# King Kirby's Rabbit Nation 2011



## kirbyultra

Welcome to King Kirby's Rabbit Nation, 2011 Edition!





2009 Edition link is here!
2010 Edition link is here!

Here is the ruler of all the rabbit lands, King Kirby:




Kirby is a kind and gentle rabbit who wasn't always privileged and royal. He came from humble beginnings in a cold land until he came upon two silly people in 2008, who found him charming and handsome who would do his bidding and answer to his every desire. And so he established the Rabbit Nation where all rabbits live happily and slaves bring food and warmth every day. 




Kirby is a 4.5 year old Satin bun and it is a well-known fact that he is the most handsome rabbit in the entire world. 





...Somebody, bring the cameras! A celebrity is here!

Sir Toby was once a loyal subject of King Kirby's rabbit nation, but he would not have his cuteness be overshadowed by Kirby. So he seceded and marked territory of his own in the outskirts of rabbit nation. There he roams a happy and free bun, where he, alone, is adored by fans worldwide. If you want to be a fan as well, you can Like him on Facebook. All the cool people are doing it!




Toby is almost 2 years old, and he is a dwarfy mix of all the cutest things on planet earth. Do not be fooled, though. Crossing Toby would be very unwise. Remember, he fought for his independence. He is a veteran bun.





If you are looking for your food, look no further. Lady Penelope Anne is probably wearing it. From rags to riches, this big 6 lb lady was a nobody until she was graced by the love of King Kirby. Now Penny has a title, her own servants, and all the food she can stomach. Well, maybe not _all. _Penny is a saucy little thing when she is hungry, so we keep her appeased as much as we can.




Lady Pan-Pan aka Penny is roughly 3 years old and is a mix of probably lots of breeds. Penny and Kirby were meant to be because they both have a white sock on their front right legs. But it wasn't love at first sight as Penny wooed Kirby with her goofiness and endless love in 2009. She gives kisses to all who are kind and especially to her one and only love bunny Kirby. Kirby loves her so much that he even overlooks her utter messiness and lack of manners. Anyway, the slaves will clean it up.

Hope this year will be another fantastic year for the rabbit nation! Don't forget to follow Toby on Facebook!

:dutch


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## Wabbitdad12

Great start to your 2011 blog.


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## kirbyultra

Thanks Dave. Kirby has been disapproving of me not blogging lately.


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## SOOOSKA

Great blog as always. You express yourself so well.

Need more pictures.

Your Bunnies are BEAUTIFUL.:heartbeat::heartbeat::inlove::inlove::hearts:hearts:big kiss::big kiss:

Susan:happybunny:


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## JadeIcing

Love the 2011 edition.


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## Dragonrain

Great start to your new blog  I'm looking forward to reading about all your bunnies adventures in the new year.


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## kirbyultra

Thanks everyone. I will try to make it fun to read! However at the moment I am blogging from my phone so it will just be an update!

January 17, 2011 - Reasons I Can't Sleep

Reason #1: Miss Penny
Penny has decided that she can dig her way into Kirby's pen via a handmade hole through her pee pad, the foam mat beneath that and my hardwood floor beneath that. Lot of fun that is for me.

Reason #2: King Kirby
Kirby is hooked on this Sweet Meadow Farm hay. I do not know why this batch has so much alfalfa and clover in it but I think its practically half timothy and half alf/clover, basically spelling bunny crack in a hay form. I pick out the outrageously large pieces so they don't consume too much but... let's just say the king is not above dumpster diving for bunny crack.
#2B: Hilaria
Penny was snoozing next to the pen and I closed the door so Kirby could go out while keeping Penny The Destructor inside. When Kirby had his fill, he came back very mad to find the door closed. So he rammed into the pen, making a huge clanging metallic noise. It jolted Penny awake and if she wore pants, they'd be scared off. I allowed myself some 2am roaring laughter at that. The buns scare me often enough with sudden pen ramming. It's about time they got a taste of their own medicine. 

Reason #3: Baby Toby
I was wrapping everything up, literally going to turn the lights off for bed when Toby looked at me with his shiny gem-like baby eyes. So I opened up the door to his Chateau and gave him a scritch on the head. Kissed him goodnght and locked up to go turn off the lights again. When I looked at him from the light switch, he was standing up, front paws up against the door as if to beg me to stay. Seriously, who could say no to that?

