Hi Everyone. It’s been forever and a day since I have been on here….. been so busy since I had my daughter and things had been going very well on the bunny front overall, although a lot has changed – especially as recent. My grumpy old man bunny Stewie made it to 12 years old before we lost him… it was nice to have been able to offer him such a posh, spoiled life for that long – he had the life for sure. My little girl bunny Radar is a few months shy of 10 now….. she’s had various medical issues on and off, but nothing we haven’t gotten through as she is a VERY strong and spirited bunny, and is very special to all of us as a family. We believe she’s nearing the end of her time with us, which has been very hard on me….. I’m struggling tremendously with the thought of the possibility of having to bring her to be put to sleep. She’s been in the care of a vet for some time now, her health has been on a continuous slow downward slide and last week’s x-rays is pointing more and more to her having cancer (possibly a thymoma). I can’t put her through radiation at almost ten and in an already compromised physical state ……. so we’re spoiling her like crazy, doing everything to make her comfortable and happy and tremendously loved for now until she shows me that she’s had enough.
That being said….. the timing of life events can be crazy sometimes. Just a couple of weeks ago I was dropping off my daughter to school when she says “Look Mom, a rabbit!” I look over expecting to see a wild hare. What I saw was a domestic rabbit right next to the busy road up in a large snowbank, hopping around some bush branches and gnawing on the wood (his only source of food in a long, cold New England Winter). I couldn’t believe it. I visited the house on the property where he was and inquired with the homeowner on the rabbit. Turns out he’d shown up in the neighborhood sometime around the Fall with a companion. His companion has since then disappeared (likely to a predator). He’s since survived and her neighbor was giving him scraps to help him out.
I made a go of it and climbed the snowbank out to him. He came right out to me to check me out! He was looking for food. He wouldn’t just let me pick him up, but he kept darting out to check me out, so I made a quick grab easily enough and picked him up and cuddled him and he completely relaxed in my arms. I swear he was happy to be captured. The timing couldn’t have been better as we’ve had one of the snowiest winters on record around here.
I was torn for what to do at that point – I CAN’T bring him indoors and upset my fragile little girl right now – it wouldn’t be fair to her and she NEEDS all our focus right now. I’m totally willing to keep him and take good care of him – but he can’t come indoors until my girl has moved on. If I send him to a shelter, he gets added to the already growing number of unadopted shelter babies there. Decisions decisions.
I decided to transform my outside potting shed into a rabbit home. It’s well-built and secure – he has the run of the place with fabric sheets for floor padding… he’s ALREADY litter box trained (he trained in under a week!) he has cardboard boxes, lots of apple branches for chewing, access to quality pellets and places to jump/hide and lounge. He has electricity out there, so a heated water pan and I installed a nighttime small animal warming light to give him an opportunity to warm from the freezing temperatures. He gets visited at least a couple times a day when I bring him his fresh food/treats and check water… and I hold him daily as he seems to be one of the few buns I’ve owned that appears to actually enjoy it. If I can make him happy/comfortable out there, then he can join our family once my little girl bunny moves on. He seems very happy… head shakes whenever I come to see him and he binkies and chases us around when we bring him to the outside enclosure for exercise – so I think I’ve figured it all out for now. I’ll get him neutered soon as well.
So, here I am – back to being a younger bunny owner (it’s been a long time). I estimate him to be somewhere around 7-9 months old. My question for you all is…. I’m thinking he is a Flemish Giant! I don’t know how big this boy will be – but I’m guessing he may be quite hefty, which will be interesting once he comes indoors. Do you all have an opinion of his breed? He’s about 4.5 pounds right now. His belly/chest/undertail is bright white. Thanks in advance, and wish me luck with my two adventures, I’m going to need it. It’s nice to be back and among other people who truly understand my connection with rabbits.