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I think that Paterson and Bitsy fought while I was at work the other day / having ORAL SURGERY. There was fur all around and stuff. The upside is, he seems to be doing a lot better and is eating his critical care and taking his meds. Though, not without a huge struggle EVERY TIME. Before, I started with the meds and then gave him the Critical Care but he seems to really like it so I've been giving that to him first to make sure he eats it before the stress levels go up. He likes some of his meds but hates the Batril (the pink one?). The baby Oval is his fave. I had to sleep at my parents house yesterday so I wanted to separate them in case they went at it again but when I put him in the cage and her not they sat on opposite sides staring at each other and not moving except to the door so I opened it up again. My babies.
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Sep 16, 2009 14:36
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Fenarisk posted:It took a good hour and some really slapped-together household supplies, but the computer room is now bunny proofed. Sprout and Dodger spent 3 hours there last night with me in there, and while it's about the same size as our bedroom it has a few nooks and crannies but is mostly wide open for them. The computer room is the ONE room neither are allowed to go in until now. This sounds hopeful. I would keep up this setup every night (don't leave them alone, just hang out on the computer or something) and encourage snuggling when you get a chance. Put them side by side and pet them together switching hands often. If they don't get into a big scuffle, this should do the trick. If something does breakout, I would separate them, give them something to distract them for a moment (food)and put them back together. Buns have good memories and Portia never forgot the time that Ender attacked her which made my life a lot harder.
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Sep 17, 2009 20:50
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Milly and Andy had a bath tub session the other day. It went pretty well for the most part. Milly is definitely the dominant one but Andy is putting up a little bit of resistance. They just sort of hung out most of the time but Milly got the humping pretty quick. Most of it was painless but Andy wasn't taking it too well toward the end and I think he may have been trying to bite so I separated. If only things would go as easy as they did for the last two.
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Sep 18, 2009 10:15
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So I want to get a friend for my bunny maybe next year. She is a French lop (as I've stated before). I was looking at dwarf buns. Would that be an issue with her size? Also, is it better to get a male bun if she is female for the befriending process? The new bun will be adopted, so I wont have to worry about getting it fixed, but my rabbit is not. They won't spay rabbits in my area which really pisses me off. Is this going to be a problem though? Cute sleepy bunny pic 
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Sep 18, 2009 13:21
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PumpkinPirate posted:They won't spay rabbits in my area which really pisses me off. Is this going to be a problem though? Yes, but not just because intact females are assholes and incredibly hard to bond. It's a serious problem because females over 3 years old have a 70-80% chance of developing ovarian or uterine cancers. The cancer typically kills them when it metastasizes to other organs, most commonly to the lungs or the intestines. If the former, they die of pleural effusions, which is basically like suffocating to death. If the latter, they die of obstruction and subsequent bowel necrosis, often suffering starvation for a short period before the necrosis actually poisons them. I've had to euthanize rabbits dying of both and it's horrible. And once the cancers have developed, you always run the risk that cancer cells have already left the reproductive structures and may spread four, five years later. Three of my five who had already developed cancer at spay, later died of it, even though the cancer on the reproductive tissue was removed at spay. So it is imperative that you get her spayed ASAP, before the cancers have a chance to develop. As for the other questions. Yes, a male-female pair is easier to create than a same sex pair. Size shouldn't matter unless it's so discrepant that one can seriously harm the other during the bonding process. alucinor fucked around with this message at 14:51 on Sep 18, 2009 |
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Sep 18, 2009 14:46
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How often do you guys go through a 50lb box of hay? I've had mine for months and there's still more than half left, and I swear the buns always have hay in their hay box. Should I be encouraging more hay eating (less pellets and veggies)?
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Sep 19, 2009 05:52
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angelicism posted:How often do you guys go through a 50lb box of hay? I've had mine for months and there's still more than half left, and I swear the buns always have hay in their hay box. Should I be encouraging more hay eating (less pellets and veggies)? Yes. But you know, my rabbits are both smallish, 4-5lbs, and one eats more hay than the other. I'd say almost twice as much. Sometimes they'll take up to six weeks to devour a 10lb bag of hay, sometimes 4. It tends to fluctuate every few months.
