Hello everyone! It's been a while since I last posted so I thought it would be a good time to update everyone on my bunny family. Wilbur and Harvey are doing great and still alive. It has been interesting to say the least!
I found a great rabbit vet and took them both in to get a checkup. If you remember, I thought Harvey was pregnant, she showed all the signs from making a nest, to barbering herself to place her fur in the nest. The vet told me that she wasn't really pregnant, instead having a false pregnancy! I was shocked, I guess I had warmed up to the idea of having baby bunnies, but I'm happy that I'm not going to find any dead ones. I ended up getting Wilbur fixed, he was just too aggressive. It cost me about $300 and I kept them divided for the next month after he was neutered.
Now they live together again in that great big rabbit hutch, and they really do love each other. They both lie next to each other and groom each other. But the dominate fighting never really stopped. Wilbur didn't seem as if he wanted to hump, but Harvey would start chasing him and nip at him as if to say, "what am I not good enough for you anymore!" She still goes into heat, probably twice a month I notice it, the excessive circling, nipping, fur pulling and such. Harvey then builds up the nest again, expecting babies that are not coming. I already have scheduled the appointment and she is getting spayed in a few weeks, which will cost me around $350. And once she is spayed, I will divide them again in different cages for a month so that she can heal and hopefully calm down.
I have gone to great lengths to bunny proof my home and feel I've been pretty successful. I keep them in their bunny mansion during the day, but they get to hop for hours when I get home from work and all around the house. I've gotten hard plastic cable covers so they don't eat my cable. I'm also really good at leaving things out for them to chew, instead of the furniture, like non-treated wood and used paper towel rolls. I've cut down a lot on Harvey's excess digging in her litter box by leaving a few strategically placed phone books in the cage. She absolutely loves digging through the phone books, then takes the pages and really makes the whole bottom of the cage look like one big nest. And I leave a litter box outside their cage that they do use when I let them out to hop. I've even trained Wilbur to jump into my lap for a yogurt drop, but the vet told me I had to cut down how many I give them because each one is like us eating a chocolate chip cookie. They do love apple slices, carrots and broccoli. I used to get baby carrots, but now I get whole carrots because they take turns stealing it from each other and chasing each other around for it⦠getting their exercise, lol.
Can't say I'm thrilled they are still sorting out the dominance thing, but at least they are not full blown fights, no blood, no screaming. I have a feeling it is just something I will have to live with, unless it does stop once Harvey is spayed. Wilbur has also decided that he doesn't want to go in the litter box, he actually likes lying in the litter box, so he is pooping and peeing under the ramp in the hutch. I have to clean their cage at least once a week so I guess that's that. Also, I have to feed them their food on the bottom floor of the hutch because they will throw the dish down the ramp from the second floor after eating, once the dish is empty. I did get them to stop eating the wooden ramp in between the floors by spraying it with vinegar. And Harvey has stopped attacking me when I change the food dish, which is a huge plus. She used to growl and lunge, even bite but not break the skin. I got her to stop by pulling her out of the cage every time she lashed out at me and telling her no. She doesn't like to be pulled out of her cage and thankfully realized that I would if she lunges at my hand, so she completely stopped (although she will still growl a little).
Besides the bad litter box habits of Wilbur⦠and the whole dominance thing⦠the only thing that he does now that I wish he would stop is he keeps biting at his water bottle and trying to pull it into the cage. It's like he feels the water isn't coming fast enough and bites at it. I don't like him doing this because he contorts it when he pulls on it and might end up twisting the nozzle away from the cage so now he and Harvey can no longer get to it. I'm about to try getting him a larger water bottle, but don't know if it will stop him from biting the nozzle and trying to pull it into the cage. I've read about water dishes and dispensers, that they work well, but I'm afraid with my bunnies attitude problem that they will spill it or knock it over. They throw their food dish when they are mad, I can see the same thing happening with a water dish, unless I wire tie it somehow, but then it will be a pain to refill most likely. They have access to two water bottles and he does this with both of them.
Recently, my problems have increased tenfold because I rescued a rabbit and thought I would be able to bond all three. I got Daisy from a co-worker who wanted to get rid of her, never wanted her. His brother bought her for his one year old son for Easter, and they neglected her for three years. For three years, the rabbit sat alone in it's cage, never getting out. He also never took it to the vet or even trimmed it's claws. Also, because he is allergic to timothy hay, he never feed it a proper diet, only alfalfa hay, some veggies and no pellets. When I got the rabbit, it's front two teeth were overgrown and sticking out of her mouth. I took her to the vet, got her claws trimmed and the vet told me the teeth aren't as bad and will fix itself now that she is getting a proper diet.
But the other two bunnies hate her and I don't think they will ever get along. I tried bonding, did the research but I'm telling you, they are just not compatible. Harvey is especially mad, I have never seen her so mad in all my life, her whole disposition changed when I brought in Daisy. I tried keeping Daisy in a penned in area, it's hard to find neutral territory because Harvey and Wilbur have run of the house now. Harvey tried to push in the pen on Daisy, just to get at her and bite her. Then she attacked Wilbur and I had to divide them, fur was flying that day! Wilbur had a little boxing match with Daisy, but they stopped when I told them to. Then I tried Harvey again and she ended up having a poop war with Daisy, talk about worst case scenario! It's the first time she ever had the "runs" if you want to call it that, it was more like poop slime. She threw it with her hind legs at Daisy and it was on the walls, stunk so bad! She smeared it all around the outside area of the pen that Daisy was in. I had to give Harvey a bath in the sink to wash her bottom, which was covered in slimy poo! The next time I tried, same result, Harvey had more slimy poo. To not upset her any further, I threw in the towel and had to move Daisy to the second floor of my house where she now lives. Once Harvey could not see Daisy, she stopped her poo problems.
Even though I am happy that I did rescue Daisy, I'm torn that she cannot play with my other bunnies and am finding it stressful to give everyone their own hop time. When I get up in the morning, I let Daisy hop around the kitchen so she can get out of her cage. Unfortunately, she doesn't move much outside of the cage and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that she was locked in a cage for three years. The kitchen works well because the other bunnies cannot see her. But they might be able to smell each other and I don't know how scared Daisy is. She perks up when she sees me and I am able to hold her without her wanting to run away, which is not the case with Wilbur and Harvey. I'm letting Daisy hop during the day because I let the other two out at night. But I would be lying if I didn't say this is really putting stress on my life, catering to three rabbits and having to now clean an additional cage. And I feel terrible leaving Daisy upstairs, mostly in the dark, while I let the other two buns hop.
Right now, I am trying to find Daisy a good home, but nobody wants her. The one person who was semi interested, I said no to because they didn't seem like they would take care of her well enough and I don't want this poor rabbit to be completely caged her whole life and neglected. I am overwhelmed, but I'm not going to just open the door and let her go, which is what my co-worker wanted to do. By the way, Daisy is not spayed, and I'll be honest, as a single homeowner, I'm doubtful I can afford another $350 to get her fixed. And getting a fourth rabbit is out of the question, I have my hands full with two and seeing how bunnies may or may not get along, I'm not risking it. But she is a good girl and definitely happy to be eating a proper bunny diet.
And that's where I'm at! I'm really trying everyone, you know I went into this almost completely inexperienced. I continue to learn and do what I can to make my bunnies happy.
Sorry again for the long post, just my nature being a writer and I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Any advice or comments are welcome.
Thanks again,
--- Billy
) but having his boy bit off made a HUGE difference. I feel you on the humping issue, it gets old fast.
