Wabbitdad12 – I wanna know!

[jerseygirl]

So there’s a member “Wabbitdad12” who posted this in BEHAVIOR forum recently (re: Rabbit Behavior Survey)

Wabbitdad12 Posts:1

05/04/2009 10:22 AM Quote Reply Alert� Of my 15 house rabbits it was hard to choose one for the survey.

 

 15 House Rabbits *major jealousy!*  I wanna know more! 

So Wabbitdad12, if you happen across thread, pleeease tell us more about them.

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

hmm this is his profile “I am owned by 15 indoor house rabbits ranging in size from netherland dwarfs to flemish giants.”

[sharper]

I don’t see a way to delete my post, so I just removed link and photos.

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Wow 15, we used to have a spare room that was the rabbit room and had 8 running free in there together which was lovely but they really werent litter trained, the room just had grass mats all over the floor and open hutches etc for them to run in and out of and play in. Also it was only the boys that were neutered as i didnt realise about the girls back then and was advised it was too dangerous. I now know different obviously. Was very cute but lots of work, although in some ways not so much work as the whole room was theirs so there was nothing for them to damage. They didnt seem to fight at all but had lots of room to sort of section themselves where they wanted if that makes sense and about three or four large two storey hutches to run into if they wanted to hide. Then we had children and things had to change a bit. We made a huge outdoor shed that they moved into with hot water bottle heating and everything, but unfortunately they got mixymatosis and we lost them all, it was so sad and we moved house as i didnt want to be there anymore after that happening. Apparently the vet said the local cats may have brought it into the garden on their flees, and the rabbits had free range of the full garden in the day time too as it was all wall enclosed, they used to keep the grass permanently cut for us. I have loads of pics will have to find them and get my husband to scan some for me. This was about up to 10 years ago, still makes me sad x Now they are only indoor and just the two that will hopefully have much better litter habbits. x

[MimzMum]

Seems way cramped to me.

*sigh* I know I’ve hit my limit with the three. I cant’ imagine 15! Yikes on toast!

[jerseygirl]

Wow, how’d you discover that Sharper? Is it in the Profile? Feel odd talking about the member now, maybe should sent an email demanding they tell us more…mmm, that could be considered harassment though…

Peppa Georgie, what a heartbreak to lose them like that and to such an awful disease. Thank goodness you can access the vaccine now. We are still trying over here. Would love to see picture of your bridge bunnies though!

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Thanks Jerseygirl, have pulled out the photos but scanner is broken so might have to wait a day or so. yes was really sad, not sure how they all got along really as i didnt know that rabbits bonded back in those days, i had heard that you have to have neutral space and had one experience where they fought and from then on we moved into new house and because we did it every 18 months or so we only got a new rabbit when we moved and they seemed just fine, but also some were babies of the mum and dad so i guess they come sort of prebonded. Cant wait to show you the photos of the little colony xx Yes i wasnt sure from photo if they all joined together or maybe bit cramped difficult to tell xx

[jerseygirl]

You know, I was reading some bonding stuff about a woman that bonded 6 I think. She mentioned it was easier to bring one into the established group. The group accepted it easily as they were accustomed to living in a group. Maybe that’s what helped with your crew? I think the challenge for single bunny owners is this bunny has king/queen of the household mentality you have to overcome.  Or is just their sense of security is upset which would happen by bringing in any new animals or even people I guess.

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Yes i know what you mean, i was looking back at the pics to see if certain buns were with certain others but i have photos of couples and then groups of three but the buns involved are different each time so they seem to have a relationship with all of them, actually more so than cats, as i have had up to 6 cats and they tend to have a favourite buddy to lie with. x One cute thing was that when my first bun had babies, another friend had a baby homeless bun still quite young but past weaning, and at the time i just popped her in with the mum and babies and cookie the mum just sniffed her and treated her like one of the others. It was sooo cute, when she rounded the babies up for feeding she would round up Dandy the adopted one, but dandy didnt really get it. I think there was definately a dominant bun thought which was the mum cookie, even with the boys who llived there neutered. She was the biggest and stroppiest and was in charge i think.lol She was a lop but got really quite big considering they told me she was a dwarf. when you see the photos you will say she was def not a dwarf I think she lived till she was about 6, she was gorgeous.

