irishmist
Well-Known Member
Fred was born on August 2, 2006. He was born into a litter with one brother and three sisters. Fredâs mother refused the litter, so they all had to be hand fed. The job of keeping them alive fell into my hands. It is a hard and time-consuming job and truly, I would not wish it on anyone. Fred was the best eater of the lot; he was always first in line, gobbled up his food then stood waiting rather impatiently for any leftovers that the others did not finish. I do have to mention that the litter was scattered and I found the babies all over my room, Fred was found in the food bowl, he had fallen off the shelf, I had to wonder if he had sustained some sort of brain damage.
As time went on, they bonded to me as their mother and followed me around like ducklings. They were my pride and joy and proof that hand feeding and raising can be successful.
At about a year, Fred changed. He became aggressive and would charge the cage whenever I came near it. I figured it could possibly be hormones, but it was in the back of my mind that he could have sustained some brain damage from the fall into the bowl. One day I was feeding and giving hay, he charged the cage and as I was closing the door, he lunged at me and bit me. He not only drew blood but he took a good chunk of my finger. From that moment on, I became very leery of putting my hands anywhere near him without protection. Even wearing oven gloves did not deter him from attacking me. I figured that he was a lost cause and I would just let him live out his life the way he wanted it ⦠left alone. He got everything he needed except the most important thing companionship. I would talk to him whenever I fed him or when I was doing something with the cages. To clean his cage I would put the carrier to the door and when he went in it, I would quickly close the door, keeping my fingers as far away from him as possible. If I let him out of the cage for a run, I would have to jump on the bed because he attacked my feet and bit my ankles. I hoped and prayed that he would go back into his cage by himself; many times, he got herded back in by the end of a broom.
During the fall after his first birthday, I saw a program on television about behaviour training and I decided to try it. I knew that he really liked papaya tablets, so I figured I could use those to tame the wild beast that Fred had become. Every other day I would get tweezers, put a papaya tab on the end of them, and gingerly place them between the bars. As each week would go by, I would put my fingers closer and closer to the end of the tweezers, all the time cooing softly to him, until I was able to give him the tabs with just my fingers. He eventually took the papaya from me without taking my finger off. Shortly after that, I was able to pet him on the nose. He still shied away if I went any farther than that. Therefore, I figured that was good enough and probably would end up being his only stimulation by a human.
A few days ago, he was acting very strangely. He was doing somersaults in his cage. He looked to be in some kind of distress, kind of like doubling over in pain. I sucked up my guts, grabbed him out of his cage with a towel, and set him on my bed. He sat very still and hardly moved at all. I knew something was wrong with him but what it was I did not know. He was eating, drinking, peeing and pooping. So what could it be� I tried giving him treats and he took them. He seemed fine, and would start wandering around on the bed, and then he would flip over in a somersault and crawl on his belly. I would scoop him back up and he lay on my knees and would not move. He did these four or five times that I can remember, and I ended up wrapping him up in a towel and laid him down beside me on the bed and he stayed there all night and did not move a muscle. After talking with friends we came to a couple of conclusions⦠one he could have an inner ear infection or two⦠he could have a bad case of gas
I took Fred to the vets the next day and like a human child he was just fine at the vets⦠acting like a normal bunny. Acting like a normal bunny is not what Fred ever did! The vet did his exam and could find nothing wrong with him. Fred got me again but this time in the wallet LOL. I brought him home and was still very surprised by his meek behaviour. I was totally baffled!
Later that evening I took him out of his cage and he nuzzled into my neck. (I kept my neck down protecting my jugular vein â well you never know lol) I took him into the living room and said to my husband, âGuess who this is?â He replied that it was Gracie (Fredâs Mom, they are virtually identical). I told him no that it was Fred. The look of surprise on my husbands face was hilarious. He told me I had better take advantage of it while I can.
So each day since then, when I go past his cage he is waiting there for me to give him a pet and tell him what a good boy he is, he nudges my hand asking for more. I take him out and cuddle him with absolutely no fear.
Tonight was the absolute best. I went to his cage to talk to him and pet him before I went to bed. I put my face to the cage he sniffed my face and put his head down to be kissed. I picked him up and sat on the couch with him and I got something out of him that I never had⦠he tooth purred and fell asleep on my lap.
