King Kirby's Rabbit Nation 2011

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That first pic is fabulous. She is totally comfy and he´s just looking on. They were meant to be together. Love the stroller, I´d love one of those to take mine out but mine do that in the carrier. The two that travel together always look in opposite directions. Maybe it´s a bunny thing.

I´m sure that they will be fine when you finally move them, they seem really settled together now.

And yes, my friends also look at me daft when I say I slept on the sofa just to make sure the buns were OK the first night in their new set up. What is so strange about that lol.
 
Day 25
I decided today was the day to take the leap. Coincidentally Halloween but I decided not to dress them up this year because Toby and Annie were already stressed out enough, no need to add costumes to their troubles. So it seemed as good a day as any to move in.

Let me begin by saying that I am officially adopting Princess Annie the Bun. She's in, she's mine, she's Toby's and it's a done deal. I just need to do paperwork and stuff but she's not leaving us! That said, of course it means that Toby and Annie are now officially an item :)

They've been in the same pen upstairs living as peacefully as you could want a newly bonded pair to be for over 2 days. They've shown every positive sign of being an item and have had virtually no quarrels or hierarchy issues with each other. I felt good about proceeding. It took a while but I finally vacuumed all the hay and fur out of the pen (and while I was at it, vacuumed Kirby and Penny's area too). There were old pee stains that I discovered here any there and had to scrub all that out with vinegar to neutralize the space. Toby did a really severe case on the chew guards of his bi-level Leith Condo and he has peed in the corners, staining the wood. So all that was replaced too. It was a lot of racket installing new ones, which Kirby complained about all afternoon as I worked as quickly as I could. New condo carpet was laid down. New interlocking carpet-top foam mats were laid down on the floor as well. It was a top-to-bottom scrub. I also walled off the perimeter of their space with newspapers and cardboard so that they can't physically see Kirby and Penny. They know they're there for sure, but at least without visuals, they won't get as easily worked up about it.

I put Toby back in first. You could see his eyes light up and his ears perk up as soon as he realized where he was. He recognized it as home. He was eager to sniff every inch of it. He pawed around and periscoped around a few minutes but he knew it: he was home!

When I brought Annie in, she was just exploding with happiness to have another new place to explore and bop around in. She raced around sniffing everything. It was so funny to watch them because Toby was inspecting his home and Annie was just exploring and having fun. They were both circling the place over and over discovering and re-discovering it all. To anyone who ever believed rabbits were not intelligent animals, I can tell them that they are absolutely wrong. The amount of information flashing through their furry little heads was plain. Toby was happier than I'd seen him in weeks. He was excited and he was relaxing at the same time. He even shot up in a few binkies!

With all the excitement, I wasn't sure how it would play out when they settled down. I was most anxious to see how they would interact inside the condo. It's a tight space and if they did fight, I was scared about whether I could grab them out of there. Toby's wooden sleepy box was also inside there and it's like his holy spot. Nobody touches his box. The last time Annie tried to get into his box when they were in the basement, he snapped at her and then got very, very upset. Today, however, he just let her have it. He wasn't so concerned about her being in his spot. He was a little cautious at first, avoiding wherever she wanted to be, but after a while he just settled in and let her do whatever she wanted. He is even more relaxed and accepting of her in his own pen. I had really nothing to worry about!

I have several shots of Annie sleeping inside of Toby's box, leaving Toby out in the cold somewhere nearby, looking. He isn't bitter about it. He doesn't seem really fazed by her being there. It's just funny and a little bit sad for me to look at how my strong minded Toby has fallen from first place in his world... but at least it's in the name of love.

To be honest, I have no idea how Annie figured it out. How did she know that inside of that box was "the number one bunny's spot"? She's been gunning for that place for a while now and now whenever she naps, she goes in there. Toby has had to settle for being on top of her, in the "party deck" of the condo. It's a bit weird and I am still trying to reason it out. Is it obviously the best place in the whole pen? Not really... The party deck is "higher" than the box. It's not very "Toby" because I changed the carpet. There's an identical box down on the floor that my husband bought for her, but she won't sleep in there. She sleeps in Toby's! Sheesh, she's smart. That's all I can say about it right now.

