Hello Up There...

Here are our (4) Mini Lop bunnies, which are about four weeks old here (pictures taken this past Saturday 4/27).

They're getting big, getting mobile and eating like little piggies.  They're also at that age where their ears are beginning to drop but not always and not always both - very cute!

Still too young for me to be able to successfully determine their sex, much to the dismay of Emilie.  We've told her that she can keep one of these babies but only if it's a female.  So, she's very anxious to know her options.

Also, note the lovely manicured nails on the hands hoisting the critters!

"Bunny Bath"

Yup, they exist, "bunny baths", as you can see for yourself. Most would have guessed that this was a "bird bath" with a bunny in it but they'd be wrong. They're hard to find and are somewhat expensive but worth the cost, as this is truly the only way to attract bunnies.

Cottontail Rabbit Mishap - UPDATE

UPDATE

Sadly, I must report that the little cottontail bunny didn't make it and passed away quietly the other night. We tried having her nurse from Oreo several times but she was not interested and didn't even try. I'm guessing it had something to do with the different smells or lack of her mothers smell. Certainly not what I wanted to have happen and had I known the nest was there I would have let them be. However, in searching for some sort of silver lining here and as cold as this might sound, there are three less wild bunnies that I have to contend with; three less bunnies eating my Phlox and other flowers and vegetables plants.

In the words of Elmer Fudd from the Looney Tunes episode titled "Robot Rabbit" I must report that the, "The wabbit kicked the bucket!", "The wabbit kicked the bucket!"

Read the original Cottontail Rabbit Mishap entry by clicking the link here

Cottontail Rabbit Mishap

In my earlier post I talked about tilling the garden and getting it ready for Spring planting. Well, much to my surprise and unknowingly I tilled a wild cottontail rabbit nest too. Had I not heard the squeaking from the little guy pictured above I would have never known. I had to dig him out of the dirt by listening to his cries. Sadly though his two litter mates weren't so lucky and didn't fare too well against the shovel I was using to till with.

Truth be don't I don't hold too much hope for this dude either. I was somewhat hopeful and thinking that perhaps Oreo, our domestic rabbit, would be able to nurse this little guy. However, he showed NO interest in nursing when we tried last night. We'll keep trying and if we're lucky he'll eat, otherwise the outcome doesn't look too good.

Oreo Bunny Update

Here are Oreo's litter of baby bunnies. She had six and raised them all and is a very good mother. They were born on March 4th, so they'll be 4-weeks old this Tuesday and ready for 're-homing' next weekend, 4/5.



Of course Emilie doesn't want them to go and wants to keep them all. Well, we're not doing that but I make a deal with her... here's the deal, I said she could keep two of Oreo's babies if she agreed to let us get rid of the guinea pigs, all of them.


Much to my surprise she agreed and accepted the deal, yippie!! Here are the two babies that she wants to keep. I believe the brown one (r) is a male and the grey one (l) is a girl.

Bunny Update

Here is another bunny update on Abbey and Salt & Peppers litters. They'll be 5 weeks old this weekend.


Salt & Pepper's litter of 6 above at 1 week old.


Salt & Pepper's litter of 6 above at 5 week old.


Abbey's litter of 2 above at 1 week old.


Abbey's litter of 2 above at 5 week old.

Yup, Moora Ether Bunnies

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Ether
Ether who?
Ether bunny

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Moora
Moora who?
Moora ether bunnies

Salt & Peppa babies

Abbey babies

Yup, we have moora ether bunnies!

Salt & Peppa and Abbey each had another litter about a week ago.

Salt & Peppa had 6 - all still doing fine. Abbey had 3 - one still born and two doing fine.

Knock, knock
Who's there?
Cargo
Cargo who?
Cargo beep-beep and run over ether bunnies

kneener, kneener, kneener

JoAnne took this picture of our baby bunny sticking her tongue out and hamming it up for the camera. This is an actual picture, no photoshopping. I refuse to post the picture where she's flipping the bird, geez! What a disrespectful little girl wouldn't you say!

More Baby Bunnies II

UPDATE...

Here are a couple pictures of Oreo's babies. She delivered 6, the runt didn't make it and I had to put one down; she now has 4 beautiful babies.

The runt was all black just like the father. The one that was put down was similar in color and markings to triplets pictured above, just like their mother and the odd ball (in color) is pictured below.

They're at that age where their ears sometimes stay up, sometimes down and sometimes one of each. They will eventually drop, hence the name Mini Lop.



Click here to see earlier posting dated Thursday, July 26, 2007 titled 'More Baby Bunnies'

More Baby Bunnies

More young'ns have arrived to first time mother Oreo. She delivered 6 babies but one died. As you can see in the picture there are 4 black and white ones, just like Oreo, and one unexplainable all tan one - the father was all black. She has turned out to be a fantastic mother. It was actually very surprising just how much fur she pulled off herself to make her nest. Her underside is completely naked.

They were two weeks old on 7/24, so their eyes are opened now and they're becoming mobile.

We sold the six babies from the 2 litters we had earlier this summer and hopefully can do the same with this batch too.

Polish Rabbits

Meet the latest addition to our Lincoln Street menagerie.

This is a pair of Polish bunnies. The Polish rabbit is known for being a compact breed with the reputation for being high-strung...that's just great. However, it may be an interesting contrast to the mini lop, which is as calm as calm can be.

The black one is an 8 week old male and the grey one is a 13 week old female.

