Unfortunately Heidi had a failed litter or else she would get one of these too. She had 5 DOA and some obviously stuck, so she'll be rebred soon for a 2nd try. 

Sarah ended this round of babies on February 21st. She had 6 kits, but sadly with 2 DOA. However, the remaining 4 are doing fantastic! When she gave birth I was gone all day at school and work so my family watched the bunnies again. There's not much to say, since she did such a great job! So far I'm thinking colors are a chestnut, broken chestnut, broken something else and an orange. I can't wait to see this babies grow up! 

It's really interesting to me that Clementine and Sarah had 6 kits. They were both bred to Finn, but Sarah had 5 takes (fall offs from the buck), and Clementine only had 2 - those sure are some fertile does! I'm surprised every doe I bred got pregnant with a fairly sizeable litter. I just wish more kits had survived. But we currently have 10 babies - including Beth's 3 - and that's the most I've ever had, so I'm thankful! 

I'll see you in my next post - most likely about some fun updates, such as news on the shed I'm getting, and my brother's decision to possibly start doing the "rabbit thing" (my mom's words lol), with me! 

This was Clementine's last chance. She has had 2 litters before that failed miserably. Her first litter had 4, all DOA, her second had 5, with 4 DOA and a kit that died a couple days later for a bizarre reason. With both of these litters, she refused to nest inside the box, she constantly moved her nest to the opposite side of the cage where the box was not. And she had both of these litters outside the box. I wasn't super hopeful for a nice litter out of her because she never showed signs of being a good mom.

She started nesting a few days before her due date and I gave her a box right then and there. To my surprise, she actually pulled fur INSIDE the box this time! I started getting hopeful. Maybe she'll finally get it right! 

I was in Oregon over her due date at a show. My mom and youngest brother were in charge of watching preggo does and my current babies - on top of feeding and watering and loving on everyone else. On Saturday, February 19th, my mom texted me with Clementine's birth news! 

I was so happy to hear that she had SIX kits, all in the nestbox!!! One was DOA, my mom said it was big and stretched. Another one was a peanut. However, we have 4 gorgeous, live kits which is more than I expected from Clemmi! She finally figured it out. She loves her babies. Right now, colors are looking to be chestnuts, an orange, and a broken orange! 

Sadly, on day 5, one of the chestnuts passed away. I'm not positive why, but I'm so thankful for the three we have left. 

Way to go Clementine! I can't wait to see this babies grow up. The daddy is Finn and these parents are both crazy (hyper and spastic), but also my most friendly and sweet, so I bet these babies will have amazing personalities. My brother's favorite is Clementine, because she always begs for head pets and will put her head under your hand to get them. She's always at the front of the cage and I'm really hoping to have more rabbits in my herd with this stellar personality! 

By the time you read this, I'll be in OR showing 4 rabbits, Holly's Butterfly, Holly's Prince Charming, Holly's Fern, and Holly's Tucker. This is my first time showing rabbits out of state. I went to Portland OR a couple years ago for the 2015 convention, however, I didn't bring my own rabbits to show. So I'm very excited to see how my Washington bunnies do up against rabbits and breeders I typically don't show against. Besides that, I'll also be showing in open, which brings a new set of challenges because there will be awesome breeders there that have been breeding for 10+ years and have herds of 30+ rabbits, and just getting high in these classes will be an accomplishment for my small herd and breeding history of only 5 years. 

Today I wanted to take some time evaluating each one and giving my thoughts on their strengths and weaknesses. Let's go over each one in the order they are shown in, just for fun! 

​First up is a SSB (solid senior buck), Holly's Prince Charming. He just keeps looking better and better as he grows! I love his body and width in his head and body. I especially love his HUGE head and tiny ears! His biggest fault is thinner bone. He could have more width in his chest too. His crown is a little tight, but I love the thickness and shortness of his ears. 

Holly's Tucker is a SJB (solid junior buck), and very possibly the best I've produced so far! Honestly there is nothing I don't like about this buck. He could have better head width and shorter ears, but both of those things could come with time as his head pops. I love his short, thick bone; smooth, wide body; and that width in his chest! I love how thick his ears are! Overall, this buck just screams "massive"! 

Next is miss Fern, a little SJD (solid junior doe), I'm so excited about! Like Tucker, she is just massive! Prince Charming is her dad (can you see the resemblance?), and her mom is Butterfly (there's resemblance to her too!), and she got great things from both parents. Like Butterfly, she has a wide, smooth body and a little butt skirt developing! Right now her biggest faults are longer front bone a tight crown, which might get better with age. I love her width throughout and I have high hopes for her! 

