King Kirby's Rabbit Nation 2011
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kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
So much has happened with the lop trio since my last post. Namely that they are no longer a trio. 
The trio consists of -- in size order -- The Big One (TBO), The Naughty One (TNO) and The Little One (TLO). I so named them because at the shelter, they were arbitrarily given names and after a couple of shuffles to different places, no one could tell who was who. They were just "the tan lop trio". It was clear to me after one day that there is one that is larger than the other two, one that was sassier, and one that was obviously scrawnier but totally has a rounder face. And so, TBO, TNO, and TLO came to be.
A couple weeks of baby lop bliss were awarded to me for my acceptance into my home. Everyone told me that they might as well get cozy and comfy because there was no way I'd ever let them go anywhere, that I was "doomed" to be a "foster failure," also known as the proud new adopted mom of three lop bunnies. I insist that this is not the case, and with my new home I intend to continue to try and be helpful to my volunteer organization by fostering. Keeping three bunnies would fully occupy my space and this just didn't seem like an option. Plus, not for nothing but three babies is a lot of work! They eat just about nonstop and they poop just as much. I can't ever fill their crocks fast enough with pellets and water.
All Is Not Well
By the third week trouble had ensued. I saw TBO mounting TNO and although he was doing it wrong and humping her head, she was clearly not in the mood for it and she circled around and took some snaps at him. I picked TBO up to take a look at him for injuries and found that around his anus there was some dried, crusted blood. It did not appear to be something that had just occurred, which made me wonder if he hadn't tried to mount her before and made her bite him? Or was this something else? It was really scary and alarming for me. I'd never seen anything like it. Here was the most perfect little baby bunny and he had been bleeding on my watch? It was devastating.
Because it didn't look like a recent injury and I know for sure he didn't have a bloody anus just a couple days prior, TBO got a trip to the vet. The vet said that it was either syphilis or a bite wound. It was quite swollen and inflamed at the time, so it was terribly hard to tell. She dosed him with an injection of penicillin to be safe, and TBO continued to get weekly shots for 3 weeks. He was also ordered to be separated from the others in case it was a bite wound, he is better off alone and away from danger. And since he seemed to be coming to maturity, it would be best to keep him away from the two girls (which the vet sexed as female) anyway, to prevent accidental pregnancies.
The day grew sadder and sadder for poor Big One. It was likely the scariest day of his short life so far. Car ride, strangers touching him all over, a big needle to the scruff of his neck... and when he got home, he no longer had the warm comfort of his siblings. I pulled out my Toby's old cage from when he was a baby and made it TBO's new home. I plopped him next to the cage with his siblings so he would have company at least. Somewhat unfortunately, the amount of space he had to lounge was overall less than his previous cage, but the entire cage would now be his alone.
There were only 2 positive side effect of this event. One was that the buns were all a little less crowded and the scrawny Little One got a fairer chance at eating and plumping up. The second thing is that all 3 bunnies got a fecal float exam and was found to all have coccidia. This common parasite is found present in a lot of bunnies and most healthy buns could live happily without ever being truly harmed by it. The exceptions were immuno compromised bunnies, geriatric bunnies and baby bunnies. Coccidia can wreak havoc on the digestive tract and cause diarrhea which can be quite dangerous. I'm glad we caught it and treated it because I did notice that all the babies had occasionally mushy poo, more often than I considered normal. I alerted the foster parent of the trio's other siblings of a different litter, and sure enough they were dosed with Marquis for coccidia as well.
When Babies Grow Up
There are days, sometimes multiple times in a day, when I sit and wonder why I took on three baby bunnies. After the whole ordeal with baby Toby (who some of you may remember reading in previous Rabbit Nation blog posts, was a complete terror of a teenage bun when he hit adolescence) I had sworn off ever getting babies ever again. But here I am, stepping up to the challenge once more, with triple threat.
As cute as babies are, they inevitably grow up. They get bigger and start to discover more of the world, learn about their surroundings and the people who come to give them their food everyday. They are still all very adorable but now they've all grown about 20-30% in size. Day by day, I grew more and more guilty that I had them in these 36x18x24" & 30x16x19" cages. My bunnies have these massive plots of land in my bunny room, with multiple story condos, plus running space outside of their confinement. And my fosters just had their cages most of the day and some playtime in the playpen at night. I installed little wooden ledges for them to have some extra room to climb and stretch, but their size was starting to spill over those little platforms. I could literally see them outgrowing their space.
I had no choice but to keep them in those cages so I decided to expand vertically. I'm not a real handy person so I don't have tools for cutting wood or drilling holes and such. I wanted a more ready-made solution. After scouring around, I found it at IKEA.
They make a fabulous cheap bookshelf made of untreated wood. With some nuts and screws, I attached this thing to the cage and voila, 27" of extra room to sunbathe on.
The Big One's cage is slightly smaller in both length and height, so I had to call in favors to ask someone to cut the shelf down and attach it on the side of his cage.
Well that's all well and good... but the story of the lop trio doesn't stop there...
The trio consists of -- in size order -- The Big One (TBO), The Naughty One (TNO) and The Little One (TLO). I so named them because at the shelter, they were arbitrarily given names and after a couple of shuffles to different places, no one could tell who was who. They were just "the tan lop trio". It was clear to me after one day that there is one that is larger than the other two, one that was sassier, and one that was obviously scrawnier but totally has a rounder face. And so, TBO, TNO, and TLO came to be.
