Steamy Bunny Watch!……..July 19, 2005

Yikes……..2 posts in 24 hours!  What does that tell you??  It is just too darn hot and steamy to do anything that requires too much effort.

Yesterday I dyed up some angora and some silk.  Normally, I would put this outside to dry, but with the extreme humidity we are having, I am sure that it would take days if not a week to dry.  Instead I spread out the batches on the island in my kitchen.  I had convinced my husband to put a/c in the kitchen this weekend, after I couldn’t stand it one more day. (whine, whine, whine..hehe)  Both dried in record time!!

Look at the difference between the angora and the silk.  The silk is sooo shiny…..and the angora is so soft.

Bunny Watch

Baby bunnies are expected here tomorrow.  I am excited as the mother of this litter is my best doe.  She is an incredible fiber producer.  I bred her earlier in the spring, but the breeding didn’t take.  Given that there have been some questions bantering about, regarding the fertility of some of the newer German imports, I decided to breed her to a different buck this time and I bred the buck from the first breeding to another proven doe, to see if it was just the combination. 

A few days before a doe’s due date, I will sit with them in my easy chair that I have in the rabbitry.  I gently hold them like a baby and rest my hand lightly against their bellies to feel for movement.  As I held Savvy, I could feel a lot of wiggling and jiggling…yippee!  On the other hand, Irina’s belly is very quiet, so I have to suspect that the buck may have some issues.  I will wait now until early fall or late winter to breed him again. He comes from pretty fertile lines, so there shouldn’t be a problem, but time will tell.

I am a bit nervous about this impending litter.  I use a drop nest for mothers to use when they are kindling.  I like them because they simulate what a doe would do in the wild.  In the wild, a rabbit would dig a hole, line it with wool and kindle.  This way, they can cover up the hole with grass, to keep the babies safe. 

The drop nest has worked great for me here and I have not yet lost a litter due to it being scattered on the wire.  My mothers have instinctively known what it was for.  I give my girls access to this attached cage usually 3 days before their due date and fill it with hay.  Most will nibble on the hay for the first few days and then get down to business of making a nest on the day of kindling.   This girl however is determined to use it as her litter box.  I have emptied it and refilled it every day, hoping to deter her, but it hasn’t.  I will be in and out of the rabbitry for the next few days, hoping that if this girl chooses to scatter the litter, that I will catch it in time to save any babies.  Maybe I will get lucky and it will click with Savvy, what this nest is for.

The proud Daddy!

Travel plans
Hannah and I are heading off tomorrow to visit Ron and Terry Miller of Snowshoe Farm Alpacas.  Anne left her bunny cages for me when she moved to Utah and Terry was kind enough to keep them there for me until I could make room in the barn for them.

Tomorrow is supposed to be less humid and a little more conducive to outside activities.  Hopefully Savvy will have  kindled otherwise, I may have to postpone our trip.  Hannah and I are really looking forward to visiting the Alpacas, so fingers are crossed that Savvy comply.