breed her:

I don't have a picture of my main buck, Bugs, on this comp either.
And Jasper, my Jr. Cal/NZ buck who isn't quite ready to breed yet. I may end up selling him or trading him for a NZW if I can find one.


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## Hens and Roos

Good Luck with your upcoming litters! 

Cute pictures as well


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## Four Winds Ranch

Nice rabbits!!! What do you do with all those baby bunnies?
I raise rabbits too! Standared Rex, and Flemish Giants. They are basically for meat and breeding sales.
I know what you mean about bad winter!!!!   It has been horrid over here too!!!!


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## SA Farm

Some of them are sold as pets (Mainly Angel and Midnight's kits) and the rest are sold as either breeding stock or meat. If there are any extra they are sent to our own freezer camp.


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## SA Farm

So because I'm insane and also because I love rabbits and am considering selling off most of my chickens anyway...Today I traded a lovely trio of blue and black EEs for a couple of NZs 
So I got these (the black is a doe and the steel is a buck who will replace Jasper):
  
For these (the blue hen and roo in the front and the black pullet right behind them):


 

I'm not sure who got the better bargain, but we're both happy with it 
Now I just need to think of names for my new buns! They will have to start with the same letter since they're siblings too....hmmmm


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## Hens and Roos

Nice!


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## SA Farm

Well, Midnight didn't have her kits yesterday. Yesterday would have been day 31, so I'll give her a few more days before I'll rebreed her. Her last litter was kindled a day late and I'm fairly certain I bred her in the evening, so she may just be taking her time again.
Angel has been nesting and started pulling a bit of fur. Her day 31 will be Wednesday, but she seems to be prepping early.
Here's hoping for kits soon! 

ETA: Oh yeah, named the new buns Tank and Tali


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## P.O. in MO

Don't get in too big a hurry, I lost a small litter about 3 weeks ago when I pulled the nest box on day 34 and she had her litter on the cage floor on day 35.  My does almost always have kindled on day 31 except this time, it was her first litter.


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## SA Farm

Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss! That's really tough. I had a litter from a doe a few years back that, according to my records, wasn't bred. She had them on the wire and they died too.
Midnight lives in the house as she's one of the pet bunnies, so I don't have to worry about her having problems if she has them late. I just definitely need her or Angel to have babies as a few of them are already reserved!
I'll continue to keep an eye on her anyway. She's one that pulls fur after/during kindling, so I never know until she's had them


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## Hens and Roos

Good Luck!  Keep us posted.


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## SA Farm

Well, no babies  How two different does bred to two different bucks could both come back not pregnant within a week of each other is beyond me! I've never had that happen before 
So because it's a fun outing for both my husband and myself, we went to the auction and there were the cutest little babies there  One of them was clearly injured, so we rescued it. Turns out it's a little girl. Her eye looks like it got badly scratched and she's obviously blind in that eye now. We cleaned it out with a saline rinse and everything else seems okay with her, so she's my little rescue baby now. I'll get pictures tomorrow.


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## SA Farm

Late on the pics, but here they are with the exception of my rescue since she's living in a different part of the house and I was being lazy


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## SA Farm

Here's the little rescue bun. The more graphic picture of her eye is attached for those of you interested to see what it looks like. It actually looks tons better today - no goop and the swelling is starting to go down. Yay!


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## Hens and Roos

Cute Bunnies! Hope the eye continues to get better.


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## SA Farm

Hens and Roos said:


> Cute Bunnies! Hope the eye continues to get better.


Me too. I was sure I was going to have to take her to the vet when I first saw it, but it's doing so well now! I'm prepared to take her if there's a sudden turn for the worst, but for now it definitely seems to be healing


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## SA Farm

Well, the rescue bun has been named Fly and we're going to keep her. She's a real cutie 
Finally got some baby buns born! Yay! 
Zap had at least 7 babies. (There are 7 or 8, but I have a policy of not messing with them too much for the first day or two, so I'll know for sure later!)
I also had Midnight bred to an adorable little black otter dwarf, so she'll be due with lots of cuteness next month. I have one other potential litter, but since I've had the worst luck ever this winter, I'm not going to count my buns before they're out of the oven! lol
I'll get pics tomorrow or Monday


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## SA Farm

Looks like there may actually be 9 of them And Bugs threw some of his grey in there too


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## OneFineAcre

Very cool


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## P.O. in MO

Nine is a nice size litter.  They look good.


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## SA Farm

Yes, 9 is great, especially for her first


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## SA Farm

Babies are growing like weeds. Also got Jade and Midnight bred the other day, so we'll be expecting more adorableness next month!


