Blessing after blessing

More blessing at our Rabbit House.  Today, Thumper had 7 buns!  I really did not think she had any 'buns in the oven' because she only accepted Buck to mount her one time!  Looks like mostly grey, maybe two white. 
Everything about this adventure has been a blessing.  (Aside from the cost), we (Ron and I) have worked together more on this project than any other (most projects did not take this long:)), we have seen positive relationships develop from it and have been blessed with 2 DOZEN new kits!  We have not suffered any loss so far and have learned a great deal (mostly me) from the experience.  I have learned to re-purpose many items around the house that I felt were USE-LESS.  Some items found use pertaining to the rabbits, some items just found new 'job/application' in other ways.  And the biggest blessing of all is the outside support and interested we are receiving from family, friends and new meets (people we meet that are new).
First I want to show you my wonderful/best friend husband who has been the shining star in this project.

 Above you can see us working on the front door.  Below is an area I set up for the rabbits to be free and run around.  When rabbits are very happy, they binky.  I had 3 of the four rabbits (one at a time) out while we worked on the rabbit house and the three had so much fun binkying around!

 Here is buck exploring the area

I had to take pictures of Beauty's litter.  They now have their eyes open and are finding their way out of the nest box.  The box is so full of bunnies, they just walk right over one another and out the come.  Just a guess, but I think that is how come I keep finding one outside the box.  They are pretty strong and will jump right from your hands if you are not careful.  This white one is getting a back rub.  One of these black ones already has a home promised to (him or her).

After seeing Beauty's Foxy's sure can show you how much difference from one week to the next, how the pink is still very visible.

 I gave Buck a box to play in.  I felt he was jealous that he was the only one without a box to explore.  Just like anything else not tied down in the cage, he lifted it, threw it, chewed on it and climbed in it.

Here are some pictures of the new babies.

 Ok you cant see in there very well.  That is because most of them are gray and she built a tight box.  I might try later for a peek but I did not want to disturb them too much because they were still wet from birth when I checked the box.  OOOOpsss   Should not be a problem but I did not know till I checked.  She seemed ok with me being in there.  More on that later.
I have been getting alot done here even thought it seems like a tornado hit my house!  Most of my chores that I can get done when I am home.... are beyond ordinary cleaning.  We have a lot of projects going and eating, dishes and laundry are the only basics that seem to be caught up.  As soon as I finish one project, another needs my attention.  Anyone else feel that way???
We are grateful we can do what we are doing and that all is going well so far.  We are grateful for those of you who support us with kind words, handy skills and resources.  Spread the word that we have our rabbit adventure up and going good and pray that we continue to be blessed.

Comment and see you again next time!  

A couple of ways out of the ordinary observations

I just wanted to fill you all in on a few things my rabbits have done that is not the norm.

•  First they had all their kits in the box.  
• Next the did not pull fur until a few days after.  Today Foxy pulled a lot and Beauty did a little the third day.
• I have seen Beauty and now Foxy feeding in the middle of the day.  Everything I read said they would feed at dusk and dawn.
• The little ones will uncover themselves, I believe, when the nest box is too warm.  With 10 little ones in Beauty's box and getting their fur could make it pretty warm in there.  Foxy's little ones were close to the opening of the box.  Not sure if she fed them and they 'dropped' there after the feeding or if they crawled there.  It sure would be nice to be a fly in that rabbit house!
• The nursing mothers are drinking their water to empty twice a day!  Plus I give them fresh green grass and a half carrot each day.  They need plenty of water to make their milk.

All 17 kits are doing well.  I plan to get a scale so I can tell you how much they have grown.  With Thumper due over the weekend or early next week, I should get a measurement of a typical newborn and then weigh Beauty's babies which are 8 days old now are so adorable and so big.  Cant wait to show you.

Here is the nestbox undisturbed.  Notice how they are spreading out.  Must be getting pretty hot in there!

 Here are a few in the spotlight!  Or camera light to be more exact!

Look at this one checking out the tp roll.  He is already curious about his surroundings.  They could easily jump right out of my hands.  They are strong and heavy, like the size of a newborn pup. 
We will be gone all day tomorrow to our grandson's first birthday party so please come back over the weekend or early next week and see how Thumper is doing with her new motherhood role.  Thanks for stomping by:)

NEW ARRIVALS!

Since we have 3 does and we breed them all for the first time a month ago, we have more arrivals.  One doe Beauty gave birth one week ago and had 10 babies.  She is a New Zealand, black.

 

She had 5 black and 5 white

 

Here is buck.  He is a New Zealand White.

He is the proud papa of all kits.

Now here is Foxy.  She is too is a New Zealand but a dark gray.  Today she had 7 babies.  Two dark gray, (I believe) and 5 white. 

 

So.... here are the babies.   Two gray and 5 white.I think Bucks white will be a dominant  color in each litter of kits! 

