International Rabbit Day 2014 Is Coming!

International Rabbit Day 2014

I first learned about International Rabbit Day a few years ago.  Someone sent me a link to the website Holiday Insights with information about how the day started and the intent to promote the well-being of rabbits.  It is usually set for the Fourth Saturday or Sunday in September. Holiday Insights has the date listed for Saturday this year which would be the 27th.

I see that House Rabbit Society is planning on Sunday the 28th for observing International Rabbit Day. I say why not make it an International Rabbit Weekend and focus some attention on our big eared friends for both days.

Here is one suggestion for observing the day/s:  “Celebrate this special day with your pet rabbit. Learn a little more about him and how to properly care for his needs. If you don’t have a pet, maybe today is the day to get a pet rabbit! ”  Visit the Holiday Insights page for more information on the meaning and origin of International Rabbit Day.

 

Throwback Thursday: Thumper My First Bunny Experience

Thumper bunny rabbitI met my first house rabbit back in 1980. A coworker of my father had two pet bunnies who had one litter of four bunnies and a month later another litter of eight. The woman brought the first litter in to where my father worked when the bunnies were six weeks old and offered them to anyone who would give them a good home. My father picked out the spunkiest one in the bunch and brought him home. We were very unoriginal and called him Thumper. That was the only bunny rabbit name we knew of besides Bugs Bunny and he didn’t look like a Bugs Bunny, so Thumper it was.

My family was clueless about taking care of a bunny rabbit, but we had some experience with hamsters and guinea pigs and started out at that point. Mom got Thumper a cage, water bottle, food crock and some small animal pellets. We had him in the kitchen which was the most interior room of the house, but even so, he caught cold during the first two weeks in the bitter northern Ohio weather (post on keeping rabbits warm). That is when we got lucky and found a small animal practice in our area who treated cats, dogs, guinea pigs, birds, and rabbits. They helped us to learn about feeding, clipping nails, rabbit health, and so much more over the ten years of Thumper’s life.

I was still living at home but had just started my first full-time job. It was a night job and I would stay up on my nights off. My first night off after Thumper caught cold, I listened to him sneezing like crazy. I got him out of his cage, wrapped him in a towel and sat down in a huge upholstered rocker we had. He snuggled his head under my chin, stopped sneezing and went to sleep. That began his reign as a snuggle bunny. Thumper liked being picked up and held and would paw at my ankles or moms when he wanted some cuddling. He would always squirm up until he had his head tucked in to my neck right under my chin. Then he would zone out while I petted him.

At the time Thumper arrived in our lives, there was no House Rabbit Society or internet to turn to for advice on rabbit care. Anything written was by breeders and geared towards raising rabbits as farm or show rabbits. Besides our vet, Thumper himself proved himself a good teacher on rabbit care and behavior. He picked out one place in the kitchen as a bathroom and mom wondered if we could put a litter box there and train him. As soon as she put the litter box in place, Thumper was trained. We checked out things geared for cats and bought a kitty harness and leash. As soon as Thumper realized the connection between being put in his harness and going outside, he would hold perfectly still so that we could get the harness just right. We would take him on short walks in the front and back yard and it was always funny to watch people do a double take when they realized we were walking a rabbit.

Thumper had some life long tummy issues. We realize with the information out now, they were probably due to his leaving his mother a few weeks too early. He was our first experience with a poopy bunny butt. With the vet’s assistance we learned about what to do with diet and medication when that would happen. We learned to mummy wrap him and syringe medicate him. We figured out a means on our own of giving him just a partial bath (more on poopy bunny butt baths) to get him cleaned up again. We had to medicate him many times over the years for his tummy problems and he learned a few tricks too. We would use a syringe for the medicine, but he learned how to not swallow and let it just drool back out of his mouth. When we would mummy him in a towel, he learned how to play turtle and get his face below the lip of the towel no matter how close we tried to get it under his head. The term rabbittude didn’t come to mind until later after other bunnies came in to my life, but Thumper was showing his rabbittude even though I didn’t recognize it as such at the time.