A couple weeks of baby lop bliss were awarded to me for my acceptance into my home. Everyone told me that they might as well get cozy and comfy because there was no way I'd ever let them go anywhere, that I was "doomed" to be a "foster failure," also known as the proud new adopted mom of three lop bunnies. I insist that this is not the case, and with my new home I intend to continue to try and be helpful to my volunteer organization by fostering. Keeping three bunnies would fully occupy my space and this just didn't seem like an option. Plus, not for nothing but three babies is a lot of work! They eat just about nonstop and they poop just as much. I can't ever fill their crocks fast enough with pellets and water.
All Is Not Well
By the third week trouble had ensued. I saw TBO mounting TNO and although he was doing it wrong and humping her head, she was clearly not in the mood for it and she circled around and took some snaps at him. I picked TBO up to take a look at him for injuries and found that around his anus there was some dried, crusted blood. It did not appear to be something that had just occurred, which made me wonder if he hadn't tried to mount her before and made her bite him? Or was this something else? It was really scary and alarming for me. I'd never seen anything like it. Here was the most perfect little baby bunny and he had been bleeding on my watch? It was devastating.
Because it didn't look like a recent injury and I know for sure he didn't have a bloody anus just a couple days prior, TBO got a trip to the vet. The vet said that it was either syphilis or a bite wound. It was quite swollen and inflamed at the time, so it was terribly hard to tell. She dosed him with an injection of penicillin to be safe, and TBO continued to get weekly shots for 3 weeks. He was also ordered to be separated from the others in case it was a bite wound, he is better off alone and away from danger. And since he seemed to be coming to maturity, it would be best to keep him away from the two girls (which the vet sexed as female) anyway, to prevent accidental pregnancies.
The day grew sadder and sadder for poor Big One. It was likely the scariest day of his short life so far. Car ride, strangers touching him all over, a big needle to the scruff of his neck... and when he got home, he no longer had the warm comfort of his siblings. I pulled out my Toby's old cage from when he was a baby and made it TBO's new home. I plopped him next to the cage with his siblings so he would have company at least. Somewhat unfortunately, the amount of space he had to lounge was overall less than his previous cage, but the entire cage would now be his alone.
There were only 2 positive side effect of this event. One was that the buns were all a little less crowded and the scrawny Little One got a fairer chance at eating and plumping up. The second thing is that all 3 bunnies got a fecal float exam and was found to all have coccidia. This common parasite is found present in a lot of bunnies and most healthy buns could live happily without ever being truly harmed by it. The exceptions were immuno compromised bunnies, geriatric bunnies and baby bunnies. Coccidia can wreak havoc on the digestive tract and cause diarrhea which can be quite dangerous. I'm glad we caught it and treated it because I did notice that all the babies had occasionally mushy poo, more often than I considered normal. I alerted the foster parent of the trio's other siblings of a different litter, and sure enough they were dosed with Marquis for coccidia as well.
When Babies Grow Up
There are days, sometimes multiple times in a day, when I sit and wonder why I took on three baby bunnies. After the whole ordeal with baby Toby (who some of you may remember reading in previous Rabbit Nation blog posts, was a complete terror of a teenage bun when he hit adolescence) I had sworn off ever getting babies ever again. But here I am, stepping up to the challenge once more, with triple threat.
As cute as babies are, they inevitably grow up. They get bigger and start to discover more of the world, learn about their surroundings and the people who come to give them their food everyday. They are still all very adorable but now they've all grown about 20-30% in size. Day by day, I grew more and more guilty that I had them in these 36x18x24" & 30x16x19" cages. My bunnies have these massive plots of land in my bunny room, with multiple story condos, plus running space outside of their confinement. And my fosters just had their cages most of the day and some playtime in the playpen at night. I installed little wooden ledges for them to have some extra room to climb and stretch, but their size was starting to spill over those little platforms. I could literally see them outgrowing their space.
I had no choice but to keep them in those cages so I decided to expand vertically. I'm not a real handy person so I don't have tools for cutting wood or drilling holes and such. I wanted a more ready-made solution. After scouring around, I found it at IKEA.
They make a fabulous cheap bookshelf made of untreated wood. With some nuts and screws, I attached this thing to the cage and voila, 27" of extra room to sunbathe on.
The Big One's cage is slightly smaller in both length and height, so I had to call in favors to ask someone to cut the shelf down and attach it on the side of his cage.
Well that's all well and good... but the story of the lop trio doesn't stop there...
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
The Big One eventually got a real name. We called him Charlie because the name he had at the shelter was Charles. Charles seemed entirely too proper a name for a fun-loving little guy like The Big One so Charlie eventually just stuck as a more kiddie version of the name.
The Little One and The Naughty One became Lonnie and Nala because when I asked for them to be spayed and neutered and the office was all perplexed by the names I called them. Well I didn't love "Lonnie" for Little One but it was after the fact. On adoption websites he was officially Lonnie.
The funniest part about their "official" names is that I didn't like calling them by any of their names except sometimes Charlie. I decided to call them all the Littles. They would be Charlie Littles, Little Littles and Naughty Littles. The Littles. I liked that.
