Monday, March 19, 2007

We Have Baby Bunnies!












This morning as I was feeding the rabbits I noticed Flower pulling her fur out to line her nest. I figured she would have babies tomorrow. They weren't due till Saturday but she decided she had been pregnant long enough! When I went out after lunch she had 10 babies!! One was dead but the other 9 are doing well. There is one tiny little runt that I will be keeping a eye on. I will supplement that one with a bottle once a day. The runt always gets pushed aside and since Flower only has 8 teats it will be hard for the little one to get enough milk from her. Baby bunnies only nurse once every 24 hours so one bottle a day should be plenty to help it catch up with the bigger babies. Once again they all look like Flower and none like Thumper. Poor guy, you think at least one would look like him.




Sammi, Diva and Nitro must be growing as they are hungry all the time. You can feed them and as soon as they eat they are hungry again. They get a mix of goat feed, sweet grain, oaks, black oil sunflower seeds and corn with a carrot thrown in. When they finish their feed they have alfalfa waiting for them to munch on and they get 2 0r 3 cookies each after each feed. Diva and Sammi get a half cup of herbs. It helps Diva with her pregnancy and helps Sammi build up from having her babies. I just came in from giving them some veggie scraps I had from cooking dinner. I am going to think on changing their feed around and see if that helps. They already get more than they are suppose to be getting each day.
Don't you just love my hay rack? LOL I am using a old wheelbarrow tied to the fence so they all can get to the alfalfa without fighting. Sally had 10 duck eggs and since the incubator is already full I put the eggs under Snow White and Betsy. They both want to sit on eggs so now they are sitting on duck and chicken eggs. Think they will wonder why the babies quack instead of cheep?

I hatched one baby chick from the incubator and he is in with the other chicks doing fine. I was surprised the bigger chicks are acting like mothers to the younger chicks. I thought I would have to divide the chick house so I could separate the older from the younger but they are doing great together.
So thats whats going on around Hidden Haven. Whats new in your part of the world?

8 comments:

Mary said...

Oh my goodness Peggy, what an amazing huddle of bunnies. I clicked on the one in your hand and can see every detail, how wonderful new life is. As much as I am maddened when the cottontail babies chew on my plants, they are so adorable. One moved into the flower bed in front of my porch last year - a redtailed hawk tried to catch it but crashed into my glass storm door and then stood on the path stunned for about 10 mins. Baby bunny was safe!
Love the new music - who is that woman singing please? Lovely voice.
You are so busy - enjoy your week.

peppylady (Dora) said...

It sure sounds like Hidden Haven been booming with activities.

It deary out this morning in North Idaho and it should clear off. Hopeful later on I can get some picture of the first day of spring.

Mrs. Darling said...

I remeber as a young girl going out to feed the rabbits and finding babies and thinking sure that they were mice.

Have fun with the bunnies. They arrived just in time for Easter!

Marci said...

Peggy, there is always fun things happening on your homestead!! More baby bunnies. What will you do with them all? Do people buy them from you?

We are not sure when our cow is due. We will have to watch her udder. We took her to a bull and left her for 4 weeks, so we have a time frame, but not an exact date. The other cow, our ever faithful Buttercup, has the most silent of heats. We are not even a hundred percent sure she is bred.

Our first goat is due on the 13th of April. I am praying for doelings.

Our first baby chicks arrive on the 12th of April. Then we will be hopping here!!! =)

meggie said...

How lucky you are with all that new life to watch & care for!
I would love to have a rabbit, but we are afraid our dogs might make it's life a misery.

Maggie Ann said...

Dear Peggy, Your package of sheet music arrived in last nights mail...and it was so very nice of you to think of me. Its fun to see & hear songs of 'yesteryear' Thank you so much! It looks like you are a busy lady with your new bunnies and all...=) Hope they do well for you.

Ms. Kathleen said...

I was gone for 8 days visiting my Dad who is very ill with pancreatic cancer but is in very good spirits. Playing catch up is futile so I do want to stop by and say HI! The bunnies are so TINY! Wow. When do they get fur?

Spring is in the air but it is way to early yet to think winter is over. Last year we had our biggest blizzard at the end of April.

Hugs!

tlawwife said...

Oh the babies are so cute. I'm sure all of those animals keep you busy. Not sure how you do all that you do.