Daphne gets adopted, Cini goes on a diet, the Sheffield 5 (or 4, rather) pen gets a makeover

Daphne

I seem to be so behind on these posts.  Daphne (the foster bunny, see earlier post) got adopted a few weeks ago!  On October tenth, I decided Daphne needed a nail trim.  Not being experienced enough to do it myself, we brought her to Care Day that day.

Many bunny lovers attended Care Day that weekend, including a bunny owner looking for a partner for her bun (Coco).  She had already tried Daphne a few months ago, but it hadn’t worked out.  None of the other buns worked that day, so she decided to give Daphne another shot.  It worked!  They didn’t fight, they didn’t seem too stressed out, they even laid down together!  It was a match made in bunny heaven.  So, Coco and Daphne are now living together in Hammond (I think)!  You can find Daphne on the Happy Tails page of Magic Happens.

Cini

Coincidentally, a few days before Daphne got adopted, we decided that when Daphne DID get adopted we would bring Cini inside and put her on a diet.  When that happened, we put our plan into action.  Cini came inside, inheriting Daphne’s old home, and now she gets less pellets and more veggies.  We’re also trying to litter-box train her at the same time.  Maybe we’ll train all the buns at some point! 

Anyway, Cini is getting forgotten by the other bunnies.  At first, I tried to bring Cini outside every few days to mingle with the four.  But as Cini was already an outcast before coming in, she wasn’t accepted at all.  So it seems that when she’s down to a healthy weight, we’re going to have to treat her like a new addition to the family, introducing her little by little.  It’ll be worth it, though, to have a completely healthy bunny!

The Other Four

Now to Flopsy, Thumper, Jewels and Memphis.  We got them a new hay dispenser!  Their old one was basically chicken wire wrapped in a circle with a mesh bottom.  It wasted hay like nobody’s business.  So, I looked on Magic Happens’ website and found the Screwy Rabbit Hay Buffet.  Pricey, but a smart buy!  It spews hay MUCH less than our previous bundle of wire.  I’m so excited! :D

When it came, I had to rearrange the pen to fit it.  Our old dispenser was attached to the wall and was very small.  This one is practically a humongous box. 

To free up space, I took the wire tops off of the cages and made the bottoms into litter-boxes.  Bunnies poop where they eat, so I put them right where they would be eating hay, as you can see in the picture.

Mama put eye hooks in the fence so I could still hang the water bottles.

This is the front of the pen, where the bunnies can chew on the wooden boxes.  And also hop around in them.

Daphne, the Foster Bunny

Daphne wears pink bows....

    Approximatively three weeks ago, I looked at MHRR's foster program and decided I wanted to foster a bun.  It took a little convincing (*cough* JB *cough*), but eventually we took home Daphne (scroll down to find her) at the next Care Day!  



     The first week, she was very skiddish and hid in her custom-made cardboard box every time someone looked at her.  Then, we moved her into the study so that my room could be painted.  This meant her space was bigger (but I don't know if that's her reason for opening up).  Now, we bring her upstairs for Cuddle TV every night, and she'll lay down and groom us.  We love her!

...and yellow ones!

    She also has no teeth right now.  They were really crooked, so they were pulled.  They'll grow back in eventually.  But right now, we're using it to our advantage.  We can let her roam anywhere, because she can't chew anything up and she's litter-box trained!  It's bunny heaven.

Rain Rain, Go Away, Come Again Some Other Day!

Wow, I haven't posted in awhile.  Today we had a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, and a severe thunderstorm it was.  It poured for about an hour, and the whole morning was dark and cloudy.  It's still mushy outside, but at least it's bright and sunny! :)

I recently discovered a social network for bunnies!  It's called Bunspace.  I'm in progress of creating profiles for all six buns, but in the meantime y'all can check it out here!  This is Flopsy's page, but you can find links to all the bunnies' pages in the 'flopsy's family' section.  Enjoy!

Baby Bird

This morning, I woke up and my mom told me to come outside.  There was a baby bird clinging to her windshield wiper!  We couldn't get it to let go, so we got toothpicks and got it to hang on to them instead.  Then we moved it to the porch.


We didn't want to leave it there, because the neighbor's cat might get it.  So, I brought it inside and put it on a towel.  My mom called my aunt Lisette, because she has experience with animals and we were hoping for some advice.  She said that the bird's mother was probably trying to teach it to fly, and the mother was most likely nearby.  My mom had left for work, so I brought the bird outside on my finger.


