HarDel Rabbitry Journal

[Miss mouse]

Had a wonderful surprise this morning. I was weighing the babies from the new litter when I found a baby whose color was missing. I assumed mom cleaned it off so I kept weighing the rest thinking I'd narrow down which which color it should've been. Get through all the rest and discover it's a BONUS BABY. I must have found the babies when mom wasn't quite done yet so we got one more! so now the litter is 9 living which matches her sister's litter of 9.

I have also successfully lined up a buck from the girl's brother so I don't have to figure out how to come up with a himi baby from my genetics

So all in all today was pretty awesome. I also went to sit in the skid with the babies and they crawled all over me which was super cute.

Next up is chunky and speckle bum who are due in 5 and 6 days respectively. They have both been making giant messes of their hay feeders, nesting boxes, and overall cages so hopefully they build good nests in all their excitement.

 

[drstratton]

Had a wonderful surprise this morning. I was weighing the babies from the new litter when I found a baby whose color was missing. I assumed mom cleaned it off so I kept weighing the rest thinking I'd narrow down which which color it should've been. Get through all the rest and discover it's a BONUS BABY. I must have found the babies when mom wasn't quite done yet so we got one more! so now the litter is 9 living which matches her sister's litter of 9.

I have also successfully lined up a buck from the girl's brother so I don't have to figure out how to come up with a himi baby from my genetics

So all in all today was pretty awesome. I also went to sit in the skid with the babies and they crawled all over me which was super cute.

Next up is chunky and speckle bum who are due in 5 and 6 days respectively. They have both been making giant messes of their hay feeders, nesting boxes, and overall cages so hopefully they build good nests in all their excitement.

Congratulations, bonuses are always nice!

I hope you will be able to get the color that you're wanting with your new buck!

Looking forward to watching your current litter grow and to seeing what you get in your next two!

 

[Miss mouse]

What color are these babies?

 

[drstratton]

View attachment 73202View attachment 73203View attachment 73204View attachment 73205
What color are these babies?

Is that the litter that was just born? They look brown! What was the cross? I'm no expert, just curious!

 

[Miss mouse]

Is that the litter that was just born? They look brown! What was the cross? I'm no expert, just curious!

These guys are a week old. They were all black from the day they were born. I noticed the shading starting yesterday and more prominent today and it's only on about 1/3. Daddy is pure black mom is a Californian with super dark brown ears.

 

[Miss mouse]

The parents

The day they were born

 

[drstratton]

These guys are a week old. They were all black from the day they were born. I noticed the shading starting yesterday and more prominent today and it's only on about 1/3. Daddy is pure black mom is a Californian with super dark brown ears.

I thought they looked older, but I'm new to breeding! I think the color is going to be really pretty!

 

[Miss mouse]

Yesterday we lost one of the kits from the latest litter. He just seemed to lose a bunch of weight and then he got squished in the nest by his siblings. It was really disappointing and I felt a little guilty that I didn't try feeding him but despite the weight loss, he had a full belly the day before so I wasn't worried. So she's back down to 8 kits. Good thing we got the bonus bunny I guess. The original runt is doing really well so hopefully we've settled out now.

The younger litter is starting to turn black now so it looks like I'm going to have plenty of black bunnies this season... 6 in the skid, 18 in nesting boxes, and another black litter on the way.

Today I decided to de-matt Cucumber's bum. Hes such a sweet quiet little thing that he put up with being brushed and yanked on amazingly. Had to get my boyfriend to hold up Cuc's bum for me so I could safely work around his tail without neutering him by accident but the pile of fur I cut off him makes me think he should be far more comfortable now. For some reason he doesn't really shed normal, the shedding fur seems to just clump and stay in amongst the fresh fur, it's kinda strange. You can see the old fur because it looks like little white clumps amongst his fawn colour.

In a completely separate line of thought; our feral kitty, Nixie, appears to have had her babies but I don't know where to look for them. They aren't in the Quonset where she is fed and often naps. Any suggestions where in the brush I should look for baby kittens? I'm hoping to tame them so we don't get over run with ferals like mom.

I've also lined up homes for Sourdough and Biscuit now that we've decided against using them as breeders. They are such sweeties I'm glad someone else wants to breed them.

 

[Miss mouse]

SO here's a question for my bunny people following along. The 7 week olds are insanely tame. if you go out to the skid they swarm around you for treats and cuddles and pets. They'll jump in your lap and don't mind being picked up. I've literally pet these babies every day of their lives but here's the thing, the tans have all started biting, HARD not just a light nip like they want a pet or they're tasting to see if your clothes are edible. Today I had one bite my leg, thumb, and pointer finger super hard in the span of a few minutes. I said ow and pushed her away everytime. She just came right back and kept at it. Why have they started this and how do I curb it? They are going to their homes next week and I don't need them biting their new owners!

@Bunnylady @B&B Happy goats @Baymule

 

[Miss mouse]

As I'm waiting very impatiently for the litters due today and tomorrow I'll switch to cats for a moment. There are 5 cats we feed, 2 are my indoor spoiled brats, Dusty and Felix, our outdoor noodle kitten, Tiger Lily, the feral that we see daily, Nixie, and the feral that we lay eyes on so rarely I often start to think she's gone, Kelpie. Dusty and Felix are both fixed and Felix likes to got play outside with the outside kitties.
So there's this Tom cat that comes around roughly every 3 months and knocks up the feral cats and scares the **** out of Felix. We spotted him today so I let Tiger in the house because she isn't quite a year yet and not even 5lbs. I don't think having kittens would be good for her. I got really mad when I saw him because the ferals must have JUST had his last litters (I've gone searching, I can't find the kittens) and he shows up again! I wish I knew his rotation so I could catch him and get him fixed.
Well at least Tiger Lily is a happy camper, she's in here enjoying all the things the indoor cats are bored of by now