Foxy Lady

There are three very important reasons why your rabbit run might need a roof. They are:

• Jumping
• Climbing
• Flying

I'm not talking about the rabbits, even though they are quite capable of all three (or at least, I've met a number of bunnies who appeared to THINK they could fly). I'm talking about those creatures that would seek to do your bunnies harm.

To better illustrate this point to recent enquirers, one of my colleagues spent some time on YouTube searching for some helpful videos to demonstrate and found these:

Jumping:
I can't jump over the fence

Climbing:
Foxes can climb

Flying:
Rabbit Outsmarts Falcon
(Don't get too excited - this was the one video I found in this genre where the outcome was anything short of horrific.)

So there you go. Today we have learned why a run needs a roof, why it may not be safe to leave bunnies playing outside in the garden all day and that a fox is a cross between a cat and a dog. Who said this blog isn't educational?!

Double Paw-Fist Strike

Purdy, Hopppy and Whisky share a quick snack
before getting back to the business of fighting.

Well, that didn't work. We tried to find Whisky a new friend (or friends), but all he did was learn new ways to express his lack of bunny social skills.

Being a bunny with no incisors (front teeth), he can be a little outmatched when meetings with other bunnies turn hostile. His new trick for balancing the odds is to pre-emptively pummel them on the nose with his front paws when they are least expecting it, leap on them while they are still surprised, kick them in the back of the head and run off. It started as a response to the unfriendliness of the first girl we tried him with, but once he got the hang of it, and possibly because the first one was such a moo, he decided to apply it to any future bunny he met that looked at him funny. Or thought of looking at him funny. Or had eyes.

Consequently the rest of the bonding attempts did not go well for Whisky, the last one so much so it ended at the vets having his perineum stitched back together. Ouch.

So poor little Whisky is very sad. He has to suffer pain while his injuries heal, the indignity of being force-fed medicines and the loneliness now he doesn't even have foster bunnies sharing his room to glare at. But at least he is home again and I get to cuddle him every day, even if it's only long enough to empty a syringe full of anti-biotics into his mouth.

Bun Swap UK

Previously on Bun Swap UK...

Having failed to make a connection with Spangle, Porridge and Sprat, our precious little Whisky was introduced to a lady nearer his own age named Lara. But to say that didn't go well is somewhat of an understatement. It was, well, violent. The problem would seem to be that after 10 months of the single life in my house (thanks to the illnesses, the surgeries and the failed bondings) the boy has no bunny-social skills left and thinks he's the boss of all he surveys. He needed to be removed from his comfort zone in order for him to accept another bunny on his own level. It was time to take the bun by the ears (metaphorically, not literally) and some serious action.

So this week, Caroline and I have swapped bunnies.

"So what was Peter André REALLY like, Hoppy?"

Whisky has gone to live with Caroline, hanging out in her bedroom at night and the Rescue during the day, meeting new friends on neutral ground. While our old friends Tequila and Heathcliff have come to live with me for a few days and experience Whisky's routines.

"Room service? There are hairs in my salad.
Oh, wait, scratch that - it's just my foot!"

I wonder if I can convince them that Whisky normally makes me breakfast in bed on a Sunday morning...

Random Rabbit

"Roar!"

As we've had a few non-bunny-picture posts recently, thought I'd throw in a picture of one of our recent arrivals to balance things out!

After a long period of having no Rex bunnies coming in, we suddenly find ourselves with about 20. And unusually, since most of our previous Rex residents have been the cautious types, they all seem very bold and friendly.

Several of them really stand out - so meet Aslan, above, one of my favourites. I don't think he will be with us very long though, he's such a handsome and amiable chap. I just hope he's with us just a little bit longer so I can catch some more great shots of him like this one! :-)

Building Site

Caroline has been busy over the last few months. On top of the usual goings on at the Rescue, she's gone and built us a new website! Pop over to rabbitresidencerescue.weebly.com to have a look.

Our old site is all but shut down now and we will soon be moving our domain over to the new one, so in the mean time please do check the link above for the latest info.

Stop! Weight...

Something we do regularly, both at home and at the Rescue, is to carry out a simple health check on all our bunnies. This helps us spot problems early and gives us a perfectly legitimate reason for cuddling everybun. :-)

I think I'll save the details of the sort of things we look for for a future post, but one thing we almost always check is their weight. A change in weight can often be the symptom of a real problem, or it can just be an indicator that we're feeding them too many treats! Either way it's a good idea to monitor it and take appropriate action when necessary.

But you're probably not going to want to shell out large amounts of money for a veterinary scale. The human scales are often not sensitive enough, the kitchen scales are often too small. So here's a handy tip: A good cheap solution is the "luggage scale". They are available very cheaply online, and with the addition of a ceiling hook/chain and an old shopping bag (NOT the plastic variety!) you've got yourself a perfectly affordable way to monitor your bunnies' weight!

Now all you have to do is persuade them to climb into the bag...

DISCLAIMER: We are not responsible for your carelessness. Think practically - DON'T hang your bunny 6 foot off the ground. Lifting a tubby bunny over your head could end badly for both of you! Add a sturdy chain so the bag hangs lower, put a chair under it so if something happens the bunny won't fall far, and test the strength of the whole thing by weighing something non-sentient first!

Tiara

On Friday night we lost our beautiful little miracle bunny Tiara and I felt it was right that her passing should be noted here.

From soon after her arrival it was clear that Tiara would have been an easy bunny to re-home - a beautiful little lop with a sweet face and very friendly. However, Caroline had concerns over the way she moved and felt it best to keep her at the Rescue, at least until we could ascertain the extent of her mobility issues.

When it looked like she might need to be with us for some time, Caroline bonded her with Giggles, one of our shy and often overlooked single bucks. They seemed a bit of an odd couple, but they certainly got on well together.

When Tiara's back legs began to fail her, Caroline moved her to her office/hospital to keep a close eye on her and where it would be easier to keep up the regular cleaning of her tail end. It was here that the super-group started to form as Tiara and Giggles got to know Lacey and Grommit, and later on Rocket, Dakota and the two guinea pigs.

Tiara found new ways to frighten us pretty much every month. At one point she stopped using her back legs completely, but she was so spirited and happy despite this that many of our volunteers and friends of the Rescue pitched in to buy her a little wheelchair. However, Tiara had other ideas - defying the vets and our own expectations she suddenly became responsive to her steroids and it was enough to kick-start her rehabilitation. Some days you'd look at her rushing around and it would be hard to believe it was the same rabbit we'd seen struggling for so long.

Her mobility problems never completely went away and we always thought that at some point they would overtake her various treatments and we would have to say goodbye to her, helping her to rest. But it seems that in the end she decided on her own that she had reached the end of her time, going peacefully into the light, snuggled up next to Carolinet.

Goodnight sweet Tiara. Our lives were better to have known you.