Happy dance...another doe gave birth this afternoon. My pointed white doe with a chocolate buck. She had 6, 2 dark, 1 grey, and 3 light. My pointed white coloring is really poor so I am experimenting to try to improve them.

I left them with her for tonight to make sure she feeds them. This is her first litter and she did a fine job. All were birthed in the nest she prepared and she cleaned and feed them with no issues. As it was freezing all day that is a wonderful thing. Tomorrow I will bring them in and put her into the same routine as the other does.

Here are pics of this seasons first litter at 5 weeks old. 1 is a blue eye ermine, 3 are copper agouti, 2 are very clean fawns.

They are all really affectionate and sweet, but what good angora isn't?

Well here is the newest litter! They are less than 1 hour old and look fine. They are full size and already fed. The doe seems to be doing fine and is now grooming herself and doing general clean up. She is an experienced mother so I don't anticipate any problems.

Most of my does do give birth within hours of nest gathering, building and hair pulling.

The buck is a REW. I am hopeful these are as well. I will have a better idea once their eye open.

The parents of this litter both have excellent coat density with a lot of guard hairs making them easy to keep as far as grooming is concerned.

The weather is up and down. 79 F one day and 34 F the next. Right now it is wet, cold and icky humid. I have put up the north side tarp on the rabbit shed. Once the weather settles to simply cold I will put up the west side. I want the maximum circulation for them.

We had a few raccoons move in under the deck of the house. I have trapped out 3 and relocated them. I love the wildlife, just not so close to the house.

The ermine doe is building her nest for her litter. When I went out to take of them this morning she had a mouth full of fur so I knew she was ready. As soon as I put in the nest box with hay plus additional hay for her to work with herself she went right to it.

Notice the ear lacing. She doesn't have that in summer as ermines are a temperature sensitive color (non-showable). She also has some smudging on her nose which isn't visible in the pics.

You can also see the wonderful shine on her ears and face.

Here is the gang nursing. The doe is brought in every morning and put in with the kits. The kits are really funny in the morning just before I bring her in. They run around in circles and are really excited in their anticipation. They are all agouti and the white is a blue eye ermine. They all have excellent shine in their coats, the mark of good satinization.

The fibromas are present in only 2 rabbits now and one is almost completely healed while the other is well on its way.

We've had mild freezes, but nothing bad. I had one water bottle slush up last week. I will be bringing out the christmas lights to put on the water bottles sometime this week. The wind has been the worst and we need more rain.

The new litter is coming along nicely. On morning 3 of nursing the doe was jumpy and wouldn't settle on the kits to feed them. I decided to leave them with her for a while before assuming she was rejecting them. After an hour had passed I checked in on them and they were all plump and happy with milk. Now she jumps in quickly when I bring them to her in the morning. Apparently, she had a passing moment of nerves.

The kit color are 3 chocolate, 2 fawn, and 1 white. The white could be ermine, albino or pointed white. I will have more clues when the eyes open in a few days.

Of the 3 does I bred only 1 took. I have now re-bred the 2 hold outs plus a chocolate doe, so December should be busy with kits...I hope.

This year the I had 2 rabbits develop Shope fibromas. It was a really low infection rate this year. Last year almost every bunny showed some evidence of this virus. My vectors are mosquitoes. Last year was the first time I had ever seen anything like this. I initially thought it was the Bot fly that was causing this, but when I examined the bumps they had no openings and exit on the surface of the dermis and not under it as a bot fly larvae would. After a bit of research I found the cause and was relieved. This is a minor inconvenience to the rabbits and just looks a bit unsightly until they self resolve.

This information comes from the Michigan DNR:

Description and Distribution

R. E. Shope, in New Jersey in 1931, first reported tumorous growths from the skin of a cottontail rabbit. These growths were later classified as fibromas and appropriately named Shope fibromas. The Shope fibroma is a small (25 mm diameter), firm pinkish-red, spherical tumor generally found on cottontail rabbits. There may be from 1 to 10 or more fibromas present on the animal's body, with growths usually on the legs and head.

Shope fibromas have been reported in rabbits from a number of states, but are usually found on cottontail rabbits living east of the Mississippi River. In Michigan, fibromatosis is a common disease in cottontail rabbits in the southern lower peninsula, but the prevalence of disease is unknown for the northern lower peninsula and the upper peninsula.

