Aggravating Announcement

Welp, Shade did indeed strike before we noticed he was a boy last month.  He got Jenny and Padme both pregnant and they had babies right about the time I hoped we were about to pass the at-risk window of having to deal with baby bunnies at all.   I don't want to talk about it except to just document it here because it happened/is happening and it is a big stupid deal. 

Teeny tiny, but super wiggly/squirrely kit from Jenny's litter. We think there are three in there.  Josh and kids spotted two black ones as well.

 

One of Padme's kits, obviously older than Jenny's litter by a little bit.  Eyes still closed, so less than 10 days old we guess.  We have only detected two in her nest, but hers is deeper so we can't quite see and be sure.  We'll know soon enough when they start poking their heads out of the nest on their own.

 

We discovered Paddy's nest first.  Because they cover up their holes/nests when they leave them, they can be hard to notice at all unless you actually seeeeee them going in it and preparing it.  This shot is Noah reaching the full length of his arm underground to try to video what was going on in there.  We have since gotten a scope off Amazon that works much better.

Once we noticed Padme's activity, I became suspicious of Jenny, too, because she had stayed in a certain area all that day, possibly guarding a nest?  Josh hunted in that area and, sure enough, found she did indeed have a nest of babies too.  Anna and I are sick about it all. 

No, none of these babies are staying, no matter how cute.  Yes, it is involved getting them sexed and separated and outta here after weaning but before they start trying to reproduce all over again.  Oy. I am already stressed out worrying about keeping the adult bunnies from any baby bunnies ... we don't want them being attacked and injured like Jenny was as a baby.  Not on our watch.  Josh is going to have to build some more dividers in two different areas to keep the nests and babies protected. There went his weekend!  This is all his fault though, so ... Kimmie has no sympathy.  Only aggravation and stress.