Adopting a Bun

Adopting a house rabbit is an important decision for both the bun and the human. I've seen a lot of questions on several house rabbit groups and they seem to cluster around three care areas: diet, 'pooping' aka litter box training and play. There are also questions about bonding but I'll save for another post.

Diet: hay, hay, hay! The best all around hay is western Timothy, in our family it's Oxbow. Treat hay can be oat, botanical and other grasses. Since our bun is full grown alfalfa is rare to none. Next comes the veggies. Green leafy lettuce (not iceberg because there's not enough bun nutrients). Our bun prefers Romaine even when droughts and storms raise the price to $2.49 :( Parsley and Cilantro are the treats added to the lettuce and in the morning it is lettuce and carrot tops with about 1/3 actual carrot. Contrary to popular belief carrots are not the main meal. Suppertime her greens get about a quarter to half dollar size slice apple.
And Polka weighs about 3.5 pounds so her pellets (Bunny Basics T- again Oxbow)are about 1/4 cup in the morning and again at night. Water like hay is to be available at all times.

Litter box training: Actually I refer you to the pages of the House Rabbit Society- they are experts. Our bun experience since each bun has been a shelter rescue and neutered/spayed is that they are already good with the litter box. Our current bun though does make a point of keeping her boundaries well marked with a 'poopy trail' around the pan and her sleeping area. Everytime I sweep up she puts up another fence. But they are dry, don't smell and apparently a stray poop is important to her. She rarely if every soils when out playing around the downstairs and when the urge ensues she heads back to her pan.

For the litter in the pan- we use old newspaper, line the pan and then shred into strips, pile in the timothy hay- humans like to read and poop; buns like to eat hay and poop- go figure! We get the newspapers donated by neighbors and a local store who would otherwise have to pay to have their unsold papers returned- a great saving over those pet store products.

Play: Buns are very social, even the grumpy ones. It is important for your bun to learn house manners (well humans learn how to keep a bun save in the house) and have time out supervised with family. The most important is to protect wires, and there's a variety of tubes one can get in the housegoods store- and unplug what you don't need while bun is out.Toys are individual preferances. Our lady scoffs at any toy, she'll toss a papertowel tube every now and then and scoot my clogs across the room, but her best toy is the hound--- another story, another post. I swear given the opportunity she'd be a worthy chess oponent. Keep in mind bunny's do get bored so some colorful play items, which can even be as simple as tied rags, are important; and the savvy human changes the toybox every now and then for variety.

These are the basics and for 2010 I will be more attentive to posting and we can explore living with buns in more detail.

Bunnys for the 50+ Crowd

Sent this post to a colleague in the blogosphere but it kept getting rejected, so I took that as a sign it belongs here...

Why House Rabbits are Great Companions for the 50+ Crowd

Rabbits Are Excellent Companions!

People, especially those 50 years old and more, who share their homes with the various domestic breed of House Rabbitgss quickly discover the value and potential of these charming animals as dear friends, cherished companions and beings who encourage and reinforce our intellectual and social engagement.

There are many reasons why you might consider sharing your home with a rabbit. First, rabbits are extremely intelligent. They quickly catch onto household routines and interact well with humans, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and birds. They respond to their names and to other human language. Once a rabbit settles into his or her new home, they’ll come running for a pet, a kiss, or a treat. Most House Rabbits savor being stroked, brushed, and talked to, and some rabbits even enjoy being held. Each domestic breed (or mix) like dogs and other and other domesticated species have unique traits. For example the New Zealand enjoys and seeks handling and affection while the Rex is more aloof and a good companion for those of us who respect independence and intelligence.

Rabbits are clean and do not need bathing. They groom themselves thoroughly and constantly, instinctively wanting to keep themselves immaculate and scent-free. Though even litterbox-trained rabbits may drop a pellet here or there on occasion, rabbit poop does not have an offensive smell, and it sweeps up easily. Recycled newspaper makes an environmentally friendly and inexpensive litter. Add a layer of timothy hay and you have a human/rabbi win-win solution to bunny excrement. Not to mention great fodder for comost! Some buns enjoy privilege of sleeping in the beds of their humans due to their extreme cleanliness!

Finally, rabbits are entertaining, keeping their humans amused with bunny dances (also known as binkies), sprints through rooms and hallways, purposeful 'flops' onto the floor for a nap or to signal happiness, and long, luxurious stretches and yawns upon awakening. Rabbits enjoy playing with toys that they can toss, roll, and flip, and they immerse themselves in time-consuming projects such as carving doors and windows into cardboard boxes. Bonded pairs of rabbits interact constantly with each other as they cuddle side by side or indulge in games of chase and tag.

Since rabbits do best in a quiet home with no small children, perhaps you might investigate why so many others have chosen to adopt shelter rabbits as companions. There are also social connections for house rabbit folk, including blogs like www.everythingbunny.blogspotl.com that keep you stay connected, and remind you that the most important part of responsible bunny companionship is finding a bunny experienced vet.

I’d encourage anyone interested to adopt through House Rabbit Society or local rescue group and HRS has wonderful articles available for the first time and experienced bunny human!

Rabbit Rescue

We've had our first hand experience with bunny rescue and adoption. Last week a neighbor found a bun, a baby, most likely an Easter dump- in a parking garage. Since she knew I already lived with a bun she thought we'd take the new bun.

Of course. But getting our bun and dog to accept a new bun, as well as the challenge finding good bunny/dog sitters for necessary out of town trips was a challenge. In addition this new bun was quite stressed and frail.

So the good news is a new forever home was found in no time. Educating the human who'd be a newbie bunny companion reminded me to post a few pointers here.

