Bunnysitting Mr. Brown!

[JuliaD]

I just wanna talk about my neighbor’s flemish giant I bunnysit sometimes because he’s incredible and I love him, ok

So this is Mr. Brown (aka “Furball” aka “Rex”) he’s a 3 year old Flemish giant and honestly everything my boyfriend and I want when we get our own flemmie

He’s ~18lbs, on the trim side for his length. The owner’s children describe him as mean and prone to biting and kicking, which he occasionally might if you reach into his hutch (he’s a smidge territorial about his hutch, but not much else.) My boyfriend and I have found that outside of his hutch, he’s a dream bunny!

He’s fantastic about being picked up, held, carried, riding in the car, and he’s great with other pets (as long as they’re bigger than him.) It doesn’t take him long to get comfortable in a new setting, and once he is, he’s open to pretty much everything.

The first day we brought him over, we used a large gardening pale which just barely fit him, but he’s never learned how to jump so it wasn’t a problem. He was pretty shaky and nervous at first, but once his paws touched the grass, he was happy as could be! Now when we bring him over, we use a cardboard box and he sits calmly with his paws propped up on the sides and his nose to the wind, eyes blissfully narrow. I think it’s because he knows where he’s going lol

He used to be harness trained, but a few too many yanks while 3 kids fought over who got to hold the leash kinda undid that. My boyfriend and I want to slowly reintroduce the harness to him, but that’s not super necessary when we have a fenced in yard and covered porch he can freely access as he pleases.

He’s a love. When we put out a picnic blanket and lay out in the yard with him, he comes up to us and flops down beside us. He really feels like our own rabbit some days. We’re like his vacation home, it seems like. He gets a big safe yard to explore, a porch he can hop into if it’s too windy or he gets scared, unlimited fresh water we change every couple hours to clean out the debris and bugs, treats, attention, and companions to play with. 

Even when he’s not here, my boyfriend and I make sure to go visit him and bring him treats. At this point he runs up to greet us in his enclosure and licks our fingers and paces along the side thinking we’re going to take him home with us. Even though we can’t, we do sit and cuddle him a little and sometimes he falls asleep on our laps or in our arms. 

[Bam]

Thank you for sharing this! How great that you and Mr Brown have found each other =) He’s beautiful.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Ahhhhh how lovely…. He’s probably happy of some calm, gentle adult company…

[JuliaD]

Mr. Brown has an injury to his paw, which now appears to me to be a sprain. He’s been keeping weight off his paw for about two weeks, and there’s not a whole lot I can even do about it because he’s not my animal. His owner didn’t even notice he’s been limping until yesterday when I pointed it out to him while pleading to get him medical attention.
As it stands right now, it seems like by next tuesday he’ll either be going to the vet with me or turned over to me and my boyfriend. The hypothetical third option would be that he heals on his own with homemade remedies, but nobody knows what’s even wrong with him so it’s unlikely this will be the case.
The waiting is the worst part. Having to watch him suffer over there in his little A-frame run, knowing his little paw is bothering him…

[ThorBunny]

What a wonderful sweet rabbit!

I hope things work out with his paw and potential adoption, his current owners do not sound like attentive people, and it sounds like you already love him like your own If you can, keep an eye on his eating/pooping habits – if he stops taking food it would be an emergency and he should be taken in right away.

Good luck, keep us posted!

[Sleepy]

Hopefully Mr. Brown can get attention sooner than later. Our female bun sprained her paw and even waiting two days on it was bad, since it gives time for more swelling to set in, if not worse.

Best vibes in your direction.

[LittlePuffyTail]

He’s beautiful. I hope he is turned over to your care and heals well. Sounds like he would be much better off with you.

[JuliaD]

Update on Mr. Brown!

Turns out Mr. Brown’s paw was the least of his problems. When we took him to the vet to be neutered, the vet found that not only did he have an injury to one testicle that had become woefully infected, but his second testicle had never descended and had been poisoning him slowly his whole life. Sadly, he passed away shortly after surgery. The vet said if she had known he was this sick, she would’ve recommended euthanasia.
We miss him, but we feel fortunate to’ve gotten to spend the time we did with such a fantastic rabbit like Mr. Brown! he’s miraculously survived by over a dozen sons and daughters and a great many grandkits! For bunnies with his condition it’s rare they reproduce at all, and Mr. Brown sired several small litters in his lifetime.

[Millie]

Bless your soul, Mr. Brown

[Deleted User]

Aww Mr. Brown ! Sorry to hear he passed.

[Author]

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