Anyway, one of my Californian does kindled this afternoon (a whopping litter of nine!). I remembered the nestbox *this* time, but the ol' girl didn't pull much fur. I can't say as I blame her: it was COLD and WINDY this afternoon. They were chilled when I found them. But - they were alive! Even better, their breathing and circulation was still good. Thank God. After some skin-to-skin cuddling from my obliging family, all the bunnies were warmed up safely. With the addition of some extra nestbox fur, the babies are warm and dry now! If it was a small litter, I'd probably also fill a small pop bottle with hot water, cover it with a handtowel (hot water bottle thing) and nestle it down in the nest so the babies would have another heat source.
So class, what did we learn this time? [grin]
- Checking rabbits that are due is a good thing. Getting up at 2 A.M. to check does is another good thing if you can drag yourself up that early.
- Having cool family members with warm bodies is another good thing.
- Creme d'Argents that pluck themselves bald when they have a litter is another good thing - "Tulip's" fur is insulating the Cal babies now!
- Having a cage in the house for pregnant does would be REALLY nice if I had the room and I wasn't a Big-Evil-Commercial-Breeder-Who-Breeds-Six-Does-to-Kindle-on-One -Weekend. [grin again]
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