Happy New Year! (+ some bunny & human care)

New Year's reminder from the humans:

Bunnies do NOT like fireworks.

It stresses them just like other sudden and/or loud noises.

If your bunny's neighborhood is firecracker noisy, keep the buns cool and quiet.
Close the windows and doors. Close the blinds to reduce flashes.

If needed to "cover" firecracker noise, play music - peaceful, easy listening (not loud).

Think elevator music. No hair bands or hare bands. Stay away from 1812 Overture.
Your TV service might even have a suitable channel in its lineup - you just never tune to those channels.

If you do not already have boxes for them to play on and in, get some plain cardboard boxes (not slick or a lot of ink/color; no staples, labels or tape). Cut at least two openings in each box big enough for your bunny to get in and out ... they can hide in them, to further mute the noise and feel a little safer.

Keep them company and reassure them that everything's okay. Pet them if they are the petting kind of bunnies. Have a couple of healthy treats handy (Bunya told me to say that).

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A message from Bunya:

Hi there. Bunya here.

First, Ethel and I want to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Please be careful in your celebrations. If you drink, don't drive.
We don't have anything against moderate imbibing ... the humans don't know it but we always ferment a little carrot juice to celebrate, too. But we are staying home to celebrate. We hate cars.

Even if you don't drink, be careful driving, because not everyone is as smart as you.
Don't text while driving either. Just concentrate.

Also, be kind to each other next year. And beyond.
Be kind to all pets and animals, too. (But especially bunnies.)

Have fun & be safe!

Found this:

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Artist: Scott Hilburn on
The Argyle Sweater
GoComics
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook

Wishing you a very bunny Christmas!!!

One of my all-time favorite bunny pictures, my standard Christmas bun - and it's not even our bunny!

*Sigh*  Okay, Mom, I'll pose because it makes you so happy
and, after all, I am so darn cute.

This is Mr Cookie, one of the cutest bunnies ever and my way of wishing everyone a joyous, happy and safe holiday! Hope Santa Paws bring you what you want and, most importantly, what you need.

[Mr Cookie passed over the Rainbow Bridge about the same time we lost our Lucy, August of 2015. The internet and our hearts allow our treasured pets to live on and I hope they're having fun together over the bridge.]

Not-So-Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Help somebunny's holiday wish come true. 

Pet rescues are overloaded with wonderful pets someone abandoned. You can help:

#Volunteer

#Foster

#Adopt

#Donate

If you have room in your holiday budget, make a donation to your favorite shelter. Here are a couple of great ones:

Georgia House Rabbit Society

House Rabbit Society

Please - Do not give pets as gifts.

A Very Bunny Chanukah

One of the things I think about during the holiday season is the bunny picture I post for Christmas (this is the one time I'll tell you not to look back at older posts ... just wait). It is one of the cutest I have ever seen and look forward with anticipation to sharing it each year with Rabbit Ramblings readers.

But then I was wondering about Chanukah (or Hanukkah, Chanuka, Chanukah, Chanukkah, Channukah, Hanukah, Hannukah ... however you prefer to spell or pronounce it ... ask 2 people and you'll get 4 opinions).

Anyway, are there any bunny and Chanukah tie-ins???
Well, yes there are. And thanks to search engines and the world wide web, here are some examples ...

Bunnies lighting a menorah
is an animated ecard on doozycards.com

This bunny sitting on a carrot is a Menorah.

You can buy cards with a bunny and Chanukah theme here.

A bunny book about the holiday for little kids is available here.

Bunny and chocolate ... yum!

Needlepoint bunny eating a latke*.
Don't think a bunny would
really eat a latke, but it's cute.
(* fried grated and seasoned potato pancake,
traditionally served on Chanukah.
Think of a really excellent little hash brown round.)

Artist: Penny Collins of Regarding the Secret Life of Rabbits

(if you don't already follow her, do yourself a favor and check these out.)

https://sammys.club

www.facebook.com/regardingcomic

https://twitter.com/regardingcomic

https://ragingbuns.myportfolio.com/regarding-the-secret-lif…

Happy Chanukah - The Festival of Lights!

Definition of Home

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Adapting to aging bunnies

Sometimes, Bunya needs a cuddle to get away from Ethel's treat-aggressive behavior. Which he taught her.

Here Bunya's munching a small piece of their favorite treat, a Probios. It looks like a "crumby" disaster but part of that was because the camera was so close. Love watching bunnies eat. Their little moufs are just so cute.

You can also clearly see his cataracts.

Bunya has very little vision left; we think he may be able to see a little light. When I call him for a treat, he'll run into my leg. I'm happy he still shows such enthusiasm for treats, but am sad, too.

We just had their semi-annual wellness vet visit. He's over 12 and she's 9-1/2. They are aging gracefully, but both are losing weight as they age. They are the lightest they've ever been.

Ethel is a food vacuum; we might change her name to Hoover. Bunya can't even eat as fast as he used to - of any food given to the two of them, 80% is speedily consumed by Ethel. To give Bunya a chance to have a few pellets in peace, we have modified their morning procedures.

