You there, Masseuse - Head & ear rubs for 2 bunnies, please!

Bunya will often pancake himself near me for a head rub. Within reach, but not conveniently located.

Sometimes, a curious bunny will snuggle alongside and participate, most often Ethel. That's what happened here. About the first half of the video was cut, so it's only obnoxiously long but not considered torture under the Geneva convention (they may reconsider).

Anyway, as it starts, they are already in position, enjoying their massage. About 20 seconds in, I stop momentarily to get a better picture of them - and they don't move. Near the end, Ethel gets up to shake off but Bunya stays for more.

I think this is a way for them not to have to juggle for position as to who will groom who. They can each imagine him or herself as the dominant bunny and still snuggle with each other.

I don't mind rubbing his little keppe* at all -  I love it - I just wish he were a little more geographically desirable so I didn't always have to stretch and twist like a pretzel to reach him.

* head

Battle Bunny - Knight of the Round Plate

Not sure about this item, sent to me by a Regular Rabbit Ramblings Reader (R4).
Oh, heck, it was my sister. And who knows where she found it.

I like bunnies. And I could read a fantasy/historical book.
But a bunny with a mace?

Detail of center of plate
The more I look at it, the more I like it ...
Take that evil predator!

Above referenced plate

Prepare for battle!
This bunny is fighting for the end of bunnydom as prey.

Maybe it is part of a whole story or fairy tale (or tail).
Decide for yourself at this site with the artist's (Luba Sharapan) works.
This platter is one of a kind, so if you like it, better hurry!

Bunya - going to the source for treats

It amazes me how little noise it takes for the bunnies to realize you have picked up a baggie with treats.

And who seems to have the best hearing when it comes to treats? - The Bunya. This is a bunny who burns no calorie carelessly. His biggest disappointments come when the bag he hears is for a human. But then he runs over so fast, and the girls follow him so excitedly, that you end up giving them a treat from their stash anyway.

Bunya was here for a while before he bonded with the dynamic duo and is much more comfortable around humans. So here's what he'll do that they won't - jump on the human (who's laying on the sofa) to get to the treats first and to get more of the treats.

This is what you call an "extreme" close-up.

More cinéma vérité from Rabbit Ramblings, your bunny blog.

Ethel takes the high ground

Ethel has been taking the high ground lately. Sometimes on top of the warren, sometimes on the top of the cardboard condo, and sometimes on the couch. All of a sudden, you notice this little head bobbing and weaving, exploring the seat cushions.

Then she gives her final push and crests the side arms. Pop! - in your face.

Hmmm, do I want to change the channel,
or chew the spit out of his camera?

Look into my eyes -
You will give me treats...
You WILL give me treats!

While she's up there, she tries to whip Bunya's "give me treats" staredown on me. But it doesn't work - she's too cute. Bunya needs to give her some more lessons.

Bunny Black Friday - Another Yawn

A little treat for you shoppers too pooped to slide a credit card even one more time - FREE!
Here are some pooped bunnies, as in yawning, not pooping from the butt (for a change).

Yawns are so cute, my wife and I smack each other ("Look! Look! Look!") - but quietly, so they don't stop - when one of the bunnies is yawning and even better, stretching, too. They are so loooooong!

I can sit there with the camera, praying for a picture or a video, and nothing.
Until I put it down.
By the time the stretch/yawn starts, I can try to grab the camera, turn it on, let it cycle until it's ready to take a picture and, well, it's long been over. Very elusive.

A friend sent me a link to someone who has  accumulated bunny yawn pictures and even a few movies. The movies will lead you to some more on YouTube, like the lionhead bunny who yawns, and someone overlaid a lion's roar on it.

Enjoy yawning bunnies here.

Thanks, Hank.
Happy Holidays, All.

Breakfast for 3 bunnies

The first thing I give the bunnies for breakfast is their crumbles. Usually, all three of them home in on them and start chomping, maybe after a stretch. And after Bunya gets his brief head rub - but not too long ... he doesn't want the girls to get a jump on him food-wise (like that will ever happen).

The light bulbs in the bunnies' den are fluorescent. Therefore, they take some time to warm up and really light the room. This clip is too dark (tried to lighten it with "special effects") but the bunnies behavior so amused me (surprise!) that I had to share it anyway.

The crumbles are spread among three bowls, so they can share or not. This morning, they all three decided to crowd into the same bowl. Even with the view from above, you can see them chewing at 150 mph. And they stay all mushed together, with their heads bobbing up and down like those little toy birdies that drink water.

All-in-all, a model of cooperative eating. They started out with in their classic position, with Ethel squished between Bunya and Lucy (but that part was really dark).

It was reminiscent of my favorite picture of them...

Love the little heart on Lucy's shoulder, formed because
her black ear was laying back in just the right place.
You can get this picture on a mouse pad
and benefit GHRS - help rescue bunnies - here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is the first Rabbit Ramblings Thanksgiving
(i.e., the blog is less than a year old ... whew - seems longer!)

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? We hope lots.

Lucy: Know what turkeys are thankful for?
Ethel: No, what?
Lucy: Vegetarians.
Ethel: *groan*

Enjoy your holiday. Please drive carefully!

The Essence of Bunnehs

I love this!!!


This is from a Facebook page but I was able to locate the artist's blog. Go check it out and you will see a few really cute and funny pictures of rabbits. I hope bunnx of abunnydance gets the time and inspiration to grace us with more bunny drawings.

The Simpsons - Giant Bunnies

Yeah, someone on The Simpsons must like bunnies.

I think this was from their latest Halloween Treehouse of Horror episode, at least in part a take-off of Avatar. In this clip of Nature versus the Machines, Nature is represented by giant bunnies - who "thump" to destroy the enemy!

Prior observations of TV bunnies were here.
TV commericals with bunnies were in 3 posts: 1, 2, 3 (so far)

Ethel mesmerized (more Zen-bun)

Most bunnies are not particularly fond of being picked up. Various explanations seem to center around that they are prey animals. So if you do pick up your bunny, snuggle with them. Don't, for example, hold them straight out from your body, suspended in the air.

Some bunnies can be mesmerized. Lucy, for sure ... if you can catch her. This usually happens after my wife has turned them upside down, often cradling them like a baby, as in this video.

We have posted some stills before, but here is an "action" video. You can see Ethel gets the full facial treatment - ears, cheeks, forehead... all while her little feets just stick up in the air.

Everybody's blood pressure goes down.

Chant your mantra: bun-ny, bun-ny, bun-ny, bunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...

Pet store bunnies ... make me very sad

Update: From New Mexico HRS - Boycott Notice

My wife had to stop at a shopping center and next door to where she had to go was a pet store. Actually, it was the pet store from which my daughter surreptitiously purchased Bunya, on sale for $10.

Unfortunately, I went in.

The gray bunny is blurry because he was in motion,
basically flopping right there to snuggle.

In divided huge glass "cages" were tons o' buns. There were a couple of more in a cage on the floor. Some looked like siblings and there were different breeds ... rex, lionhead .... they were all so cute.

And that is the problem.

My initial reaction is "so cute", which is what will attract people to buy them, but then I immediately start thinking about what's wrong with this.
Why don't they have more room? That's not enough.
While some customers were gently stroking a few buns, others would just grab them;
I cringed.
How many are already pregnant?
How many will get sick because the store personnel don't know enough about bunnies to educate potential purchasers about their needs and how to feed and care for them?
How many domesticated bunny babies will be let go into the wild after people get bored with them?
How many would essentially be abandoned in a small cage in the corner of some ice-cold fume-filled garage?

And why wasn't there any freakin' hay in their cages?!? A bunny's diet is about 85% hay.

Very nicely, I asked one of the store clerks if they sold Timothy hay. They did and I asked her if she could put some in the bunnies' cages, which she did. They practically pounced on it and began chowing down.

I love and have had all kinds of animals (dogs, cats, hamsters ... and now bunnies). Bunnies are not our sole focus. We know there is a lot of stuff wrong in the world with the way so many people are treated ... I do not understand why people do the things they do to other people. We are partial to charities benefiting children, education, disease research and food for the hungry (don't send us solicitations - we already picked ours out and have been giving to them for decades). But this is a bunny blog.

And I was in a pet store and looking at bunnies. I have these stupid "business" cards I made up for the blog and on the back are a list of Rabbit Resources, the first of which is for the Georgia House Rabbit Society. So a few of them ended up in the hands of the people around the bunny cages, with the explanation that there were rescued bunnies available for adoption ... already fixed (which makes them really bargain priced). One lady overheard me and, bless her, came over and asked for the site. If these people go to HRS, they will at least get some education and be knowledgeable adopters if they still decide they want a bunny.

Well, you may have discerned that this has been another personal therapy blog. Or vent. Or rant.
I'm done now.
This time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FYI, the Rabbit Resources are in the right hand column.
These are the ones I squeezed on the card:

Bunny Resources
HRS - GA http://www.houserabbitga.com/
House Rabbit Society  http://www.rabbit.org/
So much info at http://www.hopperhome.com/
How much a bunny costs is on http://www.binkybunny.com/
Bunny language is explored at http://language.rabbitspeak.com/
Bunny health info is on http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/rabbithealth.html

The Zen Bun - Bunya gets skritched

Yes, I know, this video is way too long. So, watch as much as you want.

BUT - if you do watch it, and watch Bunya melt flat into the floor, a puddle of bunny, occasionally chattering or licking the rug (too much effort to lift his head, open his eyes and lick the human, but the sentiment is there), tell me you don't start to relax right along with him. I don't know if this will work with anyone or if you have to be a bunny person to understand how relaxed he is. He even ignores Ethel, who hops over to see what's going on.

At the very end, he hears a loud noise and jumps to the alert position. Until then, enjoy your moment of Zen...

Be at Bun with the Universe.
Now there, don't you feel better?

Ethel surveys her domain

Ethel has been taking to the high ground lately. This includes hopping on the sofa and seeing what there is to see. She may be pondering a leap to the desk with all those delicious wires and power cords.

In these photos, she hopped on top of their cardboard warren and checked out the four corners of the map.

Window to outside - check.
Bunya's pretty much chewed up the books on the bookcase,
but there appear to be many tasty pages left for me.

Chew stick A-frame - check.
And boxes to hop on, but plastic, so no traction.
Have to get the humans to change that somehow.

Ahhh, home sweet home.
Hmm, note to self: get the humans to vacuum some of those stray poops.

And - ohhhh, the human.
And he's got that stupid camera again.
Who does he think he is, the digital Ansel Adams???

We live but to do their bidding...

Vacuum-zilla Kong

Our rusty-trusty vacuum cleaner was in the shop for a 30,000 hare-raising mile check-up. In addition to its tune up, it needed a new power cord.

Care to guess why?

Because electric cords are a bunny's favorite freakin' chew toy!

So when you are categorizing in Quicken, is that a Household expense or a Pet expense?

Anyway, I'm off on a tangent, just like Ethel. The point was that we had to drag out the old beast of a vacuum to clean the bunnies' pen while the good vacuum was being freshened for their future chewing pleasure. This was the last time we will ever run that not-so-golden very-oldie. It made such a racket and smell (Honey, is something burning?), we only had it on for about a minute total.

Normally, they don't care, whether it is the regular vacuum or the little hand vacuum. I can be cleaning up right next to them and they won't move ... barely give it a glance.

However, in that one minute Vacuum-zilla was heaving and screaming, it scared the poop out of the bunnies.

They scattered for the hills.

Ethel ran out of the pen, zoomed around and
finally hid in the A-frame of chew sticks
where she could keep an eye on the beast.

