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The Backyard Willow Den

This is the Willow Den in progress of growing.  I have planted bean's below the willow trees so they can climb up the limbs and help to fill in the den.  On either side of the entrance, it just so happened that my crocus's bulbs were well placed!

A wild green.

The bunnies are now just over 4 weeks old and still growing fast as seen here in this picture in relationship to Mom. Today I was asked by a Rabbit Advocate if they had weened yet and I simply said that I didn't know. I rarely ever got to see the breastfeeding experience in the first place because she doesn't seem to want them to feed anytime I am around and because they only feed once per day per every article and book that I have researched. This would be the age that they are known to begin weening, but some say that they could go onto feed up to 8 weeks old!

Snuggling Up In the New Cage

I think this particular baby has spent more time snuggling to Mom than all of the rest of the bunch.

I built onto the already existing 4 ft X 2.5 ft cage so that their space now extends to create an L-shaped wing (4ft X 1.5 ft of extra space added). The main cage has been built upward for a space just for Mom to get away as well. I have also begun building upward from the newly added wing so they will be able to climb upwards and (hopefully) will trellis to another landing pad across the area.

My hope is that as I create more space, and as the bunnies grow they will began spreading out naturally (like I would imagine a wild litter to do as they began hitting adolescents) so that I can minimize the conflict and fighting. Perhaps many bunnies can reside together so long as they inhabit spacial areas that do not conflict with one another?

Thus far, having domestic bunnies, I have learned that bonding is quite a process and that many bunnies have conflict or fighting that occurs. I had already been primed to understand that as the babies reached puberty that, even as litter mates, they may begin to fight. My hope is that I can help create an environment that would mimic how wild rabbits might go about spreading out and I could, somehow, bypass the entire conflicting situation to begin with.

Exploring New Territory

Sent from my HTC Touch Pro2 on the Now Network from Sprint®.

Lil' Buns

This bunny is a full grown Lionhead mix that I found on Craigslist as a rescue, or so I thought anyway. She is in the family now and has the run of my sewing space, but she spends a lot of time with me and the girls in their room too (as shown here).

I think having house bunnies is one of the most fun endeavors that I have taken on in my process to simply live. They make unique companions, and Lionhead's specifically make fantastic house bunnies.

My Friend, Maia video by Julia Warr

My friend Maia from julia warr on Vimeo.

Double Bunny

Next we are going to try synchronized swimming!

Pile 'O' Bunnies

The Eclectic Front Planter

During the winter months, my outdoor work slows down tremendously. As the winter months were approaching, and I was hurrying to finish the fall's end; this planter became the junk drawer for anything that had yet to be decided. The interesting thing I noticed recently was that the potato plant is still growing. I had harvested potato's in cold months and reported in a previous post. The potato plant in this planter is thriving too!

Ready for Take-off

Growing Fast!

In one week, the bunnies had doubled their size. I was not actually measuring them, but, I was putting them into a little white basket to bring them out and allow them to hop around in the kids room. The previous week I was able to fit all 6 snugly, which was comforting to them. Now I can only fit 3 just a hair less snugly. They will now poke their little heads up on the trip so I have to be very careful they don't try to bale out.

A Binky

The very first thing this bunny does in the video is called a binky (by house-bunny owners, of course). For some reason, bunny rabbits get so overly excited that they, kind of, wig out for a moment. They will suddenly skitter across the floor or even jump around in a 180-360. This bunny started doing binkies and I caught the very tail end of the episode!

I wish that you could actually see the white-nosed bunny that found the corner perch to hang about on. I video taped it but the lighting was low enough and, well, they are mostly black in color, so this is how my first black bunny got her name. . .Shadow. The little bun mostly looks like movement in a shadow.

Doing their own thing. . .

The babies are now 3 weeks old (or just shy). Some may begin weening by the end of next week but they will be considered fully weened by 8 weeks old.

Bunny Poop

Important clues to the bunnies health is what it's poop looks like. I have been paying attention to the babies poops because it just looks like a bunch of dark grit until recently. I can now see in this water bowl, one of mom's poops (the biggest one) and several of the babies poops. I, of course,

in the process of changing the water. But this is proof that the babies are pooping healthfully.

Hungry Bunnies

The bunnies are now eating hay, pellets, and lettuce. The first meal I actually discovered them eating was Red Leaf Lettuce. I had put some in for the mom, but the babies found it first!

There is now a layer of newspaper placed in the bottom of the cage under their water crock/bottle corner. Since the bunnies are beginning to eat more solid food, they are also beginning to eliminate more. This just happens to be the corner that they chose for their potty. I wondered if they followed their mom's lead since her potty box is on that side of the cage as well. I found myself using my daughter's baby wipes to clean up the constant mess that I was finding. After realizing that the mess, which doesn't look like traditional bunny poops, was a constant occurrence, I put the newspaper in place. The poop is kind of wet and gritty looking. A traditional healthy bunny poop is more round and dry. The wet is probably due to their pee coming with the poops. This afternoon, the mess was much easier to clean up! But why are they eliminating around their water bowl?

While taping this video, I noticed a bunny drinking water for the first time, as well. I was beginning to think that their only liquid source was their mom's milk until today.

Ready for Lettuce

The lettuce I put in the cage was intended for the Mom, but the babies rushed up and began nibbling immediately. I almost took it away and then realized that they may actually need this. Since then I have been noticing them eating hay and pellets. The bunnies are between 16-18 days old now. They should begin weening @ 4 weeks and pretty much be weened by 8 weeks. At least, that is what the literature suggests! They are growing quite fast and all look healthy to me. The baby bunny in the right picture (with Mom) is probably one of the smallest of the bunch, but he/she is a good size anyway. Mom is a very affectionate bunny.

The Entire Family, except Dad!

This little grey bunny has gotten a lot of photo time. I promise photos of new bunnies next. I also promise a bit of video and I did attempt with the set-up but the lighting did not work this time.

The bunny on the left is a more clear picture (with flash) of it's color. This is the same bunny that I took video of in dim lighting (previous post). The bunny below is actually a bit darker in color under natural lighting; but this picture with the flash makes it look a bit more like a dark charcoal. This bunny also has a tad bit of french manicure too.

This morning, I awoke to find that all of the bunnies were out of their nesting box again. Mom was sitting in the box. The babies were huddled together on the carpet pad, sleeping. So, (after Mom moved) I spread open the nest and placed all of them gently back in to continue sleeping. I will be calling June, a fellow Rabbit Advocate, today to arrange for a nesting box.

Babies Buns in Motion

This is the only solid grey bunny of the bunch. I have been noticing color changes on each of them as they mature so who knows? When they are in their nesting box sometimes they, kind of, pop up like popcorn for no apparent reason. But when they are interesting in exploring, they walk about just like the kit in this video (so low to the ground). It is as if they cannot hold themselves up; however I have witnessed one baby sitting on its hind rump and propped up with it's front paws holding it's upper body weight up like a dog usually sits. This bunny is somewhere between 10-12 days old.

This one is not to be confused with the baby that has socks. This one has the french manicure instead!

Just look at those tiny feet! Look at those tiny whiskers! Awwwwww. . .

Their fur is growing and their ears are changing dramatically. Scroll down to look at the nest picture again and compare!

They are now somewhere between 9 and 11 days old.

Yesterday morning I awoke to a plop, plop noise. Like something falling into a bowl of water. All 6 of these little guys were hanging about the water bowl (not in it) and totally wet! One thing was certain, they were not in their nesting box. Did they all go in on their own--ALL of them? Did Mom use her water bowl to bathe them? Why ALL of them, and why were they already out? Needless to say the water bowl has been moved! I have heard to use a water bottle so to eliminate the risk of drowning; but I can't help but wonder if Mom can get enough water to re-hydrate herself while breast feeding her radically growing kits. I will mostly certainly use the water bottle for the babies as they began to have a need for water for themselves. For now I am keeping my eyes peeled and have moved her water bowl underneath a cage interior ledge.