Thumper was my first learning experience of how personable, playful and intelligent a rabbit can be. Mom had a coconut sitting on a newspaper on the kitchen floor waiting to break it open. When Thumper saw it, he pounced on it, batted it into submission with his front paws, and then claimed it as his by chinning it to death. After that we tried more toys for him to play with. Our other pet at the time was a large retriever mix dog that we were careful to let out in the yard when Thumper was running free in the house. Someone let the dog in by accident during Thumper’s run time and the retriever started to chase him. We were terrified and so scared for Thumper, because both he and the dog were moving too fast for us to get to them quickly enough. Thumper was running at top speed when suddenly he doubled back straight through the dog’s legs. The dog was immediately thrown off-balance and while the dog was trying not to fall, Thumper hopped back in his cage and we closed the door protecting him again. We made certain they were never accidentally loose together again after that.

Thumper had his own personal rock star rabbit routine that he developed when he didn’t feel pampered enough that is a whole story all on its own. More about that next Thursday …

Keeping Rabbits Warm Enough

Thumper bunny rabbit

Thumper, my first house rabbit

I’ve changed what I planned for today to write something more topical for the weather here today. We are getting a very early taste of winter this year in Georgia with a freeze warning for tonight and possibly our first snow too. Since some winters we really don’t get any snow at all, this is likely to be an unusually cold night for us.

It made me think of bitter cold winter nights growing up in northern Ohio. When thinking of rabbits and cold winter nights, I can’t help but think of my first house rabbit experience with Thumper. My dad came home from work one day with Thumper for my brother who had just lost his hamster. None of us knew anything about having a rabbit as a pet and poor mom was scrambling trying to come up with the right food and accommodations for the new family addition.

Thumper was just a couple of pounds, he fit easily in my hands. He was still very much a baby bunny. Winters in Ohio are bitterly cold and the one when Thumper arrived in our home was no different.  Even though we were keeping him inside the house, he caught cold. Listening to him begin to sneeze almost continuously, we found a vet for him and took him in for his first visit. We found out that rabbits and especially baby rabbits can be sensitive to cold and drafts. A fur coat is not enough to keep warm enough when it is really cold, even if the rabbit is indoors. We found out we needed to get Thumper into a warmer part of the house and it would be best if we could get his cage off the floor, especially at night when it was coldest and cover it up to protect him from drafts. Getting Thumper warmer, allowed him to recover from his cold and live a decade with my family.

When Blaine and I got Tigger and Shadow, then Portia and now Leo, we had lived in Georgia for a time already. The winters are not the bitter cold of Ohio. It is more moderate here, but still I realized it was going to be important even with indoor house rabbits to keep them warm in the winter time and out of drafts. We have never placed cages or pens on outer walls of the house that can be chillier. At night-time we gauge the temperature of the house and cover cages with a sheet or blanket at least partly depending on how cold it seems or whether there is a chilly wind outside that could make the house draftier too. We make sure with covers to cages that there is an open space and not absolute 100% coverage. We want to be sure that there is fresh air circulation into the cage. We would give piles of hay so that the rabbits could snuggle into that too as well as have it to eat. It was good at those times to make sure the in cage litter boxes were really clean in case the rabbits wanted to sleep in their box.

So before we go to bed tonight, we will be sure to be tucking in some cover around Leo’s cage to keep him safe from any colder drafts on this freezing night to come.

Plan Ahead for International Rabbit Day 2012

International Rabbit Day 2012

Until last year, I didn’t know that anyone had designated a day to think about rabbits other than the obvious, Easter, which can be a very bad day for live rabbits who go to homes unprepared for their daily longterm care.  Then someone sent me a link to the website Holiday Insights with information about how the day started and the intent to promote the well-being of rabbits.  It is usually set for the Fourth Saturday in September which would be the 22nd this year.