Two studies performed at the Rose Lake Wildlife Research Center reported the prevalence of fibromas in rabbits in southern Michigan. Forty cases of papillomatosis (probably fibromatosis) were found in rabbits examined between September 1 and December 13, 1938. Between 1950 and 1966, 19 of 170 rabbits examined at the pathology laboratory exhibited tumorous growths, with 8 of the 19 having fibromas. Both studies found juvenile rabbits to be more susceptible to infection with Shope fibromas.

Transmission and Development

Shope fibromas are caused by a filterable poxvirus. The virus is transmitted between cottontail rabbits through the bites of fleas, mosquitoes and possibly other biting insects. Four species of mosquitoes have been shown to transmit the causative organism, with the species being Aedes aegypti, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Aedes triseriatus and Culex pipiens. Mosquitoes may transmit the virus to susceptible rabbits up to 5 weeks after the mosquitoes feed on the tumorous tissue, thereby serving as both a biological and mechanical vector.

Once the fibroma virus is transmitted to other rabbits by subcutaneous and intramuscular inoculation, the tumor begins development. The loosely attached tumors occur most frequently on the skin of the feet, nose, eyelids, lips, ears and back. The fibroma virus acts directly on the epidermal and connective tissue cells causing the formation of a localized tumor. The tumors are slow growing, often multiple in number, and are described as elevations of the skin by the fibrous mass. The overlying epidermis thickens and sends bulbous proliferating epithelium deep into the tumorous tissue.

Fibromas are usually seen on juvenile or subadult rabbits and occur most frequently during late summer, fall and early winter. The fibromas may remain for as long as 10-14 months, spontaneously regressing following the development of antibodies in the rabbit. Usually the fibroma regresses during late winter or spring. It is believed that the animals are immune to reinfection following the regression of a fibroma.

Viruses similar to the Shope fibroma virus have been known to cause fibromas in brush rabbits in California, in hares in Europe and in gray squirrels in North America. Domestic rabbits can become infected by inoculation of the fibroma virus and the virus has been demonstrated to be closely related to the agent causing infectious myxomatosis, a fatal disease of domestic rabbits.

Clinical Signs and Pathology

Generally there are no clinical signs of illness and the rabbit is unaffected by the growths. Fibromas may be important to the animal's well-being if locomotion or feeding is hindered due to the infection.

The tumorous growths usually cause no significant pathological changes due to the location of the fibromas.

Treatment and Control

There is no effective treatment for the Shope fibroma and none is needed since the infection is self-limiting and will usually regress within a year, allowing complete recovery of the host.

Diagnosis

Gross examination is generally sufficient to identify the tumorous growths as Shope fibromas. The characteristic size, shape and appearance allow for a quick and fairly accurate diagnosis.

To confirm the tumorous growths as fibromas, a histopathological examination should be performed. Shope fibromas have uniform spindle-shaped connective tissue cells and there is no inflammatory reaction present unless the growth has been traumatized.

Significance

Shope fibromas have not been implicated as a mortality factor in cottontail rabbit populations in North America, even though the disease may reach epizootic proportions in certain areas. The fibroma virus does cause a localized, relatively insignificant, self-limiting reaction on the skin which usually disappears within one year. Experimentally, nestling cottontail rabbits have been killed by intradermal injections of the Shope virus.

The Shope fibroma virus is of no public health significance as it is not transmissible to humans either by handling or eating affected carcasses. Furthermore, because fibromas are confined to the skin, they are removed when the animal is pelted. Carcasses of affected rabbits are safe for human consumption.

The fawn doe is being a great mom. All the kits are well rounded and nursing well. I take the kits into the house once they are born. Then I take them to the does in the morning to establish a routine. After a few days the kits get really squirmy when I pick up the nest box since they know milk will be coming soon. That is when I start bringing the doe inside. Most pick up the idea and jump in to feed really quick.

I can monitor all the kits easily and catch potential problems and not worry if a kit is freezing to death because it is out of the nest box for whatever reason.

Things have really calmed down. I have spent a great deal of time getting ready for the Kid 'n Ewe show in Boerne, TX. It was a wonderful time and a success for me. I simply had a lot of fun. I met lots of really nice people. The event was put together well and I plan on being there next year as a vendor again. Can anyone believe I am tired of seeing silk fiber?

The angoras are going well. I had my fawn give birth this afternoon. She is a 1st time mom and didn't start her nest until shortly before giving birth. She did a fine job of it. Six healthy kits, 3 light and 3 dark. The buck is a chocolate. I have two more who should give birth in the next day or so. Another 1st timer and an experienced doe.

