So, How Many Chins Does a Rabbit Have?

Tigger chinning one of her toys

My toys must have my scent!

The title is a bit of a trick question.  As a noun, a rabbit has one chin.  Turn chin into a verb by saying a rabbit chins things and a rabbit has as many chins as they want to have.

Tigger was religious about chinning things.  She would make the rounds on a regular basis chinning everything in her cage and her play area.  I knew that rabbits had a scent gland in their chin and liked to claim things by chinning them, but I had never seen any other rabbit be quite so territorial as Tigger.  Tigger was always on the move and as she moved she would chin things.  It was almost as if you could see the little bunny mind thinking, “This is mine, this is mine and this is mine too.”   Everything was regularly and thoroughly claimed by Tigger.
 
It was hard to pet Tigger because she was so much on the move.  After she would hop into her cage to get her bedtime treats, she knew it was settle down time.  It was one time we could usually open up the cage door and be able to pet her (blocking it with our bodies though against potential escapes).  There was a ritual first that had to be observed before we could actually pet her.  Tigger would sniff the hand reaching in.  Then she would chin the hand.  Only then would she lay down and put her head down in position to allow the human hand to pet her.
 
The rituals that were so much a part of Tigger are what had us calling her Princess very early on.  She wasn’t ever ready for interaction with any living being until she had observed her rituals first.  You had to know how you had to present yourself to Tigger or she would be hopping away in a huff.  The little nose would go up in the air, the back would turn and then off she would hop, sometimes with a thump.
 
Anyone else have a rabbit with an abundant number of chins?
 
 

There’s a Tigger in Our Kitchen!

Initially, we put Tigger’s cage in the bedroom that we had set up as a combination office / guest bedroom.  We didn’t have the room bunnyproofed at first and Tigger wasn’t litter box trained.  So, when it was time for runtime, we would take her to the kitchen.  The kitchen was both easy to secure by blocking off the only entry into it and easy to clean with linoleum flooring.  Only the spaces around the refrigerator needed blocking. Everything else was cabinets to the floor with no way for a Tigger to disappear or escape.  We blocked one side of the refrigerator by wedging it with a roll of paper towels that she could also chew on while we wedged an upended planter box in to the space on the other side.

We put our regular throw rugs away during Tigger training and purchased some small kitchen rugs that we could easily put in the washer and scattered those on the kitchen floor.  We brought in a litter box filled with paper pellet litter.  We put some cardboard over the only baseboard to prevent her chewing that.  We now had an apartment pet security deposit to protect! We had a washable kitty bed for her to rest on and her carrier with the door off as a hiding box.  She had a water bowl and food bowl on a plant tray to keep those tidy.  The unexpected side benefit of the tray is she liked to flop on it.  The sides supported her and it became bunny furniture.  Tigger also had every bunny loving toy we could think of for her to chew, rattle or throw: empty paper towel rolls, jute / wood small animal chews, cat belled balls, a phone book.

Tigger actually learned to run really well on the linoleum and would go sailing / skating across the floor at unbelievable speed.  Blaine and I would take turns sitting on the floor playing with her and getting her used to both of us.  Here are some of the pictures of those times …

Tigger with toys

What do I want to do first?

Tigger at food bowls

Would you care to explain these weird pellies in with my usual?

Tigger grooming

Okay, what did I hop in? Maybe you should clean the floor more often?

Tigger in litter box

Would it be asking too much for some privacy here please!

Tigger stretched out

Ahhh ... the bunny yoga stretches are so relaxing ...

Coming next week, the Calico bunny rabbit.

Follow Friday – Run Rabbit Video

Okay, been quiet too long with blogging. I am here today to share a super cute bunny rabbit video.  It is five minutes long, but you have to stay to the end to see how this bunny really herds these sheep.

Here is the link just in case the video isn’t working here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeuL5IGimCQ

Monday, I will explain the quiet time here.

What Does It Mean When A Tigger Sees Her Shadow?

Tigger's Shadow
Well I know it means more winter when the groundhog sees his shadow. So what does it mean when a Tigger sees her shadow? Are we about to be hit with winter early in Georgia? It has been cooler than usual for this time of year.

It was cute to see Tigger pause in her rounds in a way that had the light hitting her just right to give her a shadowy twin.

Follow Friday – The Etsy Rabbits Team

Etsy Rabbits Team Blog

Click the image to see all the International Rabbit Day Treasuries by team members

Team members of the Etsy Rabbits team have been working to let everyone on Etsy know about International Rabbit Day.  Since celebrations of the day have been listed for either the fourth Saturday / Sunday of September, the team has chosen to make the most of the different dates and we will celebrate on both the 24th and 25th, making it a rabbit day weekend.

