Wabbitdads Wabbit Herd

[Wabbitdad12]

There has to be a reason that things break down when you have no money! Last night was the first real cold night, got down to 32F, so naturally we turned on the thermostat.

I didn't think too much about it because we have hot water heat and it takes several hours to warm the house up. It hadn't got any warmer at all today, so I cranked the thermostat up to 86F, then proceeded to listen for the igniter clicks and the whoosh of the boiler coming on.

No whoosh, everything appears to work, water pump, thermostat but not the ignitor. So its extra blankets and hoping it stays in the 40's at night for the next week or too.

I got the feeling from the pampered indoor herd that they too were not pleased by the lack of warmth.

 

[kherrmann3]

You'll have to get Miss Daisy Mae a bit pair of earmuffs!

I hope everything gets fixed soon! I hope it isn't a wallet-breaker, either!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

kherrmann3 wrote:

You'll have to get Miss Daisy Mae a bit pair of earmuffs!

I hope everything gets fixed soon! I hope it isn't a wallet-breaker, either!

I don't know if I can find ear muffs that big!

I hope so too, we had problems with our air conditioning this summer too, after that incident the only steak I got close to was on the food channel!

 

[Momto3boys]

That sucks

I had to turn our heat on for the first time yesterday...I figured since it was snowing it was time for some heat, LOL

I really hope it's an easy fix for you guys.

 

[kherrmann3]

My parent's furnace just went out on them last week, too. The nights have been mostly in the 40's-50's, but it didn't turn-on on a night in the 30's! Brr!

 

[wabbitmom12]

Yeah, that's pretty much how we discovered ours wasn't working. All of the sudden, 34 degrees overnight....and no heat.

We've had frosts 3 times, and other nights when it was in the 40's, and the furnace worked fine.

 

[myheart]

Hi Wabbitdad, I wanted to ask you about Flemmies a little bit.

I was thinking about adopting a Flemmie from a local shelter. Naturestee and TreasuredFriend went with me to meet n' greet her. She is probably on the small side at about 15.lbs. although she feels like holding a small toddler. She doesn't fuss much about being held and snuggled. She was very agitated when she discover we didn't have her litter pan in the room, and was happy when we realized what she needed. She voided in the pan twice and we discovered she could be a litter pan lounger. She could be just used to it since she has been at the shelter for five months with little prospect of adoption because of her size. She also seems a little territorial of her pan, but that could be the long stay in a crazy environment.Otherthan that, we all feelshe is a very good bunny and might make a good candidate for a tv-watching companion.Unfortunately she is not spayed yet, although she is supposed to have her surgery today.

Anyhow, my question is, how much cage-space will she really need. I have been building condos for the kids, and plan on building one for my seven pound Satin that is two panel deep by four panels long. Would something like that work for a 15 pound bunner also, or does it need to be bigger? The condo has a second floor and an upper shelf for lounging. I would like for her to be free-roam since she was in her previous home. I just have to respect Zappa and Callie's space and run-time because they are here now.

Any thought would be appreciated.

myheart

 

[Wabbitdad12]

How old is she? At 15 pounds that's not a bad weight, but its a good healthy weight. My flemmies range from 15-18 pounds for my does and my bucks run about 18+. You can always give her some oats to bulk her up and make her dewlap even more beautiful. One of the things I love about flemmies is there is no upper weight limit.
The cage size sounds good. My personal feeling is, as long as it is big enough for the bun to stretch out it is big enough. The more room the better, but like I said as long as she can stretch out its big enough. The shelf would give her a place to jump up and down fromand get some exercise. Cage size also depends on how much she will be in it, naturally.

Now do you have a picture? She could come to Indiana for her recuperation. Good luck, I am excited for you!

 

[myheart]

She is about four years old. I do not know the reason she was given up because she really does seem sweet. We think she might be underweight due to a lack of exercise for five months. Her dewlap is rather small, and Naturestee noted that she seems a tiny bit on the bony side probably from a lack of muscle tone. Pictures were taken, but they are currently with TreasuredFriends on her digital camera.