So I squatted down and pet him more, planted more kisses on his head and sang his favorite songs-turned-Ode-To-Toby songs. Favorites like "We wish you a merry Toby" and "Lonely (My Name Is Toby)." He always grinds his teeth happily when I sing and rub his nose.

So now it's 4am and I've sufficiently bunned the night away.

Goodnight all! Happy Bunday Monday...

:dutch


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## kirbyultra

Spotted: Kirby kissing Penny behind the pellet dish.





King Kirby sleeping 





The royal couple snuggling under the computer





Wow, my foot has never had better things happen to it.





Sleepy baby Toto





So, Penny completely destroyed my reusable, washable bed pad that I use to soak her urine up when she pees on the floor. Took her ~4 months to mutilate it. It's actually a HUGE pain to wash because it has fur, urine, and hay all stuck to it and in an effort to not kill my washing machine, I have to get most of the debris off the pad with a vacuum before I wash it. I am trying to switch to disposable pee pads instead, but uh, they don't make em that big  So I am trying to do a 2-piece thing in hopes that Penny won't dig it up at the seams. I can almost guarantee that she will, but I already bought a whole bunch so here goes nothin'. 






The seam between the two pads is right near the litter box. Uh oh. 





I don't even think it's cotton that's inside the disposable pads but I couldn't find ones that explicitly said absorbent cotton. And I'm pretty freakin' fed up with Penny, just about daily. This is my hail Mary. Wish me luck! Hope the buns don't chew on the top cover and dig out the fluff.


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## Yield

[align=center]I love your blog =]

Good luck in them not chewing up the pads! My buns would eat that in a heartbeat!


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## Wabbitdad12

You were a good slave to Prince Toby to give him some royal petting so late at night. I am sure his Highness appreciated it.


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## MILU

Hey, congrats for the new blog, pretty cute! 
Toby is cute in Facebook too, is Kirby there? Or Penny?
I can see Toby disliking what you said about Kirby being the most handsome rabbit in the entire world.. can't you have 2 most handsome rabbits there?


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## JadeIcing

Human pee pads are bigger and cheaper and better.


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## kirbyultra

JadeIcing wrote:


> Human pee pads are bigger and cheaper and better.


That is what I am using. I don't use the dog pee pads because they have some kinda "scent" that's supposed to help train dogs. I don't want my buns inhaling that stuff. Do you have experience w/ buying the human pee pads for bun use, Ali? There are so many brands. I'm just trying out a whole bunch, but I know that 36x36 is about as big as they get for humans.


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## kirbyultra

hotmaildeal wrote:


> Hey, congrats for the new blog, pretty cute!


Thanks!



> Toby is cute in Facebook too, is Kirby there? Or Penny?


Nope, Kirby is not there. This is technically Kirby's blog so he has that. Penny hasn't figured out how to communicate yte so she's not online. lol 



> I can see Toby disliking what you said about Kirby being the most handsome rabbit in the entire world.. can't you have 2 most handsome rabbits there?


Nope, Kirby is the most handsome bun in the world. Toby however is the undisputed Cutest Bunny in the World. :hearts:


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## JadeIcing

I will check tomorrow. Shoot me a message to remind me.


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## kirbyultra

What a bunch of lazy buns.


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## Dragonrain

So cute!


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## Nancy McClelland

Just love all the pictures. We really like the "Shark Toby" one.


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## hln917

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> What a bunch of lazy buns.


Is Kirby's mouth open in this one?


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## kirbyultra

hln917 wrote:


> *kirbyultra wrote: *
> 
> 
> 
> What a bunch of lazy buns.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Is Kirby's mouth open in this one?Â
Click to expand...


Well, what you see there is not an open mouth. However, the King's PR staff has forbidden me to tell you whether or not it is a fat fold. :innocent


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## kirbyultra

January 22, 2011 - Another Rabbit Nation Change

I was going to write an update yesterday but didn't have time. Just as well, because everything is different today.

The lovely disposable bed pad idea was bust. It just didn't work out very well as Penny would shred it at night from inside her pen and Kirby would chew and swallow bits of it during the day. I'll be darned if my buns get stasis from ingesting pee pads. 

At my wit's end, I have decided to put Penny into a SuperPet cage. This is the eventual decision I hoped never to get to since April last year when I adopted her. She's just too messy and I simply can't deal with her urine anymore. The SuperPet cage is easy to clean and she makes most of her mess at night, so this should be a good way to contain her problems. Kirby and Penny play during the day. Both of them run in and out of the SuperPet and the rest of the room. Only at night is she confined to her little cage. So, that's that. I hope that this is the end of my troubles with her peeing all over. Sigh.