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Sep 19, 2009 06:03
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Got in our 5 lb. order of Kleen Mama hay and the bun LOVES it! She just hung out in her cage, chomping on some hay. Even with the ridiculous UPS shipping charges, it's still cheaper per pound than Oxbow!
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Sep 20, 2009 00:14
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Is there a nutritional difference between Timothy and Orchard Grass? I give the bunnies both but they greatly prefer Orchard Grass.
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Sep 20, 2009 01:52
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justFaye posted:Is there a nutritional difference between Timothy and Orchard Grass? I give the bunnies both but they greatly prefer Orchard Grass. They are quite similar, with a few slight differences in fiber, calcium, protein, and the like. (Source) Effectively they are close enough that it's no problem to feed exclusively orchard (or bluegrass, brome, fescue; any of the low-calcium grass hays) instead of timothy. The textures are quite different, which is why many rabbits exhibit a preference. Orchard tends to be more leafs, less stems.
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Sep 20, 2009 02:51
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alucinor posted:They are quite similar, with a few slight differences in fiber, calcium, protein, and the like. (Source) Effectively they are close enough that it's no problem to feed exclusively orchard (or bluegrass, brome, fescue; any of the low-calcium grass hays) instead of timothy. The textures are quite different, which is why many rabbits exhibit a preference. Orchard tends to be more leafs, less stems. I've been a bit curious about that too. Mine love Timothy but I'd like to get them a few other types to try out. Andy has been on a biting spree lately and took a hunk out of me last night. I think maybe I just haven't waited long enough for his hormones to balance so I'm putting the bonding on hold again just in case. Frustration.
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Sep 20, 2009 21:57
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Turns out my room wasn't as well bunny-proofed as I had thought. All it took was a few seconds near my Wii's scart cable and CHOMP. I suppose it's my own fault but still 
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Sep 21, 2009 13:36
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DS at Night posted:Turns out my room wasn't as well bunny-proofed as I had thought. All it took was a few seconds near my Wii's scart cable and CHOMP. I am a firm believer that unless you keep your rabbit caged, no amount of bunnyproofing will ensure complete safety of your things. We bunnyproofed like hell, but bunnies find a way. The first 2 years we had Bowser, I can't tell you how many cords we went through on our telephone, chargers, lamps, and computer mice. Bunnies find a way. In other news, Bowser is becoming the sweetest bunny on the planet. She's always been an attention hog, doesn't fight us when we pick her up, etc, but lately it's a whole new level of love from her. She's been following me all around the house, and when I spend any fraction of time with her, she's licking me like mad. Even when I'm doing something she doesn't like, like pulling the tufts of molted fur from her rear end, she's licking me. It's bizarre, but I'll take it.
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Sep 21, 2009 16:47
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Melicious posted:pulling the tufts of molted fur Isn't this a great hobby? 
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Sep 21, 2009 23:34
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justFaye posted:Ours only eat specific spots of carpet, and aren't super determined at it, so this may not help... but we put those grass mats down on the spots they like to eat, and then they just eat the mats instead. But, if it's your entire carpet he goes after, it would be difficult to cover the whole thing in grass mats... I found success with this method as well. Generally the carpet eating only occurs when he's trying to get me out of bed in the morning because he knows it pisses me off. I discovered that he enjoyed eating my grass mat and other floor mats much more than the carpet.  The blue shag rug at the top is made of cotton and he'll sometimes excise a strand to chew on--beats the hell out of him eating carpet.  Secondary defense is I've littered my house with random pamphlets and pieces of cardboard for him to nibble at.
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Sep 23, 2009 00:45
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Kip posted:I love the chocolate nose! It's what I call Zen's nose, which is colored just like that. Lighter in the face darkening at the nose until it looks like it was dipped in dark chocolate.  I give it kisses all the time. Zen patiently tolerates this.