Weather is cool and dry. We really need rain. One good soaking rain came early in the week, but we are many inches behind in annual rainfall. A cold front is due tonight. The 1st freeze of the season should be tomorrow night.

I need to get the tarps up on the rabbits to protect them from drafts and blowing rain.

Last week we had wonderful weather. The nights cooled into the mid 70's and the days were upper 80's. The rabbits were very happy.

Two nights ago I heard thumping coming from the area of the rabbit hutch at 2 in the morning. Rabbits thump there hind foot to warn of danger. The odd thing was the neighbors dogs were deathly quiet. When forest creatures, or anything for that matter, come within proximity they alert and bark.

I go out to check on them. I flash the light in to see if anything was visiting and didn't see anything. Went in and checked them over and they seemed fine. Gave a couple of them a pat and a scratch. The only thing I noticed was the faint odor of skunk and blood. Yes, blood has a specific scent to it. I put the light to the woods. Didn't expect to see anything and I didn't.

I went back to bed. 15 minutes later I hear the coyotes in the distance. I have to assume a kill was made by them. I had heard them 2 weeks ago in the distance and in the meadow. I was glad to hear them since I hadn't in many months. I know they are around as I see them occasionally as well as the tracks, but I like to hear them.

I don't consider them a pest since they keep the neighborhood cat population in check.

General maintenance on the rabbits. I plucked 1 doe and groomed a buck. The doe didn't produce a whole lot, but she is just out of her baby coat and barely into the adult. She has a fabulous blend of guard hair and undercoat. She is really easy to keep mat free, something her mother and grandmother share.

The weather dropped 25 degrees with more rain. We are lucky it is a slow, soaking rain.

Happy Day! It rained last night just over an inch. It will still be hot for a long while, but when you start thinking that 95 is a cool day then you have been in the oven too long. Hopefully, the string of 100+ days are over. We haven't had rain in over a month. Even the forest was starting to wilt and a few trees may die yet from the stress.

I have been clipping off the baby coat of my chocolate doe. What a sweetheart she is. She really does well on the table.

You have to appreciate the strength of a rabbit. We had a cool day, only 95 for the high. I felt cooler, and the rabbits seemed more comfortable in the lower heat range. Of course, this all relative.

We've had highs at 105 to 107 for a couple of days and it has been 100+ for 2 solid weeks now. So 95 is a welcome break. No rain. We're on stage 2 water restrictions which I have no problems with, but a few seem to think it more important to fill the pool or have acres of green lawn to look upon. I truly don't think they grasp what a precious commodity potable water is. They would rather pour it on the ground than drink it.

The rabbits get their daily distribution of frozen tiles now. I use 4x4 inch tiles. They love them. Some toss them a bit to play and then settle down and pull them under their tummies to cool them off. Others just pull them right in and tuck them under themselves. Very amusing to watch.

And so the summer goes on. The rabbits are having a lazy time. My main job is to watch them for heat related problems, keep the water coming and manage the wasps.

We have had 6 days of 100+ temps in a row, 14 days this summer at 100+, and we will be at 100+ for the next 7 days or so with no possibility of rain. The humidity is low so that makes it bearable.

Part of my breeding program is to have rabbits that can tolerate the heat with minimal assistance. I am now starting the fans when there is no breeze. So far it is going fine.

The wasp are never ending. They are coming in for the water and are being just a general nuisance. I had one doe stop eating, but she seemed fine in every other way. She kept coming up to the cage door everytime I came in and seemed to be asking for something. I didn't see the wasp on the her bottle at first, but them when she went over to her water, sniffed it without drinking and then looked at me. I really looked closely at the water drip and saw one standing guard.

My pest spray of choice is no name brand, original flavor, mouthwash. I put it in a spay bottle and keep it handy in the rabbit hutch. A couple of sprays and they are off and away. It does not kill them and they will come back looking for their nest. I suggest a bit of liquid soap added to it if you want to knock them down and keep them from flying.

Wasp have their place, just not so close to the rabbits. So I just run them off a couple of times and that is usually enough. And I don't have any pesticide residue floating around my rabbits.

We have had record heat, but the rabbits are coping nicely. June had 3 days of 100 degree + days. Rainfall is also down so that is not helping.