:dutch
Be a Toby Fan on Facebook!


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## Dragonrain

Aw I hope the new arrangement helps you deal with messy Penny better. Superpet cages come in pretty big sizes right? I think Superpet is what I have in storage, it came with Ziggy and Berry when I got them. It's like only a few inches smaller than one level of my Leith Petwerks cage. I think that's an okay size...especially since it's just for at night and not all the time.


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## kirbyultra

That's how Penny's cage looks like now. It's a bit small but I think it's for the best so we can all live harmoniously. Penny was upset this morning but once I reunited her with Kirby, they kissed lots and everything's ok again.


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## kirbyultra

Dragonrain wrote:


> Superpet cages come in pretty big sizes right?Â  I think Superpet is what I have in storage, it came with Ziggy and Berry when I got them.Â  It's like only a few inches smaller than one level of my Leith Petwerks cage.Â



Yeah I would say it's more or less the width of a Leith level, but not as deep. It fits a litter box and she can flop if she pleases. We put a bunch of toys in there so she could amuse herself. Penny takes to toys much more than the boys do. I give her tons of hay at night so if she wanted to eat all night, she could busy herself with just that. Some days I wake up and swear that is exactly what she did the night before.  I ordered a 14lb box of SM timothy recently and they've already gone thru a 1/3 of it. It hasn't been a week yet. 

I found that a 14 lb order fits exactly into one of my plastic bins. No mess of transfer. I just lift the whole bag out of the shipping box and dump the whole bag into the plastic bin as-is.


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## Dragonrain

Okay maybe the cage I have isn't a SuperPet...I have no idea but it looks a little different than the one you posted. Mines almost exactly the same size as one Leith level. Not that it matters anyways since I keep that cage collapsed in a closet now lol.

My guys go through SM hay fast too. I got a 30 lb box a few weeks ago but I think I'm going to have to order more in the next week or two.

I've been doing that with the bins too  My bin fits 10lbs or so perfectly so it's a little messy when I get more than that at a time. Although with the 30 lbs I got the hay is in really nice compressed flakes so it's been easy for me to just lift the flakes out of the shipping box and transfer them to my storage bin without much mess.


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## kirbyultra

I haven't been spending enough time with Toby lately. I think he grows lonelier each day. I will try to spend more hours with him. He is a wonderful boy to me and we have the most fun together. He's really the most active bun I have. He always does something that reminds me of when he was a baby. Still has that innocence.

Except last night when I let him into the rabbit room so he could hang out with me. I put Kirby and Penny away already so they were separate, of course. Toby thought it would be great fun to claim the rabbit nation's land as his own. I had only turned around a little while but he had pooped a large amount of poops all over the floor. I can't believe he had it in him. It was a lot!


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## Wabbitdad12

It takes a lot of work to rule a Kingdom.Cute picture of the royals.


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## kirbyultra

Wabbitdad12 wrote:


> It takes a lot of work to rule a Kingdom.



Oh yeah, without a doubt... 

Update: So of course now that Penny is confined to a cage she decides not to pee on the floor whic is the desired affect. But now she is into shredding newspaper. Litter and hay all over. And poop. And shredded wet newspaper. I just can't freakin win with her.


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## SOOOSKA

Helen, I love your stories. You express yourself so well.

I can feel for you regarding the pee. Buttercup use to be a little brat sometimes with his pee habits. I ended up buy flannelet sheets folding them with a plastic garbage bag inside of it. I had afew of them so when I had to change them I did. He never chewed at them so I never worried about him ingesting the plastic.

Looking forward to more pictures and stories. 

Susan


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## Dragonrain

That's what Berry does when she gets bored....shreds everything she can possibly shred. It's so annoying and a pain to clean up. Crazy bunnies!


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## myheart

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> Update: So of course now that Penny is confined to a cage she decides not to pee on the floor whic is the desired affect. But now she is into shredding newspaper. Litter and hay all over. And poop. And shredded wet newspaper. *I just can't freakin win with her.*


Maybe it's time to talk with an animal communicator about Pan-pan's habbits. We know she is more upset with more confinement, so now the problem is finding what will make her happyto not make a mess anymore.


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## MILU

Aw.. Penny will keep shredding things if she's kept in a cage (esp. seeing the other bunnies free). That's what all pets do when they're bored or mad at their owners... 
I'd be afraid she'd get sick because of the newspaper - shredding it makes her have oral contact with the ink of the newspaper which is not a good thing.. I hope you can figure out what to do to make her stop. Maybe if you talk to her.. LOL who knows?


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## kirbyultra

Newspapers use soy ink so it's not a problem. It's just messy to clean. But better to clean stuff confined in her cage rather than having it all over the room... She was a good girl last night. She's been clean all day. It's like when she used to dig up her litter box -- she does it when she gets into a mood. 

I've been very kind to Penny. I've put up with her antics and tried to give her everything and come up with a million ideas to try to suit her. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars not to mention countless hours on just trying to make her living space nice and comfy so she doesn't have wet feet and a wet, brown bottom (which she did when she first came home with me, now her bottom is clean and her tail is white). But nothing has worked because she keeps destroying everything in her environment (which is also Kirby's environment), so that's why she is in a cage at night now. Just remember that, guys and gals. It's not like I adopted her and two days later couldn't stand her and threw her in a cage. It's been 10 long months coming to this arrangement.


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## kirbyultra

myheart wrote:


> *kirbyultra wrote: *
> 
> 
> 
> Update: So of course now that Penny is confined to a cage she decides not to pee on the floor whic is the desired affect. But now she is into shredding newspaper. Litter and hay all over. And poop. And shredded wet newspaper. *I just can't freakin win with her.*
> 
> 
> 
> Maybe it's time to talk with an animal communicator about Pan-pan's habbits. We know she is more upset with more confinement, so now the problem is finding what will make her happyÂ to not make a mess anymore.
Click to expand...

Shrug... some days she does it, some days she does not. I dunno, I really wish I were a believer in animal communicators. I don't necessarily think it's hokey but it's not something I'm totally convinced of. I know some members on the forum have had great experiences with it. Me... I dunno, I'm just not quite a believer. 

She was clean last night. I threw her hay toy and her carrot chew block in her cage (I almost forgot to put them back when I was cleaning). But I think the toys were there both nights before too. I dunno! I really wish I knew what her deal was. 

One thing I do know - when she had an 8-panel xpen to herself she was monstrous and peed everywhere as much as possible. 6 panel xpen she peed less. And now in her cage she hasn't ever peed outside of her litter box (ironically). She has made a mess, but she hasn't urinated in the wrong place - yet! Smaller space confinement seems to be helping.


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## kirbyultra

January 27, 2011 

Today, my husbun and I were in the living room most of the evening spending time with Toby. And it made me feel super guilty that we've been holed up in the rabbit room playing computer games for the last few weeks. Toby *really* enjoys our company and he is so much happier and active when we are there. Even if he is laying on the floor, he lays where he can see us. If he is flopped in Le Chateau, he positions himself where he can see us and the TV. Toby's too cute. He really makes us happy. And he is a very good boy. I will make it a point to spend more time with him from now on.

Kirby-Wirby and Pan-Pan are having themselves a good time today as well. I gave them some cardboard boxes to play with and they knocked them around all night. Kirby's new coat has grown in nicely and he is absolutely stunning. Really, he is even more gorgeous than usual. That satin coat is what makes him King, for he is the most handsome bun of all the land. 

The rabbit nation is content tonight. Masters and slaves both. :hearts

:dutch


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## kirbyultra

January 30, 2011 - Gotta Get More Bunnies






I want her... she's so sweet. Oreo is a mini rex bun bun who is currently adoptable at our Petco location. She's been there for several weeks. Several weeks too many, if you ask me. She's absolutely wonderful. She is gentle, sweet, calm and a total lap bunny. She interacts very well with her fellow buns at Petco (through the pen). She's clean too! She would sit there and let you pet her forever. Oreo is super pretty, and she has a tiny bitty head on a normal size body - *Just like Toby!* 

Gee, wouldn't Oreo and Toby make an excellent couple? 

I was talking to my hubby about this in the car, and he was like, let's get her. LOL... no, there really is no restraint in this family. And then he said the thing that just about put me over the edge. "Let's name her Heidi!" Ahem, after Heidi Klum, the host and producer of Toby's favorite tv show: Project Runway!

Sigh... Heidi. I don't know who will be Toby's future wifebun, but my husband has a talent for names. She's definitely gonna be Heidi.

Here are some new pics of the boy bunners. 

