Incubated eggs: batch #3 hatching is complete, with just one late hatcher left in the incubator. The chick in the photo was an unassisted hatch, but we noticed that one leg splayed out a bit, so we taped his/her legs together with a piece of bandage to help the leg straighten out. The late hatcher clearly needed some assistance, but we wanted to provide every opportunity for the chick to emerge on his or her own. When we did intervene, we began by partly opening the egg (last night) to see if s/he could kick out; when we checked this morning, s/he was still in the same position in the partial shell. Continue reading “Updates On The Farm Denizens”
Tag: Rabbits
Rabbit Kits At One Month
The kits are a month old today. All 20 (!) survived, even though it was touch and go early on with the little white one we call “Waldo” (for his penchant for hiding among his dark-colored cousins). Loretta did a great job fostering Waldo, and now he’s nearly the same size as the others, though he does seem to have a problem with getting poop stuck in his fur…just guessing that’s what happens when you’re frequently at the bottom of a pile of kits. We’re not sure what Waldo’s gender is at this point, so he’s a “he” by default for now Continue reading “Rabbit Kits At One Month”
Who Needs A Lawnmower?
The grass has really greened up, and it seems only right to take advantage of it as forage. We haven’t built the rabbit tractors for the kits, who are nearly a month old now, but we repurposed a couple of large dog crates as temporary outdoor enclosures for the does.
The girls quickly get to work on the grass, but today they were a section that included some tiny white flowers, and they really liked those. They enjoy dandelion greens and flowers, too. They crop the grass down to a nice length without “scalping” it. Better than a lawnmower! Continue reading “Who Needs A Lawnmower?”
Rabbit Kit Update – Day 16
The kits can now exit and enter the nest boxes at will, and are typically out of the boxes in the morning. In just a few days, we’ll remove the nest boxes entirely. That means the poor does won’t have respite from the always-hungry kits, and those youngsters are relentless.
We’ve seen the kits nibbling on hay (and even nest box straw), so it’ll be a welcome change for them to be on pasture when they’re weaned. Of course, that also requires building additional rabbit tractors. Lessons we’ve learned over the course of building 3 rabbit tractors and the original chicken tractor: Continue reading “Rabbit Kit Update – Day 16”
Mini Ava Poses For A Photo
The rabbit kits are 2 weeks old now and very active. Well, they actually sleep a lot (still) but since their eyes are open, they can often be seen peeking out from the nest box, looking to get into mischief.
Each morning, several of the kits will be out, usually huddled together. They can get out of the nest box, but it’s too tall for them to get back in. It’s warm here, though, so there’s no risk of chilling. They usually try to get a meal from the does, squirming and pushing to try to get under them, and the does just ignore them until they get annoyed and move away from the youngsters, sometimes causing the kits to do an ungraceful somersault as the does hop away. They’ll get a meal when Mom is ready, and not until then. Continue reading “Mini Ava Poses For A Photo”
Day 12 Rabbit Kit Update – The Runt Grows
The rabbit kits are now around 12 days old – Ava kindled a day before Loretta – and their eyes are opening. This morning, all of Ava’s kits were out of their nest box and huddled together on the cage floor. Five of Loretta’s were out, too. Now that they can see, they’re going to be pestering their mothers to nurse every time they get out of the next box – and the does get annoyed. Continue reading “Day 12 Rabbit Kit Update – The Runt Grows”