Old way: I used to give them their medicine in the kitchen, with a Probios treat chaser. Ethel runs around like crazy, sliding all over the slick floor, so excited for her morning medicine and treat. Bunya, a lot more low-key, starts to take his medicine. When Ethel sees this, she runs towards Bunya, slides on the kitchen floor and body-slams Bunya out of the way to take her medicine, so she can gobble her treat. If Bunya is interrupted in taking his meds, he does not like to restart.

New way: They stay in a pen overnight (so hopefully, Bunya doesn't get into trouble or hurt himself). Instead of opening the gate to let them run into the kitchen, I give them their medicine while they are still in the pen (Ethel still body-slams Bunya out of the way, but I can give them the medicine at the same time). Then they get their treat.

I open the gate and have trained Ethel to expect a special treat for her in the kitchen, so she gobbles her Probios and races out of the pen. In the kitchen, half the pellets are waiting for her in an edible treat bowl that she loves. So after she finishes the pellets, she starts eating the bowl, sliding it around the kitchen floor and leaving a Hansel & Gretel kind of hay crumb trail behind her.

The next video is from our new buncam. It does not broadcast but allows me to check on the bunnies from other rooms and the office.

This is what happens when they get morning meds and breakfast. It's black & white at first, until the lights come on (there's a flash as the camera adjusts). Ethel gets so excited and speeds around their (nighttime) pen in big circles. Bunya "looks" at her like she's crazy (he's right, she is).

Mr. B waits for the two-legged treat dispenser to deliver meds and treat [dispenser is dressed to get on the treadmill, so please excuse]. On one of her laps, she sees he's waiting and pushes him out of the way. When it finally arrives, they take their medicine and treat. Ethel gobbles hers and races to the edible bowl (with pellets) in the kitchen. Bunya finishes - taking so long to eat, you'll think the video has stopped - and walks to where he expects his bowl to be, because he can't see it; he has adapted to the new routine, too.

Here's Ethel at her edible bowl in the kitchen.

This keeps her busy as long as I leave the bowl on the floor. In the meantime, I give Bunya his own (non-edible) bowl with some willow leaves and pellets. Once he has had a chance to eat the pellets at his leisurely pace, I pick up Ethel's bowl and she joins him snacking on willow leaves.

They can still share a bowl of water without Ethel reverting to her Roller Derby manners.

This is an extra bowl of water in the kitchen. More bowls mean bunnies drink more.

They have a much bigger version of this flat bottom crock in their pen.

UPDATE:
Ethel (aka Hoover) figured that after she scarfed down her pellets, she should run back and check on what Bunya was eating. After one day of that antic, I closed the gate to protect Bunya and his more leisurely dining experience.

Resources:

Signs of Aging

Elderbuns

Living With An Elder Bun

End of Life

UPDATE #2:
Well, Ethel took her perseverance to a whole new level this morning. She finished her breakfast and ran back to snatch Bunya's. The gate was closed to prevent that - NOT. That stopped her for one or two mornings and she just decided she was a force of nature.

After my initial panic, I remembered I had some wire cutters in their room and could get her out, so, of course, I had to take a picture first. When I slowly opened the gate, she swung away from the food, so she just finished wiggling through and continued eating his pellets. No assistance needed.

I guess I'll have to stand guard now, like a hockey goalie, to give Bunya a chance.

Bonus bunstruction meme

Do you have artistic bunnies? Ours have made "impressions" on our carpets, books and, of course, wiring.

Our home decor now includes bricks or cinder blocks that we put in corners to block the midnight chewers. (The carpet wasn't even 2 weeks old. *sigh*)

If you see bunnies in the world, like in this picture, you might want to send them to BunSpace's Rabbits Everywhere page. (Among the older postings, you will see several from Bunya, Lucy & Ethel.)

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a wonderful & safe holiday!

Buy yourself a bed, too, human.

My bunny tries to trip me up for the life insurance?

Ethel almost killed us both this morning (and every day). She goes crazy running frantic circles around the feet of the two-legged treat dispenser (me).

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Bonus bunny meme - Spa day

Bunny Rabbit on Facebook

I cannot tell you how lucky this bunny is - Goonies has won the lottery, found the golden ticket of bunny humans... Bunny Rabbit and he (and many other rescued bunnies) share the same human. From abandoned outside to the best care anywhere. Oh, by the way, I may not have mentioned this in the last few minutes:

NEVER abandon a domestic pet bunny outside "in the wild" - they do not have the coping mechanisms of their wild cousins. This is most often a torturous death sentence from predators, parasites, dehydration and/or starvation.

Except for Goonies.

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

A Bunicorn!

Veterans Day

To our veterans on Veterans Day:

Thank you for your service.

Wishing you peace and good health.

For another Veterans Day post, see My Army Bunny Family.

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Meme on a Tuesday

Saw this adorable bunny with her helicopter ears and could not resist - it screamed "Meme me!".

How many of you are old enough to recall when TVs had "rabbit ears" you used to adjust the TV reception? (I am.)

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

A couple of bonus memes

Sometimes, I find a picture so cute, I want to meme and post it right away.

Sometimes, a #bunnybuttfriday post on the RR Facebook page lends itself to a caption.

Had one of each today.

Find lots of funny bunnies here.

Find lots of bunny butts here.

A Halloween Bunny Tale

Source/credit

In the mythical land of Trigiorria there is the legend of The Spirit Festival of the Rabbits.

At the end of the month of Octobré, when the veil between the worlds of the spirit and the real would thin, those who had lost family during the previous year would make a journey to the Spirit Woods. The recently departed would inhabit this forest during the year, awaiting the veil to be thin enough to cross over and thereby give their loved ones one last chance to say goodbye.

The family would sit and camp outside of the woods, sometimes as long as a week, awaiting for a messenger to arrive. That messenger - a white rabbit. As it approached, the family would gather and sit, patiently and quietly. The rabbit would find a spot near the family and sit down, regarding them with its ruby eyes and large ears turned towards them. At that point, the family would tell the rabbit the name of their recently deceased and give a final message to their loved one. Upon finishing, the family would offer the rabbit a token of their thanks, usually in the form of some sweet greens such as the tops of carrots or radishes. The rabbit would stand on its hind legs, taking the offering and, at the same time, folding its ears back, thereby trapping the family's message within them.

Turning around, the rabbit would sprint back into the forest, carrying the message for the spirit. Their ruby eyes able to see the other worldly spirits and their twitching noses able to find the scent of the family even upon the ghosts. Once they found the family member, they'd open their ears once again, imparting the whispers of the message still resounding within them and allow the family member to pass over with their family's love.

However, not all ghosts within the Spirit Woods are benevolent. As the noises that come from the forest are often eerie and vicious, it is the reason the families remain outside of the woods and uses the messengers. On a few occasions, dark shadows were seen lumbering forth from the tree line, but they never made it far for nipping at their heels were the guardians - the black rabbits of the forest. Whereas the inky claws of the spirits could rake furrows into the ground, they would simply meld into the rabbit's own obsidian fur. Wherever the black rabbits touched these creatures, there would be nothing but emptiness left behind. And when dozens of the guardians attacked a shadow, it dissolves so quickly that many people weren't sure they saw a shadow at all - only the frolicking of the rabbits was left behind.

Today, many families keep such rabbits in their homes as family members themselves. In fact, adopting one after the passing of their loved ones is seen as a blessing upon the house. When a white rabbit would stand on its hind legs and stare towards nothing, it is often thought that the animal is welcoming a friendly spirit into the house. The black rabbit would keep the family safe from any spirits that were not welcomed.

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

P.S. This story and others such as * Rainbow Bridge * Rabbit Rescue Poem * Easter Bunny Poems * A Tribute to Rescuers: One Final Rescue * The Star Thrower * To Love a Rescuer * A Volunteer's Paycheck * can be found on this blog page.

Make it a Happy Halloween for your bunnies, too!

Bunnies are prey animals. They don't like things like: strangers, loud noises, sudden movements, fireworks. These can stress them.

On Halloween, keep your buns cool and quiet, away from the constant noise and activity of Trick or Treaters.
Close the windows and doors. Close the blinds to avoid flashing lights.

Play music - peaceful, easy listening (not loud). Think elevator music.
(No hair bands or hare bands. Stay away from 1812 Overture.)
Your TV service might even have a suitable channel in its lineup - you just never tune to those channels.

If you do not already have boxes for them to play on and in, get some plain cardboard boxes (not slick or a lot of ink/color, no staples, labels or tape); cut at least two openings in each box big enough for your bunny to get in and out. They can hide in them, to further mute the noise and feel a little safer.

An air filter in their room may provide white noise to help muffle Halloween sounds.

Keep them company and reassure them that everything's okay. Pet them if they are the petting kind of bunnies. Have a few healthy rabbit treats handy (Bunya told me to say that; actually, he said "several"). 

BUT -- keep them away from the human treats and candy - these can make your bunny deathly ill.

Have a fun and safe Halloween!

P.S. Check out the post Bun o' lanterns -- Bunny pumpkins for Halloween

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*Day

Valentine the Bunny on Facebook

Funny Bunny Monday Meme*day

Bun o' lanterns -- Bunny pumpkins for Halloween

A Rabbit Ramblings traditional pre-Halloween post... If you carve a bunny pumpkin, please post a picture on the RR Facebook page so it can be added to the "library". (Bunkin pictures from miscellaneous sources around the internet and from past Facebook contributions, so also appreciate any picture credits you can add - thanks!)

Have fun! Be careful carving pumpkins and have a safe celebration!

Happy Halloween!

Carving a "bunkin" (bunny pumpkin) for Halloween?

Here are a few "Boo! Bunnies" to inspire your creative carving...

Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue FB page & website

Magic Happens Rabbit Rescue FB page & website

A classic lop image

Another approach to bunny pumpkin carving

Was this bunny in "Lord of the Rings" or something?

Don't forget "EB" - the Energizer Bunny

Bunny from Prickly City?

Bonded duo

                                                         Models for bonded duo pumpkin

Bunny Butt!
Talk to the butt, 'cause the ears ain't listening!
(Bernie Bunny from Annie's)

Bunny model: Pinki Larue

Model for pumpkin above

From Licorice Bun