[sharper]

removed my copy

[Hedi]

Wow, talked about cramped quarters! My buns would have a fit being stuck in relatively small cages (just my opinion) like that! I could never have that that many buns if I didn’t have huge pens for them to live in. And it is hard to find time to let Carrera, Hoopie, and my bonded pair Cooper/Pookie get their 4hrs of run time out-can you imagine 12 buns? Would that even be possible to give them all 4hrs of run time?

The national HRS lady has a huge room full of free roaming buns all who just get along. She talks about them in one of her books and it is just so fascinating to me. I want a herd of bunnies!

[Lisa_43]

It would be very hard to keep that many in the house unless you had no other animals and you didn’t work.

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

 

Ok am adding some pics of my group hope you like them xx

 

 

 

 

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

 

 

Sorry bad quality no scanner and pics really large so had to crop them. xx

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Some of them are abit like count the bunnies i managed to catch in the picture but they were all very close with each other.

[Deleted User]

I am not jealous at all. The more animals you have the less time you will spend with the individual. For me it’s really about having a bond with each animal. I think, when you have very many, it allows you, though, to really study their interactions with each other which is valuable also. But you need tons of space because caged animals cannot interact.

[jerseygirl]

Gosh PEPPA, what a crew! They certainly looked bonded. Nice you still have the pictures to remember them by. A little belated but *Binky Free Peppa’s Bunny Bunch*

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Thanks Jerseygirl, you are so nice. Yes they were lovely, so many memories and stories about them all, they all had such diff personalities. They all went through different adventures and stuff and we still keep talking about “remember when Minstral did this….. or caramel did that etc” They did admittedly wreck our house…lol because they had free run originally of the living room, it took us a while to learn that they were capable like dogs of destroying sofas, books, rugs and anything really xxx Before we had kids we just seemed to spend all our time and money on our buns. They seem to take over in that way dont they?? They seem to get away with more than the kids these days. lol

[Wabbitdad12]

I shouldn’t have to make a post defending myself, most forums great new members with a welcome instead of a roasting, making judgements about someone they don’t know and assumptions on how that person treats their rabbits.

Since this will likely be my last post on this site, I will tell you about my setup.  I have 4 Flemish (Velvet and Thumper blue, Titan and Sweetie black, 2 nethies (baby and mr. tiny), 1 dutch (dutches , i know original), 2 lionheads (skippery all black and mr. carmel tort, 1 holland lop black (Nibbles), 1 mini lop broken (pudge), 1 hotot mix (moo moo, looks like a cow black and white spots), 1 mini rex blue (Blueberry), 1 dutch mix black and white (Oreo) and a french lop aghouti (rudy).  Several are shown in 4-H and at ARBA rabbit shows, winning best of breed, many are also rescues.  I would post a photo but the one showing all the bunnies is larger then the size allowed.

The picture is somewhat outdated, but close enough.  My rabbits are in good health, they are well loved, spoiled and are inside year round.  Their cages are cared for daily, fresh water, hay, veggies, food and love are provided. 

I am not the only one who looks after the rabbits, my wife, daughter and son also care for them.  They all receive attention, plenty of love and exercise.  I do work full time, my wife part time and of course my kids are in school, but look after the rabbits when they are home.  People should not critized or comment on things they do not know.

Thank you Sharper for posting this information from the other website so I can be critized without my knowledge.  Luckily a member from the other forum saw this and was nice enough to let me know so I could at least defend myself.

I love my rabbits dearly and sacrifice for them and people who know me from the other forum can attest to that.

