Thumper AKA fuzzy butt!

[PaGal]

Whitelop...I'll keep my lips sealed He was up on one of his boxes and I laid down on the floor to get the shot. It is not often I get to see any of his underside.


Chrisdoc...what's not to love in any bunny. I had a small bun many years ago, not sure of the breed but I'm now partial to the bigger ones. I just feel like I can do more with them because they seem sturdier.

 

[PaGal]

It's been one of those weeks where the kids are plucking my last nerve. One of those weeks where they just can't seem to follow directions or remember a thing they have been told a million times. You just have to shake your head. So this morning I let the girls know it's time to get ready to go wait for the bus. I also go along. We go out the front door which is in Thumpers room. I grab my coat and head into his room and as I walk through the door, there is the oldest (will be 11 on Saturday) following Thumper into my bedroom (which is not bunny proof, computer wires, my cell phone charging, alarm clock wires). Instead of just petting Thumper to say goodbye through his cage(which btw the openings in the cage are big enough for me to put my hand through and hers is smaller than mine and Thumper always comes to the side of the cage if we go near it), she opened his cage door and he of course pushed his way out past her. He's full of excited morning energy and ready to play after being caged all night. She is the one that gets in trouble mostly because she just.does.not.stop.and.think.first! Let me tell you I was not happy especially since I have to have him back in the cage as I was due at school to help out, I did have 30 min from when they get on the bus till I had to leave but I also had to finish getting ready myself.

Thank goodness Thumper was kind and only made me chase him for a little while and then calmly hopped back in. It was almost as if he sensed something, perhaps child induced insanity on my part!

But I will definitely have to work with him on being picked up. I did sit in front of his one box to his town yesterday and he kept coming in one end and then climbing onto and over my lap. I think what would make me most comfortable is to get him comfortable with being on my lap again and then picking him up from their. At least until he gets more comfortable. I'm not that big myself and he's a bit of bunny to contain if he starts to panic. I would have less trouble if he were a smaller bun.

 

[agnesthelion]

Omg I loved reading your blog and finally got the time to sit down and do so. I follow so many things on RO don't have enough time sometimes to read everything I want to!

Thumper is such a handsome boy and his ears have got to be my favorite part. His coloring is similar to the wild rabbits here where I live. Same fur and white tail. He's just a lot bigger

Did I read right that you have 3 daughters and they are 9,9 and 10(now 11) wow. So you had 3 kids in 2 years?? I have one 4 year old son and he wears me out I can't imagine 3 that close in age! You must be a saint!

Glad I read your blog and I'll be sure to follow in the future

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We have a checkered Giant that's almost 20 pounds, and, 5 others of various size the smallest weighing less than 4. We save a bunch of boxes and about every 3 to 4 months I make a 2 or 3 story maze with a hole on top. The 2 small guys get up there quite often but the bigger rabbits have to enlarge the holes to get up to the third inside level, so imagine my surprise when I went in the rabbit room and there was Serena, our Checkered Giant sitting on top of the Castle. Some of the images are in the post "cardboard castles". I usually have to replace because even though I triple layer the cardboard on the bottom and between layers, the lower floor virtually disappears.

 

[PaGal]

agnesthelion...thank you. I have the same problem. I try to read everything new here and now I do this post as well but it doesn't leave me time to post on anyone elses blog too often. I do read yours and enjoy it. You make me want to have a second bun but I know I am not ready for the worry yet.

I actually have a young adult daughter and a young adult son. I married my ex at a very young age as he was in the army. In fact my father had to sign for it. Ha. The three girls are my stepdaughters whom I love very much. I have been with my hubby since the youngest were 3. The oldest is actually 18 months older, just the way their b-days fall for a few months when you just go by the number age it seems a year apart. If that makes any sense. Sorry long week, sooo veerrryyyy sleepy!

HaHa, I just read to my hubby what you said. His reply to the part about me being a saint was. Hubby: You used to be now you are just " and then he made some growling noises. Ha. Meaning I'm just grumpy.