Toby looking very unhappy as Kirby roams in the living room outside his chateau:










Kirby's new coat is very shiny and pretty





Kirby is convinced somewhere inside his box are some Craisins.





Kangaroo Kirby





Binky winky!





:dutch


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## Wabbitdad12

She is a real doll, she looks so sweet. 


> let's get her. LOL... no, there really is no restraint in this family


Better be careful, thats how I got to 15!


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## myheart

*Wabbitdad12 wrote: *


> She is a real doll, she looks so sweet.
> 
> 
> 
> let's get her. LOL... no, there really is no restraint in this family
> 
> 
> 
> Better be careful, thats how I got to 15!
Click to expand...


That's also how I ended up with more foster-buns than my own. Fosters =4 and my two girls for a total of six. :shock:Gonna catch up to you, Wabbitdad, one of these days!! 

All you could do is try a date with Toby and Heidi... Nothing wrong with that, is there? :biggrin2:


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## kirbyultra

Dave - LOL! Yes, it is easy once you start letting yourself have the buns you want, to end up with over a dozen. If I could have every bun that I wanted, boy, I would be in trouble. Literally, I would be in trouble. My allergies, my husband's allergies. We may die by rabbit. :confused2: But, what better way to go...?

And yeah, my husband and I were thinkin the same thing - what harm could come from a date? For all we know, Toby could hate her and that would be the end of our curiosity. Chances are, 90% that Toby will chase her around and it would be absolutely awful, so our hope of getting her could die right there. It might even be good closure for me. But in the 10% possibility that he gets along with her... I mean, that is a slim chance! But if it actually happened, we would HAVE to take her. There'd be no question! But it would be a huge health issue. 

With all the measures I've taken to minimize our allergy symptoms at home and all my allergy shots and meds, I've managed to be quite ok with three bunnies at home. My husband sneezes and has chronic stuffiness and post-nasal drip and he snores (which bothers me more than it does him). But we both pretty much say it's the price we pay for having three buns. We were PRETTY upset and miserable with ourselves after we got Penny and it's not a state I wish to revisit anytime soon. However, I can't help but wonder how much of it was attributed to the specific rabbit that we adopted -- Penny! She is a horrible mess and quite the hay monster. Oreo is the complete opposite of Penny in almost every way except for sweetness. 

As you can see, I keep trying to reason my way into getting her! I am just so afraid that if we do a date with Toby and Oreo that I will end up taking her home. And I would never ever forgive myself if I become one of those people who return bunnies because of allergies. 

Thus far I have resisted taking them for a date because of all the reasons I've stated, but more importantly, it's in the best interest of Oreo to get adopted by someone who will love her unconditionally. I mean, I would love her. I would absolutely love her for HER. It is different with Penny because I liked her, but I got her primarily so that Kirby would love her. I actually am in love with Oreo myself and if Toby liked her, it would be a bonus. I would easily keep her a single bun if they didn't work out. I would give her the best that I possibly could. But... I know in my heart that Oreo deserves someone who could devote their entire being to her. Someone who would spend 100% of their available time to loving her. I have 3 other rabbits and depending on how it goes, play time may have to be divided up. My attention would have to be split between them. Oreo is at Petco right now for a reason. She is highly adoptable and she has the best chance out of any of our shelter buns right now to get a good home. I shouldn't take that away from her...

So that's where my head is right now on the subject of Heidi-search. I don't know what will happen, but that's my thought process on it. *Big Sigh*

:dutch


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## kirbyultra

SOOOSKA wrote:


> Helen, I love your stories.Â  You express yourself so well.
> 
> I can feel for you regarding the pee.Â  Buttercup use to be a little brat sometimes with his pee habits.Â  I ended up buy flannelet sheets folding them with a plastic garbage bag inside of it.Â  I had aÂ few of them so when I had to change themÂ  I did. He never chewed at them so I never worried about him ingesting the plastic.
> 
> Looking forward to more pictures and stories.
> 
> Susan


Thank you, Susan. I am glad you stopped by Kirby's blog 

You are so lucky your bunner didn't chew at them. If only my Penny didn't chew, I wouldn't have so many problems. She pees, she's a messy digger, and to top it all off, she likes to destroy things in any way possible. 