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Sep 23, 2009 04:43
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Melicious posted:I am a firm believer that unless you keep your rabbit caged, no amount of bunnyproofing will ensure complete safety of your things. We bunnyproofed like hell, but bunnies find a way. The first 2 years we had Bowser, I can't tell you how many cords we went through on our telephone, chargers, lamps, and computer mice. Bunnies find a way. It's true, although it's still weird how he ignored all the other cables and went straight for the wii. After his chewing on a Gamecube controller and biting through two PS2 controllers on previous occasions I'm starting to get the feeling he's not a big fan of gaming.
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Sep 23, 2009 08:33
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DS at Night posted:It's true, although it's still weird how he ignored all the other cables and went straight for the wii. After his chewing on a Gamecube controller and biting through two PS2 controllers on previous occasions I'm starting to get the feeling he's not a big fan of gaming. My buns are the exact opposite. The louder and more violent the game is on the 360, the quicker they'll literally sit and loaf facing the tv in order to watch. Sprout loves gears of war and Dodger likes prototype 
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Sep 23, 2009 17:20
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Fenarisk posted:My buns are the exact opposite. The louder and more violent the game is on the 360, the quicker they'll literally sit and loaf facing the tv in order to watch. That's so cute! Zen pointedly looks away from the TV. Pfft.
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Sep 23, 2009 17:37
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My new bun is doing awesome and while I haven't put him and Bear within touching distance of each other, they're tolerating the side-by-side pens much better. I'm going to wait until Tuesday, exactly two weeks since Bear got neutered, before introducing them without a barrier. They'll each have harnesses on should any fights break out. Also, if you have a Pet Supermarket nearby, I highly highly highly recommend picking these up. It's a super simple concept but for some reason I couldn't find anything like it anywhere else. It's the only toy Bear will play with, and Gil's favorite toy by far.  It's simply a plastic ball with a small-ish hole inside (not shown), large enough to fit corn kernels, sunflower seeds, and most small bunny treats. It pops right open and is easy to refill, and the bunnies go nuts. They're $1.99 for a pack of two so you can't beat that. They're called Go! Cat Go! Play-N-Treat balls, and can be found in the cat section. You may have to ask an employee exactly where they are as my Pet Supermarket had them nowhere near the toys. I'm so excited for Tuesday. I know it probably won't go as well as I hope, but I've got my fingers crossed. Hopefully they'll tolerate each other for a bit and not try to kill each other within the first few sniffs.
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Sep 24, 2009 04:50
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Everywhere I look I see people saying that their bunnies love chewing through cords. Every bunny care guide I read mentions to bunny-proof by wrapping cords in pvc. My bunnies never ever chew cords. They chew cardboard and their pen bars, but have never touched cords. I don't leave them unattended regardless, but did I luck out, or am I just too trusting?
Megalodon fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Sep 24, 2009 |
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Sep 24, 2009 04:50
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Sorry for the repeat posting, but I was just too happy about this to not show everyone. They still have their separate pens, but here are Bear and Gil schmoozing it up right next to each other.  I can't wait until they're bonded!
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Sep 24, 2009 05:42
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Megalodon posted:When I was a kid we had one like this for my cat. We'd put catnip pellets in it and he'd go nutsy-cookoo over it. I imagine a similar thing would happen with the buns!
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Sep 24, 2009 06:16
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Megalodon posted:corn kernels, sunflower seeds, and most small bunny treats. I would stay away from corn and sunflower seeds. Scaaaary--talk about messing up a bunny's GI tract. Better treats are things like apples, bananas--any fruit, really, that they've had in their diet or in small amounts. Even an herb or veggie that they don't get often would be fun.