I think I was amazed at the bunner's size for holding. She is going to require some practice in the picking-up department. Can't expect a big bun to go without cuddles for too long... I was also surprised at the cartilage in her ear carriage. She has some sturdy ears!!! She would certainly be a change from my four pound Dutchies....

myheart

 

[Wabbitdad12]

With a some lovin, hay, craisins and a bigfood bowl she will probably put back on the weight, quickly.

Sometimes people see a baby flemmie and don't realize how big they are going to get. She might have gotten too big for her previous slaves. I have had some people at shows look at a 3-4 month flemmie and remark how big they are. I then show them the dad, Titan at 20+ pounds, and they are amazed that they will get that big.

Yep, picking up a flemmie is like picking up a small child. There is a lot of cartilageto hold up them big beautiful uppity ears.

Let me know how things are going with the adoption and if I can be of any further help.

 

[Bunny parents]

Hello It's been a while I didn't visit your blog. I've been busy taking care my little girl. How's your Wabbit herd ? How are Oreo and Nibbles ? Are the bonded ? And how is Miss Daisy Mae ? Any stunt ?

 

[wabbitmom12]

Bunnyparents~I really like your avatar. Kimiko is beautiful!

myheart~I just wanted to chime in on the Flemmie discussion too. One thing to remember for your new girl is that she will eat about 2 cups of food per day. Part of the food requirement depends on how much she likes her hay (as it fills them up) and gets other treats. I think people are astonished that the Flemmies really consume that much food, and they under-feed without realizing it, especially if they have other, smaller rabbits. Maybe their Mini Rex gets 1/2 cup of pellets, so giving the Flemmie a cup or cup and a 1/2 looks like a huge serving...but it really isn't even sufficient.

As Wabbitdad said, some oats in the food are a good idea for awhile to build her up a little. We just put a tablespoon or two on top of the pellets each day. (Except for Miss Sweetie...she'd rather stick her whole head - big earz and all - into the oatmeal container and help herself! :biggrin2 The oatmeal has more calories than the food pellets, so they gain weight a bit faster. Get the rolled oats, not the quick cooking or instant.

I look forward to hearing more about your beautiful girl.

 

[myheart]

Thanks for the extra information, Wabbitmom. Amount of pellets would have been my nextquestion, and I probably feed too many greens to my four pound bunners to begin with. Not that I try to spoil my kids or anything, ya know....

As much as I am drawn to the Dutchies, I just don't know if I will ever find one who doesn't require dentals, or sub-q's for kidney problems, or extra vet visits. My biggest hang-up is that I just know I love my Dutchies and I don't know how long it would take for a Flemmie to work her way into my heart. It took Callie,my Siamese Satin, a year before we could be on the same wavelength. I found her to be a bit on the 'not-so-bright' side and rather rude with behavior. She has learned so much from Zappa, and now fitting in quite well. I think the Dutchies have me spoiled with their charm and intelligence.

I know Flemmies can be on the lounger-side, but are there any other personality traits I should know about? Oh, and I called the shelter, the bunny did very well for her spay and back to her normal bunny-stuff.

myheart

 

[wabbitmom12]

I know what you mean. When you have a favorite breed, it's a strange feeling to have something completely different come into your house.

We have found that, much like other pets, the parents' personalities helps determine a rabbit's demeanor. However, I'm sure you don't have any info your potential bunny's background. In general, Flemmies are usually pretty "chill". Not in the sense of being snooty or unaffectionate - quite the opposite! Just pretty calm, confident, and loving. Some people say they are the rabbit breed closest in behavior to dogs! They are so much QUIETER, though, LOL. But they are very loyal companions. When you said she might be a good tv-watching buddy, you are so right! They love to snuggle beside you and just hang out.

We've only had a couple of Flemmies that were little bit snotty...they were blue, so we called it the Blue-i-tude. Sometimes they were perfectly lovey, other times they were stubbon and bossy. Again, parent personality had to play a part...blues in general (in our area) have that reputation.

Our black Flemmies have been intelligent, calm, loving, snuggly, and inquisitive. As young ones, they got into a lot of "trouble" by being so nosy. By adulthood - as calm as could be. We've had a couple that followed us around like a puppy! Wherever you were...that's where they wanted to be. More than once we would turn around and trip over a black bun that had plopped itself down right behind us. Dave also has 2 that like to lay down on his feet every morning while he's TRYING to take care of everyone's food and water bottles, LOL.

Dave may have mentioned that some of ours love to be held, some don't. Some will let you hold them only when you are seated. All of them will sit beside you on the couch or floor for hours at a time, getting pats and hanging out. A couple of ours like to be tranced, finding it very calming, others HATE it. You will have fun discovering your girl's unique personality!

 

[myheart]

This is the little girl I'm thinking about, Izzy.I know her chances of adoption are slim because of her size, but I just don't know if my heart is ready for another bunner since losing Patrick and Ellie. I just want to be sure somehow that we are both ready to enjoy each other's company forever.

 

[wabbitmom12]

She's so beautiful!

 

[Wabbitdad12]

She is beautiful!

 

[kherrmann3]

myheart wrote:

My biggest hang-up is that I just know I love my Dutchies and I don't know how long it would take for a Flemmie to work her way into my heart.

I don't think you'd have a choice - The Flemmie would just barge right on into your heart!

Sorry, just the idea of another Flemmie on the forum got me all excited! :hyper:

 

[myheart]

wabbitmom12 wrote:

She's so beautiful!

Do you think so? Her PetFinder pic does nothing for her, so people might not see how pretty she is and want to run out to adopt her. When I am able to convince TreasuredFriends to come with me to "just see" bunnies that are listed on PetFinder, we have been finding they are so much more pretty in person because pics sometime catch their faces at non-flattering angles.

She almost has an agouti ticking to her hair. Is there such a thing, or do you think she could be a mix? We were thinking she might have a bit too much black Flemmie in her line to be solid Sandy colored. Any thoughts?

btw... sorry for highjacking your thread, but I figured I should go straight to the people who know about these big bunners.

 

[JadeIcing]

The food thing is kind of a mixed thing. I would talk to your vet and see what they think. Montana at 15lbs was only getting half a cup. Samantha who was close to 18 when she passed also only got half a cup. For a pet flemmie you don't need to hit a certain weight. I spoke to my vet who agreed that it could put strain on the heart when you don't know the rabbits history. Oh and of course slowly increase food till you get where you want.

I have two dutchies here that require no extra care so keep the faith. I wish I could get Fallon to you she is the neatest sweetest thing ever but don't think that we could adopt that far out.

Glad she did awesome with her spay.

myheart wrote:

Thanks for the extra information, Wabbitmom. Amount of pellets would have been my nextquestion, and I probably feed too many greens to my four pound bunners to begin with. Not that I try to spoil my kids or anything, ya know....

As much as I am drawn to the Dutchies, I just don't know if I will ever find one who doesn't require dentals, or sub-q's for kidney problems, or extra vet visits. My biggest hang-up is that I just know I love my Dutchies and I don't know how long it would take for a Flemmie to work her way into my heart. It took Callie,my Siamese Satin, a year before we could be on the same wavelength. I found her to be a bit on the 'not-so-bright' side and rather rude with behavior. She has learned so much from Zappa, and now fitting in quite well. I think the Dutchies have me spoiled with their charm and intelligence.

I know Flemmies can be on the lounger-side, but are there any other personality traits I should know about? Oh, and I called the shelter, the bunny did very well for her spay and back to her normal bunny-stuff.

myheart