Bunny Care - The Litter Box

I have mentioned previously that bunnies may be chewers or diggers. Lucky us, we got both.

As the girls approached their first birthday, their increased personal control significantly reduced the number of free-range poops and they all use the litter box "regularly". However, "digging" tendencies exercised in their litter box can disrupt their otherwise reasonably clean pen.

If you have a similar experience, let me share another of the many helpful hints from my local HRS chapter.

After you clean the litter box (I buy so much vinegar at Costco, I am sure they think I run a salad bar), lay in a couple of thin wire baking racks (like you put your cookies on to cool - except not these racks, anymore)...

Baking racks in the bottom
of the litter box

Pour in your litter of choice
(illustrated: Yesterday's News)

Cover the bottom to just above the racks



Cover with a selection of well-tossed hay













Add bunnies - and you're done!

Actually, as soon as the box hits the floor, the bunnies add themselves.
See some advice for about "chewers" at
Bunny care - Chew-Chew (not a train)
Bunny care - The Cardboard Jungle
Bunny care - The Cardboard Jungle, Part 2

Top 10 Ways You Know You Love Your Bunny Rabbit [Part IV]

[Feel free to substitute dog, cat or whatever your pet is for “bunny”.]

1. You can never have too much bunny stuff. (Rabbit’s Guy)
*Ahem* Yes, well check out the “Bunny Things” page.
But I swear, it’s not all mine.

2. Your bunnies make you smile. (Crafty Green Poet)
And sometimes laugh out loud, hopefully without scaring them laughing so loud and hard.
Laughing is good for you.

3. You sing to your bunnies. (Crafty Green Poet)
Top 40?
With my singing voice, my buns are much more appreciative when I turn on the TV for them.

4. You seem to always have a few scratches but really don’t notice them. (thef1chick)
It’s just a calendar entry: Remember to clip bunny nails.

5. John Updike is your favorite author.
(Rabbit Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, Rabbit at Rest, Rabbit Remembered)
Yeah, okay, your favorite book is really Bunnicula.
As long as you read it with the lights on.

6. Harvey is your favorite movie.
But any movie is best when preceded by Bugs Bunny cartoons.

7. You know you are doing okay by your bunnies when you get licks.
Laying on your recliner or the sofa, there is suddenly a bunny on your stomach, then licking your nose, then gone…

8. When your bunny chews your favorite magazine, you really don’t mind.
Speaking for my pen magazines, of course … not her cooking magazines.

9. You could swear your bunny winked at you.
Well, he did.
We both saw it.
Really.

10. You are partial in your shopping to products with a particular theme:

(Many thanks to my many pet-loving friends, relatives and Rabbit Ramblings Readers who contributed to this list.)

Check out Top 10 Ways You Know You Love Your Bunny Rabbit [Part 1]
Top 10 Ways You Know You Love Your Bunny Rabbit [Part Deux]
and Top 10 Ways You Know You Love Your Bunny Rabbit [Part C]


How can you tell that you love your pet?

Spotted at the bakery - Bunny Puffs!



Cream-filled bunnies?!?
This could re-define "bunny-whipped".
Even better - they are not shedding right now!

Spotted today at the Weaver Street Market in Carrboro, NC. 

These are the kind of bunnies to buy for Easter

Now, if you think buying a bunny would be a cute thing to do for Easter, buy one of these type bunnies - stuffed!

If you are serious about having a bunny as a pet, first get educated at sites like the House Rabbit Society and then adopt a rescue bunny from your local shelter.

P.S. Leave the little baby chicks alone, too, unless they're marshmallow Peeps!

Bunny care - What season is it?

Well, in Atlanta, this is the season that comes after winter. It is called summer.

Technically, it's spring but here, that's the same thing as summer. The only way you can tell or otherwise define a distinct spring here is because it's the 3 weeks that pollen covers EVERYTHING in Atlanta.

In an Atlanta spring, everyone drives yellow cars on yellow streets... you can't leave any windows open, car or home. If it rains (oh, yes, it rains ... like gather-some-friends-and-build-an-ark kind of rain), the rain water runs yellow.

It is also time for one of the bunnies seasonal sheddings. Off with the winter coats! We thought we had a fourth bunny for a while, until we realized it was just an accumulation in the corner of the room of shed hair that had formed like a tumbleweed. We need to give them fresh water a few times a day; it's easier than skimming shed hair off the bowl.

Bunnies have sensitive skin, so be mindful of it but do groom your bunnies. You don't want them to build up hair in their GI tract; that can lead to life threatening medical conditions. They can't regurgitate hairballs like cats. And if your bunnies love each other, they do a lot of group and personal grooming.

Here, Ethel starts to lick Bunya, so he hunkers down for some lovin', wiggling his tushy until he's worked himself flat to the floor. As usual, Ethel then gets distracted and starts to groom herself (hey, she has to look good for Bunya and Lucy - it's a good thing). Bunya waits patiently while she checks out this itch and that.

And then Ethel, the ADHD bunny, just hops away... ("Now, uh, what was I doing???")

The Bunny Precision Flopping Drill Team

It was getting late, about 11PM - it was bunny bedtime. Even with the gate open, they usually go into their pen to hang out after they have run around or done a NASBunny. The 3 of them went in and -

It was the Bunny Precision Flopping Drill Team:
Girls, right face!
Boys, left face!
Ears up!

I couldn't move out of my chair or they would scramble, looking for a treat. As it is, the little click the cell phone makes alerts Ethel. The picture is thru the pen chain link, because when I got up to try another fence-less angle, they got up, too.
Ethel looks to me like she's saying her goodnight prayers, nose on folded paws.

North Georgia House Rabbit Society in the news!

Check out the timely article: Rabbits good pets, but not best gifts

Find adorable adoptables,
like Lucy & Ethel,
at your local HRS!

