Post by lorelei0922 on May 19, 2008 14:06:19 GMT -5
So.. here's My baby pictures... Enjoy
This is Saffie, on Saturday 22nd March, she weighs aprox 600g in this picture, and has just spent 3 days with our polecat hob Sage, mating. He is very gentle, no marks on her neck beyond a couple scratches. She's been moved to her nesting cage with her best friend Thyme for company. She has already started showing signs of coming out of season and we estimate her due date to be the 1st of May.
Saffie about 3 weeks pregnant, careful feeling around the belly shows small "lumps" yeap she's definitely pregnant, sleeping a little more and getting gentler, allowing me to snuggle when usually she just wants DOWN!
Definitely getting close now, when she's picked up after laying on her side the bulge stays to one side...very affectionate just now and happy to snuggle on my chest (very unsaffie like) eating probably double usual feed of rabbit only a week or so to go!
Getting close now so the extra shelves have been removed and the bedding box full of meadow hay has been added. They love the box and it smells so sweet. Saffies belly hair is getting sparcer as she pulls it out to add to the nest inside the box!
Saffie and Thyme like the box and sleep in it at night but their Favorite spot is inside the pillow case that is hung as a hammock.
Usually the girls dont bother climbing up the mesh, saffie is getting a bit cumbersome so is generally happy to snuggle in the box or hammock, but a squeek that sounds like a kit sends her scurrying up the side looking for the lost kit and grabbing her friend Thyme and dragging her into the nest box. Isn't that maternal instinct wonderful!
About 9pm Monday 22nd April, Saffie started getting agitated, backing repeatedly into her Poo corner, baring down and scraping her bottom on the paper, then rushing to the cage door where she goes to get my attention, guessing her distress i carefully placed her into her nesting box where she quickly got down to business.
Saffie is quite happy for me to peek so i snatched a quick pic as she pushed this new kit to nurse
about 10:45 Saffie climbed out of her nesting box for a drink and i snapped a quick pic...6 so far. she returned quickly as #7 was on its way.
Tuesday morning and Saffie hopped out to tuck into her breakfast, leaving a good oportunity to count noses and toeses... 10in all.. well done Saffie!
Just a couple days old and the fuzz is starting to show.. changing from just pink wigglers. Saffie has been doing a good job keeping the nest clean.. maybe a lil too good! Scratching a hole in the bottom of her box!
Possible to see colours this early ? i count 6 poleys and 4 albinos.. well they are Five Days old Now! Saffie is doing a good job keeping the nest clean...
Saffie is spending less and less time in the nest box and can be frequently seen laying across the top of the box or in front of it. She still doesn't go far except to eat and drink and get a treat from me. Our daily routine of ferretone on the belly. But she allowed me happily to stroke her and the kits while she nursed yesterday and didn't make a fuss when i picked several up for a closer look. When i handed them back to her i held them so she could give them a good clean down below and she took them from my hand and put them back in the nest. Letting her think she was still in charge. I feel this is important so she doesn't ever feel threatened by me handling her babies.
Each day they are growing! changing into real little beings instead of fuzzy lil shrimps lol. On the weekend of the 24th, the kits will be 4 weeks old and we have a big PR show we need to attend and its a weekend thing. So we're taking Saffie and the babies with us! Can you believe that by that time they will be thinking of leaving the nest a bit and eating raw rabbit as well as mother’s milk? i bet Saffie will be relieved when they are weaned it must take so much out of a little jill like that!
The new crew is now 2 weeks old! Finally a moment to sort them out and see who's who. We've got 2 albino jills, 3 albino hobs, and 5 colored (polecats?) hobs. all lovely and big tummys not too long before they are causing havoc!!
We've seen a few escapee's this week. Little squirmy bodies making a break from the nest! Saffie is really quick to snatch them back up and take them back to the nest. Much to the delinquent kit's very loud dismay lol.. seems kids have to have their say no matter what species they are!
At almost 3 weeks old the kits are still growing fast. The biggest is a dark lil boy at 81grams and the smallest a pink lil girl at 75 grams
The 5 dark hobs are developing colors slowly as masks start to appear!
When they were born their ears were completely closed and still fused to their heads. While still closed and developing they are starting to stick out from the head now!
This is the smallest little albino jill weighing at 75 grams still very healthy and her coat is growing in just like the dark ones.
You can really see the white fur growing thicker in this pile of all 5 white kits.
The boys are really getting it together. They prefer to snuggle in a tight little knot and you can really tell the changes in the coats that will be taking place in the next couple weeks.
And finally here we go ... a snuggly pile on the bean bag while i clean out the cage and give mum a break to enjoy her rabbit in peace. A sweet cuddly picture of 10 happy babies!