Throughout the month of September and especially this coming weekend, team members have been creating wonderful treasuries. These feature the work of team members and many other Etsy shops.  They have been finding some fabulous handcrafted bunny rabbits and lovely vintage items too!

Check out the Etsy Rabbits team blog to see mini shots of the treasuries. You can click on those treasury minis to go to the full treasuries and view items of interest.  It is a wonderful time to shop and buy gifts for rabbit lovers, splurge on yourself, or even get something for your rabbit.  Many team members currently have house rabbits, some are involved in rabbit rescue work and designate a portion or all of sales to be donated to rescue groups.  There are shops that have items for rabbits and other pets too.

The blog will be updated with new treasuries as they are posted throughout the weekend, so check back for new finds!  If you like a treasury, you can favorite it or Tweet it or like it on Facebook to share with others.  Leaving comments, clicking on items in treasuries, and favoriting them can increase the visibility for them.  We would love to really up the visibility of rabbits this weekend by having them be really very visible on a huge website like Etsy that has millions of viewers worldwide. 

Getting ready to bunny hop big time!

Photo Share – Bunny Brunch

Tigger and Shadow enjoy brunch
I took this photo of Tigger and Shadow earlier today.  They were enjoying a bunny brunch of some parsley and carrots.  Shadow is showing part of the personality that earned him the name Shadow.  Tigger is showing just how scruffy a pretty bunny can be when she decides to seriously shed some fur.  Shadow seems to be recovering nicely from Snuffles, but Tigger is only slightly improved on her tummy and appetite issues.  She will eat her greens, but isn’t really eating her hay as she should.

Treasury Thursday – 72 Hours Mystery

Click on image to go to treasury and view items

This treasury is part of a Nonteam Challenge that runs each week from noon on Thursday until noon on Sunday.  Everyone creating a treasury must build it around one challenge item.  This week it is The Reading Tree by Emerald Town Raven photo in the top.

Looking at Emerald Town Raven’s shop, I saw some beautiful photos of cats.  I was thinking about the length of time for the challenge, 72 hours.  The idea of cats, the mystery of them and 72 hours combined together into a who done it mystery show feel for me and I went looking for items that would go along with that.

I loved using the muscadine grape-vine chews from Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue.  It looked like a group of potential evidence with its “B” crime scene label marker in place.  All in all, this was a lot of fun to create.

Invitation to International Rabbit Day

Invitation to International Rabbit Day

Click on image above to go to treasury and view items

Okay, so yesterday I said today I would have a bit of a surprise.  Surprise, I goofed when I created this yesterday and it was released on Etsy from the wrong user account instead of Rabbittude as I had intended. Then I almost forgot to post it today. So, doubly embarrassed rabbit here. While I was getting this post ready, I was surprised when a leader on the Etsy Rabbits team pointed out that Etsy has the day listed on their dates to remember for September as being, Sunday the 25th.

So isn’t that just the way with event planning. Two coordinators check dates with different people or sources and the next thing you know, you have people being notified about two different dates. For Etsy we will make it the International Rabbits Day WEEKEND, September 24 – 25th.

Whoo Hoo!   We will get ready for a two-day party of rabbits bouncing around and into view as much as possible as we treasure the days by creating lots of treasuries to promote the now over 100 shops of the Etsy Rabbits team members.

Rounding Up Rabbits

Rounding Up Rabbits Etsy Treasury
Click on the image above to go to treasury and view items

This is the final treasury that where all items are from Etsy Rabbit team member shops to highlight all the variety on the team.  Tomorrow I will share an invitation treasury and a story.  Party planning almost always has an oops and this one does too …

A Treasury of Buns in the Grass and Everywhere Else!

Buns in the Grass Etsy Treasury
Click on image above to go to treasury to view item details

Today a cute and colorful treasury of mostly bunny rabbit items created by members of the Etsy Rabbits team.  The variety in exploring the shops is bunderful!  Tomorrow I will have my last treasury rounding out the Etsy Rabbits team members who were members at the start of September and don’t have their shops on vacation.  I plan a few more bunny rabbit themed treasuries up through International Rabbit Day that will include team members but will also widen out to even more of the bunny rabbit items available from all shops on Etsy.

Treasury Tuesday – Color Me Woodlands

Color Me Woodlands Etsy Treasury

Click on image above to go to treasury and see items

Today a beautiful treasury of items with a woodland feel. After the storms and tornado sirens last night, I needed the feel of a quiet walk in the woods which is always a stress reducer for me. All items in this treasury have been created by members of the Etsy Rabbits team.