LocoYokel - Born in a Barn

[LocoYokel]

( I am backing up a bit here in an edit so folks can know a bit more about me n mine. I also started a kindling thread so my journal isn't all rabbit...
Born and raised in North Idaho, third generation, I am a true Yokel. I will be 55 this fall and have no kids of mine own but DH has 3 from his previous. Alas, they live too far for me to spoil grandbabes but... my neighbor was kind enough to have a couple for me! So I am auntT (TJ, or Tami Jo here). The oldest just turned seven in Feb and is my #1 farmhand! Her brother isn't quite 2 yet and is absolutely in thrall with the chickens, not so much with my 3 small dogs . Gonna work on that this summer!
Being raised on farms and small ranches I have always been around livestock, except sheep. I can raise a bummer lamb but that is as far as my experience goes. Now that I have seen, and read about, @norseofcourse's Icelandics....
Which brings me to: I only have about a 1/4 acre to work with! I moved here 20 years ago to care for my elderly mentally handicapped cousin. Sadly she passed 3 years ago. We are in the county tho so I can have my chickens and rabbits. Two mini-goats came and went also.
The current herds are 8 black sex-links, 3 does and 1 buck (meat type) rabbits, 3 rather yappy small dogs, 1 dat (cat that thinks he's a dog), 2 noisy fishtanks, a noisier lionhead buck house rabbit, THE super sweetest Chinchilla and a husband who is not always patient but is one helluva carpenter!
I only work occasionally, refurbishing rentals and resales, but don't count me out if you don't see me post for a while, I am just lurking.... I do that. I like that I am home mostly but when there is work it's Getter' Done time!
Hello Spring!

Am just lovin' it here at BYH!
Thanks for tunin' in...

End of Edit, finally)








Since I have no idea where to start guess I'll just jump right to the good stuff and fill in the rest later.
My doe Tilda was due yesterday, 3/13/17, and had shown absolutely no signs of nest building or pulling fur. This is her second litter and with her first she had started arranging her hay and pulling fur 4 days prior to kindling. Being the "Other Mother" I took it upon myself to do some research on fur pulling. (Tilda said I was a worry wart and to just let her handle it.) The first site I picked on my search was BYH. Within ten minutes I had my answer and within the hour I was signed up.
Being raised on farms and ranches where we grew most of our own food I am familiar with most types of farm animals and pets however questions always come up... like how long before kindling will a doe start pulling fur? Except for two litters last fall it has been almost 10 years since I have raised rabbits.
Getting back to Tilda, she was just giving me dirty looks and not speaking to me by 2 am. I was checking her every two hours due to the cold weather... I finally gave up, deciding day 32 just might be her day and went to bed.
Imagine my surprise when I went out at 8 to give the hens their scratch and there was a huge furball and 7 baby bunz in the box (8 actually but 1 did not make it). All are fat little squirmies so it seems her milk is in and she is doing everything right...
SEE! I just KNEW she could handle it!!
(Here is my Tilda, it was too cold and wet to get baby pics today.)

Now if Suki would just kindle, she was due yesterday too... and off to the barn I go!

 

[Pastor Dave]

Nice title, "Born in a Barn", I like it!
Pretty doe with decent litter.

 

[LocoYokel]

Nice title, "Born in a Barn", I like it!
Pretty doe with decent litter.

Thank you Pastor Dave. I was told she is a Creme D'Argent X but the man I got her from was unsure with what, maybe Checkered Giant. I'd like to have more like her, she seems to be a great momma and throws large kits, even without my help...

 

[Latestarter]

Congrats on your new litter and hope the one to come is as successful.

 

[LocoYokel]

Captain's Log: Stardate/Earth 03.17.17
Mothership Suki is now four days overdue. Routine sweeps have been upgraded to every two hours and full alert is in effect for the next forty-eight hours.
We have received no communication regarding the mission being aborted however this could be the case. Her maiden voyage ended in loss of all crew and this is her second run.
Fleet Command has issued a warning for the "Suki".This behavior from a Mothership could lead to her being decommissioned and docked.

 

[animalmom]

Ah Suki, live long and prosper.

 

[Goatgirl47]

Captain's Log: Stardate/Earth 03.17.17
Mothership Suki is now four days overdue. Routine sweeps have been upgraded to every two hours and full alert is in effect for the next forty-eight hours.
We have received no communication regarding the mission being aborted however this could be the case. Her maiden voyage ended in loss of all crew and this is her second run.
Fleet Command has issued a warning for the "Suki".This behavior from a Mothership could lead to her being decommissioned and docked.
View attachment 29533

 

[Pastor Dave]

We don't like it, but following the three strikes rule and then cull is best management. It is best to have a good, productive breeder rather than feeding yet another one.
It is surprising how much character and personality a simple creature intended for livestock can take on. Mine are all different, but have had to follow the strikes rule.
Praying for success of Suki and all your bunnies!
Blessings, Dave

 

[LocoYokel]

So... several months ago the neighbor had a friend whose kid had a rabbit and... I'm sure you know how the story ends. When she gets here I see a HUGE doe, overweight and thin coated. (I was told she was an outside rabbit.) The temps had been below freezing for over a month and they had brought her into the house even before that. The only cage I had large enuff for her is my 'holding' cage out in the barn. I use it for quarantine, feeding out and visiting bucks so she was headed there anyway and a heat lamp and moving blankets took care of the rest. She haired right up and ready to go outside with fresh air and natural daylight. Problem: Only hutch open is way too small for her but she will have to make do for a bit...
I also asked my husband if he would build her a hutch that she would fit in... and this is what I got:

8.5 feet long and almost 30 inches deep, 32 inches sloping up to 36 for inside ceiling. Ventilation windows in all panels. Full wire floors with room for large resting ledges (the nest boxes will slide right under). Paid around $20 for hinges and latches, had the wire and the lumber came from scrap piles, pallets and Craigslist's Free page. RECYCLE! It Works!
I mean like: WHAT A GUY!! Now all three does have it made and I have two more hutches for raising young to size.

Thanks to Ella!

 

[LocoYokel]

We don't like it, but following the three strikes rule and then cull is best management. It is best to have a good, productive breeder rather than feeding yet another one.
It is surprising how much character and personality a simple creature intended for livestock can take on. Mine are all different, but have had to follow the strikes rule.
Praying for success of Suki and all your bunnies!
Blessings, Dave

Thank you Dave, that's the rule here too. She had 9 her first litter, out on the wire. It was late fall and even the 4 I warmed died within a day. I did see her trying to nurse them but I think that the bad start was just too much. There was never any question of trying to lay her on her back, she is not that kind rabbit. That fact also very well might have led to me misreading her at 2 weeks. (Let's not mention how out of practice I am.) Her behavior has mirrored that of Tilda, the other doe bred on the same day, including arranging straw in her nest box. No fur pulled but my hens would be proud of her nest!
So the options are: never bred, absorbed, aborted, false pregnancy, or waiting til the very last second just to drive the human bonkers! Did I miss any?
She will definitely get another chance if not two, due to human error.