Baby Velveteens!

So my sweet Velveteen Lop, Lily, had babies!!

The father of this litter is my tan Velveteen Lop male, Francis :)

My sister and I went out to feed and water the bunnies outside.  While suiting up (since we got 28 and 1/2 inches of snow!!), we saw her ripping out fur.  And since tomorrow's her due date, we figured she was go tonight sometime. 

Well, when we came back in, not 30 minutes later, we saw she had given birth!!! 

Now, she gave birth outside of her nestingbox.  All the babies are currently still alive, but they were really cold when we felt them.  So we hooked up a heating lamp (which is causing the red in the pictures above) in hopes they will survive the night.  In the mix of this, I didn't get an accurate count, but I believe she had about 12 babies :) 

Hopefully now they'll be warm enough to make it. 

They're all so adorable! They look like they might all get a Tort coloring, but we'll see.  Only time will tell.  This is Lily's first litter, so I'm hoping she's going to be a good mother and tend her babies well :)

They're so tiny and cute!

And well, Lily's doing very well! I'm sure she's happy to have all those babies out :)  And Lily's sister, Lilac is also supposed to be due tomorrow.  She had done some digging in her nesting box, but hasn't ripped out any fur or anything.  I'm actually not sure she's really pregnant.  The breeding was a first time for both her and Brody (the hopefully soon-to-be father of her litter) and it didn't exactly seem to go the smoothest.  But we shall see.  If she is pregnant, I hope she has an easy birth and is a good mother! But if not, that's par for the course.  She's still young, healthy, and will do fine another time, I'm sure :)

Escapees

This past week, 2 of my female breeders got out of their cage! The first one was Pumpkin...

We were out with the puppies, letting them run around and go to the bathroom, when my brother spots a massive rabbit along the tree line!  So I wasn't able to go right up and check it out...since all the puppies were out.  We quickly put the puppies back inside and into their whelping box.  Then I was able to walk right up to her. 

I wasn't 100% sure it was mine (as all the wild bunnies around here are brown), until I saw her myself.  No wild bunny is ever that large :)  

So I walked up to her, said hi.  She looked at me, then hopped over and I just picked her up and put her back in her cage.  Luckily her cage isn't far from the ground at all, so she didn't hurt herself in the jump.  All was fine :)

Then the other bunny was New Girl and that happened yesterday. 

I made myself a sandwich - which by the way, was the perfect amount of bread, to meat, to mustard - and was able to take less then a half of a bit.  My brother looked out the window and said, "There's a spotted bunny in the garden.  You might want to get it."

So I put down my sandwich of perfection and went running out...and it snowed the other day.  So in my grip-less All Stars, I made my way out with lots of slipping and sliding.  Now, New Girl's good about coming.  She's good about not biting.  But yesterday...she was not in the mood to stop her adventure so early. 

She decided to hid behind the manure pile...then run, to and fro in the garden and in the rabbitry.  With the help of my siblings and some food to coax her with, I was able to grab her.  Once I got her, she behaved very well.  There wasn't a struggle or anything.  But it was just a matter of actually catching her.  And once we did, she was quickly put back into her cage. 

My brother saw everything under control and went back inside.  I soon followed and entering the kitchen, went to get my sandwich...which seemed to have disappeared...mystery of the missing sandwich?  I think so! 

...nah, just kidding.  The dogs ate it off the counter...  too bad. 

My 'Normal' Bunnies

Here are all my 'normal' bunnies.  You know, normal.  The average ones.  Bunnies you commonly see.  There's nothing special necessarily about them, they just look like your average rabbit.  They have the common wild bunny build, with the common wild bunny fur.  They just come in a large variety of colors, unlike the average - brown furred rabbit :)

So this little girl here I got from a swap.  She currently is unnamed.  I'm not sure if I want to sell her or keep her, as I don't know what breed she is.  But her fur is just so beautiful! I'd really love to have her coloring come through in some litters...so we'll see :)

Then this is Saffron.

Saffron's going to be a breeder this spring.  Her mother was Arrow.  I just loved Saffron's coloring so much, and since I got rid of Arrow, I kept Saffron as her replacement :)

Then this is Nickle. :)  I love her coloring!