I'm constantly surprised how quickly they are growing and it doesn't seem like 3 weeks ago at all that Saffie gave birth to these squirmy lil shrimp like things lol
This is Saffie, on Saturday 22nd March, she weighs aprox 600g in this picture, and has just spent 3 days with our polecat hob Sage, mating. He is very gentle, no marks on her neck beyond a couple scratches. She's been moved to her nesting cage with her best friend Thyme for company. She has already started showing signs of coming out of season and we estimate her due date to be the 1st of May.
Saffie about 3 weeks pregnant, careful feeling around the belly shows small "lumps" yeap she's definitely pregnant, sleeping a little more and getting gentler, allowing me to snuggle when usually she just wants DOWN!
Definitely getting close now, when she's picked up after laying on her side the bulge stays to one side...very affectionate just now and happy to snuggle on my chest (very unsaffie like) eating probably double usual feed of rabbit only a week or so to go!
Getting close now so the extra shelves have been removed and the bedding box full of meadow hay has been added. They love the box and it smells so sweet. Saffies belly hair is getting sparcer as she pulls it out to add to the nest inside the box!
Saffie and Thyme like the box and sleep in it at night but their Favorite spot is inside the pillow case that is hung as a hammock.
Usually the girls dont bother climbing up the mesh, saffie is getting a bit cumbersome so is generally happy to snuggle in the box or hammock, but a squeek that sounds like a kit sends her scurrying up the side looking for the lost kit and grabbing her friend Thyme and dragging her into the nest box. Isn't that maternal instinct wonderful!
About 9pm Monday 22nd April, Saffie started getting agitated, backing repeatedly into her Poo corner, baring down and scraping her bottom on the paper, then rushing to the cage door where she goes to get my attention, guessing her distress i carefully placed her into her nesting box where she quickly got down to business.
Saffie is quite happy for me to peek so i snatched a quick pic as she pushed this new kit to nurse
about 10:45 Saffie climbed out of her nesting box for a drink and i snapped a quick pic...6 so far. she returned quickly as #7 was on its way.
Tuesday morning and Saffie hopped out to tuck into her breakfast, leaving a good oportunity to count noses and toeses... 10in all.. well done Saffie!
Just a couple days old and the fuzz is starting to show.. changing from just pink wigglers. Saffie has been doing a good job keeping the nest clean.. maybe a lil too good! Scratching a hole in the bottom of her box!
Possible to see colours this early ? i count 6 poleys and 4 albinos.. well they are Five Days old Now! Saffie is doing a good job keeping the nest clean...
Saffie is spending less and less time in the nest box and can be frequently seen laying across the top of the box or in front of it. She still doesn't go far except to eat and drink and get a treat from me. Our daily routine of ferretone on the belly. But she allowed me happily to stroke her and the kits while she nursed yesterday and didn't make a fuss when i picked several up for a closer look. When i handed them back to her i held them so she could give them a good clean down below and she took them from my hand and put them back in the nest. Letting her think she was still in charge. I feel this is important so she doesn't ever feel threatened by me handling her babies.
Each day they are growing! changing into real little beings instead of fuzzy lil shrimps lol. On the weekend of the 24th, the kits will be 4 weeks old and we have a big PR show we need to attend and its a weekend thing. So we're taking Saffie and the babies with us! Can you believe that by that time they will be thinking of leaving the nest a bit and eating raw rabbit as well as mother’s milk? i bet Saffie will be relieved when they are weaned it must take so much out of a little jill like that!
The new crew is now 2 weeks old! Finally a moment to sort them out and see who's who. We've got 2 albino jills, 3 albino hobs, and 5 colored (polecats?) hobs. all lovely and big tummys not too long before they are causing havoc!!
We've seen a few escapee's this week. Little squirmy bodies making a break from the nest! Saffie is really quick to snatch them back up and take them back to the nest. Much to the delinquent kit's very loud dismay lol.. seems kids have to have their say no matter what species they are!
At almost 3 weeks old the kits are still growing fast. The biggest is a dark lil boy at 81grams and the smallest a pink lil girl at 75 grams
The 5 dark hobs are developing colors slowly as masks start to appear!
When they were born their ears were completely closed and still fused to their heads. While still closed and developing they are starting to stick out from the head now!
This is the smallest little albino jill weighing at 75 grams still very healthy and her coat is growing in just like the dark ones.
You can really see the white fur growing thicker in this pile of all 5 white kits.
The boys are really getting it together. They prefer to snuggle in a tight little knot and you can really tell the changes in the coats that will be taking place in the next couple weeks.
And finally here we go ... a snuggly pile on the bean bag while i clean out the cage and give mum a break to enjoy her rabbit in peace. A sweet cuddly picture of 10 happy babies!
I'm constantly surprised how quickly they are growing and it doesn't seem like 3 weeks ago at all that Saffie gave birth to these squirmy lil shrimp like things lol