Bunya the Chicken-Hearted dove into their big cardboard warren.
He is usually the most fearless.

And here is what we saw of Lucy:



I think we're all happy to see that thing go bye-bye.

Matching bunny & kitten link found!

Thank you, Joy!!!
(See comment in prior post)

Joy found the link to the card and others with a whole color palate of matching bunnies and kittens. And Joy was right - they are adorable - check them out. You can buy a box of 16 cards that contains 4 of each of the 4 different bun-kit pairings. Currently $12.95 - sounds like a deal. Maybe someone should get them wholesale and sell them in rescue center gift shops???

And Joy, when you are giving treats to your bunnies tonight, be sure to keep a couple for yourself - you deserve it! Thank you!

Matching bunny and cat

This was not purchased by me, but given to me.
First, it is just a cute card.
Second, the bunny looks kinda' like Lucy.

Think it would look the same in black & white?

Here's all the information from the back of the card, so you can find some for yourself!

I tried to find this specific card on the web to put a link in this post, but no luck. However, there might be a book or two of cute pet pictures by this person. If you do find a link to this card, please enter it in a comment. Thanks!

I may have to put this in a little frame.

P.S. The inside is blank so you can write whatever you want.

Lucy - Nuh uh. NO. No way. Don't even think it.

If you think about picking up Lucy, she runs into their pen and disappears into the tunnel or one of the boxes.

Sunday morning is our time to clean the bunnies' pen top to bottom, groom them, clip their nails when needed (like they needed today), give them a quickie Bunny 201 health inspection, et cetera.

Lucy was happily grazing in the fresh hay box, with her back to me. As soon as I started in her direction, she bolted into one of the boxes. When I put my hands there, she ran into the accordian tunnel. I put one hand at each end and was working my way to her in the middle when she limboed under one of my hands ... and into my wife's hands.

This is why we don't turn on the BunCam until late in the morning on Sundays.


I feel so violated.
Please do not ever do that again.

She's always intensely aware, watching you.
If she didn't just bolt, she could get a job with homeland security as one of their most vigilant officers.

Ethel as Chicken-bunny

Doesn't she look like she's sitting on an egg?

(Don't want to see what she'd hatch.)

All her little parts tucked under.

Feathery fur all fluffy.

Maybe she's just cold. It's finally getting colder here.

Note to self: No more ice cubes in the water dish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check out Bunya and Ethel on Daily Bunny!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothing to do with bunnies: Take note of where you are today at 11:11 (am or pm) on
11-11-11. There will be only one more day when you can do this (next year, 12-12-12)

Ethel in her paper digging box -- and out of it

Ethel still LOVES her digging box.
She stayed buried in there so long (yes, this clip was really cut down), that I lobbed in a treat to perk her up. Look for the tips of her ears. Near the end of the clip, her little head pops up.
Of course, when Bunya sees treats flying, he hops over to scam some for himself.

One morning, I accidentally made a loud noise. You know how bunnies love those.
Ethel was in her paper box happily tunneling away. In the millisecond after the loud noise, she was a bolt of lighting standing about 5 feet away from the box, at attention in her on-guard position - and a piece of her paper box came with her...

Love those blue, blue eyes!

I could have made a video of this, too.
This is what the video would look like -- stare at the picture for 60 seconds.
She did not budge after the rocket ride. She stood frozen like that trying to figure out where the danger was coming from.
Then she thumped at me and ran off to her pen.

The digging box evolution is told here and here.

The Bunny Hop

The first annual European Rabbit Hopping Championships were held recently. I know this thanks to one of my main Rabbit Ramblings Roving Reporters.

This little bunny looks so earnest, maintaining wonderful form.
This bunny wants to win.

Fixed-wing bunny?
Does that give extra lift?

I hope they treat their bunnies well. The humans look like they love them.
If you would like to see some great bunny (and owner) pictures and read about it, check out these sites:
Buzzfeed
SFGate
Yahoo

Bunny vision

In this picture, can Lucy & Ethel see each other?

