I had almost given up on Tuna. We attempted to breed her once she hit six months old at the farm where she was born. She lived with the buck for nearly three weeks there and then… nothing. Then we acquired Timmy, who was formerly a pet rabbit and also had Black Otter coloration. Perfect! The first time we tried to breed these two, again, we got nothing.

But it looks like the third time’s the charm! For a first-time mom, Tuna did a great job. By her attitude, I was almost sure that this breeding was going to be another failure. She didn’t look any bigger, and palpation seemed to show nothing happening. She kept her appetite up throughout the pregnancy and her demeanor was always the same. Sweet and lovely. In fact, she got even sweeter and more cuddly!

Last night she pulled fur, and had all nine kits right where they were supposed to be, in the nest box. All alive and well. Though we were expecting Black Otter, there look to be some paler kits in the bunch so that’s very exciting. Since Timmy’s background is unknown, we’ll just have to wait and see what develops.