Darla

Red has been having a rough time with her last couple litters. The last one started out as a litter of 9, and within a week was down to 3! One stillborn, one runt who didn't make it, and the rest dragged out of the nest box early on who froze to death or were eaten by the chickens.

My fav picture of the surviving three - 2 girls and a boy

This litter started as 7. The first casualty was a fresh born kit whose toes and one back foot were nibbled off. I don't know if it was by a chicken or a rabbit, but it was pretty awful. I put that one down myself. At 5 days old two kits were found huddling outside the nest box across the hutch, apparently dragged out by Red because they were still attached to her when she decided she was done nursing them. When I returned those two to their nest box, I found two more were missing.

A full 36 hours later the two missing kits were found under the hutch buried in the dirt, STILL ALIVE. They were cold and dirty and skinny. I cleaned them up and put them back in with the others. They nursed and did just fine, but I decided to bring all the kits in the house in a shoe box for the next week or so while I got the hutch and nest box fixed.

At 3 weeks old, their eyes are open, they are eating solid foods, and the baby bunnies are all running around the hutch playing and nibbling things. The two that were lost in the dirt were significantly smaller than their 4 other siblings. The next day I found the small boy bunny had died. 

Darla became a house pet! She is inside in her own cage with her own food, water and hay. She gets tons of attention from us and any visitors. She is half the size of her siblings, her coat is dull and looks rough despite being bathed brushed and blow dried. She might have a parasite or simply have organ damage from not getting fed at such a young age. For now we will keep her inside with us until we know for sure that she is healthy and is growing and gaining weight like she should. I'd love to keep her here with us, I think she has the coolest markings!

White with both orange and gray spots!

Darla's ratty rough fur

Compared to a her fat siblings smooth fur

But a cute little face!