Grooming and maintenance is all that is happening now. The yellow jacket wasps are making their presence felt a bit earlier this year. I have had to clear out 3 nests, 2 small and one large. I actually don't mind them until they start getting aggressive about the water bottles.

Every spring I have to watch for red wasp and yellow jackets making nests in the rabbit hutch. The red wasp usually go off to other nesting sites once I remove them from the hutch, but the yellow jackets just come back and start again in the same general local. You have to give marks for tenacity.

Some of my cages needed a bit of maintenance. The cage clips I used to originally construct them with were corroding away so I put in some zip ties. They are easy and fast to apply. Now I just have to see how long they will hold up.

The breeding season is finally over. The last litter is gone. Two kits are being held until their new owner is ready for them in 2 weeks time. The rest were either sold or are now residing in the freezer. I am always glad to start the breeding season and just a glad when it ends.

Satin Angoras have a commercial meat body along with fabulous wool. I keep my herd for just that, meat and fiber. I sell very, very few rabbits. They go to people who truly understand the commitment they are making to keep these animals, clean and healthy. I may make enough to cover hay and feed. But that is not why I raise them. I raise them to provide a healthy protein source for my family. I could probably buy steak for the money I put into them for food, hay, equipment, time, but the difference is I know where my meat is coming from and what was put into it. The big bonus is the wool. Again, most of which I use myself and sell just a small amount.

Not every kit in a litter is going to have the best characteristics of the breed. And this is in any breeding program. Not everything that pops out is going to be the best. That is why culling for the best of the best is what I practice. I keep only what I think is going to have potential to keep breeding a big, wooly rabbit.

Some ask what I do with my extra rabbits, some don't want to know and some don't care. Other options for dealing with extra kits would be to ask around and find organization or persons who can actually use them. Here are a few suggestions: zoos, people who feed the Barf diet to their dogs, falconry organizations, wild animal rehabilitation centers, large cat sanctuaries. There is always a need for fresh meat.

Finding good homes for rabbits is challenging and adding in the extra grooming for angoras makes it even tougher. These rabbits are not for children. I am of the mindset that it is better to live a short, but wonderful life than a long, but miserable and indignant.

Current satin angora litter, 8 weeks this weekend.

f38 - doe SOLD

e38 - buck

d38 - doe

a38 - buck

c38 -doe

Today was ink day. Of the 10 in this brood I tattooed 6 of the kits who will be 8 weeks this weekend. 5 will be made available to sell and if I am looking correctly, all does. I don't know why but it seems when I want bucks I get does and vise versa.

The color all of them is fawn. Their junior coats are nice and full with lots of crimp. I don't know why I like to see the crimp, but I do. I will posts pics tomorrow.

Today I write about straw. The kind animals eat. Here is bale of orchard grass and the last bit from my last timothy bale at the top toward the back of the orchard grass. See all the brown in the timothy?

I normally feed timothy hay to my rabbits. It is the best of the best to feed your rabbits in my opinion. But, the feed store I use has been going up on the price everytime I buy it or the size of the bale seems smaller or both. Either way this stuff is getting expensive. And the last bale had way too much dead, brown, hay and chaff. Just too much waste.

Yesterday I discovered they also carry a baled hay called Cortez Mix. It is mostly orchard grass with a little timothy and a little alfalfa. Orchard grass is also good for rabbits to eat, but alfalfa is not. What I looked over was nice and green and healthy looking so I am bitting the bullet and bought a 3 string bale of the stuff. I have high hopes for it since it is a little cheaper than the timothy, but seems to good quality.

The ermine doe's litter has been weaned. They are now 5 1/2 weeks old. It is a bit earlier than I normally do this process, but it is her 3rd litter and I want her recovered for the coming spring warmup and summer heat. She is such a sweet thing.

I weaned a week earlier than normal and did it over a period of about a week. I am now giving her fresh peppermint to help dry her up. During the weaning period, the biggest 3 kits were removed and then over a period of days kits were gradually removed based on size. The kits are doing great. Strong and healthy. Even the runt has survived and thrived. Speaking of the runt. It is so small and yet so active and lively. It really is amazing to see it push its way to the feed bowl for it's turn.

The weather is very north Texas spring. Thundershowers and beautiful green plants everywhere. We even had fresh dandelion leaves with our evening meal last night. They were delicious. The rabbits really love them as well.

On the pet yarn front:
Warren has gone home to his owner. She was happy to see his yarn. I am glad I separated him into two levels of softness.

