Actual Escapee and a Few Humorous Thoughts

This morning, Julia jumped out of her house. She hopped over to Cadence (who didn't try to rip her face off, which surprised me - I thought for sure Ms. Hormonal Evil Doe would want to eviserate any competition she'd see). Julia then checked out Jenna and Conner, who also just sniffed her. I put a little stuffed toy bun in Julia's house for the day so she'd have some company. Tonight, she and Calvin are going on a car ride together in a carrier to push things along. An 8 1/2 year old bun has to be pretty lonely to jump out of her house (24" off the ground or so) and go nosing around at the other buns near her. If nothing sparks tonight, I'll have to try her with DeVille again. If nothing there, seek to adopt somebunny for her.

I also either left Caspian's door open again on Friday or else I'm not securing it, making it easy for him to push open. He exhibited common sense again (I'm sure the third time will be the charm, so to speak) and stayed in his house.

Whenever I take Caspian out to the living room for a "couch cuddle", we pass Cadence's pen. I often wonder that if I accidently drop him in (or he jumps away from my hold and falls in), if Cadence will start singing "It's Raining Men." :-)

Enough rambling for a Monday morning.....

Mama

Funniest Video of Binkies/Racing

I checked out a webpage of another bunny person this morning, and there was a hilarious video of a dwarf bun doing binkies and the Bunny 500:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HiO9rzU_aw&feature=player_embedded

I just had to pass it along. Enjoy :-)

Mama

Julia's Carrot

Julia lives in the top of a two-floor bunny condo (above Jenna). Whenever I give Julia a carrot, she grabs it and seems to want to hide someplace to eat it. She'll hop from her litterbox, to the other side of the cage, almost put the carrot down to eat it, then hops back the litterbox, etc. It's almost like giving a dog a treat and then watching him find a nice secret spot to enjoy the tidbit without any other critter stealing it from him. Julia doesn't have a roommate (going to try pairing her with Calvin again - been busy unpacking), so it's not like anybun can take it from her.

Jessica used to take her carrot and run downstairs with it, but she was in a two-level condo and was bonded to Calvin - she had somewhere to escape to and someone to hide from. Julia? Who knows what goes on in her head.

Mama

Caspian the Stain Stick

I drove down to Indy today with two buns - a bunny date and a family looking to adopt a rabbit. On the way down, I stopped for a Peanut Buster Parfait at a DQ. Of course, I get a nice glob of hot fudge on my white IHRS T-shirt that I had to parade around in all day. I get home and get out Caspian aka Monkey Boy aka Fuzzy Monster, and I lie down on the couch to cuddle with him. He often licks my shirt, sometimes my arm, always the couch cushions. Tonight, he immediately gets to work licking the hot fudge stain. I would push him away, but he'd go right back to licking it. He even nibbled it a bit but didn't make a hole in the shirt. I told him that I didn't need Caspian Stain Stick, and he eventually got the message and stopped licking the stain. If I could get him to actually do the laundry instead of just, well, pre-treating stains, then I'd really be impressed! :-)

Mama

Caspian's Stupid Move

Last night, I had Caspian out for play time. Since Carson's pen is close to the play area, I put a sheet over the side of his pen so he and whatever rabbit is out to play won't fight. Caspian kept digging at the sheet, and he eventually got an area open enough for him and Carson to box at each other.

Being the good bunny mom that I am, I put one of the 36" high gates up to block Caspian from Carson's area, and I went back to reading my book. I was stretched out on the floor with my feet towards Carson's area, and I hear what sounded like the gate being knocked down. But no gate hit my feet, so I turn around. No Caspian. I then hear a fight from inside Carson's pen. Caspian had leapt over the gate and landed in Carson's pen. Carson, not one to take guff from anyone, was spinning around and the two of them looked like a fuzzy yin-yang.

Fur was flying, and I was able to grab Caspian's butt and lift him out of Carson's pen. Caspian immediately cuddled up to me, like "What happened? That was very scary." I couldn't really feel too sympathetic for he was the one dumb enough to leap into another rabbit's pen. I didn't see any bites, though one chunk of fur was pulled out that made a mark on his butt. Carson seemed to be fine.

I mean, wouldn't you fight if you were a rabbit hanging out in your pen and some strange rabbit comes falling out of the sky? In college, my Roomie and I would always say "Brain the size of a what?" (answer: mustard seed) whenever Wellington the resident rabbit would do something silly or stupid, and I have to ask that question of Caspian's antics.

Mama

Caspian, the Explorer

I had Caspian out tonight a couple of times - the first, in a snuggle session on the couch when I got home from work; the second, upstairs while I lay on the floor reading. Well, after ump-teen million times of him, um, getting frisky, with various parts of me (shoulders, legs, head, etc.), he will stretch out to rest for a few seconds (30, tops), then be back grunting, circling, and showing his misplaced lust. Tonight, I lay reading undisturbed for 45 seconds, then turned to see where Caspian was. He was down three stairs! With me chaperoning/spotting him, he went down to the last step, where I scooped him up and said that if he got too close to Harrison, Harry would eat him. I mean, Harry is twice Caspian's size, easily.

What a quick learner! I guess if he can't get me interested in what's he's selling, he'll go find someone who is :-)

Mama

Am I a Bad Mama....

To be laughing at Caspian's, um, problem? He's still very randy, and he's been launching himself at me if I have the top door to his house open. He'll then try to attach himself to my arm and molest me. Well last night, I was bent over and talking to him while standing near the short side of his cage. No door or anything nearby - just the bars between us. He flings himself at me and I hear "clunk" as he hits the metal bars of his cage. I couldn't help but laugh. I could almost hear him thinking "WO-MAN! WO-MAN!" like he was a cave-bun or something. The incident didn't even slow him down.

So am I a bad bunny Mom to laugh at this?

Mama

New Member of the Warren

Okay, so yesterday I go to the Porter County shelter to help with the five rabbits they had. I was going to sex them and take some photos for their website. I go in and see four of the rabbits in the cages they usually use for them, and I look for the fifth bun. (They usually use a Tommy cage or something similiar for the "overflow".) I go around the corner behind the one small wall, and come face to face with this face:



If Calvin and Jessica would have been able to have kids, I'm sure they would have looked like him! So, I had him briefly checked at my vet (along with Rose), then we swung back to the shelter for me to fill out adoption forms on him. He was surrendered to the shelter on 5/27 (they thought he was a girl). And I was able to see why he was surrendered after interacting with him at the vet's office. If you looked up "randy" in the dictionary, you'd see a pic of his fuzzy face! If it moves, he wants to mount it - my leg, my hand, my chest if I'm holding him. Needless to say, he's getting neutered Monday.

His name is Caspian Peter. And yes, I'm a long-time Narnian!

More updates and pics later. The boy barely sits still and hasn't eaten much. As soon as he sees me, he goes nuts trying bust out and have his way with me. Hopefully the surgery will put a stop to his Oedipal complex.

Mama

News

Hi, everyone. A quick update before announcing a new permanent member of the warren.

Harrison escaped again yesterday, somehow getting the sheet that's covering his pen off enough to see the ceiling and know he could jump/climb out. I don't think he was out long (I was out doing errands) before I caught him in the kitchen and put him back into his house. He didn't seem any the worse for wear. He's finally off kennel rest, too, and he got to explore the upstairs play area Friday night. He mastered the stairs as quickly as Cassandra did!

Speaking of Cassandra, I guess she's trying to bite the Petco employees when they go into her hexiglass cage to clean and refresh her pellets, etc. She was cage possessive here, too, so hopefully she'll either calm down or the Petco employees will learn a few tricks. I hope she's not requested to leave the store.

I have a new foster rabbit, who I have named Rose. She's from the Porter County animal shelter. She's over 6 1/2 lbs., white with black spots/blotches, and possibly pregnant. I'm fostering her for the shelter and not the IHRS. She was brought in with another girl (who looked less fat, so either not as far along in her preg. or not preg. at all) and a young male. They were all together in the same carrier or box when they were brought to the shelter, hence the guess that they're pregnant. Rose was pulling some of her fur out yesterday, so I said I'd foster her so she'd be somewhere less stressful if she does deliver. I'll keep the blog posted on what's happening with her, and post some photos when I can.

Mama

Harrison's Boo Boo

Well, I came home Friday night and guess who wasn't in his pen? Yep, Harrison either scaled the wall of his prison or did the high jump. I think he made his escape shortly after I left for work, judging from how much salad was left in his pen.

Anyway, I was able to grab him pretty easily and put him back into his pen. (He's unneutered, and I was thankful he didn't get into Julia's pen and, well, have his way with her - she's neutered, but I don't want to deal with a false pregnancy.)

I noticed that he was limping, holding his left front foot up. We made the bunny ER trip (after hours call to my vet), and after a few really cool digital X-rays, it was determined that he had 2 hairline fractures of his radius and ulna near his elbow. And he has pasteurella, for his nose was oozing some green stuff and his forearms were icky from him wiping his nose with them.

Now I get to wrestle him to give him his antibiotics and pain meds while not putting too much pressure on him so I don't aggravate the leg. I've asked the head of the IHRS chapter if he could go to a different foster home, one with at least two sets of hands to restrain him better than I can by myself.

I so wish you could get them to understand that they have to take the medicine and that it's for their own good.

Mama

Harrison, aka "Spider Bun"

Okay, I know I should be happy that Harrison is feeling better and a lot more energetic. However, I finally got to see what all the noise is about when I'm in bed at night. Harrison stood on the second "rung" of the pen he lives in, putting his front paws over the top edge and resting his chin on the top as he looked around.

Now, has anyone out there had a rabbit that can scale a pen?! I haven't taken any precautions to keep him from leaping out, for I'm at a loss here. I can put some cardboard over the top of the pen to make a sort of roof, but I'd rather not do that.

I have seen kittens scale the bars at a shelter before, but I never thought a rabbit could do it. Harrison is definitely a special boy!

Mama

Carson, a.k.a. "Hare-y Houdini"

This morning, I awoke to the sound of thumping. It sounded like it was coming from a bun on carpet. Well, I figured that Jenna or PJ must just be in their house in a way that just made it sound like that, since no buns are out when I'm sleeping and the only bun living in a pen close enough for me to hear is Harrison, and he's on newspaper-covered vinyl flooring.

Then I hear something that sounded like PJ and Jenna fighting. It happens again about 30 secs. later, so I say, "Guys, come on. Stop it." Then I hear more thumping.

So, thinking that I have 20 mins. or so before I have to get up anyway, I wander over to PJ and Jenna's house and can see they're just sitting there. I hear thumping, and squint towards the hallway. Hmm, why is there a blur that looks like Carson in the hallway? I wander back to put my glasses on and look into the hall again. There is Carson sitting there looking at me and thumping.

"How in the world did you get out?" I asked him, then wondering if he chewed any cords whilst on the lam. He freaks out and runs back into the study, behind his cage.

The cage he's in has doors on the side and on the top. I always lock the side cage, since he could push on it and open it, but I only secure the top door lightly. Well, the top door is wide open, so he had to have some how gotten that door open, jumped out of it, and jumped onto the floor. He was then unable to get back into his house. His water bottle was knocked off, too.

I moved his house out and opened the side door, eventually getting him shooed inside. I gave him a headrub, and he immediately relaxed. His breathing was still fast and shallow, like hyperventilating. He started to eat his salad right away when I gave it to him, and he seemed to have calmed down when it was time for me to leave for work.

Needless to say, I fasted the side locks on the top door, and if he gets out again, he'll have had help. I've never had a rabbit escape from his house since Calvin did it way back in 2003, so the title "Hare-y Houdini" gets passed to Carson.

Mama

PS Carson was thumping all during playtime last night. I don't know whether he was freaked out that there was a huge white rabbit downstairs, that we were getting another earthquake, or what. Maybe he was giving me some sort of ultimatum and I failed his test so he "escaped."

Happy Tail

Ever since Jess had her teeth ground down and evened out a few weeks ago, she has been so active. She zips around a lot, more than she ever has since coming to live with us almost 3 years ago. What I most love is when she shakes her tail. Both Jess and Cal will shake all over, sometimes as a "half-binky" and sometimes just as a shudder. When Jess shakes just her tail, though, it tells me how happy she is. It's like when a duck shakes its tail when it settles onto water or is feeling pleased with itself. Between the tail and the bouncing ears when she hops along, I just can't help but smile at her Royal Cuteness :-)

Mama

I'm outnumbered!

The Fuzzy Duo have become a little more aggressive when wanting treats. I'll be on the couch, reading or watching TV, and one jumps up either beside me or on me. Calvin will look at me with his head cocked to one side and then stick his tongue out, licking his lips in anticipation of getting a treat. Jess, though, will jump up and get in my face, sniffing excitedly. Since I can't reach for the bag or can of treats with a bunny sitting on my chest (nor can I rollerskate in a buffalo herd), I try to nudge him or her down so I can reach over and get the treats. Well, then of course, the other one has to jump up, since I'm reaching for something that must be treats, so now I have both buns crawling all over me and interfering with me grabbing the goodies.

I guess I should have treats on me at all times, close enough to not have to reach for them, so I can quickly and painlessly appease my Bunny Overlords. :-)

Mama

Let's Pretend

I took Calvin and Jessica to the vet last Sat. When we go out, I usually put them in the same carrier. It's big enough, and they can console each other that they're going somewhere. When we get home, I open the door and they go sprinting out and run into their "house."