How are Kirby and Penny taking it? Well, they were annoyed that I locked them in during their "out time" this afternoon because of all the cleaning I was doing. Then they were MORE annoyed when Toby and Annie were making noise zipping around next door. Eventually, Penny caught a glimpse of Annie out of a wee corner that didn't have any cardboard and Penny went bonkers boxing the pen. It was no use because of all the perimeter protection I put up, but you could tell that Penny was not happy to see Annie. This is new to me because Penny has never been immediately aggressive with any other bunny in my house. I guess girls don't like girls! Kirby also encountered Annie when he climbed up on a shelf and saw Annie from 20" off the ground. I didn't bun-proof that high, so Annie stretched herself way up on her tippie toes and when Kirby saw her, he punched her in the nose. He narrowly missed because there was about an inch of space between their pens but he went for it. Safe to say that Kirby/Penny and Toby/Annie won't be friends and I'll have to continue me strict quarantine routine of the two pens... I'm a little nervous about it in general because Annie is very young and the space is new to her. I don't really know what she's capable of. I'm not entirely sure that the measures I've taken to separate Kirby and Toby will work for Annie! I guess I'll have to be diligent in observing and play it by ear.

By the way, Annie was up on the second level of the condo and she took one look out the open door and jumped out! She jumped like she meant it too! She landed right on her feet on the floor and was very pleased with herself. Toby saw her jump (he was on the second floor too) and he just sat there bewildered by it. She was there, and then she was not. He had never experienced this! Toby had never dared to jump. But Annie was in there for about 45 minutes and did what no bun did before! This is what I mean about being nervous for my bunny room. Annie is an unknown! I just have no idea what to expect out of her!

But it was a very good day for all of us in the Rabbit Nation overall. At about 9:30pm this evening I sat on my couch, very pleased with myself. I was listening to the symphony of 4 bunnies chomping on hay and it was quite literally music to my ears. I feel like I've achieved the impossible. I would have never guessed 26 days ago that on Halloween, Annie would be napping in Toby's box and Toby would be chill about it. Not in a million years! But I followed a set of instructions, spent a lot of time with them, took every precaution, and most importantly, I think I picked the right bun for my bun. And now, my dear little baby Toby has a friend. I think that's the best thing I could do for my Toby. As much as Penny frustrates me and makes me mad almost daily, I can tell she has enhanced Kirby's life in ways I never could. Kirby was nearly 4 years old when he got Penny, and now Toby is 4 and has Annie. I hope that all my buns live happily with my husband and I, for a really long time. It's all I can ask for in life!

P.S. Yes that's another classic Kirby dead-bunny-flop next to Penny. He's so silly!
 
It's so good to read that Annie and Toby get along so very well, love all the pictures of them too! It's funny (though probably a little scary at the time) how Annie just leapt out of the second story of the cage, all part of the personality I suppose. You just have to hope that she doesn't teach Toby bad habits ;)
 
I´ve loved reading about this journey and I just love these two. The pics of them together are adorable. Don´t ever make the mistake of thinking that bunnies are not super clever or they will just prove you very wrong. I have a big jumper so I know what you mean with Annie, you can never tell what she might do, you can only observe and hope for the best.

I think that their lives are enriched by having bunny friends and I´m so glad that Toby has his own special friend now. And he must indeed be in love if he´s given up his favourite spot.

