King Kirby's Rabbit Nation

[kirbyultra]

UPDATE May, 2009: King Kirby has expanded his Dreamland to encompass the Rabbit Nation. The subjects of the Rabbit Nation ( Population: 2 [Sir Toby the Faithful, and Helen the Slave]) bow to his Majesty's every whim!



This is my first blog posting on Kirby's Dreamland! Welcome!

Edit: (1/15/09) I'll also be sharing this blog with Kirby. Sometimes he has something to say. It'll be a"Kirbyz Blogz" :biggrin2:

I've had such a great time on the forum and I'm almost sure everyone in my life who's not a rabbit owner is fed up with me talking about my rabbit and finding a way to work him into every conversation! This a perfect place for me to do my brain dumps!

My Kirby... beautiful black satin mix bunny, with just 1 white mouth, 1 white paw and 1 zigzag stripe across his neck. I'd been wanting a rabbit for many months and my then-boyfriend always told me how we'd get one. I really wanted one but I was scared about the commitment because the only pet I ever had was a fish for 2 years. When Fishie died, I was crushed. And a rabbit is so much more responsibility...

Before we even got married, we bought our place and he bought the rabbit condo before I even moved in! I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do and he already got the cage! 3 months after we got married, I started looking around online and some bunnies caught my eye. We went to visit a rabbit rescue in New Jersey and on that very day we adopted sweet Kirby from the wonderful people, and we named him Kirby.

Kirby was an owner-surrender. He was just over 2 years old at the time. Since Day 1,he has had me wrapped around his little toesies. Even though I was in love, I was still doubting myself, wondering if I had it in me to take care of such a tiny, scared and gentle life.

Looking back, I definitely made the right decision. I cannot imagine my life without Kirby. My husband and I both work at the same large global bank in New York. We have both survived 3 consecutive rounds of layoffs. My department got butchered in half in a matter of 2 months. We work hard and don't necessarily like our jobs anymore, but we do it to pay bills and continue our lifestyle. We're newlyweds, we live in the city and have a double mortgage to pay... we come home completely and utterly exhausted and defeated daily. Being greeted at home by Kirby binkying around and completelythrilled to see me again is the light of my life. In these trying times of our lives, Kirby is truly our light.

What would I do without him!!!!:dutch

 

[Bo B Bunny]

He's so pretty! :hearts:

 

[Lover_Of_Lopz]

Let the bunny napping begin:duelh34r2:devil

 

[kirbyultra]

Lover_Of_Lopz wrote:

Let the bunny napping begin:duelh34r2:devil

No! Not my bunny!!My lovely wittle bun! :bunnyheart

 

[kirbyultra]

January 14, 2009

Kirby binkied lots today. He saw me coming and ran around in joy! He patiently waited for me to make him his salad... usually I give him his plate of goodness soon as I get home. But I was so exhausted today that I came home, pet him a bit and went straight to the bedroom for R&R. I emerged 1 hour later and found Kirby sitting right where I left him, looking towards the door. Hello! Dinner time!

After dinner I picked up the little guy and we watched the end of The Day After Tomorrow on FX together. I put him back on the ground and he happily scurried away... I put him down bum-first but he still launches out of my hands as soon as he's within 6 inches of the floor! I gave him his usual Papaya tablet and he ate it willingly. Good -- he isn't mad. When I've crossed the limits of how long I can hold him he just gets all mad and refuses my treats! That's when I know I'm in the doghouse. :grumpy:

Currently he's lying down on his tum, legs all sprawled out, chillaxing... watching me type my post on my PC. Sweet bunny!!! I wish I could take him to work. Just looking at him every so often makes the world right again!:biggrin2:


Out and about:

 

[Wabbitdad12]

A few years ago, I would have told people they were crazy if they told me I would like rabbits. Now I have 16 spoiled furry bundles of joy and attitude, especially when it comes to treat time.

