Simplify Your Life Week – Clips for Bunnies 2

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Rabbittude

Tigger & Shadow on top of their cages

Tigger made it quite clear as a baby that she intended to hop up on top of her cage. She would sit up on her hind legs as far as she could trying to see the top, which wasn’t at all possible since she was just two pounds and the cage top was 18 inches high. However, we knew Tigger, whether she could see it or not, she was going to go there. That presented a problem, because the spacing of the bars on the cage top was too wide for even a full-grown small rabbit to safely land, let alone a baby. We needed to do something fast to make it safe for whenever Tigger decided to make the leap.

At first we took a piece of cardboard cut to the size of the cage top and used ACCO binder clips to fasten the cardboard at the four corners to the top bars of the cage. Tigger made a safe but very slippery landing her first time hopping up there. So I hit the discount stores and found a small throw rug exactly the size needed. If I hadn’t, I would have cut a carpet remnant to size. We put the carpet on top of the cardboard and used giant 4″ metal paper clips to clip the carpet to the cardboard at the four corners.

Close up of the clips in action

That was a complete success on several fronts. It made the cage top safe for Tigger to hop up. Then when Shadow joined us two months later with his own cage, we fixed his the same. Since he could see her hopping up on top while she would free roam, he learned even more quickly than she did to hop up on top. They were kept safe from harm and it gave them an added space that they love, a bunny rabbit high ground to survey their territory. Since the cardboard and carpet are clipped on, it is very easy to take apart to clean cages, the carpets or replace the cardboard.

When they were younger they would just hop straight up and down from the cage top. Now that they have become senior buns that is a little bit too high. The cages are pushed up against a loveseat and the seat there is a few inches lower than their cage tops. So now they hop up on the loveseat and then hop over to the cage tops. In the future we may need to look at some pet steps if the loveseat begins to be too high.

For now everyone is happy with the bunny high ground.

Simplify Your Life Week – Clips for Bunnies

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Rabbittude

This post is about hitting the office products department to help with bunnyproofing and make your life with rabbits simpler. Both clips in the picture are 1 1/4 inches wide. The black ACCO binder clip is 2 inches long while the giant paper clip is 4 inches long.

How do we use these? These clips are great for holding cardboard together to make replaceable walls to keep bunny away from baseboards, furniture or doors you don’t want chewed. To see cardboard walls and pictures we created, here is a link back to an article I wrote at the end of June, The Great Wall of Cardboard.

A little bit later today, I will post some pictures showing how we used these clips, cardboard and carpet to both protect the bunnies and create a fun place to hang out.

Simplify Your Life Week – Drop Cloths for Bunnies

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Rabbittude

Carter's Waterproof Flannel Pads on Amazon.com

When Tigger and Shadow first came to us, they were babies with no litter box training. Tigger came first and we started her out in kitchen and bath areas that had linoleum floors. We temporarily put away our good throw rugs and invested in some inexpensive ones from discount stores that could be easily thrown in the wash for cleaning. We put several down to allow her run space. Still, it was a bit slippery for her.

Two months later Shadow came home. Tigger was litter box trained by then. We had both of them in side by side cages in a bedroom designated as theirs. This room was carpeted wall to wall. So to allow little Mr. Shadow run time while still being litter box trained, we needed a plan to protect the carpeting.

I do what has become a regular event over the years, I hit the discount stores and would walk up and down the aisles looking for any products that could be used for our needs. I found what I was looking for in the baby department, 100% flannel pads that were waterproof and machine washable. They had lap cloths, bassinet size and crib size. I pretty much bought out the store’s supply, creating a bunny layette. It turned out to be a very good investment.

The two crib sized “drop cloths” allowed coverage of all the open carpeted area if we put down two side by side. If we had Shadow up on a twin size bed, we could protect the bed with one crib sized pad or a couple of the bassinet sized ones. The smaller basinet and lap size pads could be used when holding him on our laps, for other small areas, or as a patchwork on the floor if the larger crib sized pads were in the wash.

After Tigger and Shadow were both litter box trained, I found a place to store the pads and held on to them. I had a feeling they were going to get more use. Prior to losing our third bunny Portia, she had a urinary tract infection. The vet wanted her to have a lot of free run time, but the infection meant she had lost her ability to make it to the litter box on time. So our drop cloths came back out and protected the rug in little Portia’s area.

After she recovered, a few pads needed to be replaced since she was quite messy and also had chewed some holes in some to vent her frustration while ill. We put the pads back into storage and they came out again this year when Tigger started having some bouts with stasis. The pads are helpful in my lap and over my shoulder as we medicate, feed her and give her extra water. We have found that things can be coming out of both ends of the rabbit when you have to do force feedings.

