It's all about the luck..

So you'd think this post is about the luck of breeding/culling/showing....you're wrong.

First, let me share the news- The Nature Trail's Miss Muffet kindled 3 healthy babies last night! More about her later ;).

We decided to move one of my bucks out of the house, back to his spot in the rabbitry because it was decently warm today. While out there, I thought "Eh, I'll try to breed a few girls". So I'm piddling around, and we find out that Nerissa had a second baby, out of the nestbox- dead of course. *sigh* Her first baby was a giant. Poor girl.

I heard this odd warbling sound, kind of like two hamsters fighting, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I wandered around looking for it, but it stopped, so I gave up, assuming the mice were back (I saw one today- first I've seen in weeks. Bah).

Tim was talking to me when it started again so I said "SHHH" and followed the noise- STRAIGHT to Wish Upon A Star's cage. She's a chinchilla mini lop doe I got from Sarah out in California.

She was pregnant, bred by Sarah for me, but I didn't have her due for another few days. She was due for a box tomorrow. Well she decided to have her babies right then and there- with no nestbox. She didn't even pull fur!

Oh.........no.........

So I scoop up all FIVE of them (3 broken, 2 solids) and yell for Tim, he grabbed the babies, I made a nest, threw in some of my "saved" wool/fur (it definitely saved my butt!) and moved her to a new cage, because of COURSE the box was too big for her to easily get in, in the cage she was in (because of her weird poop corner).

We warmed the babies up, who were like, SUPER fresh. Poor Tim got blood all over his shirt, we're working on getting that out right now. After they warmed up some, I chose one to put in with Miss Muffet, in case Wish doesn't take care of her kids (if she does, the baby will go back with it's siblings). I gave Alexis and Morning Mist their boxes, stuffed with hay, in case they decide to go early too.

Man, sometimes it's all about luck! If we hadn't moved that buck right then, or if we hadn't hung around to breed a few, if I hadn't been paying attention and heard the babies squeak...we'd have had 5 dead babies.

As it is, I'm hoping all five make it, and that Wish is a good mom. I'm going to keep a regular check on her babies, as well as Miss Muffet's, since I'm taking a chance asking her to raise this mini lop baby. She's been a good foster mom for me before though, so I don't anticipate problems! I'm just so glad it was warm today!

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry