Saturday, June 14, 2008

A Bump in the Road to Bunny Bliss

We made the mistake of letting the bunnies have too much space to play in for their last date, as they had been getting along reasonably well in the confines of the pen, and it ended in flying fur. Just a little, and no injuries, but it's back to the pen for our furry friends. Interestingly, the dynamic appears to have changed significantly when we let them have the whole room. Now instead of Juno trying to be the dominant rabbit, Jupiter is chasing her around the room! He tugged out a small hank of her fur, but since she's shedding quite a bit, he didn't actually do any damage, just grabbed some loose fur. She's pretty mellow towards him, just doesn't want him thinking he's the top bun. Once we put them back in the smaller, more restrictive pen, they were reasonably content to sit near (but not too near) each other and ignore.

They won't be having a date today, as they are having a rough enough weekend as it is. Dave's brother and sister-in-law are in town this weekend, with their dog, Sadie. She's a big scary predator, though she wouldn't hurt a fly, and the rabbits have been moved to the spare bedroom to distance them from the terror. Since they've been moved however, their houses are now close enough that they can see and smell each other but cannot touch, the hope being that they grow increasingly comfortable.

We found the perfect rabbit carrots today at the Union Square Greenmarket. One of the farm vendors from whom I was buying a bunch of kale and lettuce for the greedy little lagomorphs had these young carrots, very long and thin, with the entirity of their extravagant tops still intact. Unlike the fully mature carrots that are marketed at the supermarkets, these are just the right size for a bunny portion, and were a big hit. I'm an advocate for eating locally and supporting local farmers, so I'm glad that I can feed my bunnies accordingly!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I met Sadie in Vermont...she's AMAZING!

Sarah Haendler said...

I know! Isn't she awesome? She's been sort of whiny today though. She wanted to go out all during the thunderstorms and she begged for everything we ate today! She's still my favorite puppy though.

Angela said...

It's too bad bunnies are such territorial little bastards... I was just thinking how cute it would be if we could have a 4-bunny playdate. But I know they'd just spend the entire time being freaked out or annoyed. LOVE BUNNIES! :) :)

Sarah Haendler said...

That may actually be a good thing, as that level of cute might be fatal to onlookers! You do need to come meet our pair though.