I know some people followed the thread of Peter who sadly passed away August 19th (Found Rabbit). When we expanded Peters area middle of last year I told myself if he passed away within the first year or two I'd get another rabbit. Not to replace him, because no rabbit could replace him, but to honor him. To (try to) give another rabbit a good life to honor his life. Rabbits are sadly misunderstood and often recieve poor care through simple lack of understanding. I thought I would adopt a bonded pair but when I started looking, the rescues only would adopt to indoor set ups and my home isn't set up for indoor bunnies. So I started looking on Craigslist, Nextdoor and other sites for unwanted buns in need of a home. Then I saw it, baby bunnies (technically called kittens) born on the same day Peter passed away and only a mile from my house.
Now I didn't really want kittens, I was looking for older buns. But that little face in the middle just haunted me and after some serious debating with myself I signed up for two babies.
I have nothing against the black babies but the little brown one stole my heart from the first photo I saw. I picked the grey and white one too because I loved the little mustache.
Originally, the owner said that she bred them so her kids could experience babies. She was going to keep them until they were 10-12 weeks old. But she called me saying that they were growing a lot faster then expected, she had recently acquired two more rabbits (total of 11 in the home at that time) and the babies seemed ready to go. They were bottle babies and used to being handled (turns out Mom was already pregnant again within days of them being born). She felt comfortable letting me take them home at 6 weeks since I had rabbit experience. We were going to pick them up next weekend but we bumped it up to this weekend so my Mom could have birthday bunnies.
Kittens really are tender but these guys are eating pretty good and have nice healthy poops. They are (understandably) skittish but are adapting pretty well. We will introduce one new veggie per week so they don't get tummy upset, this week is lettuce. I am not giving them any fruit or high sugar veggies until they are six months old so I don't end up with stubborn fluffy. They do have a cilantro and strawberry plant in their area so they can start learning that they can eat plants. And, as babies, they get alfafa hay now but will transition to Timothy when they get older. We think we have a boy and girl; so if their spay/neuter happens after 3/4 months old they will be separated to ensure we don't have a surprise litter until we can get them spayed/neutered. They will get vaccinated for RHDV2 at 12 weeks old (assuming I can get an appointment by then). They are living in the catio and ! a playpen for now. Catio at night and when we are out, playpen inside when we are home and can supervise (cats + tiny bunnies = trouble).
They definitely are emerging with little personalities already.
Let me introduce (tentative names, pending gender verification and if something else speaks to me as a better name).
Gladys - a super mellow hyper girl. She loves running around the catio and digging in her bedding. She's the first one to investigate and a very relaxed child. My aunt started calling her Gladys as a joke and we haven't come up with something better.
Frodo - a relaxed little boy who seems to enjoy watching the world around him. His favorite spots are in or under things. In the videos I was sent of them before picking them up, he was always in the back of the group or in the corner. Don't ask me why but from the first photo he's been Frodo in my mind; something about how he lays and how quiet he seems. Dunno, but so far it is sticking.
Now I didn't really want kittens, I was looking for older buns. But that little face in the middle just haunted me and after some serious debating with myself I signed up for two babies.
I have nothing against the black babies but the little brown one stole my heart from the first photo I saw. I picked the grey and white one too because I loved the little mustache.
Originally, the owner said that she bred them so her kids could experience babies. She was going to keep them until they were 10-12 weeks old. But she called me saying that they were growing a lot faster then expected, she had recently acquired two more rabbits (total of 11 in the home at that time) and the babies seemed ready to go. They were bottle babies and used to being handled (turns out Mom was already pregnant again within days of them being born). She felt comfortable letting me take them home at 6 weeks since I had rabbit experience. We were going to pick them up next weekend but we bumped it up to this weekend so my Mom could have birthday bunnies.
Kittens really are tender but these guys are eating pretty good and have nice healthy poops. They are (understandably) skittish but are adapting pretty well. We will introduce one new veggie per week so they don't get tummy upset, this week is lettuce. I am not giving them any fruit or high sugar veggies until they are six months old so I don't end up with stubborn fluffy. They do have a cilantro and strawberry plant in their area so they can start learning that they can eat plants. And, as babies, they get alfafa hay now but will transition to Timothy when they get older. We think we have a boy and girl; so if their spay/neuter happens after 3/4 months old they will be separated to ensure we don't have a surprise litter until we can get them spayed/neutered. They will get vaccinated for RHDV2 at 12 weeks old (assuming I can get an appointment by then). They are living in the catio and ! a playpen for now. Catio at night and when we are out, playpen inside when we are home and can supervise (cats + tiny bunnies = trouble).
They definitely are emerging with little personalities already.
Let me introduce (tentative names, pending gender verification and if something else speaks to me as a better name).
Gladys - a super mellow hyper girl. She loves running around the catio and digging in her bedding. She's the first one to investigate and a very relaxed child. My aunt started calling her Gladys as a joke and we haven't come up with something better.
Frodo - a relaxed little boy who seems to enjoy watching the world around him. His favorite spots are in or under things. In the videos I was sent of them before picking them up, he was always in the back of the group or in the corner. Don't ask me why but from the first photo he's been Frodo in my mind; something about how he lays and how quiet he seems. Dunno, but so far it is sticking.