Foxy did pull a little fur.  The weather is mild today but we are expecting storms tonight so I will be double checking on her kits tonight to make sure she has fed them and they are keeping dry and warm.
I really did not expect Foxy to kindle until late tonight.  I put Beauty back in the rabbit shed yesterday to encourage Foxy (was my thought anyway) on what to do and I think it worked.
I just want to say we have been blessed with all our rabbits being healthy considering this is our first time with rabbits.  The Lord has watched over, blessed and enlightened us all the way.  He has also blessed us with healthy kits for first time does, buck and well.... me.
I would also like to thank the following people for their help with our adventure: Ron (my dear husband) Dakota, Craig, Aaron, Laura, George and Deloris V, Ken (who we got the rabbits from)
I also want to thank all my friends who have been supportive and my viewers who are watching our rabbitry grow.  Thanks and dont forget to comment.

 

5 days old

I wanted you to see how big the bunnies have grown.  They are now 5 days old.  I picked up two for close ups and both of them snuggled down into my hand.  I think they are getting so much cutter.  The white ones are growing in their hair and are less pink.

 Look how much they have grown!

So cute.  Now, here is the box with the toilet tissue roll for size comparison.  It has been two days since the last photos and you might not be able to tell in the photos but I can tell when I pick them up.....they are getting bigger and heavier!

Here are the babies at 3 days

Now here are the babies at five days.  See the color change in the white one?  And that black one next to the roll looks like he could be just as big if not bigger than the roll.  I would have to say, they are ON A ROLL! and growing fast.

Here is one more of each of the colors next to each other.  So cute. 
We worked on the south side of the rabbit house last night.  Did not finish it so no photo yet.  Thanks for stopping and viewing and please leave a comment on these cutties.  See you when Foxy has hers which today is day 30.
 If she took and will have any it could be anytime now, likely tomorrow late at night.  But since this is her first time to kindle, she might take as much as 35 days!  We just have to wait and see.  She wont let me feel her like Beauty did. 
She looks a little fatter but rabbits done show like cats and dogs so it just might mean she has put back on her weight she lost from the transition from the previous owner to us.  And then right after they all got here, we got hit with very hot weather which is harder on rabbits than below zero weather.  It must mean that fur coat does a good job. 
Did you know that rabbits can not pant like a dog to keep cool?  And the only place they can lose heat is in their ears where there is less fur.  So when it was hot, I dipped my hands in cool water and rubbed it on their ears.  They really enjoyed it so I  know it was helpful. 
Let me know if you know any fun facts about rabbits.  Visit again tomorrow to see what is new at....
WascallyWabbitRabbitry!  and thanks for stopping.

Good look at new bunnies

Here is a picture of the bunnies in their nextbox.  Notice the used dryer sheets and tore up cotton balls.  Beauty is a good mom but she did not pull any fur so I had to help her out.

 Here are the bunnies out of the box.  The first is a white one and the second is a black one.

 

 

And here is the whole litter.  There are 10 kits, all healthy, warm and growing fast.  Their ears are growing the most.  Their fur is a little longer.  They are 4 days old here.  I will post more pictures as they grow.  Thanks for stopping and please ask questions and add comments.  Theresa

Update on rabbit condo- window and exercise time

We now have our first window on our rabbit condo.  As Ron was working our bunnies had exercise time in the kennel.  Since the bar that supports their cages is attached to the framework, the pounding was too much so I moved Beauty and her babies int he garage where it was a little more peaceful and used this outside time working with Ron to let each rabbit have some fun time out of their cages.

Beauty has her babies

I know you will be so excited to know that Beauty had her babies.  She worked on her nest box but two days before she kindled, we had so much rain that even the inside of our rabbit condo was damp.  So I changed out her nextbox with dry hay.  Look at the back field!  Its flooded and we have a duck swimming in the puddle.  This extended all the way south to the fence.  Larger puddle than after our winter thaw!

So Thursday the 20th Beauty was 31 days and ready to kindle.  I stayed up on Bunny Watch.  Every two hours I checked on her to make sure no kits were born on the cage bottom.  Rabbits do not carry their babies around like cats and dogs so I had to make sure they would make it into the nest and keep warm.  She did not pull any fur so I tore up cotton balls and added them to her nextbox.  I went to check on her at 11:45 and I could see she was in her box.  I did not go into the kennel because I could hear a little squeak and she looked like she was busy cleaning.
I came back out in 20 minutes when I noticed she was no longer in her box but out drinking water.  There was one baby in the next box that was just born and had not made it to the back where the rest of the litter was so I helped it back there and then left her until Laura came home two hours or so later.
Laura and I went out to check to make sure there were no lost kits.  She used the camera while I handled the kits.  I reached in and found warm babies.  I took out the first 5 and was very happy to see all were healthy and warm.  I reached back in and was surprised at how many more I could feel!  There was a total of 10 live, healthy and warm buns in the nextbox.

We decided to count them by color this time.  We have 5 white and 5 black babies!  Beauty did a great job and we are very happy with her hard work.

Roof on rabbit house and a look inside 8-16-15

For some reason, many of my posts were deleted!  So lets back up and repost what has happened at our rabbitry.
First we have the roof on the rabbit house along with two windows.   Rabbits are spending most of their time in the kennel now which means less work because I do not have to clean the tarps under their cages every two days.

We will have a door with a large window area for sunshine but protection from the weather.  The other sides all have windows that open to allow airflow.

Here are three doe cages lined up on the east wall.  Two have cardboard along the bottom edge to keep the kits from falling out.  Beauty is the first to kindle and is due the 20th of Aug. 2015.