BUNNIES!!

So our family has expanded again, we went from 2 rabbits to NINE on Halloween, with our doe Pegasus having seven kits sometime that night after we all hunkered down after trick or treating!  Knowing by counting the days she might have had her babies, Jonathan went out with a flashlight at 6 AM the next morning and discovered a thick new lining of her fur in the nest box that hadn't been there the day before and was gently rising and falling like a heartbeat (the mom buries them to keep them warm).  I started crying when he told me, couldn't help but remember they day each of my sons were born, there's just nothing like new babies!  He was so proud to make the discovery, I'm sure he'll remember that forever.  Her is one in Willima's little hand, they are about 2-3 inches long.

 

We get to bring them on once a day for a just a few minutes to count them over and inspect them all for health and changes (and just a few minutes for cuddling) before putting their box back in the hutch so the mom doesn't worry they aren't coming back and they don't miss a feeding.

 

If you've never seen  new brand spanking new rabbit...well, they don't look much like rabbits at first! This one above in my hand looks like a rat on day 2...

 

and this one looks like like a sleeping puppy on day 3.  They will change a lot though in the next week or two, over just few days it easy to see how much their ears are lengthening and their fur is coming fast.  Here are Jonathan's larger hands holding two "matchers".

 

The kids are just in love with them. No telling how many we'll actually be able to keep and how many will go to the the pet store, but we'll really enjoy them all the next few months.

 

The boys are in love and have names picked out for every one (after Halloween candies, hee!)  I'll continue to post some pics so we have a record, hope you enjoy!

Also to remind you what the parents look like, I posted these back in March when we got them for Easter.

 The mom at 6 weeks...

 The dad at 6 weeks (all white)

We had no intentions of breeding them for characteristics when we got them, but all these bunnies that look like they might be black were a bit of a shocker, that's the really fun part to see what you get!  Also both parents are very small breeds so we were also very surprised she had seven, average for a little Dutch like her s 3-6, and we are so thankful they are all thriving.  Not really sure who they all fit inside of her but I am vaguely remembering how crowded things were for me in month nine, LOL!  We are so proud of how our first time mama is taking care of them.  It just amazes me the way she knows exactly what to do.  (and again, super glad I didn't have to go through my labors unassisted, oy!  or have multiples, hee hee!)

And if you are interested, here is a video we watched the day before that shows a doe giving birth, and it was so cool we saw that ahead of time to know how things must have went down! (although this mom looks three times the size of ours!) This video IS appropriate for children, starts with photo montage and then switches to the video.The boys are really going to learn a lot abut development the next few weeks and plan to make some power point presentations for their class listing when they open their eyes, begin to hop, etc.

So that's what we've been up to!  I will need to update you on some other big family events, and let you know I just completed a big project which frees up more time for blogging again (hurray!), and enjoying playing around with my upcoming set (HINT: no flowers!!) any guesses?