In April of 2013, I brought all three Littles to the Petco where our rescue was holding an adoption event called "Spring into Bunnyland". The volunteers worked so hard to make the place look wonderfully colorful and spring-like. Flowers and bunnies were painted all around the store for the event and it gave the whole day a sort of magical feeling. Over 25 bunnies were brought in to meet their future moms and dads and slaves. The very first adoption that day would be Mr. Charlie Littles.
An ex-volunteer of our rescue had emailed me weeks and weeks prior with interest in the Littles. She had two bunnies and one of them recently passed away after a long struggle with stasis. Her remaining bunny would pine and pine for his friend for many weeks. He is a really handsome white lionhead bunny, very reserved. He and Charlie had themselves a speed date at Petco and they really didn't seem to care for each other, but they did not get aggressive either. Eventually, Charlie just kinda stared at him, decided he was no threat, and Charlie flopped over on the floor to relax. It was definitely positive news since no news was basically good news for first time encounters. Our adopter felt comfortable with working these two together and decided Charlie would be hers. I felt great about the adoption because being a former volunteer, she would know how to take care of my big boy.
It was bittersweet for me. Charlie was the one I always focused on more because he was alone while his siblings had each other. He was the more mature one, quieter, but still a kid. He was the one who sat with me by the fireplace and snuggled against my neck. Charlie was unique. He IS a snugglebun. He doesn't mind sitting against my chest and nuzzling. He's the 0.01% of bunnies, the snuggly sweet bun that everyone wanted. I miss him, but I think it was my good fortune to begin with to have ever met him and been his mom for a period of time.
Weeks later I would visit Charlie in his new home. He and his buddy bonded in just a couple of weeks and he was the dominant one in the pair, but he still retained all his snuggliness. He was being taken care of by both his bunny friend and his new mommy. His mom sent me pictures of him often. He positively beamed with happiness in every photo. It was as good a home as I would ever find him, and he was happy, so that is all that mattered.
The Little One and The Naughty One became Lonnie and Nala because when I asked for them to be spayed and neutered and the office was all perplexed by the names I called them. Well I didn't love "Lonnie" for Little One but it was after the fact. On adoption websites he was officially Lonnie.
The funniest part about their "official" names is that I didn't like calling them by any of their names except sometimes Charlie. I decided to call them all the Littles. They would be Charlie Littles, Little Littles and Naughty Littles. The Littles. I liked that.
In April of 2013, I brought all three Littles to the Petco where our rescue was holding an adoption event called "Spring into Bunnyland". The volunteers worked so hard to make the place look wonderfully colorful and spring-like. Flowers and bunnies were painted all around the store for the event and it gave the whole day a sort of magical feeling. Over 25 bunnies were brought in to meet their future moms and dads and slaves. The very first adoption that day would be Mr. Charlie Littles.
An ex-volunteer of our rescue had emailed me weeks and weeks prior with interest in the Littles. She had two bunnies and one of them recently passed away after a long struggle with stasis. Her remaining bunny would pine and pine for his friend for many weeks. He is a really handsome white lionhead bunny, very reserved. He and Charlie had themselves a speed date at Petco and they really didn't seem to care for each other, but they did not get aggressive either. Eventually, Charlie just kinda stared at him, decided he was no threat, and Charlie flopped over on the floor to relax. It was definitely positive news since no news was basically good news for first time encounters. Our adopter felt comfortable with working these two together and decided Charlie would be hers. I felt great about the adoption because being a former volunteer, she would know how to take care of my big boy.
It was bittersweet for me. Charlie was the one I always focused on more because he was alone while his siblings had each other. He was the more mature one, quieter, but still a kid. He was the one who sat with me by the fireplace and snuggled against my neck. Charlie was unique. He IS a snugglebun. He doesn't mind sitting against my chest and nuzzling. He's the 0.01% of bunnies, the snuggly sweet bun that everyone wanted. I miss him, but I think it was my good fortune to begin with to have ever met him and been his mom for a period of time.
Weeks later I would visit Charlie in his new home. He and his buddy bonded in just a couple of weeks and he was the dominant one in the pair, but he still retained all his snuggliness. He was being taken care of by both his bunny friend and his new mommy. His mom sent me pictures of him often. He positively beamed with happiness in every photo. It was as good a home as I would ever find him, and he was happy, so that is all that mattered.
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
Weeks go by... Naughty Littles and Little Littles continued to grow. I really didn't think they'd get so much bigger because I've seen their mom and she really isn't that big! But my Littles were surely on their way to 5 lbs. Little was still kind of skinny while his frame continued to grow. Naughty ate like a little monster and soon became identifiable as the larger one on sight.
Since getting fixed at the vet, they were officially adoptable and posted online to the world as available: Nala and Lonnie, the adorable juvenile lop pair. My inbox soon became flooded with inquiries. They never tell you that becoming a foster parent entails sifting through the craziness of people who just want and want and want your babies. It was an entirely new experience and I was so overwhelmed by the whole process of screening adopters.
There were all kinds. There were just people who randomly asked about them, but weren't really looking to adopt. There were people who wanted to meet them and didn't want to actually jump through any hoops that are inevitable when applying to adopt. And there were the people with kids who wanted a pet for their children but didn't understand the sheer amount of work a pair of baby rabbits would be. There were so many of those, and they stressed me out the most.
