Sunflower kindles 8 kits

I headed down to the barn this morning to milk Miss Daisy and as I walked past one of Madison’s many rabbit cages, I thought, maybe I should peek in since Sunflower is due any day.  The picture above is what a found, 8 beautiful and warm satin babies.  So up to the house with them and then it was back to milking.

Since Daisy’s front right quarter was clear last night when I stripped her, I decided to milk that quarter this morning into a separate container, just in case it was off.  It milked beautifully and strained easily.  I’m so happy that  is was really not serious and I caught it so early.

It has snowed off and on all day with very mild temps so being outside wasn’t a problem at all.  Winds are suppose to pick up overnight and most area schools are closed already for tomorrow.

Madison had another 7 baby rabbits born this afternoon.  These are the babies that will be ready to go at Easter time.  So happy the rabbits are finally kindling.  They had me a bit worried.

Madison also received the news that she placed 1st in her Proficiency Interview yesterday.  She now advances to the State level.  She is very excited.

Rich also made me a second cheese press today.  I’ll have pictures up tomorrow.

My cheeses ready for the cheese cellar

This morning brought temps just below zero with winds chills at more then -40 degrees.  Schools were starting late and then cancelled so I had help with morning chores with included milking Daisy.  Madison and I worked as a team to get her milked this morning and Oh that was so nice in the bitter cold.

Today I also had my first cow milk customer.  Heather has been here before for goat milk.  It was nice to see her again and visit a bit.  And even better, I didn’t have to make a 4 pound round of cheese!  I made a 2 pound round of Monterey Jack instead.  I would have made Pepper Jack but realized I didn’t have the proper pepper spices.

My earlier cheeses were ready for sealing.  After a mad search of the storage unit, basement and trailer house to find our Seal-A-Meal, which I found in a box in my bedroom, HAHA; Rich sealed up the cheese and they have been moved to the cheese cellar.  They will continue to be turned over on a regular basis as they age.  I can’twait to try them.

Still waiting for the baby

Yep, we are still waiting but she is getting so very close.  Madison did the last barn check tonight and said Miss Daisy is very restless and just not herself at all.  Of course, tonight the temps are dropping to well below zero as a cold front moves through.  I will be doing one last check before midnight and then 1 or 2 during the night.

Miss Daisy

That is the big question.  Miss Daisy has been a bit off today and tonight she seems uncomfortable and is “leaking” a bit.  She is penned for the night and I will be doing periodical barn check on her throughout the night.

Miss Daisy

Early afternoon Madison and I loaded up all our goats except for 5 and headed about an hour south to exchange the goats for a dairy cow.   I’ve been talking with Michael (cow owner) for months about the cow/goat exchange and we finally came to an agreement.  So off we went.

It was a lovely afternoon drive and Michael has a cute little hobby farm.  He has a little bit of this and that but no goats.   We unloaded the goats and took a little tour of his farm.    We checked on the goats and they seemed to be enjoying their new home.

Then it was on to the cow.  Michael has told me about how gentle this cow was and so easy to work with.  He also mentioned that he had no idea how we would load her as when he purchased her a few months back, it took 5 men to get her into the trailer.  I should mention that Michael is in a wheelchair so he could not help load her.  I told him, you don’t know Madison, she can get animals to do all kinds of things.  And guess what, Madison took the lead and the cow simply followed her into the trailer!  HA!  Michael’s jaw simply dropped.  ”I don’t believe it”  is all he could say.

We said our goodbyes and home we headed.  Once home, Rich greeted us as we unloaded Miss Daisy from the trailer.  First thing he said, “Yes, you can see she’s pregnant but oh she is underweight.”  The underweight thought had crossed my mind when I picked her up but I thought she still looked ok.

Madison and Miss Daisy

So now I have my dairy cow.  We’ll work on getting her in good condition.  She could calve as early as November.  Wish me luck!

Baby Bunny ER

Welcome to my Emergency Room for baby bunnies.  OK, it’s really not a room, more like a spot on the couch.  These 8 young’uns were born this morning.  I found them scattered in the rabbit hutch, which in MN when temps drop below freezing, is very bad for a baby bunnies.  When this happens, first thing I do is put as many of the cold ones into my bra.  I know, it sounds weird but there is a very small window in which to save kits and a ride up to the house in my bra starts the warming process.

