Growing Babies!!!

These are two of Doris's kits, as you can see, they are growing quickly!!!! Even though they are older than Ethel's kits, they are a lot smaller than Ethel's.  Of course, Doris is a smaller rabbit, and had a larger littler, where as Doris is a much bigger rabbit, who had a much smaller litter in comparison.

Two of Ethel's kits have started climbing out of the nest box on their own, even though their eyes aren't open yet. I covered the floor with hay around the nest box so that they would have a softer landing. Yesterday one of the blue ones was out of the box 3 different times. Once she was just laying in a pile of hay, the next time she was crawling around, and the last time she was hanging out with her mom. This morning it was one of the black ones, and it was cuddled up against Ethel. When I put some food in her dish, she went over to that, so I scooped the little guy up and put it back in the nest box. Once their eyes are open, I guess I'll just have to turn the nest box over on its side, and let them come and go as they please.

Saturday Morning

All is quiet here at our place this morning. Apparently everybody must have stayed awake last night, because they are all sleepy and quiet. No complaints there though, I know that nobody is tearing up anything.

Ginger is apparently going to wait until her due date to have babies, I was really hoping to go out there this morning and find babies in her nest box, but nope, not yet!!! Its easy to get excited about new babies, no matter how many you already have, or how many times you've been through getting new baby animals. Heck, no matter how many times I hatch out chicks, I get excited...which we are planning on doing here in the next week or two...be prepared for that...lol

Lots of pictures!!!!

I decided that I hand't taken enough pictures of my chickens here lately. I thought that perhaps they may be feeling left out, since I've been spending so much extra time with the rabbits.  As you can see, everybody is growing, and eating, and eating and growing!!!!
This evening I had decided to go up there a little bit early, because we've been going ahead and doing some preventative worm treating. Well, I'm so glad that I did!!! I have these crates that I use in there that have holes in them. They are like milk crates, well, one of my Easter Egg pullets, had stuck her head through one of the holes, and got her head stuck. Her feathers were preventing her from getting it back out. So I pulled on a pair of gloves, just in case she decided to peck at me while I was helping her, and carefully pushed her feathers through there, and got her head unstuck. That crate wasn't serving a purpose at that moment in time, so I just took it out of the run. I have some extra cinder blocks that I'm going to use in there instead of those crates, so that, hopefully that doesn't happen again.

Ginger is due this Sunday, and I noticed this evening that she has started pulling fur. Not a lot, but enough that it makes me wonder if I'm not going to get up in the morning to find a nest box full of fur and babies. As you all recall, she was the one who pulled a whole bunch of fur, and made a nest the one time, even though she wasn't pregnant. She had a really good false pregnancy. Well, we are positive she's having babies this time.

Everybody is growing swiftly baby wise. Doris's babies are much smaller than Ethel's, but then Doris is a much smaller rabbit than Ethel, even though they are the same breed.
Now for some Sad news, and some glad news.
This morning, when I went out to feed and fill the water bottles in the rabbit house, Ethel was very loving and seemed a bit upset. I saw why, the chocolate bunny was laying on the wire, I pulled the little guy out, and he/she was still alive, but was so cold, and had quite the cut on the top of it's little head. So, I took him in and was trying to get him warmed up as best I could. I put some Neosporin on the cut, and was thinking that perhaps if I could get him warm, and the bleeding to stop I'd have him back in the nest box before the end of the day, and the next feeding. Frank brought out the brooder heater, and we covered the heat part with a towel, and put the little guy on top of that and covered him with a towel. Then we turned the heat on in the bathroom. Unfortunately, he didn't make it.
I went back out to finish feeding and to check the rest of the babies in her nest box...there was another one missing. It was one of the black ones. I checked the cage, and the ground, nothing. Sadly, I was thinking that he must have gotten eaten, or something along those lines. Well, I had to go out this morning to get a prescription refilled and to pick up a couple of things. It was around noon when I got home, and had the egg basket, and was going up the hill to gather eggs. I spotted this little black thing in the grass near the woods (so this is 4-5 hours later). My first thought was, is that a baby skunk, or a rat??? I decided I had to go and look, because I didn't want either around the rabbit house. I ended up doing a half jog!!! It was the missing baby bunny!!!! Other than having a little tiny cut on his head, there was nothing wrong with him/her!!! The little thing was just moving along, I scooped it up and held it close to me, trying not to cry at this happy find!!!! I took him back in to the nest box, and put it back in with its brothers and sisters. When I checked on him again this evening at the final check, he was just as happy as can be!!! Snuggled in. I did see where he got/fell out of the cage. some of the wire on the cage had broken, so Frank fixed that for me as soon as he had dinner, and before he went to work.

So, now that you are all caught up on the farm pictures and news, will let you know how all goes with Ginger!!!!

Morning Bunny updates

By now, you are probably saying...ENOUGH of the baby bunny pictures!!!! This being my first time as a baby bunny watcher, I can't help myself.  Now I did get some pictures of all of the Silver Fox grown ups as well for you guys. (If you are a potential buyer, maybe you are enjoying the watching of the growing bunnies??)

