Snickerdoodles and the Mommy Mustache

[magical thyme]

Having failed miserably at the fetus palpation, I was forced to wait until the week of the 23rd to see if the mysterious "mommy mustache" would appear.

Yesterday, her relationship with hay remained normal. That is to say, I put fresh hay into the hutch and she delicately nibbled at the end of a single stalk, slowly working her way through the pile. She did, however, continue with her newfound hobby of digging holes in the corner of her playpen.



This evening, I put fresh hay into the hutch, and then left to get pellets and hay for Oreo. When I returned, this is what I found:



I fed Oreo, headed up to the house and returned with the camera. She spent the entire time circling her hutch with piles of hay stuffed in her mouth. Nesting has begun. She is almost certainly pregnant, with a due date of -- ta-da -- Memorial Day.

[magical thyme]

1. after a couple hours of panic, I realized her due date isn't Memorial Day....that's day 28

which is the 1st possible kindling (birthing) date and the date to officially put her nest box in. Unless, according to the most recent web page on french angora rabbit breeding that I read, she starts walking around with a hay mustache, in which case you should put the nest box in immediately so she'll feel comfortable.

So the good news is the official due date, which is either 30 days or 31 days depending on which expert is writing about it, is next Wednesday or Thursday. Weekday is better because if something goes wrong and she rejects her babies I won't be spending Memorial Day in a fruitless search for baby rabbit formula or spending an ungodly fortune on emergency vet. Those facts alone help ensure either all babies will be stillborn or nothing will go wrong at all. Phew!

The bad news is, I don't have her nest box yet. I have a nice board I planned to make 2 little platforms/hideaways for them for when they move outside for the summer, but if I use it to make the single-time nest box there won't be enough left for Oreo's hideaway. After a couple hours wracking my poor brain and looking at various do-it-yourself nestbox plans, plus a few minutes fashioning an emergency cardboard box temporary nest box for her to play in, I finally realized that a $3.00 kitty litter pan with some holes punched in the bottom will do nicely.

I can't believe it took until midnight to figure that out. 3 hours sleep is not what I was planning on. This granny thing is tough!