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## SweetBun

They are adorable!  Grats


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## SA Farm

Well, got a couple of litters coming due in April. Jade and Midnight will both be due and I'm hoping Zazzi got bred since I put her in with Bugs for a few days. I never really count on litters when I do that, but I am prepared for kits should they come 
Today saw Lani bred to Tank, so if successful it will be first litters for both of them! So  for May 1st! If they're not successful, she'll be bred to Bugs for her 2nd chance and I'll probably put Zap with Tank for his 2nd chance, and Jade for his 3rd and final if he fails. Hopefully, that won't be necessary. Though, if he's successful with Lani, I'll probably breed him to Zap anyway 
Zap's babies are still doing great, so I'm very pleased with her performance. She's a keeper for sure


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## SA Farm

Updated pics of Zap's kits. They're about 2 weeks old now. I think I'm getting better at sexing, since I can already tell boys and girls! Usually I don't even try to check until 3-4 weeks old, so I'm impressed with myself! (Just hope I'm right. Of course, I'll check again later!)
Yes, Bugs throws broken grey, steel, and sometimes solid grey. I was actually really surprised with the ratio of color to REW in this litter! Usually only 2 or 3 of 8 or more are colored, but there are only 2 or 3 REW of 9 this time!


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## VickieB

How cute is that!


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## SA Farm

Today, Jade pulled a TON of fur, so hoping to be greeted by a bunch of kits from her in the morning.
Midnight kindled on Tuesday! 4 adorable little Dwarf kits  Here's a pic of the daddy, Fly, our newest addition now that he's proven himself. He's a purebred black otter Netherland Dwarf. 

And a few updated pics of Zap and Bugs' kits:


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## SA Farm

Well, Jade kindled last night/this morning. No wonder she took an extra day and looked as though another rabbit had gotten in and exploded fur! Ten kits from her!
I'm also expecting Lani's first litter on Thursday, so I'll do pictures then.


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## SweetBun

Congrats! They are adorable.


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## SA Farm

Well, Lani never kindled, so I'm going to give her another day or two, then breed her to Bugs. That way I'll know if it's her or my new buck, since both are first breeders.
Midnight's babies are growing. They're so tiny though! At 1 and 1/2 weeks, they've just made it to the size Jade's kits were at about 3 days ago!
So 1 little tort, 1 black, and 2 black otter like their daddy 

 
And meet Jayla, progeny from Bugs and Jade from last year. Hopefully Tank will succeed with her since I obviously won't breed her to Bugs! She turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself


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## luvmypets

Fwuffy bunny... Cute!


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## SA Farm

Well, still nothing from Lani, so I bred her to Bugs today. 
Updated pictures of Zap's kits. They're over 6 weeks old now.


And Jade's kits. They are about a week old.


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## luvmypets

I want cuddles.


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## SA Farm

Well, have a couple litters coming due the end of the month, but that's it for now.
Updated pics of Midnight's kits. They are 4 weeks old, and it's looking like 3 boys and 1 girl, though one of the Black Otter kits has a bit of a swollen behind, so I'm not 100% sure on him yet.
The little Tortoiseshell is the doe and she's already sold, to be picked up when she's ready.
Here are 3 of them:


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## Farmin' Girl

All your bunnies are sooooo cute! and I am so glad you were able to help the one sweet little girl with her eye. I always hate to see an animal in pain.

I have a question for you. My rabbit gave birth to 11 kits, 4 of which died. The other 7 are a little over 2 weeks old now. How long would you wait before rebreeding my momma? I don't want it to cause any problems with my momma, because my brother had a momma he bred 2 weeks after birth, and she died from a mixture of over-heating and being pregnant with 12 babies. (She died before giving birth, and my brother cut her open for a science experiment............brothers. ).


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## SA Farm

A lot of breeders rebreed at 2-4 weeks. I usually wait until 6 weeks or longer since I think it's healthier for my does to have a break in between litters. I also stagger, so I don't have 100 kits at a time! 
A lot of how you manage has to do with your bottom line, demand, and the health and well-being of your rabbits. Consider things like what the temperatures will be like during the last two weeks of pregnancy and first few weeks of the newborns and decide when to breed from there. 
Typically my last breeding of the spring would be May or June and I give them until September off. It doesn't seem like a long time, but having the hottest months of the year off, when keeping themselves from overheating, let alone carrying the weight of kits or trying to manage overheating kits, is, I think, important. 
Then I typically breed until December, then give them until Feb/March off depending. This year they had from November to March off, since our winter was unusually harsh.
Anyway, that's how I do it


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## Farmin' Girl

Thanks a lot! That has really helped me straighten my plans out for the future.


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## SA Farm

So Jayla kindled her first litter from Tank, so both of my first time producers have now proved themselves. Jayla is also from my own stock, so I'm pleased with her having a first litter of 8!

Jade's remaining kits are doing fantastic - all 9. We had a bunch of kids over without my knowledge and they left the door open. Two escaped and I only found the one. So there were 5F/5M, now 4F/5M. Why is it always the females that vanish?  Well, still have 9 happily growing kits, so can't really complain!
  
Lani is due this week and she's already been pulling fur, so I'm fairly certain I'll have kits out of her. Her mother also pulled fur quite early, so no surprise there. A few days ago I got Tali bred and she'll be the last of the outdoor rabbits for the summer. You can see Jade looks pretty exhausted/hot in the pics above! I'll be doing probably two more litters of indoor rabbits over the summer though.


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## luvmypets

Cute!