Kirby is a handsome guy, looks like a real character.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Look at his little white paw..... :inlove:

 

[Elf Mommy]

Sounds like you found the right guy to be with, and the right bun for your family.

Kirby is adorable!!!

 

[kirbyultra]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

Look at his little white paw..... :inlove:

Hee hee!!! I love his little white paw too! I used to touch it a lot and he would look at melike "hey, do I point out YOUR imperfections?" and shrink his foot into his tummy area. Now he doesn't mind. It's just mommy.

It's weird. His white paw has white nails. The rest of his black feet have dark nails...:shock:

You should see his mouth. It's just 1 splotch of white on his wittle lips. I gotta try to get a good shot of that one day. The lighting has to be right and he has to be in his cage so I can get a good bottom-up angle. Little guy never sits still...

 

[kirbyultra]

Wabbitdad12 wrote:

Kirby is a handsome guy, looks like a real character.

I could just about swear Kirby is my real-born son from my own womb. Why?

1. He has no normal rabbit interests. He ignores all the toys I make and buy for him. His one true love? Food. Dinner time? Get outta the way!!!! Heeeeere he comes!
2. He loves tv. We installed a TV in his room so I could watch some tv while spending time with him. He runs up to the top level of his condo so he can get a good view of the tv. Go figure... Maybe he likes video games too, but I haven't ventured there with him yet. I should buy him Wii Fit and we can hula hoop together...
3. He loves a good massage. If you're not massaging, you're not doing your job right. My husband knows. :biggrin2:
4. I love a good salad and so does he but... celery? We don't touch it. We don't even touch anything that's touched it before. I tried feeding it to him once with his lettuce. He refused to eat. I found out the hard/long way that it was the celery.

He sure has spunk. Just like his mama.:biggrin2:

 

[xeblic]

Kerby sounds like a funny bunny.

 

[kirbyultra]

kirby'z blogz vol. 1

hi everyone, it's me, kirby the bun. this morning i was waiting for breakfast... mommy was snoring. today mommy woke up late and she forgot to turn on the light. she tripped over something walking into my room. it was snowing out (brrr) so the sky was still dark. i remember snow. it used to be so chilly out there. now i am inmy new home with mommy and daddy and it is always warm and comfy here. we live really high up and daddy opens up the shades for me. i like to look outside a lot. lots of itty bitty cars move around all day and all night!

today i was napping when i heard a big noise. big screaming noise. not like the normal honking noises that usually scare me (mommy says they're just ships and trucks outside, but i don't like them)... this was really big. something was falling out of the sky!!! i was really scared. where was mommy?

i sat like a ducky and waited for mommy. it was cold out. there were a lot of sirens and they scared me. it got dark and i knew that was good because after dark, mommy comes home and rubs my head. i missed her.

it's really late. where was mommy? where was daddy? it's so late and they are not home yet. my tummy is hungry so i know it is late. what happened? :bunny5

it was a couple hours later but mommy finally came home! she still had her coat and hat on but she came to to hug me and pet me in my cage. her hand was so cold. she was happy to see me and i was happy to see her. daddy came home a little bit later too. she gave me dinner and sat with me. everything is ok again... i wuv her.
[line]


What Kirby witnessed from our Manhattan apartment:

[ame=http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/01/15/natpkg.ny.plane.crash.cnn]http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/01/15/natpkg.ny.plane.crash.cnn[/ame]

http://www.1010wins.com/-Miracle-on-the-Hudson-/3667851

Note from Kirby's mom: I got home much later than usual today because my ferry suspended service on the river. Had to take 2 trains and a bus to get home in the night. What a chilling day.

 

[kirbyultra]

Jan 17, 2009

Oops, I just realized today I only have 1 more week's worth of Kirby's Oxbow BBT pellets... oh no! I haven't found it in any pet stores I've gone through in the last 2 months. So I'm buying online. I hope it ships soon... Kirby loves his pellets...

