Today...

I rearranged cages so that my pregnant does are all in bigger cages. I currently have four bred does.

Put my growers out on the grass today and gave just fully weaned momma's time out on the grass.

Separated Dusty and Betty since Betty decided that Dusty really really really needed to be anywhere else but near her. Dusty will be hanging out with the guinea pigs for a spell.

Bred are
Jayda to Revell
Ginge to Bandit
Stella to Blaze
KC to Bug

Hopefully all those litters will come through.

I also had the misfortune of needing to cull four youngsters. They came in with bad teeth and I had considered letting them grow out a bit to see if the teeth would correct themselves, but I gave them a solid going over and discovered that
1st. had just one tooth on the bottom (that cannot self-correct)
2nd. the teeth didn't even meet
3rd. the bottom teeth had a gap.
4th. may have corrected over time, but I doubted it. One top tooth was twisted and appeared over the past three days to get worse.

Over time these kits were simply starving to death.

I dislike having issues with my rabbits and I really really dislike culling kits (hate it in fact). I have had one rabbit in the past with a bad tooth...I think gained from pulling on the wire. But four kits in one litter says something isn't right somewhere. The breeding that resulted in this problem won't be repeated, and the doe may be sent to an outside breeder to see if we can figure out just where the problem lies.

going on vacation...and the return results

So, I went away for two weeks. Came back twice to check on things as children were doing my rabbit care. These are NOT young children, 10+ years old, and they've cared for the rabbits before.

But my goodness... I get so frustrated.

I don't expect people to do things exactly the same as me, but I do expect a modicum of pride in the work that you do. I don't expect to come back to piles of rabbit manure everywhere but where it's supposed to be. Fly eggs all over the place and what not. I don't expect that.

I don't expect some rabbits to be so overfed it's ridiculous, where other rabbits are looking on the thinner end of the scale. it bothers me.

I need, I really NEED to find someone a bit more responsible to care for the rabbits when I am away. I appreciate the children trying and pinching in when my other rabbit people were unable to assist, but I do find it frustrating.

ON a positive note:
All the rabbits I expected to live did.
I can get things cleaned up and put back together again the way I want it all to be.

So in the end of it all, it's all good. :) Life continues.