Nancy...may I call you Nancy? I want to come play with all your differently sized bunnies! It seems like it would be so much fun! I could only imagine the bottom floor disappearing, too funny. Thumper decided (and I could see him eyeballing it first and thinking) last night to jump from one box onto his one tunnel. It was hilarious because it just completely flattened under him. Alls well though, he landed safely and I put it back up.

 

[PaGal]

I'm so sleepy. It should be Friday, that is the level of tiredness I'm at. Busy week though and to top it off I have been helping out with the book fair at the kids school for at least a few hours every day this week with very little coffee. Mostly it's helping the younger students write down several books on a wish list as they look through them along with price etc. I swear kids are energy vampires that's why you are so tired once you become a parent and why kids always have so much energy, they steal ours! I really look forward to it every year, young kids are so much fun.

Last year a class had just come into the library and was lined up waiting for instructions. One boy in the class rides the same bus as the girls and so he recognized me from that. Well he said to me " I know you. You're from the bus!" Some little girl then looks at me, looks at him and asks the little boy "Is she a rock star?" Too funny, me a rock star and she came to this conclusion just because he said he knew me from the bus.

Anyway, here is a pic (not the greatest) that shows the dark band on Thumpers nose area. BTW I thought the other night while petting him that he looked thinner but he doesn't feel thinner. I finally realized what it is. He has that oh so soft spot of fur right behind his head, on the back of his neck between his shoulder blades that is a reddish brown color. There is no other color there, meaning he doesn't have the banded fur there. Well that area has gotten bigger and it makes his neck area look skinnier.

 

[PaGal]

Well the pic with his nose didn't post for whatever reason so I'll try again. Also, I just remembered that earlier today I got two pics of Thumps big fuzzy butt oozing out of his litter box while he was eating. HeeHee.

 

[whitelop]

OMG! Does your cat have 6 toes?! Its a Hemmingway cat! Thats pretty cool.

Thump's cage is really clean! He doesn't spread the litter around everywhere? Ellie always gets hay everywhere and when she hops out sometimes poops come out too. Its so silly for her to be so tiny and make such a HUGE mess.

Is the band on his nose where he's starting a molt? Thats a lot of bunny to molt. haha. I may have missed something, I also like the rest of you, suffer from mom brain and constant tired. LOL

I totally agree with you that kids are energy vampires. Thats how I feel everyday as my son runs around and goes nuts I'm like in a coma in the corner. LOL

 

[HolyHandGrenade]

Yep. Maybe it's Flemmie molt time, because Monty has a dark blotch in that area too, and one in the middle of her back. Her chest has been molting for a while, but I think that's just the end of the last molt. Silly buns, it's winter! Keep your fluff on!

 

[PaGal]

whitelop...Yes, Isabel (I'm not even sure that's how you spell it. She came with that name and as she answers to it we are not changing it but I always have to stop and think "hurricane" to remember it.) does have six toes. My husband had a male in the past and has wanted another. Now he has his wish!

His cage was just clean from me cleaning it. He does kick out some litter. If you look real closely you can see a few pieces of hay showing in the one pic. His hay is at the front of the cage and he'll pull one strand of hay and all of it will fall out onto his floor and get spread around. That was probably his first trip in since I cleaned it which I do every day. Clean up all the hay. Wipe the bottom of the cage with damp paper towels. Replace hay. Clean litter box.

Yes, the dark band has just appeared over the last week. It's funny because I am noticing some loose hair around but it is so very little especially for his size but yet he is still getting some difference in the color of his fur.

 

[PaGal]

HolyHandGrenade...he is losing so very little hair on a daily basis but yet the color is changing. The nose stripe is the most noticeable along with the patch of hair right behind his head. So has Monty gone crazy shedding all at once? Thumper hasn't done that yet.