Last (but not least!), is one of my favorites, Holly's Butterfly, a gorgeous BSD (broken senior doe)! I wasn't really showing Butters anymore, but letting her stay at home and be a mama, but I don't have plans to breed her for a couple weeks and when I took her out to pose her and groom her I couldn't let her stay home. She needs to show off more! She's always shown super well for me and I'm hoping this weekend is no exception. Her biggest faults are a slipped crown and finer bone. But she has a head to die for and incredible width throughout. She's only looking better and better, even after having lots of litters! Did you know that she was 3 weeks pregnant when I showed her last (I swore she wasn't pregnant; but she had 5 babies in there!), and she got a super high placement that day! I believe it was best opposite sex variety, or at least she won her class. I'm so excited to see how she does! Butters is a forever bunny because of her awesome personality and guys....I just love her. She's been with me to quite a few places....a speech I made in college, a retirement/therapy home a few times, and several shows. She makes every one of my days better and I'm excited to have her along for this special trip! 

I hope you guys enjoyed some random thoughts! My next post will be Beth's birth story, and after that....probably details on how the show went!! 

Holly's Beth had her first litter on January 30th and she's been doing a great job! I had no issues with her! She was due on January 29th and built a beautiful nest. I checked on periodically throughout the day but she didn't show any of signs of labor. Usually I'll check up on the does throughout the night if they don't deliver during the day, but I had math class in the morning and needed to get good rest, so I didn't check on her throughout the night. I trusted she would do the right thing or just not have the babies at all until the following day. 

She didn't have them in the morning, so I went to school and when I got back I checked on her once and left her alone. When I went out to see her again, at about 6:30pm, she had delivered! I saw no signs of labor or anything, so I knew it was a quick delivery. One baby was outside the box and cold, so I brought it in and quickly warmed it up. The other 3 were perfectly settled in the nest. 

I brought all the babies inside that night because it was supposed to be cold, and I knew I would sleep better that way. Every night since then I've been bringing the babies inside. I'll continue doing so until they can get back in the box after getting out. They are opening their eyes now and getting SO cute! I have decided on names for them but will release them in a Youtube video later in the week. I don't know genders yet but these names can be used for both. 

She had 4, no peanuts or DOA (dead on arrival), but unfortunately one passed away at about a week old, so we have 3 left now. Originally, there were 2 chestnuts, an orange and a cream, but one of the chestnuts passed away. I'm excited to watch these guys grow because they are going to be cute! 

They are 14 days old now (2 weeks) and have their eyes open! More updates to come as these guys mature. I'm excited to see them grow up! 

As you guys know by now, Beth had her litter 2 weeks ago! We have 3 new little ones to love on! Her birth story is coming later in the week but I wanted to post this first! ​

Our next doe due to kindle is Holly's Clementine, a broken orange doe! Clemmi is due on the 17th and started nesting today. I gave her a nestbox and we'll see if she actually nests in it this time. She has a big belly and I saw some babies wiggling around in there today! Hopefully she'll do everything right this time and we'll have lots of broken-colored babies! 

Sadly I won't be here the weekend she's due, so I'm hoping she gives birth in the morning on the 17th before I leave for the weekend. I'm so thankful my mom doesn't mind watching over her and she knows what to do if things go wrong. Of course, I have to pay one of my brothers to feed and water all the bunnies and bring the babies inside when they come, haha! 

Clementine THANKFULLY is nesting in her box, for the FIRST TIME EVER, so I'm hopeful we'll get live, healthy babies this time!!! 3rd time's a charm, hopefully!

On the 20th, the day I get back, Heidi and Sarah are due! Heidi pulled a little bit of fur a couple days ago and has been digging in the corners of her cage a ton lately. That's a sure sign of pregnancy! She also has a big belly so I'm thinking she has a lot of babies in there! Heidi is a chestnut doe and was bred to my little black buck, Percy. This is Percy's first litter and Heidi was pretty unwilling, so honestly I'm surprised she got pregnant at all! 

The last (but definitely not least), doe due in this round of breedings is M&S Sarah. So far she isn't showing pregnancy signs but that's okay; she was VERY willing during breeding so I'm sure she's pregnant, just hiding it well :) I'll weigh her tomorrow and see if she gains anything this week. 

Once all the does deliver, I'll reevaluate which breedings to do next. I have almost 5 does ready to breed now (Rosemary needs to pass her quarantine first lol), but I can't breed all 5 at the same time; so I'll have to choose who gets to breed right away and who has to wait a little longer. I'll update once I've decided and keep you all in the loop!