I have seen some improvement, though. Ever since we put her in the smaller cage, she's been a lot better. I dunno what it is about being in a smaller space, but she has not peed outside of the litter box *knock on wood!* I line the whole thing with newspaper and I line her litter box with another layer of newspaper. I decided not to put pine litter in there like I usually do because the box is too small (in order to fit in the cage) and she fills up the box with poop _daily_. I kid you not. Full. Daily. Of Poop! So I clean her litter box daily.

This whole thing has me thinkin that's probably why when she was a shelter bun that I never noticed she was such a messy girl. She was in a small cage! She probably pooped and peed where she was supposed to, just like she is now! When I gave her a bigger comfy space to live in, she went all over the place. It is super sad to see her wiggling around trying to get comfier in the small space, but she is super neat now. Every once in a while she'll dig the newspaper that is lining the cage, but she doesn't dig the dirty litter box. And she also stopped banging on the door. She also now knows feeding time = time to go back in the cage. She flies back into the cage in a jiffy when she hears the pellet box rattling. She doesn't seem upset by the cage anymore. *shrug* 

When she's out most of the day, she doesn't behave any differently, but so far she hasn't peed on the floor. I even put up a hay rack in Kirby's old hay spot inside of his condo. I previously removed it because Penny would park herself in front of the rack, eat hay, and poop right there. Now, she eats from the hay rack but she doesn't poop there! Cross my fingers -- maybe this cage thing is working! Oh, and I did think about the possibility that she was pooping and peeing outside her box before because I wasn't cleaning her box every day. But, in fact I DID clean her box daily very early on when I first got her because that is what she was used to at the shelter. It didn't work, she still went everywhere. I do think it has to do more with the amount of space she has available.


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## kirbyultra

February 4, 2011 - Toby's Second Favorite Nap Spot

Toby's favorite spot in the world in his little wooden box. It's where he has been sleeping since he was a few weeks old. He has outgrown this box already but I can't seem to find a larger replacement and I think that I would severely punished if I were to take it away. 

However there are days Toby likes to go to his vacation home, AKA "The nook under the couch". He has a spot that is enclosed on 3 sides underneath the couch and he has always loved to hideout there. He occasionally chews the bottom of the couch but it's never been a huge deal for us. Well today I discovered that Toby tore off a large portion of the fabric that is stapled to the couch. Thankfully the fabric isn't that usual stuff with fiberglass and other polyester blend. And I didn't know this, but there is a zipper sewn in that fabric, for god-knows-what reason. But Toby chewed up the zipper, chewed up the fabric. The about 1/4 of the whole thing was hanging off. Took me 2.5 hours and a lot of pain to sew that thing back on. I am almost guaranteed to see that piece of fabric hanging off again as I'm sure Toby will like to chew my poor tailoring. There are few things tastier than loose thread. 

Toby went with me to my mom's last night. And he was such a good boy!! He got oohed and ahhed at, poked and stroked. LOL! He was such a perfect gentlebun. He got lots of treats and lovin' but he probably got revenge when he decided to tear up the couch. 

Tomorrow I'm taking Penny and possibly Kirby with me to my aunt's place. There'll be many kids there so I'm sure they will get lots of attention. While my instinct is to leave Kirby at home, I do think that some exposure to people is a good thing for him. 
:dutch


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## kirbyultra

February 9, 2011 

*Lots to Say But Then Again, Not Lots to Say...
* Whoops, haven't been updating the Kirby blog! Well, that's because there isn't a whole lot of drama to report. Everyone, everybun, and everything has been quite fine lately -- knock on wood! It's been great to have a calm time when I know how each bun is going to be and I don't need to be racking my brain to figure out what to do about problem XYZ. 

*Lady Penelope Anne* has been doing supremely well in her new cage. She has only peed on the floor of the cage a couple of times, and she goes almost exclusively in her litter box (or Kirby's). Again, god willing, my floor is going to stay dry with this arrangement! The relationship between she and I has been improving because I'm not so mad at her daily anymore. We've been having some real sweet snuggles.

*Sir Toby *won't be picking up a girlfriend, for now anyway. For a while I was kind of obsessed about the bun named Oreo who is one of our shelter buns. She is still adoptable, but I just have a feeling that she is destined for a great home who will love her oodles and give her 24 hours of love and attention each day. Toby's new coat is growing in and he is just beyond cute! He's still shedding quite a bit but it has tapered off significantly. I brought him to visit my mom last week and boy, he took it really well. It was heart-warming for me because he was nervous and scared in the beginning and he kept clinging to me. Awww, my wittle baby loves mommy. :hearts:

*King Kirby* is at his softest this time of year. He is finishing his molt (with a tiny bit of cactus butt left) and so when you pet him, your hand just slides off him... he is soft, sleek and gorgeous. Truly the most beautiful bun of all the ages! I brought Kirby and Penny over to my cousin's place last week and the kids loved playing with them. The buns, not so much, but they did really well for all the noise and commotion they had to experience for several hours. Kirby did surprisingly well, and I think Penny being there was nice for him to lean on.

