Executive bunny Bunya

For as long as I can recall, Bunya loves his executive bunny chair. He hops up to the top of the sofa and over, and onto his chair. The chair is used for anyone that wants to sit at the desk, but we figured it was a good idea not to regularly park it at the desk, a potential bunny heaven of chewy wires linking computer, printer, buncam, and so on.

Checking the view before sitting in his chair.

Bunya, watching CNBC
(Cable News Bunny Channel)

Bunya: Did you have an appointment?
How did you get past my secretary?

Before Lucy and Ethel, Alice used to snuggle with Bunya on the chair. Now it is pretty much his ... Lucy and Ethel venture onto the sofa. And Ethel will crest the top cushion. But neither seems to want to join Bunya in the executive chair.

"Olden days": Alice and Bunya, "co-chairs" of Bunya Estates

The bunnies know their treat containers

Back to the "bunnies are smart" theme, check out this Bunny CSI adventure starring Bunya and Alice.

Extracting the Exact
(All such plastic containers are thoroughly cleaned before being used for pet treats.)

Pawing the Probios
We think this is their favorite treat -
they will start running for the container
as soon as they hear us unscrewing the top
(this treat is good for their digestion).

It is amazing what they pick up on when they think a treat may be involved. If I just get up to walk in the direction of the kitchen, I have a little buntourage hopping along with me. Never mind that seconds before, they were in one of their little flopped together piles of Bunmuda Triangle, seeming barely awake. Or scattered to the four corners of the basement in search of adventure and just the right piece of cardboard to rip, tear and chew. Even if it was not my intent to go for a treat (for them, anyway), more often than not, they turn out to be right. A piece of papaya or something makes it their way. They have trained me well.

And heaven forbid my snack is in a crinkly bag that sounds like one of their treat bags. I will be sitting in my chair and instantly will have three little bunnies staring up at me from my right side. "Puppy dog eyes" can't hold a candle to three sets of "bunny may I pleeeeease have a treat" eyes.
So I have just started keeping their treat containers next to my chair.
I am such an easy touch. And they know it.
As I said, they have trained me well.

Does your pet know where you keep the good stuff?

Bunnies by the numbers - it's scary!

One of the fabulous bunny authorities on the Bunny Care/Resource Links is to  Rabbit Health Central (U of Miami), by Dana Krempels (see her license plate here ... I wonder if she drives a VW Rabbit?).

I recently came across a post with one of Dr. Krepels' many articles; in it, she walks through the elements of applicable numbers (for example: how long bunnies can live, how many babies they can have per litter, how often they can have a litter) and selects some parameters for the assumptions of the math problem. Conservative assumptions.

You can check out the full explanation, but the bottom line is that after 7 years, the 2 (read: two) bunnies you start with have the reproductive capabilities to end up with almost 95 BILLION - that's BILLION with a "B"  - rabbits.

Whew!
And that's why your bunnies should be math impaired and you should adopt rabbits from your local rescue shelter.

Yes, they are cute.
But there are plenty to go around and
you can adopt them from your local rescue shelter.

In Memoriam - Alice

Alice is the first bunny with whom Bunya was bonded. She was a character, a very vocal little white bunny with major rabbitude. After an illness, she unbonded from Bunya and they no longer got along. Working with GHRS, we got Lucy & Ethel, and GHRS was able to re-adopt Alice to another home.

We posted some pictures of Alice recently and tried to find out how she was doing. We were saddened to learn that she had passed away just a few weeks ago.

As we suggested with other blog bunnies that have passed this year, please consider making a donation to your local HRS chapter or other rabbit rescue shelter. If you do not have one, here's GHRS.

Read about The Rainbow Bridge.

More funny bunny feets - Alice

This is in response to Two Bunny Blog's comment on the last post.

I think this first picture is the position to which you were referring.

Alice in the "full frog" position

I think I have one of Lucy posed like similarly, but at this point, there are so many pictures in so many folders, I'm lucky to find something and remember the story that goes with it for a post.

As long as I was looking through the Alice pictures, here are a couple more.

Alice snuggling Bunya in the "open parentheses" position,
a favorite of the current LWB, Ethel.

Alice, regally posed on the coffee table:.

If you aren't acquainted with the Alice story, check out this post or enter "Alice" in the "Search this blog" box in the right-hand column - there are lots of funny stories about her. Him.

Alice's remote control

This remote control has been referenced in a couple of posts, most recently here, but this is the original. To back up the legend, Alice, here is a picture of said remote.

Missing, that is, chewed off, buttons include:
AT&T (these first 5 are the across the top control buttons)
TV
Power
DVD
Aux
Fast Forward
TV/videos
Stop
Play
Replay
Video on demand
Recorded TV
Menu
Back
Go interactive
Pointer buttons (3 of 4: left, up, right. Guess she was saving "down" for a later snack)
Exit to TV

And this is just the top of the remote.
To identify these buttons, I had to search the internet for a picture of an intact controller.

Alice, we miss you and wish you well.
And I hope the buttons were delicious.

Bunny watching

Well, bunnies watching TV.
Here again, the bunnies flopped altogether to watch their shows. Now they are into "Mad Men".

Bunya found it necessary to move (his shaggy, shedding butt)
under the coffee table for a better view of the TV,
unimpeded by the chain link of their pen.

It is very fortunate that we like the same shows, so we can all stay together and do not have to buy another TV set.

And since Alice left, there's no more fighting over the remote control.

No clue what happened - BunCam suspended

Don't know what happened, but Friday evening, Lucy and Ethel started fighting. Since the picture below, Lucy has grown to be the biggest of the 3 buns. Ethel doesn't have much of a chance. They were jumping in the air and twirling around - and Ethel's fur was flying. It brought back painful memories of when Alice returned from the vet after her illness (For some background, see Alice got adopted, Ethel is back from the vet, and Bunny reunion has gone well ... at least we thought).

Ethel has been back from the vet for over 3 weeks and the 3 of them seemed great together, so we are really perplexed. In addition, as far as we know, Lucy & Ethel have always been together (at least since abandoned at HRS, if not before). Best guess is that they are just about a year old.

An HRS volunteer, our local bunny whisperer, is going to come over tomorrow evening and observe to see if she can spot what might be the issue.

Better times

Keep hoppy, peaceful thoughts for them. Thanks.

Rabbit Rally this weekend at Atlanta area Petco stores

Staffed by North Georgia Chapter of HRS volunteers, this coming Saturday and Sunday from 1:00-2:00PM. Potential bunny adopters can meet a bunny fanatic or two, hear about their lives as slaves to these wonderful pets and get some materials to learn more about bunnies.

Alice: These are not the droids you are looking for, Human.

Bunny care - The Bunny Burrito (with Alice, er, well, I mean Theodore)

This technique, illustrated in a most professional manner by the nurse at our vet, is for when you need to control the bunny in a firm manner, for example, to administer medicine or inspect dentition.

The bunny volunteer from our audience today is, of course, Alice Theodore, for whom the burrito hold was an imperative. (But for the name change, I could have called this post "Alice in Chains" - that's just a band reference, nothing dirty).

(Pink eyes = Alice Theodore
Blue eyes = Ethel.
Do not confuse the two, although it is admittedly hard to distinguish from this photo.)

OMG, Theodore is such a cute bunny.

Have your vet or an HRS volunteer show you how to wrap your bunnies in a towel so that they stay with you and do not hurt you or themselves.

VERY IMPORTANT ALICE UPDATE!!!

New first-hand information from Alice's new human:

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Alice is not an only bunny. She is one of seven bunnies, three cats, and a Great Dane, and yet we have a very peaceful household....

He is slowly sidling up to the other rabbits, and they are gradually allowing it. They will now generally allow him to eat hay and treats with them....

All in all, Theodore is a joy, and he seems to take joy in his new home. His continuing adaptation to life with us shows visibly every day.

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Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the big reveal: Alice is a boy bunny!

This slipped by countless professionals.
In their defense, "Alice" was a very small bunny, with humongous rabbitude.
In Theodore's defense, maybe he was so angry because he got a girl's name!
(Check out the lyrics to "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash.)

And so in tribute to Theodore, nee' Alice, a short presentation:

Any way you slice it, that is one Theo-dorable bunny.

And we are very, very happy that he is assimilating into his new fraternity.

> : )

Roll call!

Bunya knows his name, although he may choose to ignore us (unless we come bearing treats), and Alice clearly knew hers. "Roll call" is our way of trying to teach the bunnies their names. It is a little more confusing when there are two new baby buns at the same time.

Roll call is when one of us has a handful of treats, calls out a bunny's name and then gives the treat to that bunny. Bunya knows what's up and so he's already jumped on the sofa to try to get closer to the treats. He has become "treat aggressive", a bad habit he picked up from Alice; the two of them would be running parallel across the room for treats and Alice (maybe 3 pounds soaking wet) would body slam Bunya on the way over, so she could get to the treats first. She was feisty!

Anyway, here's an early roll call. You can see Bunya try to take the treats as they are held out regardless of whose turn. And little Ethel is such a dainty (read that slooooow) eater, I am not sure she gets her share.

As I watch this, I can see that they have improved and we will have to video an updated roll call.

(P.S. Did you catch the bunny slippers? Hint: They were the two not going after the treats.)

Does your pet know its name? How did you teach it?

Alice Flops (video)

One of the definitions in the right panel is of a "flop". This video shows one of Alice's. This was actually a rather calm version, almost in slow motion, for her. Most often, the flop would be very fast; her head would twist in the direction she was going to fall and then her body would follow. Bunya gives her some head licks once she lands.

TV Remote ... another memory of Alice

No buttons on the basement remote control. Alice found them to be some sort of bunny delicacy and chewed the rubber buttons off. I assume they have been tossed with the bunny pellets. Perhaps those few that had some extra bounce.

When you watch TV in the basement with the bunnies, you have to use the force to change the channels.