Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Bunny update
Adolescence has brought a number of changes, including size and coloring. Nils is officially huge; measuring at about 20" long, he's now bigger framed than his 19" mother, Snickers (formerly the biggest of the bunnies). Teddy Graham has caught up with his 18" dad, Oreo. Keeblers is no longer the runt of the litter, having caught up with Jammy Dodger and Figgy Newton at 16-17". Hydrox didn't get a big spurt and is now the tiniest of them, at only 13-14" long.
Along with growing ginormous, Nils developed a coffee-colored patch on his nose. The rest of him remains caramel cream.
All the blacks have finally developed crinkly wool. Jammy Dodger's is incredibly crinkly -- moreso than her mom's! I couldn't get a good pic in the bright sun today. Will try again on a day when its not bright sun or heavy dark clouds...
Along with growing ginormous, Nils developed a coffee-colored patch on his nose. The rest of him remains caramel cream.
Figgy Newton looks as though he *may* be blue rather than black. Either that, or he has very, very few guard hairs. His wool appears to be homogeneous gray, rather than bands of black, grey and white. Here he is almost finished his molt.
All the blacks have finally developed crinkly wool. Jammy Dodger's is incredibly crinkly -- moreso than her mom's! I couldn't get a good pic in the bright sun today. Will try again on a day when its not bright sun or heavy dark clouds...
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Monday, January 9, 2017
No 2 ways about it...Teddie Graham is a rapist thug!
It's an age thing. Apparently their personalities can change, and it starts to happen right around 4 months old. That would be exactly when Teddy was re-homed and subsequently returned! It's also right about when the testosterone starts cranking.
Anyway, Teddy has managed twice within the last week to break into Oreo's pen. The first time was my fault: I forgot to put the weight block on the lid that covers their 2 adjacent pens. Individually, they've never had the strength to push the lid up more than just a bit. Apparently, they decided to work together. They then jointly broke through the stapled mesh side. I found a lot of wool in Oreo's pen and spent the first 10 minutes or so of the morning chasing them around the garage. Learned my lesson, repaired and reinforced the damaged wire mesh, and forgot about it.
And then this morning I found each of them in the others' pen. Say WHAT?!? It took a moment to find where one or the other chewed a large hole through the wood divider. Lots of lost wool from Oreo again. There is also a large spot in the divider between Teddie's and Figgie's pens where the mesh is being pulled off the divider.
So Teddy has be re-homed into a cage. Eventually they all will be in cages. I built the multi-house pens as a quick, temporary and relatively cheap solution to house 10 bunnies with hopes of re-homing most of them. Since that time, large, relatively low-cost, stackable and durable cages with deep trays -- something that wasn't available at the time -- have turned up at a local supplier.
I plan to re-make the living pens for 8 bunnies into bottomless, outdoor grazing pens for 4 bunnies. That way they can all enjoy outdoor grazing in 2 shifts during the warm months while I'm working in the garden. My only loss will be ~$40 for the bottom of the pens.
Anyway, Teddy has managed twice within the last week to break into Oreo's pen. The first time was my fault: I forgot to put the weight block on the lid that covers their 2 adjacent pens. Individually, they've never had the strength to push the lid up more than just a bit. Apparently, they decided to work together. They then jointly broke through the stapled mesh side. I found a lot of wool in Oreo's pen and spent the first 10 minutes or so of the morning chasing them around the garage. Learned my lesson, repaired and reinforced the damaged wire mesh, and forgot about it.
And then this morning I found each of them in the others' pen. Say WHAT?!? It took a moment to find where one or the other chewed a large hole through the wood divider. Lots of lost wool from Oreo again. There is also a large spot in the divider between Teddie's and Figgie's pens where the mesh is being pulled off the divider.
So Teddy has be re-homed into a cage. Eventually they all will be in cages. I built the multi-house pens as a quick, temporary and relatively cheap solution to house 10 bunnies with hopes of re-homing most of them. Since that time, large, relatively low-cost, stackable and durable cages with deep trays -- something that wasn't available at the time -- have turned up at a local supplier.
I plan to re-make the living pens for 8 bunnies into bottomless, outdoor grazing pens for 4 bunnies. That way they can all enjoy outdoor grazing in 2 shifts during the warm months while I'm working in the garden. My only loss will be ~$40 for the bottom of the pens.
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