Bunny lovin'

Bunnies are very social creatures. As we learned about rabbits and this aspect of their nature, we looked for a companion for Bunya. We ended up bonding Bunya with two sisters, Lucy & Ethel.

Here, Bunya is demonstrating his affection for Lucy by grooming her. The head, face and ears are very popular among the buns.

Another way they show their love is just laying together. There's a reason for the term "snuggle bunnies". In the picture below, however, Bunya is trying to get Ethel to groom him (as he did for Lucy in the video).

Not everyone can afford more than one bunny as a pet. In this case, you have to realize that your bun will bond with you - this includes lots of "free time" (out of any pen), snuggling and you rubbing their head and ears (the bun is alpha). Of course, this must be on the bunny's terms. A rescued bun, especially, may have a bad back-story involving neglect or abuse. You have to build trust and comfort with your bun so the two of you can bond. You also have to figure out where your bunny likes and will allow grooming. Discovering your bunny's personality is part of the fun adventure.

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Bunny Lovin'

Bonded bunnies keep each other company and love on each other, as demonstrated here by Bunya and Ethel...

Bunya has a spot above his tail that when you scratch it, he begins to lick. Ethel seems to have discovered this, much to her delight, and even gets to coast a little near the end and just enjoy being groomed by him.

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

When the treat is that good...

When the treat is that good, you execute extraordinary strategies to protect your "interests".

As has been written here before, the bunnies favorite treat is a Probios (apple flavor). It's a horse biscuit that aids digestion and although it's small, one is too big for any of our bunnies. So about 9:00pm every night, they get one biscuit, broken roughly into thirds.

But they don't always break too evenly. They like it so much that they have learned that if they eat their piece fast enough, they might be able to go snatch some of the big crumbs from someone else's portion (Ethel does not do this, but Bunya and Lucy will).

They have developed coping mechanisms to deal with this behavior. Ethel has learned to hunker down in place and eat hers really fast. Bunya usually does the same, although in this picture, he moved a little away. He stays close because Ethel's usually the easy target for poaching.

Lucy always runs away with hers so no one is close to her and she can keep an eye out while she's munching her treat. Another variation of this is that she will back into the space between their gate and the wall, into her own protective single bunny "cage".

Well, this night, Lucy got the big piece and she knew it. Instead of backing into her panic room, she went in head first so no one could approach her mouth or any of her crumbs.

From this vantage point, she kept an eye on Bunya and Ethel, and finished all of her allotted treat with absolutely no interference.

Bunnies are funny! And smart!

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Mani-Pedi Day at the bunny shelter

Last weekend was the bunnies' mani-pedi day at the spa. I mean, at the GHRS bunny shelter. They really were in need of shorter nails. We have done this at home, but took the easy way out this time. The volunteers do it so much faster than we do. It's one of the many services they offer (like bunny boarding and the Hop Shop, where we dropped about a hundred dollars on supplies - we really stocked up on all kinds of hays and Oxbow Bunny Basics/T... it's kindofa long drive from where we live).

The bunnies hate car rides but we put them in their carrier (as I write that, it sounds a lot quicker than it was - Lucy does NOT like to be picked up). Then we all schlepped to over to the shelter.

Notice that there is only
one bunny that requires
TWO bunny wranglers.

Lucy: "When we get home, human,
you will pay for these indignities."

Ethel: "I feel I should warn you -
I am ticklish."

Ethel: "Ahhh, so where did you get your reflexology training?"

Bunya: "I really don't want to be here."

They were all happy to get home.

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day