My mom suggested putting it onto a branch, that way it's mother could find it and the cat wouldn't get to it.  So, I headed toward the nearest tree.  I tried to coax it into hopping onto a small branch, but instead it flew away!  We thought it couldn't fly, but maybe it just needed a push.  It stayed on a higher branch for awhile, then I checked later and it was gone.  We hope it made it safely to its mother!

Power Shifts?

I always thought that Thumper was the bunny in charge.  But, when the fam got back from our week-long trip to Chicago, she had fur tufts sticking out everywhere!

I also thought that Cini was at the bottom of the monarchy, or at least pretty far down there.  But, Daddy-o saw her nudge Thumper away from where Thumper was laying, then take Thumper's spot (while Thumper did not protest, very uncharacteristic for her).  It appears that while I was gone, a LOT changed!

Finally, thanks to Leighanne for taking care of the bunnies while I was gone!  Additionally, she graciously donated two Smart Water bottles to add to the collection of stuff we freeze to cool the bunnies down on hot days (aka all summer). Also, she FOUND the long-lost, elusive WATER BOTTLE!  Apparently, it had been "hiding" in the burrow all that time.  Thanks again, Leighanne!

Doves

Remember the mourning doves nesting on our porch?  Well, they're long gone.  And the babies were so cute!!


Now, we have another nest on our side porch.  It's not nearly as exciting as the first one.  I wonder why that is?  ;)

Summer

Summer is most definitely here!  I am freezing the bunnies' water bottles so they have colder water, and putting frozen bottles in the burrow, so they can cool down.  I am also putting crushed ice in the other water bottles twice a day.


My dad also gives them tons of herbs from the garden and veggies from the Farmer's Market daily, if not more often.


Yes, they are quite spoiled!

Mourning Dove Pics

As I said in the last post, my mom took pictures of the mourning doves.  Here they are!

They're so pretty!

Birds!

This isn't really related to the rabbits. But, there's a bird's nest on our back porch!


A few weeks ago, we discovered a nest on top of one of the columns on our back porch. We didn't see the birds, but my mom thought that the Buzz-Off! (our spraying mosquito system) that was right next to the nest would disturb the birds or possibly harm them. So, she got up there and dissembled the nest. A few days later, it was there again!


Then, we started seeing the bird show up in the nest, a mourning dove. After awhile, she stayed there all the time, so we figured she had laid her eggs. She's been there for at least a week now, and we just realized that her eggs have already hatched and the baby birds are actually pretty big! They're about as big as a computer mouse. The only reason we can see them now is that they're too big to fit completely underneath their mother now! There are two of them, and sometimes we'll see the mother feeding them! It's so cute!


I saw my mom up on a ladder taking pictures today, so hopefully I'll have some pics to upload in the next post!

Bees

The day after I posted that, I followed the remaining bees and found their main nest.  It's in the roof support of the third floor of the clubhouse!  There are two holes, one of which houses a female bee (which Mama discovered was a carpenter bee, since they drill through wood).  Daddy-o went up there and sprayed Wasp & Hornet killer in the holes, but to no avail.  They continue to buzz around.

Buzzzzzzzzzz

Today, when I went outside to feed the buns, I heard a loud buzzing.  So, I looked up and saw two huge bumblebees.
Apparently, they were trying to build a nest in the bunny pen.  They had chewed a pretty big hole in the wooden roof support.  Also, one of the bees constantly had it's head stuck in the hole, chewing.  It was pretty cool, except for the fact that they were building a nest in the bunny pen.
I tried to take a video of the bee chewing the hole, but it didn't turn out so great.  But, I'll upload it anyway:

Unfortunately, the bees could not live there.  So, my dad killed one and filled the hole.  Oh, well.  It was fascinating while it lasted.

Will Music Affect the Pulse of Rabbits?

This school year, my science fair project was bunny-related.  And I got to state!

My project was: Will Music Affect the Pulse of Rabbits?  I basically tested a control and three songs and compared all five rabbits' heart rates. 

I won my category at the Glasgow Fair, which is Animal Science.  That meant I went to Regionals.  I also won my category at Regionals.  But, when I went to State on Monday, I didn't win anything.  :(  Oh well.

Also, this week (Spring Break), we are @ Fontainebleau State Park.  Which means that the buns are not with us.  However, we have our trustworthy babysitter Leighanne to look after them!  Thanks!

Flopsy Hates My Croc

Today was Clean Up Day.  I was, well, cleaning up, when I noticed Flopsy behind me.  Apparently my foot was in her way, and she was getting really mad.  So, she was biting, scratching, clawing, and pushing as much as she could to get my Croc out of the way (even though there was a clear path that she could've taken around it).  It was pretty funny to watch.  She does the same thing sometimes to the mini broom I use to clean up.  She inflicts much more damage to the broom, though.  Bristles everywhere!

Lots of Change!

Wow, that's the second BunBlog change in one month.  I think this one's a keeper, though.  But I'll be posting a poll to see if y'all think the same! 
The bunnies are doing great.  Nothing really significant has happened, I just felt like posting something.  ;)
Plus, there's still no signs of the water bottle that mysteriously disappeared.  Finally we bought a replacement.  I guess it's in the burrow somewhere...

Phone Posting

Just trying out this new feature. Apparently I can post blog entries from my phone! Cool!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Yesterday was the big St. Patrick's Day parade and crawfish boil!  Unfortunately, that means that the bunnies weren't let out all day, for fear of someone trying to pick them up or leaving the gate open and letting them out.  But I picked one up every few hours to let the kids pet them (it was usually Thumper or Cini).  However, they were suprisingly calm for all the noise and petting.  Cini actually fell asleep in the sun patch in the middle of the pen!

Mass Escape!

A few days ago, it rained so hard and for so long that it flooded the burrow AND there was mud in the pen.  I figured I should bring them in, because it was pretty cold.  So, I did, and brought them back out the next day.

Also, today my friend Dana came over.  I was trying to catch a bunny, so I opened up the burrow.  We caught Flopsy, so we went to go pet her.  A few minutes later I realized we had left the burrow open!  Thumper, Jewels, and Memphis were all out and enjoying the freedom.  Eek! 

Warming Up?

Today we took off the painter's tarps that we had covering the burrow.  They were there to protect the rabbits from the chilly winds.  Apparently it's warming up, though I can't feel anything.  It all seems just as freezing to me!  ;)

Clean Up Day

Today is Sunday, otherwise known as Clean-Up Day.  The Memphis-sized hole was fixed today by my dad (thanks!!).  But first, I took some pictures (and by some I mean, like, fifty).  The first few are of the hole, but then I started taking pictures of the bunnies.  I'll post the ones of the Memphis-sized hole, but I'll just put the others in the slideshow. 

I love this picture!  I still can't believe I got it.

Darn it, Memphis!

Yesterday I went to go feed the rabbits to find that Memphis was already out in the play area!  Apparently she had chewed on the fence that divided the burrow and the play area, and widened the crack between the two fence posts.
I thought that the bunnies escaping was finally over when we upgraded security around the play area and burrow last year, but I guess it wasn't perfect.  Maybe we have to put screen over ALL the cracks between the fence posts!

Yuck.

It's very WET today.  The area right in front of the bunnies' pen is flooded, and the burrow is probably also flooded.  I'm debating the matter of bringing them in.  But it's not cold, so I think they'll be fine.  Also, the water bottle has not shown up yet.  Still wondering.

Oh Where, Oh Where, Has My Water Bottle Gone?

Yesterday, I returned home to discover that one of the bunnies' three water bottles had disappeared.  They sometimes get the bottle out of the holder, and push it into the burrow (beats me why).  I checked the burrow, the burrow again, and everywhere I could think of.  I have NO CLUE where this water bottle could have gone.

Also, I plan to figure out a way to transfer all the info from the old BunBlog to this new BunBlog.  Just not right now.  ;)

Getting Used to the New BunBlog

I'm still getting the hang of this new server.  But it's definetely easier than the last one!

Today was Clean Up Day, which went well.  The bunnies seemed happy to have nice clean bedding in their cages, as usual.  Nothing much to say, I just love posting stuff!  ;)

I'm still not completely done with fixing up this new site.  However, as soon as I do finish, I will start sending out emails to all of the old members.  :D

Welcome to BunBlog!

The title says it all.  Welcome to BunBlog!  BunBlog is a blog of my five rabbits: Flopsy, Thumper, Cini-Mini, Jewels, and Memphis.  Every now and then, I will post a short update on the various doings of the buns.

This is not the original BunBlog, however.  I switched servers, because my old server (Freewebs) gave me a storage limit.  I hope that Blogspot will be easier to use and better in general! 

A downside of using an actual blog server instead of a website server is that I will not be able to create seperate pages.  On the old server, I had pages for each rabbit, a homepage, a pictures page, a journal page, a guestbook page, and a members page.  Hopefully I can somehow put all of that into blog posts.

I hope you enjoy the new BunBlog!