There are a couple of ways to warm up a chilled kit (baby rabbit).  The bra way is a good way to start but it won’t do the job as it’s too slow.  The kit(s) need to be warmed as quickly as possible.

You can warm them up by placing them on a heating pad (set on low) and/or also by using a plastic bottle filled with hot water.  As you can see in the above picture, I did both as these babies were really cold. I cover the whole area with a towel and try to make a barrier so they don’t crawl away and you end up sitting on them.

Baby Bunny Hot Tub

Another way to warm them is by placing them in hot water.  I take the hottest water I can get from the tap.  Remember, you want to warm them not burn them.  Then, if they are really cold, I drop them in the water.  I usually only do this when the baby is just about frozen.  It doesn’t matter at that point in time if their face goes into the water as they are barely breathing away.  And yes, it works and no, they don’t drown.  But as soon as all 4 limbs are moving, I lift their heads out of the water.

You can also place the baby in a plastic bag, like I did above.  That is a snack size bag that I put the kit in and then placed it in the water.  This baby was chilled but not freezing so I choose to warm it this way.  You have to be careful so the nose isn’t against the bag or it can’t breathe.

After the kit is warm and moving. I put it on a heating pad (set on low), add towels, the rest of the siblings, etc.  It takes a while for the head to warm up so be patient.  You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to save a chilled, almost frozen rabbit.  Make sure you check them often as you don’t want them to get too warm, that’s not good either.

Once they are warm, they are moved into a nest box and place in a warm area.  We bring mamas to the babies in the winter.  All our babies are kept in the house during the cold months until they are about 3 weeks old.  At this age, they are ready to endure the chilly days and nights.  They are then moved out to the bunny barn where they join their mama until they are weaned.

We have saved many a freezing rabbit by doing these things.  We don’t save all of them but we try.

Good Luck!
~ Carol

Sampson, Scottish Highlander

Today was the big day, our first beef animal was to be loaded and ready for a quick trip to the processor tomorrow morning.  It turned out to be quite the adventure and we made just a few mistakes.

Rich brought the fold (that’s what a herd of Highlanders is called) back from the east pastures, across the creek, to the tree pasture where we have a loading area.  That was probably mistake #1.. bringing the WHOLE fold back.  There are 17 animals in the group, which included Sampson, a dairy steer, a bull and the cows and calves.  The fold moves pretty much as a group so I’m not sure we could have just brought Sampson back.  The animals aren’t exactly tame but they do know that when Rich shows up, they should follow because usually that means fresh pasture or hay is going to be offered.

So, thinking we were prepared, Rich brought over a small square bale of hay and placed a bit of it next to the fence line.  This of course brought all the older animals over.  The calves are shy and wanted to play instead of eat.  Rich, after a few tries, managed to laso Sampson’s horns.  That is about the only way you can rope a Highlander.  Sampson was not happy and let everyone know.

After Rich got Sampson secure to the telephone pole (fence post) our bull, El Dorado, decided that Sampson needed to be put in place and went after him.  Poor Sampson, I thought, that lasted one second as the 2 crashed down the gate with Rich standing on the other side holding the rope on Sampson.  Yeah, the gate went down like paper and next thing I know, Sampson has Rich pinned against the fence, with his head and horns thrashing.  El Dorado just stood there next to the downed gate.  Madison and I were grabbing hay and throwing it out into the paddock, trying to get El Dorado away, so Sampson could relax.  Soon Sampson backed off of Rich.  Rich was just fine.  We decided to leave Sampson settled down and headed back to the farm site to get the truck and trailer.

We returned a shor time later to find El Dorado pinning Sampson against the fence line again.  This time, Sampson was really on the losing end of things.  He was bleeding from the scrapes of El Dorado’s horns.  Rich manged to get a gate between them and El Dorado just kind of gave up after that.  Sampson wasn’t too hard to get into the trailer.  He actually went in quite easily.  Once loaded securely, I apologized to Sampson.  I felt so bad for him.  Rich and Madison burst out laughing saying, “like tomorrow is going to be a better day for him…”  Must be the city slicker in me, Rich and Madison are farm kids, hehe.

