Litter Pictures

I left the gals alone overnight to rest, eat, and sleep before I pulled their nestboxes out and did a full kit check. I took Pearl's first and could not believe my eyes. Apparently she went back for a third go after I went to bed last night and this morning there were a whopping 10 wriggling kits in her nestbox! It looks like there are a mix of agouti and self (or maybe steel). I don't see any REW's, which may indicate that Scorch doesn't carry REW genetics and that would be good for the Harlie improvement project if it is the case. Anyhow, here they are, pictured at 1 day old:

Next we have Hikari's litter. She has eight and all appear to be black Japanese. I see some nice face splits and banding, but I also see some brindling. They are super active and wiggly, as is typical of her litters. She is an excellent momma! Here they are at barely 2 days old:

Here is one up close:

Thanks for looking!

Kitcicles

I've been out of town for the past several days, but had a sitter taking care of the gang. I arrived home last night to a beautiful new litter of 8 that belong to Hikari. She did another amazing job of making a nest and pulling tons of fur. All of her kits looked outwardly healthy and warm when I checked on them.

Unfortunately, Pearl did not get the memo. She kindled two overnight and I found them on the floor this morning. It looks like she cleaned them up, but never pulled fur or made a nest. One of them had already died from exposure, but the other one came back to life when I warmed them up slowly. It is always amazing to me when a freezing cold and outwardly lifeless kitcicle suddenly starts to move again with warmth. Hopefully they will be able to nurse and grow stronger, but of course this is always a very tenuous time for newborn rabbits. I put the little one in with Kari's litter for now since there won't be any warmth in the other empty nestbox.

Pearl hasn't started eating again yet and she may have more yet to kindle, so I am watching her like a hawk just in case. I was told she was a proven mother and did a good job raising her last kits, but she is acting an awful lot like a first-timer today. Maybe it was because her one and only litter was supposed to have been a long time ago or maybe winter has something to do with it and her hormones haven't kicked in. Either way, I am not terribly concerned other than wanting to make sure any kits are taken care of properly and that she isn't experiencing any complications. This litter also confirms that Scorch and Pearl can reproduce successfully. I know it is a silly thing, but I hate to mark a buck or doe as proven even on my own paperwork until I have personally seen that they can produce live kits just as a matter of course.

Edit: Someone must have clued Pearl in that she was doing it wrong while I was typing today's blog post as later on she started nesting frantically. This afternoon she started pulling fur and lining the box with it. She then kindled several more kits- it looked like at least four additional so far that she had in the nestbox and they look like they are warm and wiggling. Yay Pearl! I went ahead and moved the original NZ kit from Kari's nestbox back to her Mom's now that hormones seem to be in full gear. :)

Merry Christmas!

May your day be merry and bright! Happy Holidays from the Hendricks' Family.

Rabbits don't make good Christmas presents.

It's that time of the year again when all of the classified sites are flooded with people selling baby rabbits (along with a bunch of other animals) as "great holiday gifts." Let me just emphasize that a living, breathing creature with a unique set of needs that requires care every single day of someone's life is not a good surprise to spring on someone unexpectedly. I am sure many people would be thrilled initially with an adorable baby bunny, but assuming they already have the supplies ($$ if they don't), you are essentially forcing them into a commitment that requires them to provide food, water, a clean cage, etc. to this new addition every single day for potentially the next eight to twelve YEARS.

The best Christmas gifts are not alive. Thank you! :)

Pearl

I took some pictures of Pearl (my New Zealand White doe) today.

Striking a pose:

 She is such a girly-girl. I'm surprised she didn't show up in make-up and heels for the photo shoot:

 To be fair, her eyelashes slay me. Sooooo pretty:

Thanks for looking!

I spoke too soon.

I was able to get a few pictures before the sun set tonight of my keeper buck from the October litter. He is a lilac Japanese and is not-yet-named, though I am leaning towards Walter for some reason, lol. He is nine weeks old in this picture and I posted another one on the Harlie page of his body. I know I am biased, but I think he is incredibly handsome and has soulful puppy-dog eyes just like his father and grandfather. It is strange and wonderful to have three generations here now under the same roof. :)

Long week.

I haven't been posting as much because I've been on a clinical rotation for school all week long. I've had to take care of the bunnies between 4-5AM and head out shortly after, so the website/blog have been at the very bottom of the priority list, below sleep, food, etc.

I have some final exams this week, so I don't expect a ton to get done as far as updates for a little bit longer. I'd like to take new pictures soon and post them though. The babies are growing like weeds. I don't know why I had slow growth with my litter last year, but these seem to be doing just fine. I do remember I was feeding Manna Pro back then and now I am offering Purina.

Either way, they have done wonders to brighten my day when I come home exhausted and brain-fried. I open the door to their grow-out cage and next thing I know I have Harlie youngsters climbing all over me just saying hello. This breed is amazing and I am thankful I didn't give up and sell out of them when I was so frustrated before.