Well, I've left the carrier door off and the carrier on the floor since last week's trip. Every night, both of them will hop into the carrier and stay inside of it for a while, presumably to eat the hay in the litter box inside of it. At least that's what I, as a rational human, think they're doing.

From their point of view, maybe they're playing "Let's pretend."

Jessica: I'm gonna pretend we're on our way to a carrot farm.

Calvin: I'm gonna pretend we're going to a raisin factory.

Jessica: That sounds good. I'll go with you.

Eventually, they hop back out of the carrier and into the living room as a whole. If they do go on a pretend trip, they never bring me back any pretend souveniers, so they have to have visited a destination that revolves around bunny treats. :-)

Mama

Calvin: "Whut happened?"

I wasn't feeling well today, so I stayed home from work. When I'm home during the day, on weekends and vacation days, etc., I usually let the rabbits out to run around or to lie behind pieces of furniture. (I always think that when I let them out of their house, their first thought is "Yeah, I can now lie down somewhere else for a while instead of just here in my house.")

Rabbits will "flop" - fling themselves onto their sides and sleep deeply for a while. Jessica loves to do it behind my recliner. Calvin did it the other day at the bottom of the ramp leading to the first floor of his house, making it look like he fell and injured himself or something. (I knew he was only flopped, but I laughed, which made him sit up and look at me as if to ask me why I ruined a perfectly good flop.)

Anyway, Calvin likes to lie on the little magazine shelf under the coffee table. It's about 2 inches off the floor. (Jessica often lies behind the coffee table and sets her head on the shelf, so it's a good bunny height.) This afternoon, I hear a thump, so I look over and Calvin had flopped on the magazine shelf, and he lay there licking his front feet. Well, his fur and the wooden table usually equal sliding, and he was close enough to the edge of the shelf that he accidently fell off. He turned over onto his feet and looked at me like "Whut happened? I was licking my feet and just lying there, minding my own business, and now I'm on the floor." I wonder if he thought I did something to make him fall. Um, no, I was sitting and reading a book for class, so he only has himself to blame.

I have to teach these guys about gravity, I think.

Mama

Bunny projects (Mama's point of view)

"Rip, rip, fling. Rip, rip, fling."

"Fling, fling, rip. Fling, fling, rip."

"I'm a bulldozer."

"Uh, oh. It's a reporter. I'll be all over the tabloids for this."

Yes, bunnies love their little projects. I heard this one beginning last night after I went to bed. Now, I could have gotten up and tried to intervene, but rabbits can be stubborn (especially my little diva, Jessica). The best I could have done was throw the construction (or should I say, destruction) timetable off by an hour or two.

When I got up this morning, newspaper was everywhere in their cage. If I put the shredded paper back into the litterbox, Jessica will jump in and fling it back out. Calvin does contribute to the chaos here and there, but I think Jess was the forerabbit on this project. She was acting like a groundhog earlier, digging and pushing like a bulldozer. I don't know if she's trying to dig a warren to live in for the winter (her wild, European ancestors lived underground) or if she's trying to help the guys in the show Prison Break bust out.

Living with rabbits is always a fun time :-)

Mama

Bunny projects (Jessica's point of view)

"Some shots of my masterpiece."

Mama cleaned our litterbox last night, but something about how it was set up really bothered me. So, I decided to remodel.

You see, rabbits like to have little projects. We enjoy ripping paper, digging, flinging things around - so how perfect is it to rip up the newspaper lining the bottom of the litterbox and fling it all over the place? Talk about fun. I could do this all night and all day.

In fact, I think I will :-)

Jessica.

[I helped, too, but I'll let Jessica take the fall. I know where the treats come from, so I have to make sure my bunny halo is on straight. - Calvin]

"Fuzzy" logic

Mama told me that she posted an entry on how I'm always optimistic about what she has when she leaves the kitchen. I thought that it was time to tell the world the logic of rabbits.

1. If it crinkles, it contains a treat.
2. If it rattles, it contains a treat.
3. If it has a lid that peels off, it contains a treat.
4. If it smells good, it's a treat.
5. If Mama comes out from the kitchen, she has a treat.
6. If Mama is eating something, it's a treat.
7. If Mama is eating something that she says isn't for bunnies, she'll give us a treat if we bug her.
8. If we have had one kind of treat, that doesn't mean we can't have another treat.
9. "You'll spoil your dinner" doesn't apply to rabbits.
10. If you expect me to sit still to be brushed, you had better have a treat.
11. If you say "Come here Calvin," you had better have a treat.
12. If Jessica thinks there is a treat, please give us a treat or else she'll beat me up for nothing.

Now that the world knows how I think, isn't it time to give me a treat? You think it's easy to type with paws?

Calvin