Congratulations on your wonderful couple and will continue to follow their adventures. By the way, Kirby and Annie look pretty good too :wink
 
Hee hee, thank you! Kirby and Penny is another pair of buns from which inspiring love stories stem. Penny is just the dullest little piglet of a bunny I have ever met. She's sweet to a fault, has no idea what's going on around her until it's too late, and her fixation on putting things into her mouth will drive you mad. But she loves Kirby. She takes all her cues in life from him. If he sleeps, she sleeps. If he plays, she follows. If he's not feeling right, she looks lost. Since she and Kirby have lopsided eating habits, she gets locked up for a few hours while Kirby gets a chance to eat. If I forget to unlock her, Kirby sleeps right outside of her cage so that they can be together. He'll even eat the hay that is sticking out of her cage so they can eat together. Kirby used to be a basket case. Every little thing startled him. It's not that he didn't want to relax. I could always tell when he was trying to take a nice nap but he simply could not help being scared. I joke about how Penny stepped into his life and he found out that if any danger came his way, he could just bolt away and offer Penny as a meat shield. It's kind of true! His worries have slowly but surely melted away since being with her. They snuggle and seem to "talk" to each other, whispering literal sweet nothings into each other's ears. I will admit that some of my frustrations with Penny come from jealousy which sounds insane, I know. But Kirby is that important to me and when he and Penny share the kinds of bunny love moments that I can't ever have with him, it's bittersweet for me. In the end, I'll always know that Kirby is 100% happier with a bunny friend and that's most important.

I won't lie and say that Toby not being the dominant bun of his new pairing isn't bugging me at least a little. I wish he was top bunny because he's always been the rebellious one. But I guess they've figured it out themselves and Toby's ok with it. I hope that Toby will be much happier with her. He seems happier already, albeit a little beside himself sometimes watching how wild baby Annie can be. If you watch The Big Bang Theory, he's like Sheldon. A big old nerd, a creature of routine. Annie is his Penny. The crazy, unruly little mess who wiggled her way into his life and has forever changed the landscape of his days. But for the better!
 
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That is so lovely to read. They come into our lives, we take them on and they literally dig deeper into our hearts every day. I laughed reading about Kirby and Penny, they do look so in tune but I love Toby and Annie, remind me a bit of Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford in The way we Were but with a happy ending. She´s a bit cooky and mad but she certainly seems to love your little boy. But yes, he could be Sheldon, I do love that show.

I do think that, in general, they are much happier having company, couldn´t imagine my boys on their own. And even when Houdini and Snowy nip and chase, you know that they do really love each other. I laughed today as I caught them just behind the sofa grooming each other and it made me really smile.
 
I've been told the girls rule the roost in rabbit colonies and Pepper certainly does here. She steals Gus's food (he looks so confused when it happens!), demands he groom her, and generally acts like a spoiled little princess. But he looooves her so much he puts up with it. Having her around has made him so relaxed and happy so I don't mind having to share him with her. ;)

Can't wait for more updates on the happy couple. :)

Rue
 
I agree, from day one Kirby won my heart but each day spent with him somehow it's possible to love him more. All my buns are precious to me but Kirby will always be my first born. :) He's 7 now. His 5th Gotcha Day is coming up very soon. He's still unbelievably baby-like but I worry about him all the time. Every once in a while he'll show a tiny little sign that he's not the 2 year old young boy I brought home. I want every day to be a good one for him and I think Penny helps with that.

Some interesting observations about Toby and Annie since living together. I don't know if it's because they just have "enough" space, but they seem to peacefully coexist without any strong visible signs of lovey-doveyness. Since being spooked out of "his box" Toby has stopped napping there. And since Toby stopped napping there, Annie has stopped wanting to be there too. I guess that's how she first found out that the box was a big deal, because Toby treasured it! Now Toby is playing it cool, sleeping on the Party Deck and she is content sleeping on the second floor, not necessarily inside of the box. Toby goes into his box every once in a while to check and inspect, but he doesn't stay too long. And he'll only go when Annie can't see him there. I think it's his plan to set it up as a nonvaluable location so he can steal it back later. Hah, it's a face-off of bunny minds! I wonder who will win.

Toby and Annie sometimes eats together but they don't always do. They chomp on hay but usually in separate boxes. They use each other's litter boxes interchangeably. They don't mind each other at all, but they don't need to be in each other's faces anymore. Annie has stopped trying to present her head to Toby every chance she gets. It's a curious thing for me because she did it all the time before and now has suddenly stopped.