The waterproof flannel pads were a great purchase. Since they are designed with messy babies in mind and keeping things protected from baby accidents, they work extremely well for messy bunnies too. The clean up is great, just put them in the washer and dryer per instructions. Then they are ready again for the next round.

Ready, Set, Action …

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Rabbittude

Here is Miss Tigger up to her bunny armpits in hay

... and the action behind the camera

Earlier I promised I would share some bunny photos. The photo of Tigger was taken with my camera on its table top tripod taken to the floor to catch her at her level. While I was taking it, I felt a furious tugging. I quickly rotated the camera around on the tripod and got the shot of Shadow attacking the drawstring on my shorts.

I couldn’t see to focus this second shot. It was a quick swivel around and shoot blind by just pressing the button to capture the shot. But it gives a great view of what was going on in front of the camera and behind the camera at the same time. I would not have been able to get the shots of both Tigger and Shadow in action without my camera setup the way I showed in my earlier post on Catching Bunny Rabbit Photos .

Catching Bunny Rabbit Photos

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Rabbittude

This morning I am sharing how I get some of my up close and personal bunny rabbit photos. Above is a photo to show how I have my camera set up. I have put it up on my desk with a rabbit stand in who knows how to stand still.

When we first got Tigger and Shadow 10 years ago we used 35mm cameras. When digital cameras really started to drop in price, we made the switch, but found ourselves having to relearn picture-taking all over again. Taking photos of kids and rabbits is tough no matter the camera, because they rarely sit still. So we found ourselves with lots of blurred bunny photos.

Getting a camera that had a kids and pets setting was a big help, but I still found myself with lots of semi-blurred images. Two things recommended to decrease blur are using a tripod and automatic timer settings to snap the picture and remove the camera movement blur that can occur when depressing the button. Using a picture snapping timer setting rarely works for bunnies because they don’t stay still long enough for even a two second timer. Normal tripods usually put me way above bunny action and I would get lots of looking down on them shots.

I wanted shots to be more up close and personal. I tried just putting the camera on the floor, but that was really tough on me. I had to be flat on my stomach to see through the camera and focus. Then to get more than one shot, I had to completely rearrange myself into another position or angle if the bunnies had moved on to another place in the room. If they went to another room, I had to start over with my floor positioning. So I never got too many shots doing that.

When we started to sell things online in the Rabbittude Etsy shop, we purchased several table top camera tripods to aid in product photography photos. Looking at the one I have pictured here, I realized it was a good size to put on the floor and be bunny height. It allows me to kneel and still be able to see through the LCD to focus. The swivel ability of the tripod lets me easily follow the bunnies as they move around. I can catch multiple shots staying in one location.

Later this afternoon, I will share some bunny shots I got using this camera setup.

Follow Friday – Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Rabbittude

5 Flavor Variety Pack - Home Baked Small Animal Treats by MHRR on Etsy

As I promised earlier, this one is for the Pooper Troopers aka bunny rabbits. Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue has a shop on Etsy, The Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue Store.

They have a number of tempting handmade treats for small animals. The picture here shows the five flavor variety pack which includes Mixed Berry Mint, Banana Cilantro, Pumpkin Spice, Carrot Parsley, and Apple Banana.

For humans, they have some lovely greeting cards and postcards. Actually the treats benefit the humans too, since happy bunnies make everybody happy!

MHRR store is a collective with members in different areas of the United States. So a multiple item purchase might ship from more than one location. The descriptions give full details.

Making a treat purchase from them is akin to adopted bunnies helping out rabbits still needing adoption to forever homes.

Just backyard bunnies and crickets in here tonight …

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Rabbittude

Shadow and I are both a bit under the weather today. I am saving my remaining oomph to medicate him and not up to finalizing the post I had in process for today. So I will have several posts tomorrow instead.

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All Kidding Aside, Bunny Poo Is Great for Gardening!

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Rabbittude

Bunny poo assisted blooms in our garden

I have been poking fun at rabbit manure for sale on the web for a couple of days. It is funny how silly some serious listings and terminology can sound when the product being sold is poop. Today I switch over to the real value of bunny poo.

If you have a rabbit and a garden, rabbits really do create the perfect compost. If they are fed properly, the only things going in are veggies or hay products. Then what comes out of a healthy rabbit are nice dry round bunny poo marbles that have extremely low odor.

Someone connected with a rabbit rescue told me they have provided gardeners with rabbit manure and used the rest for gardens around the rescue building. I think that is terrific idea for rescues. Added value to the community with a usable product and use it to make the grounds of the building more attractive. It also provides another positive talking point on an unexpected side benefit of having a house rabbit. Waste not! What other composter will look so cute? Rabbits are just so totally vegan, green and eco conscious little beings.