 

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Oh wabbitdad i feel really sad for you. I do totally understand how you can have lots of rabbits and still provide love and care for them all as i too have had many at a time, my pics had to be cropped lots too lol x I infact have lots of different animals as well as rabbits at different times and they are just all i spend my time doing, well apart from the kids. Hope you dont feel really upset, sometimes things written down can seem so harsh when if they were in an actual conversation are not meant to be as upsetting as they sometimes come across. Anyway what i am trying to say is that if i have said anything to upset you i am so sorry. I would personaly love to hear more about all your lovely rabbits and especially see pics. Which is the forum you are on? I really should join more as i cant get enough of all these bunnies etc. I have often felt out of place or offended on forums too but i am sure no one would want you to feel that way. xx

[MimzMum]

I should apologize. My post was not meant to condemn, I was just making an observation upon seeing the pictures. I cannot judge, as I have only the three and it takes everything I can do to be sure that they have their needs met and it leaves me little time for anything else…even on a good day my three bunnies do not receive as much attention as I would like to give them. I think what I was trying to say is that, wow, I can’t imagine taking care of 15 bunnies because I know that has to take a LOT of dedication. And you must surely have room for their exercise needs somewhere, but the pictures did not properly address that.

I feel cramped with my three bunnies. I wish I could be like the members here who have free ranging rabbits… but I also have housecats and dogs so my bunnies must be content with an xpen to roam in. I feel bad that they only have even that.

If I came off as sounding critical, I am sorry for that. Unfortunately, the internet is NOT the best place to have a conversation where meanings are not misconstrued.

Perhaps, if you have a change of heart and wish to return to our board, you could tell us how a typical day goes in your home and how you manage with so many? I would understand if you do not feel comfortable here, but I don’t think anyone wished to cause you grief in any way…this is actually a very friendly and informative site and it is a rule that no one is to be publicly harassed here. I do hope you’ll return and give us another chance to show you we are good people here.

[jerseygirl]

Wabbitdad12, I have sent you an email. If some some reason you have not received this – could you please email me so I can have the opportunity to forward it onto you again?
Kate     synapzal_drift at live dot com dot au

[Wabbitdad12]

Let me tell you about one rabbit who I miss dearly. I love all my rabbits and there are some who bonded to me rather then I to them. I had a grey flemish giant Lilly that died rather suddenly last month, before I could get her to the vet. In February of 2008 I drove 14 hours through 2 ice storms to get her in Illinois. From the pictures I saw she was beautiful and she was. She was a a rabbit rescue and needed a home, I talked to my wife got the o.k. What should have been a 6 hour trip turned into 14 hours of white knuckle driving, at one point I looked back at Lilly and said you better be worth it (jokingly). I had only held her for a few minutes at the rescue before we left, I didn’t know it but I was her human slave at that point. Lilly followed me around the rabbit room every morning making sure I got everyone fed, water etc. She supervised some of the bunny’s exercise time also, she chase, they chase her up down the hallway etc., made sure everyone got their treat at night.

The whole herd started out with one bunny who came to visit. She was to be auctioned at my childrens school fundraiser, she was only to have stayed for 2 weeks. My wife had to outbid everyone at the auction, because the bunny had to come home. Velvet is that rabbits name and she came for a visit and moved in. She is a blue flemish giant with what I call blueatude, because I have a blue flemish buck with the same tude. Velvet is can be very loving and very onry usually within a micro-second of the other. She has my pointer and rat terrier terrified of her and if she hops into a room they leave. Velvet has won numerous awards at rabbit shows, best of breed, best opposite of breed. I thought we were going to loose her this winter as she developed a nasty eye infection. After a long series of antibiotics she has recovered and is back to her old self. I knew something was wrong when she was super sweet, not her style.

More later, I have to leave for a dr’s appointment.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Hey Wabbitdad12!

My rabbit is still pretty young, but boy oh boy do I know what it is to be a rabbit slave… our mini rex has us totally whipped!  He’s our only one, and he’s completely litterbox trained, so he has the run of the house.  Every morning around 3 or 4 am he wakes me up to lick my feet for ten minutes!  It’s totally worth the extra sleepiness.

I would so love to hear about the rest of your rabbits!