Here is one suggestion for the day:  “Celebrate this special day with your pet rabbit. Learn a little more about him and how to properly care for his needs. If you don’t have a pet, maybe today is the day to get a pet rabbit! ”  Visit the Holiday Insights page for more information on the meaning and origin of International Rabbit Day.

The Etsy Rabbits team is planning to get the word out that the day exists by creating treasuries (Etsy member curated showcases) during September showcasing rabbit themes, items and the shops of Etsy Rabbits team members.  There are currently over 300 members of the team from countries around the world.  Most have shops on Etsy, but those who have buyer accounts on Etsy are welcome to join too. If you love to buy or create bunny rabbit themed items or items for rabbits, check out the team.  Members of the team love living rabbits and many members have one or more big eared friends at home.  Some members are actively involved with assisting rabbit rescue groups.  I will post some links to treasuries soon as more get going creating them and will be creating some treasuries myself.

On Friday, the first story of how we first met Portia bunny rabbit …

The Model Bunny Rabbit

Tigger posing for the camera
You worked it baby girl!

From early on when the camera would come out, Tigger would pose.  This series of photos was all taken at one time within just a few minutes.  Tigger seemed to instinctively know to show off all sides of herself to the camera.  We really believe she knew she was beautiful. 

She had a way of moving that was dainty, delicate, precise and smooth.  Unless she was freaked by something, she was all very coordinated ballet like moves.  She may not have liked being picked up, but she loved attention.  If I brought out a camera and was taking pictures of Shadow and had no idea where Tigger was, usually within just a few minutes she would be hoping in and taking over the photo shoot.

Besides her desire to pose, we called Tigger our model bunny because of her finicky eating habits.  She was always slender, bordering on anorexic thinness and quite fussy about her food.  We always joked she was on the model diet, avoiding eating whenever possible, but grabbing yummy treats from time to time.  Tigger would sniff meal offerings and sometimes hop away.  We would put salad greens on a plastic picnic plate and she would sometimes take the plate and toss the salad.  Other times she would overturn pellet or hay bowls if they weren’t to her taste.  There was nothing physically wrong with her that the vet could find, she was just a really picky eater.   

One time when we had Tigger, Shadow and Portia, we received new pellets and hay from our regular company and the taste obviously differed significantly from past seasons.  All three bunnies turned their noses up at the new food.  We got some of the old season and mingled it in with the new and within a couple of days Shadow and Portia were eating it.  Tigger held out for two weeks refusing to touch the new.  We were feeding her lots of greens to make sure she was eating enough and checking her weight too. 

We spent a lot of time during the first five years of Tigger’s life following her around begging her to eat.  Then she suddenly started to eat as if she was making up for all the years of lost time.  We said that it was obvious our model bunny had retired and now intended to enjoy life to the full. 

We had never thought we would see our Tigger chubby.  The last six years of her life we had to watch that she didn’t eat too much fattening food.  We had to protect Shadow so that she didn’t hassle or attack him trying to steal his treats or push him away from food.  She would run dancing around our feet as we carried food and dive at the plates of greens as soon as they were put down acting like a starving rabbit.  Sometimes she would move to stand on the plate hovering above the food making it hard for Shadow to get his share.  She became chubby at times and we would have to put her on a more restricted diet to get her weight back down again.  

Next post on Friday, the Kitty Bunny …

A Favorite Photo of Tigger & Shadow

Tigger & Shadow at rest
I love this photo. It shows off Tigger’s beautiful fur and her love of laying kitty style on her side. She also loved to have one little paw up by her face, sometimes almost in a sucking her paw look. It was such a cute reflex action of hers. Shadow is in the background doing what he liked to do best, blending into something dark so that it was really hard to truly see him.

Coming Wednesday, Tigger the Model Bunny.

Meet the Velcro Rabbit

Tigger the Velcro RabbitPreviously, I wrote about how much Tigger hated being picked up and held.  There came to be one place that was an exception for her where she wanted me to hold her and not put her down.

It was my custom at vet visits to keep handling of Tigger to a minimum thinking that was what she prefered.  So I would pick her up out of her carrier, put her on the scale to get her weight and then put her right back into the carrier afterwards until the vet would come in to examine her.  I discovered Tigger the Velcro Rabbit by accident.  Usually, I am wearing knit tops, Tees for the most part.  On one visit when she was about a year and a half old, it was chilly and I had on a sweater.

I was following my usual procedure and after the weigh in, I picked Tigger back up intending to put her back in her carrier.  That was when I discovered she was attached to my sweater.  She had hooked her little claws around the loose knit weave and wasn’t letting go.  I held on to her petting her and talking to her while we waited for the vet.  It was a bit of a problem detaching her from my sweater to then put her down for the exam when the vet came in.  It occurred to me that the vet’s office was perhaps an exception to Tigger’s don’t hold me rule. 

After that visit when she needed to go in, I would hold her and talk to her while we waited for the vet.  Many times she would hide her head underneath my arm and not want to even look around.  She would try to hold on to me and not want to be put down for the exam.  At times if the vet or vet tech forgot and didn’t continue to hold her quite firmly at the end the exam, she would actually make a little leap off the table straight into my arms.  I made sure to be standing right at the table at all times talking to her, petting her head or covering her eyes if she was getting really scared.  My rabbit was like Velcro and sticking to me in preference over the vet. I was clearly her chosen security. 

It was humbling and awesome to know that I had earned her trust to the level that she was placing herself in my care by her choice.  From that time forward whenever I held her at the vet or later in life when we needed to hold her for medicine, feedings or to clean her up, she also earned the nickname Baby Girl.  That is how we would be talking to her at those times:  “It’s okay Baby Girl”, “It will be over soon Baby Girl”, “We’ll look after you Baby Girl’, “Good Tigger, sweet Baby Girl”.

If it hadn’t been for wearing that sweater, I might not have discovered how much Tigger had come to regard me as her protector and that she wanted me to hold her and comfort her at the vet’s office.  So if you have a very independent rabbit and are trying to respect that, you might want to check to see if the vet’s office is an exception zone where they too would actually like some comfort cuddling.  We never took Tigger to the vet unnecessarily just to get cuddles, but it was a bonus to the visits to be able to make the visits better for her and get some snuggles in return.  Because of what we learned from Tigger, we also discovered that Shadow too sometimes wanted to be held and comforted while at the vet.  

 

Tasmanian Devil Bunny

Abstract of Tasmanian Devil BunnyNo pictures on this one.  However, they would have been a blur of motion like this abstract drawing where you see the jumble and tumble of swirling bunny parts.  It is a bit dizzying to look at and so was Tigger if you picked her up as a baby bunny. 

Tigger was like trying to hold on to the whirling dervish Tasmanian Devil of the Bugs Bunny cartoons.  You saw motion and body parts with brief stops.  Tigger tended not to stop until I would get smart and put her back down.  She made it quite clear that to her the term four on the floor also applied to rabbits.  All four paws were to remain on the floor unless she decided on a lift off. 

It was a real exercise to hold on to her safely as she would squirm, wiggle, somersault and do flip-flops in my arms.  In a blur of dizzy speed her head would be up, down, right, left and then repeat the process …  Everywhere the head went the little paws followed and those little paws had kitty sharp claws.  It was early summer in Georgia when we got her, so I was usually in a V neck Tee and shorts.  I would end up scratched all over my arms, legs, neck and Tigger usually managed to get at least one paw hooked into the V neck of my shirt, so I got a good measure of scratches on my chest too.  It was embarrassing to have to admit that a rabbit less than three pounds had mauled me.

I kept trying to pick her because up at first we hadn’t gotten the room with her cage bunnyproofed and I would carry her to the kitchen for run times.  We got that room bunnyproofed pretty quickly and fortunately Tigger was a quick study with the litter box so we didn’t need the easy clean kitchen for long. Then I could allow some of the wounds to heal for a bit.  I continued trying to pick her up but a little less often, attempting to get her used to being held.  Tigger never really got with the whole being held program with one exception that I will talk about in the next post. 

We had wanted to try to do nail clippings at home, but always had to take her to the vet for that.  She needed the fear factor of the trip to hold still enough for exams and nail trims.  Even with that fear factor, it would take three people for exams, two to hold her while the vet examined and two people for nail trims, one to hold and one to trim.  Since Tigger’s top weight was never higher than 5 1/2 pounds, it was extremely close quarters for the humans at vet visits trying to hold one very small bunny rabbit still without stepping all over each other.

It was just amazing how strong and agile one small bunny rabbit could be.  Later in life when she needed medicating or cleaning up due to old age issues, she would still run like crazy trying to get away, not wanting to be picked up.  The difference was that when I did pick her up, she would be amenable to getting things over and done with as soon as possible so that I would put her back down.  Still, she was a two person job.  One of us had to hold her, while the other medicated her or worked on fur cleaning issues.  The response to being put back down did not change no matter what her age.  Once she hit the floor, she would hop off a bit flicking her back paws as she went and would then stop and thump once or a few times depending on how violated she felt by our interference with her person.

We tried to respect Tigger’s desire not to be picked up and only picked her up when her care or safety required it.  The rest of the time, we chose to get to know her and let her get to know us on her terms.  We sat on the floor or laid on our stomach or side on the floor, letting her come to us to interact as she chose.  The room she was in at first was a combination guest bedroom / office.  Sometimes we would sit on the floor with our backs up to the bed.  Tigger would hop on our laps and run up our bodies to get up on the bed. Later she learned to take flying leaps up on the bed and would play with us there.  Blaine would take a sock and play a very gentle tug of war by just giving her some resistance with him holding on to the sock so that she was the one actually tugging at it.  That usually tired her out and she would then take a nap between his legs.

Getting to know Tigger on her terms was rewarding.  Many times over the years she would hop up and bestow sweet bunny kisses on our foreheads.  As she slowed down some late in life, we would have the opportunity to lay beside her snuggling for a time while petting her. 

Coming Next on Friday, meet the Velcro Rabbit.

What’s Your Name Bunny Rabbit?

Baby Tigger Bunny RabbitOur little Tigger bunny was unforgettable.  Her looks were  unqiue, but she also packed a truly big rabbit personality into her little bunny size.  The vet she saw the longest summed it up when she said, “Tigger is many things, but stupid isn’t one of them!”  We had many nicknames for her over the years because of the oh so many sides to her looks and personality. 

We had read that it helps a rabbit to get to know their name by hearing it in every sentence to associate that name as being theirs.  We talked to her a lot all of her life. At first, we ended almost every sentence with her name.  However, Tigger might have thought at times that her name was “No, Tigger!” or “Tigger, No!”.  We found ourselves saying that a lot as she taught us a whole new level of bunnyproofing.  We didn’t shorten her name or call her anything else until it was clear that she recognized that when we said Tigger, we were talking to her.  In the decade with her, we embraced every possible variant of her name: Tig, Tigs, Tigster, Tiggers, Tiggery, Tiggirl. 

It always surprised people who weren’t familiar with rabbits that she knew her name.  She actually came to know a whole lot of words and phrases.  We were certain without doubt she knew her name, because when we had both rabbits and would yell “No Shadow”, Tigger would ignore us.  She knew we weren’t talking to her.  When we called her name, she would react.  It wasn’t always the reaction we wished, but she would react to her name.   We could be across the room and if we started to say, “Good Tigger, Good Bunny”, she would start to tooth purr.  We would be able to see her jaw gently moving as she purred.

There were a couple of nicknames she earned by her size and shape:  Half-Pint Harley, Little Bit, Hipless Wonder, Weasel Bunny.  Most nicknames we called Tigger were based on her personality:  Princess, Lady Bunny, Tasmanian Devil, Air Bunny, Wiggle Worm, Freakazoid, Squirrel, Tiny Terror, Little Stinker, Pretty Bunny, Model Bunny, Kitty Bunny, Velcro Rabbit, Baby Girl.

