The Wind in the...tree of some sort...

It was an odd day at the Rescue today. And not just because I managed to clean all three bunny bungalows without banging my head, swearing and declaring that I would never clean them again (an almost weekly ritual). It was odd because, as I was cleaning down the bottom end of the Rescue I barely saw a single rabbit.

It was not hard to guess why. This last week has seen the UK being battered by strong winds and today was no exception. Our residents were not too keen on being outside in the blustery weather.

And perhaps they had good reason. Earlier this week one of the trees bordering the Rescue was blown down over night, flattening two fences and barely missing Majestic and Glamour's shed. Because of the fences being down we had to move them over into Mindy's old shed so they would have a run to play in. They were clearly shaken, and rather than sitting at the front of their warren, waiting to mug passing visitors for broccoli, they spent much of the day huddled inside looking sorry for themselves. They weren't too happy later when we had to move them again either, but we were certainly glad we did. When the friendly local farmer pulled the remaining half of the tree down it missed Mindy's old shed by about a foot.

Let's hope next week is less exciting!

That which fell (bottom) and that

which was pushed (left)

After the trunks were cut up and removed,

the flattened fence that remained

Okunoshima Take-Over

If you are a reader of the MyHouseRabbit blog you will already have seen the story about the island of Okunoshima that has been taken over by abandoned domestic rabbits.

To cheer myself up today I had a trawl around YouTube for some videos. Here are some of my favourites. Prepare to squee. Prepare to squee so hard your eyes pop right out of your head and your heart explodes. You have been warned!

Aoife and Blue

Another success story!

After Bunjit my 7 year old faithful French lop died earlier this year, I decided that his partner, Aoife looked so lonely and she had become very agitated and grumpy without her mate.  However, after a routine trip to the vets for her annual booster, the vet discovered a serious lump in her tummy.  It was so severe that she had to be operated on to remove the cyst from her intestine and bladder.  Poor Aoife, it was such a good job  I always keep up the trips to the vets for boosters because the vet said she would probably have just died an awful painful death, had I not taken her to them.  After several weeks of recovery and much expensive treatment, I was very reluctant to re-home Aoife, but she was not particularly friendly towards me, never biting but hated to be disturbed.  But I decided she had to have a chance of happiness, so I purchased Blue, a 9 week old young buck with a very outgoing nature, who loved to be cuddled and fussed.

I had read all about bonding and decided to introduce them gradually and started off in the kitchen, which was fairly neutral to both of them.  That failed, she was not having any of it.  So up to the bathroom we went, that was a bit better but he was quite insistent and I had to keep squirting him with a water spray.

I left the get together sessions for some weeks, not wanting to admit failure, keeping them apart in different parts of the garden and different sleeping arrangements.  It was quite a task to remember that one rabbit was in and the other was out.  I then re-introduced them again in the large outside run and that was a disaster.  She immediately bit him and he was squealing so I had to separate them very quickly.

That was it!  I was very scared to attempt any more bonding sessions without some expert help.  Aoife had been spayed almost a year ago and Blue was due to be neutered as soon as he was old enough.

Caroline Collings, at the Rabbit Residence in Gt Chishill, near Royston came to the rescue.  She advised getting Blue neutered as soon as possible, then wait until the hormones settled again before trying to bond them.  It was no use attempting bonding until after this as he was only being a naughty little buck and annoying her.

Another few weeks went past and eventually I asked Caroline if she could take the pair of rabbits to her rescue centre and try to get them bonded in neutral territory.

They spent a few days in her 6 x 4 shed, separated by wire so that they could sniff and be near each other without being able to physically get to one another.  Gradually they got used to being around each other and the day came when Caroline let them have some time without the wire.  It worked, the bunnies fell in love.

Within a few days they could be left unsupervised and became used to each other’s company.

After about 10 days, Aoife and Blue returned home and started their new found friendship back home where they belonged.  It is so lovely to see them together, running, playing and getting up to mischief together.  Now they are inseparable, and everywhere Aoife goes, Blue swiftly follows.  I cannot tell you how relieved I am now that they are such a perfect pair, it makes me so happy to see them together.

Thank you Caroline for your devoted care and expertise.

Lisa Everett

Pictures by Lisa.