[Deleted User]

WD12, I’m really glad you posted explaining how well your rabbits are looked after, you shouldn’t have been talked about behind your back. It is really great that you are passionate about rabbits and got your whole family involved.

Since you are exhibiting some of your rabbits at shows, you must have photos of those events, I would love to see a photo, especially of a Flemmie (Flemmies are often mentioned on the forum, but few members have one).

If it means anything, I apologize for my previous comment since it was made not knowing the details of your set-up.

[Wabbitdad12]

Since you are exhibiting some of your rabbits at shows, you must have photos of those events, I would love to see a photo, especially of a Flemmie (Flemmies are often mentioned on the forum, but few members have one).

How do you post pictures in reply’s?

[Wabbitdad12]

Here is a picture of a Steel Flemmie Buck, Barney.

 

[Deleted User]

WD, to post pictures make sure they’re compressed to a size of no more than 300 kb. Go into ‘add reply’ and click on the ‘attachments’ button. it will give you then a browse button, after you selected your photo, click ‘upload’ and then ‘insert’.

[Wabbitdad12]

O.k. so lets try this again, this is Barney a Flemish Giant.  He did last year, he came to me because the owner no longer wanted him and was looking for a good home.  Barney, came to me with two large abcessess on his neck.  One broke and drained on its own and the other had to be done by my rabbit savy vet.  Disgusting but interesting to watch, Barney never really shook the bacteria and was on and off antibiotics his entire time with me.  He did however, win best of breed and best of variety at a regional flemish giant specialty show.  With all of that said here is Barney.  He is collor is Steel, super sweet boy, he would sit in your lap, on your lap on his back for hours.  He was a lover bun.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

A little better picture of him.

[sharper]

Posted By Wabbitdad12 on 05/11/2009 09:11 AM

Thank you Sharper for posting this information from the other website so I can be critized without my knowledge.  Luckily a member from the other forum saw this and was nice enough to let me know so I could at least defend myself.

I love my rabbits dearly and sacrifice for them and people who know me from the other forum can attest to that.

 

are you seriously pissed at me for posting pictures of your rabbit room? You posted them on the INTERNET, therefore they are public to the INTERNET. If I were using your images for my personal website, using for a profit or for my benefit whatsoever, I can see requesting your permission, especially if there was a (C) on your photos. And you assume I posted them with the intentions of you getting criticized. How can you assume those were my intentions? I didn’t even say anything. Someone asked about them – wanted to see your rabbit room. My thoughts were, “Oh, I know who that is. And his photos are available in public for anyone to see.” Did you make a blog of your rabbits hoping that no one would see your photos of your rabbits or rabbit room? Or just hoping that only the people that liked your rabbit room could see them? Rabbitsonline is not a private, secret society.

ugh. anyways. I removed the photos and link from my previous post, which you could have just asked me kindly with no problems.

[kralspace]

As a graphic designer/web master I deal with these issues all day at work. I think the best solution is to contact the member by email, private message or even posting on the other website forum to see if they wish to post their answer and/or photos here. Although anyone can lift your photos & information by rightclicking the mouse, if you’ve posted them to a forum tht requires registration and a password you do hope that someone would be considerate enough not to crosspost without your permission.

I love your Flemmy, what a beauty! I hope to see one in person one day. I have a tiny 2.2 lb lionhead who just can’t completely shake a small abscess on his cheek. We get down to healed over and can’t feel a thing, then a few weeks later, there it is again.

I have 6 rabbits, 2 guinea piggs, 3 cats and one very mellow dog. 4 bunnies and the pigs share a bedroom and I’m constantly rebuilding the NIC condos looking for that ‘perfect” (ha!) configuration. I wish I could have just one small herd of fuzzballs.

[sharper]

I’m also a graphic designer for a major advertising agency. I’m also well aware of free use versus copyright and royalty free rules. A forum of social communication is completely different than producing a website. comparing them is bogus. being a registered member of a forum is still public use. anyone can sign up for as many accounts as they like, usually. like I said, neither forum community is a private society.

