Long or what?

Oliver is getting longer every day

Two big wee bunnies

Bunnies had their weight check this morning and Oliver has now reached Honey's weight! Both bunnies are at 2.7 kg. Ah well Hun, from now on you're going to be the wee bunny!

Bonding week three - It's happened!

A warm day, bunnies playing nicely in the small area in the garden, and I'm thinking "What if". So I removed the temporary fence and let them out free. It was truly amazing to see both rabbits roaming free in the garden, so happy and playful. Honey seemed like a different bunnie, so happy and alive, I haven't seen her like this since Judy died.

I stayed in the garden with them, just watching and enjoying the sun! Then I decided to start digging to remove the cover field and saw some new grass. In the meantime buns found some shade in the house and next time I looked they were grooming each other! That's how I knew I did it! I did what a lot of people said was impossible to bond a baby with an older rabbit. I suppose I was lucky, and Honey was desperate for companionship. Now she is happy again.

In the end of the day, buns took the stairs up to the flat together, and I held my breath for just a second. I looked at the bars and thought, I didn't need the cages anymore. I waited till the next day for a good measure and then cleaned them out.

Bunnies have a free run of the house when mum I'm there and can watch, but I separate them with bars in the doorway when I can't. Next stage of freedom will come after neutering.

Love in the wendy house

Bonding week three - Meetings in the garden

One day the car got too warm for the bunnies so I had to come up with new idea. Since Ollie loved the garden so much I thought it may be nice if I organise something there. I didn't want them to have a free run in case fight broke out and I couldn't catch them so I separated a small area, armoured myself with the leather gloves and moved bunnies into the garden. 

Honey's territorial behaviour kicked in immediately and she became very bossy and protective of her chosen space in one plant pot. She would nip Ollie every time he passed by, but he just wanted her to play and kept coming back. So she kept getting told off and Ollie kept jumping about, a very happy bunnie indeed. 

This kept going on for a few days - until I realised I could take my protective gloves off and play with my new iPhone. There was chasing and nipping, but no fighting and no wounds. They were simply having a conversation. Progress was truly visible now, and the neighbours could stop wondering what I was doing in the car! Must have thought I was a right weirdo!

First time up on the sofa

Hey, look at me!

Bonding week two - Meetings in the car

I always new that a neutral territory is going to be an issue while bonding Honey, she's got the freedom in the house and she's been everywhere. Being a female she is extremely territorial. 

I washed the entire house to try and remove her scent, but that alone was going to get me nowhere. I rearranged all furniture before I set up the cages but she just loves the change. Since she was being a bit aggressive when Ollie was trying to say hello, and I didn't want them to be stuck in cages for many weeks, I come up with an idea to use only neutral space I had left - the back of the car.

I put the seats down and set some blankets to try and protect the interior. I put Honey in the car and brought Ollie in the box. I then armed myself with a heavy duty protective leather gloves, stuck a radio on and let Ollie out of the box. I was prepared for fights, but there were none. At least I managed to diffuse each potential fight with (almost obsessive) petting. On the first day, Honey growled at Ollie and tried to nip him, but he soon told her off and nipped back. 

Each bonding session lasted anything from 30 minutes to 3 hours. The first few days was just petting. Ollie groomed Honey a few times, but she just ignored him and wanted me to pet her more. I made sure that each session ended on a positive note, with loads of grooming and cuddles. Even tho there was some nipping I never found any signs on the skin, no missing fur and no bruises or broken skin. 

By the end of the week I felt like I wasn't making any progress because they were not interacting much. Ollie checked out the environment and then settled himself in the space next to the carrier and was just chilling. Honey stayed beside me and didn't really want to move. That's when I decided to stop my obsessive petting and let them get on. 

Soon Honey went over to Ollie to say hello, and from then on things were progressing with every session. I was relaxed enough that I managed to take one glove off and take some pictures. Progress was definitely happening and it felt great.

Ollie's first day out

It's been a week since the Myxi injection so I decided to let Ollie out in the garden. He has never been out in the grass before. He really enjoyed it!

Bonding week one - Friendship through the cage bars

The first week of bonding is really to let the bunnies smell each other and get used to the new environment. Honey is stuck in the cage and she is taking it really bad. She doesn't care about another bunny being in her space, she just wants out of the cage! Oliver is very chilled out, accepting everything that comes to him. He wants to be friends with Honey more than he does with me, I suppose that's a good thing. He is very friendly and well behaved.

I keep swapping places each day so that nobunnie get's too attached to the cage and the space. This also helps with mixing up the smells.

Each bun gets a time out of the cage to run about, but that's when Honey goes really mad. She literally turns into a wild tiger, while Oliver just wants to be friends... Check out this video, put the speaker on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnB_RFBXunU

Very relaxed bunnies, even tho they only met each other a few days ago

Jab time!

Ollie got vaccinated against Myxomatosis today. This was his first trip to the vet and he has done really well. He copes well in the car. My normal vet wasn't available so we met another guy, who did not impress me. Ollie is still not used to being handled so I asked the vet to work on the floor. He refused and tried to restrain Ollie on the table. He managed for long enough to give him the jab, but he didn't even check him over.

In a week's time Ollie can go out and play in the garden for the first time!

Weight: 2.2kg.

Hay sucks, leave me alone

Weight: 2.3 kg

Mum insists that I keep eating hay all day, she even bought me 5 different types of hay! Well, none of them taste like the one the Eddie fed me before... I like the alfalfa cubes, but that doesn't make her particularly happy. Anyway, why eat hay when I just discovered grass! Ah, I love grass... And it has clover and dandelion in it too... Hmm yummy.