I have been wanting to do a daily photo journal of a kindle from birth to the eye opening event, but most kindles have so many kits that it is not an easy project to wrangle them all. However, being that XCY-3 is my first Silver Fox purebred kindle and there are only three, I decided to turn my disappointment in the small size of the kindle to an opportunity to do the photo journal on Facebook and Instagram and then collect them all together in one blog post here. They are all black, but they all are also blue carriers.
A few hours after birth, the kits are hairless and blind. The doe pulls hair from her body, mostly from her dew lap and around nipples to make a nest that will keep the hairless kits warm. They rely on the body heat of each other and the pulled fur in the nest to achieve this. Otherwise a kit can die of hypothermia quickly in the winter, but even in the summer.
At a day old, the kits are just starting to grow hair. The reason these black kits look more brown is due to lighting. They did not change color.
More hair coming in. If this had been a larger kindle, many of the kits would be looking rather thin and wrinkly as seen in the one at the top of the picture. This alarms many people new to rabbit breeding, but is quite normal, because the mother's milk has not yet come in.
Around the second or third day the doe's milk should come in and the kits will gorge themselves to the point that if turned over, a nearly "white balloon" can be seen under the skin! In large kindles, some of the kits will not be gorged and still look thin, because they were pushed away by the stronger ones. This does not happen with a kindle this small, but is a common concern with larger ones, especially kindles over nine and ten.
At birth, there are always some larger and some smaller kits. This becomes even more apparent just a few days old.
The mid sized one is on the left, the smallest in the middle, and the largest is on the right.
The eyes are still closed and the ears are down. The body shape slowly begins to fill in.
At this point the kits look fuller in the shoulders and hindquarters.
It can be surprising how much kits can move around even just after being born, but at this point they are lifting even more often than always crawling on their bellies.
They are quite strong and getting to the size that it is not easy to hold them all in one hand while they are squirming around.
Even though they are displaying more independence, they still cuddle together in the nest.
They were just starting to open their eyes at this point. The ears stay down until they open their eyes and then for a few days they only come up when they open their eyes, which is so cute.
They were just starting to open their eyes at this point. The ears stay down until they open their eyes and then for a few days they only come up when they open their eyes, which is so cute.
And my final photo shows a glint from the eye of the one in the middle, but take a look at the one on the left with the tongue. I have to say that I have not had kits that the licked me as much as these have!