"Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way."
-John Muir
Okay, so it isn't spring... Just pretend it is. It might as well be, all of the new life around here is so exciting!
It's been awhile since the last Rabbit Report, so let me catch all of you up. We bred our Rex doe Tauriel on the 27th of December
To our mini Rex buck Presley
And she is due on the 26th of January.
Next up, our Californian doe Eden
was, as you know, bred to our Silver Fox buck Spartan
on the 7th of December...
She kindled between 9pm on the 6th of January (which is when she was due) and 6am on the 7th of January. She gave birth to seven healthy, sassy, FAT baby bunnies!
They are all black, like Spartan, but one of them seems to be lighter than the rest. They were just counted today due to the cold and we were delighted to find seven very healthy babies in the nest.
Eden is a stupendous mother, and she is definitely a permanent addition to our Rabbit Project!
Tauriel, on the other hand, has become rude now that she has been bred (she bites and squeaks when one of us tries to pet her) and she may be sold once her babies are old enough to no longer be on her. The Goodwife said that some rabbits do this, and she had a Blue Rex doe who did the same thing. It is a shame, but we do not want to pass on these traits to our livestock.
Once she is sold I may begin a new project... Which is for another day, and another post... ;)
Tauriel's babies can already be seen rolling around in her tummy...
New life is so exciting! Stay tuned for another Rabbit Report!
Yay! Those babies look fat and happy! I wouldn't worry too much about Tauriel either- this is common when their hormones get wild and many does settle down right after birth and may never be fussy again (even with future pregnancies). You can always move her on if she doesn't settle, but I've never had a doe that was kind before stay rude after kindling. I will keep my fingers crossed for the crew! Eden is SO pretty- I love pointed whites. :)
ReplyDeleteThe babies are doing wonderfully! I will be posting on them again when they open their eyes and I'll post their weights too. We'll have to decide whether or not to keep her; It will depend mainly on her mothering abilities.... If she isn't a good mother, that will be our indication that she needs to be sold. If she is, we may keep her... And yes, I love Eden too.. She has really relaxed since kindling. (she wasn't mean, just very afraid... Of EVERYTHING) I would like to get better pictures since she is just in the same position pretty much every picture! lol
DeleteAbout 12 years ago or so, when I was breeding Rex rabbits for show, I had a Blue doe that was the exact same way as Tauriel. She was the sweetest doe, but immediately after being bred (and I mean like 30 seconds after) she would bite and charge and squeak. After she kindled she went back to being sweet as pie. Hopefully Tauriel will be the same. She has settled down a bit, but she still squeaks and will charge occasionally. Hopefully she'll be as good a mom as Eden is being! :)
DeleteTauriel is a lovely rabbit. It's a shame her temperament took a negative turn. :( You're right though, that is NOT a trait you want to pass on. Congrats on Eden's litter! It'll be interesting to see if they get the silvering from their father.
ReplyDeleteShe is beautiful.. I was very disappointed when she was so sweet before and suddenly she just wanted to bite and squeak whenever we touched her! However, her mothering abilities will be our indicator as whether or not to go ahead and sell her. Eden is a FANTASTIC mother, therefore we will be keeping her for sure, even though she is a bit fearful. She is making progress though since her kindling! And yes that was something I was wondering about when they were born. Silver Fox rabbits usually start getting their silver coloring around four weeks, so we shall see if they inherit that trait, or if the babies are just plain black, or if we get a mixture of both! So exciting! :)
DeleteI find all this so interesting... love that I can learn about it from your post.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It is an interesting subject, one that I enjoy teaching and talking about :)
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