Crazy animals with losing hair in winter. I think we tend to mess them up keeping them inside that way. I noticed Thumper will lay in different spots in his room but in the winter he avoids our heating vents. Our AC comes out the same vents and he actually plasters himself to them in the summer. I'm always afraid he will hurt himself since they are metal, stick out from the wall and will bunny flop against them...hard. We keep our temps warm pretty even throughout the year, warm but not hot in winter, cool but not cold in summer but he obviously notices a difference. I wonder if he doesn't seem to molt at all in summer 'cause he's always plastered to the AC?

 

[whitelop]

I don't know why they molt in the winter. My chickens molted in December and my hen was bald in some places, I could see a lot of her skin and I was sure she was going to freeze to death.
I think it has to do with age more than season. It just happens that molts fall in the winter months because most animals are born in the spring time. If you think about it, most things ARE born in spring, because its warm and they have a better chance of thriving, not too cold not too hot and the days are longer. So when winter rolls around, they're 6 or more months old and its time for them to shed out the baby fluff and then they continue to molt in that pattern their whole lives.
But rabbits shed like 3-4 times a year, I think they could seasonal shedders. Or just ridiculous shedders, I haven't decided which.

 

[HolyHandGrenade]

Yes, Monty's hair molts in a line. It appears to change color, but it actually isn't. If you look at the full length of the hair, you'll see it has 3 bands of color on it. Darker at the base, brown in the middle, and lighter at the tip. When the old coat falls out, there's a new coat starting to grow, and it turns normal once it grows to the full length.

Various stages of her past molt:
I call this one "Who spilled coffee on my bunny?" You can see the darkest middle part is starting to get the "sandy" look back. the middle brown ring is where it just fell out, and then the rest is fur that hadn't fallen or gotten plucked out by me yet. The molt line on her face is back near her ears

A couple days before that:

Halfway done?

A little further:

This is how I get her to sit still for plucking:

Almost done?

Baby Monty's frown line:

 

[PaGal]

whitelop...maybe that's what it is, that they molt with each season. It is a bit strange that even being born in nthe spring that they would molt in winter. I only say that because to me anyway, it seems that everything in nature just works so well and in such the right way for what it is. Even something like grass. If just one thing in the make up of grass or the way it functions was changed then it would no longer work or be.

 

[PaGal]

HolyHandGrenade...see Thumper has never looked like that. He never looks like he is molting or losing any hair in any way. He does not look like he has any shorter hairs. The only thing noticeable is that he will have dark bands appear where there were none before or his one backfoot gradually over time became lighter in color. Typically when I wipe out his cage which I do every day there will be a few hairs as you would expect with any animal. Now that his dark band is appearing there will be more hair in his cage but still not enough to fill even a thumble. Granted he is not in his cage all of the time but I also do not notice much fur in the carpet.

 

[PaGal]

Silly bun! I'm sitting in his room. We played for a few minutes and then he decided to flop next to me and in front of the heating vent. He didn't stay long. He usually seems to avoid the vents during winter. I'm leaning against the wall while I sit on the floor. I'm leaning at an angle so there is a space between me and the wall. Thumper used to love running behind me when he was younger. Well tonight he has been trying it again. I have to lean further out so he can fit. I sure felt it the one time I wasn't leaning enough. Doesn't he realize he's a lot bigger than when he was a babe?

 

[PaGal]

So I absolutely love where I live. Until this past week the biggest problem I had with where we live is that our neighbor not long ago got a new dog. When he lets it out it runs across an acre of ground to come to our yard to do it's business. Our dog has been trained to go potty in one corner of our yard so we don't step in any messes and kids playing are not a problem. Also, our dog being part hound (definitely has the nose of one) goes nuts sniffing and snuffling where the neighbor dog has been which can be annoying when it is freezing cold out and I want to get back in. And of course we have dog poo where we don't want it. But this does not bother me too much yet. The pros well outweigh the con.