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Sep 24, 2009 07:22
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Megalodon posted:Sorry for the repeat posting, but I was just too happy about this to not show everyone. Very cute. Looks like you got lucky, sometimes they just take to one another. Whatever you do, don't leave them alone together and break up fights immediately, buns have great memories for that sort of thing. Otherwise, enjoy the easy bonding time that the rest of us didn't have 
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Sep 24, 2009 16:50
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I know this is somewhat off topic, but I don't have PM anymore and perhaps other can chime in as well. My girlfriend saw my awesome bunny cage and requested one for her pigs (she has 4 and they're in a pretty tiny thing right now). However pigs, not being litterbox trained (she says it's technically possible but incredibly hard) poses a problem. I tried to make some removable pans but it just didn't work and I'm wondering if Alucinor/anyone else has had any lucky with anything else. What does one do with little piggies poo/peeing everywhere? To keep this somewhat bun-oriented, here's an amazing pic from CO everyone has to see :
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Sep 24, 2009 18:56
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Deceptor101 posted:What does one do with little piggies poo/peeing everywhere? Since the new grids are too small for piggies, you can use closetmaid shelving instead, and you get something kind like this.
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Sep 24, 2009 19:42
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CatholicSoulTrain posted:I would stay away from corn and sunflower seeds. Scaaaary--talk about messing up a bunny's GI tract. Bummer.  I bought a few cans of bunny treats and that was the majority of them. Figures they're terrible for them. I'll toss the stuff and stick with dried papaya and other fruits. More expensive but they love it and no GI problems. Thanks.
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Sep 25, 2009 00:02
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I got impatient and decided to introduce the boys today. It was the first time they'd seen each other without a barrier in between them. I originally wanted to wait until Tuesday, 14 days after Bear's neutering, but they've been doing so well that I tried it a few days early. There definitely isn't an instant bond, but it went a million times better than I expected. Both were on a harness and leash, with my boyfriend and I each holding one, just in case the inevitable fight broke out. Unsurprisingly, Bear was extremely submissive. He actually seems to dig Gil. After ignoring each other for about 10 minutes, Bear snuck up behind Gil and snuggled up against him, burying his head in his side. Gil completely ignored him for about a minute before trying to bite him, though it was more of a grumpy bite attempt, and nowhere near the aggressiveness he showed when I first brought him home. I separated them and they're now back in their cages. I've read that it's best to separate them immediately after a fight, so I'm giving them some cool down time and will try again in a few hours. Any tips? Should I let them both out together when I feed them dinner, or will this cause food aggressiveness? I'll have two individual bowls spaced apart. Either way, this is going a lot smoother than I expected. 
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Sep 26, 2009 00:13
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Megalodon posted:I got impatient and decided to introduce the boys today. It was the first time they'd seen each other without a barrier in between them. I originally wanted to wait until Tuesday, 14 days after Bear's neutering, but they've been doing so well that I tried it a few days early. Just take it slow. It sounds like Bear will be submissive which is really good, someone's gotta be submissive Next time maybe try feeding them with their own pile of greens but in the same space. Food is usually a good distract.
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Sep 26, 2009 23:33
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After 4 months, Sprout groomed Dodger's head for the first time last night when I was letting them eat pellets together and run around the living room. She went on to groom him a total of 3 times on the head between the ears that night, for maybe 1 and a half to 2 minutes straight. Is this a good sign, and should I do anything to encourage it or should I just leave it alone to go its course?
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Sep 29, 2009 15:52
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Fenarisk posted:After 4 months, Sprout groomed Dodger's head for the first time last night when I was letting them eat pellets together and run around the living room. She went on to groom him a total of 3 times on the head between the ears that night, for maybe 1 and a half to 2 minutes straight. Is this a good sign, and should I do anything to encourage it or should I just leave it alone to go its course? Aww, grooming. Encourage it if you can, sometimes putting something very tasty on their head will encourage the other one to groom. It didn't work for my two but it's worth a shot.
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Sep 29, 2009 20:43
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So I THINK Zen groomed Frith for about half a second yesterday, but I was at a bad angle (behind Zen's butt) to be able to tell. The moment I crept around to take a peek, she looked up at me expecting her own groomings. Boo. I wanted to see bunny love.
