UPDATE ON OUR FIRST BREEDING-one week already?!!!
July 25th, 1998

         Well, a week has gone by since the big day and so much has happened with my four little rascals in the nestbox!  Today two little furry dwarf rabbits opened their eyes for the first time! It was so exciting to see those little brown eyes glaring back at me.  My two boys remarked that it seemed like a miracle to watch these little bunnies go from hairless little creatures to the beautiful little dwarfs they are forming into. It is a wonderful lesson of the miracle of life that my kids are so happy to be apart of and I wouldn't trade the look of amazement in their eyes for anything!

     In the days following their birth, I have learned so much about everything from  how to distinguish their color at birth to trying to sex them. Neither of these tasks have proven too simple.  When the babies were first born, they appeared a very dark slate blue to us.  Knowing that Angel has had blue kits in the past, I thought all four of these babies were to be blue either self or silver marten.  In the next 48 hours in which their hair began to show itself I realized that I was mistaken. They were actually black and had they been blue it would have been a much lighter shade on their skin.  That was my first lesson. Secondly, in regards to color I leaned to distinguish black self from black silver marten. Black silver martens have a pink belly at birth and it is very obvious.  The little self babies are just that-all one color at birth. So, my lessons on the black verses the blue and the self verses the silver marten was complete. I felt a little silly not knowing the difference but it was great to have a local breeder, where I purchased my stock, available to answer my many questions at the time of the birth. I highly recommend to anyone starting out that you find a breeder who will be available to lend their experience and advice when needed.  I have learned so much by asking questions and she has been so wonderful in answering all of them!

     As far as sexing the kits, I am still trying to figure out who is a buck and who is a doe. I have two of the kits that I am fairly sure about but I keep changing my mind on two others:>)  If you are also trying to learn how to sex the little rascals, I recommend going to my links page and visiting the Island Gems Rabbitry page. They have an article that has helped me to try and figure this out.  Since this is my first try at sexing such young kits, I plan to have someone with more experience tell me whether I am right or wrong. Again, this type of experienced advice is truly invaluable when you are just starting out.

     The last wonderful thing to happen today is the kits began munching on the hay in their nestbox. I have been checking them daily to make sure that they are clean and being fed properly.  Their mom, Angel, has been doing a great job to ensure that they are all getting very plump and healthy.  This next step of eating hay is happening just about the time I have read it should and I'm so happy to see that so far things are going along just as they should in the kits development.  I know that in the coming years not every experience will be as positive as this one and we will be confronted with mishaps.   I am just thankful that our first experience is proving so wonderful for myself and my family!!

     So, for now we wake up everyday and check our little miracles.  One of the kits had been quite a bit smaller than the others for the first 4 days and we were very worried. He looked as though he wasn't getting fed as well as the others which wasn't helping his size. For two days I took him out on his own and placed him on a towel on my lap. We then took Angel and placed her above him where I pet her to keep her still and calm. He was able to fill his little belly without competition from the larger kits and now he is almost caught up with them. I almost didn't recognized him this morning in his daily check. I'm not sure if what we did helped all that much but I'm happy to report that he continues to grow big and strong like his brother and sisters.  As we have watched him grow hoping he would be alright, my kids and I shared a special miracle of our own.   These little rascals really are little gems and we're happy to be a part of their creation!!

     I am currently nine months pregnant myself and expecting to kindle any day so I will try and update the kits developmental changes in the coming week. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with the five little rascals that will be in my home soon!! Check back with us to find out how they are all doing!!!