Monday, February 25, 2013

Rabbit Home

The rabbit pen has been in dire need of repair for a while. With 9 bunnies, they need to have a nice home! So, the time has come that the new home is being built. 

Edwin and Uncle Lawrence working on stage one of the new rabbit hutch.


By the end of the first night they had the basic frame finished. 

I will introduce our rabbits to you... some have names, but others we just refer to by color. There are 2 white rabbits- one male and one female; a female black and white one; Lilly, a grey and other color sweetheart (the main momma); an all black female; and a brown with white markings named Hammy (for Hamster) or Pony because it has a white stripe down its nose (gender undetermined up to this point). They all stay in the main large house that is on the ground (this is the one being redone). There they can dig holes and have a place to run around and be rabbits. We also have 3 others we keep in a smaller cage (but I DO let them out every day). We have Ginger, a light brown male with white markings; Little (named after me) a female mostly black, but with subtle brown in her coat; and Brownie, a male who is mostly various shades of brown. Now, why are they are separated from the main bunch? 

Some time ago, there was a new batch of babies: Ginger and Little are the surviving siblings. We wanted to tame them a bit, so we separated them from the others. We then also began finding that Brownie would escape from the main home. Meera loved it, of course, as she has a bit of a history chasing and killing rabbits. Naturally, we kept putting Brownie in and searching for the hole he used to escape, but couldn't figure out where it was. Several of these escapes involved us finding Brownie in a nearby drain. Once it was pouring down rain, another time we decided to use the hose to spray him out. Poor thing, but it was the only way! So we had a very wet Brownie whom I put back in the large caged area. I then watched what would happen. Sure enough, after a few minutes the large white male rabbit began aggressively chasing him around, and cornered him against the fencing! He then proceeded to bite Brownie! I discovered a weak point in the fencing, and Brownie was trying to escape out of it. I immediately helped him get out, and we decided to keep him with the smaller ones, Ginger and Little. They all get along just fine together. 

You see here (L to R), Brownie, Ginger, and Little. Meera faithfully 'guards' them when they are out. We tie her up when the rabbits run in the yard. 

I did think about taking the large white rabbit out, and putting these guys back in with the others. However, when I put Ginger and Little in first, Lilly and some of the others began chasing them around aggressively! So, I guess once they are away from the clan, they are no longer familiar or welcomed.

Meera, also helping... she has her own wood.


Bunny hutch in stage 2, the frame with the top covering- not sure what else to call it!


When finished, the new home will have two sections divided. That way we can keep them all in one place and not have to worry about them killing each other!




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