They're currently sharing the same cage till they get acclimated and a little bigger. This saves on space, time and cleaning.

Did we need two more rabbits?! Do we need our heads examined?! Are we GFP (glutton for punishment)?! I'm pretty sure you all know the answers to these questions...

While we're at it how bout some Polish Sausage?

Baby Bunny - UPDATE

Here are 5 of the 6 baby bunnies of ours. They'll be 5 weeks old on Tuesday 6/19 and Wednesday 6/20. The 2 tan ones on the left are from one litter and the others are from another. As you can tell from this picture the bunny on the right end is a monster. Perhaps, he is why the runt of his litter had little chance at getting a good meal.



Here they are again with the colors separated. Notice their long floppy ears. They will eventually drop, hence the name "lop" but at this age they're just all over the place, too cute.




Below is an updated picture of the runt from Salt & Pappa's litter and that makes #6 - all accounted for. This is the little one that we helped along by holding, both, her mother and Abbey (mother from another litter) so she could nurse. JoAnne has taken a shine to this litte one, so we'll be keeping her/him (too young to sex with any certainty just yet).



The "Bunnies For Sale" sign has gone up at the end of our driveway. We've had good luck with this method in the past, lets hope it continues.

See Friday, June 01, 2007 posted titled, "New Baby Bunnies - UPDATE".

Basket O Bunnies

Here are the (6) baby bunnies from the two litters we recently had.

The two tan bunnies are from one litter the rest from another.

They're approximately three weeks old in this picture.

Their eyes are opened; they're mobile and have begun to eat solid food.

New Baby Bunnies - UPDATE

Baby bunny UPDATE...

Salt & Peppa was mated to Jack and had 5 babies on Tuesday, 5/15: Sadly, one died about a week later, as the baby made it's way out of the nest box during the night and onto the wire cage where is was simply too cold. The other 4 are fine; you can see them in the first picture below. YES, these 4 are from the same litter - notice the size differences! As you can image the smallest one has a very tough time competing for mom's milk. The others are just too big and bully her out of the way. As a result we've moved to plan 'B', see the second picture below, which is to hold mom on her back and let the little one go to town and that is exactly what she does!

Abbey was mated to Loppy and had 2 babies on Wednesday 5/16. Both of her little ones are doing fine. Their eyes are open and they've begun to move about the cage.

Salt & Peppa's young'in from largest to smallest -

Here is me holding Abbey on her back and letting the runt of Salt & Peppa litter nurse. Salt & Peppa just doesn't have enough milk, perhaps because of the other fatties of hers but Abbey does. However, Abbey does NOT like when we do this; she's finicky anyways. In any event the runt is doing just fine and getting bigger and stronger.

Monday, May 21, 2007 posting New Baby Bunnies

New Baby Bunnies

Our baby bunnies have arrived! Two of our doe's delivered a day apart last week and right on time; Salt & Peppa had 5 on Tuesday, 5/15 and Abbey had 2 on Wednesday 5/16. All seven babies are doing just fine. Since Abbey has only 2 babies to care for they're much larger compared to the other 5!

Salt & Peppa was mated to Jack and Abbey was mated to Loppy.

Salt & Peppa's is a first time mom and doing a fantastic job so far. As you can see in the first picture, she pulled out a substantial amount of her hair and made a nice nest. You can even see a couple of the babies too.



This is a picture of Abbey's next box and one of her two little monsters. Abbey is a proven breeder and experienced mom. She is also very protective and won't hesitate to bite you if she gets the chance, so we need to be careful when feeding her.

They should all have their eyes opened by this coming weekend. Shortly thereafter they'll be out of their nest boxes exploring. This is an exciting time too because we'll get to see the color and markings, which are almost always unusual and unique. Emilie can't wait, as this is when she can hold and play with them.

Hippity, Hoppity - Loppy & Lizzie

Meet the two new additions to our back yard menagerie.

We adopted them from a women in Hull, Massachusetts who couldn't keep them any longer. We stopped at Nantasket Beach along the way and walked beach collecting rocks and shells. It was cold along the waters edge so we didn't stay out too long but it was peaceful none-the-less. We also stopped for a nice lunch on the way home - it was a nice afternoon!

"Loppy" is 1yo Mini Lop Buck


"Lizzie" 1yo Rex Doe


Mini Lop:
Among the oldest breeds of domesticated rabbits, lops are known for their distinctive floppy ears. There are six types of lops: French Lop, Holland Lop, Dwarf Lop, English Lop, Velveteen Lop and Mini Lop. They are very laid back rabbits, have excellent temperaments and do make wonderful house rabbits and companions. They love attention and love to be picked up, cuddled and handled. They are also very easy to house train. They have short hair which is very easy to maintain. Although lop rabbits ears are drooped to the side of the head, this in no way impairs their hearing compared to breeds with ears 'sticking up'.

Rex:
The Rex breed is distinguished by its lovely velvet fur. A medium size rabbit they can be 7-9 pounds. They come in 15 different marking and color combinations. Rex fur is a recessive genetic mutation that results in shortened guard hairs, the length of the down coat, which stick out from the body creating a plush velvet coat. The resulting coat is short and very dense, and is what would be called undercoat on a normal furred rabbit. They are full of personality and make lovely pets. They are known as good mothers and are used as foster mothers for other rabbit breeds.

Wikipedia List of Rabbit Breeds