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## SA Farm

Lani had 7 kits this morning 
And here's a pic of Jayla's litter. Looks like she has a couple grey, a broken grey, a couple steel and/or black, and a broken black or steel. Hard to tell between steel and black before the fur is in Good mama that she is, she had them all moved apart to keep cool. Hot and humid the day of the pic.


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## happy acres

Beautiful babies!!!


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## luvmypets

Congrats


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## Farmin' Girl

Awwwwww!!!!!!!! I'm totally overwhelmed by the adorableness of those bunnies


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## SA Farm

Apparently Lani wasn't done when I checked on her. I took pictures and counted again, so make that 9 for her first litter!




And one of my two first time mamas, side by side...kind of


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## happy acres

I like those kind of surprises!


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## SA Farm

It's been a while! Tali had her first litter of 7
 
And Matilda had a first litter of 4 which is pretty much what I was expecting of her 
 
Everybody else is on break for the summer. My older litters are doing well and will start going to their new homes soon.


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## happy acres

Mine are ready to be rehomed. Either that, or they'll have to go into the grow out pen in preparation for freezer camp.


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## SA Farm

Quick update: Tali had 8 not 7. I don't know if it's me or these does, but these first time moms keep either hiding babies on me or they just take their sweet time having them, because the last few litters were all miscounted the first couple days.
Silly does 

Anyway, updated pics of Jayla's litter from a few weeks ago to just the other day:
  
She had a split batch of 4 girls, 4 boys and quite interesting colors on them...Anyone know what to call the blue-grey or brown-grey ones? lol
I'm thinking about keeping the broken black. Always liked the look of them and haven't been able to before. Now that I have, yes, yet another buck, I could keep her...tempting!
His name is Wit and he's just a young NZW. I'm planning to test him out this fall with either Lani or Jade. Probably Jade since she's also a pure NZ and Lani's got some Cali in her...Maybe I'll just use him for both of them.


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## SA Farm

Sold Matilda with her kits yesterday. She was from my own stock, but got too many traits from her mother, who I already sold. I like the small litters since the kits tend to really thrive, but the larger litters are more desirable in my area, so I have to plan my stock towards what's desired. 
Oh well, she'll be a good mama for someone else 
She had 1 boy and 3 girls.


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## Farmin' Girl

Awww! I love the little tan one, is it a boy or a girl?


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## SA Farm

Farmin' Girl said:


> Awww! I love the little tan one, is it a boy or a girl?


That was the only boy  I was tempted to keep him. I've been looking for NZ Reds for a while, but there are none in my area. A few crosses with Flemish, but I'm not interested in those ones right now


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## SA Farm

Turns out Tali had 6 boys and 2 girls of her 8 kits. They're just so cute at 2 1/2 weeks old!

 

We picked up a Mini Rex harlequin buck the other day, so looks like Tootsie Roll will get to be bred this fall. A good trade for our little Dwarf buck, I think. I have a soft spot for rex rabbits since we had standards when I was a kid. We decided to go with a theme for them, so he's Candy Corn.
Here's the pair:
 
It looks like we're going to be selling some of our NZ mix breeding stock. Slowly fazing them out for purebreds. Right now we have a pure trio of NZs and a pair of Mini Rex. Everyone else is mixed, so we've got our work cut out for us I have a line on a couple of little does, so that should be enough...for now...


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## SA Farm

Got the does! 2 Reds and a Steel! 
So, I'll introduce our NZ breeding stock:
Meet Brandy and Honey 12 weeks old, Pickpocket 15 weeks, Tali 8 months (old picture), and Jade 1+ year (old picture), all my New Zealand does.
Poor Pickpocket looks so worried with my dog sniffing her backside and me shoving a camera in her face! I'll have to get a better picture of her later on, poor thing!
     

Meet Wit 4 months and Tank 8 months, my NZ bucks.

  
I'm so excited It's very difficult to find anything but REWs in my area, so I'm so happy to finally have some fun colors! That's the main reason we had the mixes, since I can't stand having all my rabbits look exactly the same. Then I'm making this face at them  when I'm trying to remember who I put where. I keep detailed records, but those records are in the house and they move around a lot in the summer when they go from their hutches to their wire ground cages and take trips around the yard keeping the grass down. 
So excited!


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## SA Farm

Well, I got a better picture of Pickpocket:
 
So, with all the different options I have for breeding, I'm hoping to be able to produce some fun colors and get a red line going. I'd also like to get some broken red and black going if I can. Since most of my stock is young, I have plenty of time and energy to devote to experimenting with my lines to get what I want.
I do, however, have a broken blue baby buck that I'm wondering if I should keep? He's got black and steel in his genetics and I'm sorely tempted to work on the blue and broken blue lines of the New Zealand...I'm so fond of blue. That's why I have blue EEs and Ameraucanas. I just love blues 
This is him:
 
I'd like his ears to be a bit more solid, but the blue is a nice even deep color and he's got nice wide circles around his eyes. I think I may replace Bugs with him as long as he proves himself...He'd have to have a 'B' name... Hmmm.
What do you all think?


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## happy acres

How bout Bleu?  Or Beau?