Talking to families, moms especially, about rabbit care and hinting that their child is incapable of this level of care is a very delicate topic. I wanted to pretty much rule out all families with children under 8 years old. At about 9 most children start to grasp the idea of responsibility and the impact they have on an animal's life. Any younger, and it's really on the parents. Some people were somewhat delusional about what they and their children were capable of handling. Most people had good intentions but soon realized after I stopped sugarcoating rabbit slaving that perhaps a young rabbit wasn't right for their family. In one case, I agreed to meet the woman's children and show them The Littles. After meeting several other bunnies that we also had on display they decided that the Littles in all their baby glory, would not be right for them and they ended up adopting a really sweet, quiet bunny instead. It worked out the best way for everyone. It is really hard to find the right bunny for the right person(s). But it is implicitly what we sign up for when we foster and volunteer with a rescue. No one ever tells you just how hard it is, though.
Eventually, one very promising young woman and her boyfriend emailed us and she was wonderful. She had a bunny before, lived with her bun for 7 years. She and her family are animal lovers. She answered every question I had fully. She showed me she was very willing to make her home fitting for the bunnies to live in. She prepared everything that they would need to take them home. After a couple of weeks of corresponding with her, we met up. And the Littles had found their new mom and dad. Little and Naughty's little quirks and things were all loved. They were very entertained by them. They oohed and ahhed at everything they did. I felt good about the adoption. In the weeks to come, she would email me pictures about how they were doing, what their new home looked like, etc. I felt that I had done well by the bunnies.
Since getting fixed at the vet, they were officially adoptable and posted online to the world as available: Nala and Lonnie, the adorable juvenile lop pair. My inbox soon became flooded with inquiries. They never tell you that becoming a foster parent entails sifting through the craziness of people who just want and want and want your babies. It was an entirely new experience and I was so overwhelmed by the whole process of screening adopters.
There were all kinds. There were just people who randomly asked about them, but weren't really looking to adopt. There were people who wanted to meet them and didn't want to actually jump through any hoops that are inevitable when applying to adopt. And there were the people with kids who wanted a pet for their children but didn't understand the sheer amount of work a pair of baby rabbits would be. There were so many of those, and they stressed me out the most.
Talking to families, moms especially, about rabbit care and hinting that their child is incapable of this level of care is a very delicate topic. I wanted to pretty much rule out all families with children under 8 years old. At about 9 most children start to grasp the idea of responsibility and the impact they have on an animal's life. Any younger, and it's really on the parents. Some people were somewhat delusional about what they and their children were capable of handling. Most people had good intentions but soon realized after I stopped sugarcoating rabbit slaving that perhaps a young rabbit wasn't right for their family. In one case, I agreed to meet the woman's children and show them The Littles. After meeting several other bunnies that we also had on display they decided that the Littles in all their baby glory, would not be right for them and they ended up adopting a really sweet, quiet bunny instead. It worked out the best way for everyone. It is really hard to find the right bunny for the right person(s). But it is implicitly what we sign up for when we foster and volunteer with a rescue. No one ever tells you just how hard it is, though.
Eventually, one very promising young woman and her boyfriend emailed us and she was wonderful. She had a bunny before, lived with her bun for 7 years. She and her family are animal lovers. She answered every question I had fully. She showed me she was very willing to make her home fitting for the bunnies to live in. She prepared everything that they would need to take them home. After a couple of weeks of corresponding with her, we met up. And the Littles had found their new mom and dad. Little and Naughty's little quirks and things were all loved. They were very entertained by them. They oohed and ahhed at everything they did. I felt good about the adoption. In the weeks to come, she would email me pictures about how they were doing, what their new home looked like, etc. I felt that I had done well by the bunnies.
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
My home became Little-less and it was a little sad. Yes, it was also bittersweet. In the days following their adoption, neither myself nor my husband could say the word "little" without feeling a pit in our stomachs. We felt empty, somehow. Our nest of lops was empty.
We would have felt sad for much longer had it not for the fact that the day our Littles went home, a new baby came into our lives. A new foster came into our rescue and she needed a place to live. She was rescued by a lady from a park, but the lady couldn't keep her. Poor girl was just left in a cage at the park on a hot day... no food, no water... just stranded.
Well, my husband and I had our doubts about taking in another baby after we had just basically raised 3 simultaneously. As lovely and fun as they were, they were also a ton and a half of work daily. We were due for a break, but needy buns in the world give us no rest. Our next foster bun would come in the form of the beautifully enchanting Annie.
She kinda looked like she might be trouble! She was soooo small and soooo cute. Her markings are almost perfectly dutch. We both thought that she would be a little princess terror, but she would prove us very wrong. Upon taking her home and settling her into the Littles' old cage (after first very thoroughly cleaning it out!), it soon became clear that she was shy, but not frightened by the environment change. My bunny room is air conditioned 90% of the time when the temperature out is above 80 degrees, so she really shouldn't have been panting but she seemed to be hot. We gave her frozen bottle of ice, wrapped in the pillow case that she came with, and set it in her cage. She immediately sat down next to it and just laid there, quietly.
A few days of observing her and I just couldn't bring myself to accept that a baby bunny could be so reserved and well-behaved. She pooped and peed where she was supposed to. She kept a clean cage. She didn't tear her pillow case up. She was a perfect little lady! My goodness, what a change it was from my lively and bouncing Littles! She is such a little sweetheart. We soon found out that she didn't like being lonely. Whenever we walk by her cage, she would come and greet us by her door. It's hard to resist petting a baby bunny so we indulge ourselves and her by giving her little loving scritches on her head. She adores being petted and flattens out instantly. She even licked me and my husband several times so far. Any time a bunny licks me, I get all suckered into loving them... the last time that happened, Penny came home with me. :shock:
She eats her alfalfa Oxbow pellets all the time and she is a great hay chomper. She's really just a perfect little pet bunny for anyone! Her personality makes her extremely adoptable and her appearance is just spectacular. She's the perfect candidate, really.
Well... it's a secret, sort of. But my husband and I are sorta considering her for our Toby. She seems laid back enough that Toby won't feel threatened by her. She is clean enough also that he won't be put off. It's hard to tell because she is so young (maybe 2.5 months right now) and hasn't hit maturity yet. But it's something we're sloshing around in our brains at the moment. Toby does seem like he wants to be with someone but the jitteriness of our Toby makes it very hard for him to really BE with someone. We'll see how it goes!
In the meanwhile, here's a butt shot! So cute!
We would have felt sad for much longer had it not for the fact that the day our Littles went home, a new baby came into our lives. A new foster came into our rescue and she needed a place to live. She was rescued by a lady from a park, but the lady couldn't keep her. Poor girl was just left in a cage at the park on a hot day... no food, no water... just stranded.
Well, my husband and I had our doubts about taking in another baby after we had just basically raised 3 simultaneously. As lovely and fun as they were, they were also a ton and a half of work daily. We were due for a break, but needy buns in the world give us no rest. Our next foster bun would come in the form of the beautifully enchanting Annie.
She kinda looked like she might be trouble! She was soooo small and soooo cute. Her markings are almost perfectly dutch. We both thought that she would be a little princess terror, but she would prove us very wrong. Upon taking her home and settling her into the Littles' old cage (after first very thoroughly cleaning it out!), it soon became clear that she was shy, but not frightened by the environment change. My bunny room is air conditioned 90% of the time when the temperature out is above 80 degrees, so she really shouldn't have been panting but she seemed to be hot. We gave her frozen bottle of ice, wrapped in the pillow case that she came with, and set it in her cage. She immediately sat down next to it and just laid there, quietly.
A few days of observing her and I just couldn't bring myself to accept that a baby bunny could be so reserved and well-behaved. She pooped and peed where she was supposed to. She kept a clean cage. She didn't tear her pillow case up. She was a perfect little lady! My goodness, what a change it was from my lively and bouncing Littles! She is such a little sweetheart. We soon found out that she didn't like being lonely. Whenever we walk by her cage, she would come and greet us by her door. It's hard to resist petting a baby bunny so we indulge ourselves and her by giving her little loving scritches on her head. She adores being petted and flattens out instantly. She even licked me and my husband several times so far. Any time a bunny licks me, I get all suckered into loving them... the last time that happened, Penny came home with me. :shock:
She eats her alfalfa Oxbow pellets all the time and she is a great hay chomper. She's really just a perfect little pet bunny for anyone! Her personality makes her extremely adoptable and her appearance is just spectacular. She's the perfect candidate, really.
Well... it's a secret, sort of. But my husband and I are sorta considering her for our Toby. She seems laid back enough that Toby won't feel threatened by her. She is clean enough also that he won't be put off. It's hard to tell because she is so young (maybe 2.5 months right now) and hasn't hit maturity yet. But it's something we're sloshing around in our brains at the moment. Toby does seem like he wants to be with someone but the jitteriness of our Toby makes it very hard for him to really BE with someone. We'll see how it goes!
In the meanwhile, here's a butt shot! So cute!
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
One of the things that has changed in my bunny room because of the Littles is that it feels like it's a lot smaller now! lol I put so much effort into designing it just right when I was renovating it, and then I go and ruin it all by doubling the bunny population! As you can see in the pics I posted of my fosters, they were just living in these really tight "starter" cages that I bought from pet stores in a pinch, and I propped them up on top of my cabinet. I was always freaking out when the Littles would binky in their cages, wondering whether they'd come tumbling down!
After Charlie got adopted, I felt even worse for Naughty and Little because they got bigger and there was just no more room in their cage. Husband and I decided to bite the bullet and just buy a permanent cage that was the right size for our fosters. With the potential adopter emails going as sloppily as they were for a while (and me being particularly picky about finding the perfect home worthy of our Littles), we weren't sure if they were ever going to get adopted. We felt guilty every day seeing how cramped they were when they were both laying down and touching their cage end-to-end.
I did a lot of research and measuring in our bunny room and decided that the Ferret Nation was the way to go.