Bunnies spotted Sunday at Atlanta Dogwood Festival

Fresh litter of bunnies hatching

Thanks to my son with the bunny-eye for the Daddy-guy.

Three foot tall chocolate bunny!

All the bunny news that's fit to print ... all the time ... News Flash!
Just spotted  a few minutes ago on tonight's episode of Food Network's Kid in a Candy Store:

Don't get too excited - it's hollow.

This ginormous bunny is from Madame Chocolat.

The show may be re-broadcast Monday at 8:30PM. "Check your local listings."

You can find chocolatier Hasty Torres and Madame Chocolat's Facebook page here.

Bunny walking stick spotted in Today Show clip (about the Royal Wedding)

After the commercial ... Don't blink - it goes by too fast (about 10 seconds in)...

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Thanks, Mom, for the keen bunny-eye!

If you want to see the full clip (and the commercial again), you can see it here.
It is at the bottom of the page (or click on the caption on that page that reads:
Wedding-goers: Their Fashionable Best).

Vanity License Plate - PCFUL 1

Henry Kissinger type?
A yogi perhaps?
Just a "peaceful one", a peaceful person, at one with the universe.


Ethel, the Zen bunny, at her personal spa:
Ommmmmmmm...
I am at one with the buniverse, Grasshopper,
or maybe at bun with the universe. I forget.

How do your pets relax?

Chocolate bunnies smooching

As noted in the right-hand column, Rabbit Ramblings Readers are global.
This bunny sighting picture was taken in Székesfehérvár, Hungary.
Say that 3 times fast...
Really messes with the spell checker, too!

Bunny care - AP Easter article

My sister called my attention to an article in the paper. It's to warn people who might get a rabbit for Easter.
That's good.
But it makes it seem like rabbits are more trouble than other pets.
That's bad.
But it lists a lot of realistic factors about bunny care.
That's good.
I wanted to share the link with you but couldn't find it in my local paper's website.
That's bad.
But if you Google: bunnies "Associated Press" "Sue Manning", you can find it in a number of papers, like here.
That's good.
Okay, Homer can take his "frogurt" and go home now (see Homer's frogurt).

The article also encourages those that want a wonderful pet bunny to learn about them first at the House Rabbit Society's website and to adopt a rescue.
That's GREAT!

In her best Uncle Sam voice:
I want you - and you - to adopt a rescue bunny!
And give them lots of treats!

Bunnies things spotted during a Decatur stroll

After dinner at a restaurant in Decatur with friends this weekend, we went on a stroll of the neighborhood and spotted many bunny things...



Bunny book in a store window

    

There was an outdoor exhibit of little buildings.
I thought the bunnies would love this one -
what a chew toy it would make!

 

We stopped in a store and
found several bunny items,
including another  bunny book,

 

a bunny plate,



bunny salt and pepper shakers and



a bunny game.



When we got home,
we wrapped a baby present
and included a stuffed bunny.

All in all, a very bun evening.

Bunny TV commercials - Part C

Thanks to HRS's thebunnylady for another bunny commercial:


Link: Dairy Queen Bunnies

Bunny Care - Top 5 Reasons to Shop at HRS

As you may know from earlier posts, we took the bunnies to HRS. Talk about a bunny-rich environment for "Bunny Things" pictures (see Rabbit Ramblings Bunny Things) ...

Ok, so it was easy pickings, but here's the point: If you are looking for something bunny-ish for your bunny friend, have you thought about looking in your local HRS shelter shop? Buy stuff there:
(1) You'll have lots of things "from which to choose" (I would say "to pick from", but my sister - not the "shopping" sister, another one - was an English teacher and although she has done other work for decades, the English teacher never retires. And my son is her grammer clone).
(2) You can find bunny necessities and fun stuff.
(3) You can ask bunny questions of the knowledgable volunteers.
(4) There are gifts for your bunnies - and your friends who are bunny-slaves.
(5) One of the best reasons: You will be helping save more bunnies.


BIG stuffed bunny



Bunnies love to chew on the natural wicker products

 

Just look at all these bunny treats!
This is what bunnies dream about most -
well, maybe second most



Bunny Toys and Bunny Ts

Bunny figurines

  

Bunny breed poster
Try to figure out what breed your bunny is -
or what combination of breeds    > : )





Bunny art
(I think I have one by this artist
that I got for my birthday last year,
from HRS)

 

And you can visit really cute bunnies!
Actually this was a boarder, Sammie
- yes, that's right, you can board your bunny while you are away -
who was incredibly cute and kept looking in on Bunya, Lucy and Ethel to say "hi"



Funny bunny

A very funny comic strip is on our topic...
Link: Rhymes with orange (04-06-2011)

Birthday bunnies

From my sisters.

Bunny bookmark
Link: It's Happy Bunny

Silver bunny

I may never get another non-bunny gift for the rest of my life...

Check, please!

One of the waitresses at my regular lunchtime haunt reads Rabbit Ramblings.

This was my check last time I was there.

More chocolate bunnies

So, what do you think - were Lucy and Ethel the models for these chocolate bunnies?

How long do you think we have to stay in this pose?

Mmmmmm ... could be.

Bunny care - Tax season (a brief tribute to CPAs and their busy season)

Here the bunnies consult their tax guides to help with the tax returns.

Ethel: Are we deductible dependents?
Bunya: I looked it up - you are half right - we're dependents.
Lucy: The human wishes...
Bunya: Well, he can deduct his contributions to the House Rabbit Society.

 
Actually, an HRS volunteer told me that white pages of phone books can be a good chewing distraction for bunnies (no covers, no personal injury attorney magnets).

Phone books are getting rare, but these tax books seem to provide them the same chewing satisfaction with half the calories.