Let me get my days straight here .... today is Wednesday, so Shalimar kindled Monday evening. I went out for a cig before evening critter time, about 1830, took the dog out with me, and as I was sitting there I got the very strong impression I needed to go check the bunnies. I thought to myself, "But we'll check them in less than half an hour," but the impression got stronger - I needed to go check the bunnies. I walked over, and there was Shalimar, with five kits on the wire floor. I had planned to put in the nest box at critter time, as that was day 30 for her. Oops - apparently rabbits can kindle as earlier as day 27!
I don't know if it was lack of the nest box, or the armadillo crashing around (it sounds ten feet tall and bulletproof when it moves around) but Shalimar was stressed or freaked out and started attacking her kits. I "EEEK!ed" and grabbed them up, then took them inside and pulled a small jar of goat colostrum out of the freezer. This right here is why I save some in small jars. I ended up staying up to almost 0200 trying to get warmed goat colostrum in those kits with an eyedropper, because the small kitten nipples I have are just a little too big for them. I lost the runt that evening, but it had born the brunt of Shalimar's attack. One kit has only one ear, but is otherwise fine and wriggly and hungry.
Yesterday when we got back from picking up the new rabbit hutch (hubby will post on that) I checked on Shalimar and discovered not only did she look down, but she had pulled a bunch more fur, and bundled it up into the size and shape of a kit ... basically, she made herself a baby doll. I mentioned this to Frank when he called to ask how the reassembly of the hutch went, and he said he'd never heard of that before, either. First, I put back the kit who was refusing both eyedropper and nipple, and Shalimar set out to gussy up her nestbox. I put the other three in shortly after, and I have a happier bunny doe.
After setting up the hutch, I moved Charky, Gracie, and Brooke over, wanting to give Shalimar a day or two before moving her and her kits. This morning there was a BUNCH of light colored fur under Brooke's section, and she had two big and fat kits. One has Larry's markings. Gracie had been pulling fur since yesterday, and finally kindled just an hour ago - just two, one already dead (a BIG blue that may have gotten stuck too long in the birth canal) and one little wriggly black one. I'll move the survivor over with Shalimar's crew to replace her runt, and also because single kits don't usually make it due to lack of littermates to keep warm with in the nest. Well, there's also the bit about Gracie's history of killing her kits.
Now, I am just waiting for Charky to kindle. It's her first time, so she'll likely be late. Oh, reading Monday night while the milk warmed, I saw rabbits usually have kindled by day 35 .... but the person who wrote the book I need to buy says she's had a doe go 40 days.
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