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## SA Farm

Beau is definitely going on the list of potentials 

I wasn't going to...lol....but I got Jade bred today. This will be her third litter and she's a year and a half, so I think she's had enough of a break  and this summer has been THE coolest summer ever, so I don't feel like the heat is bad enough to give her anymore time off. Especially since I may not breed her again this year as I have 3 young does to try out this fall and I don't want to be too overwhelmed with kits!
I bred her to Tank, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they produce next month!


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## Farmin' Girl

SA Farm said:


> Well, I got a better picture of Pickpocket:
> View attachment 4396
> So, with all the different options I have for breeding, I'm hoping to be able to produce some fun colors and get a red line going. I'd also like to get some broken red and black going if I can. Since most of my stock is young, I have plenty of time and energy to devote to experimenting with my lines to get what I want.
> I do, however, have a broken blue baby buck that I'm wondering if I should keep? He's got black and steel in his genetics and I'm sorely tempted to work on the blue and broken blue lines of the New Zealand...I'm so fond of blue. That's why I have blue EEs and Ameraucanas. I just love blues
> This is him:
> View attachment 4397
> I'd like his ears to be a bit more solid, but the blue is a nice even deep color and he's got nice wide circles around his eyes. I think I may replace Bugs with him as long as he proves himself...He'd have to have a 'B' name... Hmmm.
> What do you all think?




I love the Blues too. I have American Blues, as you can see I have a photo of Dixie, my 7 month old girl as my Avatar. 

I love your sweet little broken blue buck!!!! He is adorable! I have a few name choices as well.......
Bandit (He looks like he kinda has a mask on)
Blitz
Blaze
Buckley
Bennett
Brewster
Buster.

Good luck with that sweet boy, I think you should keep him


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## SA Farm

So, I was reading over this thread and I realized how many things have changed since I started it! I now no longer have ANY mixed breeds with the exception of Midnight who is more of a pet than a breeder anyway.
I have now found homes for ALL of my mixed breed rabbits and have started breeding/collecting purebred stock!
Who knew that when you put your mind to something that you could get it done in no time at all? I'm seriously surprised how quickly it went (thank God!). I was prepared for it to take MONTHS to find homes for and acquire new stock!
But, I sold ALL of my excess stock the other day to a breeder and it's TONIGHT that I may acquire a broken red New Zealand buck  I was prepared to spend YEARS breeding generations into a red line and now I may have my reds producing as early as late fall! I'll have work to do with getting the red nice and dark, but it's great not to have to start from scratch!


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## SA Farm

Oh, yes, we have decided to keep the broken blue GIRL (got the pics mixed up  ) and name her Blitz 
Thanks for all the suggestions, you guys


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## Farmin' Girl

Haha, funny how easy it is to get mixed up between Bucks and Does. She is so sweet! I'm glad for you deciding to keep her, and she looks like a Blitz to me. Good choice


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## SA Farm

Our first purebred, pedigreed litter with Jade and Tank will be due in just 23-24 days! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




I also bred Tali to Wit yesterday. Funny thing about him though...He never fell over... So I'm not sure if she's actually bred or not. We'll find out for sure next month, anyway.
So I've officially added Blitz and a broken red/fawn doe, Cherry Cola, to the rabbitry. She's 5 weeks old and about the same size as Blitz. I'm expecting her to be a really good producer considering her background. She was in a litter of 16 and all of the kits survived, so her mother was also clearly an excellent milker! Blitz has a similar background, with the largest litter in her line of 15.
This is Cherry Cola and I threw in a picture of Blitz too, since she's so adorable
 
We recently purchased a playpen so I can have the rabbits out for exercise, socialization, and photo sessions! I've been wanting one forever, so we finally got it 
The only one who hasn't been in it yet is Jade. Over the last few days I've had the rest of the adults in it and I had Cherry Cola in there briefly, but realized that she could squeeze through the bars if she wanted to, so decided against putting any of the other kits in there!
Here are a few pics of the buns in the pen


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## SA Farm

Time for a update before my litters are due at the end of the month...
Tali's litter is growing well  They get a large handful of fresh greens daily, sometimes twice daily and they're chowing down on their pellets as well. I'll be separating them this weekend, since they're coming up on 6 weeks old, putting the boys in the grow out cage and leaving the girls with mama until I have room again I have 4 hutches that need repaired, so I'm short on room right now.
  

I have litters due on the 22nd, 26th, and 28th from Jade, Tootsie Roll, and Tali respectively, so those hutches will be fixed up before then! Oh, Hubby Dear...

Of course Tootsie is indoors, so she doesn't need a hutch, just the other two 

I also got Midnight bred to Candy Corn for his first litter - Tootsie is bred to Bugs. I try to pair up my inexperienced boys with experienced girls and vice versa to make things easier on everybody. This will be Midnight's 4th litter and I can't even count how many Bugs has sired! 
Here's Midnight outside in the ex-pen! Every other picture I got of her was of her standing, she's so silly She's the only true pet bunny we have, really. I like them all on different levels, but Midnight is our special girl


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## Farmin' Girl

Awww, as usual, your buns are adorable. What a coincidence, my brother has an American Black named Midnight! She is a total sweetheart too. I guess great minds DO think alike.


