We have new rabbit kits! Our proven REW New Zealand doe, Ava, had 8 healthy kits about ten days ago: 4 white and 4 agouti. Ava is an excellent mother – her kits are well-fed, big, and active. Their eyes will open soon and they’ll be climbing out of the nest box.
One of our new black Silver Fox does, Niamh, kindled a couple of days after Ava did, which was a little later than expected. With first-time moms, there’s always the possibility that something will go wrong, so it’s particularly stressful.
She had been haystaching and looking uncomfortable in the evening, and had started to pull fur. When we checked on her the following morning, she had pulled a lot more fur and had the kits completely covered. After morning chores, we removed the nest box to take a closer look at the kits.
We discovered that Niamh had given birth to 8 kits, but a very large one was stillborn, so we removed it. Another kit was a tiny runt – probably only 2/3 the size of the others – and only lived a couple of days. We think Niamh had an unusually long labor because of the oversized kit, poor girl. She’s been a good mom to the 6 remaining kits, 4 black and (it looks like) 2 blue – all big and glossy.
We’re happy to have two healthy, manageably-sized litters from our does.
Be sure to check back with us and watch these kits grow!