Bunny Adventure

Well, it happened again.  No blogging for 4 months and over 6 months behind!!!  So instead of starting with way old news, I am going to write about a fun and furry adventure we have been on.

Janiel has always wanted a bunny.  When we lived in Florida, she would ask for a bunny for Christmas, her birthday, or Easter.  But she usually would get a stuffed one.  When we got back to Utah, we decided it was time for a real one.  So for Janiel's birthday she got Pumpkin. We were told she was about 2 years old.  Notice the cute bow because after all, she is a "girl". Our neighbor we got her from would have some babies in a few months, so we told Janiel she could also choose a baby.

So in August, we got a baby rabbit.  Dandelion was adorable.  Sadly, Kara found her dead one afternoon in her cage.  We wonder if it was too hot or maybe she was too young.  

So we got a replacement...Fidget. She got her name because when she jumps around the yard, once in a while she gets a great twitch!  (I guess I don't have a picture when she was a baby.) She also was a girl so we knew it was safe to let Pumpkin and Fidget run around the yard together.  

The end of January, Fidget started pulling her fur.  Janiel was worried, but I told her sometimes rabbits have false pregnancies and she will be just fine.  Well, sure enough, Fidget had babies.  Sadly, they didn't survive.  We were so sad, we had a disappointment that we didn't know we were going to have.  So now we knew for sure that Fidget was a girl and Pumpkin was a boy.  We decided it would be fun to have ONE, and only one, batch of babies.  So a month and a week later, Fidget started collecting dry grass...

We didn't make her use that.  We gave her some fresh hay and she started pulling out her fur again (Did you know rabbits can conceive again just after giving birth?  And that their gestation period is only 30 days? Now you know where "multiply like rabbits" comes from.).  We spent the morning cleaning out the shed (where she and Pumpkin had spent the winter in separate cages of course) and moved Pumpkin's cage outside. That afternoon, on March 1, she delivered 7 baby bunnies.  They are so ugly, wrinkled and hairless, but so cute because we knew what they were. 

 Brent thought I was crazy, but I took pictures of them everyday for 2 weeks. I knew they would change so fast and wanted to remember the process... since we were only going to do this once. So scroll through quickly if you want or enjoy the life of a baby bunny in a few pictures!

Day 1:

Day 2:

The pictures were too dark to even see.  Sorry.

Day 3:

 Day 4:

 They managed to keep buried the the hair and straw.  They were always snuggled together too.  Got to keep warm!

 Day 5:

 Fidget is a great mommy.  She would stick her head in the corner so the babies could nurse.

 Then when she hopped out, they were all uncovered and cute!  Their fur is starting to come in and you can tell colors and markings!

 Day 6:

 I thought they looked big enough to pick up. Shhh!  Don't tell the girls.  They were dying to hold them!

 Day 7:

 Day 8:

 I thought this shot of the feet was funny!  They nurse upside down and this one probably just stayed there.

 You can see the fur tuft on top of the white one's head.  So cute.

 A little snuggle.

 Day 9:

 A good picture of their markings.  So cute.

 Day 10:

 Hello, World!  They opened their eyes on the 10th day.

 I told the girls they could hold them when their eyes opened.  They were out to the cage immediately!

Ashleigh

 Erin

 Kara

 "The Twins"

 Brown and white

 Black, brown and white

 Brown and white

 Black and white

 Black

 All snuggled up again.

This was a sad day for us.  We went to the zoo, but got a call from the neighbors.  Two neighborhood dogs had gotten out and ripped Pumpkin's cage apart.  They killed poor Pumpkin.  Luckily the babies were in the shed.  It was very sad and I'm glad we weren't home to witness it. We called the animal control since the owners weren't home.  They are a couple of girls that we don't know.  So they had to get their dogs from the pound.  They came over to apologize and to fix the wrong.  Since we didn't need a new bunny (we have 7 to choose from) and the cage was ruined, they offered to pay for a new cage.  They were good to do that.  It was a good lesson for our little girls to see.  Saying sorry isn't easy even when you are an adult, but it makes both people feel better when it is done.  Poor Pumpkin.  (And poor Jaycee, who discovered the dogs.) 

 Day 11:

 It was pretty cute when their eyes opened, but it was adorable when their ears started perking up to listen to sounds.

 Day 12:

 Then word got out to the neighbors.

Day 16:

 3 Weeks:

 When they were three weeks old, we let them start exploring outside.  They love it!  They munch on grass and weeds, hop along, snuggle together, and try to escape captors!

 Fidget is happy to get out too!

  4 Weeks:

 They surprise us every time we go to check on them.  They have gotten bigger and more fluffy!  Five of them have taken some of Pumpkin's lionhead gene, and two are not as fluffy around the head like Fidget.  So darling!

 We have become the neighborhood attraction.  The rule is that I have to be out there with them.  I'm afraid one of them would get hurt if there was free reign of the bunnies.   I've been teased that I should charge 25 cents per child per day!  I'd be rich!

It is fun to share the smiles with the neighborhood kids.

 (And isn't there something sweet about a 12 year old boy snuggling a bunny?)  I love it. 

 They were exhausted after a fun jump in the yard.  The cage is getting a little crowded.

 These two bunnies were licking each other clean.

One Month: April 2:

We have two more weeks until they go to their new homes.  No we can't keep them all.  But since Pumpkin was killed, we can keep one.  Now to decide.  Janiel gets to choose.  But she doesn't know either!  So we might let every one else choose, then take the one that is left.  So now that they are adorable, we thought we would take their Easter pictures.  So here are our babies!

1. Mini-brown:

He has a twin, but is smaller.  He is the smallest of the batch. He is fluffy like his dad. He has been called "The Twin".

2. White with Black Spots:

So very fluffy!  His nickname is "Midget Fidget".

 

 He was ready to move onto real grass.

 3. Brown:

Just like his dad but with more gray. He is also known as "The Twin".

 4. Black: 

When he was born his skin was black.  As he has gotten older, he has some brown mixed in with the black. The kids call him "Explorer" because he likes to hop around and not just eat grass.

 5. White with Brown Spots:

Although there are two with this coloring, one is a lot more fluffy.  This one has the lionhead feature like his dad.  This one has been called, "Angel", "Cookies", "Cream", and a few others.  It is a favorite of the girls.

 It looks like he likes to pose for pictures.

 6. White with Black and Brown Spots:

This cutie has fur like Fidget.  It doesn't have a lot of fur around his face.  This one has been called "Grace".

 Fluffy white and brown likes his picture taken!  Joining his brother!

 7. White with Brown Spots:

This one also has fur like mommy.  It is a sweet one.  It has been called "Cookies" and "Fern".

 This is what 7 bunnies in a basket look like.  It didn't last long.

 They were tired out after that photo shoot!  The cage is extremely crowded now!  Two more weeks, then they will have a space of their own.  All of the babies have been spoken for.  That was a huge relief.  Good thing is, they are in our neighborhood or with family members.  We can see them all the time.  What a fun adventure this bunny thing has been.  We are glad that we could do it once.