That's all for now from the Rabbit Nation!

:hearts :dutch


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## kirbyultra

February 10, 2011 






Comment/reply? You know you want to 

The Toby Facebook Fan Page


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## myheart

Wow!!! :shock: Such a big stretch from such a little bunny!!!


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## MILU

I'm glad to know that Penny has been a good bunny to you. Today I was thinking about it and even thought maybe a little vase with some grass could inspire her to use it as a restroom (perhaps bunnies would prefer to do it on earth?) but it's great news that she already adopted the littler boxes!
Toby would be so happy with some company, don't you think? I think he's extra cute and would like to have a mate, after all, he sees Kirby all happy with Penny..
I'm sure Kirby loved to have Penny around when the kids were playing with him. He probably thought "at least there's one of my species", heheh.. I thought I wasn't getting emails about the updates but it seems like this year you're not posting as much as last year. It was nice when you always posted pics and stories of the bunnies.
I still have a folder on my computer with the pics I saved from here to show to everybody these beautiful bunnies that I know through the internet! Their stories are famous in this corner of the world, too.


----------



## MILU

kirbyultra wrote:


> February 10, 2011
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Comment/reply? You know you want to
> 
> The Toby Facebook Fan Page



I saw this pic on your Facebook profile!


----------



## Nela

Awww what a cute photo! Hehehe. I think you did the right thing with limiting Penny's space. You know, that's what you're supposed to do when you first start litter-training so it really can make a big difference. Most bunners do have that natural instinct to use one corner when in a smaller place because they do not like to sit in it and be so close to it etc. Give them too much space and it's a free-for-all for certain bunners. I had a very destructive bunner in the past and there was just no other way... If it works for you as it did for me, you could try augmenting the space again gradually so only adding a bit at a time and adding more once she's kept up the litterhabits. I have terrible allergies so I sincerely feel for you and understand how important it is that you don't end up with pee, hay, and poop everywhere. You do what works best for you and don't feel bad about it. 

Hoping to hear more from you and the bunners soon :biggrin2:


----------



## kirbyultra

February 23, 2011

Thanks everyone who replied! I'm glad people are still sorta reading King Kirby's blog. I have been *awful* at updating it this year. I still take tons of pictures but just haven't had the time to post them up here, although I do put them up regularly on Facebook. Especially if they are pics of Toby, they almost always go up on Sir Toby's facebook fan page that same day. Toby is using social networking to fuel his rabbit nation revolution. :biggrin2: You, too, can join the movement here! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sir-Toby/182307178454810?ref=ts

The buns have been really good lately. Penny hasn't peed outside of her cage very often at all. She's done it once in a couple of weeks so that is a huge improvement. She pees a little bit inside her cage, and sometimes she misses the litter box. But by and large she's doing quite well. I don't think that I will modify this set up. Honestly, this set up was 10 months in the making and now that it's finally gotten to this, I don't want to break what is not broken. It's a little cramped but she enjoys many, many daylight and nighttime hours roaming the rabbit room with her beloved Kirby.

Kirby is still very demanding of me and Penny when it comes to getting his petting quota filled. He is such a little sweetie pie. I still find myself falling in love with him every day. I don't know what it is about this rabbit. Maybe he and I just have that special connection. I cannot even tell you why I love him so much and fell so hard. I just do. Every little thing he does is precious in my eyes. *sigh* :hearts:

Toby's birthday is coming up next month. He's going to be 2 years old! *gasp!* My little bitty baby is going to be two?! I can't believe it. He has come such a long way from the feisty, naughty bunny baby he once was. Every once in a while that mean streak still comes out to ear-slap me across the face, but most of the time now he's just wonderful to be around. He ear-slapped me hard just yesterday. But just about daily he will gnaw the bars to get my attention. He loves to be petted on his head. He's not a cheek-rub kinda bun. He tooth purrs to let me know he is having fun with me. I just can't believe he'll be 2 years old soon. In my heart he's always my little baby Toto.