I learned some more about bunnies today, about their vision. GHRS has a Facebook page where Miss Waffles answers questions (Miss Waffles also has her own Facebook fanpage).

Someone asked if bunnies see in color and the answer cited a very interesting article. Check it out if you want to learn what your bunny might be seeing - or not seeing.

While bunnies can see almost 360 degrees (think: defenses to being a prey animal), they have a blind spot right in front of them. So, while you might extend your closed hand when meeting a new (friendly) dog, you might scare the poop out of a bunny because you are in their blind spot. This is also the reason they have to sniff around to find a treat you put right in front of them.

Read the article and learn more, like why bunnies may only blink 10-12 times an hour (and other benefits of their third eyelid) and why they see best in half-light conditions (they are crepuscular, as also mentioned on the buncam page of this blog).

Oh, and you can read Miss Waffles bunderful advice column here.

Bunny guard duty - still in pairs

They often pull pen gate guard duty in pairs (posted here).

Well, it looks like the girls have taken over. They gave up on Beetle Bunya Bailey.

Lucy: Yes, I am looking at you.

Lucy's giving me her patented disapproving Charles Bronson "Don't pick me up" stare.

Bunny care - Poopy Butt

Bunya's backside wasn't looking so great. This hare's hair was a mess.

Basically, to try to address the problem, you dial back on the veggies and bulk up on the hay and (hay) pellets. If it persists, take them to the vet. Bunya had some medicine prescribed.

We also had to clean his bottom (one held, one cleaned). This is the look he gave us...

Whoa! Whatcha' doin' down there?
Inappropriate touch! Inappropriate touch!

We gave him a few treats for his reluctant compliance. He still flicked us off all the way back to his pen.

You can read about "PB" on the GHRS site and elsewhere; several sites also address how to wash a bunny's derriere. (These links are specific pages within the sites listed in the right-hand column under Rabbit Resources.)

Cute, Cute, Cute - GHRS Adoptables

REALLY CUTE!!!
I believe the applicable bun-term is: SQUEEE!!!!

Thanks to Daily Bunny for posting adoptables from all over and now, another couple from GHRS.

Snowball and Cinnamon

Check out the GHRS website, the adoptables page, and Snowball and Cinnamon's page.
Here they are on Petfinder.

The Bunmuda Triangle revisited

The bunnies frequently form one of their patented triangle arrangements. I guess you have to be creative when there are three bonded bunnies instead of just two. I wish I had pictures of half the threesome positions I've seen, but the usual things get in the way...

They are usually in their pen, even with the gate open, when they assume formation.
If Bunya thinks you might be getting them (well, really, him) a treat, he breaks formation.
Lucy gives you her wild-eyed stare and is ready to bolt in a heartbeat. Faster, actually.
Ethel is okay unless you make a noise, like a cough; then she jumps into the "What was that?!?" on-guard stance, perched to zoom away.

So the first pictures were through the fence (remember, in case they move before getting an obstacle-free picture); they were all pretty awful and blurry.

They did not move (much) for the aerial "down" shot:

And actually pretty much stayed in position for this picture (although Bunya did lift up his head and Ethel opened her eyes):


I can't recall ever seeing Lucy with her eyes closed.
It's aways that paranoid-schizophrenic look.

Alternative earlier version of Bunmuda Triangle is here.

Bunny Halloween Fail

We were prepared for Halloween. Too much candy purchased fairly close to the holiday, so we didn't have to re-buy the candy.

My "costume", a "tip of the hat" to Halloween, bunnies and the 6 foot tall bunny, Harvey.

Today's post was to be pictures of any trick or treaters that came as bunnies. Alas, no takers.

Read about Harvey at Wikipedia and IMDb.

Now we have to get rid of all that candy. My wife's office will get a huge sweet surprise today. Hopefully, no sugar comas and the work will still get done.