Here in Georgia, the soil is red clay based, so the soil needs improvement for gardening. We moved in with the rabbits nine years ago and have regularly used their offerings in the parts of the yard we picked out for our gardens. I won’t say we have had raging success, because our part of Georgia has been in and out of drought mode with a switch over to flood stage a couple of times. To say our plants have been stressed for much of the time we have been here is an understatement. We brought in several rain barrels to collect water from our gutters when it does rain and are putting in more plants that tolerate heat and low water conditions, xeriscaping.

The other thing we have noticed in our gardens is lots of wild cottontail rabbits who will come to visit. It seems to us that the bunny poo fertilization has hung out a wild bunny welcome mat. They will sit right below the windows of the house eating quite comfortably. One time a mother brought her babies with her and they were snuggled up underneath her as she ate. The babies took off running when we accidentally moved. I found one of the babies napping in the sunshine curled up in a patch of grass by the backdoor the next day. We can watch the bunnies through our windows and sometimes sit on the back patio and enjoy the yard with them as they feed.

So use the poo, its good stuff! On to the plan for the remainder of this week and next. Tomorrow, I am going to talk about rabbits and territorial poo, bunnyproofing info. Thursday, I plan to share some of the unusual things for sale on the web related to rabbit poo. Friday, I will have a follow suggestion or two. I figured on getting all the messy stuff out-of-the-way this week, since the first week of August is designated as a Simplify Your Life week. During that week, I plan to share lots of the tips and tricks and supplies we find most handy for keeping things clean and simple with rabbits in the house.

Bunny Poo Comparison Shopping – Yes, You Actually Can …

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Rabbittude

Cuckoo for Cocoa Poos ?

This weekend, I started some research on rabbit poo that is for sale on the web. See The Wonderful World of Bunny Poo yesterday for how this investigative trail got started.

I had put a potential name of Cheeripoos below the picture of our bunny poo since the bunnies eat so much oat hay. However, Blaine thought that Cocoa Poos for the deep chocolate coloring might be more descriptive. Here we are already disagreeing about the name for a hypothetical product.

Someone commented yesterday that they thought that bunny poo might be available for sale on Ebay. So I had to look. Yes, you can find rabbit manure for sale on Etsy, Ebay and Amazon. Ebay had the most sellers, so the best ability to comparison shop is there.

I found three sellers of bunny poo on Ebay. The first seller advertises 6 lb. Rabbit Manure!!~~Best Organic Fertilizer There Is! The Buy It Now price is $6.99 with an $11.00 shipping cost. The picture shows the rabbit producers with their food bowl which I think is a nice touch. There is an excellent description with lots of benefits and reasons for using bunny poo. I like the added touch of using a green color for the text. It gives it a nice eco conscious feel. This seller says, “YOU’LL NEVER GO BACK TO MIRACLE GRO!!!” which is a strong closing. They have this listed with more than 10 available which is a scary quantity of rabbit poo sitting out there somewhere waiting to be bought.

The second seller on Ebay has two rabbit poo products for sale. They have 6 lb or 10 lb Rabbit Manure, Organic Fertilizer. Both sizes are Free Shipping. The 6 lb size is $16.95, while 10 lbs is $21.95. Awww, I open up the listing and see they have a description with a cute cartoon that includes a rabbit and a worm poking its head up out of the ground (one assumes fertilized with bunny poo!). There is a picture of the rabbit poo which looks disturbingly like pebbles on the beach in beige, gray and sandy colors rather than the deep colors I am used to seeing with our bunnies. So now I am concerned about the health of their rabbits. They call their product “Bunny Berries”. They say they make every effort to ship the manure “dry”. Eeeuwww, TMI. The background throughout is green providing a professional look to the listing with an eco feel.

Unlike the first seller, this seller has filled out the Ebay Item specifics. They give the condition as New. I guess a real debate could start as to whether manure / compost / fertilizer is new or used. I think I have to disagree with the “in its original packaging” part of the new statement. Wouldn’t that be still inside the rabbit? Anyway they list the application as “All Purpose” and I decidedly would not go that far. This seller also has more than 10 available on both the 6 lb and 10 lb listings. So this seller has an unreal amount of rabbit poo sitting around somewhere.

Which brings us to the final Ebay seller who has Rabbit Manure for a natural fertilizer. They too have filled out the item specifics with the bunny poo listed as New? However they have the application listed as being for plants, much better. They estimate weight at roughly 14 lbs. The Buy It Now price is $5 with $14.95 in shipping cost, however there is a Make an Offer option. You can haggle price on this one! However, they have less poo available, only 4 currently. This listing is straight black and white, so no eco conscious vibe. They have a nice description which almost makes it sound cute: “Rabbit manure is very unique, as it is solid, and comes in small round droppings a little larger than a b.b. pellet. They are almost like a time release capsule, and perfect for your garden.”

