My Bunny adopted me

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Lynchr

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
15
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Location
Pleasant View, Tennessee, USA
Greetings,

We live out in the country in middle Tennessee and have some land. We see deer, wild turkeys, wild rabbits, squirrels, chicken hawks, a ground hog, raccoons, coyotes, a fox that looks malnourished, ducks on the pond, and other assorted wildlife. We also have a 6 year old a toy poodle (Keren) and a Koi Pond.

About a month ago this rabbit appeared on the patio. He was hiding behind the BBQ grill. I got some shredded carrots and offered them to him. He ate all I put down, and then held out my hand with more and he came within a foot of me but chickened out, so I put them down and he went right for them. Poor thing was hungry and had ticks on his ears.

Well, I'm a sucker for all critters (except snapping turtles and snakes) and even though I have never had a bunny before I knew I wanted to take care of him. A neighbor told me that he had been seen at a vacant house almost a mile from us. I'm guessing that he was a Easter pet and they just didn't want him anymore. It's amazing that he survived on his own in this environment. Must have been divine intervention that he picked us to come to. There are people around here that would have fed him to their dogs.

Went to Tractor Supply and bought a cage, nesting box, feeder, food, treats, etc. We were having 100 degree days so I moved him to the garage (air conditioned, and where I spend most of my time). Named him Bugsy. From what I found on the net, he is an American Sable - seal point. He has quite a personality, loves to get treats and be petted, uses a litter box, Tells me when hw wants more food and is out of water, but does not want to be picked up. I was letting him out in the garage for a few hours every day until I discovered a garage door wouldn't close because he had chewed through the wires (low voltage). I have to put on leather gloves to handle him as he uses his rear legs to kick at me (skinned the back of my hand once). Nails need trimming but he won't allow me to hold his paws to clip them. He did sit perfectly still as I got the ticks off his ears though. I need out figure out to gain his trust so I can pick him up.

Keren loves to play with him and he has started to respond to her. She is very jealous of any attention I give to him but she thinks he is her buddy, and doesn't understand why he can't come in the house with us.

I don't know how to upload a picture.

Looking forward to learning from others here.


 
Welcome! Bugsy is beautiful! Certainly is a good thing he ended up with you!

I have 6 rabbits in the house. If Bugsy uses the litter box as long as you do some bunny proofing (there's an article in the library section) it is great fun to have them run around. Rabbits are super smart but as prey animals you have to work on gaining their trust (another great article on that too). I suggest reading out loud to him or talking on the phone with him in the room. If you lay on the floor and ignore Bugsy he will come to you out of curiousity and learn you are a source of yummy things.
 
Well bless you for saving an innocent sweet bunny! You have a good heart :)

There's tons of information in the Library section of this forum to help you figure out how to keep your rabbit happy and healthy.

Most rabbits don't like to be picked up, so you're not alone there. Nails are also pretty tricky. If you have a rabbit-savvy vet, you could take him there for a checkup to make sure he doesn't have worms or anything, and they could try to clip his nails.

Good luck to you!
 
Congrats on getting adopted!!
I'm sure over time he will begin to trust you and hopefully he will let you pick him up and clip his nails.
Congrats!!!
 
:hello:
:bunnyheart:bunnydance::bunnyheart:bunnydance::bunnyheart:bunnydance::bunnyheart

I love the story of how your bunny adopted you! I think you've come to the right place for information and support as you get to know your rabbit!

My first rabbit came to me late in life and I have found them to be the most loving, interesting, amazing pets. Their "language" is very different from cats and dogs and learning about that has been a joy! There's great info here on how to speak rabbit:)

Bravo to you for giving your little one a safe place and open heart!
 
Here is a video of Bugsy and Keren getting to know each other. Keren jumped right into the relationship but Bugsy took a while to warm up to her.

Click on the title if you would like to view full screen in YouTube.

[flash=320,256]http://www.youtube.com/v/M2zEiC2EspY[/flash]
 
Hi That's a real sweet video. Boy doggy's little tail was going a mile a minute.

What a gorgeous Bunny, love his colouring.

Can I make a suggestion, wire flooring can be hard on the bunnies feet. I would cover the flooring, as he is litter trained you don't need that type of flooring for his poo to fall through. I use little blankets in my cages (mine don't really chew the blankets) or you can use grass mats thatare good for them to chew. I also have ceramic tiles in their cages. I made the cages out of the NIC panels.

Looking forward to seeing pictures of Bugsy.

