And We Grow

Our family has grown to ... TWELVE!  Yikes!  The doe we got last week was apparently pregnant.  Wish they would have told us, but thankfully B went down first thing in the morning to check them.  The kits had been pushed out, either by the buck (Stitch) or by the mama (Lilo) trying to protect them.  The other fortunate thing was that we'd finished the big hutch yesterday and it has a box for the babies.  We got them moved over and we're hopeful that all four will survive!  P is overjoyed except he doesn't understand why he can't hold them yet.

Mama feeding her littles

Lilo seems to be pretty calm and we think she's fed them.  B starts school today, so P and I are going to head in with him to pick up a few things for her.  And, we'll need to build another hutch in the next month or so to separate all of the bunnies out.  I think 6 bunnies is plenty!!  I'll get better pictures soon to share, but here is one of Lilo in the box feeding the kits! :)

Our 4 little kits

So, today has been a big learning day.  I learned that bucks don't normally kill their young ... on purpose, that is.  Often when they do kill their young it's because they've trampled them or shoved them somewhere unsafe (like onto the basement tile :/) because they're trying to mate again.  Horny little devils!  After sharing this information with the rest of the family, I found out that Stitch was indeed  mating poor Lilo.  Which means that it is entirely possibly the poor doe is already pregnant again.  We will be making another hutch in the next few days, maybe two of them, so that we can separate the kits out as the grow and to also leave this hutch open for Lilo if she does have another litter.  Looks like we may have some Easter bunnies to share!  There are a few kids on our street that may enjoy a bunny and, if not, we'll try and find other homes (in the event there are more growing).  

I learned how to feel (palpate) for the babies, though, I'm not sure if I'll be able to feel it the first time, we'll see.  But, that might help to know.  And, this time we'll at least be aware and watching her behavior in about 28 days which is when she should start nesting.

I thought I'd share in a little more detail how the last few days have been.  Since we've only had the buns for a week, they're still getting used to us.  P spends a lot of time downstairs with them so even though he's a lot more rambunctious than any of the rest of us, they are far more comfortable with him.  While they run from me, I usually don't have too much trouble catching them to put them back into their cage.  However, the past couple of nights, Lilo has been a terror.  In fact, 2 nights ago she was so adamant about not letting me near her, she ran right into the leg of a table.  I was surprised she didn't knock herself out and left her for another hour.  Then, yesterday afternoon, P came upstairs and said that she'd ripped up a book (just an old book from his pre-k that was only paper).  She had shredded it in a corner next to a bookcase in the schoolroom and I should have known.  But, I just assumed that she was trying to make a nest, not for babies, but because she didn't want to go back into the cage.  I cleaned it all up and tucked them in for the night.

This morning B's sister saw the food container in the middle of the cage, empty.  She came up and told Ben and he went down to get it.  When he got to the cage he saw the babies outside on the floor.  Trying to be funny (and I think a little excited ;)) he ran upstairs and meant to slide into the living room to get his mom.  But, he overshot it and fell!  So silly!  She got downstairs and pulled Lilo out and put her into a little canvas container I have for odds and ends.  Lilo had pulled plenty of her fur out, but it was also pushed out.  So, M got the babies tucked in near mom and covered them up with the fur.  Surprisingly, Lilo seemed fairly content in the little container for the time it took to get the hutch in.

B came up to wake me up to help ... at first I thought he was saying there was a storm and the hutch had blown away.  But, then I realized what he was saying and P woke up to hear there were new babies!  B and his dad had to take off the nesting box trying to get the hutch downstairs.  It was turning in to a mess and I realized there was just no point.  The hutch could find a place in the living room.  And it did!  Maybe not the most stylish piece of living room furniture, but we're all enthralled with these little creatures that it is the absolute perfect spot for it!

Lilo is doing perfect.  She's still pretty anxious, though, since we got her pregnant, it's hard to tell what her non-bred personality is yet.  But, most important is that she isn't smothering the kits and she's eating.  She's also been far more calm with me.  She still jumps and sometimes hops off if I pet her, but she knows that I'm the one bringing her treats, so often she waits to see if I have food or not, if I do, she'll either eat it out of my hand or just go about her business while I set it out for her.  The kits seem to be fed, though, I learned that her milk may not come in for up to 48 hrs and to give her that much time to see if they are getting fed.  I've been told that their bellies should be slightly round and they shouldn't be wrinkly.  But, I'm thinking that's relative right now.  I mean, they're tiny and hairless ... how can they NOT be wrinkly!?  So, we'll see how they're doing by tomorrow night and if they seem to be skinny, we'll hand feed them.  

So, so cool!!!  Welcome to the farm!! =D