Wow, this is a whole lot more bunny poo for sale than I expected to find online! I am now running way late and pooped out.

A Quick Note …

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Rabbittude

Just popping in quickly here to say I am working on further research into bunny poo and what is already out there in the internet marketplace. A couple of comments yesterday sent me off looking for more things than I had thought of. Quite amazing really what people have for sale these days. I will post more later today, perhaps early evening for those on US Eastern standard time.

The Wonderful World of Bunny Poo

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Rabbittude

Oat Hay + Rabbit = Cheeripoos ?

As a cottage industry, seriously. I have often fantasized about getting the bunnies to earn their own keep. I had read at one time about a how-to book that had information for using bunny poo to start a worm farm and then sell the worms to fishermen. Blaine has a wonderful green thumb and we use bunny poo in our garden. So I have always been aware of the rich fertilization in the poo since it is already composted veggies and hay. It is also nice hard dry little marbles that are easy to pick up and don’t have much of an odor.

However, I had never heard or thought about the possibility of actually selling bunny poo online. I had just recently joined the Creative Breakroom forum. In one thread I learned about a challenge they had a while back for “Jars O Crap”. Everyone was to take a Mason jar and fill it with whatever, take pictures and then list their jars online.

Looking through the challenge thread and the very creative responses had me laughing myself silly. This is the one I loved the most: Un Bocal des Peaux D’Oignons. Oh so very special, I am almost tempted to buy it myself. If I had been there at the time to take part, the title had me thinking quite literally about my most available free item here, a jar of bunny poo!

So I got into a discussion in the Breakroom on the topic of bunny poo. What do you say the expiration date is on a bottle full of bunny poop? What kind of shelf life does that have? Or does it become vintage at some point? Rapid thoughts were running through my head as to whether that would be tagged as handmade or a supply. Do I say I made it myself or it was created by my rabbit collective? Some pointed out that a bottle could have explosive gas issues and that holes in the top or a plastic bag with a nice label might be better.

As we were verbally flinging the poo back and forth in this discussion, one member asked another if they had heard back officially on this. That is when I found out that someone had investigated whether selling bunny poo on Etsy was allowed. They were told that it was, as long as local laws and regulations in regards to animal compost are met. Hey, I am living in a farming community! I will just bet I can find out about that! That is where hysterically funny idea meets up with actual business opportunity. Too funny!

I suppose I should be incredibly alarmed with myself that the idea of selling bunny poo has generated more creative marketing ideas in my head than anything else this year. Perhaps there are whole huge cottage industries out there for the unemployed to sell pet waste and help feed their families. I did check this morning on Etsy and there are current active listings there for both Rabbit Manure and Llama Beans.

Objectively, the picture for the Llama beans was a great deal cleaner (does that term ever apply to compost?) than the Rabbit Manure. The Llama Bean title is also more appealing than Rabbit Manure which sounds a bit too down on the farm for eco conscious urban viewers. So I sense an opportunity to upscale the market for rabbit compost / fertilizer. I am intrigued in my research today on Etsy to see how many people have tagged their items with fertilizer when they aren’t selling compost ??? I am not at all certain about the thinking on that one for SEO keyword searches.

At this point, I have no idea where I am going (is that a poor word choice?) with this. The minimum I expect is to have some great fun and laughs here for the blog. Since laughs have been in short supply at many points this year that will be oh so welcome. So stay tuned for poo!

Just Thinking …

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Rabbittude

I just love this photo from istockphoto.com!

It is Saturday, a day to unwind, review, mull … zzz. Whoops have to catch myself. Actually, I have been hopping and bopping around the internet to various sites. I am always on the look out for great bunny things or funny bunny ideas.

I am thinking about bunny poo today, lots and lots of bunny poo. Part of that is because I see lots and lots of bunny poo. Even when I don’t see the bunnies, I see evidence of the existence of bunnies here.

We didn’t realize that the careful leaving of rabbit droppings in specific areas is part of rabbit territorial marking. Now we do. However, we keep telling Tigger and Shadow it really isn’t necessary to mark the area around their litter box as theirs by ringing it with poo. No one else is going to be claiming those boxes. We have found that a kitchen skimmer (dedicated to the bunnies, no going back to the kitchen now!) is a great tool to scoop those up and drop them in the litter boxes. The cat scoops always had holes too big and allowed the poos to drop right through.

So where am I going with all the poo? Oh that would be telling today and I am going to make you wait and come back another day to find out.

Rabbittude

Rabbits + Attitude = Rabbittude

Tag Archives: house rabbits