Alright, lets get started on who's who, and who belongs to who!!! 

In the first picture you see two cute little sleeping bunnies, and yes, I did get that much coveted Lilac!!!! The hubby has given his approval on keeping the little guy regardless of Gender. I suppose he knew just how bad I wanted a lilac. If its male, it will be Jean, if its female its Debbie. (yeah, I've already started picking out names)

In the second picture, we have that beautiful little Chocolate bunny that had started out looking like a lilac. Its amazing how fast they change!!! But they are quickly growing, and getting so chubby!!! 

The next picture is basket full of Doris's babies. All of hers are blue and black. She had 4 Blacks, and 7 blues. Ethel has 2 of her babies, 1 is black, and 1 is blue. Those two little ones are finally starting to gain weight and grow. I was a bit concerned about them. They didn't look like they were going to make it they were so skinny. I guess that's what happens when a bunny has so many kits. In order to be able to tell them apart, I put some green tattoo ink on the tips of their ears. Its so funny to see that green. 

This next cute little black guy sleeping in my hand is one of Doris's babies. He/She seemed rather content to sleep in my hand like that. That was one of those things that just really made me go awwwww....

Up next we have Doris with her nest box. She has really made up for that first incident. She has really turned out to be an excellent mother. 

Now my grown up bunnies are posted in this order, Betty, Doris, Hudsen, Fred and Ginger. I don't have one of Ethel right now, but I plan on trying for one of Ethel today for you all. She kept moving every time I snapped a picture, so they came out blurry.  As you can see, Fred is quite a long bunny all stretched out like that.  they are all quite large, and have a good shape. 

Ginger, really looks like she's going to pop, she's really showing, even though somebody in one of the rabbit groups said that bunnies don't show, we just imagine they are showing because of human emotions. I guess they must just have small litters every time. 

Well, that's enough rambling from me for today!! 

Growing babies!!!!

Well, thought I'd post some more really adorable baby bunny pictures!!!!
That first picture up there is probably going to be the most adorable picture I will have ever taken in my entire life...lets face it, when 2 baby bunnies cuddle up together like that, its just..well you see the picture.

As you can see they are all growing quickly. I was able to get Doris's nest box out of her cage today, and got to do an actual count. She had 11 in there. When I was counting them the other day, I think I must have counted one or two of them twice. I put them in a basket filled with straw. I wanted to make sure that I had an actual accurate count. I moved two of them over into Doris's nest box, because they were underfed. With those large numbers, you can imagine there were some not getting enough food. We will be going to the Coop in the morning to get some green tattoo paste to rub carefully into the ears of the two we put in with Doris. We will be able to tell them apart by the size. They are rather pitiful.

Now, the baby in my hand is the exact same one I posted a picture of in my hand yesterday. I was hoping that it was a lilac, BUT its a chocolate!!! If this little baby turns out to be a girl, I will be adding her to my breeding program, but if she is a he, then he will go up for sale. (This is the baby of Fred and Ethel, and has a full pedigree. It will also get a tattoo if there is a buyer for it.)

I plan on trying to take pictures of the little Chocolate bunny (somebody jokingly told me not to eat the ears). I want to take pics as he grows. I think it would be fun to do a kind of as he grew post.

Baby Bunny pictures, and more

OK, lets face it, you've been dying to see the pictures of my baby bunnies!!! I've been dying to get my hands on the little guys, and to get some pictures snapped. These are Ethel's babies....and as you can see, Ethel is letting me in her nest box, but was keeping a very close eye on what was going on. She's a very good Mommy as you can tell. That little baby was so squirmy, warm and just adorable that I was holding. Its a very light shade of blue, so I'm quite excited to see how he/she turns out. We are really hoping for some lilacs, so its kind of a wait and see. From the looks of Ethel's nest box, her littler was very blue heavy.  Now, I will tell you all, that all of our rabbits are 100% pure Silver Fox. (well, not the ones here in the house, but the ones we are currently breeding) Ethel's fur has a rust look to it because of the sun hitting it. We managed to get the sun off of everybody, but unfortunately we didn't get it in time. That should come out once their fur grows out for the season, or whatever it is rabbit fur does.

So, did you look closely at my egg cartons there??? Do you see the pretty green egg nestled in with the rest??? Yup!!! I did finally manage to get a picture of one of my colorful eggs!!! I must say, its so exciting to see. I can't wait until I know if all of my Easter Egg Hen's are laying that are out there now. (Well the grown up ones, not the ones that are obviously not going to start laying for quite a while)

So, Ginger was REALLY grumpy earlier, and got super mad at her food, and started digging it out of her feeder, and she was even grunting at me. I'm pretty sure its hormonal since she's due at the end of this week. So, I got a fresh bale of hay out, and took it into the rabbit house. I was like, WELLLLL....lets do the hay test. When I opened the door to let her in there, she charged the door...but when she saw the hay, she got really happy, and passed the hay test. I went ahead and got her nest box out, and put the bottom in it, and then filled it really full of hay. As soon as I got it in her cage, she was right in it, and as you can see, has started making a great nest already. I'm going to keep giving her hay, because she's happiest when she has some to carry around, and I just want to be able to get in that cage if I have to. From the way she's acting, and the way she's started breathing, I'm thinking she's going to go a little bit early.

