# Princess Kirby's Palace



## pocketsizedrhino (Aug 28, 2009)

Kirby was born on 04.23.09 with a bunch of brothers. Her owner/byb brought her with her brothers to the pet store I used to work at tied up in a burlap sack. They rode in the summer heat in a convertible down the highway to get there. I wasn't working that day but my coworker told me they were panting and dirty. She took the girl because my boss said the boys wouldn't sell since we already had some... ssd: I wish I had been there that day.  When I went to work the next day I saw the cutest little rex bunny with gross stained paws and asked someone where she came from. After hearing her story I just wanted to cuddle her all day. She became my little buddy for the two weeks she was at the store... of course at the end of that two weeks she ended up at my apartment! The lady who brought her in told my coworker she would be a mini rex but I think she has grown past the 'mini' level by now. 

She is 4 months old now and is getting started on eating greens. The last time she had a little stasis issue so I'm going incredibly slow and I have BeneBac on hand. She is 98% litter trained, there are occasional stray poos and pee puddles but it isn't bad. I moved into a new apartment at the beginning of the month and was able to extend her pen and add a level. She loves the space! When she has free range time in my hallway she binkies all around and then comes back to lick my legs all over.  She has a good home with me now! She is getting spayed soon, once she starts acting like its time. She might get to go in at the same time as my boyfriend's cat, they're a month apart and are both almost due!

I loooove taking pictures so this will mainly be a picture dump for me to share her cuteness! 

Her pen:


----------



## kirbyultra (Aug 28, 2009)

Is Princess Kirby's palace part of my King Kirby's rabbit nation? LOL 
Your Kirby is so sweet flopped like that. Looks so much like my Toby... I just can't get over that! Her breed I definitely bigger as a full rexie. More pics please! 

She has nice digs! She's lucky to have you


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Aug 29, 2009)

Haha I guess it can be!  I call her princess a lot, she is my only female animal other than my mouse! Don't worry--there will be more pictures soon!


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Sep 6, 2009)

This morning I was away from my apartment and my roommate sent me a text message letting me know that little miss Kirby ESCAPED from her pen and was bounding around the apartment. Her and her boyfriend had to chase her around to catch her and put her away. I was worried there would be chewed cords everywhere but I haven't found any so far. I made her that shelf not too long ago.. I guess she figured out how to get out with it! Doh..... I added some more panels around the shelf so it is taller now.


----------



## SOOOSKA (Sep 6, 2009)

Princess Kirby is Adorable.

She certainly has a great set up. When we made out NIC cages we put a roof on theirs for that very reason, bunnies can be very good escape artists.

I look forward to many more pictures of th Princess.

Susan


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Sep 6, 2009)

I really like that I can just climb over the 2-high and reach in to pet her whenever. She loves when people come over and oogle at her. She runs right up to the corner of the pen for lovin'. I'd hate to have to make a full roof... I'll take a picture of the new blocks I made and you guys can tell me what you think later.


----------



## brokenyears (Sep 7, 2009)

Oh my goodness she is too cute! I love the set up you have too


----------



## Wabbitdad12 (Sep 8, 2009)

She is adorable, I had some baby flemish not to long ago, that I thought couldn't get out of their NIC enclosure only to go into the bunny room to feed everyone and discover the young doe enjoying her time out.


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Oct 2, 2009)

You wouldn't believe how different people react when meeting Kirby and the rats.. Everyone LOVES Kirby and they're indifferent about everything else (rats, mouse, fish tanks). 

I got some hay online from Kleenmama's Hayloft http://www.kmshayloft.com/catalog/index.php
I am SO impressed with the quality--I'll never buy hay from the pet store again! It was so fresh smelling, soft and a nice color. There was absolutely no dust. I got 5lbs of half timothy half bluegrass. It barely fits in her hay tub. 






I took Kirby out on the porch today after I unpacked her new hay and I sat her in the tub. She didn't eat any, I think she was freaked out as it was her first time outside and there were so many new noises. After a little bit she hopped out of the tub and explored, she loved it! I'll be taking her out there more often when the weather permits.


----------



## kirbyultra (Oct 2, 2009)

I got the same exact half timothy and half bluegrass from Kleenmama's a couple weeks ago. Toby loves the timothy and Kirby loves the bluegrass. I agree about the dustlessness. It's great! Just a hefty shipping price is all, but very nice hay. I will be buying from them again soon. Oh, your Kirby's fur look so cotton-y!


----------



## Fancy77 (Oct 2, 2009)

AWWWWW SOO CUTE. I love the last pic Of Kirby's Hinney


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Oct 7, 2009)

Helen, the shipping price did seem high but I did the math including shipping for price per pound compared to the Oxbow hay I was getting at Petsmart (that was insanely dusty!) and buying 5lbs of Kleenmama's was the same price as 4lbs of Oxbow--it was like getting a free pound of hay!


----------



## Wabbitdad12 (Oct 8, 2009)

*Fancy77 wrote: *


> AWWWWW SOO CUTE. I love the last pic Of Kirby's Hinney


Bunny butt pictures are always a hit for some reason.


----------



## kirbyultra (Oct 8, 2009)

Because they are so cute


----------



## kirbyultra (Oct 8, 2009)

*pocketsizedrhino wrote: *


> Helen, the shipping price did seem high but I did the math including shipping for price per pound compared to the Oxbow hay I was getting at Petsmart (that was insanely dusty!) and buying 5lbs of Kleenmama's was the same price as 4lbs of Oxbow--it was like getting a free pound of hay!



That's fantastic! 

Kirby loves the bluegrass so, so much. Toby loves the timothy hay like crazy. The only thing I do not like about the timothy is that it has a lot of other grasses mixed in that gets blown in, according to KM. I pick them out if I have time. But KM overall is awesome. Service is great. When their 3rd cut timothy is for sale, I'm going to probably buy 9 lbs of each. Kirby has eaten so much more hay lately that his litter box is ... um, overflowing


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Oct 12, 2009)

Sometimes I can't believe what the litter box looks like when I wake up in the morning. Its like she doesn't sleep, she just spends every hour eating and pooping.
Well, I guess she does sleep because I found her laying funny yesterday:


----------



## Wabbitdad12 (Oct 12, 2009)

Its exhausting creating all that work for her slave.


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Oct 12, 2009)

You mean it is exhausting making all that poop for me to clean up? 
There is also the odd day when I notice her water is tinted yellow/orange. :grumpy:

Ohh Princess Kirby--I bow down to you and graciously clean your litter box!


----------



## Wabbitdad12 (Oct 12, 2009)

Your sounding more like a bunny slave!


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Oct 12, 2009)

I'm just a puppet to these animals, I have three rats too who constantly expect salads when they hear Kirby getting hers. Bahh!


----------



## kirbyultra (Oct 12, 2009)

Hehe she looks like she is demanding some petting in that pic!


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Dec 17, 2009)

I got some alfalfa sprout nomming pictures. She LOVES this stuff.



























Kirby was spayed 2 weeks ago and recovered great! She is back to her normal self. I feel like she has a wayyyy bigger appetite now, though.


----------



## SOOOSKA (Dec 17, 2009)

*OMG she's so cute. I love the pictures of her eating the sprouts.*

*Susan*


----------



## RosemaryVanDeuren (Dec 17, 2009)

Oh my gosh I love her! What a beautiful bunny. She has such a long, elegant, unique face too! SO glad to hear you rescued her from such reprehensible conditions >:'( 

This pic is great, btw:

pocketsizedrhino* wrote: *


>


----------



## Fancy77 (Dec 18, 2009)

*RosemaryVanDeuren wrote:*


> This pic is great, btw:
> 
> pocketsizedrhino* wrote: *
> 
> ...


I love all the pics cuz u take great shots but this is my fav!!!


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Dec 18, 2009)

Thanks guys! 
She has such a pretty face, I love the three dots above her eye! Her two nose dots are pretty cute too.

I'm excited for when she gets older and mellows out a bit. She can't sit still. I want bunny cuddles!


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Dec 24, 2009)

Kirby traveled home for the holidays with me and met my sister's cat last night. The cat, Josie, is terrified of everything... mostly the dog. She was also scared of Kirby! We kept a very close eye on them, Josie isn't much of a predator so I wasn't too worried. She did slap Kirby once and Kirby ran away really fast.
Here are the pictures!










I started petting her on the forehead and she actually flopped down to lay!! She usually just stays in a bunny loaf when I pet her so this was different and cute!


----------



## kirbyultra (Dec 25, 2009)

She Belly flopped! How cute, love her legs out behind her like that. I'm glad the cat didn't pick on her too much.


----------



## fuzz16 (Dec 25, 2009)

Picture dump here all you want!!! We love pictures

Her story is so sad, I don't know how people can be like that...but I'm glad she's with you. she looks so happpy


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Dec 26, 2009)

It looks so goofy when she lays like that, she looks broken.

I have been trying to rearrange my room so I can have room for a Critter Nation cage for my rats. I squished Kirby's cage into a different shape more like a 2 x 4 but I added another vertical row of panels so its a biiiit bigger (it bows out in the front). Now I can move that shelf in the picture to my closet and move my dresser over where it is. 
Right now that side of my room has a rat cage, a desk annnnd the dresser and my closet door along the same wall! It is so crowded. This is going to look so much better! Plus Kirby has some more space! 
I still need to attach her shelf back on. 
She is at my parent's house right now because my sister is pet sitting for me while I'm in Ohio Sunday - Wednesday.


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Dec 31, 2009)

I'm finally back home! Kirby was doing alright under my sister's care. I don't think she gave her as much hay as I would have liked but she is back on her regular feeding schedule with me and I just got a 14lb box of hay from Sweet Meadow farms, along with some apple branches that I haven't given her yet. It is very rainy today and the hay felt like it had absorbed some of the moisture from the air but I left the box open for it to dry out.

She was in a big dog airline crate that I use at my parents house so I don't have a tow a NIC cage over. It is big enough but the only ventilation is on the two small windows along the top sides and the front door so I dump her litter every night and change her blanket more often to keep ammonia from building up in there. She did some sneezes last night when I got home but hasn't done any yet today. I'm keeping a close eye on her.
My grandma gave me a large Marchioro cage that has a footprint of 40" x 21" (I think..) so that is my new cage to keep at my parent's house. No more ventilation worries!


----------



## Fancy77 (Dec 31, 2009)

glad to hear u made it home!!!!


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 1, 2010)

Thanks Denise! 

I haven't heard any more sniffles out of Kirby so maybe there was just some dust around or getting her out of the crate into the new cage helped. 
Here is what the "vacation home" looks like:








My grandma used to have guinea pigs and she hasn't been able to sell her old cages. I got that one along with a smaller 30"x18" footprint cage that I can use for rat quarantine or I could even attach it to my existing 30"x18" cage that my rats use when I bring them to my parents to make it extra tall! Ooooh I just now thought of that!


----------



## Fancy77 (Jan 1, 2010)

I like the vaca spot way to go huni!!! grandma rules


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 7, 2010)

Got some eating pictures this morning.


----------



## Fancy77 (Jan 7, 2010)

Great pics Heidi!!!!


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 11, 2010)

I'm going to show off my bedroom! I just remodeled Kirby's cage AGAIN. I incorporated a cage to try and contain her hay mess a bit better. Now she has a kitchen/bathroom and a separate living quarter. The cage opens at the top so I can change things out easy and it is blocked off from her jumping up on top. Her hay bin fits perfectly for storage. I really like this set up!

Anyway.. here is my room... 































My rats get free range on my bed every now and then, here is the set up I make for them:






And here is one of the boys, (I have three) Dooley:


----------



## Fancy77 (Jan 11, 2010)

WOW u did a nice job love the bright colored rug


----------



## pOker (Jan 11, 2010)

let me start by saying-kirby is just soooo adorablee!!!!

i love the setup you have for kirby-i wish the boys were neutered and bonded so i can have them in an NIC condo like little kirby over there 

ahh cuteeee rattiee too!!!!


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 23, 2010)

Kirby is finally maturing and being less destructive. The spay might have helped with that too. Whatever did it I am grateful!! She has been allowed more out time than she used to get. I used to have to watch her like a hawk because she chewed baseboards, furniture, dug up the carpet.. she was awful. 
She was out in the living room last night when I was watching a movie with my boyfriend and two other friends. My friends loved her and one of them kept crawling around the floor after her for pets. Lol. Kirby had a lot of fun with all the people around and binkied everywhere. 
She's out here again with me this morning. I wish she would stay still for pets!


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 24, 2010)

Showing off my rat cage


----------



## Wabbitdad12 (Jan 24, 2010)

Looks like a really nice set up for your rats.


----------



## Myia09 (Jan 24, 2010)

That is a really awesome set up for your ratties!
And your room looks great!


----------



## Fancy77 (Jan 25, 2010)

Holy cow they r so spoiled...


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 26, 2010)

Fancy77 wrote:


> Holy cow they r so spoiled...



That's the only way to do it with rats. :biggrin2: It is so funny seeing their lazy butts lounging 24/7. And to think so many people are terrified of rats... Pahahaha!

Thanks Myia and Dave!

Oh my goodness Kirby is such a little lover! Its like every day she likes me more and begs for more and more pets. I love it! My rats don't sit still and I'm used to loving on cats so Kirby is a wonderful cat stand-in... My cat lives at home with my parent's still. 
Today I sat with her in her pen to try a new brush. It is so hard to help her molt because there aren't any brushes that catch her soft short hair! Lucky for her I gave up on the brush quickly and resorted to a full bunny massage. She totally melted. I'm used to her body feeling at least a little tense but she was loosey gooseyyyy. After all the petting I put my face down near her and she was hopping all around me sniffing me, then she started licking the back of my shoulders.  She let me nuzzle her and kiss her face...she used to flinch and act nervous if my big ol head was ever right up near her. 
I love feeling like we're bonding more and more every day. I am so happy rabbits live so long! I couldn't have gotten luckier--I am always so shocked at what a great personality she has.


----------



## Myia09 (Jan 27, 2010)

I am curious..is the super pet xl purple cage in the bedroom photo the rat cage..or is that a chinchilla I see?


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 27, 2010)

Myia09 wrote:


> I am curious..is the super pet xl purple cage in the bedroom photo the rat cage..or is that a chinchilla I see?



That is my old rat cage...And my big fat old manrat Elliott posing as a Chinchilla!  I recently got a Critter Nation 161 (the one in the more recent picture) for my old boys since it has a bigger footprint and they can get around in it easier.

Chins are neat but after handling them in the past I don't think I could keep one. I worked at a pet store for a little while. They poop SO MUCH it is INCREDIBLE. To make it better they can't be litter trained.. They are soooo adorable and soft though.


----------



## Myia09 (Jan 27, 2010)

haha thats a big rat! You know, they really don't. I now have 3 and it takes less vacuuming than my 2 buns. But you know, if you use fleece like I do, you supposedly can put a litter box of aspen and they will pee there becasue they like the texture more..but of course they can't control thier poop. I havnen't bought a box yet, but I will be.
Yeah CN and FN are the best..I just got a Ferret Nation for the chins..
Its a great set up you have.


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 27, 2010)

Myia09 wrote:


> haha thats a big rat! You know, they really don't. I now have 3 and it takes less vacuuming than my 2 buns. But you know, if you use fleece like I do, you supposedly can put a litter box of aspen and they will pee there becasue they like the texture more..but of course they can't control thier poop. I havnen't bought a box yet, but I will be.
> Yeah CN and FN are the best..I just got a Ferret Nation for the chins..
> Its a great set up you have.



I'm shocked to hear yours are tidier than your rabbits! I used to vacuum the chin girl's cage shelves at the store (it was the same purple SP) every morning and evening and there was always plenty to suck up! I guess in reality 3 rats poop a lot too and they aren't totally litter trained. 
I'm sure yours are loving the FN. Chins are so zippy and fun to watch! Do you have any pictures of them in your blog?


----------



## Fancy77 (Jan 27, 2010)

*pocketsizedrhino wrote: *


> Fancy77 wrote:
> 
> 
> > Holy cow they r so spoiled...
> ...


:sofa:

Yep, that is me all the way...rats...ewey...I am terrified of them...


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 27, 2010)

Aww they're like tiny rabbits with tails and short ears!

How could these little faces be terrifying?


----------



## Fancy77 (Jan 27, 2010)

I like them in pics...very cute...no way would I ever hold or even own one lol. It took me forever to get used to my sons Hamster..YUCK lol


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 27, 2010)

Haha my mom hates their tails. She finally held one of them once, it was a big moment!


----------



## Fancy77 (Jan 27, 2010)

LMAO I know what she is going thru ha ha ha give her a pat n the back from me


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 30, 2010)

Ugh it has been such a stressful week.

Right now I live with one other girl. We've known each other a little while and I like living here. We don't hang out too much but I like it that way, I've never been too close with any of my previous roommates so it is normal to me. She would probably like it if we did more things together and I think she misses how close she was with her old roommates because they were all good friends but they moved away.

My boyfriend lives across the hall with two other guys. It just happened that we got the place across the hall when we filled out our application to live in this apartment complex. We were pretty happy about it because I lived an hour and ten minutes away before I moved down here. We've been together for almost 2 years. Living across the hall has been like living in one big house with a breezeway in between because we see each other so much. We're very compatible and if we ever have a disagreement we sort it out in a calm way by talking through it.

Well, in March all of us need to decide where we're living next year... if we are renewing our leases or not. Seven people are involved in all this shuffling around because my roommate (D)'s friend (J) is finally moving out of campus housing and she is really excited to be living in a real apartment. She almost moved in with D and I in August but the two of them decided they would fight too much because of how close they are. D and I planned to live here two years but now that the decision has to be made soon.... her and J have been talking about living together...whether I come with them or not.  The thing is.... I've only lived here since August and I do not know anyone else that I could live with.... I DO NOT WANT TO MOVE! AT ALL!! I have moved every year since starting college, which is three moves. It is annoying! I have more furniture/pet stuff/fish tanks than ever before and I had plans to stay here at least two years. 

We all had a big talk but J is being very hard headed and will not take my situation into account. All she wants is to live with D. J's boyfriend is going to need a roommate next year at the same time as me so our first solution was for him to take D's room. No one had any problems with it except for his mother. Now I really don't know what to do.... Tyler (my boyfriend) and I have been talking about the two of us living with J's boyfriend (R) in a three bedroom place and my parent's have finally been convinced, but this leaves Tyler's two roommates out to dry (2 bedroom rent is too expensive for one of them) and I would still have to move. That is not the best solution for anyone except for R.

It looks like our only other options are having Tyler move into D's old room and live in this two bedroom with me and J's boyfriend can take his old room. D and J can move out and get a two bedroom apartment together. It is SO complicated!!!! I told J that she should just move in with her boyfriend then none of us have to be involved at all. I hate having to cater to someone else.

I know how complicated living with my boyfriend could potentially get. Living across the hall has been sort of a trial run since we're always at one another's place but we still can leave and have some down time if we want. I know that is still possible since we would have separate rooms if he lived here with me. We have talked about every possible thing together and we both feel like living together would work. I am trying not to be starry-eyed about the whole thing and think about it realistically. The only problem is that his cat wants to eat all of my pets! Haha. 

This whole thing is just awful. I hope I am able to keep living here. I really hate even thinking about moving my tanks and all of my stuff for the third time in three years.... *pulls hair out*


----------



## kirbyultra (Jan 30, 2010)

That's a really tough situation. Discussions like this almost never end well because of the sheer number of people and opinions involved. Everyone has their own life to live and that's the way it is. 

I think if you and your boyfriend have a good track record of reasonably settling disagreements, this could work out for you.


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Jan 30, 2010)

Thanks for going through the trouble of reading all of that Helen! Almost everything seems impossible. 
My parents will be visiting tomorrow so I need to talk with them about just Tyler and I living here together. They haven't been too thrilled about the idea in the past but they know this whole crazy situation. They're really great and they trust me to make a responsible decision which is more than some of my friends can say so I am thankful for that.


----------



## kirbyultra (Jan 30, 2010)

It IS a difficult situation, but in my own experience, my parents have not always taken circumstances into account when making their decision on whether to support me on an important matter like this. I sure do hope your parents are more understanding and trusting! Having parents to support you in such a bind _definitely_ helps.


----------



## Fancy77 (Jan 31, 2010)

I dont have any wise advice but i wanted to let u know I read your post and I am wishing u luck


----------



## wabbitmom12 (Jan 31, 2010)

Argh! Wabbitmom was still logged in.

Anyway...WOW, I read your post and I think I need to have it diagramed! Confused me, I hope it all works out. To say its complicated would be an understatement.

Good luck!

Dave


----------



## Myia09 (Jan 31, 2010)

I have to say, I been living with my boyfriend for 6 months, and it was a lot different than when we were living seperate but spent every night with each other.
There is cleaning, rent responsibility, ect, and I don't mean to be wierd, but I think it's odd you won't be sharing a room, and maybe that is a sign your not ready?

I feel you on not moving again, and hopefully you can get it all sorted out.


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Feb 1, 2010)

Myia, to clarify... We would be sharing a room but for my parent's comfort's sake I need to have "my own room". My pets will all be living in that bedroom and things like my desk that I already have will be in there along with all my sewing stuff and pet supplies. We just have so much stuff between the two of us. Thanks for your input, you're a good person to hear from since you're doing it.


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Feb 5, 2010)

Not much news on the living situation. There is a girl I am friends with who I recently found out is moving to Kennesaw pending her acceptance to the college here so I offered her a place to live. We're both hoping to have plans sorted out by March. We shall see...... All this waiting is frustrating.


I have some great news, though.. I've been looking for a job since I've been unemployed all month and I finally got one at a dog/cat food and supply store! They only sell grain-free natural GOOD foods which I believe in 100%. They also supporting rescuing animals. This was my top job choice and I am soooo happy things worked out! I start on Monday.


----------



## kirbyultra (Feb 5, 2010)

YAY! Good for you! I hope the job works out well for you.


----------



## Wabbitdad12 (Feb 5, 2010)

I am happy for you!


----------



## Fancy77 (Feb 6, 2010)

:yes:


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Feb 6, 2010)

Thanks everyone! 

I shoved some parsley in a tp roll last night and Kirby had a fun (or frustrating? lol) time trying to get it out. I sat and watched/took pictures. It was funny.


----------



## bengal77 (Feb 6, 2010)

LOL, very cute! She's absolutely adorable.


----------



## Wabbitdad12 (Feb 6, 2010)

Kirby doesn't look like she is amused.


----------



## pocketsizedrhino (Apr 1, 2010)

Kirby has learned that she can jump in the hay bin when I fill up her hay rack. *chuckle*


----------



## Wabbitdad12 (Apr 4, 2010)

*pocketsizedrhino wrote: *


> Kirby has learned that she can jump in the hay bin when I fill up her hay rack. *chuckle*


You must take too long!


----------



## kirbyultra (Apr 13, 2010)

Heidi, how is Kirby doing?


----------

