Jayne and Kaylee

[pbheather]

I'm new at bunny parenting, so everything is a surprise to me.

Jayne is the oldest. He's about 5 months old. He is grey, with a white belly and chin. He's affectionate and was pretty flighty up until now. When I got Kaylee, the female, he goes between seeing her through the bars in her cage, to coming to me on my bed, my couch, in my kitchen, the bathroom, wherever I am. He either wants me to pet him, or he circles my feet. Once he circled my head (I was laying down) and was making a sound almost like clucking. And he keeps pounding his back foot on the ground in annoyance. I know he wants to get in Kaylee's cage. I'll open the top to do something, and he will try to get in at all costs. It's hormone driven. I'm getting him fixed this month, so I'm hoping he will mellow down when it comes to Kaylee.

Kaylee is the female. She is almost completely black, with small white patches, and brown around her feet. I've had her only a few days, and I'm thinking she's about 8 weeks. I got her from the same store as Jayne (the only place in the area to get a rabbit), and he was 8 weeks when I got him. I'm hoping to get her fixed during the month when Jayne is still fertile after he has been fixed. Then, I'm hoping to bond them so they can live happily every after. Anyway, she's a little aggressive, but she's mellowed out a little. She does like her forehead rubbed, but she's flighty when she's out of her cage, and freaks out a little when she's in her cage and I reach in. As Jayne is trained to dog potty pads, I am going to train her to those. She has been tearing them up, and going all over. It's almost like she's nesting. I don't know. I'm hoping she'll get the message as soon as Jayne did (he was easy to potty train).

They seem to be getting along so far, through the bars of their cages. When Jayne is out, he doesn't leave her alone hardly. When Kaylee is out, she pretty much ignores him, but she interacts with him when she's in her cage. I'm hoping they'll get along when they're both fixed, and that they'll bond real well. They seem to be doing well so far, so I think all of this will go well.

 

[fuzz16]

welcome to the rabbit world

and sounds like you and him are starting to bond, maybe jealousy lol

 

[pbheather]

I hope we are starting to bond. I've been waiting for that the entire time I've had him. It's feels like it's been a long road, even though it's not been all that long.

 

[hartleybun]

they sound a cute pair of bunnies! good luck with the bonding

 

[pbheather]

Here's some pics of my babies:

This is Kaylee.

And this is Jayne

 

[pbheather]

I was wondering. Will taking Jayne to get neutered cause Kaylee to reject him, even though they only interact through the bars? I've been thinking about that. On a couple sites I've read that a rabbit may be rejected by their mate after a trip to the vet. Jayne is infatuated with her, and will be so excited when he can be with her when she's outside her cage. If she decides to reject him, he won't recover well.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Such beautiful bunny's!

 

[pbheather]

Thank you, Wabbitdad. I love them dearly.

Well, I tried to let Jayne see Kaylee outside of her cage. It was on my bed, and I sat near in case something happened. At first, they just sniffed each other, Kaylee kinda ignored Jayne. Then Jayne tried to mount her front, then her back. I had to separate them. Kaylee was kinda skittish after that. I put her back in her cage, and when I tried to feed her, she bit me. Yea, not a good idea on my part. So I've separated their cages for a few days so Kaylee can calm down and relax. I'm taking her to the vet on Monday, so maybe we can see when she can get spayed. It won't be for a while, but I'm hoping it could be done the month when Jayne is neutered, but has to still be separate from her because he still is fertile.

 

[Myia09]

I love Jayne! She is so cute!
Yeah, not a good idea meeting them before they are fixed. Also the chances of them getting a long better greatly increase when fixed, dominance/territory issues ar usually resolved.

 

[pocketsizedrhino]

Ohhh those wittle ears are adorable. <3

 

[pbheather]

Today, I tried trimming each bun's nails. I'd never done this, and when I pick either up, blood is being drawn. Jayne was not having it. I tried holding him down, and then I tried wrapping him in a towel. After much scratching and biting, I finally got his nails trimmed. He ran straight to his cage after and flopped down with his back to me. Kaylee didn't fight as much, but she wouldn't stay still. Jayne still isn't real happy with me.

 

[pbheather]

Well, Jayne looked just so pitiful circling Kaylee's cage I gave in like the push-over I tend to be. Kaylee didn't really do anything. She just sat there quivering in fear and uncertainty as Jayne mounted her face, then her back. I stopped him before he got too far. He still circles her cage, though. She doesn't seem stressed, but I'm always wondering if letting Jayne circle Kaylee's cage is stressing Kaylee. She kind of just ignores him, does her own thing.

 

[missyscove]

They're very cute! Are they named after Firefly/Serenity, or is that just a coincidence?

 

[pbheather]

They are named after Firefly characters! Jayne is my favorite character, and Kaylee is just a sweet girl, and both names fit the rabbits.

 

[pbheather]

Jayne just started eating carrots last night. He sat and ate one out of my hand. Maybe it's that Kaylee likes carrots. The carrots are keeping her from eating her bedding. And she's started to go in her litter box a little. So, yay! She's a little less aggressive, and I growled back at her when she growled, and she hasn't growled at me since. I did that to Jayne and he hasn't done anything aggressive to me since. Hopefully she'll realize I'm not there to eat her.

I took Kaylee to the vet on Monday. She shook the entire way up, and I had to leave her at the vet office while I got my allergy shots. I got back to the office for my appointment and took her out, and she clung to me. She didn't want to go on the table for the vet. She's healthy, and will be spayed in early March. Jayne is being neutered in two weeks, so while he's still in that 4 week fertile stage, she will have time to heal. Then, we can do a bunny date! I'm so excited about that.

 

[pbheather]

I've noticed that Kaylee's binkies are different from Jayne's binkies. Jayne likes to bink during his marathons, when he's running around really really fast, and does it midair. Kaylee will just be sitting there, and then suddenly bink, or she'll twirl to face the opposite direction. It's awesome. They make my day every day. Though, Jayne does get jealous when Kaylee is allowed out. He chews on his cage door. It's so cute.

 

[pbheather]

So my parents don't know I have rabbits. I talked to my mom today about rabbits in general, and she gave me this long talk about rabbits smelling and being these horrible creatures. She's allergic to them, but I don't think they stink. I mean, they have the normal animal smell, but they don't specifically stink. She said it was because of their urine, but if the litter boxes are changed frequently, they don't stink. I don't know. My parents don't like animals all that much.

 

[pbheather]

I got an exercise pin so Kaylee can be out the same time Jayne is, but they can't directly interact. She keeps pacing in front of him. I wonder if she's trying to get him to mate with her.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I know what you mean, I've heard the same reasons about rabbits, being smelly etc. My rabbits cages are cleaned every other day, so things stay fresh.

Every rabbit has its own way of show how happy it is. Daisy, my e-lop, will do a speed binky then jump in the air and do a twist.

 

[pbheather]

I clean the cages about once a week and yes, there is a slight odor, but all animals have some kind of odor. It's not really until you get to the cages in the corner of the room that you really smell it, and then it's not more than a dog. I clean the litter box and the potty pad (Jayne goes on it lol) and that pretty much takes care of it.