    Now, for the big news!!!! Doris Finally let me into her nest box. I pulled it out, because I needed to check to make sure that there were no dead babies in there. I mean, the way she has that nest box filled with fur, I couldn't keep a check in there to see whats going on. So, I get in there and go to count the 8 bunnies that were supposed to be in there. The Eight Bunnies that were part of ONE of the holes she has them buried in....I counted twice...there are 12 or 13 babies in there!!!! I was really surprised, not by the number, because if you all remember that ill fated first litter she had, she had given birth to 15. What I was surprised about was the fact that they were all really well fed. Once I put that nest box back in her cage, she simply checked her box, fixed the coverage the way she wanted it, and went back to eating. I must say, that was a great surprise.  Doris also had a large littler of blue kits. It would appear that my rabbits all carry the blue jean really heavily.

    I will keep taking pictures as things progress, because there is nothing cuter than Baby Bunnies!!!!!

We Have Baby Bunnies!!!!!!

OK, I know you can't really see them too well in there, or at all, but they are in there!!! Doris gave birth to 9 babies, with only one who didn't make it. She is an excellent mother!!! As you can see by all of the fur in the nest box, she is keeping them well covered. Frank was able to get in there this morning, and get the head count. Well, we are assuming there are only 8 live babies in that box. Doris wasn't overly thrilled with us in there. She gave birth on the 22nd, just like she was supposed too!!!! Now, Ethel on the other hand, decided to wait a couple of days before she gave birth to hers, and gave birth on the 23rd, to 6 live fat babies!!! She didn't seem to mind us getting in her nest box to the point that she let us take the box out to get a look. As soon as we put the nest box back in there, she went over, gave them a sniff, and went back to eating. It looks like everybody is well fed, and well cared for. Once everybody gets a little bit bigger, and I'm more comfortable handling them, I plan on getting some pictures. Phew, it seemed like it took us long enough to get to this point doesn't it????

Ginger is due on the 31st, so I'll start doing the nest box test with her this week. She was an excellent nest maker when she was having a false pregnancy, so I can only imagine what an awesome nest she's going to make this time!!!!

After Ginger has her babies, we plan on breeding Cadburry to Pinkerton, and then we are going to breed Betty to Fred. We really only plan on breeding two at a time, but we really needed to make sure that Fred wasn't dry, and that Doris wasn't going to be a baby eater permanently. Now, once everybody has been bred at least once, the plan is to only breed two at a time, and then we will breed one to Fred and one to Hudsen. (Hudsen just isn't old enough at the moment, but he will be in October)

And one last bit of exciting farm news!!! I'm FINALLY getting eggs from our Easter Eggers!!!! I have one giving us green eggs, and one is giving us pink eggs. I've been wanting to share all of this with you guys so much sooner, but I ended up with an unexpected house guest for about a week. That makes things a tad hard to get to keep up with.

Hopefully I will have some great pictures for you guys in the next week or so.

Peach Bread Recipe

So, as promised yesterday, here is that peach bread recipe!!!! I sent some to work with my hubby, and his coworkers just ate it up!!!

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 & 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 & 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh sliced peaches
3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream butter; gradually add sugar, mix well

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition

Mix together next 5 ing; add to creamed mixture alternately with peaches, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Stir in orange juice and vanilla

Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean

Cool in pan for 10 min, and then remove from pan, and cool completely

More Sunday Funday

Hello! As the day winds down here on my small farm, I thought I would share the rest of the weekend with you guys.
So, as you can see, I have a new chicken that I can take selfies with. Its taken a bit, but now she lets me carry her around just like Spot did. She doesn't have a name, but I'm working on it. I think she needs something that fits in with the rest of the animal names on the farm. My darling husband dislikes it when I get into naming the animals.
Earlier I was in the chicken house. I was bent down looking at a few things. Well, I felt something or somebody looking at me, when I turned my head, I found I was face to face with Martin. Now Martin isn't the biggest rooster on earth, but he is a good size. I must admit, I was a bit petrified, so I slowly and carefully stood up, making sure not to make any sudden motions. He stayed by my side the whole time I was working, and then when I was finished, he followed me right back out of the chicken house. I didn't realize it, but he does tend to follow me around. He doesn't let me pick him up or anything like that, but he does follow me.
As you can see, Doris is certainly ready to pop!!! She's working on making her nest now as we speak. I'm hoping she doesn't go early. Waiting really is hard, but if all goes well, I'm hoping she will be a good mom.
Speaking of Moms, my mom made some peach bread, and nicely shared it with us. She also gave me the recipe, which I will be sharing with you all. As you can see, she really enjoyed making the jelly. I have a feeling she's going to want to help every time I make jelly, which is ok with me, because it can be a hot job.
And FINALLY...here is a pic of two of our young roosters which will be headed to the pot. They really are quite beautiful. I'm kind of sorry I don't have enough room to see how they would turn out as they get older.
Watch tomorrow for the peach bread recipe!!!