New Name, New Varieties

Bunny FuFu now has the name Fiona, a much more regal name for a house pet, I'd say. She's settled in well, except you shouldn't trust a kid with a bunny even if you think they know what they're doing. Bunny pee in kid's bed and a chewed up iPad cord! Lessons learned the hard way. Bunnies must be watched at all times and if you want to play with them, you have to bunny proof the space they're played with in. I suppose KK thought rabbits were just magical creatures after being around Basil, a litter trained bunny that was always played with in a bunny proof room. Everyone learned something. In the least, Fiona is easy to herd back into her cage and has been generally quite the good pet insofar. Very affectionate. I wish there were rabbit hopping competitions here, she'd do well at them. Push her feet and she flies, put something in front of her and she'll jump over it. She also might walk well on a leash, but we haven't attempted much in that area.

I'm hopefully going to purchase a REW doe to be placed in the new hutch after the wire, water proofing over nest box, and cinder blocks allow the hutch to become complete and not WIP. This will mean I will be breeding for black, blue, castor, opal, BEW, and REW. I figure mixing the lines would allow REW Viennas and BEWs, both showable. There's also the potential of a tricolor doe, which would be great to be bred for more tris with my buck, Basil. We'll see what comes, but I'm excited for the hopeful expansion. It would also mean three litters in two months, rather than just two.

All in all? It's been a good time for rabbits. Anwen's wounds from mistreatment are healed and she's doing well being inside, just as Basil has transferred to outside life easily. I cannot wait until Fiona is done with quarantine so Primrose and her can have play dates.

Herbivore Cookies, Buck Stink, and Bunny FuFu

Today I had fun out in the yard and garden gathering greens for my rabbits and was hit with an idea. Winter is fast approaching and I'd love for my rabbits to have greens throughout it, like most rabbit owners. I thought of making veggie and grain cookies. I found a simple toddler cookie recipe with oatmeal flour and pureed fruit as the main ingredients and messed around with it myself.

In place of the fruit puree, I took up mimosa, strawberry leaves, rosemary, mint, and stinging nettles; sunflower seeds; and added some green bean ends. The oatmeal flour was replaced with a mix of whole wheat flour and rolled oats. I put the lot in a food processor with some water, baked them, and viola--homemade rabbit treats! You need more flour than puree, otherwise you get gooey cookies which won't keep particularly well. It's also Basil Approved. A nice healthy chew for a lovely buck. Mind you, baking these will make your kitchen smell like spinach. Also, they will be the ugliest cookies you have ever laid eyes on, but will the rabbits care? The rabbits will not. Just don't let little John or Jane get their hands on them, because they'll be in for a big surprise!

I also took some overripe cucumbers from my garden. I scraped out the seeds and cut the rind and flesh into hunks, salted it, and dehydrated the lot. Took a few hours on 170 F with a rag propping the oven door open, but now I have Basil Approved chews for my rabbits. The rind makes them harder and the salt makes them appetizing for the buns and will prompt them to drink more water.

So I had a lot of fun in the outside world and in the kitchen, but I may have made a minor mistake. Basil, my buck, has a large cage and I wanted to give Primrose a playmate that was less grouchy than Anwen. So I let Primrose and Basil play, chasing each other around the edge of the cage. It was an adorable example of rabbit courtship, with nuzzles, licks, chin rubs, and a lot of flopping on Primrose's part. On the other hand, Primrose decided to mark her loops with bunny pellets and Basil began to smell like zoo and B.O. Stinky, stinky. Opened a window, got a pair of fans, odor neutralizers, and rosemary sprigs--took an hour or so, but the smell finally left. :o

Last on the agenda, I've been offered a large, extravagant rabbit hutch if I take in a pet store mutt for a family friend. Said mutt is a lop eared, single maned Lionhead doe in black and white. She has a tuft of fur on her head that makes me think of a mullet but a cute Holland Lop-like face and ear set. Oh well. I suppose some rabbits are allowed to look absurd, the sort of absurd a poodle is considering it came from a wolf. I figure I'll breed her, but I'm not sure to what sort of buck. I know you should breed at least two does at once, so if I have her that'll be easier to achieve. I suppose she could be bred to Basil for some cute little mutts to become household/classroom pets or maybe even therapy animals. Might have to change her name from Bunny FuFu. XD Otherwise? She was a kindergarten classroom pet for awhile there until the FDA decided she was unsanitary (eye roll, am I right?) and she was one without trouble, so I imagine her offspring might have a nice patient and friendly disposition. I can hope. In the least, I should get a great new hutch for future purebred bunnies! Not that I don't love mutts like purebreds, but breeding mutts--a requirement for my rabbitry is that each animal must be capable of reproduction--isn't something I normally advocate. I have three mutts already, even if they're feline and canine instead of lapine, and they are spayed. To follow my rules makes that super!ethical part of me fidget. I'll have to think hard on this one, I suppose.

Good News

Anwen, my American Sable doe, took a dive health-wise, but a vet trip has cemented my knowledge of what happened. She came to be matted and with absurdly long claws (the owner claimed she had single color claws, but in fact has dark horn and white claws; a DQ), but also pregnant. The cage she came in was small and not made with proper cage wire, therefore she was in a solid bottomed dog crate for about a week until a better cage arrived. She gave birth in the proper cage, but she remained stressed and fearful for days after that. It took us two weeks to be able to handle her without harming her, which led to her getting mats cut out and claws trimmed. She had a box, but used it as a litter box; same with her resting board. Because of former infection, she got an abscess on her ear and sore hocks. Treatment of Neosporin and bandages was fairly useless and even a slotted mat didn't seem to help. Luckily, our vet gave us some ointment that seems to be clearing up her socks and ear quickly. She's inside on towels recuperating and is back to playing and eating properly. Her eyes seem brighter and her coat seems better and is shedding out. It saddens me to see the dark, scar-like blemishes on her skin, the signs of her former infection which means she once had sores all over, which breaks my heart. All in all, it was a learning experience and a reminder rabbits are oh so fragile.

In the least, she has begun to trust me, letting me pet her face and back without jerking away or grunting now; she even calmed when she got her treatment at the vet when I helped hold her. She likes the sides of her muzzle and head to be petted especially. She's been snacking on green beans and dehydrated cucumber today and lazing about. Brought in my other doe for a play date, which Anwen wasn't too keen on, as Primrose kept running circles around her, but seemed to like sniffing the newbie. I have learned Anwen enjoys dogs more, as she made fast friends with a Carolina Dog at the vet's.

I'm planning on breeding her to my only viable stud, C and T Farms Basil, despite the breed difference to see if she can carry to term and have a few surviving kits. If not, my lovely AS girl might be looking for a pet home. Hopefully her ice queen exterior will melt away entirely if that option is a must, but insofar she grows very fond of her people, if she remains shy of others and isn't big on being held.