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## SA Farm

Cherry Cola and Blitz got weighed today. Both just under 3 pounds and both around 8 weeks old, so they're doing alright. Cola's definitely got a sturdier build, but I think Blitz is a little longer, so they both have their upsides. Blitz isn't doing bad considering she's the younger of the two! 
  
Did I mention that I'm excited about my upcoming litters?


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## SA Farm

It seemed to take forever for Jade to pop out her batch of kits, but, right on time Friday afternoon she had 11 or 12 little kits  She had majority dark - I'm thinking steels and blacks, maybe chestnut - and when I checked on them, they were arranged in oreo fashion! 
  
And Blitz and Cherry Cola are doing well, growing like weeds! I introduced them a few weeks ago and they're getting along, so that saves me some cage space for now. I'm hoping they'll get along so they can live together through the winter!


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## SA Farm

So Tootsie Roll didn't kindle, so she's on her second chance now. I bred her to Candy Corn the other day. Because she didn't catch with Bugs, I put her with Candy 3 times in two days to give her the best chance of conceiving. The last time I put her with him, she was grunting and tucking her tail - the first two times she was lifting for him, so hopefully she's finally bred!
Tali also didn't kindle (as expected), so I put her back with Wit and he fell over a few times. I'm considering selling her - not because she didn't kindle (that was Wit's 1st strike), but because while she isn't aggressive, she is very difficult to handle. Normally I just carry the doe across my yard to the buck pen, but she's so wild once picked up, I've taken to carrying her in a cage. I've gotten more scratches from carrying her over the last two months than the rest of my rabbits combined! Besides, my focus is going to be on the reds now and I can fill her place with more reds 

Now that it's September, I'll be breeding more frequently for the next couple of months. I've heard that we're supposed to have a harsh winter again *groan* so I won't be breeding past November with the exception of the indoor buns of course.
Pickpocket, Honey, and Brandy will all be bred this month and I'll be breeding Jade back again next month. We finally found a young pedigreed NZ Red buck, so he'll hopefully be producing his first litter this fall. 
Meet Cranberry Cocktail. I don't know what it is with me and double C names lately  Candy Corn, Cherry Cola, and now Cranberry Cocktail! lol


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## Farmin' Girl

Cute bunny! I also have started breeding again. I bred and checked Bella and Dixie this past weekend to Ranger, so am hoping for the best! I can't wait to start breeding my new Black Velvet Rex doe, I'm just waiting to pick up the buck.


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## happy acres

Planning on breeding Gray, Bridey and Barley this weekend.


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## SA Farm

Took a bunch of cute pictures today! Love the 2 week old stage


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## happy acres

Beautiful babies!


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## Farmin' Girl

Awww!


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## SA Farm

I am in the process of testing my palpating skills with two does that are due the beginning of October. As far as I could tell, both are pregnant, so we shall see if I have indeed acquired this skill or not.
Come on Midnight and Tali!
Jade's kits are growing nicely! Can't believe they're almost 4 weeks old already!


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## happy acres

Love the black!


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## SA Farm

Jade's kits are now 5 weeks old and technically ready to go. They range from 1+ -2lbs right now and I'm considering keeping a few to sell as proven breeding stock in the spring since I have a few unrelated bucks I can breed them to early next year. I'm thinking about these two:
  
I put Jade with Cranberry today, but she didn't show any interest, despite her vent appearing to be ready. She probably just wants a good long break in between like she's used to, so I'll wean her kits off her this week and try her again next week. Brat 
Expecting kits over the next week or two from the does I palpated, so


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## happy acres

Good luck! I have a question for you, whenever my girls kindle, no matter how many kits are born, inevitably only three -four make it to adulthood. What am I doing wrong? Or is it that Bridey and Barley don't make enough milk for more? Is there a supplement I should be using?


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## SA Farm

happy acres said:


> Good luck! I have a question for you, whenever my girls kindle, no matter how many kits are born, inevitably only three -four make it to adulthood. What am I doing wrong? Or is it that Bridey and Barley don't make enough milk for more? Is there a supplement I should be using?



From what you've said, it sounds like it's the does that are having the problem (though there could be many factors that I don't know about). Older does at the end of production usually start losing quite a few kits, but if they're young, there shouldn't be a problem and if it's constant I wouldn't keep any of the kits for future breeding as they may have low milk production as well. 
There are herbs that can boost milk production such as Dandelion, Blackberry, Lemon Balm, Milk Thistle, Dill, Nettles, Parsley, Raspberry Leaf etc. As always, introduce new foods gradually, but if it's just milk production, any of those should help - they also have other beneficial effects. Raspberry and Blackberry leaves are both cooling, so great for summer snacks!
Often you can tell who is being fed as does typically feed their kits at dawn and dusk and if the kits have fat bellies, they're being fed. If they don't have fat bellies, you can force feed them - take the doe and the kits that aren't being fed and allow them to feed while holding the doe to supplement them in between normal feedings.

