I have just begun my rabbit-breeding season. By breeding now (February) I hope to have juniors to show in the spring. The challenge to having litters right now is the cold weather. So, the litters that I have been getting have been coming into the house and then traveling out to their moms for either just a feeding, or for the entire day, and then back into the house. Rabbits only nurse their young once, or at most twice, per day.

I have three litters right now. Two litters are nearly two weeks old, and have been remaining outside overnight for three days. The other is a litter just a few days old. All of the litters earlier this year had been able (due to a few warm weeks in January) to be out of the house by the time they were just around a week old. But last night promised to be cold and windy, and I opted to bring them indoors for the night. They grow faster this way.

So, these two older litters of kits were quite a bit older than any that I had previously brought into the house. I had been warned by some of my on-line rabbit list friends (Showbunny Digest!) that the older kits get quite rambunctious. I found out this morning that this is true. Because they are only fed once per day, they are quite anxious to be fed that one time.

I had fed Rhett and Brooke (my male and female Cardigan Welsh Corgis), and then let them outdoors while I went to get dressed. Later I let them indoors. They raced ahead of me, into the inner part of the house. I think that I puttered around in the kitchen for a few minutes, then I was on my way to find my shoes. I looked into the entryway room, and there was Brooke, following around this teetering baby English Spot rabbit. At this age, they are almost the size of a new puppy. Well, I scooted over to snatch up this baby, and he nearly escaped by tottering under the wood box. But I got him! Brooke was right there. I was praising her for not having gobbled up this stray creature, when I realized that the bunny had a very wet and well-licked bottom! She must have been administering to him for a little while before I came upon the scene. The nestboxes had been sitting atop my grooming table, so he had a bit of a drop, too.

I was telling my children about this adventure--they having been still abed. I explained how Brooke had taken care of the baby rabbit as if it were a puppy. Ten-year-old Justin thinks that this will mean that Brooke will make a very good Mommy to her puppies. I think so too!

As a post-script--I found it to be a wild adventure taking these bunnies back to their mothers this morning. I had the foresight to only carry one box at a time. There are 5-6 rabbits in each nestbox, and lots of straw and pulled rabbit hair for bedding. These little guys wanted to eat, and were clambering all over the place. Add to this the fact that the walkway is very icy, and I had quite a time keeping them safely tucked in the nestbox until I got them in with their mommy. Each mother rabbit was just as anxious to see them, and I heaved a great sigh of relief once they were back in there. I will think twice prior to bringing them indoors again. (Solution from rabbit breeder's list--place nest boxes in a large cardboard box to catch strays--I will heed in future!) Well, off to water those proud mother rabbits!

Story by: Pat Bennett