 

ps – and i scanned through the rules of this forum and did not see anything about posting photos from another forum or source without permission being against the rules.  There was a statement of if you quote from a different website, list the resource.  And did leave the link to his blog where I saw the photos.

[BinkyBunny]

Okay everyone – let’s settle this down – let’s just keep this going in the right direction. 

Bottomline, whether a member has  been insulted or just “feels” insulted let’s just make it right.

Kralspaces suggestion is just good ‘ol advice that can help prevent future misunderstandings in certain circumstances (like if we are talking about a particular member).  I don’t think sharper ever meant for it to be received the way it was.   I can see how anyone may have posted the photos not really ever imagining it would be taken as an insult.  So this is something we can all learn from (myself included).

 Most who responded were just voicing their own opinions about how difficult it would be to have 15 rabbits – that the more bunnies that someone has can limit space, human time, and bunny exercise time. Just the norm of thoughts.   And though I would have much rather had  Wabbitdad be a part of it from the beginning,   I don’t think anyone here, including sharper, ever meant for it to be mean or hurtful, so I say  – let’s chalk this up to just a misunderstanding.  So easy to do via the net and email format. 

Just a big dumb ‘ol misunderstanding!  So, please…  let’s return back to the focus of this thread which was started by our big hearted Jerseygirl  to welcome and find out about a new member.

So let’s hug and make-up and…. Binky on peoples!

 

 

[MimzMum]

WD12, I loved seeing your story about your Flemmie, Lily! I have the exact opposite situation, I must go and beg the husband for permission to bring home more rabbits. ^_^ I think it’s a little harder that way to win the argument, imo.
Anyway, what beautiful rabbits! I love the steel grey color…and I have always wanted a Flemish Giant myself, but I currently have a Holland lop male, a mini res male and a half lionhead female. All are altered. None are currently properly bonded to each other, but my loppy, who was my first bunny, has stolen my heart. ^_^
All of my bunnies were cast offs (unwanted) and it was fate that they came to my life and they have enriched it no end! I adore them, believe they are the perfect animal companion and I would love to have more, but I simply don’t know how I’d manage. *sigh* I love how your Lily would follow you to make sure you attended everyone properly! ^_^ Reminds me of my old German shepherd dog who would ‘supervise’ the rounds when it came to feeding my other dogs. Funny how we are not really the ones in charge, isn’t it?

I do hope you will continue to tell us of your bunny troop. It sounds as if there are even more great stories waiting in the wings!

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Hey wabbitdad glad you are staying with us that is great and i so want more pics and especially flemish giants, i really want one one day. Any tips anyone on getting bunnies to settle on your lap. Peppa jumps up all the time and clambers over us and stuff but wont sit still or settle on us. I think she is looking for food really but i want a cuddle lol xx

[jerseygirl]

Ok! So Welcome Wabbitdad12, glad to see you here now and letting us know about your crew!  I think it’s hard for many of us to imagine, having 15.  I know of one member with 8 and another with 13 but not so much about what that entails.  One thing I learned on recently getting a second rabbit is it isn’t actually more work.  Currently there’s extra effort because I don’t have them bonded yet but after that, I think thing will settle into a nice routine.  Routine I think is key – I would guess you & family have become very efficient at the bunny chores!

By the way, you’ve already been honored by a name abbreviation – WD or WD12 (Lol)

Not quite same situation…but I’m actually one of a large crew myself and am often amused at people misconceptions of what growing up must have been like.  Their concept of family being only 1 or 2 siblings.  I wouldn’t change my family for the world!  I love that I am part of a bigger crew!

Anyway, back on topic…thanks for sharing about Lilly (Binky free Lilly), Velvet the 1st and Barney(a flemmie and a lap bunny?  too lucky!).  Oh and thanks for giving me a new word for my bunny vocab “blueatude”!

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the great close-up photos of Barney, WD! I have a love for this color, one of my rabbits was a steel grey when I got him, but he molted into mostly black at around 6 months of age… now he only has his grey angora mane left!

