New Bunnies!

[Azerane]

As many of you know I lost Bandit in January this year. After waiting some months to be "ready" to adopt again, I then had to wait longer for financial reasons, followed by the unexpected addition of a stray/rescue parrot. She (the parrot, Dory) was housed temporarily in a cage made from x-pen panels which I'd mounted on top of the bunny condo, rendering it unusable until we either found her owner, or bought her a new cage. Months passed and no owner turned up, so I bought Dory a new cage which freed up the condo (at long last!). I had to pull it apart and thoroughly scrub it and reassemble it. Following which, I met some rescue bunnies...

I was only going to adopt one, that was honestly the plan, we'd previously had just Bandit under the rental agreement so one rabbit was the goal. But we met the rescue bunnies and while the singles were adorable and sweet (not to mention an absolutely gorgeous chocolate dutch girl) my heart just fell for this pair. They were named Tony and Rosie, a red-eyed white male with frosted ears and a vienna marked ginger agouti lop mix female. After about a week I finally settled on new names of Apollo and Luna. I was looking for celestial type names and it was mentioned to me that their adoption day, July 30th was the day that the Apollo 15 Lunar module landed on the moon back in 1971. Like it was meant to be

So, mega long story short (too late), I have two new bunnies! They'd both been at the rescue for about a year and a half (except the girl had briefly been adopted at one point and returned) and as soon as I met them I just had to take them home. Luna is shy, but very curious and adventurous and is the first to approach in hopes of treats. Apollo is more relaxed, adores head rubs and just loves to binky! For three weeks their two level condo was a single level condo because they hadn't discovered the top level, now that they have, they're up there a lot or just relaxing on the steps.

Onto the most important part... pictures! There's also videos on introducing them and a weigh-in video on my youtube channel, Bunny Basics.

Apollo is the white one, Luna is the agouti And a pic of Dory, just for fun

 

[Aki]

Nice menagerie! ^^
I'm happy for you - I was really sad to read what happened to Bandit so it's nice to see you make a (double) come back in the bunny slave world!

 

[RavenousDragon]

They are ALL so cute. <3

 

[BlackMiniRex]

Aww so cute! Dory is sooo pretty!
Just wondering, what's a vienna marking?

 

[majorv]

Congratulations on the new additions!

 

[MaryAnne]

Congratulations Azerane! They are beautiful!

 

[Azerane]

Thanks so much everyone It's been wonderful having bunnies again

Aww so cute! Dory is sooo pretty!
Just wondering, what's a vienna marking?

It's when a rabbit that would normally have no white on it (a solid or shaded colour rabbit) has white markings. It comes from the vienna gene which is why it's called that. So Luna's white nose mark and a bit under her neck mean she has the vienna gene. The same with when you see for example a black rabbit with a white paw or other white marks. It's also linked to blue eyes as well.

 

[Blue eyes]

Aww! So cute!

 

[BlackMiniRex]

Thanks so much everyone It's been wonderful having bunnies again



It's when a rabbit that would normally have no white on it (a solid or shaded colour rabbit) has white markings. It comes from the vienna gene which is why it's called that. So Luna's white nose mark and a bit under her neck mean she has the vienna gene. The same with when you see for example a black rabbit with a white paw or other white marks. It's also linked to blue eyes as well.

Oh ok thanks
She looks cute with it

 

[BlackRabbits]

They are two lovely looking bunnies! Apollo has caused me to reconsider my earlier decision not to get a white New Zealand because "the colour is too boring". And, I love Luna's Vienna markings with the agouti coat. I wonder if Vienna is similar to Pinto markings in other creatures? (hedgehogs, ball pythons etc.) I always thought the name Vienna just referred to the white triangle on the nose.

Finally, it's been a while since I saw a female Eclectus. In Canada they seem to be pretty rare in the parrot trade. Their satiny feathers and brilliant sexually dimorphic colouring really stand out.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

All are gorgeous!

 

[RavenousDragon]

Finally, it's been a while since I saw a female Eclectus. In Canada they seem to be pretty rare in the parrot trade. Their satiny feathers and brilliant sexually dimorphic colouring really stand out.

In my experience, female Eclectuses do not often do well in captivity (Dolly is obviously an exception, she looks brilliant!). But they often will pick all their feathers out, self mutilate, and compulsively lay eggs until it makes them ill. That might be why they are rarer in the pet trade- the males often do MUCH better for some reason.

 

[Azerane]

Thanks so much, yes I never fancied myself into the red-eyed whites either, but Apollo is special somehow I don't think he's pure New Zealand, he's a touch small and he has the grey ears and a slight patch on his nose.

