Riverwind Rabbitry & Farms

(Specializing in Rare Heritage Breed Rabbits & Poultry)

Honey Bun's Nesting Diary (Flemish Giant Rabbit)

Below is the diary of our first litter of Flemish Giants born to us on the farm, and while it is a bit of dated material, it continues to be one of the most popular visited pages on our site.  It will give you some idea of what to expect with your 1st litter! 

January 27, 2008 - 12:00pm My hot date with "Doc Holiday" from the cage downstairs

February 24, 2008 - My owner came and moved me today, into a new custom nesting house, it is 3ft x 4ft.  Slightly smaller than my normal outside cage which is 4ft x 8ft, 1/2 of which is enclosed and covered.  This new house is inside my owners garage, and has a heat lamp above my nest box.  I will be getting ready to have my babies here and I know they will be safe and warm from the cold winter ice and winds.

February 26, 2008 - 3:00am I have started pulling some fur randomly around in places in my cage, but not in my nest box. My owner installed a small thermostat near my nest box, and the heat lamp is keeping it about 65 degrees, warm and toasty compared to outside, where it is snowing, wind blowing, and 30 degrees.. BURRR!

February 27, 2008 - 10:00pm I decided NOT to use my nestbox that my owner worked so hard to build, but instead the back right hand corner to give birth to my liter.  OH did I forget to tell you, "I had my babies", not 6, not 8, not 10, not even 12, but 13 babies (kits).  My owner quickly came out, cleaned out my nest box, (which I had been using as a litter box), lined it with fresh new pine shavings, hay, some of my own fur, and gently tucked my new family into the nest box.  Just look at my new BIG FAMILY... "OH MY!, OH MY!"  Sorry it is hard to get (13) babies to pose for their first picture, but this will give you an idea, they are about 3" long each, and already making noises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here are some pictures of our 1st flemish giant Babies at (7) days dld, so are very active, squirming from front to back of the nest, grunting and squeaking.  You can already see their trademark "Big Ears", and fur is already covering their body.  Eyes will open in the next few days.   

Here are some pictures of our proud momma, "Honey Bun" with some of her babies, they are now (17) days old and as you can tell are quite healthy.  We check on the babies 2-3 times a day, as we do with all our kits, and each time momma has to come over and make sure we mean no harm to her small family. Eyes have been open for a few days, and ears are starting to "perk up" they are just starting to find their way out of the nest box.

 

 

 

Here is another picture of the flemish sandy kits at (17) days old, all nestled down in their nest box for the night.  Aren't they just adorable!  It is hard to determine size, but these babies are about 6" long at this point in time, and just verily fit in my grown hand, with fully outstretched fingers.  They are of great lineage, and I expect them to be very good show quality and overall size & body.

 

  Some updated pictures of Momma "Honey Bunn" with her flemish kits at 26 Days.  As you can see they are growing like weeds.  We are removing the nest box, as they have not been going to it in the past few weeks, even though there has been a cold snap.  Instead they prefer lounging with momma, or laying clustered together on top of each other just outside the nestbox.  They are very curious and love to nibble of alfalfa hay, just like momma.  Notice how much their ears have grown in the past weeks, they are really starting to "fill out" and put on some weight too. We have decided to keep one doe for our self, whom we have named "Cleopatra" (as in the Queen of the Nile).  We named her this due to her markings around her eye, which resembles that of Egyptian's with the black highlighter style markings.  She is beautiful, and is sure to bring joy to our herd.