Animal Profiles: Spruce

Name: Spruce

Name inspiration: I named all my first rabbits tree names

DOB: Sometime in April, 2016. 

Spruce was one of my first rabbits, and is my favorite by far. She and her littermate sister, are our two best does, building good nests, and taking good care of their babies. 

Spruce typically has litters of around 5 kits, but the last two litters were 8 and 7 kits. She almost always has solid gray, and broken gray kits-no other colors. 

 

I just thought this video of her last time she had babies was funny-how she's all hidden underneath all that hair.

Spruce is our go to doe when we have kits that need fostered. In this picture, a little runt kit, the only surviving due to a bad mother, is getting some extra milk. She also raised a whole litter of another doe's kits this spring, when the bitter cold, and lack of awareness on my part for how much bedding they should have had in their nest boxes, killed all but one her own, and the other doe was trying to kill hers by neglect. 

Spruce is a super friendly rabbit that loves to be petted and handled. She appears to enjoy being held as well, as she is calm and relaxed, but she will bite me while I'm holding her, if I don't watch out. I'm not sure why she does this, as she never shows any signs of stress otherwise, but it hurts-even through a coat sleeve. 

Below, she looks like a half plucked chicken, because she pulled so much hair to bury her babies in.

My buck appeared to have gone temporarily sterile when it got to 108 in July, and I had several does come up open in August and September. A month ago, I decided to try again, but never witnessed a breeding-I just left her in all night though, so was hoping it had happened. After palpating her, and the other doe, at 2 and 3 weeks, and not feeling anything, I figured my buck might be more than temporarily sterile after all. Well, turns out my palpating skills are no better than they ever have been, because she began pulling hair this morning! I quickly set up the nesting box for her, and she soon had 7 kits! Like normal, they are all gray or broken gray. 

Spruce will stay around at least until she can no longer produce, and likely after that, just as a pet, because she is special. 😀