CONGRATS JOE ;D ;D ;D That is great news, I bet that was exciting for you. Well I guess I will be first person to bug you for some pics, pics and more pics. Good job Bayli!
WOO-HOO ;D Congrats Joe, and Im glad everyone is doing fine! Hope the vet visit goes GREAT Pics, Pics, Pics and MORE PICS when you get the chance please sir. Congrats again!!! David
Thanks guys! It sure is indeed some pretty amazing stuff. The little male has already learned how to suckle and has actually gained an ounce already. The females I'll have to work with. I was able to open their mouths and put each on a teat and then squirt out some of momma's colostrum into each of their mouths and then I gave them each around a quarter oz of feed from a bottle. I'll be taking them to the vet here in a little bit to have them check out Bayli and to get some suggestions for the feedings, etc. -Joe
P.s. I'll work on getting some pics after I get back from the vets for those of you anxious folks out there. ;D
First of all, my d@mn digital camera just broke, so it'll be a bit before I get pictures.
Momma and pups are doing well. Little Fat Man (the lone male) is a typical male, he's an assertive little guy, just like his pappa. First Female is so far pretty nondescript from her little sister, Chance. By the way these are all just their initial working titles. The good news is that Chance is, I think now suckling on her own and the vet yesterday, couldn't determine which one of the females she was. I can tell, I think, cause she is always about .4 oz smaller than her sister. That could all change pretty quickly though, as they're supposed to gain about 10 percent of their body weight each day during the first week. Here's the run down so far (results shown in relation to their birth order). BTW, they're supposed to lose weight their first day and then start gaining, but all of them are at least back up to their birth weight now.
1. First Female (born 11:35 p.m. 6/6/07) - Birth weight 7.1 oz , today's weight 7.1 oz.
2. Little Fat Man (born 12:05 a.m. 7/7/07)- Birth weight 7.9 oz, today's weight 9.5 (he is a dominant and strong little sucker)
3. Chance (born between 2:15 and 2:30 a.m. 7/7/07) - Birth weight unknown (but weighed 6.1 oz when I brought her home from the Med Vet at 5 a.m. yesterday morning), Today's weight 6.7 oz.
They're all very vigorous right now and I'm checking their weight every 3-4 hours to make sure they're all stable or gaining. -Joe
"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." -Thomas Paine
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? -Marianne Williamson
Thanks for posting them FB. Can you tell I'm a proud Papa. ;D The first pic is of Mamma with all the kids. The second one is of Bayli and her little boy. The third pic is one of the females. The fourth is of the male. And the last is of cours, all three of them. They're all still growing and putting on weight. The male is the most active and even though he is still blind and deaf (hearing and sight come in at about 2 weeks) he has already started exploring the whelping box. He also makes this funny noise when he is picked up and squirms quite a bit, wanting to be put down. He reminds me of Luke Wilson's character in "Night at The Museum" when he is picked up by the collar and says, "Put Me Down, I don't like to be manhandled." So far, the females just sleep and eat.
Hey RT, Things are going great. Everyone is doing great and gaining weight. The females are catching up to the male, weight wise. The male, however, is still MUCH, MUCH more active. The females sleep and eat while the male motors around the whelping box, checking everything out. It's kinda funny cause he'll drag himself a few inches, stop throw his head in the air, bark, and then start motoring around again. He does that constantly. I almost wonder if he was conceived on the first day of breeding and the females were conceived a couple of days later. Their eyes are supposed to open later this week and they're supposed to start hearing sounds as well. Then, towards the end of week three (sometime next week), I'm supposed to start the weaning process by introducing them to bowls of replacement milk and then adding some mushy kibble to the mix. I'll also start introducing them to bunny stuff. Anyone know how to preserve a rabbit skin? I've got to skin one of the rabbits I have in the freezer to use with the pups, but I've never tried to tan one before. -Joe