Day 25
I decided today was the day to take the leap. Coincidentally Halloween but I decided not to dress them up this year because Toby and Annie were already stressed out enough, no need to add costumes to their troubles. So it seemed as good a day as any to move in.
Let me begin by saying that I am officially adopting Princess Annie the Bun. She's in, she's mine, she's Toby's and it's a done deal. I just need to do paperwork and stuff but she's not leaving us! That said, of course it means that Toby and Annie are now officially an item
They've been in the same pen upstairs living as peacefully as you could want a newly bonded pair to be for over 2 days. They've shown every positive sign of being an item and have had virtually no quarrels or hierarchy issues with each other. I felt good about proceeding. It took a
while but I finally vacuumed all the hay and fur out of the pen (and while I was at it, vacuumed Kirby and Penny's area too). There were old pee stains that I discovered here any there and had to scrub all that out with vinegar to neutralize the space. Toby did a really severe case on the chew guards of his bi-level Leith Condo and he has peed in the corners, staining the wood. So all that was replaced too. It was a lot of racket installing new ones, which Kirby complained about all afternoon as I worked as quickly as I could. New condo carpet was laid down. New interlocking carpet-top foam mats were laid down on the floor as well. It was a top-to-bottom scrub. I also walled off the perimeter of their space with newspapers and cardboard so that they can't physically see Kirby and Penny. They know they're there for sure, but at least without visuals, they won't get as easily worked up about it.
I put Toby back in first. You could see his eyes light up and his ears perk up as soon as he realized where he was. He recognized it as home. He was eager to sniff every inch of it. He pawed around and periscoped around a few minutes but he knew it: he was home!
When I brought Annie in, she was just exploding with happiness to have another new place to explore and bop around in. She raced around sniffing everything. It was so funny to watch them because Toby was inspecting his home and Annie was just exploring and having fun. They were both circling the place over and over discovering and re-discovering it all. To anyone who ever believed rabbits were not intelligent animals, I can tell them that they are absolutely wrong. The amount of information flashing through their furry little heads was plain. Toby was happier than I'd seen him in weeks. He was excited and he was relaxing at the same time. He even shot up in a few binkies!
With all the excitement, I wasn't sure how it would play out when they settled down. I was most anxious to see how they would interact inside the condo. It's a tight space and if they did fight, I was scared about whether I could grab them out of there. Toby's wooden sleepy box was also inside there and it's like his holy spot. Nobody touches his box. The last time Annie tried to get into his box when they were in the basement, he snapped at her and then got very, very upset. Today, however, he just let her have it. He wasn't so concerned about her being in his spot. He was a little cautious at first, avoiding wherever she wanted to be, but after a while he just settled in and let her do whatever she wanted. He is even more relaxed and accepting of her in his own pen. I had really nothing to worry about!
I have several shots of Annie sleeping inside of Toby's box, leaving Toby out in the cold somewhere nearby, looking. He isn't bitter about it. He doesn't seem really fazed by her being there. It's just funny and a little bit sad for me to look at how my strong minded Toby has fallen from first place in his world... but at least it's in the name of love.
To be honest, I have no idea how Annie figured it out. How did she know that inside of that box was "the number one bunny's spot"? She's been gunning for that place for a while now and now whenever she naps, she goes in there. Toby has had to settle for being on top of her, in the "party deck" of the condo. It's a bit weird and I am still trying to reason it out. Is it obviously the best place in the whole pen? Not really... The party deck is "higher" than the box. It's not very "Toby" because I changed the carpet. There's an identical box down on the floor that my husband bought for her, but she won't sleep in there. She sleeps in Toby's! Sheesh, she's smart. That's all I can say about it right now.
How are Kirby and Penny taking it? Well, they were annoyed that I locked them in during their "out time" this afternoon because of all the cleaning I was doing. Then they were MORE annoyed when Toby and Annie were making noise zipping around next door. Eventually, Penny caught a glimpse of Annie out of a wee corner that didn't have any cardboard and Penny went bonkers boxing the pen. It was no use because of all the perimeter protection I put up, but you could tell that Penny was not happy to see Annie. This is new to me because Penny has never been immediately aggressive with any other bunny in my house. I guess girls don't like girls! Kirby also encountered Annie when he climbed up on a shelf and saw Annie from 20" off the ground. I didn't bun-proof that high, so Annie stretched herself way up on her tippie toes and when Kirby saw her, he punched her in the nose. He narrowly missed because there was about an inch of space between their pens but he went for it. Safe to say that Kirby/Penny and Toby/Annie won't be friends and I'll have to continue me strict quarantine routine of the two pens... I'm a little nervous about it in general because Annie is very young and the space is new to her. I don't really know what she's capable of. I'm not entirely sure that the measures I've taken to separate Kirby and Toby will work for Annie! I guess I'll have to be diligent in observing and play it by ear.
By the way, Annie was up on the second level of the condo and she took one look out the open door and jumped out! She jumped like she meant it too! She landed right on her feet on the floor and was very pleased with herself. Toby saw her jump (he was on the second floor too) and he just sat there bewildered by it. She was there, and then she was not. He had never experienced this! Toby had never dared to jump. But Annie was in there for about 45 minutes and did what no bun did before! This is what I mean about being nervous for my bunny room. Annie is an unknown! I just have no idea what to expect out of her!
But it was a very good day for all of us in the Rabbit Nation overall. At about 9:30pm this evening I sat on my couch, very pleased with myself. I was listening to the symphony of 4 bunnies chomping on hay and it was quite literally music to my ears. I feel like I've achieved the impossible. I would have never guessed 26 days ago that on Halloween, Annie would be napping in Toby's box and Toby would be chill about it. Not in a million years! But I followed a set of instructions, spent a lot of time with them, took every precaution, and most importantly, I think I picked the right bun for my bun. And now, my dear little baby Toby has a friend. I think that's the best thing I could do for my Toby. As much as Penny frustrates me and makes me mad almost daily, I can tell she has enhanced Kirby's life in ways I never could. Kirby was nearly 4 years old when he got Penny, and now Toby is 4 and has Annie. I hope that all my buns live happily with my husband and I, for a really long time. It's all I can ask for in life!
P.S. Yes that's another classic Kirby dead-bunny-flop next to Penny. He's so silly!
