Kits, Day 13 (And Then There Were Seven)

So we had a little bit of sadness here this morning.  Charlotte went out to the bunny barn to take care of the morning tasks and check on the kits.  Unfortunately, one of the chocolate kits crawled out of the nest box sometime after the bedtime check last night.  He wasn't stiff yet, but even after half and hour of warming, we couldn't revive him.  While twenty degree temperatures are not too cold for angora rabbits or kits in a nest box, those temperatures are too cold for a kit alone outside the nest. 

Suffice to say, the kits will be sleeping indoors for another ten days or so.

They are definitely plumping up.

Kits, Day 12--Eyes Open

Sorry about no pictures for Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday we were at the show all day, and Sunday is the Sabbath.  I took pictures last week to post on Monday, but we were just busy yesterday.  Becky is getting ready to serve a mission in Houston, Texas, for the next 18 months.  She leaves Wednesday morning, and so we have been very busy with that.

Anyway, here are pictures for Day 12.

Kits, Day 9

We got back from our road trip pretty late, so we didn't post anything for Day 8.  To make up for this gross omission, we will post our first video ever.  This is Sage nursing some of her kits.

This is not normally how the nursing of kits occurs.  Normally, Sage will hop into the nest box once or twice a day.  However, Charlotte is concerned that Sage could be in the first stages of developing mastitis.  The early treatment for this is putting the kits onto the mother and getting them to nurse as much as possible.  So this is what Charlotte does a few times a day.  She sits on the floor with Sage belly up between her legs and then puts the kits on the most affected areas. 

Kits, Day 7

Well, we're almost ready to leave on a quick road trip, so here's a quick couple of pics for today.

In the nest box, the kits will burrow deeper if they're cold.  If they're warm they'll spread out and kick the wool off. 

I put the library card in again for perspective.

Chow Time (Kits, Day 6)

Charlotte is a worrywart.  That's just all there is to it.

So she has been hovering all day over Sage and her kits, constantly checking to see whether Sage had fed the kits.  It doesn't matter that it is perfectly acceptable and normal for does to feed their kits only once per day.  Charlotte will not be happy unless they are fed twice per day. 

Anyway, Sage finally went in to feed her kits around 7:15 this evening.  Charlotte wasn't sure whether she had fed them.  They were still pretty jumpy.  But they were all wet, so that was a pretty good sign.  However, Charlotte thought Sage wasn't in the nest box long enough, so she wasn't happy about that. 

She brought Sage and the kits inside and we decided to put Sage upside down on Charlotte's lap and put the kits on top of her.  First time we've ever done that.  And Sage didn't seem to have a problem with it.  All of the kits chowed down.  Some finished up pretty quickly while others were insisting that they hadn't been fed in three days. 

It's now half an hour later and Charlotte is still examining Sage to be sure that all is well.  I'm telling her to tell Sage that it's a spa day and she should be grateful for the special treatment.  I think Sage is buying the story. 

Breeding Day

So we waited a few days after Sage kindled her kits, hoping Phantom and Fudge would do the same.

Nothing.

It was a real bummer.

But if at first you don't succeed....

So in between hours of sledding today (we got 12 inches of snow last night), Charlotte and Lydia bred their does again.

Phantom, a self-black, was paired with Coal, another self-black.  We anticipate lots of self-black kits.

Fudge, a self-chocolate, was paired with Ninja, another self-black.  We anticipate a wide variety of colors, mostly selfs and some REWs.

The kits are due December 12.

We're keeping our fingers crossed!

Kits, Days 4 and 5

We look at the kits and hold them several times a day.  And while we do see changes in color, I would swear that they are no bigger than they were at birth.

The colors are becoming a little more differentiated from one another.  Best guess right now is three chocolates, two lilacs, one chocolate sable, one lilac sable, and one chocolate steel.  Again, they're still guesses.

Day 4.  The camera was misbehaving; this is the best picture we got.

Day 5