Woolybuns

Bun To Be Wild

Every once in a while, I get an escape artist.  This one, Hoppin' Fresh's sister, lived with her mother, Princess Beyotch, for a while and apparently Mom made it uncomfortably clear that she was done with mothering for this round.  So the little girl figured out standard hutch door latches.  She grabbed the door wire with her teeth and shook it until the latch let go.  Then she took herself for a fun little romp through the hay and manure and assorted other not nice to angora coats vegetation.  In the moistness of early morning dew.  I moved her to a new hutch with an extra latch but it took her less than a week to figure that one out, too.  Out she scooted to play in the dirt again.   She's tasted freedom and likes it.  Fortunately, she's pretty calm and is happy for me to pick her up for a return to safety.  She now lives in a different hutch with wire too small for her to grab with her teeth and a latch that slides rather than unhooks.  She's dried out thoroughly from her adventures and done some cleaing up on herself so looks a bit more presentable now.  Her belly is a mass of surface matts but she's pulled out the twigs and leaves.  She's getting deck time now and after a bit, she gets a haircut.  Now, what to name her?

Mothering!

That's what is happening in Star's hutch.  I'm all giggly with glee over that.  Li'l Bit and The Big Hopper get to live.  I wouldn't have given up on them but the chance I'd have kept them alive if I were the one completely responsible for getting nourishment into them wouldn't have been a good chance.  Even with Star mothering them, things could go badly.  But the mothering gives both the babies a much better than fighting chance to grow up.  Li'l Bit is the one with the white ears.  Big Hopper is a self black. 

Li'l Bit

I shouldn't take photos.  I shouldn't start using a name.  These are  bonding actions.  And so far, life has been most unkind to the tiny bit of bunny life now thrust completely into my care.  Raising a single kit without the help of a doe often ends in loss.  So keep your distance.  Do not get attached.  You've been warned.  I, on the other hand, need to invest enough emotion in this potential puff ball to commit to the time and effort needed to keep his/her life going. 

The litter this baby started with was due on Wednesday, April 18.  The mother rabbit started nesting a week in advance, which is generally a very good sign.  On due day, she built and ate 5 separate nests, all of them on the wire, not in the nest box I provided to her.  I kept replenishing her supply of hay, waiting for that happy discovery of a healthy litter in the nest.  But something interferred.  I suspect the kits were too large to easily advance through birth.  The doe did not appear to be laboring until Friday, the 20th.  Even then, she did not show any real distress, just that "I'm uncomfortably pregnant" look I remember from the end of my own baby carrying days.  There is little to do to help a rabbit with a stuck kit.  We're talking tiny structures where even a single finger is too big.  Oxytocin can help but can only be given if the doe is in active labor.  Taking her to the vet would invariably halt labor and vets won't (or can't, not sure which) sell me the dose to give at home.  She wasn't displaying any signs of needing a c-section, which is something I would only consider if needed to save the doe's life, because rabbits do not do well with anesthesia.  The only thing left for me to try was herbal remedies.  Raspberry leaves are often cited as helping with labor so I went out and bought her a raspberry bush.  And some lavendar, also suggested to help.  She eagerly munched down on the raspberry leaves.  But by midnight, still no babies.  I checked again at 2 am.  No babies.  They finally showed up sometime after 6 am Saturday morning.  At least half the litter was dead, no organized nest, and I found three live but chilled and gasping kits strewn throughout the scattered hay, and none in the protection of the little bit of wool the mother pulled.  Those three I hustled into the house for warming in a baggie floating in warm water.   That's Li'l Bit there on the top, upside down, the biggest in the litter at 2 1/2 ounces.  While they warmed, I went out to tidy the doe's hutch and to make sure she was ok.  Once the kits were sufficiently warm, I put them in the nest I arranged in the nest box, first showing them to their mother so she would know they were back.  Rabbits tend to feed their babies only once, maybe twice, a day, often in the early morning.  Sometimes that first feeding does not take place for a full 24 hours or longer. 

Sunday morning, I checked and the kits did not appear fed but they did not appear to be withering, either.  I had another rabbit to deal with, a doe from the December litter.  She had gone to a new home end of March, but  it did not work out, and I headed out to bring her back.  She was nearly 2 hours away so I was gone for 6 hours.   I don't know what happened with that rabbit but I discovered when we got home that she was seriously under weight.  And a bit traumatized from all the changes in her life in a short time.  I spent some cuddle time with her after she ate to try to ease her worried mind.  Then I checked on the kits again.  They were still safely tucked in the nest.  I didn't think they'd been fed but they didn't appear distressed, either.  Even the little one was a bit on the big side for newborn baby rabbits.  Sadly, come Monday morning's check on the kits, I found 2 of the three cold and lifeless away from the nest bowl and the warmth of the angora wool they sleep in.   

The big one, Li'l Bit, the sole survivor, now faced an uncertain future.  Kits rely on the combination of shared body heat trapped in their mother's wool to stay warm.  During summer's heat, one kit might be able to survive in the nest alone, but the wacky weather around here lately had just plummeted from 70s and 80s with warm nights to stormy 50s and chilly overnights.  I brought the baby in the house for warming and a meal of molasses thinned in warm water.  Molasses provides immediate energy they can absorb through their gums, which allows them to warm their insides so digestion can take place.  Later, with the kit warmed and able to nurse, I reunited baby with mom.  Sadly, mom has no interest in the baby.  Clearly, her hormones reverted to non-nurturing status.  The baby's best hope now lay with another doe, Star, who was due for babies on Friday, the 20th.  But again, with the delayed birth came the likelihood of another unhappy outcome.  Or the possibility she wasn't pregnant at all.  Li'l Bit's nursery now is a box with hay and angora in the house. When no new babies had arrived by Monday night, I went in search of goat's milk to feed the singleton.  Neither pet shop had any, but I finally found some at a grocery store next town over.  Hand feeding newborn kits is a very delicate operation.  First, they must stay warm enough to have energy to eat and digest.  Second, getting food into them without drowning them is tricky.  I wrap them like little burritos in a soft cloth, both to keep them warm while feeding and to limit their frantic movements so I have an easier target.  Forget those baby animal nurser bottles and nipples.  Too big, too uncooperative.  I use a 1 cc syringe and offer it one drop at a time on the lips, not in their mouths.  Li'l Bit is quite an enthusiastic feeder, occasionally lunging for the tip of the syringe.  That's good, in that the baby is healthy enough to do that.  Dangerous because it's hard to control where the food goes.  Up the nose or directly into the throat could easily lead to mucking up the lungs. 

This morning's first check on Li'l Bit showed how difficult maintaining temperature is for a singleton.  Too much heat will kill a baby faster than chilling will, so overnight, when I am sleeping, I cannot use an external heat source for the baby.  And that meant Li'l Bit was a bit on the cool side first thing this morning.  Still hoping for Star to have kits, I got Li'l Bit warmed and fed, then checked outside on the hopefully now mother doe.  No. Babies.  No evidence Star had any interest in a nest.  No evidence she was even in labor.  This being day 35 of what is usually a 31 day gestation, chances she'd have babies at all were dim.  Back in the house, I was not happy with Li'l Bit's warming process so tucked the baby under my shirt for next to skin warmth.  While I hate to have a baby in need like that, I admit feeling a baby moving brings out all my maternal instincts.  I have now given in, fallen in love, and desperately want this baby to live, all the while knowing the odds are against it.  Raising baby animals, especially rabbits, is not for the faint of heart.

And as I was composing this, I realized with my focus on Li'l Bit, I still hadn't fed the other rabbits.    I headed out and decided to check Star to see if she was even pregnant.  But as I prepared to palpate, I noticed the nest in her nest box appeared slightly different.  I put my hand in and discovered a baby.  Sadly cold and apparently lifeless.  I searched more and found a second one, also cold.  But when I picked them up, the second one moved.  Life!!  I hustled in the house with both and put them in a baggie to float in a warming bath.  Sadly, my initial assessment on the first one proved correct.  The white one did not survive.   But the black kit is a whopping 3 ounces of brand new born healthy kit.   Li'l Bit's survival odds have now greatly increased.  And conveniently, the Big Hopper and Li'l Bit are different colors so I can tell them apart.  All that remains to be seen now is if Star is in mothering mode. 

Hoppin' Fresh

I have a rabbit that was supposed to go to his new home a month ago, which means I am one hutch short.  And that means Princess' baby buck has been living in "overflow."  It worked when he was only 10 weeks old but, as baby rabbits do, he's been growing.  The overflow is not quite as big as my regular hutches, so he's been getting more romp time on the deck than the others.  But I've been away for a week.  While I left the buns in very caring capable hands, those hands are attached to a Working Stiff who does not have the time to watch over romping bunnies.   Baby buck practically burst out of his door when I opened it this morning.  He's been out on the deck for almost three hours now and has yet to stop racing around.  He loves the hidey hole I keep out there for the bunnies.  It's the top of a covered kitty litter box and when he dives into it, it slides around the deck.  He spends a lot of time pushing it around while he's hiding in it.  He's a very happy boy.  And while I've been watching over him, he finally announced his name.  Hoppin' Fresh.  He is a very independent, hoppy bunny who loves carrots.  Here he is looking through the very dirty sliding glass door asking for some more.  He will make his public debut at CT Sheep and Wool as my demo bunny getting his very first haircut. 