It’s been asked before on this forum — just how much does a Flemmie eat, how much did Barney eat? I’m adopting a Flemmie myself, she will be joining my family in a couple of weeks. I figure she will eat as much as my two rabbits combined now!

[Deleted User]

sorry, typo: the Flemmie I’m adopting is not pure-bred, she’s mixed with another breed.

[Wabbitdad12]

Sharper

I had directed that at you because after that some people began to criticized my setup and rabbit care without knowing anything about me or my rabbits.  Please accept my apology for not contacting you directly.  I felt I was under attack and wanted to defend myself.

This whole thing got off on the wrong foot and I hope this can be put behind and move forward.   You are correct on your points about the Internet and the forums.

 

[kralspace]

I love that blue/gray coloring, like it changes according to how the light hits him. I took a lot of my NIC cubes and zipped them together 2-high to create a long, fexible fence I can snake around the bunny/piggie room to create different play areas but it would be so nice (and impossible) to have one group that would play nicely.

[Wabbitdad12]

My flemmies eat about 2 cups a day of pellets plus hay etc. I buy food in 50 pound bags and order my hay online. My flemmies all way about 18-20 pounds at the moment. My rat terrier only ways 25!

[kralspace]

I bet the poops must be the size of marbles!

[Wabbitdad12]

My apologies to one and all also, I am looking forward to being a member of this site too.

[Deleted User]

WD, a rat terrier, interesting!

–did you see the Jack R. on Jay Leno popping the balloons? can your dog do that?

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

(sorry! I don’t know how to embed in a ‘quick reply’ window)

(I activated your link – Rabbitpam)

[Wabbitdad12]

No, but likes to chew on the cat!

[Wabbitdad12]

Posted By kralspace on 05/13/2009 10:23 AM
I bet the poops must be the size of marbles!

Yes they are.  They also make great fertilizer for my plants around the outside of house. 
 

[BinkyBunny]

Officially – WELCOME Wabbitdad! Thanks everyone for basically starting over. I also vote for starting a new thread (by Wabbitdad) with new photos so we can put this thread (with the conflict) behind us.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Hear!  Hear!

[MimzMum]

I’ll third that motion! ^_^
Wow…2 cups of pellets PER DAY? 0_o That’s amazing! My lionhead (Pip), although she loves them, cannot eat pellets because she leaves extra cecals behind (now that must also be something to see on a Flemmie, although I think I can pass on that, lolz) and I can just see her and one of those lovely giant bunnies arguing over who gets all that extra hay too! (she’s a hay eating machine)

Your terrier sounds like a sweet little thing. I sometimes try to imagine the scene of one of my cats going into the bunny room to hassle the rabbits, (they think I’m not looking and on the odd moment, try to poke the fuzzy behinds to see what they do), and Mr. Big Bunny coming out and chasing the cat down the hallway instead. ^_^ Payback!

I look forward to a new thread by you WD12. And I am so glad you decided to rejoin us here. Thanks for coming to BinkyBunny.com!

[RabbitPam]

Posted By BinkyBunny on 05/13/2009 01:30 PM
Officially – WELCOME Wabbitdad! Thanks everyone for basically starting over. I also vote for starting a new thread (by Wabbitdad) with new photos so we can put this thread (with the conflict) behind us.

That would be lovely!

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Petzy on 05/13/2009 08:10 AM
It’s been asked before on this forum — just how much does a Flemmie eat, how much did Barney eat? I’m adopting a Flemmie myself, she will be joining my family in a couple of weeks. I figure she will eat as much as my two rabbits combined now!

Petzy?  PETZY??!!! What?  Why haven’t you said before?  Is it not official yet?  Need details!!!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

My flemmies get between 1-2 cups of pellets per day, plus unlimited hay, they also get veggies too.  They are  great rabbits.

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

Ooh this forum exploded! I missed some drama… welcome Wabbitdad12! Look forward to hearing more about and seeing your big fat fur family!

[Author]

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