My favorite thing about them living there is that Toby has relaxed a lot. He now lays down and kicks his paws out for nappie time. Sometimes he'll curl up like a loaf of bread, no paws visible, and sleep all afternoon. He is probably exhausted because it didn't look like he slept all that calmly for all 25 days of bonding. I came into the room yesterday afternoon and actually let out a chuckle because all four of my buns were loafing and sleeping. It was just such a normal thing and I loved seeing them all so relaxed. There's no place like home.

Myself, however, I am still having a lot of trouble sleeping. Though I've gone back to my own bed to sleep, I still wake up from every little noise, thinking something's happened to my buns and they are all duking it out downstairs! I have webcams set up all over the room and I check it like 500 times in a night. I need to relax! They seem fine. But I can't help but worry!
 
I think how you feel is completely normal. I am sure that when mine reach Kirby´s age, I´ll worry about them ageing in the same way. They seem so young now but I am so glad every morning when I go in the living room to see them waiting patiently for me to come in and feed them, I must admit it´s always a great relief. And yes, it is amazing when they are all so comfy that they meatloaf and flop with great regularity.

I love that my boys have each other and I laugh when they chase each other or race around the room like nutters. Can´t imagine life now without any of them.
 
Hahaha, "like nutters"! Yes, exactly. It's a gift to be able to catch a glimpse of the buns in their purest form. Sometimes I get greedy and reach for the camera to try and capture the great little moments they show me but more and more I feel like I miss out on stuff because I'm so busy snapping away. Though I must say, I take a lot of vacation photos and food photos but the only ones I ever look at over and over are my bunny photos. Even so, the buns get progressively more clever and I can't seem to photograph fast enough these days. It's better if I just savor the moment live and try my very best to burn it all into my memory.

In the last year or so I have observed Kirby flop more than ever before. It's almost a given that he'll flop beside Penny once a night. I even asked my vet if it's possible he's flopping more because his joints or legs are too tired. She assured me that an arthritic bunny would not display pain by flopping. Flopping is just a happy and relaxed thing. I'm so glad :D

I spied on my Web cams that the buns were all going nuts today and Annie was trying with all her might to jump over the pen. Apparently kirby and penny have been taunting them by both tippie toeing on the other side of my barrier, causing curious baby Annie to go bonkers trying to reach them. I got so nervous and rushed home ASAP to prevent her from trying to reach over anymore. Sigh. My anxiety won't subside anytime soon, I'm afraid.

I spent a little time just petting Toby today. It was nice to spend time with him alone without Annie for a change. My husband stood by and watched. Toby enjoyed it so much and was tooth purring bigtime. I suddenly realized that Toby had gotten much thinner than I remember. I'd carried him to and fro places so often lately, of course I noticed he was lighter. But it wasn't until today when I was really giving him a rub down that I realized how bony he felt. It broke my heart. He hasn't been eating normally since my vacation in September and then he recovered and ate normally for all of one week before we threw him into bonding and new places, causing him to eat very little again. He's still not eating everything the way he used to but he is eating more now that he is back in his own home. He is much happier here. Everything about him seems more natural. You can tell just looking at his positioning and stance. My husband, who doesn't even spend a ton of time with the buns, even picked up on his change in alertness and guardedness. I hope he feels better and eats more soon.


Sent from my mobile phone
 
I do so agree, I spend loads of time trying to catch that perfect bunny moment which I never do and sometimes don´t really see what I´m filming. I just find it so joyful to watch them playing, eating, flopping, binkying and just being bunnies. I panic when I can´t find them. I finished cleaning their enclosure this morning and couldn´t find Snowy, panic started to set in and then I looked in their tatty hideaway cardboard box and there he was meatloafing. I think I´ve missed most of their best moments on film but they´re not to be forgotten.

I can well imagine Kirby and Penny goading Annie, hope she soon gets used to their tricks. I´m sure Toby will get back to his normal weight quite soon, he´s settled now with Annie and back in his own home.
 
