Baby Bunnies

This morning, 6/12/2010, Bunnicula birthed 10 babies..... outside of the nest box. She didn't even nest this time, and after she had them, she freaked & was running around the cage. We got the 6 bunnies we could reach with ease into the nest box, and then I was able to reach 2 of the 4 that somehow got stuck up under the wood & between that & the hardware cloth. Bunnicula proceeded to jump in & out of the nest box trampling the babies. 2 more were even further back & I had to cut the wire to get to them. My hand is all cut up now, but the babies were out. They were SOOOO cold & we were so worried she would kill them by stepping on them, I brought them in to warm them. After they were warmed, I took 4 back to the hutch to see how she'd react. I slathered vicks's vapo rub on her nose, and went about my business. The 4 were fine about an hour later, so I checked the buns inside. 3 of those were gone :-( I took the remaining 3 back out to the next box & will continue to check on them throughout the day.

I did make a run to the store to purchase some items. If the babies are not fed by morning, I'll need to make formula for them in an attempt to save them. From what I understand it's going to be near impossible to rear them by hand, but not totally impossible.

The white Easter Egger chick

I picked this little "girl" up & she immediately decided she wanted to snuggle.

Another quick pic

This is one of our new Easter Eggers. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL colouring.

Just a quick pic

I had to share this pic. Many things going on around here, so I'll get back as soon as I can for an update, but this week we have VBS & I've been super busy.

Here is a pic of Keenan & one of our silkie chicks. I took it with my phone near sundown last night.

A Funeral on the Funny Farm.....

Yesterday we went to pick up our chick order. 20 White Plymouth Rocks for us, 10 White Plymouth Rocks for a friend, 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Easter Eggers, 2 Barred Rocks, 2 White turkeys, 1 bronze turkey. An order that was canceled had 2 silkies. The lady gave them to us. Then there was this.....




The kids begged for him. I'm a sucker for the last one left..... So he came home with us. I jumped online & dove into my books to learn how to care for this little 'guy.' I set him up just as I'd read, but by bedtime, he still wasn't eating or drinking on his own..... And sometime in the wee hours of the morning, he moved on to Duckie Heaven. Keenan is quite upset, even though I'd warned him that we may not be able to keep him alive, never having done this. I'm used to this, though. He cried when the hamster died. He cried when the lizard died. He cried when our dog ran away.... He's a very sensitive little man.

One of life's lessons..... Today we'll have a funeral for the little duckie.

On a good note, the 28 chicks & 3 poults are doing wonderfully. Hubba thinks the silkie pictures on the web look like poodles. We've taken to calling them "Choodles." Fitting if you ask me.

Chicks & Baby Bunnies

5/12/10- The baby bunnies will be 8 weeks old on Friday. For some reason I was thinking they were between 6 & 7 weeks old. Thankfully I looked at the calendar. They HAD to be separated by Friday or I run the risk of them breeding each other. Sunday evening we sexed them. Today I sexed them again, without looking at the notes I'd made, to see if I agreed with my previous judgment. They all matched Sunday's thoughts.

We have 3 girls & 3 boys if my sexing is correct. The boys will be butchered once they come to size, which could be in as many as 3 more months. Of the girls, we have plans on keeping 2 for breeding stock. As far as inbreeding goes, when breeding for meat or pets (in other words, not for show) you can breed mother to son & father to daughter. I've read not to do any further inbreeding than that until I know more. I'm not really sure I want to know more as in- I am happy with the aforementioned arrangement.

I also bred Bunnicula again to Cowboy. If all went well, which it appears it did, she will be due on or around June 12th.

On to baby chicks. I've read that sometimes (though not 100%), you can sex a chick as young as a couple weeks old based on tail formation. Apparently pullets feather out in the tail sooner than cockerels. If this is the case I have 2 definite pullets & another that I think may be a pullet. Of course, I'm not banking on this entirely, but I'll be excited to see how this pans out. 2 of the 5 chicks have very big tails (in comparison), 1 has a tail half the size & the other 2 have no tail feathers as of yet.

Update- Early May 2010

The weather here lately has been such a roller coaster. We can go from low 60's on day with sun & a breeze to 30's with snow & rain from one day to the next. It makes gardening..... interesting, to say the least. I'm very far behind on my gardening.

I attempted to sex the bunnies again on Mother's Day- 5/9. I had Sebastion help me out for a 2nd opinion. We *believe* we have 3 girls & 3 boys. They have to be separated by the weekend, as they turn 8 weeks on Friday. I'll be calling someone who goes to our church & asking if he used to sex his bunnies when he raised them & if he's any good at it. I'm hoping he'll be able to come help me out. My plan is to do it again on Wed, separate them & pray for the best. It seems to be getting a little easier to sex them, though I've never done it before. So I could be wrong, LOL.

Floppy has been a GREAT little Momma hen. The 5 chicks turned 2 weeks this past weekend. Momma is beginning to get a little antsy. She's almost ready to be reintroduced to the flock. It cracks me up to watch them. The babies like to ride on Momma's back. They are eating, drinking & scratching. All things a baby chick should be doing.

I'm counting down now to my chick order arriving. They should be here next week. 30 meat chickens (20 are ours), 6 layers & 3 poults. Speaking of orders, I'm also anxiously awaiting a call from the processor any day now or within the next month. The beef should go to the processor within the next 5-6 weeks and as early as next week.