Currently, I am working on Reva and Toby, standard poodles. I am carding and spinning Toby as I go along. His hair is extremely short, less than 1/2 inch for the most part. His coat is fairly coarse. I thought I might have to put in wool , but he has enough undercoat to hold things together with a lot of twist. I am 3/4 through spinning him up. So I am pleased at that.

On the dyeing front:
I carded and spun 4 oz of my superwash Merino & Tencel blend for a friend. Then I dyed it a dark blue in my natural Indigo vat. It turned out really nice. She said she will knit into a small shoulder shawl. She has some of my sw Merino & Tencel (acid dyed) that she knit into socks and she says they are the best wearing socks she has. It is a great compliment coming from her since she once told me she thought a batch of my Christmas cookies weren't too good. She really is honest in her comments.

I have acid dyed a number of sw merino & Tencel batches. Still need to get a darker blue in the mix.

Here are the gang born March 29th. That makes them 19 days old. Eyes are open, nibbling at the hay, they are starting to explore their enclosure. I added a water and feed container this morning so they can start sampling those as well.

One is very, very small. I have been holding a few of the kits back at feeding time to give it time to get it's fair share. Once it gets a head start I put the rest of the kits in with the doe so all can feed.

I have been reviewing the last kits my deceased red doe had in January. I am still trying to decide if I will keep any from those births or not. I opted not to sell any of them at all. I wanted to see how they would come along once they were older. I am close to deciding, but this weekend will probably be the final decision.

For pet spinning, Warren is coming along nicely. I was able to separete Warren into grade A & B fiber. One batch of his fiber had a great deal of guard hairs in it. It has a high prickle factor so that is grade B. At the bottom of the bag was a smaller batch that was mostly undercoat. Fairly soft, but still has a few guard hairs. That was grade A. He is 2/3 rds done. I need to finish him up soon. I have an order for Toby & Reva that will arrive shortly. They are standard poodles.

My order for Tussah silk and Tencel arrived this week. I need to get on the stick and get my dying done. Hopefully the weather will hold. We have had so much wind this week and it is supposed to continue into the weekend. It looks like it will rain, but so far nothing.

Lots of news. Some good and some bad. First the good.

The DFW FiberFest was a great success for me. I meet some wonderful people and other vendors. I sold much more than I anticipated. I had heard mixed reviews on this event so I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a vendor, but I am glad I tried it out. I didn't bring any of my prime angora fiber. I am saving that for me. Now I am going to spend the next 2 weeks dying and carding to catch up my inventory.

I was also able to advertise my core business, spinning pet hair. Several people brought samples of their pets fur to be spun. I even had one very nice lady bring me a big bag of her pet's hair to me at the show. We sat and discussed specifics while I spun a sample of it to take home to show her family. "Warren" is now drying in a basket. This fur is very important since he passed away several years ago.

I was so busy preparing for this show I haven't written on the rabbits at all. Two does gave birth, March 29th, each having 11 kits. So much for any fostering ideas. The ermine doe had no problems at all, but my best red doe developed a prolapsed uterus. It was awful.

She successfully had all the kits in the nest. When I checked on her in the morning she was pulling fur. I looked in on her 45 minutes later and saw she had given birth, but she had way too much blood on her and she was just sitting in the corner in distress.

I put her down since I didn't want her to suffer by slowly bleeding to death. I tried bottle feeding the kits, but I lost them all by the 5th day. I have never had success with such young kits on a bottle. I can mange a good survival rate if they are about 10 days, but not newborns.

The ermine is doing well and so are her kits. The smallest in her litter did not make it past 2 days so she is nursing 10 kits now. It looks like a nice assortment of ermines, fawns, light torts and maybe a red.

<--Here is a satin angora ermine buck at 7 weeks. For angoras this is a none showable color, but they can be just adorable with their blue eyes. The eyes can also be brown.




Here is a satin angora doe at 7 weeks. -->
These show up in my lines on a regular basis and make good woolers. These are popular with those who don't care for the REW rabbit, but want white wool.

I will be inking this weekend. And then a few will be offered to new homes starting next week.

I haven't got pics of the kits yet, yes my bad....but it did snow here for the 2nd time in one week.

Here is the rabbit shed in snow. For a while the flakes were as big as cotton balls! I know for the people in snow country this is nothing, but we don't see nice snow too often. On Saturday the temperature got to 80 F and I though about taking down the tarps on the west and north sides. But, last year were had snow in April so I thought I would wait. Good thing I did. It snowed 2 days later. The snow you see here is the 2nd go round.