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Sep 29, 2009 22:13
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alucinor posted:You're using a grid cage, right? The original C&C cages were invented for piggies and only later adapted for rabbits, so she just needs to go back to the original. Instead of letting the grids rest on the floor, basically you just build a box out of coroplast, put the grids around it (outside the coro rather than inside), and away you go. The coro is not removable; to clean it, you use a scoop (like a dustpan) to empty most of the litter into a trashcan, then use paper towels and vinegar to wipe it down before refilling with clean bedding. Many people use fleece over most of the cage (layered to keep pee away from the top, and vacuuming up the poos daily) and an area of bedding just under the hay mangers where most of the pooping and peeing will occur. Ooooh coroplast, I didn't even know about that stuff. Thanks! Quick question, it's shedding season and Ben is shedding in a weird way. He's entirely gotten rid of the guard hairs on his butt, and all that remains is the soft fluff of the undercoat. The rest of his body is shedding a lot, but normal ratio of guard/undercoat. Is this ok? Should I be worried?
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Sep 30, 2009 02:36
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Okay, my bunny bonding is going slowly, and I need some help. Bear, my lionhead, is actually doing really well. If I'm holding the other one, he'll sniff him, and today he even started grooming his butt. He really seems to like Gil, but Gil isn't having it. He gets irritated and will try to grab Bear, only having been successful a couple of times since I try to avoid this as much as possible. He's managed to pull out a few tufts of fur, though, and I just noticed an old scab from their first grapple on Bear today. I'm just not sure what to do about Gil. He's a rex, and probably close to twice Bear's weight. They're both neutered males. I'm nervous about letting them interact because I'm worried about Bear. I'd feel terrible if he got hurt, but I don't know how to let them interact without a problem. Bear always wants to hang out and Gil always gets irritated. I can't let them roam freely, and even on leashes, outside so they're in a strange place, Bear will run to play with Gil and Gil will get pissed. I should also note that their first fight happened because Bear decided to mount Gil, which I found pretty strange. Bear has a very submissive personality, while Gil is the opposite, not to mention much larger. He's backed off since then, and now seems to be submitting, but Gil doesn't like him either way. Help.
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Sep 30, 2009 04:08
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Bonding is going to take a long time, and a lot of effort. It's likely too early to start thinking things are going downhill, a good idea would be to try stressing them together. Try putting them in a carrier and taking them for a 20-30 minute car ride. If this isn't an option, but them in a carrier/large cardboard box/etc and put them on top of a washing machine set to agitate. The stressful situation will cause them to realize that the other is not a threat. Beyond that, make sure that when they are near each other, they are given lots of positive reinforcement (i.e. treats) so that they see being with one another as a good thing. Try placing them both side by side and petting them, switching up hands, so that they get a bit of each other's scent on them. Keep them still, just laying side by side and being pet. Don't worry, bonding can be a long process, but it takes a bit of work. Very few bonded rabbits started out as fast friends.
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Sep 30, 2009 16:21
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Sprout was grooming Dodger again last night for a few minutes, and to my surprise Dodger actually groomed her back all over her head and ears right after. They still don't snuggle together and Dodger still chases Sprout around the room now and then but there's no fights at all. I want to start working towards leaving them in the bedroom during the day together, but both their cages are in there that they sleep in at night (and sometimes Sprout lies in during the day), and Sprout was very territorial of her under-the-bed loafing area before. Any recommendations for making this jump without ruining how good bonding has gone lately? The worst thing I can think of is completely wiping out all progress the last few weeks.
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Oct 1, 2009 15:30
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My bunny has gone on a serious couch licking rampage lately  Apparently he discovered he likes the feel of liking microfiber? I don't know. Leaving huge wet spots all over it
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Oct 3, 2009 00:28
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Levitate posted:My bunny has gone on a serious couch licking rampage lately Ours does this too I remember reading somewhere that if they lick objects near you or associated with you, it's a sign of affection, sort of like proxy grooming or something. So that might be a good thing. Hope yours isn't chewing on it too, our couch looks like poo poo now because he used to nip on the edges of the cushions a lot. Doesn't do it as much anymore, but still licks the dickens out of it.
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Oct 3, 2009 01:55
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nope, he just goes to town for minutes on end and leaves big wet spots. not chewing
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Oct 3, 2009 02:37
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