Tomorrow he makes his final trip to the local processor.

~ Carol

The boys arrive

Our first set of twin lambs arrived this morning and they are both rams.  Rich found them.  Dandy lambed while I was on a shopping trip.  I’m so glad she didn’t have problems like last year.  I just love this picture with Madison’s 4H llama, Buckly.  Do you see the little lamb laying next to him?  Our llamas are so good with babies, be it lambs or kids.  This is not an unusual scene in the barnyard… llamas working as nannies while the mamas take a break.  They also help find lost babies.  They are such intelligent animals.

New Lamb

Once I was back home, I checked out the new arrivals.  I believe they are premature.  Their hair/wool is very short and tight.  They are missing hair/wool on the back of their legs, appear a bit bony and are small.  They do seem healthy and happy.  They readily nurse and Dandy is tending them like a good mama should.

Madison checked on the little ones tonight.  She has named them Johnny and Jimmy for now.  They also are now sporting sweaters as we are expecting temps to drop into the single digits below zero tonight.  With them not appearing to be term, I think they can use the extra warmth.  I’ll see if I can snap a picture of them tomorrow modeling their coats.

~Carol

OUCH!

Yep, I’m hurt.  This is my ankle this morning.  I managed to slip off the steps of the pouch when going out to check the bunny barn last night.  I thought I broke it when I heard the snap as I hit the pavement.  It’s not broken but it sure does hurt!  Rich had to help me back into the house as I couldn’t step on it.  Madison did the reminder of the barn checks last night.

Snowflake kindles

On her last check before bed she found Snowflake’s fresh kits.  There are 7 little pink bundles in there.  That’s a small litter for Snowflake who is a large rabbit.  She usually has no less then 9 for us but she’s getting older so I’ll let it go THIS time, .  We have 7 litters now but we only bring up 6 does for feeding as one litter has only a single kit so that one was placed into foster care .

Well, I better get my chores finished.  Takes me longer as I’m hobbling and not walking ;P

~Carol

Baby bunnies

This morning brought us more baby bunnies.  This time is was Himi, one of the crossbred rabbits.  She’s a first time mama and decided to give birth on the wire on the cage instead of in the nest box.  Rabbit does are not suppose to nest this way but once in a while you have a rabbit who has to be different.  It usually happens with a new mom.  Every bunny here gets a second chance and usually, they get it right the second time.  You can’t make a rabbit nest in a box so if she’s a habitual offender, she shouldn’t be in your breeding program.  Of course, IF you screw up and fail to provide her with a nest box, she can only make do with whats she’s got.

Himi's nest of the wire

The above picture was taken about an hour before Himi kindled.  This is not what you want a mama rabbit to do, build her nest on the wire.  I was lucky because: 1.  it was warm inside the barn; and 2.  I knew she was kindling so I could get the kits into a nestbox before they wondered on the wire.  Then, continued on to find warmth, ending up outside of the cage and a tasty meal for a hungry chicken.  If this situation had happened during the night, the litter would have all died.

Did you know that a new baby bunny will search for heat?  These tiny hairless creatures will seek out a heat source.  You’d be amazed at how far a kit can crawl.  They can fit through a very small opening.  We have found kits, who are both blind and deaf at birth, across the barn on the ground.  They chill very quickly and IF they don’t become dinner for some other critter, they will succumb to the cold.

Unlike cats or dogs, mama rabbits do not sit/sleep etc with their babies.  They nurse the kits once or twice a day and don’t return until it’s feeding time again.  Feeding takes less them 5 minutes on average.  After nursing and butt cleaning, mama is gone.  Sounds uncaring, doesn’t it?  This trait carries over from their wild rabbit ancestors.  Baby rabbits do not have any scent to them making them hard for predators to find so mamas do not spend any extra time in the nests if they want their babies to survive.  Of course, today’s domestic rabbit has lost a few of those distinct traits.  We have mamas who hang out in nest boxes because they can.  They are not there to “tend” babies, they just want to sit in the nest box because its comfy.

That is your rabbit lesson for the day.  We will have a quiz later this week….   .  Just kidding.

~Carol