On a more serene note, my Paphiopedilum Ho Chi Minh is unfolding. I bought this orchid at a flower show a few years ago and I think this is the first time it has bloomed for me.  It's hinting that if I continue nurturing attentions, it just might produce a second bloom.  That makes me as happy as deck time for Hoppin' Fresh.

Just A Big Happy Sigh

I'm nestled in my favorite little bit of heaven in the Blue Ridge Mountains, been here since Thursday early evening.  Yesterday was the fiber festival I came for.  A small festival that is very big on fun.  I brought my camera to VA but forgot to take it to the festival.  face palm smack   I behaved well, financially anyway and bought only two skeins of yarn, some raffle tickets, and a gorgeous circular needle case from KSC Designs.  Now I won't be storing my circs on my living room couch and coffee table! 

The yarns: one skein of superwash merino/tencel fingering weight from Taylored Fibers, dyed black and red, and one skein of superwash BFL/nylon colorway strawberries and cream from Wandering Wool.  So many luscious things I longed for though.  I lingered lustfully in one booth, know I needed to leave it behind but oh, so long will the soft sweet touch tantalize the possibilities.  Thank Goodness for websites and online shopping when the time is right.  The raffle tickets?  No, I didn't win the gorgeous Kromski Minstrel so generously donated by Green Dragon Yarns, but considering my house is a multi wheel dwelling, that's probably as it should be.  I did however, win a gorgeous project bag from Lawre's Laine in a delightful fabric of pale lilac dotted with hysterical severe looking Victorian characters, as well as a 4 oz braid of hand dyed wool from Wooly Belle, and the needle case from Della Q.  Since I had just bought the needle case I needed, I handed the Della Q case to friend Leslie.  Shortly after my winnings, Leslie won the beautiful hand spindle donated by spindle maker Cynthia Haney.

Today we will put the shop back together after raiding it for the fiber festival.  We brought back a large leaf bag full of yummy yarns from one of the shop vendors, Unplanned Peacock, and get to fondle all that hand dyed wooly goodness while entering it into inventory.  Perhaps not all will stay in inventory long.  :)  Then again, there is that highly over rated responsible adult thing. 

There is more fun ahead for me here, dinner tonight with friends, a writer's workshop tomorrow daytime, and a book club meeting at the shop tomorrow evening.  I have not, of course, read the book as I did not know of the meeting until yesterday.  But a get together of literary leanings should still be entertaining and perhaps thought provoking. 

And then it's back on the road for home and checking up on the bunnies. And then it's less than 2 weeks for the next fiber festival, CTSW.  Want to learn how to care for, groom and shear angora rabbits?  Come to the festival and catch my demo. 

Dipping In The Dye Pots

I'm loving Sock Madness but we're on break now and I just have no desire to knit.  My hands, elbows and muscles need a rest.  Or at least to be used differently. A few years ago, I took an intro to shibori dyeing class at SAFF and came home with a couple of scarves and an urge to learn more.  Life of course, and I never did anything with that other than grin when I saw the scarves.  Being in between SM rounds seems like the perfect time to play with dye pots.    So I pulled some silk scarves out of storage, gathered some supplies and started twisting, tyeing, stitching and dyeing.  It's taken a few days to pull it all together but I finally have a couple of first efforts.  I don't think I'm finished with this one.   It got a full bath in the dye pot in pale yellow, then I added some cherry red to the pot and dipped the edges in for a bit.  I have something else in mind for it but I'm going to let that thought perk for a bit and see if it morphs into action or another idea. 

This one, though, is done.  It also got two dunks in the pot, first the pale yellow, then the yellow + cherry red bath.  I got what I was hoping for, hints of yellow edging the white and peeking through the darker color here and there.  Too much wind outside so the scarves won't stay where I put them for more than a quick click of the shutter, so I couldn't get a decent pose.  The pot still has color so I might wind some yarns to play with, too. 

It's been a long time since my last dye pot adventure.  Based on the silly grin I've been wearing all day, I'm guessing I've missed it.