Shake and Snuffle

I am currently reading Anne McBride's "Why Does My Rabbit...?", which I would recommend to all bunny-parents for two reasons:

1. It is packed with useful, well researched information about rabbit health and behaviour.
2. It is incredibly cheap.

Having been around bunnies for a few years now and picked up quite a bit of information from bunny people, websites, forums, other books, vets and of course the bunnies themselves, most of the stuff in it is not new to me.  However, with its content arranged in a fairly concise and easy-to-read way, I can't help wishing I'd started with this one.  OK, advert over.

The reason it has had an impact on my week and prompted this entry was my reading the section about ears.  If you ever see a rabbit shaking its head, or looking kind of "quizzically" at you with their head at an angle, there's a good chance there's something wrong somewhere, either in the ears or the brain.  The first thing I do in this case is to scoop them up for a cuddle and have a good look and a sniff in the ears.  If they are anything other than squeaky clean and free from odour I would suspect some sort of infection or possibly mites and it's time for a visit to our friend the vet.  (Note of course that if any symptoms persist and I would pack them off to the vets regardless of whether I could find the cause.)

Reading about all of this again prompted something in the back of my mind about Elvis shaking his head a few times recently and though it was brief and there were no signs of problems now, I thought I'd take him along to the vets anyway since I was taking Jemima to get some anti-biotics for her sneezing.  And I'm glad I did - not only did the vet confirm the presence of a slight infection in his left ear but we also discovered he'd been quietly suffering from a respiratory infection as well. So it's anti-biotics all round, plus some drops for Elvis.

This whole incident highlighted two things we can easily forget in our busy lives:

1. If in any doubt about your rabbits health or behaviour it is always best to consult your vets, even if it is just a phone call to the surgery for advice.
2. However much you think you've experienced ultimate hatred and disapproval from your rabbit, you've seen NOTHING until you've tried administering ear drops.

Sorry Elvis!

NOTE: For your safety and that of my camera I have used a photo from my archives. Current levels of Elvis disapproval are likely to cause injury, even in picture form.

Shake, Rattle and Chomp

This evening I decided to spend some quality time with Elvis and Jemima.  In giving them space to make sure their relationship with each other is working OK I have been neglecting their relationship with me, so I thought it was about time I put that right.

I sat on the floor with my legs straight out in front of me. This is a completely passive position from which you can't easily lunge at or chase them, so they feel safe coming in closer to you. If I was trying to build a new relationship with two bunnies I might just ignore them at this point and let them come over and investigate me in their own time, but Jemima is well trained and Elvis trusts her now so I knew I could fast-track the proceedings. I rattled the snack jar and immediately Jemima trotted over and took a pellet from me. Elvis watched her with interest, then having established the protocol did the same. Wary at first, a few repetitions later and he started to relax.

Now to take them to the next step. I slowly leaned back against the wall and held out another pellet further away from them. Jemima leaned in and put her front paws on my leg and took it. Elvis circled round the back of her, put his front paws on my other leg and took another too. So far so good.

What happened next I did not expect. Jemima was watching Elvis chomping away at his share of the snacks when it seemed a thought occurred to her. Without warning she suddenly bolted. Believing that she had spotted some danger, Elvis panicked and in a split second he was off too, racing back into the safety of their bedroom. The MOMENT he was out of sight, Jemima turned round, trotted confidently back up to me and took the next snack as if nothing had happened.

I have no doubt that they have as strong a relationship as two bunnies can have and will always look out for each other. But it seems that for Jemima, looking out for ways to have more treats will always come first!

Saucerer

Saucerer, one of the rescue’s long term residents, was helped to rainbow bridge on Friday 26 November.

Saucerer was one of the most placid, gentle bunnies that we have ever known. He never showed any sort of aggression and was happy to accept whatever came his way. On the day Caroline went to collect him, she found that the child at the house had just poured orange juice all over him, his teeth and claws were overgrown and he was stuck in a tiny hutch. With all of his problems, the vets didn’t hold out much hope for him but, when we first met him, he had already been with Caroline for several years.

