It's hard to believe that the kits are now 8 weeks old to the day!  In another two weeks, some of them will be going to new homes, but we are so attached to them, we will miss them greatly.  As usual, it's being a Saturday, we weighed the kits.  We also took individual pictures of them. 

This week we named one more of the kits that we are going to keep:  Kit No. 8 is now SM [for South Mountain Rabbitry] Eleanor Roosevelt.  I had wanted to name her Eleanor, as I thought that was an elegant name for a very elegant rabbit; since this is our "inaugural" litter in more ways than one, we thought it appropriate to give her a political namesake.  Eleanor Roosevelt remains the biggest rabbit of the litter, weighing in at over four pounds.  Barack Obunny maintains his position as the largest buck, but Kit No. 2 is closing in on him in weight.  With the exception of Eleanor at 4 lbs. and Kit No. 6 at just under 3 lbs., all the kits are in the three-pound range now though the percentage of weekly weight increase is leveling out now.  We are hoping that a few of them will reach the minimum Junior showing weight of 6 pounds by early March, in time for the Flemish Giant Specialty show in York, PA. 

The kits personalities continue to express themselves, as perhaps you can see in these pictures:

Barack Obunny:



Barack Obunny continues to exercise gentle leadership within the litter.  Outgoing and inquisitive, he is always the first to greet us when we enter the dining room. 

Kit No. 2:



Kit No. 2, the second largest buck and the third heaviest kit overall, has been hailed as the assertive explorer.  We will probably be keeping him to show and breed.  He is a lot of fun, even nosebutting your hand if he thinks it is getting in the way of his discoveries.  He has a congenial nature.

Kit No. 3:



Kit No. 3, a buck, has a warm personality.  He is habitually relaxed and comfortable, regardless of the circumstances, a real sweetheart.

Kit No. 4: 



Kit No. 4, a doe that we will probably be keeping, is our little digger.  A pert personaltiy, she still unfortunately suffers from nestbox eye.  While we have treated her with OTC terramycin, Monday she will go to the vet to get some stronger triple anitbiotic ointment to clear out the bacteria.  Kit No. 4 is Ma Doe's Girl, always curling up next to her surrogate mother to nap. 

Kit No. 5:



Kit No. 5, a doe, is a wriggler at times but also enjoys peacefully sitting on laps for extended periods of time.  She is a practical little bunny but doesn't mind when you roll her over into the hypnotized position on her back.

Kit No. 6:



A buck just under 3 pounds, Kit No. 6 is active, playful and outgoing.  He loves to do binkies -- those squiggly hops that rabbits do, and he is always right behind Barack Obunny to greet us when we enter the room.  With his attentive manners and eagerness to please, he is a real treasure. 

Kit No. 7: 



The "lovebug" of the group, Kit No. 7 posted the greatest percent weight gain this week.  Like her sister, Kit No. 4, Kit No. 7 has had Nestbox Eye which we will soon be treating with a more powerful antibiotic ointment.  She is a real snuggler and quite affectionate.

SM Eleanor Roosevelt:



Eleanor, the largest of all the kits, now weighs in at over 4 lbs.  The lounger in the group, we will be keeping her to show and breed.  She is a very luxuriant rabbit with the "reposeful" gaze that Flemish Giants are supposed to exhibit. 

So that's the kits.  We are so fond and proud of them.  We hope you have enjoyed getting to know them, too.

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