There is a place a few miles down from us that raises goats (there are dozens), has pigs, chickens, guineas and maybe other stuff. There are several fields around them. I like all animals so enjoy looking as we go past. Two weeks ago I noticed a dead animal on the road at there place. There is also a house across from them. The animal was small and black so I thought maybe a kitten. After passing it for the third time I realized the ears were too long to be a kittens. Either way I felt sad for the animal. Even an animal that has been long dead on a road I will not run over with my vehicle. I played zig zag on my road this past fall to avoid hitting the caterpillars that seemed to be on an exodus. Now I know this isn't a wild bun because it was black. Well this week there was another. definitely not wild either. This place with the goats has bun cages behind it but they look abandoned and it doesn't look like there are any buns in there. I'm now wondering if these people stopped raising a while back and just let some buns loose (I've lived here 2 years) and these are offspring or what.

Also, we have a small farm type store we frequent in the summer. They are a good place to get carb kits for small engines (lawn mowers, weed eaters, etc.) and seed. They also at times have bunnies and chicks. Now that I am so in love with Thumper, how am I going to be able to go into the place and not look at the buns? And how am I going to keep myself from wanting to bring them all home so they won't die forgotten by people that are no longer excited by the new pet or be someone's dinner? UGH, I didn't used to think this way!

 

[agnesthelion]

Molting. UHg. I hate it. I just got done with a vent about molting on another thread!

Yes they molt every 3 months. And its pretty on point with my two. I've noticed some buns molt bad, some don't. Archie looks horrible after molting. Patches and some down to the skin. Rex fur flies everywhere. It makes me insane!!

Agnes's fur is so long it just clumps together. You'd think it be worse but it's not.

Aww I hope your neighbor isn't just letting buns go how sad. I've never seen a stray bun. I would be so sad if I did. I know what you mean about it being hard to look at buns and not want one! Even though I know I won't have more than 2, I frequent the rescue website and even stop in to look at the buns all the time! I have no idea why Buns are addicting I guess.

Refresh my memory, is Thumper fixed? Because if he is or if you have plans to neuter him, you could look at getting him a wife

Sounds like you live in a great area. I still think we should start a where you live thread. It would be fun to see pics and hear about everyone's home.

 

[Chrisdoc]

I´ve loved reading about all this self sufficiency although I don´t think I could raise and kill animals to eat although I realise that if push came to shove, some day we might have to do it. I do like fishing though and can clean a fish fairly well...beauty of living on the coast where fish is readily available and it always comes whole. You can get most stuff cleaned at the fish counter but some stuff is better to leave whole and clean when you´re going to eat.

And I do love fresh eggs, there is nothing like them, don´t have a chance to get hold of them very often but they´re completely different from shop bought even the free range ones.

I do like watching survival programmes though. There´s one where a man and wife have to survive in different locations and scavenge and kill their own food and I find it fascinating what we´ll eat and how damn difficult it is to catch some things but I´d love to have a go at it.

 

[PaGal]

agnesthelion...I guess Thumper and I are just lucky that he doesn't molt bad, knock on wood! I'm perfectly happy with not having the extra work of fur clean up. I do at least wipe out his cage every day and clean the litter box and vacuum his room every other day (more if needed) but I'm sure if he molted bad I would be vacuuming every day.

My hubby and I were talking about it today, once a while back he saw a larger rabbit (alive) sitting in the ditch next to the road (not a wild rabbit) and just the other day he drove past and there were two large rabbits (not wild) playing in the front yard. He did not realize that the two killed on the road were bunnies.

Thumper is not neutered. He has none of the negative behavioral issues such as spraying and he does not behave as if the only thought on his mind is reproducing. His breeder as well as others have stated a male bun on it's own usually is not a problem unneutered. I had no plans to get another and still don't. I would be a nervous wreck and over think it all when it came to bonding but I keep thinking maybe I should get him neutered just because a time might come where I might feel I just have to act. I could at this point have two buns completely separated if needed but having two in one room would be much easier. I do find myself looking at ads on craigs list and such. I know if I saw a bun in bad shape or conditions I would want to act.

We should start a thread like that. I may not have a spectacular view as compared to some but we think it is pretty.