Hi all! I haven't been here for yonks; life got insane, I had an interstate move with the bunnies and work changes and single parenting and life and and and...
Aaaaanyway, I thought I'd come back and reintroduce myself. In July 2014 my gorgeous girl Miranda had 5 healthy baby boys. For a while we had 7 rabbits! To see their first few weeks go here: Miranda, Sammy & the 5 sneaky arrivals!
Some went to friends, some stayed with us. My precious Sammy, who thought he was a puppy not a rabbit, and adored sleeping on the bed with my daughter, had to be put to sleep a couple of years ago as his teeth were growing into the nerves beneath and couldn't be fixed. It broke my heart. The others were very much outdoor bunnies; they hated being inside the house. They had a huge run at the side of the house with a few big camelias in it, with three hitches in the run so they could choose their angle to the sun. They spent the heat of summer inside the house, but were always grateful to get back outside when it cooled down.
Unfortunately, Miranda started losing weight and one morning didn't wake up. We only have Gilderoy left. She had been eating heaps but losing weight, and it seemed like Gilly might have been losing weight too, so I treated him for worms just in case.
Gilderoy has been a people-hater from a very young age. It's strange; the other kit from the litter who looked like him was a people-hater too, though the other three weren't. My mother and sister have scars from Gilly sinking in his teeth when they went to change water or food, and he would run, hide, and thrash his way out of being touched. He was strange about affection, always wanting to be close when the others were getting pats and love but freaking out if anyone tried to give him the same. I was really worried about him after losing Miranda, because he's a lone bunny now and obviously they're sociable, as well as my concerns about winter. Operation Indoor Bunny was started in March to try to get him to hate being onside slightly less by the time the Canberra cold kicks in. With Covid19 shutting things down, I was able to work from home a lot so spent my days out in the back yard with his run open to the yard. He would spend hours binkying around the yard, putting himself back into the run each evening. After a week of that I started leaving the back door propped open during the day whilst he was out. He completely ignored it, flatly refusing to go inside for weeks, until one day my mother got back from isolating at my sister's place. Suddenly Gilly started going inside. He still wanted nothing to do with me, but liked to sniff around his nanna! For another week he would put himself into the run in the evening, but extended his daytime explorations to include the loungeroom and kitchen/dining area.
Once he started settling in for his naps next to nanna in the loungeroom, I decided it was time to see how he would cope with staying inside sometimes. I closed the back door one evening, with a litter tray, water bowl and food inside for him. The next morning he was perfectly fine, but when I let him outside he gave me the cold shoulder and refused to come back inside for three days. The same happened the next two nights that he spent inside, though for less time after each, and now he spends every night inside! He has the kitchen, dining area and laundry at night, as well as the loungeroom during the day and open access to the backyard for most of the day, though those hours are lessening as it gets colder! Even so, he now chooses to spend most of his time with us inside, spending around 2 or 3 hours total outside each day. He's smart, and tries to avoid going into the kitchen in the evening because he doesn't want to be stuck in there for the night! It breaks my heart, but I can't risk him getting to the spicy hay ie. electrical cables if we leave him unattended around them overnight.
He's settled right in, and although he still has ZERO intention of letting himself be picked up, he lets us pet him now! He also does a weird chirpy snore thing sometimes when he's sleeping. His favourite toy is my daughter's homework, which he likes to throw around the room. He also has a young magpie friend who comes to the backyard to play with him. I adore him!
Aaaaanyway, I thought I'd come back and reintroduce myself. In July 2014 my gorgeous girl Miranda had 5 healthy baby boys. For a while we had 7 rabbits! To see their first few weeks go here: Miranda, Sammy & the 5 sneaky arrivals!
Some went to friends, some stayed with us. My precious Sammy, who thought he was a puppy not a rabbit, and adored sleeping on the bed with my daughter, had to be put to sleep a couple of years ago as his teeth were growing into the nerves beneath and couldn't be fixed. It broke my heart. The others were very much outdoor bunnies; they hated being inside the house. They had a huge run at the side of the house with a few big camelias in it, with three hitches in the run so they could choose their angle to the sun. They spent the heat of summer inside the house, but were always grateful to get back outside when it cooled down.
Unfortunately, Miranda started losing weight and one morning didn't wake up. We only have Gilderoy left. She had been eating heaps but losing weight, and it seemed like Gilly might have been losing weight too, so I treated him for worms just in case.
Gilderoy has been a people-hater from a very young age. It's strange; the other kit from the litter who looked like him was a people-hater too, though the other three weren't. My mother and sister have scars from Gilly sinking in his teeth when they went to change water or food, and he would run, hide, and thrash his way out of being touched. He was strange about affection, always wanting to be close when the others were getting pats and love but freaking out if anyone tried to give him the same. I was really worried about him after losing Miranda, because he's a lone bunny now and obviously they're sociable, as well as my concerns about winter. Operation Indoor Bunny was started in March to try to get him to hate being onside slightly less by the time the Canberra cold kicks in. With Covid19 shutting things down, I was able to work from home a lot so spent my days out in the back yard with his run open to the yard. He would spend hours binkying around the yard, putting himself back into the run each evening. After a week of that I started leaving the back door propped open during the day whilst he was out. He completely ignored it, flatly refusing to go inside for weeks, until one day my mother got back from isolating at my sister's place. Suddenly Gilly started going inside. He still wanted nothing to do with me, but liked to sniff around his nanna! For another week he would put himself into the run in the evening, but extended his daytime explorations to include the loungeroom and kitchen/dining area.
Once he started settling in for his naps next to nanna in the loungeroom, I decided it was time to see how he would cope with staying inside sometimes. I closed the back door one evening, with a litter tray, water bowl and food inside for him. The next morning he was perfectly fine, but when I let him outside he gave me the cold shoulder and refused to come back inside for three days. The same happened the next two nights that he spent inside, though for less time after each, and now he spends every night inside! He has the kitchen, dining area and laundry at night, as well as the loungeroom during the day and open access to the backyard for most of the day, though those hours are lessening as it gets colder! Even so, he now chooses to spend most of his time with us inside, spending around 2 or 3 hours total outside each day. He's smart, and tries to avoid going into the kitchen in the evening because he doesn't want to be stuck in there for the night! It breaks my heart, but I can't risk him getting to the spicy hay ie. electrical cables if we leave him unattended around them overnight.
He's settled right in, and although he still has ZERO intention of letting himself be picked up, he lets us pet him now! He also does a weird chirpy snore thing sometimes when he's sleeping. His favourite toy is my daughter's homework, which he likes to throw around the room. He also has a young magpie friend who comes to the backyard to play with him. I adore him!