You can see the green tarp here better. Angoras do very well in cold weather as long as they stay dry and they are out of the wind. My shed is open on all sides for ventilation. It is screened to keep out predators and the like. You can see the silver trash can that holds my feed. I put a bungee cord through the top to lash it down.

We also installed solar panels (now snowed over) on the roof for lighting and fans. In the roof, down the middle is a clear panel to let in natural light.

The kits are growing rapidly and are looking very healthy. They are now supplementing themselves with pellets, water and hay. I will make some initial judgments on sex this week along with colors.

It was so nice outside I started moving some of the hay out of the floor area of the rabbit shed. I clean throughly twice a year, spring and fall. I use it around my apple trees and in the garden. It is the perfect material, hay partially composted with rabbit manure. Rabbit manure is a cold fertilizer so it can be used without composting first.

One of my bucks, a fawn, decided to have a bout with wool block. I knew he was approaching the time to pluck his wool. He had extra fur lying about the cage and the occasional bit of wool dragging from behind.

Friday morning he was lying with his head down and wouldn't come to greet me. After finishing with the other rabbits I brought him inside for immediate action. I administered two capsules of baby simethicone by cutting them open and put the drops in his mouth. I gave him a deep, but gentle tummy massage to help get the intestines moving again. Watch what you are doing with this. The intestines can be ripped if you are rough or not careful. I plucked the loose wool from him and fed him as many sunflower seed as he would eat. I exercised him while he was inside; run about the house a bit to also help get the intestines moving. When I put him back in his cage I gave him a few dandelion leaves, and an extra handful of Timothy hay.

The next day he was improved only a little. When I took him out of his cage he seemed more lively and when I took him out into the yard to look for more dandelions he was much more active.

By the following day he had recovered fully.

This was all brought on because I fell behind on getting him to the table for plucking. Angoras are like cats in their grooming habits, except they do not have the ability to vomit, therefore they cannot throw up fur balls like a cat. The fur lodges in the intestines and can create blockages if large enough quantities of wool are ingested.

A gassy bunny is a happy bunny.

When I first looked into angoras I did all kinds of research on which breed would be suitable for me. I concluded that the Satin Angora was the right rabbit. I couldn't find one breeder in Texas or even in the adjoining states. I ended up having a breed trio shipped to me. Lacey was part of that trio from Lisa Somerville, in Ohio.

Lacey was a successful show rabbit for Lisa and a fine breeder for me. She lived to be over 5 years old. Un-spayed females tend to succumb to reproductive cancers. I suspect she was experiencing this as her last 4 litters produced kits in many different sizes of gestation. None of which survived. I retired her from breeding for the current cycle. She was also bloating in the abdominal area. And she had an abscess over her right eye which probably originated with a tooth problem.


This all sounds bad, but she never exhibited pain. Was eating normally, bowl movements were good, and had a full shiny coat. Four week ago the abscess was very large and ready to be worked on. I lanced it, cleaned it out, and packed the wound with antibiotic cream. She allowed me to do it with very little struggle. I decided then that if it re-occurred that I would put her down.Even thought she didn't show pain from the abscess, I know it had to have been putting extreme pressure in her facial area. And if it ruptured internally she would die slowly of septicemia. The abscess did come back so it was time.

She is the rabbit I compare all my prospective keepers to. She produced a fine prime coat with the right amount of guard hair to wool. Good shoulders and rump. Never had wool block even though she was not a big hay eater. The perfect angora temperament.

She was buried in an area of the yard reserved as the pet/rabbit area. Only a select few get that treatment.

Not quite 2 weeks. I transferred 2 of the ermine does' kits to the red does' litter for nursing. It seemed the smaller kits were being pushed aside and not getting their fair share of milk. I moved the 2 biggest white kits over for ease of recognition since the red doe produced no whites at all.

They have been able to catch up. When does have litters this close in age it makes fostering much easier.

Unfortunately, after a week, one of the white kits I put in the red doe litter
doesn't seem to be getting enough milk. So I moved him back with his original litter mates.

The colors have darkened significantly for both litters. I was afraid the ermine had had all whites again but, within 2 days of birth I could see a few would be fawn. Eyes are just starting to open.

REW 8 weeks

Here are a few pics of a REW at 8 weeks, doe.