keeping the rabbits warm

  

It's snowing  so I thought  this post would be the perfect one for this kind of weather.

First, you'll need a warm blanket: fleece is a good material since it dries quickly, is easy to care for and  fairly inexpensive to buy. But any old blankets will do,( note I only put the blanket on at night, the plastic cover will do for the daytime in less you are in really cold conditions).

You'll need a waterproof layer to go over the blanket. At the moment I'm using an old sheet of plastic, if you had a standard hutch then go ahead and buy the covers supplied. They're not the best quality, I have to say and they are pretty pricey for what they are. 

But if you don't have a big budget to spend on the cover,  follow my example and find an old sheet of plastic or go to a hardware store and buy one.

I also bought a rabbit heat pad, which I warm up in the microwave and pop it in their hutch when it is below zero, you can find the rabbit heat pad in most pet shops.

I can't do this with my hutch, but if you can relocate your rabbit hutch to a more sheltered spot, it can help to keep your bunny nice and  warm  during the winter months.

 If you have a standard rabbit hutch, it is even more important for you to keep the hutch dry since the hutch is made of poor quality wood and will easily get mouldy. If you start to see mould growing on your rabbits hutch this is a sign that you need to change the hutch.

There are a few things to do if you wish to prevent this on a newly bought standard hutch:

Step 1

Find some kind of waterproof sheet and staple it all around the hutch. Make sure to check regularly behind the sheet  since mould may grow in between the sheet and the back of the hutch.

Step 2

Make sure that the hutch is in a sheltered area of your garden.

Step 3

 Treating the hutch with some kind of waterproof paint may help but you have to take in to account that your rabbit will probably chew their hutch.

My best tip is to have someone make you a custom built hutch since they are much better quality than standard hutches these however are expensive.

I will be doing a post on how we built our rabbit hutch soon.

Have a question, would like to request a post just  comment below and I'll do my best to answer it.

Training the untrainable

Ever had a pet that is untrainable, poops on the carpet ,gets into fights with every dog in the neighbourhood, bites or runs away from you!  Some pets have these behavioural problems yet with  patience, perseverance and love they can become the perfect pet.

Perseverance is key. Your pampered pooch is  used to behave badly and will not take kindly to being told who is the  boss. These pampered pooches are often toy breeds . They are treated like toys, carried around in handbags and wearing expensive doggie clothing and die Monty collars .SO CUTE! 
Not so cute when  it snap at you and try to bite you ... 

 1 Give your dog plenty of exercise!

Even if your dog is just a little Chihuahua, 5 min around the block isn't enough : 30 minutes  twice a day will help burn all that extra energy and make him less excitable.

2 Yes, I know, your dog is your baby but treat it like a dog. Your dog has legs so let it walk.

3 Do not let your dog get away with trying to bite you,seek professional advice, this habit can be potentially very dangerous. 

4 Socialise your dog with  other dogs. Do not let your dog jump up on you or anyone .It's a sign of dominance !

5 Please do  not let your dog sleep in your bed!

6 Teach your dog to walk to heel, it will help  control your dog better, no more pulling you down the street.

7 Teach it to wait for food: use command" wait" and "take it".

rabbit Water Bottle Snug

 The cold season has arrived. Some of you  have noticed that your rabbits water bottle has been freezing up.Here is a quick and cheap way of making sure that it doesn't  freeze in the night.

Wrap your rabbit water bottle  up in tinfoil.  Slip on some old  socks,  I think 3 is plenty though.

                                  And you're done
Have a question, would like to request a post just comment below and I'll do my best.

bunny sweaters

we knitted this bunny sweater for the girls when they first came to us.
here is Winston modelling one of the sweaters .

the rabbits

                               

       Penny

Penny came to us when she was two years old along with her life long mate Daisy . One of our friends no longer wanted them so we agreed to take them in since their kids had lost interest in them. I had been longing for any kind of pet for years so we jumped at the opportunity to have two nice rabbits . We renamed them since their old names no longer suited them. Penny was originally fidget and Daisy was fudge. They came to us very scared and nervous. Penny would bite   but this didn't put us off, we loved them to pieces and after one year of being with us she gradually stopped biting us .She moved out  of the small hutch that we had been provided with,  it wasn't sufficient room for her, she was a French lop the smallest of the giant rabbit breeds. I know this was my first rabbit but she was amazing , she had such a strong character and I will never forget that.

She loved jumping so we constructed  some rabbits agility  jumps . She used to stand in front of the obstacle course and wait for a signal "GO!".  Then she would go bolting off down the  agility course . After her run she would wait for you to pick her up and put her at the front of the agility course . 

I think the most amazing thing that I experienced with Penny was when one cold winter after it had snowed , I was doing my usual morning cleaning in  my ski gear and  I was checking their nestbox . As I opened the nest box door, steam came out of  it . Penny immediately grabbed the door and shut it firmly and thumped her foot in disapproval, she carried on keeping the door shut even though my attempts to  open the door slightly.

 She stayed two happy years  with us. She was such a little warrior.  Sadly , she passed away because of a heart attack,  only four years old. She is buried in our garden and I visit her grave often in the mornings when I am cleaning out the  rabbits hutch .

                   Sleep in peace my little angel...   
                                               

                                                           Daisy                 

    Daisy was  Penny's companion. She was such a character, though not as smart as Penny. Daisy wasn't a fussy eater,she really loved her food .She was voracious! 

I remember one funny moment when she helped herself to the fruit bowl on the kitchen table.She choose to munch a juicy pear.  She later tried again but mum had moved the fruit bowl out of her reach.There is this moment also when mum rang  the bell to let us known that lunch was ready and  saw Daisy jumping in the chair and to sit down at the table.So funny!

She was a very affectionate rabbit.She lived with us for 4 years. she's buried next to her penny sadly she had to be put down Because of an incurable disease she was put down on February 21, 2012.She was 6 years old.She's is buried next to Penny under the conifer tree.

                            winston

Winston was adopted as a companion to Daisy because she was very depressed after Penny passed away.Winston was the only rabbit available for adoption at the time so we didn't have much choice but I wouldn't change it for the world actually I've never ever chosen my rabbits since they all come from rescues. Winston came from a lady who could no longer care for him. Did you know black rabbits stay in shelters the longest ?

 I noticed that Winston  did not hop, he would walk one foot in front of the other. I was concerned but I knew that he was an indoor rabbit maybe kept in a small cage. Winston had very good manners: he would sip water like a little gentleman and eat unhurriedly, not like daisy that would try and eat everything as quickly as possible . Though he started coping  her bad  habits, I found out that a lot of owners notice this  when one rabbit is younger than the other .

Winston is now a five years old ,healthy and happy bunny. There will be some more posts about him.

   Sukie 

Suki was a very unhappy little bunny when we first got her.

As you can see from the picture she is a lion head cross .Suki and a group of rabbits had been abandoned in the woods. After a  night in the wild, they were  taken to a rabbit rescue where  we were looking for a new friend for our little Winston. She looked terrible, her coat was all matted and she needed to be taken to the vet to have it shaven off. When we brought her home, her fur was all spicky and she had stitches in her backside. 

Since then, our little Suki has grown back her coat and is happy and healthy, still scruffy though .

  Lilly

Lilly was found on the woods with Suki. Because we didn't have the heart to chose one of them ,we adopted both rabbits. Lilly is white and fluffy. People find her pink eyes scary,this reduced her chance to be re homed. . So we came home with 2 frightened rabbits, luckily our hutch was big enough for two extra little bunnies.