In June 2009 we offered to help the rescue by letting a special needs pair live in our spare bedroom and so Saucerer and India became our first foster bunnies. By this time, Saucerer had virtually no teeth left and a hole in his jaw. His veg had to be grated, his pellets soaked in water and he had to have an antibiotic injection daily. In addition we periodically had to use tweezers to remove food and bits of bone from the hole in his jaw. During his time with us he had to undergo several anaesthetics to have his mouth cleaned out properly and each time the vet told us his jaw bone and teeth were rotting away. Yet he remained the same gentle, accepting bun as always, never complaining or causing trouble. As time went on, we had to start boiling his veg and making it into a mush so he could eat it and, as the hole in his jaw got larger, food would come out of the hole and his face and neck would end up very messy. Yet still he continued to be a happy, gentle bun who would sit very patiently whilst we gave him a wash and blow dry. Eventually an abscess formed on his cheek and another in the hole in the jaw and we knew it was time to say goodbye.

Saucerer was a real example of why the rescue exists and how it can change a bunny’s life for the better. Our favourite memories of him will be him binkying down the garden path every time he was let outside and the way he would stand up on his hind legs to reach for the plate as you went to put the food down in front of him. We are very grateful that he had a peaceful end without suffering and we feel very privileged to have known him. Our house will not be the same without him.

A Paw-ful for Truffles

Time for another dip into our "post bag"! Here's a lovely story from a friend of the Rescue who recently took one of our single bunnies into her family.

When I first met Caroline I had a house rabbit, Honey. I thought that Honey was a happy rabbit - she would spend hours sitting in between my feet as I tapped away on the computer and would happily sit on my lap for a couple of hours each night as I stroked her. Caroline said that Honey should have another rabbit for company and suggested one at the sanctuary who had been a house rabbit. When Honey met Trevor (who I renamed Truffles) their friendship needed to be encouraged by putting pineapple juice on their foreheads, they licked each other heads and so started a friendship that lasted a couple of years.

Honey and Truffles were inseparable and always sat together.

Sometimes Honey’s over enthusiastic affection could leave Truffles

a little squashed but he didn’t seem to mind!

Sadly, Honey was not a well rabbit and Truffles was clearly very lonely when Honey died.

When I contacted Caroline to let her know that I was looking for a new mate for Truffles she suggested several rabbits. One of them was Ephra. When I first looked into Ephra's hutch I thought that it was empty - then I saw her huge black eyes peering out at me from the back corner. Ephra was a very nervous jumpy rabbit who was happy to hide from the world. And no wonder, before she came to the rescue she had been living in a shed with several other rabbits, the result of a pet shop selling a rabbit to an elderly lady and getting its sex wrong so the rabbits bred. The owner was soon over run with rabbits and on becoming ill her sister contacted Caroline for help. By then the problem was sizeable and Caroline bravely took on about 50 rabbits.

Unknown to Caroline Ephra was pregnant when she arrived at the rescue, her young age and the stress of being moved were probably what contributed to Ephra destroying her babies as they were born. She had had a tough start and no wonder she was nervous. Her huge black sorrowful eyes just made me want to give her a chance. She probably wasn’t the best match for Truffles but Caroline was happy to bond them. Ephra was intrigued by Truffles who rather rudely sat with his back to her. Eventually they started to get on. When Caroline brought the pair of them back to my home, Ephra hid in the corner of the kitchen under a chair. Truffles was pleased to be back home, had a quick sniff around and wanted his usual stroke and tickles from me. He then remembered Ephra and though he never usually sat under the chair before went and joined Ephra to keep her company and reassure her that all was well.

That was two months ago now and during that time Truffles has really helped Ephra (now called Moet) to gain her confidence. She is first to dash across the kitchen floor in the morning to greet me and stand by the fridge where she knows that her greens are kept. She knows the sound of the dried food tin lid being lifted and even dashes into the utility room to help herself to extra hay.

Moet and Truffles are great chums and much to Truffles relief he does not have to spend his time sitting under the chair in the corner to be with her. Truffles likes to do a bit of DIY and Moet is keen to help, they spend many a happy hour reshaping a cardboard box to get it just how they like it.

They have a big outdoor run where they enjoy eating grass and leaves from a cherry tree, and like an old married couple are back inside to sit side by side and join me watching Coronation Street! Although Truffles tends to fall asleep.

Without Caroline neither of these rabbits would have had the opportunity of a better life than they had had prior to coming into the rescue. Like so many other bunnies they have a great deal to thank Caroline for.

All pictures provided by Sue