Samantha. Pegasus. Rascal.

I can still remember the day that these four little ones entered my life. But, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Lol. Back in April of 2008, I signed up to take a doe and litter project for 4-H. I had previously taken a pet rabbit project and this year I wanted to explore the breeding end of it. I was excited and a little nervous on the whole idea of breeding Samantha. Mom had bred many rabbits before and had the knowledge to help me through this new adventure that I was taking on.

Mom and I bred Samantha to one of her bucks, who I affectionately call Grundly, on June 10, 2008. I hated the idea of breeding them, but I wanted to have little ones. You can have one without the other. It's just the way of life. Anyway, It was about two weeks later that mom palpated, felt for babies, to see if the breeding took or not. She found that it had. We both felt these little grape sized babies forming. I was so excited!

Thirty- one days later I had four beautiful little ones. I had moved Samantha from Oberlin to my aunt's house, where she was closer and easier to keep an eye on. I remember the Friday morning that Mom, Roland, and I went to my aunt's to check on Samantha. That was a morning of much excitement. I had gone downstairs, to the basement, to check on and feed Samantha. This is when I discovered four tiny little ones in her cage. I got so full of excitement, that I ran upstairs hollering "Mom! Mom! Come quick!" Mom knew, before she had even stepped inside, that the babies had come.

When we investigated we found that there were six born the night before. Two did not make it very long after birth. We were surprised to see that there were only two solid ones and four broken ones. That was fairly good for a broken and a solid being bred together. Anyway, I remember Mom picking up one of the babies and handing it to me. I practically freaked. I had been several years since I had held a baby kit in my hand, not to mention I had never held a brand new kit in my hands before, ever. I quickly got used to the idea of holding them.

It was three days later, that I lost two of the four who survived. I had Been there the night before, with Mom, to help make sure that the babies had a chance to feed. The only solid that I had left was doing fine, but all of a sudden he began to be still and wasn't squirming as much as before. We started to get worried. He seemed to have got chilled and we tried to warm him and get him moving again. The whole time I knew I was going to loose him. I could feel this little spirit slipping away from me. This happened to one of his siblings, but he seemed to be doing fine and I wasn't so worried about him. The next morning came And I had Lost the solid and one of the broken ones. I was in tears. I knew that there wasn't anything I could do except bury them and turn them over to Heavenly Father. When mom and I got to Oberlin we took care of her bunnies and then buried the two that I had lost. I buried all four, of the ones I lost, in the same place. I mourned their loss and rejoiced in the time I had with them. I also rejoiced in the life of the two that had survived.

Since then, I have been privilaged to raise the two cutest and sweetest bunnies. Mind you I have been apart of other bunnies live's but never been there their to teach them and raise them. It's been a wonderful experience that has tought me much about caring for animals. It has also tought me to be more responsible. I love watching them grow and learn. They are very curious about the world around them. It has truly been a joy raising these two fine young rabbits ands I hope that I will be privilaged to do it again with another litter.

It has truly been a joy having them around. I am grateful each and every day to have them.