Eight days old.

Tuesday, April 19th.

Today's blog will be mostly about Sugar (the Dad) as it has been a very traumatic day for him. A small update on the kits (and pictures) will be included.

Sugar opening his gift at Christmas

Sugar went in for his neutering surgery at 7am today. I received a call from the vet just before 3pm that he managed beautifully. He was awake, and hopping around. He was a bit cold, and had not eaten very much, but they hoped that once he was home, that would improve.

When we picked him up, we were given a sheet on what to do and what not to do in order to have a healthy, happy bunny. Apparently, the food we have been buying is wrong (too many extra's in it like seeds and we need to stick to straight pellets), the bedding we have been buying is wrong (pine and cedar shavings give off fumes that is bad for them), we have not been giving them enough vegetables (need to eat an amount equal to their head size), we've been feeding them too many pellets (should only eat an amount equivalent to their tail size each day), we should not allow them to ever "clean up" after the kids (cereal, crackers, toast, peanut butter, etc), and they need to be eating their body size in hay each day. The hay we feed them is fine, and we do make sure that they have large amounts accessible at all times, but neither seem to be very fond of it.

On the up side, their cages are fine, we let them have lots of play and social time, and we keep them indoors where they are dry and safe. With everything that we have been doing "wrong", it is amazing that the vet's assessment of Sugar was strong and healthy, " a beautiful bunny".

Upon returning home, I cleaned out Sugar's cage so that there were no shavings left. I placed 'carrier pads" in the bottom (thin version of a puppy pad with sticky tabs to hold them in place). This way, he has a softer, cleaner space to lay down, with nothing to stick to his incisions. We will also be able to see if he is eliminating his wastes, yet it will absorb the urine to keep him dry.

We had to measure out his food and write down everything he ate and the approximate amount up until the time we went to bed. The vet tech called at 7:30 pm to check on him, and get a report on his eating. She was happy to note that he was doing better at home than at the vet's, but was concerned that he was still not eating much. As he was still a bit cold, she suggested a warm hot water bottle wrapped in a towel or sock for Sugar to snuggle up to.

Sugar ignored the hot water bottle. He wants nothing to do with it. There is also the blanket that the vet sent home with him (it was what they gave him in his cage following surgery). He wants nothing to do with it either. Perhaps it smells too much like the vets. We draped a blanket over his cage in the hopes that it would hold in some more heat for him.

I will have to call the vet in the morning with a detailed report on everything he ate before we went to bed, overnight, and in the morning, so that she can assess his progress. They can go a day or so without eating, but more than that can cause internal and digestive problems.

The babies are doing well despite a small scare yesterday. My husband checked on them midday only to find that a piece of the yellow nesting material had become twisted into a tight string and was wrapped around one of the kits necks. He tried to cut it off with scissors, but every time the kit felt the side of the scissors against it's skin, it freaked out, and my husband was afraid of hurting it.  Eventually, he was able to slide a small pairing knife under the edge of the string and cut it off. He lifted the nesting material out of their box to get rid of it, only to find another one stuck underneath.


WARNING - DO NOT USE NESTING MATERIAL WITH KITS! I am sure it would be fine for adult rabbits, but we will never use it again for babies or adults.

April 11th - birth day

The kits are fine despite the scare we had. They also had a visit from their "uncle" this evening as he stopped by between errands and appointments. They are getting a little bit heavier every day. They are now so round and furry, that is is hard to believe that they were skinny little hairless mites only eight days ago.

We are looking forward to their eyes opening, but dreading it at the same time. Right now, they stay in their nest box, and for the most part, cuddle up to each other. Once their eyes open though, they will start to explore. We will need to be very careful that the entire cage is clean, safe and without any way for them to get hurt or escape.

Enjoy these pictures, but please remember that Nesting material (the yellow in these pictures) is DANGEROUS! Do not use it with kits!All of these pictures were taken before the "incident". The yellow nesting material is no longer in their cage.