baby bunnies

Miss Kat's rabbit, Romeo had 6 babies. I thought there were 7, but either I miss-counted, or one died and she disposed of the body. They are a little over 2 weeks old now and actually look like rabbits instead of naked mice with big ears. We've held a couple of them the last few days, as they are starting to get out of the nesting box and jump around the cage. On Sunday morning, Miss Kat and I moved the family into the bigger cage so they would have more room to move around.

Last night, we were all standing outside on the porch watching it sprinkle. Andy was cooking supper (burgers and fries), so we were staying out of his way. Kev was watching Emily, the lab, and saw her pick up something from the ground, then she put it back down. It was white. He said, "Is that a rabbit?"

I didn't think it could be, but then thought that maybe the cats had gotten a hold of one of the babies. So, we decided we'd better investigate.

It was a rabbit. One of our babies. It was alive! Unharmed, except for a nick off one ear. It was very wet and very cold and very scared. So, Kat and I took it back to the shop and found an old sock of Kev's. We put the bunny in the sock to dry it off, and Kat held and cuddled it, drying it off until it seemed pretty dry and more alert. While she was taking care of the baby, Kev and I were trying to figure out what happened.

We decided that the cage's walls would be easy for a little rabbit to squeeze out of. And, we guessed that the baby got out of the cage and then basically got lost. So, I got some cardboard boxes, and we jerry-rigged lining the cage walls with cardboard, hoping it will stay in place long enough for the babies to get too big to squeeze out. I hope it will work, because the rabbits share the shed with the kittens, who like to play under the rabbit cages and would probably love to play with baby bunnies. (They loved playing with the little bull snake their mommy brought home Sunday afternoon, so bunnies might be even more fun!)

Once I was done rigging this up, Kat put the baby back into the nest with his siblings. All snuggled down for a nap, and I'm sure he warmed right up. She told me this morning that they were all still snuggled up sleeping. So, I'm hopeful our rebellious little "Peter Cottontail" is safe and will recover from his adventure. That's what we're going to name this little bunny, Peter. I think it fits.

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Have you ever watched rabbits nurse? They are so cute! The few I've spotted, trying to cop a drink outside the nest, lay upside down, on their backs with their little feet up in the air. They're the only animals I've seen nurse up-side-down. Just adorable.

I need to get the camera out and take some pictures, cause these guys are just cute, cute, cute.
(By the way, does anyone want any free baby rabbits???)