Happy 1st Birthday!!

Well, we finally made it...year one. My baby buns are no longer babies. They are big adult 1 year old bunnies. They grow up so fast. And its been a busy first year!

birthday banners

There have been many ups and downs for sure. There were times when I wondered if we'd even make it to their first birthday in one piece! Between mishaps at home, spay/neuter surgeries, fighting, emergency trips to the vet, bonding, moving upstairs, fighting, overnight sleepovers, moving downstairs, bonding...

They came to live with us in November and exactly one week after we brought them home, Hazel got masking tape stuck to her chin and chest to the point where we had to painstakingly cut it off. The second week, Fiver freaked out about something and ran into the side of his cage where he got his head stuck in between the bars.  And I thought, what have I gotten myself into?!

Right around Christmas they had their first vet visit which went well. Early January they had their spay and neuter surgeries and they came through with flying colors. The healing process was long and tested our patience but bunny story time helped us make it through.  February we started the bonding process. At first I thought it was going to be a piece of cake but they proved me wrong pretty quickly by starting to fight, which got progressively worse to the point we just had to take a break and regroup. And then start all over from scratch, armed with more information and ideas. Thankfully, though the process has been slow, we now have lots of grooming and bunny kisses and playtime together.

Then we hit a rough patch over the summer. At the end of June, Hazel had to spend the night at the vet while battling a mild case of stasis. Then at the end of July, Fiver got to spend 2 nights at the vet for the same thing. And then Hazel, again, for one night just last weekend.  They did bloodwork and found some elevated liver enzyme that may indicate coccidia, a gut parasite. So many bunny meds, too many trips to Purcellville (which is a half hour from my home with no traffic), and too much money!

We also think they may have been eating the carpet in their room even more than we realized. So they are temporarily moved back to the basement where they lived when we first brought them home. This will give us time to give them a whole bunny room make-over: replace the carpet with something more rabbit-friendly, paint their room a pretty light green, decorate it with cute bunny art, and build their luxurious bunny condo!

There were times when I wasn't sure if we'd all make it to the first birthday. I'm so exhausted yet so in love with these two fuzzy creatures who have made me laugh, made me yell, made me cry, made me bleed, covered me with fur, sprinkled my entire house with hay, adorned me with bunny kisses, occasionally allowed me to snuggle them, made me frustrated, made me scared, and made me love and open my heart to another bunny(ies). As difficult as it has been at times, they have captured my heart and I love them to the moon and back.

VIB (Very Important Bunny)

For this past week we have been bunny sitting for some friends and fellow bunny lovers. This wasn't just any bunny, she is a Very Important Bunny, because she is the birth mother of my own special bunnies, Hazel and Fiver. And her name is Little.

she was hiding a bit when she first got here

She has very similar markings to Hazel and Fiver; in fact, my two were the only ones in the litter of 7 that had markings like hers; except for the fact that her coloring is more of a copper/caramel color instead of the dark brown/black that mine are. She has been super sweet and loves attention! I was worried that she might be a little nervous being in a strange place with new people and other bunnies nearby, but it took her no time at all in making herself right at home with us.

this is her relaxing about an hour later

hello new people! I want to check you out!

The first night we kept Little in her pen and let Hazel out in the same room to see how they would respond to each other. My hopes of this beautiful mother-daughter reunion were quickly dashed when Little let Hazel know, in no uncertain terms that she was not happy to have Hazel sniffing around her cage! Oh well, no harm done thankfully. I guess I kinda forgot that Little is not fixed at this point so she's a bit more territorial.

as she got more comfortable we were able to make her space a bit bigger

bunny naps!

who's a pretty girl? oh, me? 

Hazel and Fiver enjoying the apple sticks Little brought

Little also proceeded to remind us of this fact by chinning every single item in the room and claiming it as her own and then peeing in the corner! But her sweet affectionate demeanor and her funny quirky personality helped us to be patient and understanding enough to look past these minor infractions. And then cause us to become quite enamored with her!

I found the hay stash!

Hazel says, " I'm still you're princess though, right mama?"

this girl loves her flopsies!

We have truly enjoyed every minute with her and will miss her when she goes back home. It gives me a glimpse into what life would be like if we tried to add more bunnies to our lives...both the challenges and the joys!  For now, two is more than enough!

brave little explorer

We love you, Little, and will miss you but feel free to come back for a visit any time, sweet funny Little Girl!

The Journey of Bonding Bunnies

Hazel and Fiver are brother and sister, the twins of their litter of seven. When we first brought them home they were housed together for a few weeks until they got to the age where it might be possible for them to make babies. Then they were housed in neighboring x-pens so they could see each other and groom each other between the bars, which they often did. I had heard about the bonding of bunnies but never thought it would be an issue with my two. There was never any aggression shown between them.

 Then it finally came time for them to be spayed and neutered! That was a nerve-racking day but we all got through it with flying colors! Then we still had to wait a couple weeks before putting them together in the same pen while they were recovering from surgery. I was such a relieved bunny mama when we got past the surgery and recovery and couldn't wait to see them interact together again!

The first couple of weeks back together was great! We took it slow,  let them play together, explore each other's house. They seemed to be instantly bonded! Perfect!…That is until they had a fight.

They were playing nicely downstairs and I had run upstairs for a split second. Then I heard the rumbling. I ran downstairs and they were in full circle-chase-biting-fighting mode! I couldn't believe my eyes! A minute ago they were snuggling in their castle, now they're tearing each others fur out!!

Thankfully I was able to separate them quickly and there were no injuries except for loss of a few chunks of fur. I just couldn't understand how they could go from being so sweet to each other to practically wanting to kill each other so quickly. The next few weeks were tense. There was snuggling and there was fighting, until the fighting became more and more frequent and the snuggling became non-existent. I had to put them back in separate pens and call for some help.