Yes, I know it's not perfect, yes I know the ramp opening is very small, and yes, I know it's not enough horizontal space for bunnies to live in. But for 2 growing medium sized bunnies, it would do. They got regular play time outside of the cage so I never felt like they were "cooped up" -- definitely an upgrade from the small cage they used to live in! The Littles got both levels (and the intermediate levels in each one) but they mostly stayed together. For anyone who regularly fosters bunnies, I highly recommend it. The fully opening doors make cleaning up very easy. If you need to separate the levels, just hook up the ramp so that the bunny cannot access the upstairs, and you are set. When Annie gets bigger, she may get downstairs as well. For now she dwells in the upper level quite comfortably.
Oh, and it's raised off the ground. The bottom level of the cage is a good 10 or 12 inches from the ground so my buns are never bothered by my fosters and they don't have the chance to harass them either. I bought a piece of coroplast from Home Depot and made the bottom rack a storage shelf for newspaper that I use to line bunny litter boxes. My buns love to use this shelf space as a raceway obstacle course. :rollseyes
After Charlie got adopted, I felt even worse for Naughty and Little because they got bigger and there was just no more room in their cage. Husband and I decided to bite the bullet and just buy a permanent cage that was the right size for our fosters. With the potential adopter emails going as sloppily as they were for a while (and me being particularly picky about finding the perfect home worthy of our Littles), we weren't sure if they were ever going to get adopted. We felt guilty every day seeing how cramped they were when they were both laying down and touching their cage end-to-end.
I did a lot of research and measuring in our bunny room and decided that the Ferret Nation was the way to go.
Yes, I know it's not perfect, yes I know the ramp opening is very small, and yes, I know it's not enough horizontal space for bunnies to live in. But for 2 growing medium sized bunnies, it would do. They got regular play time outside of the cage so I never felt like they were "cooped up" -- definitely an upgrade from the small cage they used to live in! The Littles got both levels (and the intermediate levels in each one) but they mostly stayed together. For anyone who regularly fosters bunnies, I highly recommend it. The fully opening doors make cleaning up very easy. If you need to separate the levels, just hook up the ramp so that the bunny cannot access the upstairs, and you are set. When Annie gets bigger, she may get downstairs as well. For now she dwells in the upper level quite comfortably.
Oh, and it's raised off the ground. The bottom level of the cage is a good 10 or 12 inches from the ground so my buns are never bothered by my fosters and they don't have the chance to harass them either. I bought a piece of coroplast from Home Depot and made the bottom rack a storage shelf for newspaper that I use to line bunny litter boxes. My buns love to use this shelf space as a raceway obstacle course. :rollseyes
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
It's about time I updated about my own little treasures.
Kirby
My Kirby is doing very, very well. Since moving in December, he's really settled in and he even doesn't mind sharing a room with Toby. I've arranged it to so he gets to run the rest of the room during the day and Toby gets run at night. Kirby has always loved sunbathing. It's a weird thing, I know. But he does, and I can't deny the king what he wants. I often find him sitting next to the glass doors that lead to my backyard. He (and sometimes Penny joins him) sleeps there many afternoons.
Kirby still likes exploring and conquering new land. He hasn't changed in that regard, but he's still such a cute little tentative bunny. One time I apparently left the bunny room door open and I was out like 12 hours. I came home at 10pm and when I opened the front door, I saw Kirby scurrying away back downstairs! Whenever I leave the bunny room door open, he still tries coming upstairs. He's a good bunny so I don't mind if he comes up when I am home. But I don't let him up when I'm not because the upstairs isn't bun-proofed.
Kirby went to the vet last week just to get a checkup. He's going to be 7 years old this August! I've been getting some anxiety about his growing age. He still is very active, and sometimes you can't even tell he's older than 4. He's quieter and tends to sleep more than he used to but he's still relatively active and interested in new things. The vet gave him a totally clean bill of health and he was a perfect patient.
Kirby
My Kirby is doing very, very well. Since moving in December, he's really settled in and he even doesn't mind sharing a room with Toby. I've arranged it to so he gets to run the rest of the room during the day and Toby gets run at night. Kirby has always loved sunbathing. It's a weird thing, I know. But he does, and I can't deny the king what he wants. I often find him sitting next to the glass doors that lead to my backyard. He (and sometimes Penny joins him) sleeps there many afternoons.
Kirby still likes exploring and conquering new land. He hasn't changed in that regard, but he's still such a cute little tentative bunny. One time I apparently left the bunny room door open and I was out like 12 hours. I came home at 10pm and when I opened the front door, I saw Kirby scurrying away back downstairs! Whenever I leave the bunny room door open, he still tries coming upstairs. He's a good bunny so I don't mind if he comes up when I am home. But I don't let him up when I'm not because the upstairs isn't bun-proofed.
Kirby went to the vet last week just to get a checkup. He's going to be 7 years old this August! I've been getting some anxiety about his growing age. He still is very active, and sometimes you can't even tell he's older than 4. He's quieter and tends to sleep more than he used to but he's still relatively active and interested in new things. The vet gave him a totally clean bill of health and he was a perfect patient.
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kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
Hrm. Seems no matter how I link the pic, the forum reformats my picture to a little thumbnail Gonna try to attach them instead. So sad.
Gonna try to attach them instead. So sad.