In regards to female Eclectus, they're reasonably common here. (Or at least they seem to be since I've joined a few bird pages to help learn about them). She's not hand tame so I think she was likely an aviary bird, but friendly enough that we can keep her indoors. She actually is a plucker and when I found her her neck was partially plucked, which she's still doing but I'm working on improving it by giving her LOTS of toys and interactive things she has to use her brain for, in addition to changing up her cage reasonably often. Females tend to certainly be more hormonal and prone to mood swings than the males, which is why the males tend to be a little more common as pets. I do know of someone with a female who pretty much constantly lays eggs as well, even though she has no contact with males. Diet can sometimes have something to do with it, but not always.

 

[JBun]

I was so happy to see this thread and I'm just thrilled for you and your new buns! Such a cute couple! I can see their personalities shining through in your pictures. Apollo has this calm easy going look in his eyes, and Luna looks quite suspicious of you and your camera

 

[BlackRabbits]

Thanks so much, yes I never fancied myself into the red-eyed whites either, but Apollo is special somehow I don't think he's pure New Zealand, he's a touch small and he has the grey ears and a slight patch on his nose.

In regards to female Eclectus, they're reasonably common here. (Or at least they seem to be since I've joined a few bird pages to help learn about them). She's not hand tame so I think she was likely an aviary bird, but friendly enough that we can keep her indoors. She actually is a plucker and when I found her her neck was partially plucked, which she's still doing but I'm working on improving it by giving her LOTS of toys and interactive things she has to use her brain for, in addition to changing up her cage reasonably often. Females tend to certainly be more hormonal and prone to mood swings than the males, which is why the males tend to be a little more common as pets. I do know of someone with a female who pretty much constantly lays eggs as well, even though she has no contact with males. Diet can sometimes have something to do with it, but not always.

Since your Eclectus is a plucker, I suggest giving her some Apple Cider Vinegar in her water. It must be the organic, unpasteurized, unfiltered ACV with the word "mother" on the label. "Mother" is a sediment which contains the probiotic bacteria used to ferment the ACV. Dose is about 4 tablespoons per gallon/2 L of water (preferably dechlorinated to avoid killing the bacteria).

I swear by ACV now after my experience with my rescued African Grey. He was seriously abused and had no feathers from the base of his beak to halfway down his breast. I tried all the remedies, preening toys, vitamin supplements etc. for a year with no luck. Then I read about the ACV for plucking. Within 2 months after I started him on ACV, his feathers started to grow back. Eventually they all came back except for a few at the base of his beak. A lot of them came in white, but the vet said this is caused by long term plucking. I give ACV to my Parisian Frill canary as well, they have curly feathers which can cause molting problems. His molts go a lot quicker with fewer feather cysts now.

 

[Azerane]

I was so happy to see this thread and I'm just thrilled for you and your new buns! Such a cute couple! I can see their personalities shining through in your pictures. Apollo has this calm easy going look in his eyes, and Luna looks quite suspicious of you and your camera

Thank you It's been a pretty crazy and exciting time Getting new bunnies was a little bit of an emotional roller coaster, but I'm so happy I have them! They really are such a cute pair.

Since your Eclectus is a plucker, I suggest giving her some Apple Cider Vinegar in her water. It must be the organic, unpasteurized, unfiltered ACV with the word "mother" on the label. "Mother" is a sediment which contains the probiotic bacteria used to ferment the ACV. Dose is about 4 tablespoons per gallon/2 L of water (preferably dechlorinated to avoid killing the bacteria).

Much appreciated for the tip. It's certainly something I will look into. I hadn't considered any additives yet. I am a little confused about your dosing though, as I'm pretty sure 1 gallon is closer to 4L. Though I'm reading that it can also be drizzled over prepared fresh food.

 

[BlackRabbits]

Thank you It's been a pretty crazy and exciting time Getting new bunnies was a little bit of an emotional roller coaster, but I'm so happy I have them! They really are such a cute pair.



Much appreciated for the tip. It's certainly something I will look into. I hadn't considered any additives yet. I am a little confused about your dosing though, as I'm pretty sure 1 gallon is closer to 4L. Though I'm reading that it can also be drizzled over prepared fresh food.

Sorry, I should have used metric. The jugs I use to mix up the ACV water are 2L so the correct mix would be 4 tablespoons per 2L.

 

[stevesmum]

Congrats on expanding your family
Very handsome.

 

[Azerane]

Thanks so much Things have been going really well and the bunnies have made themselves right at home. Both have lost weight too which is good since they were a little bit chunky when they got here