Having never had more than one bun at a time, I had no clue what I was doing when it came to bonding bunnies. I remember several times looking at them in tears, frustrated, not knowing what to do, just wanting them to be happy and healthy. I mean, the whole point of getting TWO bunnies was so they could be each other's companion. But this process was very stressful, for me and for them. How were we going to get past this?

I started researching online, asking questions of the vet, and I joined a couple rabbit Facebook groups. Finally I felt armed with the right knowledge to move forward with the bonding process. We had to take it slow. We had to find neutral territory. We had to remain calm and patient.

We started in a bedroom, then moved to a bathroom. Then we began expanding into the hallway. It was time-consuming. I spent many nights sitting on a hardwood floor watching them interact in the bathroom. Watching them learn to trust each other and turn to each other for comfort in stressful unfamiliar situations. There were a few setbacks for sure. But we would just take a small break, take a deep breath and jump back in to the deep end.

I am happy to say that after 5 (almost 6) months, we are about 95% bonded!! We are still moving slowly as it relates to their actual living space…thats where they have been most territorial. But when we let them out of their room together, they pretty much have almost full run of the upstairs level of our house. They love to explore together, munch on hay together, and there is lots of grooming and snuggling!! There was a time when I thought we might not ever get to this point. And we're getting closer every day on getting past that last 5%.

I know many of you have similar stories of triumphs and woes. Some of you may still be in the middle of it or about to embark on this bonding journey. To you I would say…take heart. All the stress and frustration will be worth it in the end when you see your beautiful buns become the best of friends and snuggle like they never want to leave each other's side.

Happy Sparkle Day!!

Today, June 5, is the day we celebrate Sparkle Day! "What is Sparkle Day?", you might ask. Well here's the story...

Nine years ago in July, we lost our beloved bunny Mr. Sparkle, which you've seen me write about many times. He was very special to us. He was our family. He was our little ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. He was everything his name says. And his birthday was June 5th.

Even while he was still with us and after he left us, we have celebrated Sparkle Day on June 5th to honor his memory and his legacy. He taught us to be crazy, have fun, and live life to the fullest every day because you never know what tomorrow holds. So every year on this day we try to do something new, something different, something daring, something fun or extra-ordinary.

So how am I celebrating this year? Today I spent the morning with a close friend picking wildflowers from a field and I'm getting new glasses frames which are a very different style than I'm used to, just because I wanted a change. I even got Hazel and Fiver into the celebration. I've been working on bonding them and we are at a point where we need to go to the next level of being together in their living space. But I've been very nervous to let it happen because I hate to see them fight. But in light of Sparkle Day, I took the leap and let them out together in their housing space...And they did great!! I told them I think Mr. Sparkle would've been very proud of them! Very simple ways to celebrate Sparkleness but different than the ordinary usual day.

Today is the day to take a chance. Show your Sparkleness! Do something you've always wanted to do but have been afraid or nervous to. Take a leap of faith, something small, something big, something unique. Thats how I remember my Sparkle...

Sparkle and me

"The light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long...and you have burned so very very brightly."

My current little sunbeams!!

Hay, hay, and more hay!!

Hay is very important for a bunnies diet. According to the rabbit food pyramid, it should make up about 80% of their diet, at least.  And the best kind of hay is Timothy hay.  Some other hays and grasses are good too including orchard grass, bermuda grass, brome hay.  Some hays add mint to help with digestion. Alfalfa hay is given to bunnies younger than 6 months to help them grow. Once they reach that age though, it should be slowly weaned off and used only as a treat hay because it is high in calories. And we don't want fat bunnies!

 My husband and I recently put ourselves on a budget and started looking for some areas in our finances where we could cut back on our spending, including the bunny stuff. In addition to cutting back on spending, I've also been thinking about finding a better quality hay for the bunnies. The stuff you get in the pet store is sufficient if you have nothing else available. But in reality, its not very good quality and it can get very expensive when you have to buy several bags every week or so. There must be a hay alternative thats better quality and less expensive.

hmm, where's that alfalfa hay? Oh here it is! Yumm!

I asked around the bunny community and lots of people recommended going to a farm supply store. Well, luckily I live in Loudoun County of Northern Virginia and we are surrounded by farms. Surely there must be a decent farm supply store within a half hour drive that I could look into. And sure enough, I located a Southern States just about a half hour from my house.

sharing hay with a friend is fun

We took a Saturday and drove out there. I asked a young girl there about their hay for bunnies. She laughed when I told her I had been using Kaytee brand hay from the pet store. And said, "would you like a bale?" Um, I think so! They showed me this huge bale of hay, probably about 50 pounds. My jaw dropped to the floor when she told me it was only $7!!!  At the pet store a 16oz bag of hay runs about $6-7. Um what?!  16oz=$7 vs. 50lbs=$7…wow.

I felt like a fool! WHY have we not done this SOONER?!?!  And let me tell you, that is a heck of a lot of hay!! Not only is that super cheap but its actually really great quality hay. First cut timothy hay mixed with orchard grass. I understand 2nd cut is slightly better but 1st cut is also very good. I've also heard from many other bunny owners that once you go to the bales, the buns will never eat store brand again.  We'll see…

this is the hay once I pulled it out of my 4runner...2 large totes, 1 small tote, and 2 yard bags

When I gave Hazel and Fiver a fresh pile of hay this afternoon, I mixed in a bit of the new hay with the old store bought hay to gradually introduce the new hay. Fiver immediately went to have a nibble and began digging through it. Usually he digs through his hay to find all the good bits. So he must've smelled some good bits somewhere in the middle. All I can say, they better like it because we have a ton of it!!