I bought them from The Bunny Basics and bought him 2 straw mats (because he eats carpet...grr!), and 2 new baskets for him to chew up. I bought a 5lb bag of BBT from busy bunny before and wasn't very happy with it. There was a lot of smushed powder in it and Kirby doesn't like to eat any of the crushed pellets. I hope Bunny Basics is better!! 10 lb bag this time. I didn't realize he'd go through a 5lb bag so quickly, even if like a pound of it was powder. Sigh!



[line]


Trip to the pet store

I didmy research online, thought I might have found a good source of hay in NYC but when I got there they said they tried to order that kind, but it was not available. They had a "Sun Seed" type of hay instead. How disappointing.... I've just about given up my search for hay in and near NYC. I guess I will have to pay lots of shipping online.:X

 

[kirbyultra]

Jan 18, 2009

My skin problem is coming back with a vengeance. The condition of the wounds on my hands is worsening. I have seen it go down this path before and I'm afraid of where it's going. I saw this coming. My skin breaks when it's too dry too easily. But I've been avoiding lotion because I don't want to get it all over Kirby's fur and he'll ingest it when he grooms himself.

I need time and patience and meticulous care of my hands now otherwise it will continue to get worse and then I'll really regret it. I asked my husband to clean Kirby's litter box and wash his greens for the next 3 days (put away in tupperware). He complied but he didn't seem happy about it. I was a little annoyed because when we agreed to get Kirby we agreed that we'd split the tasks. And yet I do 98% of everything for Kirby. Occassionally I'll be cooking human food when it's Kirby's feeding time so in the interests of not cross-contaminating I ask him to put out some pellets. He just seems so cranky every time I ask him. He's only cleaned the box twice since we've had Kirby and twice had to wash his greens. He said he wasn't upset but I could hear the annoyance in his tone. I'm annoyed too. Is it too much to ask to do a little bit of dirty work while your wife's hands heal so they don't bleed 24/7? :banghead

I suppose I should be happy that he didn't protest at all to begin with. He complained to Kirby that there was lots of poo. I think it's really a good thing Kirby poos a lot. God knows I'd be freaking out if he did not poo!
:litterhealthy:

Sigh. At least Kirby is happy.:dutch

 

[Haley]

How have I missed Kirby's blog? He is adorable! And any man that wants to bring home a bunny sounds like a keeper

As for ordering Oxbow, do you have Pet Supplies Plus stores out there? They dont carry the pellets in store but they special order bags for me and dont charge for shipping. If you dont have them, try calling some chain pet stores. Sometimes they can get it cheaper for you since theyre already having Oxbow stuff shipped in.

Im sorry to hear about your hands! Do you wear gloves when you clean his cage etc? I wonder if that would help?

Hope youre feeling better soon. We need some more Kirby pics!

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi great blog. Kirby is Adorable.

I agree with Haley. I'm very allergic to many things so I wear gloves whenever I do anything for the bunnies. I buy them at Wallymart they are the non latex gloves. I'm also allergic to latex. I'd try them you will really see a difference and you can put your lotion on your hands too.

Susan

PS

I've also started to take 1 tablespoon of Flax Seed Oil a day, it's suppose to be really good for skin conditions. I mix it in with my yogurt in the morning.

 

[kirbyultra]

Search for Hay: Trip to the Pet Store #2

Went to a place further away that sweetmeadowfarm.com says carries their shtuff. I was actually super disappointed in the quality of the SM timothy they had in stock but the Oxbow timothy looked good and actually the Zupreem orchard grass looked lovely. Zupreem didn't strike me as a brand many people talked about so I figured it wasn't really good or bad either way but it looked fresh so I got a bag. Kirby's never had orchard grass (under my watch anyway) and he loves food so much that introducing some variety would only make him happier. First of all finding a place that carried any amount of hay was shocking, let alone variety! They also carry Oxbow BBT, $9.99... for 5 lb. That was the cheapest I've ever seen it (versus online + shipping). I liked this pet shop, it's just a little far. I wonder if I can ask if they would special order a big bag of SM hay for me since they get the hay shipped in anyway.