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
Toby's been pretty good considering he's had to share his land with not just Kirby & Penny but all three Littles and Annie. It's funny watching him watch the foster bunnies in the room. Toby has decided that if he cannot actively harass them, he'll just stare them down every chance he gets. Toby sits up on the highest place he can get to, which is the party deck of his Leith Condo and he'll look across the room at the foster buns in their Ferret Nation cage. He keeps tabs on the comings and goings of everyone in the house, and the foster buns are no exception.
The day that the Littles got adopted, Toby just about threw himself a party. He slept so dazily that afternoon. A very contented slumber. All was right again in the world.
Little did he know, Annie was lurking just beyond his reach on the top level of the Ferret Nation. She was so quiet the first couple of days that hardly anyone would have detected her.
The very first time he saw Annie, he happened to be on the couch and from an angle he could just see her head as she laid by the door of her cage. He got SO HUFFY about it! He started to periscope and pace back and forth on the couch. He jumped up on the arm rest so he could be taller and get a better look at her. When he saw her and she saw him, the two of them looked at each other and Annie surely didn't know what to make of it. Toby was so furious he stomped away back to his cage. Poor kid. More visitors. Will the madness never end? Well, at least this one isn't as noisy as the last 3...
The day that the Littles got adopted, Toby just about threw himself a party. He slept so dazily that afternoon. A very contented slumber. All was right again in the world.
Little did he know, Annie was lurking just beyond his reach on the top level of the Ferret Nation. She was so quiet the first couple of days that hardly anyone would have detected her.
The very first time he saw Annie, he happened to be on the couch and from an angle he could just see her head as she laid by the door of her cage. He got SO HUFFY about it! He started to periscope and pace back and forth on the couch. He jumped up on the arm rest so he could be taller and get a better look at her. When he saw her and she saw him, the two of them looked at each other and Annie surely didn't know what to make of it. Toby was so furious he stomped away back to his cage. Poor kid. More visitors. Will the madness never end? Well, at least this one isn't as noisy as the last 3...
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
Penny has been a beastly eater since I've ever known her. Yeah, she still needs to get locked up during meal time so that Kirby can actually eat his bowl of food. She still does occasionally pee in random places and it infuriates me. We've been keeping her weight in check because, as the vet put it, she's "pleasingly plump". She could lose about a half a pound to be at her ideal weight and we've been working on it. She's been mostly good about it.
Since about 4 days ago I've had her on Metacam because when I told the new vet (very reputable rabbit vet that I now have the pleasure of living near) that Penny has a lot of accidents and she has always had a weird limp, she suspected that maybe something was going on. It's possible that nothing is going on and that this is just the way she is, or some remainder of an old injury too long ago... But we're gonna try her on pain and inflammation meds in case it is a ligament pain that we couldn't see on x-rays. She sucks down medication like it's honey, and Metacam, in my opinion at least really really stinks! At least she's easy! I haven't seen dramatic differences in her behavior but I did see her periscope the other day and there was no food in sight so she kinda did it for no reason that I could explain. She normally wouldn't! She normally hops about 50% of the time when she moves and the other 50% of the time she does this bipedal walking thing, one back leg at a time. It's pretty weird! I haven't observed her walking much differently either. Maybe she needs more time. If it was an old injury, it might take a while before she understand that the pain is subsiding.
Since about 4 days ago I've had her on Metacam because when I told the new vet (very reputable rabbit vet that I now have the pleasure of living near) that Penny has a lot of accidents and she has always had a weird limp, she suspected that maybe something was going on. It's possible that nothing is going on and that this is just the way she is, or some remainder of an old injury too long ago... But we're gonna try her on pain and inflammation meds in case it is a ligament pain that we couldn't see on x-rays. She sucks down medication like it's honey, and Metacam, in my opinion at least really really stinks! At least she's easy! I haven't seen dramatic differences in her behavior but I did see her periscope the other day and there was no food in sight so she kinda did it for no reason that I could explain. She normally wouldn't! She normally hops about 50% of the time when she moves and the other 50% of the time she does this bipedal walking thing, one back leg at a time. It's pretty weird! I haven't observed her walking much differently either. Maybe she needs more time. If it was an old injury, it might take a while before she understand that the pain is subsiding.
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
I don't even know what to say sometimes about Toby, Kirby and Penny. Toby has always liked to keep his eye on Kirby and Penny but lately all he ever does at night is camp outside their front door. EVEN if the other buns are already laying down next to the door on the other side (as seen in pic below). The line down the middle is the x-pen and a clear piece of plastic that I clip onto the pen so that Toby can't nip at them. BTW, he DOES nip at them if the plastic is not there. If someone walks by his front door during the day, he can and will lunge at them.
Toby just likes to tease me into thinking there's a possibility of bunny harmony between the three of them. I know better. :X
Toby just likes to tease me into thinking there's a possibility of bunny harmony between the three of them. I know better. :X
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
It's a funny thing being back on the forum. It's like going back to your old college and seeing that the buildings and the professors are all the same but all the students are different. But it's a nice place to come back to and feel comfy in. And of course it's a place where I can come back and talk about stuff and people here know what I'm talking about
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
The rabbit nation is constantly under surveillance because the slaves need to know when the royals require assistance.
