Flemish Giant Babies (growth progress) - Cuteness Overload (Eyes starting to open)

[FlemishFloridians]

Don't say I didn't warn you...they are deathly cute!! All are thriving and have pudgy little tummies exception one. We took the little peanut today and held Velvet and attempted to let him nurse by himself a little. Time will tell if he makes it - his sibs are definitely outpacing him in size.

6 babies of furry adorableness below - last warning! ;-)

 

[JBun]

My favorite is the next couple of weeks, when they start coming out of the nest and are learning how to walk, wobbling around on their little legs. Then out of no where they pop into the air with this spring loaded hop, and they look around wondering what in the heck just happened It's so funny, and cute, to watch

It's also fun to watch mom nursing them. How she rides this wave of baby bunnies piled up beneath her, especially when they're a few weeks older. Of course your doe is much bigger than mine was. She was a little dwarf. Yours definitely has the size advantage for handling a pile of baby buns.

 

[FlemishFloridians]

My favorite is the next couple of weeks, when they start coming out of the nest and are learning how to walk, wobbling around on their little legs. Then out of no where they pop into the air with this spring loaded hop, and they look around wondering what in the heck just happened It's so funny, and cute, to watch

It's also fun to watch mom nursing them. How she rides this wave of baby bunnies piled up beneath her, especially when they're a few weeks older. Of course your doe is much bigger than mine was. She was a little dwarf. Yours definitely has the size advantage for handling a pile of baby buns.

It’s been so cool watching them grow

 

[cuhurun]

They're absolutely amazingly beautiful.
It's been three years since I had the pleasure of watching my little Netherlands x NZ White kits grow.
Treasure every moment of it !

 

[FlemishFloridians]

Little bunnies are growing well - all except for the poor little one. We got the package scale out today and we had the following measurements at 13 days old. They seem to be on-track size wise with what is expected of the breed.

1. 6.0 oz
2. 6.0 oz
3. 6.2 oz
4. 6.1 oz
5. 6.8 oz - we are thinking of calling this one BEAST. Only kidding, we don't know what their names are...not until they're on solid food with milk will we even think about naming them. Definitely a keeper
6. 3.9 oz - poor little guy. I'm surprised he's made it this far. (S)he doesn't seem to have a great feed response, even when we held him up to Velvet for extra feeding. S(h)e has issues with getting a good latch. (S)he will definitely be altered if they make it. S(h)e is very cute though - I hope (s)he pulls through.

 

[JBun]

Squeeee!!!! Sooo cute!!!

I went ahead and merged your two threads. It's better to keep them together for those wanting to follow your bunnies progress.

 

[FlemishFloridians]

Squeeee!!!! Sooo cute!!!

I went ahead and merged your two threads. It's better to keep them together for those wanting to follow your bunnies progress.

Thank you!

 

[FlemishFloridians]

Weighed them again today, mostly just to check if little guy was growing and good news is weight is up to 4oz, which tells me little bun is getting milk at least. Goliath, aka, Beast is up to 7 oz. The remainder are steady as well, all up 2-3 oz today. They are much more mobile and walking/baby hopping around the nest.

 

[Jonas]

Just curious as to how 2 Flemish Giant rabbits could produce a peanut. Are both parents purebred or have the size of a Flemish Giant?

 

[JBun]

Just curious as to how 2 Flemish Giant rabbits could produce a peanut. Are both parents purebred or have the size of a Flemish Giant?

True flemish couldn't. If it really were to be a peanut, then there would have to be a mix on both sides with a dwarf breed. More likely this is a runt, or a kit with a birth defect or health issue causing 'failure to thrive'.

 

[Jonas]

True flemish couldn't. If it really were to be a peanut, then there would have to be a mix on both sides with a dwarf breed. More likely this is a runt, or a kit with a birth defect or health issue causing 'failure to thrive'.

Thanks. Exactly, I think it’s most probably a runt too.

 

[W1ghtn1ght]

Looks like some nice sandy kits! Hopefully the runt does ok. Might be worth offering it some colostrum to see if you can help boost its feed reflex. Or just wait and see. How old are they? I have 3 flemish does due in the next week. It's so fun to watch them grow! Thanks for sharing!

 

[FlemishFloridians]

Looks like some nice sandy kits! Hopefully the runt does ok. Might be worth offering it some colostrum to see if you can help boost its feed reflex. Or just wait and see. How old are they? I have 3 flemish does due in the next week. It's so fun to watch them grow! Thanks for sharing!

Little one is catching up nicely. It'll probably never be the same size as the rest but is steadily growing. Posting some updated pics in a few

 

[FlemishFloridians]

Updates on the babies - all 6 are doing beautifully. They mastered small hops a few days ago (3 weeks old tomorrow) and finally decided to start hopping out of the nest into the pen with Mom and Dad. They are still small enough to fit through to see their daddy, who is in an adjacent pen. I'm sure he'll be upset once they get too big, but they're definitely on their way.

Pinto (daddy) is very loving to his babies and cleans their faces. All babies have been eating solid food (pellets, hay, and water) now for the past two days.

 

[FlemishFloridians]

True flemish couldn't. If it really were to be a peanut, then there would have to be a mix on both sides with a dwarf breed. More likely this is a runt, or a kit with a birth defect or health issue causing 'failure to thrive'.

Both parents are 18/20 pounds (dad/mom - dad is now only 11 months, so he's got some growing left in him). The baby is definitely a runt and had/has latching issues. Thankfully it is still growing, just not keeping up with the siblings. All of the other babies are now over 1 pound at 3 weeks old tomorrow, whereas the runty baby is 8.5 oz today. If we do rehome the little one, we will alter it before it is rehomed.

 

[FlemishFloridians]

True flemish couldn't. If it really were to be a peanut, then there would have to be a mix on both sides with a dwarf breed. More likely this is a runt, or a kit with a birth defect or health issue causing 'failure to thrive'.

Sorry I missed this question/feedback. Both parents are Flemish and we were able to view the parents of both of them onsite (they're unrelated). Both sets of parents of Velvet and Pinto were 20-23 pounds. We had wished that we could have found a pair with a pedigree, but the breed is very uncommon in Florida for some reason (or even Georgia).

 

[JBun]

It's fun to get to see their progress I would have a hard time parting with the runt myself

 

[FlemishFloridians]

Update on the little bun gang - they are all overly adorable. We took them to the vet and they all have a clean bill of health - even "Dune," which is the little one. It's not so little anymore but it does have ataxia (appears to be born this way or perhaps a birth injury). We are keeping little Dune and will be altering her/him at 7-8 months.

Babies are now 6 weeks this coming Sunday and all of them are 2+ pounds, eating well, thriving, and are super cuddly. I've got a few takers that have asked to add one of these buns to their lives and they'll be moving into their new homes after 12/4, which puts them at 10 weeks old.

We're keeping any we don't find perfect homes for, and will definitely be looking for the largest and sweetest female in the litter to keep for our own intact to eventually breed back to Pinto (dad) in the future.

They are almost too big to squeeze (tomorrow or next day they won't be able to, so well have to manually let them visit) through the bars to see their daddy but they absolutely love him and he them...it's funny that he's more attentive to grooming and loving on them than their mom.

Tomorrow is pressure wash day, so please forgive a bit of mess. We sweep twice a day and pressure wash once a week.

 

[CrazyChickenGirl]

Their all so cute! By the way, I love the name choice! My first (and favorite) rabbit’s name is Dune.

 

[FlemishFloridians]

Their all so cute! By the way, I love the name choice! My first (and favorite) rabbit’s name is Dune.View attachment 62864

So cute!! I love Dune's eyes!!