Duke and Oreo

[RabbitLover94]

On August 24, 2008, I lost my beloved baby Duke. He was a broken black rex. He was the first rabbit I'd ever had that was friendly and outgoing towards people. If I sat in the exercise pen with him, he would climb up my legs onto my lap to snuggle. Sadly, I lost him him at the tender age of 10 weeks. He was the sole survivor of a litter of two from an accidental birth.The parents were brother and sister. He died due to a heart defect and, right before he died, he screamed and it was just a really bloodcurdlng noise that I never want to hear ever again.:bigtears:I miss him so much!:rainbow:R.I.P. Duke:rainbow:

About a month ago, Duke's daddy, Oreo, escaped from the exercise pen. Our area is full of all kinds of predators like bobcats, coyotes, mountain lion, owls, cats, and dogs and I searched everywhere for weeks afterwards.I have finally accepted that I'm probably never going to see him again, but I'll never stop hoping for several more years that, by some miracle, he survived. Black Velvet and I will miss you Oreo! :rainbow:R.I.P. Oreo:rainbow:

 

[l.lai]

Wow sorry for your losses, do you have any other rabbits?

 

[RabbitLover94]

Thank you. Yes, I have two others.

The solid black Mini Rex doe is Black Velvet and the broken black chinchilla Mini Lop doe is Tulip.

 

[l.lai]

Tulip is very nice!

They're bonded!

Did that take long?

 

[RabbitLover94]

From the very first meeting without bars in between? It took them about a week to bond.
For about half a week beforehand I had them living in their cages about a foot from each other and gradually moved them closer together.
When I first put them together, Black Velvet acted like she didn't even notice Tulip, while Tulip was acting very dominant. They got into several scuffles and I was thinking that maybe this wouldn't work out because they were getting worse about it.
Then, I remembered a guinea pig bonding technique: buddy baths. I washed both of them and then put them in the same cage. They were so shocked about everything that they just started grooming themselves and then each other, trying to make sense of what had just happened. After a few hours of that, I seperated them because they were starting to feel a bit tense toward each other, but I left their cages side-by-side. They got playtime together every day since then and now they get along beautifully! (This was my first time trying to bond two rabbits that weren't already brother and sister with the male neutered.) Now, Black Velvet is the dominant one while Tulip is submissive about everything. I had a picture of Black Velvet basically sitting on Tulip's head but I accidentally deleated it. I thought it was very amusing though because Tulip was sleeping through the whole thing.
Thank you for the compliment about Tulip! I can't wait to show her! How many rabbits do you have?

 

[tonyshuman]

I'm so sorry you lost Duke and Oreo.

 

[RabbitLover94]

Thank you tonyshuman. The two of them were the sweetest tempered rabbits that I've ever had and I'll never be able to replace that piece of my heart that they took with them.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sorry to hear about your losses of Duke and Oreo. Don't know if I could stand loosing two bunnies so close together. It killed me losing two in the same year six months apart. They both were good looking buns--all we can do is give them love and a good home and hope to have them for a long time, although we never seem to have them with us as long as we want to. Rest in peace and binky free.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I am so very sorry.

 

[kirsterz09]

sorry to hear of your losses,
binky free Duke and Oreo :angelandbunny:

 

[gingers_giants]

I am so sorry

 

[JimD]

I'm so sorry

Binky free little ones.

 

[Fancy77]

So sorry 4 your loss...:rainbow: