Thumper AKA fuzzy butt!

[PaGal]

I had to come share as I just saw the cutest and funniest thing ever. I went in to fee the buns. They get pellets in the morning and their hay racks refilled since those are the best times to guarantee their schedule is pretty regular no matter what craziness is taking place in life.

I let the girls out first and was just standing there watching them as they ran around. I figured I would let them burn off some morning energy. It only lasts so long until their little minds kick in and remind them that it's food time. They then stop running and just periscope repeatedly around my legs until I feed them.

I started watching Shirley a little more because she was making this cute, happy sound as she ran around. And then I saw it! She was wagging her little, fluffy black tail as she ran around. It was so darn cute and funny especially since she was wagging it very fast. I saw her do this several times.

Unfortunately after they calmed down I put their pellets in their bowl which is plastic but it is thick, hard plastic and has some weight to it for it's size. As I was putting it in their cage Shirley ran full tilt into it with her face. She seems fine though and is busy munching away. I'll check on her again shortly just to be safe.

Last night Thumper did it again. He jumped onto the side of his open cage door. This time however, he started to climb once he was up. I reacted quickly and picked him up and placed him back onto the floor. I still don't pick him up. I read too much here about broken backs right before I brought him home. But I do feel better knowing that if I have to pick him up I will.

I told hubby last night he needs to start picking him up. Hubby is not obnoxious or that but he is confident no matter what he is doing. They say the buns sense it if you're not so in that case hubby should do it not me. I have a feeling though that Thumper might not mind it so much especially if he gets pets from it as next to pellets that's his favorite thing now. Also, when I have had to pick him up although it's only been for a moment he doesn't struggle or move at all till right when he starts to touch the ground again but even then it's just moving his feet a little, not fast or hard.

I thought I could get him used to being on my lap again by luring him with his pellets and then pick him up from there but he goes nuts when you get his pellets. He'll be all over my lap, standing up against my chest, on the floor in this side of me and on the floor on that side of me, over and over again and he moves quick just trying to sniff out or otherwise find the pellets. It's hilarious.

 

[PaGal]

I'm not trying to post all of that again. I despise with every fiber of my being windows 8.

 

[PaGal]

The rabbit are taking the last of my sanity! The girls are super hyper. They spend hours every day digging in their litter box. When are they going to realize they are not getting anywhere? They make such a racket and have been keeping me up at night doing so. Last night I gave up on sleeping and got my kindle fire. I didn't realize how much light it gives off. I didn't want to wake hubby so I covered it as well as myself.

My buns have never really molted before. They seem to just steadily lose fur, sometimes a little heavier than normal. Thumper has lost enough so you could see a line on him but it has always been a thin line. For two days I kept finding handfuls of black fur from Shirley. I see no bare patched on her. I'm wondering if she shed it all or if she was pulling fur since a few weeks ago she was running around with telephone book paper in her mouth. She has also been very vocal lately making a few different sounds.

I have also seen her wagging her tail some more.

 

[PaGal]

For the past two days I have been working at trimming Thumpers nails. He will just lay still while I rub his nose and cheeks and after a little while I will cut one nail then pet him again. I only have four more to get done on his back feet.

I thought I would see if I could train Thumper for picking him up. He's insane for his pellets so I thought I could use a few as a reward. Earlier he was laying half on and half of my leg while I was sitting on the floor petting him. He barely acknowledged it when I placed a hand on each side of his chest and lifted the front half of him up and placed it on the floor with the rest of him.

Later every time I tried to get a hand under his chest he would hop away. So I put some pellets in the pouch in my hoodie so he wouldn't realize I had them and to keep my hands free. If he let me lift his chest I would give him a pellet. Except that never happened. As I sat next to him he caught the scent of pellets. I swear he has a better nose for pellets than my part blood hound that is always sniffing and snuffling has. Thumper went crazy jumping into my lap and going at my pouch. I had a very vivid pic pop into my mind of him eating his way through my shirt and then right through me.

 

[kmaben]

Haha Thumps a hungry boy! He's so sweet though.

Merry Christmas to you and your family Denise.

 

[whitelop]

I laughed at you covering yourself with your kindle, like a kid sneaking to read at night! LOL

Merry Christmas Denise! I hope Santa brought the girls good things, and the parents as well!

 

[Chrisdoc]

Haha a bunny with a waggy tail, that is so much fun. I love reading about your bunny family. Thumper is such a scream, I do so laugh at the things he does. A bloodhound bunny, well he´s certainly got the ears for it lol.

I got a kindle fire for Christmas and am so excited. I haven´t even had time to sit down with it today but tomorrow, I will be working out exactly how to operate it.

My friend also bought me a gorgeous bunny scarf and a beautiful bunny brooch.

Hope you have a lovely day Denise surrounded by your family and all your animals. Happy Christmas to you all

 

[PaGal]

Thank you every one! It sounds like everyone so far has had a good day.

Our Christmas is weird. With the custody each holiday flip flops through the year and then flip flops the next year. Hubby was off today and we spent most of it cooking our feast but the girls are at their mothers. Tomorrow morning I'll pick them up. Hubby has to work though. Usually he takes the day off. Since he is working we'll be waiting till he gets home to open presents and of course we'll be eating all we have baked.

I'm sure the girls will be happy. They each got what they wanted most along with some other things. I even made them each a present. I'm really excited to see their reactions for those. I'll have to post some pics after they are opened. I think I did a good job especially since I'm not big on sewing. I have a few more planned for others as well.

I gave each of the buns a small piece of apple to celebrate. Hubby gave the dog something, I'm not even sure what. The cats all got some turkey.

I've been going at it since 10 am and am tired. Hopefully Laverne and Shirley will keep it down tonight so I can sleep.

Merry Christmas all!

 

[PaGal]

Christmas turned out well. By the time hubby got home from work I was more anxious than the kids to open presents but only because I wanted to see their reactions. The girls fell asleep by the time I got my work done so I was left to my own devices and my anxiousness. Ha!

The girls all like the presents I made for them. They liked all of their presents. They weren't so thrilled with their air rifles until Saturday when hubby took them outside to learn how to shoot and for some target practicing, now they really like them and they are very accurate.

Hubby and I didn't get each other much since this year we spent so much on the kids. I did get The Hobbit on DVD. So I finally get to see it. I also got binoculars which I have wanted. I'm always trying to see the critters and birds. Hubby either has to leave the scope off the rifle for me or I have to look through the scope while it's on the rifle. It's an older rifle that used to belong to hubby's dad so it's heavy for holding long. If hubby takes it off then he has to re sight it when he puts it back on. The binoculars are really strong which is what I wanted.

The girls have shown they pay attention. They got me three large slim jims. I love slim jims but will rarely buy them. Fudge from A Christmas Story. A large sticky hand which is funny since they spend their time trying to avoid me when I have my little one out. A perfume kit. A stuffed snow man that will make a nice Christmas ornament and a pine scented candle. I love the smell of pine especially this time of year.

 

[PaGal]

Happy New Year everyone! I almost forgot it was New Year. I would have if the girls hadn't brought it up. They finally for the first time in their lives made it till midnight. Although seven minutes till the one asked if they could go to bed now. It's her way of saying she's ready for bed. It doesn't happen often as we do have a set bedtime for them, a little later in the summer than during the school year but pretty set. Now and then though they'll come back from their mothers and she'll be too tired to stay up till their bed time.

I cleaned the girls cage yesterday but stayed in with them during their free time. Laverne let me pet her nose for several minutes more than once. Shirley just allowed me a moment here or there. They had the cage an absolute mess with litter kicked everywhere and I had even vacuumed it out once. Laverne ticked me off by jumping off their shelf right as I was pulling out their water dish which she landed in. So now I had horse pellets saw dust soaked in about two cups of water across their cage.

I used to keep the bun food in a tall kitchen garbage can I bought for just that purpose. It is plastic and has a lid but it is not completely closed when the lid is on. Well I found out that a mouse had been in their food having a feast I'm sure. I had to do something different so bought a plastic storage bin big enough. The garbage can used to sit in a corner next to Thumper's cage. Between his cage and our chest freezer. Buns cannot get to it but it was tall enough I could reach the food until it was getting low and then I would just lift the can with one hand while scooping with the other.

The new bin is not tall enough for me to reach and since the lid securely fastens I placed it across the room. I'm sure if Thumper could get the lid off he would eat till he popped. It took him a few days to realize what exactly was going on and where the pellets are now kept. Well last night as I lifted the lid just enough to reach in for the pellets but not enough for him to dive in he decided hopping on top would be a good idea.

Luckily I reacted quickly and so my arm is still intact. he did it again this morning so our new game is see if I can reach in and get pellets quickly enough that he jumps after my arm is out. He's teaching me even more ninja skills.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Glad the girls were there to see in the new year.

I did laugh at Thumper keeping you on your toes. I have this picture of you and him playing this game facing each other off...he is just too smart for his own good lol.

 

[JBun]

Lol, Thumper is so funny! But a bun that big is nothing to mess around with

I love little tail wagging buns. It's just so cute to watch them do it, cause you know they are over the top happy. Or even funnier is when they are up to trouble and wagging their tail when being cheeky.

Dakota used to drive me INSANE digging in her litter box. Not only would it get everywhere, but it was also the fact that she was digging in and stirring up that disgusting pee soaked litter. I finally just gave in and got a grid to cover it and stop the digging. I know I ruined all of her fun, but I replaced it with a shredded paper dig box, that she doesn't pee in too often, and I can just throw out if it gets too bad. It was so nice to not have to clean up that litter mess anymore, though now I'm having to sweep up shredded paper everywhere. Just can't win

 

[PaGal]

JBun...I was just sitting here listening to the sound of one of the girls digging in the litter box thinking of putting a small dig box in their cage. I was thinking I would do what I should have with the litter box and just cut a hole small enough for them to fit through in it to help keep the paper in, at least until they chew the hole bigger. Like you I'll just replace the box and paper as needed.

Come to think of it, I should have set up their litter box with the lid on, a hole cut in the side and I could have placed a round tunnel made of plastic up against the hole. Fun for the buns and less mess for me.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Haha mine are little terrors at the moment, mess everywhere. I put hay in a cardboard box for them and before, they always used to eat it from the top. Now, they´ve decided they prefer it on the living room floor rug, must taste better. I tell you they do it just to annoy me and yes, I clean it up every night and the next day, they do it again. I have to get them another box to put in the living room although they have a digging basket outside but it´s been raining today so they´ve been stuck inside. I have loads of shredded paper and they just love it. Maybe Houdini wil then stop digging the floor, that´s his all favourite thing to do lol.

 

[PaGal]

Chris...The girls are totally wild right now although Laverne seems a little worse than Shirley. All they do anymore is make a mess and a racket. Before them I would have never guessed buns could be so crazy.



I di put a cardboard dig box on the upper floor of the girls cage along with another small box they can just lay in or chew up. I zip tied both to the side of the cage so they don't push them around and somehow jam they're opening to the bottom floor.

I got some more flex tubing today so we can start protecting our wires in the den for when I start letting Thump come out here. I will probably have to get more and I will be moving cages before then. The girls will go where Thumpers cage is and he'll move to where they are. Right now he can't come out the doorway he likes to use because of the X pen. He just will not come out of the other doorway. I think for one thing because the floor is slippery although he'll go in the dining room and it's the same flooring. Plus the cabinets block his view to the rest of the house until he's walked so far out. I think it's the two things together.

I was thinking that when the weather get warmer I might be able to put the X pen up on our front porch and take turns letting buns out there. The porch isn't that big but they would get some fresh air and could bounce around a bit. That side of the house is shaded. I don't feel comfortable letting Thumper in the grass since he seems to have a sensitive tummy.

Laverne and Shirley would probably dig there way out and escape in minutes if in the grass.

I came up with an idea for making a play area. Picture those plastic hamster cages with all the tunnels, tubes and rooms you can connect onto the main cage. But with the bun cage being the main cage and using plastic storage bins and large diameter PVC pipe as the tunnels and rooms.

Ha! It's official I have lost my mind!

 

[PaGal]

I give up...completely and utterly. I don't have it in me to outsmart these oh so destructive buns. I took them all of 20 minutes to get the dig box loose from the side of the cage. It's now on the other side and the cage is covered in torn up paper and cardboard. I would bet if I looked closer that there is probably litter dug out all over as well. I refuse at this point to even look in the direction of their cage.

I now have a vivid picture in my mind of two certain buns locked up, leather face piece and all as Hannibal Lecter was in "Silence of the Lambs".

 

[JBun]

Aww, don't give up! You just have to keep thinking of new ways of outsmarting them, until you are the winner, haha. I've thought of using a big plastic bin for a dig box before, with a hole cut in high up enough that it contains all the mess. Haven't tried it yet though.

 

[PaGal]

I won't give up for long. After all I'm of German descent so in other words I'm stubborn. Ha! At least that's what my grandma always used to say.

I'm thinking of using a plastic storage box but I think I will use it with the lid on and cut an opening in the lid. The buns have shown just how well they can jump while we were working on their second level. They were jumping up to the top without the shelf in which I thought they might need. They also jump over the high side into their litter box when I pull it out of the cage but before I get it out of the room.

 

[PaGal]

We live on a very sharp corner. Our house though sits an acre back from the road, I can't remember how many feet it is.

Tonight some knucklehead went off the road when he came around the bend probably going way too fast and I wouldn't be surprised if he was drunk or some such. He took out the sharp bend warning sign, took out our power pole and knocked two large garbage cans into the road.

I heard a commotion right as our power went off. It only took a moment for it to dawn on me that the noise and no power must mean someone wrecked so I went as quickly as possible to the window. The knucklehead was in a big pick up truck. He got out and moved the garbage cans off of the road, got back in his truck, backed up a few times and took off.

I hope the cops track down his butt. Now I say this because he did not stick around which is a jerk thing to do and because in my mind the fact that he didn't means he had a reason to flee whether he was drunk or driving without a license or what have you. There must be some major damage to the front of his truck because the pole for our power lines is laying half in the road and across our driveway.

We have electric heat but hubby was smart enough when he put in a new heating system to also put in back up gas heat so at least we won't freeze tonight and we have the generator going but I'm not happy I had to sponge bath instead of a shower especially after being outside in the cold for so long.

Our front neighbors have power because they are with a different electric company than us although the guys with our electric company will eventually have to shut down their power to splice lines. Their generator is not functioning do to squirrels. We did tell them to head on over here if it gets too cold for them. They do have a fireplace.

This is not how I was hoping to spend my evening. At least it's the weekend though.

 

[Chrisdoc]

some people are just idiots and totally thoughtless. You´re probably right, if the police had turned up, he´d have probably been arrested so it was easier for him to run. It´s a pain in the neck when others have to suffer due to the total lack of consideration of others. Hope you manage to get it sorted quickly.