On a recent thread under nutrition and behavior, I've gotten some positive testaments to ordering SM hay from their website so maybe it isn't so bad after all. The pet store only carries little bags which are not priced for value at all. The big quantities online plus shipping is still a better value per pound. Both my husband and I are still fortunate enough to make decent money but it's a bad economy and I hate my job. One of these days I feel like I might just snap and sabotage my career and quit in a huff. I fantasize about it all the time, actually! Better save up wherever I can...

I fed Kirby a tablespoon of pumpkin on a dish. He gobbled it up faster than I've ever seen him gobble anything. It's so cute to watch him chew/lick/slurp the lumpy orange paste. He had his whiskers and nosey in it. A speck landed on his nose and he became very confused. He kept sniffing all over looking for the pumpkin when he had already clearly finished the dish off. Poor thing. I helped him wipe off his nosey.

:dutch

Here's a picture of my dear lounging in the city backdrop:

 

[kirbyultra]

Haley wrote:

How have I missed Kirby's blog? He is adorable! And any man that wants to bring home a bunny sounds like a keeper

As for ordering Oxbow, do you have Pet Supplies Plus stores out there? They dont carry the pellets in store but they special order bags for me and dont charge for shipping. If you dont have them, try calling some chain pet stores. Sometimes they can get it cheaper for you since theyre already having Oxbow stuff shipped in.

Im sorry to hear about your hands! Do you wear gloves when you clean his cage etc? I wonder if that would help?

Hope youre feeling better soon. We need some more Kirby pics!

:biggrin2:

I don't think I've ever seen a Pet Supplies Plus out here. I'll have to start keeping an eye out for pet shops wherever I go. A lot of pet stores, I've realized, look very inconspicuous and I often drive and walk by without ever registering their existence in my brain. Probably becauseI didn't have a pet till now.

I wear gloves when I really clean his cage out once a month with disinfectant, but when I am just cleaning the litter box and giving him new piles of hay, I don't bother. But after my hands heal up this time I'm going to have to reconsider. You and Soooska are probably right. I need to invest in some protection so I can keep myself healthy while caring for Kirby. But for petting him, a glove in between us just won't do! I love to run my hands through his fur and I like to tickle the top of his head with my index finger. I don't think I'm allergic to him. Probably just the hay and the chemicals.

Hay is also pretty sharp (I know it sounds absurd, unless you have sensitive skin). I had all these hairline cuts all over my hands recently and I couldn't figure it out for weeks. Then I realized... it's the tiny blades of hay. When I reach in to grab a handful the surrounding hay must be somehow cutting through my skin. Any break in my skin takes forever to heal. It's unreal. Gloves will help. Sigh!

:dutch

 

[BethM]

I hope your hands heal up quickly!

I have eczema on my hands. It's not as bad now as when I was a kid, but I still get flare-ups. I also try to avoid putting lotion on when I will be touching the bunnies soon. I will only put on my eczema lotion while I am on my way to work, so it will be worn off and/or absorbed by the time I get home. I generally put on regular lotion at night, right before bed. I'll use something with shea butter (nice and rich), and wear thin cotton gloves to help it absorb. Then I just wash my hands a couple times in the morning to get off any residue before I make salads.

I know how it goes with the "sharing" of the bunny work. While I have gotten Jason to take charge of litterboxes, I do everything else. (And he doesn't do litterboxes quite as frequently as I'd like them to be done!) He will look right in the half-empty water dish and then leave the house. Grrr!

Oh, I have to tell you, I just love Kirby! What a cutie!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

I bought a large box of Sweetmeadow grass and the buns love it. I compared it to what I was paying for hay locally and it was cheaper per pound even with shipping. I stuff it into toilet paper tubes or cut a paper towel tube in half and put the hay in there. The buns love to chew on the cardboard to get to more of the hay.

I am very pleased with the Sweetmeadow hay. When the box I have runs out, I will definitely order more.

More Kirby pictures pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee!