Jess a cannibal?

Jessica and Calvin often have little tussles, with one mounting the other in a display of dominance. And, being bunnies, they also consume a fair amount of fur when they groom themselves.

Well this morning, Jess gets mad at Calvin for something and starts mounting his head. I was standing right there and, thinking that Calvin didn't do anything to deserve the treatment, I pull Jess off of him. I noticed that Jess had a hunk of Calvin's fur hanging from her mouth. I tried to blow it off of her (rabbits are very touchy about someone touching them on the chins, so I didn't feel like risking my fingers to pull it off by hand), but it didn't work. And then she starts eating the fur!

I've always kidded Calvin that he was Jess's chew toy. I didn't know that I was so accurate! :-)

Mama

PS Calvin was none the worse for the encounter. While I can see the spot where the fur came from, it's only because of the pattern in Calvin's coat - it's a darker spot because the dark undercoat is more visible. He takes chunks of fur out of Jessica, too, which leaves bare spots on her (usually on the back of her neck).

That hairy time of year

Mama calls me her little shedding machine, and the fur has been flying the last few weeks. I know it doesn't make sense, but rabbits shed a lot of fur before growing in heavier fur for fall and winter. I'm always shedding (part of my chinchilla-colored charm :-) but it gets a lot worse in September. Jessica has been shedding a lot, too, and she gets so mad at Mama for pulling tufts of fur off of her butt.

The best thing about shedding, though, is the special treats Mama gives us. She got some dried papaya at the pet store, and she just brought home some dried pineapple yesterday. Both papaya and pineapple have special stuff in them that helps the fur we eat when we groom to keep on going through our systems and not become blocked and make us stop eating. We both love these special treats, so we might have to keep shedding all of the time in order to keep them coming. I'll have to talk to Jessica about that. :-)

Calvin