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.

Rabbit Pedicures

Nail trimming is a very important part of caring for healthy bunnies. We just trimmed our bunnies nails the other day for the first time ever! When we had Mr. Sparkle, I was so nervous to do it myself, that I just took him to the vet every 3-4 months for a checkup and had the vet do the trimming for me. But when we got Hazel and Fiver, I knew I had to get past my fears and learn how to do it myself. First of all, I now had 2 buns instead of 1 and second of all, the vet we use now is much further away. I don't have the time or the money to take them to the vet that often just for a nail trim!

When I took my buns to their very first vet visit, I was determined to have our rabbit-saavy vet show me how to do it so I could try it out myself. For those who may not know, trimming bunny nails is not quite the same as trimming your own. First you have a very wiggly creature who really doesn't like to be held unless its on their own terms. And then bunny nails have something called the "quick". This is actually a blood vessel in the nail and if you cut too close to that, its very uncomfortable for the rabbit and they will bleed...a lot. Some dogs have this too.

So before you trim bunnies nails, you should prepare yourself with all the proper equipment you will need...scissors (I use a guillotine style that has a circle cut-out where the nail goes), a small bowl of water, cotton swabs, Kwik Stop (a styptic powder used to stop bleeding, or in a pinch you can also use flour or cornstarch), and a towel or blanket. In case you do get too close and cut the quick, all you have to do is take the cotton swab, moisten it in the water and then the powder and press gently onto the rabbits nail that is bleeding. This will help the bleeding stop quickly with minimal harm to the rabbit. However, if you take your time, you shouldn't need to worry about this step.

Two important things to keep in mind when giving your bunny a pedicure: 1) while you can do it as a one-person job, its really better and easier with two (one to hold bunny, one to trim) and 2) if you're nervous about cutting the quick, just trim the tip, you can always go back and trim more later as you get comfortable. Its better to cut just a little than to cut too much.

My husband decided I should do the holding and he would do the trimming. We took one bunny at a time and set them on our bed. We picked a time in the middle of the day when they are less active and the bed was a place they hadn't been to before so they were more likely to let me hold them and comfort them and then afterward they got the reward of being able to check out a new place.

For the front paws, when I held each of them in a semi-loaf position (on their tummy like they would normally sit), I only gently put one arm around them and used my other hand to pet their nose. Very little restraint is actually needed, just enough to keep them still. If bunny was reluctant to let hubby pull out a paw, my one hand could slide a little underneath them and gently push on his/her elbow to get the paw to stick out. Rabbits have 5 nails on the front paws, 4 regular ones and a dewclaw which is like their thumb and is somewhat on the underside of the paw. A little trickier to get to that one but it just requires a little patience.

obviously this isn't my bun but this is a good picture of how I position the buns to do the back nails. this might be a good position to do the front nails too like this person is doing.

For the back paws, I gently slid my hand under the front paws and lifted them up close to my body as if they were standing up and used my other hand to flip their rear end out so their big back feet pop out right in front, in plain view. The rabbits are always gently but firmly supported in either position with constant comforting and reassuring affection. Its a win-win for all parties...the bunny feels safe, Mama gets lots of bunny snuggles, and Papa gets the trimming job done quickly and easily. There are only 4 nails on the back feet and since my bunnies have clear nails, the quick is very easy to see so it was easy to avoid the quick. (Note: not all bunnies have clear nails. If your bunny has dark nails and you can't see the quick, use the scissors to press on the nail before you cut. If bunny flinches you're too close to the quick.)

My Hazel-girl checking out the bed

Both Hazel and Fiver were very well-behaved and cooperative for their first at-home nail trimming. And all in all I think hubby and I did a pretty good job too! Now we have the confidence to do it ourselves each time going forward. I'm not sure why it took me so long to learn!

look how pretty her little feet are now!