One Week Old

Here are new pics. You can see they have darkened a bit. Maybe the lighter ones are both fawn...maybe they will get darker and be orange. They are growing like crazy and their mom is great. She is the best mother I have seen in my brief history of breeding. She jumps right in, takes care of them and they are so stuffed and full they can barely move.

Anyway, here are the pics.

All of them together:



And the two fawn/orange ones:


The Chestnut:




The Broken:


The solid:

Name that color

The three velveteen lops are growing fast and changing colors. I need help. Unfortunately some of the colors are a bit washed out.
Here is Kit One:


And now Kit Two:






and finally Kit Three:

Velveteen Lops

In May I bought 3 velveteen lops. 2 Juniors, a buck:


and a doe:


and one bred doe:

Today she kindled three kits.
I have to say that in the few weeks that they have been living with me I have totally fallen for these guys. They are so sweet and affectionate. I look forward to raising them.

Half Way Through June

It is hard to believe that it is half-way through June and I have only posted once. School is out which is good and bad. Good because I know the kids need a break but bad because Anna is already bored. We have some summer fun classes scheduled but not every week and this is one week she is home. Last week she made lots of things out of old jeans. A skirt, some purses, some wall hangings. All very cute and things I would have never thought of making. Next week she is back at class - Arts and Crafts I think.
David is out looking for a job. He is putting in applications all over. He is at a bit of a disadvantage because he didn't start sooner but he was in a play at school and felt he could not commit to anything else. We shall see. He may have to work in food. Gasp!;). Oh the horror ;). I believe he just needs to get a job. He will be in his senior year in the fall. Hard to believe I will soon have three out of high school.
The heat is setting in. We were lucky up until about a week ago. The weather was cooler than usual. So, now have fans and water bottles and a swamp cooler and wet cloths over cages trying to keep everyone cool.
Unfortunately, I lost the last litter of FA. It was almost like a failure to thrive. They stopped growing. I watched them eat everyday but they didn't get much bigger. The only other unusual thing with them was that I had to remove large poop pellets that were half way sticking out. Their mom had lots of fresh water and feed and she did not have any poop problems. They also had an eye discharge that I faithfully cleaned each day.
Anna's two remaining babies are doing great. I had them in a big plastic tub in my bathroom during the night and part of the day. It is about a 30 gallon tub. Well, they are able to jump out of it. I was surprised to find them sitting on the floor looking so proud of themselves. They are staying out with mom now all the time.
We had another litter born three weeks ago. Three babies - 1 tort and 2 ermine?. Their dad is ermine and has a dark nose, dark eyes and ears are dark. These guys look like they will have his appearance. I am weighing them everyday and they are growing ok I think.
Bred two more does and they will be due around July 8th.
My oldest son told me he is getting married on the 4th of July in Oklahoma. My husband's tribe has their big pow wow every year on that date. So, will be going to OK first week of July. A bit surprising but he is 20. I think so young. But when I was 20 I thought I was all grown up too.
Will have pictures up by early next week I think.
Blessings

Hard to Understand

It is really hard to lose so many baby bunnies. About a week ago Anna lost 5 from her Dutch litter and now has only 3 left. In the past two days I have lost three from the last French Angora litter. With the Dutch the mom stomped on three of them and then two just died. The three I lost all looked good except for Chizzi. He was scrawny and not gaining weight. But the last two were hopping around a few hours before I found them dead.

I start to question my abilities as a breeder. I know I clean the cages and the next boxes regularly. With the adults I watch their poop and feed them a good variety. From the lists I read feeding is a very personal thing and people have very strong opinions. I think there is really a broad spectrum of what is good to feed and that people should do what they have found works for them. We have a lot of fresh alfalfa and clover growing and the rabbits all seem pleased to get some.

I am sure that it is for the best that these babies pass on. Perhaps, they do not have a strong immune system, perhaps, they have traits not best passed on. I just want to make sure I am not doing something that inadvertantly contributes.

In other news, the heat has started up here. Have found that turning the fans and swamp cooler on early in the morning and then at noon wetting materials and putting it over the cages really keeps the heat at bay. I also clipped and or plucked the angoras tonight. I also read about freezing ceramic tiles to put in the cages. Will get some and try it out.

The ducks are growing up. Two of them have been laying since February. My son and husband are selling them to a local health food store under the name "Eggs Are Us". It is buying the duck food. The ducks are very funny actually. They swarm around me when I go out to take care of bunnies if David has not fed them enough. And they lie in wait until someone doesn't latch the gate properly then they head out onto the road. They are relatively easy to herd back into their yard though.