So, it’s been a rather cold, wet week so I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with my rabbits. The hardest thing that I’ve found with rabbits is that they’re so darn cute, I don’t want to get rid of them. One of my rabbits had a litter this week and they are doing good. She had eight little Californian kits (baby bunnies) that are just adorable with their “honeybun ears” as my wife refers to them. And, I must admit, she kind of has a point. My daughter said their little noses sticking up out of the bedding looks like a pig nose.
Rabbits kindle (give birth) between 28 and 35 days after breeding. So, on day 26 or 27 I put a nesting box in their cage with them along with some nesting material. I used alfalfa hay because that’s what I had on hand.
When the doe (female) is ready to give birth, they will start pulling hair from all over their body. Don’t worry, they have a special undercoat for this purpose. They will dig a hole in the back of the nesting box and stuff this hair in that hole. This creates a nice little hidey hole for the kits to stay warm and not be able to venture very far.
Kits are born with their eyes and ears closed, so any kind of movement in their vicinity gets them amped up thinking it’s mom coming home to feed them. Mother rabbits don’t hang out with their offspring once they are born. Their primary job is to make sure they are safe at birth, then they come back once, maybe twice, a day to feed them. I will continue to keep you posted as their development progresses.