How did one very small rabbit come to have so many names? All these nicknames have a story.  By telling you her nicknames now, I am giving a preview of some stories to come.  Tigger packed an awful lot into her decade of life.  She so rarely looked to be really resting.  Most of the time she seemed to be plotting and planning her next move, the next thing she would try.  She was energetic beyond belief for the bulk of her life, right up until just the last few months.  It was like having a living breathing Energizer bunny rabbit who would just keep on going and going.  It was amazing to know her!

Coming Next on Wednesday, meet the Tasmanian Devil bunny.

 

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?
 
 

It’s a Calico Rabbit!

Let us see your tummy Tigger

Tigger rocking & rolling, showing off her tummy and all her fur colors!

No, we didn’t think we had a Calico rabbit. It is though what quite a number of people said when they first saw Tigger or a picture of her. We didn’t know how to describe her either at first. We knew Calico wasn’t right as that was a cat breed and not a striped pattern, but what breed of bunny was our Tigger?

I had attended quite a number of county fairs growing up without ever seeing a rabbit like Tigger.  I also had a number of rabbit books I had accumulated, but looking at them I didn’t see any bunnies that looked like Tigger.  While looking in some newer rabbit magazines, I did see some rabbits that looked like her.  I hit the Internet looking for more information on the Harlequin rabbit with Japanese coloring.  At first I thought bingo, that is our Tigger bunny, until I read that the Harlequin rabbit is around nine pounds.

Even though Tigger was still growing, it was pretty obvious from her very dainty ears and paws that she wasn’t going to be a nine pound rabbit. Full grown she ranged from 4.5 to 5 pounds and chubbed out a bit late in life to 5.5 pounds. So early on, it was obvious that she wasn’t full-blooded Harlequin.  We called her our half-pint Harley.  During the first year we had her, I read in a rabbit magazine that some breeders were trying to create a mini Harlequin rabbit and figured it was quite possible with her beautiful coloring and small size that Tigger might have resulted from such a plan.

Long skinny Tigger bunny

Our hipless wonder weasel bunny

It was a guessing game for us wondering what other breed/s might be in her genes.  Full grown, when Tigger would lay stretched out, she was quite long and skinny.  Reading about all the different rabbit breeds, we wondered if she might be part Himalayan rabbit.  The Himalayan breed is small in size around 2-4 pounds and known for a very long snakelike body.  So was Tigger part Himalayan? Perhaps.

However, Harlequin / Himalayan didn’t totally track with her personality.  I had read that Harlequins and Himalayans were known for having calm and easygoing personalities.  Tigger was freakazoid and sassy beyond belief.  However, I also read that Harlequin’s enjoy attention, are curious and love to be the center of attention.  Tigger was extremely curious. She just had to be in to everything.  She also truly loved attention.  If I brought a camera out, she would pose.  Later after we got Shadow, if I was taking pictures of him, she would hop over and take over the photo shoot.

If you are ever trying to figure out what breed of bunny you might have, a place to start can be the rabbit breed categories established by associations in your country.  For the US the American Rabbit Breeders Association’s Recognized Breeds provides a lot of pictures and links to breed profiles with information on the size, coloring and fur of the different breeds.  Now if you really love pet rabbits, do not make the mistake of actually joining any of the breeder organizations.  Been there, done that oops and don’t want to read about rabbits being raised for fur or meat.

We will never know for certain what exact mix of rabbits lead to our Tigger, but we always figured she was one of a kind.  That led to our enjoying her company to the fullest, because we always figured once she was gone that there would never be another bunny to come along that would be just like her.  Sometime in the future, when we decide to bring another rabbit home, we won’t be expecting one like her, but will be looking to learn what one of kind bunny they are.  Rabbits are such an adventure to get to know, because they all have such unique characteristics and personalities!

Coming next: So how many chins does a rabbit have?