1. Patience- a bun needs time, and quite time to get comfortable in new surroundings.
2. Practice your 'bunny voice', a quiet, deep tone just reassuring bunny he/she is safe is a good thing for the first few days (as of course quiet radio).
3. Be prepared! Have food, housing and the name and contact of a good 'bunny' vet before you bring the bunny home.
4. Use the House Rabbit Society pages to read and learn all about bun behavior, feeding, health etc.
4. Use the internet to find online communities of bunny folk to talk with. For example, ravelry.com has a bunny rabbit lovers group and yahoo.com has several groups NYC bunny group, Etherbun etc.

Bunny Adoption

Okay so if you've been following the blog and reading other bunny sites you know the only way to go is bunny adoption. Some pointers with bunny adoption include, especially for first time bunny folk:

• adopt a bunny who is spayed/neutered
• adopt a bunny who is litterbox trained
• don't worry if bunny is shy when you reach into cage; some shelter buns live in small cages and become territorial as that's their security setting, once you get your bunny home and provide ample out of cage time it's been my experience that soon even the most cage protective rabbit soon adapts.
• ask shelter/rescue to provide you with a list of bun's usual diet (so you can introduce any new foods gradually) and if possible a medical history.
• before you pick your bun see if you need to bring a carrier-- some shelters have carriers for transports, others do not.
• try 'really hard' not to look at the other buns and over-extend yourself. Only adopt the bun(s) you can adequately care for.
• be sure you have identified a rabbit savvy vet, don't rely on the shelter referral, especially if not a bun rescue group. there are lists of these vets on the internet and there are bunny groups from yahoo to ravelry where bun lovers will help you find the best vet.

Stay tuned while we put together some links to shelters/rescue groups who would welcome your interest in adopting a bunny.

Bunny Bereavement

Some might find it surprising to list bunny bereavement as joy #3.

Today is the first anniversary of the passing of our beloved Clover. Why is this bereavement a joy? Well among the many things humans learn living with buns one of the joys is the mark they leave on your life, family, home and other 'critters'. Typical human behavior is to be sad when a beloved passes on but a bun leaves a legacy and when the first shock of passing subsides the human is left with a joyful energy, joyful memories and the ability to live and love another bun.

I think the bun's agree to this beforetime- a kind of collective bonding. I do not find it unusual that our current bun was placed in a shelter at the same time our Clover passed. It took awhile but eventually we 'got it' and checked out House Rabbit Society adoption pages and serendipitously Petfinders.com and not only did we find HRHEP but learned about shelter buns who don't make it into foster care or bunny rescue housing.

So it is a joy, to love and live with a bun again and now to learn we can take small and big steps to embrace many more buns. So thank you Clover- living with you has been and continues to be a joy.

Why a Rabbit?

If you are planning to bring a rabbit into your home it is important to know that without boundaries and good human smarts, they are destructive creatures.

Rabbits love to chew, and don’t distinguish between the cute little chew toy you bought for them and your wooden furniture. Power cords for many buns are a delicacy! (which is not only annoying, but hazardous), and they enjoy carpeting, clothes, shoes, paper… anything their bunny teeth can wrap around. Then, of course, there’s the digging most rabbits like to do. All can add up to a human’s ruined home.

Yes for me these traits are joyful—the buns keep me balanced, reminding me what is important in this incarnation and I’m fortunate that my rabbits have not been that destructive. Polka ate the vacuum hose, but hey it was not plugged in and now we keep them out of her way. Both Polka and Clover have liked to dig (as has a 40 year history of bloodhounds) so we’ve come up with strategies that neither dog nor bunny can totally destroy the home—and at this time the dog slobber trumps bunny nibbles.

So another joy is knowing my extra effort at vigilance has provided a safe haven for bunny and hound.

Here's another adoption link: HugABunny Rabbit Rescue

The Bunny Joy List

First on my list of the joy of living with a house rabbit is our bun is a wonderful knitting companion.

For winter I'd moved a wood adirondack chair into the kitchen so 'The Polkster' oops Her Royal Highness the Empress Polka- (HRHEP) and I could bond comfortably. As cold weather settled into this draughty room of the house, the chair was piled with cushions and old woolen sweaters to provide a comfortable nest. And there we'd bond and knit.

Little did I know savvy human that I am that when thinking humans are not looking HRHEP uses the chair as a jumping off point to explore the top of her crate, the kitchen counters and most recently the angle of the chair back for a precipitous self-propelled toboggan ride.

Although joy #1 for the human is knitting companionship and joy #1 for the rabbit is gymnastics; I've been concerned the bun will injure herself. So enter the trusty x-pen! There a several makes and models of x-pens out there appropriate for rabbits and in a range of prices. We ordered ours (actually two) from RabbitStop.com Checking the website today I noted the xpen (playpen) is on sale- perhaps joy #1 for the person thinking of getting a rabbit-- for us the joy has passed.

So what's your joy #1?

Thinking of Getting a Rabbit?

Easter '08 is right around the corner. That’s the time when bunnies are bought by the hundreds, well thousands, by perhaps well meaning humans who wish add to the Easter Bunny myth and keep the magic alive for children. By summer the vast majority of these rabbits are discarded and most in inhumane ways. House rabbits are high maintenance companions; and although the rewards are great, there’s a lot of work and sometimes expense involved to provide optimum care.
Right now we have one lovely house rabbit, rescued from a shelter. Our previous bun who came to us through the House Rabbit Society adoption network still lives with us in spirit. These buns have truly benefited, as have we, from all we’ve learned about living with these marvelous creatures.
So if you are thinking of getting a rabbit step #1—visit and study the House Rabbit Society website and step #2 adopt a rabbit from a reputable rescue organization or shelter.