Lavender, Mint, and Thyme should not be fed to pregnant does or does raising kits as they decrease milk flow.


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## happy acres

Thanks! My does are older, I think ... They were adults when I got them and I'm not sure how old they were exactly. I've had them for about seven /eight months now.


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## SA Farm

happy acres said:


> Thanks! My does are older, I think ... They were adults when I got them and I'm not sure how old they were exactly. I've had them for about seven /eight months now.



If it's just age, I would probably keep back some replacement stock for them and consider retiring them soon


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## SA Farm

Tootsie Roll and Candy Corn are the proud parents of 8 kits! (Pics in order  )
   
Expecting more litters over the next week or two, so stay tuned


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## Farmin' Girl

Congrats!!!


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## SA Farm

So, 3 out of 5 litters accounted for  Was only supposed to be 4, but my sister decided to get out of rabbits in order to have goats, so I got back the two mixed does from my rabbitry I had given her. The one doe is supposed to be bred!
Tootsie Roll and Candy Corn had 8

 
Tali and Wit had 9
 
Pickpocket and Tank had 6 (Brand newly born)
 
Still waiting on a litter from a mixed doe, due Monday and Midnight, due Wednesday, I think.
  
Both does are a result of a purebred NZW and Bugs, my mixed boy. I think this one may have resulted from hybrid vigor as she's larger than her parents... (Red eyes are from the flash...)
I think she's gorgeous, personally. Needs to lose a little weight though...lol


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## Farmin' Girl

I think they're all pretty, personally.


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## Farmin' Girl

In my opinion, there is no such thing as an ugly bunny. They are all pretty and unique in their own personal way. Whether by the outside appearance or by their attitude and affection.


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## Farmin' Girl

Congrats, by the way on your abundance of baby bunnies!!!


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## SA Farm

And then there were 33...


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## SA Farm

I still have to get some updated pictures of the NZs, but the Mini Rex are incredibly adorable! 
It's been nothing but a pleasure to take them out and play with them every day! Looks like there are 4 females, 4 males in this batch


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## SA Farm

Cherry Cola and Blitz are growing beautifully! I can hardly wait until spring 
Apparently my flashlight was fascinating 
 
Pickpocket, NZ mix doe, and Tali's litters are all doing well. So far Tali's litter is my favorite based on growth rate at this point, but they're all doing really well! Planning to keep at least one from Tali's litter and maybe one from Pickpocket's depending on how they turn out. They are all either steel or super steel, so I'm leaning towards not, but I'm always tempted!
   
Ideally, I want black, red, blue, and white for my breeding lines, not chestnut or steel. I'm making good progress, though, I think, to that end  I have no blacks, yet, though...
1 blue doe, 1 red doe, 1 white doe, 1 red buck, and 1 white buck. I also have a few miscellaneous does in steel and chestnut, but they will, hopefully, be replaced later. The tricky part would be finding more blues, but I'm ever hopeful


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## Farmin' Girl

Love, love, love the mini Rex bunnies!!!!! They are so adorable!


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## SA Farm

A quick update on the rabbits.
We're done breeding for the year! Ha! All the little pet babies have turned out beautifully. A good few have gone to their new homes and they are, naturally, the sweetest little cuties. I miss the ones that are gone and I'm growing ever more attached to the ones still here, so when they go, it will be bittersweet.
A little blurry, but I did manage to get the whole litter of Mini Rex in this shot!


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## SA Farm

Happy New Year, Everybunny!
Well, starting to get the itch to start rabbit breeding again. My few remaining babies are over 3 months old now and this winter has been more typical temperature-wise. I'm considering breeding one of my NZs and bringing her in the house if the temps do decide to plummet about the time she's due.
I do have a spare cage. Hmm...
Cherry Cola and Cranberry Cocktail would make some beautiful reds for me and it would be a good trial run for both of them...Alright, I'm going to go for it and see what happens.
I need updated pictures - these are a few months old!


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## Hens and Roos

Very nice group of rabbits you have!   with your up coming match!


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## Southern by choice

I don't think I can ever do rabbits.... seriously I don't think I could "harvest" them.

They are so cute. Look at those faces!
Seriously... my family wants to do rabbits and I think I should show them these pics... I just know we would end up with 200 pet rabbits!


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## SA Farm

Southern by choice said:


> I don't think I can ever do rabbits.... seriously I don't think I could "harvest" them.
> 
> They are so cute. Look at those faces!
> Seriously... my family wants to do rabbits and I think I should show them these pics... I just know we would end up with 200 pet rabbits!



So far I've left the 'harvesting' to DH, but I'm planning to finally do a few myself this year. The main thing for me is to be attached to the parent stock, rather than the kits. I do my best to sell the 'cute' ones as pets or future breeders and if I get too attached, I usually keep them around until I can sell as proven breeding stock. 
It's worked for us so far 
Also, I don't name unless they're staying!
But, yes, they are absolutely adorable!  I mean, just look at them! These are some that are being raised for breeding stock this spring


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## Hens and Roos

Southern by choice said:


> I don't think I can ever do rabbits.... seriously I don't think I could "harvest" them.
> 
> They are so cute. Look at those faces!
> Seriously... my family wants to do rabbits and I think I should show them these pics... I just know we would end up with 200 pet rabbits!




