Welp, Mother Nature dealt us a hard blow this week when we discovered Jenny's entire sweetie pie litter had died. There are so many reasons this could have been and I know this is so common and all, but my gut says the weather is to blame for waterlogging the ground that either suffocated the kits down there or simply got them too wet down in their hole and they got too chilled or even drowned (which is confusing because the nest was dry, but the bunnies were wet?). It was so sad finding their lifeless bodies and even sadder watching Jenny become so depressed. I had had a hunch the day or two before that she was acting super clingy and weird about her nest (which isn't normal for rabbits who intentionally LEAVE their nests all day) and I wondered if that meant something was wrong. Sure enough, it was. 😞 We didn't even consider how Jenny's chosen nest location being closer to the edge of the bunny yard made it vulnerable to water from the outside of that covered area. Ugh!! Noah and Anna took the sad news so well - one commented immediately that that's nature and the other felt a bit of relief that there were less baby bunnies to have to worry over and rehome anyway.
On the brighter side of our bunny updates this week, this happened! Video footage of the first time Padme's litter came out of the hole all on their own and explored their area! We died at the cuteness of all those little furballs moving about.
That gave us the go ahead to remove them entirely from the nest and move them into the hutch. This was also a relief because there is just such a potential for sickness and infection the longer they stay in that space where they were kindled and nursed and were dirtying up with pee and poop more every day. They have enjoyed their new hutch and all the playtime they get when we let them out to romp and run around their partitioned area. And you KNOW Noah and Anna are thoroughly enjoying this new baby bunny stage. Josh and I are too, honestly. It's gonna be a fun July with them! We are also being cautiously realistic about the chances that they'll all still survive. Tummy troubles can kill a baby bunny real quick as they try out hay and pellets in the coming weeks. Some are already nibbling. And one of these jokesters chewed through our bunny cam cord, too. 😏
We thought Padme's litter had only 6 of these cuties, but we discovered a seventh in there during the move - another little white one! That extra lively surprise softened the blow of discovering Jenny's lost litter that same morning.
We have taken to giving them temp names for while they are here because it's just too dang fun - there is a Luke and Leia, a Rooster, a Night, a Millie (in honor our long, lost Molly back in January), Inky, and one of the white ones remains unnamed, though we have considered Lambie ...
We have three of the bunnies already spoken for and a few other peeps coming this week to see them and consider. Wish us luck finding them all homes! They will be ready to leave Momma Padme as early as the first weekend of August.
