#tj1

[coyotecreek]

Nephele (formerly "Mist") and Denali.

[coyotecreek]

One tort has slightly more rufus than the other. Both looking pretty good, though. They're among the largest in the litter.

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Photos from last week and this week.

[coyotecreek]

So, the kits were definitely still too young to sex accurately last time I checked, because now it looks like I have more does in Juni's litter. Right now, it looks like Juni only has one buck, and Clover has three bucks. Both torts now appear to be does. I start taking weights at 4 weeks, so I should have a good idea of who is what by then.

I might wean these guys a bit earlier than usual so I can swap the fostered girl with her one actual brother, then everyone will be in same-sex groups, but hopefully not fight with the two I swap. I've had issues trying to combine litters in the past, and that's really not great when you're low on cage space. I can't separate everyone, so I kind of need them to get along.

I STILL cannot tell if Clover's black kit is satinized. It's so hard to tell with black fur. I tried comparing him to the other two, and there's really no big difference. That kit IS a deeper black than the otter who isn't satinized, though. So, maybe? The sheen is definitely more obvious on a colored or white coat. If he silvers out (which I expect), that might look really neat satinized.

[coyotecreek]

Update on litter TJ1. I'm very happy to see that these guys are more curious and willing to greet me. Juni's first litter was very skittish and they hid in the nest box until I took it away from them. And then they still avoided me.

[coyotecreek]

The tort kits have some actual color now.

[coyotecreek]

Litter TJ1 is all good this morning. Juni pulled more fur last night, covered them up, and blocked them off with hay. I love when they push up a barrier of hay to keep the kits contained in the back. Still nothing from Clover, and she doesn't appear to be acting any differently. She'll probably wait until later tonight, if I had to guess.

I can't wait until the torts get more fur. I can just barley see the tort markings right now, but it's enough to know they're not REW. Don't know if Juni even carries REW or not. It's possible the odds for it were missed, but I'm guessing she doesn't. If Sid has any REW kits with Arc next year, that'll prove me wrong. I know Salem isn't a carrier, though. I'm expecting just blacks and blues from that pairing.

Reishi (new chocolate kit) seems to be settling in well. She's actually quite friendly, now that the initial shock of going to a new home has worn off. She's got the cutest face. I can't stand it.