Just find someone who can and you are all set , they are all cute but some have personality issues that make it nice when they are gone!


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## Bossroo

Southern by choice said:


> I don't think I can ever do rabbits.... seriously I don't think I could "harvest" them.
> 
> They are so cute. Look at those faces!
> Seriously... my family wants to do rabbits and I think I should show them these pics... I just know we would end up with 200 pet rabbits!


Just think of the cost of feed after they reach the ideal butcher weight and you will have NO ISSUES in harvesting for meat.


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## Southern by choice

Bossroo said:


> Just think of the cost of feed after they reach the ideal butcher weight and you will have NO ISSUES in harvesting for meat.



So true! and actually that is a concern for me... the feed.


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## SA Farm

Southern by choice said:


> So true! and actually that is a concern for me... the feed.


It's probably not as bad as you think. Right now I'm feeding 21 rabbits and am going through maybe 3 bags of feed a month, plus hay. I sell a few, raise a few, and all in all I may not be making money, but I'm not spending an arm and a leg at the grocery store and I know exactly what goes into my rabbits  Well worth it, in my opinion!
My biggest advice if you do go for it is to start small! A pair or trio is perfect to start up with and you can expand as you get comfortable and know what you can manage


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## Hens and Roos

SA Farm said:


> It's probably not as bad as you think. Right now I'm feeding 21 rabbits and am going through maybe 3 bags of feed a month, plus hay. I sell a few, raise a few, and all in all I may not be making money, but I'm not spending an arm and a leg at the grocery store and I know exactly what goes into my rabbits  Well worth it, in my opinion!
> My biggest advice if you do go for it is to start small! A pair or trio is perfect to start up with and you can expand as you get comfortable and know what you can manage



I agree about starting small- maybe a trio to start.  We started out by actually trying rabbit meat to make sure enough of us liked it to make sense to add them.  If you are feeding animals that each hay already then you just have to add rabbit pellets.


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## SA Farm

Oh, so I did get Cherry Cola bred to Cranberry Cocktail last week.
Finally got some updated pictures of the happy couple  I really hope she took. I'll be palpating her in a couple of weeks to be sure. He fell off 3 times and she wasn't rejecting him, so chances are good.
 
I also put Tootsie Roll with Candy Corn, so hopefully we'll have a couple of litters born the beginning of February.Tootsie, I have a little more doubt for. Candy did fall over twice, but she was really resistant, so if anyone didn't take, it would be her, I expect.
  
I should get updated pics of the indoor buns one of these days too. 
Anyhow, really looking forward to the kits!


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## Hens and Roos

that you will new litters!  You can always put your doe back in with the buck around 14 days to make sure.


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## SA Farm

Today, I palpated my two does. Pretty sure Tootsie's got some babies growing in there. Tiny blueberries in her belly  And Cherry wasn't bred, so I took her out and with 4 fall-offs on his part, and lifting on her part, I'm fairly certain she'll take this time! It only took two weeks in the house to decide she was ready!


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## SA Farm

Chestnut doe got bred today. Finally got a video. I've been trying to get one for a very long time, but every time I would have my camera with me and was using the pure NZ stock, either the doe or the buck wouldn't cooperate. If I threw a pure doe in with my mixed buck or a mixed doe with my NZ buck - no problem 
Anyway, here's Chestnut:
 
Here's the link to the video for those interested. I'm finally starting to talk in them, which is weird for me, so excuse my long pauses and awkwardness


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## SA Farm

Quick update - Midnight was bred last week and Tootsie Roll is supposed to be due today. I palpated her and I could have sworn I felt kits, so we'll wait and see. Cherry and Chestnut are both due about mid-Feb.


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## SA Farm

Still no babies  Must've felt poo rather than fetus when I palpated. One of the things I really don't like about winter - even with several fall-offs, my does don't always take!
Anyway, threw her back in with the buck today and if she's not bred this time, I'll have to...be really annoyed at her...lol


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## Southern by choice

SA Farm said:


> I'll have to...be *really annoyed at her*...lol




sorry no kits this time.


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## Hens and Roos

SA Farm said:


> Still no babies  Must've felt poo rather than fetus when I palpated. One of the things I really don't like about winter - even with several fall-offs, my does don't always take!
> Anyway, threw her back in with the buck today and if she's not bred this time, I'll have to...be really annoyed at her...lol



I have never been able to palpate and tell, we will put the doe back in with the buck around 14 days if we remember.


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## JakeM

Watched your video, it made me very jealous. None of my rabbits want to cooperate like that and breed on their own, they always need me these days.  But it looks like your chestnut doe should be having babies so congrats!

My lovely book that I have sitting in front of me indicates that the feti (plural of fetus?) are in the lower abdomen closer to the belly. And if pressure if given, then you they should not be able to easily change the shape of them like you can with feces.


