My mini rex had her babies

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the mom is very friendly but doesnt like being held because she just wants to run around so much when shes out of the cage, but she does love attention and enjoys being petted. she is super sweet and shes doing great :)
 
the babies eyes opened today :)

also, i did remove the nest box because i keep finding the baby outside of it anyway. i left a little nest of hay in the corner of the cage though.

this baby is SOOOOO super duper cute i cant stand it!!

i really wish i knew how to tell if its a boy or a girl :/


edit: she is ten days old today, i had read that the eyes dont open until day 14.
 
Aw, it's good they opened no problems. Now you just need to make sure that they don't close and get infected. So just watch for the eyes closing and also crustiness too.

The eyes tend to open between 10-12 days, but 14 is the maximum to wait before doing anything (this is what I was told).

Sounds like you are doing a good job.
 
I would put the nestbox back in. The baby was probably out because it was nursing and wouldn't let go. When mom hops out, baby "comes too".

BTW - pics please:)

Sharon
 
ok, here are more pics :)

just taken today.

is that the color hes going to be or does it change as they get older?

and does anyone know of any diagrams or anything to help me with sexing this baby?

babebun3.jpg


babebun4.jpg


babebun5.jpg


babebun6.jpg


babebun7.jpg



 
What a super cute little baby :D

The colour base will stay the same, i.e. it will remain an agouti (if that is what it is), but as I understand it (and someone might correct meif I am wrong), when they get their adult fur, the subtleties of the colour may change. Hope that makes some sort of sense.

As for the gender, at this age you will struggle to tell the gender. The older they are the easier it is, but the gender fairy might still strike. I have not found any decent pics of 'bits' though because I too am trying to sex mine. Mine are now 4 weeks and it's still hard to tell.

If I find a decent website I'll let you know.
 
Of course, I could be not remembering correctly, but I think it was Pam who always used ..... taco shaped () if a female, and donut shaped O if a male. As they get older, you will see the penis pop out when you press on thegenital area. If you press too hard, you can very easily change an O to an (), tho.

The basic color should stay pretty much the same ... maybe a little difference in the shading.

As far as the nest box ..... When only a single or up to four ... depeding on how big the babies are and how they are doing ... I usually left the nest box in till they were absolutely not using it anymore. Sometimes this is the only relief that Mom gets from the babies latching on to her ALL THE TIME. She can hop up on the top of it (mine are covered half way on the top) and till the babies can hop up there, Mom can enjoy a few minutes of peace.

When decent straw (absorbs better than hay) became so darn hard to find, I stated using the pine chips for the nest boxes. Even kindling in the dead of winter, the babies stayed nice and warm. And I rarely changed any of the bedding.

At first, being new to the rabbit world, I was SO careful when fostering ... using just about anything to make the babies smell the same ... or sometimes just putting whatever it was on the Mom's nose so EVERYTHING smelled the same to her. Then I found out by trial and error that you do not have to do that. And I always handled kits from the get-go just by doing the daily or so head count to see if there were any deads in the nest. I used to go thru 1000 pounds (one thousand) of rabbit food in a week, so I handled a lot of bunnies. I never had a doe refuse a kit just because I had handled it.

I always found that kits open their eyes about the same as kittens ... right about 10 to 12 days. Had very few develop nest box eyes. An old time breeder/show person told me that if I did, just to draw a little regular penicillin up in a syringe, take the needle off, and then hold the eye open and drop the penicillin right into the eye. This did work for me.

I love the Mini Rex ... just have a few Dwarf Hotot and Mini Lop now. Someday ........ I hope to get a couple of the Mini Rex again. They have the darnedest sharp claws, but to feel their hair is like feeling a bit of Heaven. And every one that I had was ever so friendly. One of my house rabbits was a Mini Rex buck ... Mickey ... and he didn't come to the house till he was close to 8 months old and got so terribly sick. And he used my homemade litter box to at least pee in. At one time, I crossed the Mini Rex with the Mini Lop. Ended up with two second generation Velveteens ... male and female ... both solid black. One died before I had the chance to breed the two of them to see what I would get.

The kits grow so darn fast. Enjoy this little one while you can!

~ Dolores
 
Its color is called Castor. It may change a little...probably get a little darker. You are doing a great job. Sexing it is easier at about 6 weeks.

Sharon
 
The color on the kit will actually change quite alot. It will get to be a

much deeper reddish mahogany color with black tipping. Castors usually are

pretty dull looking when they are younger and get much prettier

when they mature. At least that is my experience with raising them.

Roger


 
RAL Rabbitry wrote:
The color on the kit will actually change quite alot. It will get to be a

much deeper reddish mahogany color with black tipping. Castors usually are

pretty dull looking when they are younger and get much prettier

when they mature. At least that is my experience with raising them.

Roger
aww thats too bad, i think the color he is now is very pretty. but its already started to darken a little. ill post more pics soon.
 
Castor is a very beautiful color especially when the animal matures.

When they are babies they are kind of dull but when they get their

senior fur they are striking. They are one of the most popular colors

for people showing mini-rex. When he gets a little older blow in his

fur and it kind of looks like a rainbow.

Roger
 

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