Buttercotched x Aero Bar Dec 9, 2012
sold to a pet home in Brantford, B will be going to a lovely pet home. :) yes, I need an up-to-date picture of Marie, but I don't have one right now so this wil have to do.
Marie gave NO indication that she was preggers AND was a difficult breeder so I wan't holding out much hope for littles. I was expecting another doe to kindle so I went out after church (funeral today) to check on her and found five kits from Marie. They are all light in colour. So not sure if they will end up being sable points or if some magpie colours will come in later. (or just are too light to see quickly in this cold weather we have right now) Soldier is dad. Broken black mini rex doe DJ (a friend's doe that I'm hosting) had eight kits last night.
She had been bred to Buck, a black japanese mini rex that I rescued and used for breeding before he went to his new home. i wasn't sure what to expect. We got a mixed bag of broken black, solid black, and I'm not sure what some of them are. Time will tell for sure. I got to see them born as she had them between 1155 and 1205. I gave extra fur as it was going to be cold last night. They were, as you can see, in great shape this morning. I really need an up-to-date picture of Splash. She's still a quiet shy doe, but not quite this shy anymore. She's more a calm lass that doesn't seek the limelight.
Anyways, 12 kits born through Spots. three were quite small so were culled. (two looked like they would die shortly). Hopefully she can raise 9 kits successfully. I don't have a picture of Jackson, he was a meat rabbit only here for a quarantine period and then off again to a new home. He was a torty-chestnut colour. Anyways, with Biscuit we had 14 kits born. Biscuit will regularly only raise 9-11 of those so I culled the five smallest (five were quite small the rest were fairly large). I'd rather cull then have them get pushed to the side and freeze, or slowly starve to death.
Now here's a fun story from Australia.
They want to get rid of the Easter bunny in Australia because rabbits are HUGE program (negative problem). They are endangering this odd looking beastie called a Bilby. So they want to start marketing the Easter Bilby. Here's an article on it. Two pups born. Didn't expect them this soon, figured it would be another week or so as she wasn't very large. BUT we have two pups. One male (black and red) and one female (black with one white paw). Cute little whips. :) The lad is intrigued by the black one and wishes we could keep her, the male is just a sweetie and may make for my next breeding boar. I had this question asked of me today.
Why do you have a health guarantee? My response was "because I don't know what kit is going to stress at being in a new place and which ones won't". A kit that stresses...you know within 24 hours. They stop eating, they pout in a corner, they are basically saying I'm an unhappy rabbit. 99% of all rabbits...they move to new digs and they are perfectly fine with the change. This assuming that their needs are being met. Clean cage, no food changes, no unusual treats. BUT that remaining 1%.... I don't know why but they stress. I subject my kits to cage changes, time away from mom, new roomies, feed changes so I expect them to be good to go when they leave home. And most of them are, but sometimes you get a kit that just doesn't like being away from home. THAT is why I have a health guarantee. NOW what to do if you have a stressy kit. 1. tempt them with safe greens. I generally recommend parsley. Tends to go over really well with bunnies. And if it is soaked in water first, also gets extra fluids in them. 2. don't bug 'em. Give 'em a safe place to be and just leave them alone. Generally that's all they need. IF it continues into day two I tend to recommend people bring them back and I'll get them the first available next kit of similar value. (my choice on that kit). |
AuthorI have been breeding rabbits for a quite a few years. I thoroughly enjoy them as animals and think they make great pets. I also like to take some of them to rabbit shows to see how they measure up to the standards. For the BEST rabbit forum I've ever found. Go to Rabbittalk.com. Good for the pet rabbit owner as well as the breeder for meat or show.
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