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## SA Farm

@JakeM I'm not going to squish the little balls when palpating to see if they change shape, but good to know. I just need more experience with it, that's all  I've only just started!


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## SA Farm

We have kits! 
Cherry Cola had 7 little ones on Friday and lost one, so we're at 6. Not bad for a first litter 
Chestnut doe didn't take, so she was bred today. I'll definitely palpate her this time 
I'll post pictures later on this week.


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## Hens and Roos

Awesome!  Congrats


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## Southern by choice




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## Southern by choice




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## OneFineAcre

Congrats


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## Shorty

Yay!! Congrats!!


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## SA Farm

Not much to see yet - this was the day they were born, but can already see that they're going to be red


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## Hens and Roos

how old are they now?


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## SA Farm

Hens and Roos said:


> how old are they now?


They were born Friday, so they're 3 days old.


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## Hens and Roos

So 1 day behind ours...have you noticed any fur yet?  It looks like ours has some starting.


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## SA Farm

Not noticeably - since mama is protective, so not bothering her too much at this point


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## Hens and Roos

I hear you on protective does!


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## SA Farm

Mama is starting to calm down. I've had her since she was a baby, so now that she's gotten over first-time mama panic, she's starting to remember that I'm not a threat 
Some pictures from today (6 days old). A little disappointed that I didn't get any brokens, but just thrilled to have reds in general!


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## Hens and Roos

Very cute!  Interesting how each doe builds their nest.


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## SA Farm

Babies are doing well. There is one distinct runt and, naturally, it's the darkest red! Litters due next week, so I'll update then, but here are some more pics of the little reds (11 days old) in the meantime. 
Eyes are just opening


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## SA Farm

The reds are doing great! 17 days old and just starting to test out some foods with their mama's approval 
   
Midnight kindled yesterday, on schedule. Her usual 4. Looks like 3 black ones  
 
Tootsie is due tomorrow and her belly is huge! She had 8 last time around, so I'm looking forward to find out what she has in store for me for her second litter!


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## SA Farm

Tootsie had 9! Looks like 4 of them are Harlequin, which is great as I'm hoping to keep one of them!
 
Midnight's kits are starting to fur already (3 black and 1 tort) and Cherry's kits are growing fast!


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## Hens and Roos

very nice- you will have a lot of kits!!


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## Shorty

They are adorable!! I'm jealous look at all those colors!


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## SA Farm

Shorty said:


> They are adorable!! I'm jealous look at all those colors!


I was going to have just NZWs, but I couldn't handle the lack of colour! I love the other NZ colours and you just can't beat the fur and temperament of the rex 

Reds are 3 weeks old today. Midnight's kits are fat, and Tootsie's kits haven't changed much, so I'll take pictures when they start getting some fur


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## Shorty

I'm looking for a new buck and I might have to go with something with color


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## Hens and Roos

very cute!  hard to believe they grow so fast!


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## HoneyDreameMomma

Adorable!   I especially love the reds!


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## SA Farm

Growing so fast! Reds will be 4 weeks old tomorrow and the other two litters are working their way up to 2 weeks old.
I was so surprised that Tootsie gave me 5 Harlequins!, 3 Blacks, and only 1 Castor - no reds or torts this time.


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## Hens and Roos

what a mix of colors


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## SA Farm

Everybody is growing up so quickly!
Mini Mixes and Mini Rex are about two weeks old and the Reds are going on 5 weeks! The pics of the reds are on my phone, I'll add them later...


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## BlessedWithGoats

Very cute bunnies!!


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## samssimonsays

Oh they are beautiful!


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## SA Farm

Well, I'm personally down to 5 rabbits, 2 of which are bred.
Cherry Cola - New Zealand coming up on a year old in June, currently bred with her 3rd litter. 
She's had 7 and 10 in her previous two. Lost 1 kit in her first - stillborn.

Tempest - 7 month old Mini Rex, currently bred with her first litter.


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## SA Farm

Stupid phone. Posted by accident 

Also have Shuriken and Katana, New Zealand/Harlequin mixes. Both around 2 months old now.
Did end up finding a new home for Tootsie, so it's just Midnight who will be taken care of by family for as long as necessary.

Cherry and the father of her current breeding - a 4 month old NZR


 
Tempest


 
Shuriken 


 
Katana - sorry it's crooked


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## BlessedWithGoats

Nice rabbits!


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## SA Farm

Probably my last litter for a while: Tempest had 6 little ones. 5 Charlies and 1 broken. Too early to be sure of genders, but at this point it's looking like 4 boys, 2 girls.


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## Hens and Roos

Cute kits!


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## BlessedWithGoats

Congrats!


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## SA Farm

Finally got my first Calgary litter! Beautiful first litter of 4 Mini Rex babies born New Years Eve. Looks like a broken blue and three broken opals.


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## Hens and Roos

Congrats on the kits!!


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## BlessedWithGoats

Congratulations!!


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## sadieml

Beautiful babies.  My son says "foxes have kits, bunny babies should be called 'bunlings'".  I rather like his word, so beautiful bunlings.


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