And this is Shira :) 

Shira and Nickle are both daughters of Achilles.  But Shira's mom is Dotty and Nickle's mom is Cottontail :)

They both have beautiful and really unique coloring! I cannot wait to see some of their litters this spring/summer! :)

:)

And this is Pocahontas.  She's a good girl.  When she's grumpy, I let her be...she's actually the one who bit me and then ate the flesh she ripped off my hand.  So I give her space when she wants it.  But most of the time, she's a really good girl :)

And this is Ruby.  Ruby is sisters with Pocahontas :)

Except, she's the bigger and sweeter version of Pocahontas :)

Ruby's a really really REALLY good rabbit.  :)

I was trying to get a good, close up of her eye...I think it turned out alright :)

And this is LE :)

LE was my first female breeder and my second rabbit to ever own. 

She is the sweetest rabbit I've ever known. 

No matter what she's doing, if you pet her head, she's stop and let you pet her.  She'll just hang out, enjoying the love :)

Plus, I just love her size...she's HUGE!

She definitely around 30 pounds :)

I try to be realistic with my rabbits.  I know when one's really sick or really hurt, sometimes the more human thing is to put them down.  Or with breeders who get too old, you cannot just keep them and continue feeding, so you sell them to good pet homes.  But with LE, even when she's too old to breed...I'm keeping her.  Because she's my sweet bunny, and I love her :)

Then this is Pumpkin. 

When I had a bear come through and gave tons of my rabbits heart attacks, Pumpkin was one who got really sick. 

She stopped eating and wouldn't do anything.  I was really afraid of losing her. 

But with herbs and some care, I was able to nurse her back to health and saved her life. 

She's still an awesome breeder and a really good bunny :) 

She was actually from our very first litter ever... :)

So she's a good bunny :)

And this is Buttons. 

Buttons was from my female Scarlet's first litter.  She was also the first white bunny I ever had who had brown eyes :)

So I kept her and am so glad I did!

I think she's a beautiful bunny. 

And she's beyond sweet! A loving mother too :)

She's a good girl.  I love this picture of her...it turned out nice and clear :)

Then Oreo...my first male rabbit ever :)  He used to be grumpy, but now he's really sweet and loving! He's a really beautiful bunny and has really nice offspring. 

This is Dadooshka.  She's Pumpkin's twin :)

She's and awesome mom and has the personality of her mother, LE! She's a really good breeder :)

Then this is New Girl. 

I got New Girl from a Guy who didn't want her. 

He had kept her in with 3 males...who were constantly breeding her. 

She had 2 litters in 2 months...which is EXTREMELY dangerous!!! So I took her away from the males and she hasn't been with a male since.  She's the nicest rabbit ever, just a true sweetie.  But I wouldn't dare breed her without giving her ample time to get over her other litters.  So she wasn't breed at all while with me last year.  This Spring though, I'll try her with a smaller male and see how she does :)

And Dustin! 

Dustin's a great breeder. I can always count on him with the tough females!

He has some beautiful coloring too, which I'd love to get in some of his litters :)

And Cottontail.  She was from LE's second litter. 

She's a beautiful bunny.  Sweet, but a little shy.  She's also a big bunny.  But not as big as LE!

And Jr. :)

He's a sweetie pie :) Although he's crazy! He never stops! He can just run all day and still have more energy left.  He's fun to watch.  He's a really good boy :)

And Chuck...

...the rabbit I can never get a clear picture of :)

He's so beautiful, but he's always on the move! So I can never get a good shot. Oh well :)

Then this is Bull.  I got him along with New Girl.  He was one of the males she had been with. 

He has some really beautiful markings!

And when me molts, his black interchanges for a deep chocolate coloring.  Really neat!

Then last but not least...Dotty! :)

And well, there's not a whole lot to say about Dotty except she's my fat bunny :)  She's a good girl, great mother, awesome breeder...just a little hefty.  She's okay for now, seeing how cold it is out.  But this spring before breeding, she's going to need to cut back.  I'll put her on a diet so she's healthy and in good shape before breeding and raising a litter.  

So there you go! Those are my 'normal' bunnies :)  They're all mixes of different breeds.  Mainly Giant Flemishs.  But they're all mine and I love each and every one :)