With Spring turning into Summer, children out of school and blossoms turning to berries, another cycle of life began on the tee-em ranch this week: My first batch of baby bunnies!
This is a picture of momma, easily my most nurturing mother who always takes great care of her children. Behind her you will notice a pile of pulled out hair and built up straw:
Here is a closer look at the pile. When the mother rabbit is a day or two away from giving birth, she will make a pile of hay, or burrow into the ground, pull her hair out of a tuft of hair that puffs out under her chin and make a nest.
Kit 1- This one takes on the traits of mama and has the same white base with brown speckles:
Kit 2- This one is a good mixture of the father (A silverfox, grayish black rabbits with extremely soft fur)-
Kit 3- I'm pretty sure this one might belong to the mailman, having neither fur patterns of mom or dad, being a solid tan/brown:
Kit 4- Junior. A spitting image of dad. (Although you cannot sex these rabbits for a few weeks, gotta wait for the nuts to drop)
Kit 5- Mama's girl. You can see that she, and half of the other ones now have their eyes opened.
Kit 6- White widow. This young lady may also be a product of the milkman, poolboy or mailman. (Solid white pattern isn't in mama's or dad's genealogy, lol)
You will notice when you observe mama during the day, she is not anywhere to be seen near the children. Only at night do they feed their young, as daytime predators will smell the milk when she nurses them.
Interesting to see the cycle of life.