When you were a kid, or when your kids were little, did you ever have a pet rabbit? Did it live in a cute little hutch in the garden, and every now and then, you'd let it out to hop around while you cleaned up after them?
Well, it turns out that rabbits aren’t as low-maintenance as most people think. I have four of them, so I would know!
I never planned on having even one rabbit, let alone four, but here we are. I guess I’m the "crazy bunny lady" now, but I know folks who have even more than I do, so I can’t be that crazy... right?
Hey! TJ here from The Gibbons House. Nice to see you again! If you are new here, welcome to the blog.
I am the 'owner' of 4 rabbits, although I think it's more accurate to say that they own me.
Here's how it started:
"TJ, you might wanna see this." My colleague called one day at the project farm I work at. I wondered over to the large rabbit pen to find her pointing into the hutch and when I bent down, I saw a cluster of wiggly beans in a nest at the back. Angel, our white lion head rabbit, had given birth!
"But how did she get pregnant?" I asked. I wasn't asking for the details of how babies came to be, but how she had become pregnant when she was always kept separate from our male rabbit, George, a Giant Continental who lived in the pen next to hers.
Through the process of elimination and the incident happening again when one of us was present, We discovered one of the men we work with had let both rabbits out into their runs one morning and forgot shut the gate between them.
Now we had a litter of kits.
And the likely hood was she was pregnant again as rabbits can carry two litters at a time.
We didn't have the space to keep all of these rabbits and so the hunt began to find them homes.
These baby rabbits started to grow and show their personalities. They were little bundles of fluffy cuteness and I fell in love with the solo black bunny. She was troublesome and was the one constantly getting into mischief.
I went home and, in true ADHD fashion, hyper-fixated on learning everything I needed to about having a pet rabbit before taking the proposition of bringing one home to my Mum and Step-Dad, Neil. I was, after all, still living with them at this point.
I learned that rabbits should live in pairs, and that opposite gender rabbits are more likely to re-bond after being 'done'. I had to have two rabbits. That might be harder to convince my parents.
I came up with a plan of where the rabbits would live in the garden (they are outdoor rabbits, and contrary to some peoples beliefs they are happy, healthy and thriving outside) and took the idea to Mum and Neil. After some persuasion, they said yes, much to my delight.
After discovering the black rabbit was a male, I had to identify a female within the group that I wanted to take, too. I found that one of the black and white ones were female and had the coolest hair do. Three of us checked the genders of both and agreed.
We were all wrong.
Every day I spent time with these rabbits so that the babies I had chosen would get used to me. I had chosen names for them too; Eclipse for the black one and Artemis for the black and white one. I slowly introduced them to the outside world and gave them fresh greens when they started to show interest in food. Everyone at the farm had fallen in love with them, and we had found homes for all of the others.
Roll on to when they were old enough to come home: They lived together until they were 12 weeks old when they had to be separated to prevent more babies. They could be re-bonded once they were spayed and neutered.
Over those weeks I started to see their true colours bloom. Eclipse was an escape artist and the trouble maker who split her ear three times trying to volt over the fencing that was separating the two. Artemis was more interested in cuddles and eating.
Fast forward to their vet dates and I find out, on the day on the table where the vet was examining them, that the genders were wrong. Both were female.
Typically, the female-female rabbit bond rate was lower than any other combination. Just my luck. I didn't have the heart to get rid of one of them, I had grown too attached to them both. I was determined to bond them, and naively believed I would be able to.
But they never bonded again, despite a year of trying. I must have been through every method there was. In the end, they were injuring each other to the point where it was no longer worth the risk for me. I was anxious and they were down right miserable.
So I had to house them separately. Which was a nightmare at my parents, but then I moved out and things got better.
In the new home, there was a shed in the garden. It was old and falling apart, but it was a structure that would provide the rabbits with adequate shelter for the winter. I split it in half and each rabbit had plenty of space to bounce around and climb on top of things and cause chaos. They were happy and healthy.
Until the shed started to fall apart. The fact that the rabbits were chewing it from the inside didn't help, but I knew it wouldn't last another winter.
That's when the bunny palace was built.
A large, purpose built area for the rabbits, split in the middle with semi-open sides for a load of fresh air, roofing to protect them from the rain and sun, slabs and stones and houses, dig boxes and log piles to clamber over. They were incredibly chuffed. I saw both rabbits Binki for the first time, and they often Zoomies in a morning and evening where they throw themselves off the walls and whiz around like little rockets.
When my dog, Anayah, is shut in the house, they get alternative evenings on the grass. So in exchange for me being their slave, they mow my garden naturally and fertilize is as they go. Pretty sure they get the better end of this deal, but I don't mind!
Eclipse has blossomed into this mischievous, temperamental rabbit who Binkis, Zoomies and whizzes around the most. She is the destroyer of all things. Artemis is a sweet cuddle bug who would much rather sit in one place and eat the grass around her than to explore the garden, don't get me wrong, she has her explosive moments too. She teases Anayah relentlessly.
Artemis will sit at the gate of her pen, waiting for Anayah to go up and investigate. Artie will them do a mini Zoomies which winds Anayah up. The dog barks and stands at the gate wagging her tail, waiting for more. She doesn't get it. Artie hides. Anayah walks away, bored, and Artemis returns to the gate to do it all over again. And again. It's a revamped version of cat and mouse: dog and rabbit, though I can't tell who gets the most out of the game.
Both rabbits also have a tendency to dig wherever they can. Artemis once dug a hole in the garden whilst she was free-roaming and when she saw me approaching, she lay full length over the hole so I couldn't see it, waited until I left and started digging again.
They both seemed happy and content for a while, so I had no intention of getting either of them a partner. I know that rabbits are meant to live with other rabbits, but mine were happy and healthy and showed no signs of being lonely or bored. Until Eclipse started to become extra destructive and showed signs of boredom. It was time to look for another addition to the family.
Caspian was the 3rd rabbit to join the bouncy crew.
He came from a family who loved him very much but did not give him the care or space he needed. He was bought for the children but it turned out the one child was terrified of him, so I took him. He is the softest, cuddliest soul to ever have bounced on this earth. He melts into my arms when I stroke him and doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body. It took me about a month of constant trying for him to finally trust me, but when he did I fell in love with him.
Once he had been neutered, it took very little time for him and Eclipse to bond. A week, to be exact. I started on the Saturday and by the following Saturday I was moving them in together because it was so successful. They were instantly friends and figured out that Eclipse was (and still is) very much the boss of the relationship.
Since moving in with the crazy bun, Caspian has become cheeky and adventurous. He loves trying new foods and will often 'boop' me when he wants attention.
It was then time for me to find the final rabbit addition: Artemis' partner. It took a while for the right bun to come along.
His name is Cosmo. He is, I believe, a mini rex who has been through hell. He had 4 homes within a space of 4 months. He is so unlike any of my other rabbits. He is skittish, scared, aggressive and not interested in me. I have had him a few months and am only just able to give him a head scratch, and it is fully on his terms. Luckily he came already fixed, so that was one stress I didn't have to put him through.
When he first arrived, he would only eat fennel and dill and refused anything else. Now, thankfully, his appetite has grown somewhat and he has started doing mini Zoomies around his pen just this week which is a very good sign!
I plan on starting the bonding process with him and Artemis soon, but I think I have my work cut out for me with these two. I do, however, hope that Artemis will be the best thing for Cosmo and encourage him out of his shell more and show him that I am not a scary thing to attack, but someone he can trust and maybe even love some day.
Time and patience! That's what I keep telling myself, and I am never one to back down from a challenge or a project.
Having the rabbits is a joy. I love watching them from the kitchen window whilst cooking or washing up. They often throw their bowls or toys around when they hear me in the kitchen to get my attention or to demand for food.
Feeding them is another aspect I didn't think I would come to enjoy so much. It has taught me how to forage and identify a large variety of plants that they can eat. I have also grown herbs and lettuces in the garden with them in mind, the new hedge I planted last year was also mostly rabbit edible. Creating enrichment items for them and seeing them use the things I make gives me a great sense of pride, too. Though they much prefer a cardboard box to destroy than a store-bought chew toys.
Disclaimer! If you are thinking about having a pet rabbit or two, my advice would be to do your research first. They are expensive, demanding, prone to illness, chaotic and they don't listen like dogs do (although some people do train their rabbits to come when called, sit, turn round etc, so it is possible! I tried with mine and failed miserably, many times.).
But they are (or can be) loving, loyal, playful and funny. Not to mention the mow your grass and fertilize it in return!
They are not pets suitable for children! If you want a rabbit and want to have your children involved then that is more than okay, but buying a rabbit for your child is highly un-recommended due to the responsibility they command. Rabbits can live for 10 years +. Are you ready for that commitment?
My journey with my four rabbits has been a delightful adventure so far, full of mischief and laughs. Each of my rabbits bring their own charm to The Gibbons House and they remind me to take pleasure in the simple things in life. I hope to continue to learn and grow alongside them.
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