Some of you know that yesterday was another heartbreaking day for Farmer Nancy...A tiny 2 1/2 pound Netherland Dwarf Doe, color was blue with beautiful eyes, left our farm for bunny heaveb... Her name was Bluesie and her charm was extensive. She came to us in Spring 2010 as a farm to farm exchange farm from friends in Alabama. They left with a treasured Blue Copper trio and several Black Copper and blue copper Marans babies and Nancy got to play with two white netherland girls, one black otter girl, one blue netherland girl and one chestnut boy otter and one white Netherland boy. This was my First experience with the little ones. I would often bring the babies into the living room to scamper over me while we began to wind down for the evening. Bluesie never really ran far away. She preferred to tuck herself under my shoulder length hair and lean her head against my head and she was so content, nusling in to warm her tiny body by neck and in my hair.
Being farmers we know that we are caregivers of our animals only for a short while, as many are rehomed and some will also die too young for our wishes.... Bluesie had given the Farm 2 litters of beautiful, healthy babies. Yesterday, I was concerned as she seemed very slow and sluggish. Her first set of babies was born Late Dec. 2010 and the second just 12 days ago... I lifted her and knew she was in trouble. Her normal petite self was thinner than normal.
As Jacque and I dashed to try to save her life, it soon became apparent to me that it was too late for live saving measures and I held her throughout the day and rocked her, petted her, told her how very much we loved her and we were so happy we had kept her lookalike daughter born in December. Then, she died in my arms at 3:55 pm. I had remained on watch all day and still her death struck me into a fury of tears.
At exactly the time of her death, a prescheduled visitor to the farm named Beth was so super sweet and nice because I was so distracted, I could not focus on the animals I was trying to show her! The farm with it's 500 animals last night seemed oddly empty. There was no tiny Bluesie jumping off the top of her nest box to come and see me and there would not be again. Her daughter at 3 months old was larger than her mother had ever been. Although very affectionate. She had never traveled to my shoulder and nested in my hair and falled asleep there as content as any bunny has ever been.
I'm pleased to say that all of Bluesie's babies inside the nest of three other mothers, one is located with Nea Nea (our petit mini lop), another with Ola, the Black Otter, and two With Chinup or Chinchilla rabbit. All mothers looked at me when I checked on the babies, like I didn't birth that baby, but all have accepted their foster children but I imagine they will be rather amazed to see the size of them when they jump out in the pen in a few days with their eyes opened!!!! We are grateful to the foster mothers and their willingness to help.
As this is the time for much bunny buying, I write this story only to say Love your Bunny, Take good care of her or him. You may have them for 10 years, 1 year, I don't know, but what I do is that they will carve a place in your hard or perhaps your shoulder that nothing or no one else will ever hold.