I'm also going away for a number of trips from now until the end of the year. So unfortunately the cams are my own way to see how they are doing when I'm not home. Good old Kirbykam has called it quits recently. It's been hanging onto its last leg for a while now. First it stopped tilting and now it's stopped panning. We took it apart to try to realign the gears inside the moving mechanism. But something just seems off, it's jittering around at best and sometimes it just stops moving altogether. It works great as a stationary camera. I'll probably keep it around in case I ever just want to monitor one spot.
The network camera market has vastly improved since I first shopped for cameras. I used some TrendNet cameras that were cheap and quite good but unfortunately the line of cameras I liked were discontinued in favor of their new "Cloud" cameras. Not a huge fan. I bought a Foscam to try it out since the price was right but we spent like 2 hrs trying to figure out why it kept rebooting to no avail. We tried to return that puppy to Amazon but Amazon said, quote: "We cannot have you ship it back as it is categorized as hazardous material." Umm. What?
Long story short, Amazon will issue us a full refund for the amount we paid, but they do not want us to ship the defective camera back. :biggrin: I found that pretty hysterical.
We're gonna try one of the new D-link cameras and see if that's better.
_______________________________
Unrelated to the camera stuff... hubby bought a square ice cube maker. It's a huge... ice cube. Like a 2 inch x 2 inch sized ice cube, and he said it was for Annie since she loves her frozen water bottles so much. I asked him "what, is she gonna get her tongue stuck licking that huge ice block?" I was seriously worried her tongue would get frozen onto the ice cube and she'd rip her own tongue off. We decided that we'd just throw the big ice cube in her water bowl so it'd stay pretty wet, not cold and dry and tongue-sticky. She did lick it and enjoy the ice cold water. She's such a odd little bun in that regard. We wonder whether she will want her ice bottle even in the winter time.
I'm also going away for a number of trips from now until the end of the year. So unfortunately the cams are my own way to see how they are doing when I'm not home. Good old Kirbykam has called it quits recently. It's been hanging onto its last leg for a while now. First it stopped tilting and now it's stopped panning. We took it apart to try to realign the gears inside the moving mechanism. But something just seems off, it's jittering around at best and sometimes it just stops moving altogether. It works great as a stationary camera. I'll probably keep it around in case I ever just want to monitor one spot.
The network camera market has vastly improved since I first shopped for cameras. I used some TrendNet cameras that were cheap and quite good but unfortunately the line of cameras I liked were discontinued in favor of their new "Cloud" cameras. Not a huge fan. I bought a Foscam to try it out since the price was right but we spent like 2 hrs trying to figure out why it kept rebooting to no avail. We tried to return that puppy to Amazon but Amazon said, quote: "We cannot have you ship it back as it is categorized as hazardous material." Umm. What?
Long story short, Amazon will issue us a full refund for the amount we paid, but they do not want us to ship the defective camera back. :biggrin: I found that pretty hysterical.
We're gonna try one of the new D-link cameras and see if that's better.
_______________________________
Unrelated to the camera stuff... hubby bought a square ice cube maker. It's a huge... ice cube. Like a 2 inch x 2 inch sized ice cube, and he said it was for Annie since she loves her frozen water bottles so much. I asked him "what, is she gonna get her tongue stuck licking that huge ice block?" I was seriously worried her tongue would get frozen onto the ice cube and she'd rip her own tongue off. We decided that we'd just throw the big ice cube in her water bowl so it'd stay pretty wet, not cold and dry and tongue-sticky. She did lick it and enjoy the ice cold water. She's such a odd little bun in that regard. We wonder whether she will want her ice bottle even in the winter time.
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
Today, hubby left a giant cube of ice in Annie's water. But he forgot to fill the bowl with water so she just had a giant block of ice. She looked at it, sniffed it, then started to chew at an edge. So funny. I saw her misfortune and immediately filled the bowl with some h2o. She licked at the ice cube then She licked my arm and my shirt when I was petting her. Then later on, I was lying on my couch when Toby hopped on (I am his couch ) and then he started to sniff in all the places she licked. He didn't approve.
She licked my arm and my shirt when I was petting her. Then later on, I was lying on my couch when Toby hopped on (I am his couch ) and then he started to sniff in all the places she licked. He didn't approve.Your buns are so lovely and Toby is just gorgeous. I love seeing the photos of them and being able to keep your eye on them with a netcam is so cool. I´ve been watching a 24 hour webcam here about two bunnies and teaching people how they live. They actually are quite similar to Toby and I thought of him when I saw them. I´m sure we miss loads of stuff during the night when we´re asleep and they´re hyperactive.
Amazon are sometimes a bit weird, they don´t want the camera back but will refund, I´d say that´s pretty OK.
Have seen Toby on facebook so keep track of him on there.
As you say, there are new faces and old faces on here but it´s always nice to come back.
Amazon are sometimes a bit weird, they don´t want the camera back but will refund, I´d say that´s pretty OK.
Have seen Toby on facebook so keep track of him on there.
As you say, there are new faces and old faces on here but it´s always nice to come back.
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
Just testing some picture uploading
Ilovemyrabbit
Elise - Introductions & Blogs Moderator
Your buns are so cute! Going to read all your updates now.
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
Thank you! It's been a while since anyone new has read about Kirby and his friends
kirbyultra
Well-Known Member
Picture upload! Kirby looking surprised, Penny caught in a moment, and Toby looks fluffy! Then of course the beautiful Annie being ery baby-like.