This night brought me to tears. This was a little boy that I had pretty much given up for lost. If he had not had something wrong with him that night, I would have missed the chance to see this redemption. Right now, I am not sure as to whether the redemption was Fredâs or mine!
This picture was what he looked like when he was flipping... now it just looks like a really cute photo op!
As time went on, they bonded to me as their mother and followed me around like ducklings. They were my pride and joy and proof that hand feeding and raising can be successful.
At about a year, Fred changed. He became aggressive and would charge the cage whenever I came near it. I figured it could possibly be hormones, but it was in the back of my mind that he could have sustained some brain damage from the fall into the bowl. One day I was feeding and giving hay, he charged the cage and as I was closing the door, he lunged at me and bit me. He not only drew blood but he took a good chunk of my finger. From that moment on, I became very leery of putting my hands anywhere near him without protection. Even wearing oven gloves did not deter him from attacking me. I figured that he was a lost cause and I would just let him live out his life the way he wanted it ⦠left alone. He got everything he needed except the most important thing companionship. I would talk to him whenever I fed him or when I was doing something with the cages. To clean his cage I would put the carrier to the door and when he went in it, I would quickly close the door, keeping my fingers as far away from him as possible. If I let him out of the cage for a run, I would have to jump on the bed because he attacked my feet and bit my ankles. I hoped and prayed that he would go back into his cage by himself; many times, he got herded back in by the end of a broom.
During the fall after his first birthday, I saw a program on television about behaviour training and I decided to try it. I knew that he really liked papaya tablets, so I figured I could use those to tame the wild beast that Fred had become. Every other day I would get tweezers, put a papaya tab on the end of them, and gingerly place them between the bars. As each week would go by, I would put my fingers closer and closer to the end of the tweezers, all the time cooing softly to him, until I was able to give him the tabs with just my fingers. He eventually took the papaya from me without taking my finger off. Shortly after that, I was able to pet him on the nose. He still shied away if I went any farther than that. Therefore, I figured that was good enough and probably would end up being his only stimulation by a human.
A few days ago, he was acting very strangely. He was doing somersaults in his cage. He looked to be in some kind of distress, kind of like doubling over in pain. I sucked up my guts, grabbed him out of his cage with a towel, and set him on my bed. He sat very still and hardly moved at all. I knew something was wrong with him but what it was I did not know. He was eating, drinking, peeing and pooping. So what could it be� I tried giving him treats and he took them. He seemed fine, and would start wandering around on the bed, and then he would flip over in a somersault and crawl on his belly. I would scoop him back up and he lay on my knees and would not move. He did these four or five times that I can remember, and I ended up wrapping him up in a towel and laid him down beside me on the bed and he stayed there all night and did not move a muscle. After talking with friends we came to a couple of conclusions⦠one he could have an inner ear infection or two⦠he could have a bad case of gas
I took Fred to the vets the next day and like a human child he was just fine at the vets⦠acting like a normal bunny. Acting like a normal bunny is not what Fred ever did! The vet did his exam and could find nothing wrong with him. Fred got me again but this time in the wallet LOL. I brought him home and was still very surprised by his meek behaviour. I was totally baffled!
Later that evening I took him out of his cage and he nuzzled into my neck. (I kept my neck down protecting my jugular vein â well you never know lol) I took him into the living room and said to my husband, âGuess who this is?â He replied that it was Gracie (Fredâs Mom, they are virtually identical). I told him no that it was Fred. The look of surprise on my husbands face was hilarious. He told me I had better take advantage of it while I can.
So each day since then, when I go past his cage he is waiting there for me to give him a pet and tell him what a good boy he is, he nudges my hand asking for more. I take him out and cuddle him with absolutely no fear.
Tonight was the absolute best. I went to his cage to talk to him and pet him before I went to bed. I put my face to the cage he sniffed my face and put his head down to be kissed. I picked him up and sat on the couch with him and I got something out of him that I never had⦠he tooth purred and fell asleep on my lap.
This night brought me to tears. This was a little boy that I had pretty much given up for lost. If he had not had something wrong with him that night, I would have missed the chance to see this redemption. Right now, I am not sure as to whether the redemption was Fredâs or mine!
This picture was what he looked like when he was flipping... now it just looks like a really cute photo op!