I use Photobucket.com (it's free) download the pictures then copy & paste the IMG code to RO.

Susan:)
 
Thanks for the comments and suggestions SOOOSKA

I'll find something to cover the whole floor with. Early on, I put a bath towel in his cage and he peeded on it. Guess I could try again.

Now, he always uses the litter box to pee, but is a free spirit as far as dropping pelllets. The majority of time he goes in litter box but sometimes he just goes a little where ever he's at, even the nesting box.

Would love to let him loose in the house, but we have an open floor plan so I could not restrict him to a small area, and there is no way I could protect all the electrical cords that are plugged in. As I said in my introduction, he worked at chewing on every wire he came across when I let him roam the 1600 sq ft garage.

I would love to be able to put a leash on him, but think he would freak out and fight it. Don't need anymore trama in his life right now.

Taking him to a bunny friendly vet tomorrow for a checkup and try to get nails clipped.
 
maybe you could bunny proof a smaller than 1600 sq ft area as part of his cage and running area. You could make it several layers high so that he can run up and down. We cover our cords with wiring protection that we get from the automotive store. Just cover the ones in his area that you choose and hang them up above where he cannot reach them. Welcome to the forum. He looks in really good shape for someone that was abandoned. Good little foliger, amazing how the need to survive kicks in. He is very handsome, love his colouring.
 
Love that you used the term "free spirit" for random poops:) You're going to make a great bunny parent.

There's usually a lot more of that when they're new and marking territory. I recently got two new ones and they were "free spirited" for about two weeks before they settled on an area for pooping and peeing. Mine are not caged so one way to train them in a new space is to put the litter box where they choose to poop and pee. That's where I put their box and now they use it 100% of the time for pee and 99% for poops. Works like a charm;)

They really blossom when they free range...I have one bunny proofed bedroom where they live and they free-range with supervision in the rest of the house. I had an electrician come in and raise all the outlets above bunny level where possible. If that wasn't possible, I used chew proof wire covering and "blocking". It didn't cost that much and it's been worth it.
 
Took Bugsy to the vet this morning. He's not the man I thought he was.

SHE is about two years old and got a clean bill of health and claws clipped.

She is very put out with me right now. Won't take a treat, or come to me to be petted.
 
LOL The gender fairy visits more frequently than you would think. I'm sure she will get over it in time. Rabbits are so emotional, but it makes their joy even more intense too.

*nose bonks* Cheer up Bugsy, you are loved.
 
Okay you guys, educate me on *nose bonks*. What is she telling me?

I will be feeding her from my hand and sometimes she will put her nose under my hand and kinda jerk her head up. That's what Keren does when she wants to be petted so I figured Bugsy was telling me the same thng. I will pet her and she flops down and seems to really enjoy it.
 
Reading the blogs section I wonder if my thread should me moved to blogs. If so, I do I contact a moderator to move it?

Bugsy is back to her old self. All has been forgiven. I have been reading a lot of the posts about pens and think I am going to build her a larger pen on the floor.
 
Love the gender fairy!! I got a visit when I got my bun. We thought for sure our Rue was a girl, we got HIM when he was 5 weeks old and looked like a girl in his bits until he hit 4 months old and was periscoping and gosh darnit he has boy bits lol. However I was happy as it is way cheaper to neuter a boy bun :D

You are a wonderful person for taking Bugsy in and giving her a warm loving home. Nose bonks are great, Rue does it and it means pet me. So I pet him and he grooms me covering me head to toe in kisses.

As for "free range" we got one of those dog pens on kijiji(Canadas version of craigslist) for $35 which has made a great area for Rue. If you can get more then one you can put them together and its a safe place to play with no wires to chew or furniture to destroy. I recommend getting as tall of one as you can as they can jump rather high. Rue's is about 4ft tall.

Welcome to RO! I think we need lots more pics of Bugsy :D
 
Keren and I amconcerned about Bugsy.

Every morning when we come out to the garage (man cave), Bugsy is very excited to see us, wants a treat and some petting. This morning she stayed in her nesting box, not moving,and refuses treats. Keren knows something is not right andis camping out by the cage watching her.

The only change was that yesterday I found a sheet of coroplast and put it in her cage. She didn't have a problem with it yesterday.

It's been three hours now and she just quietly moved over to the litter box and parked there.

Should I do anything, or just let her be?
 
Have you tried petting her or seeing if you can get her moving? Has she been pooping and peeing? Drinking water and eating?
 
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