Day Seven

Sunday, April 17th

It has been another day of surprises, only 6 days old and some of the kits now have small slits showing where their eyes will soon open  (around 10 days normally).  This is much easier to see on the lighter coloured ones, but they are starting to show on the darker gray ones as well.Two of the five kits are noticeably smaller than the other three, and they are not showing any signs yet.

When I picked up one of the bigger kits to show my husband the eye slits, I had the dubious pleasure (and certainly a surprise) of having it wet copiously in my hand. Not only did it fill my cupped hand, but it left a small puddle on my kitchen floor. Who would have thought that something that small could hold so much urine! (Then again, I though the same thing 3 years ago when my youngest son filled the hand that I had cupped underneath his bare bottom with lovely newborn mustard, at his 4 day doctor check up. I do believe we went through about 4 or 5 diapers in that half hour visit.)

The kits are very active now when the light hits them. If you take one out of the pile, they all shuffle about until they can get comfortable again. Just as she did yesterday, Cuddles came to investigate and be petted. She was nipping and pulling at my sweater sleeves quite a bit too and only stopped when I was petting her. I am not sure whether she just wanted the affection, was jealous of the attention given to the babies, OR is she smart enough to realize that if I am petting her, I cannot pick up her babies?

Speaking of jealousy, we believe that our 3 year old son is jealous of the attention that the kits are getting from me. Every time that I bring them out, he suddenly has the need to be right in the middle of my lap again. As soon as I put them away, he goes back to playing with his toys. Coincidence? I'm thinking, not.

While Cuddles was out making sure we were not harming her babies, I took the opportunity to put the runt near her belly.  It was fascinating to watch her "nose" it towards the right spot, then see it flip upside down to nurse. For those who do not know, rabbits nurse their kits by standing up over the babies. The little ones legs were flailing, and most of the time the front legs and paws were scrabbling at mom's side/belly. Cuddles would lick the kits tummy and bottom, which I have read, helps the kit's system to work better, and encourages proper elimination. She is so maternal, and it is all instinct. It amazes me to watch her.

Cuddles gets some lovin' from my oldest son.

During Cuddles afternoon play time today, we got out her basket of balls (white plastic balls that are full of holes), and she played for a good solid five minutes with them. She has not done that in about a month or so, and it is great to see her play again. She would nose the ball about, and then pick it up with her teeth and flip it in the air. One or two still have a piece of bunny treat in them, and she loves the rattling sound this makes.






Well, the weekend is over and it is back to work tomorrow. I will miss being able to spend the whole day with my bunny brood. Absence will make the evening social time even sweeter though.

Sugar (Dad) Just Chillin'

Enjoy today's pictures.