I do the same thing, I freak out big time when I can't find Kirby. Kirby is very adventurous these days so I can't leave the door open for even a second and he'll wiggle out. Then it's anyone's guess where in the house he could be! It's my fear that I'll have a dummy moment and forget the door. I have done it a few times and luckily he was sleeping otherwise he would have gotten loose. Every time I don't see him in the usual spots my heart leaps into my throat and I start to wonder whether he went out and I locked him out of the room! He's escaped and had a ball in the past but the rest of the house is far from bun proof. Annie has also escaped recently so I'm really not on top of my game!

Toby and Annie have been living like roommates. They mostly avoid direct contact with each other but settle on sleeping nearby. They know meal time and they like to be awake together and share nap time together but they don't actually touch very often. Toby's sleeping box has worn out its novelty as Toby plotted and so Annie no longer plops herself there for naps. Toby slept there all afternoon and he has been so happy this evening. I think he had a very calm and restful day's rest in his favorite spot. He was looking exceptionally handsome and sharp tonight! His eyes had a very alert and playful twinkle. I haven't seen that in him since before bonding began. He's eating a lot more hay today as well. Things are kind of getting back to normal for him. I sincerely hope that my trip in a week or so and then again in December when I must board him with a sitter again won't bother him so much. The poor boy can't catch a break lately. At least he will have Annie. Who knows, maybe the stress of being at the sister's will bring them closer.

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Haha, I always panic the same when I can´t find one of them and wonder if they´ve sneaked out of the door when I was coming in or out and I didn´t notice. I would love to give them free roam of the house but too many things lying around which I haven´t space to clear to somewhere else.

Yes, I saw the pic of him in his house again although Annie has left her mark just to remind him she was there. He does look happy though and I think they´re now maybe settling down into normal life. I´m sure they´ll have their "couple" moments but as long as they´re both happy, everything will be Ok.

I will always worry when I leave them even though I know now they´re OK but I know that it does alter their routine. Having said that, they do get back to normal quite quickly.
 
Annie. Is. Tearing. Up. The. Pen. *SIGH* I'm much too tired today to deal with destructobun. Maybe tomorrow.

Natasha's much more destructive than Scone ever was, too (not that he didn't have his moments, but at least he left upholstery and wallpaper alone). Does do the digging and warren construction in the wild, I wonder if it's a genetic imperative to modify her environment?
 
I have noticed the girls in my household tend to be more territorial. They paw around and destroy their toys until it is satisfactorily in pieces. Penny has been known to live happily for a while, then one fateful day she'd rip up a piece of the flooring or pee all over the pen or some other such fixation. Annie has been marking Toby's pen religiously since moving in. Toby doesn't care about it either way but I always feel like I'm walking in a mine field. She's poking her nose through the pen and munching on the wooden molding. She and Penny paw at each other through the bars even though I've covered it with newspaper and a piece of plastic. Maybe it's just a female thing... I've a feeling if my girls ever got into a fight, it would be the fight of the century. Penny has size and weight advantage and brute strength behind her fat rolls. Annie has speed, agility and smarts. I chuckle at the thought but hope it never becomes reality.

Sent from my mobile phone
 
P.S. Oh yes, Penny has recently discovered cushion stuffing. I say discovered, meaning she's bitten into it through the leather and found access to the fluffy stuff. Kirby looks around nervously. When I catch them both up on the couch, Kirby always looks up at me with his shiny, googly eyes that say "it wasn't me, mom," and then he'll inevitably also take a few steps away from Penny and stare at her. I know what it means, Kirby. It was all Penny's fault. :eek::sly::cool:

Sent from my mobile phone
 
Oh dear, I did laugh reading this and yes, been there and done it.

I have a cushion on one of the dining room chairs and I though they were just using it to hang out on and relax. It was only when I saw some white fluffy stuff under the table which I thought was fur and then discovered it wasn´t. Yes, it was the stuffing from the cushion. We have now gone through two, good job they are old things and I don´t mind.

I moved the two boys litter tray on Sunday as I was trying to find a better place for their water dish. Since then, one of them has peed over the side twice. I think it´s probably Bandy, his big butt is hanging over haha. Maybe this Sunday, I´ll have to think again. They do keep you on your toes.
 

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