Hopefully I will get some picture updates shortly. Ummm I'll aim to get them up before the end of the week. I am so lazy LOL!

Hope everyone and everybun is doing well out there!

:dutch


----------



## Nela

If I harass the crap out of yo, you'll post. LOL! I'm glad all is working well. I agree, why break what's not broken. I'm glad you and Penny have resolved your differences. Hehehe. Awww a special bunny birthday coming up! Time sure does fly :shock:

So...

Got pictures yet?


----------



## kirbyultra

Nela wrote:


> Got pictures yet? Â


LOL! Yes you got me.


----------



## kirbyultra

wuv wuv wuv





Sir Toby, getting bouncy on my couch. Oops, I'm sorry, I meant HIS couch.





What a handsome little face. I love his cheek pouches














Toby's Valentine's Day bouquet





Kirby is caught in a moment of foodiness





The new coat is really pretty





Bunny butt!





:dutch


----------



## Wabbitdad12

Looks like Toby is trying to run away from the paparazzi!


----------



## Nela

YES! It worked! Much easier than expected too Awesome pictures! I'm so glad you posted.Toby is soooo gorgeous and Kirby is just stunning. I love the picture of the bouquet :biggrin2:Thank you for sharing!


----------



## kirbyultra

Wabbitdad12 wrote:


> Looks like Toby is trying to run away from the paparazzi!


Hehe! Yeah, Toby is a rabbit celebrity, he's always running


----------



## kirbyultra

Nela wrote:


> YES! It worked! Much easier than expected too Â Awesome pictures! I'm so glad you posted.Â Toby is soooo gorgeous and Kirby is just stunning. I love the picture of the bouquet :biggrin2:Â Thank you for sharing!


Aw, thanks! I am glad you enjoyed the pics. I should really post them up more often. My darling fur babies get their picture snapped all the time. My laptop ran out of space because of all the pictures I took. No kidding, I had to move them to another drive!

There's more to come. Yesterday, my husband and I were food shopping and he saw a box of wheat grass for sale. It was grossly overpriced and I can grow them myself, I've just been lazy to do so. He bought a box for our buns and they love it! It's very cute to see them chomping down on grass the way bunnies were meant to do


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## kirbyultra

Here's the wheat grass hubby bought.





Here's Toby, unsure of whether the new goods are safe to eat.





The sample proves to be quite good!





Nom nom nom!









"haf i gwown a gween veard?





King Kirby prefers his parsley. 





It's funny because Kirby will only eat the grass if I feed it to him by hand. :rollseyes What a demanding royal bun.

Some lettuce for dinner as well. Boy, lettuce has been expensive lately.





A moufful of the good stuff





I tried to get a picture of Penny enjoying the grass but she ate it...um, way too fast! I only got a pic of her chompin on some parsley.





Some treats husbunbun got the buns from Japan. Dried papaya!





Oh, the spoilage has been great.

:dutch


----------



## Boz

love love love your blog!!!
Penny sounds like Dolla. She's a pain!!! She pees all over anywhere and it's ridiculous and I'm tired of it. I feel bad that all three are stuck in a smaller cage because of her but I never thought of what you did, with just separating Dolla into a smaller cage at night. I might try that.


----------



## kirbyultra

Thanks! I am glad that my ordeal helps someone get through it, maybe lol


----------



## Nela

Bahahahaha I LOVE the pictures of the bunnies with such big mouthfuls. Awesome! Thank you for posting them :biggrin2:


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## MILU

I love your bun-buns and their stories!!! I'm trying to get a new bunny for myself. Hopefully my mother will change her mind and let me have one (she took care of MILU for me and said she won't anymore, so I depend on her approval to go get a bun). What I do is looking at your bunnies pics (and Naughty Clan's Helen too) and dreaming about all these lovely bunnies! I love them, they're so cute! Btw, didn't you bring Oreo home? I'm curious about what happened to her, if she got a nice home with good "slaves". I hope she did. She sounds like the perfect bunny to have at home. I'd take her if I could!
You should definitely post more pics and updates about your babies, you are really a good writer and maybe you could write a book about your memories as a vassal in the Rabbit Nation... I'm sure it would be a blast!


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## Wabbitdad12

Great update, for royalty the price of the wheat grass is irrelevant.


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## kirbyultra

March 7, 2011

I.... do not know what to say about this. I am just speechless. She's made a cape out of hay. 

Please, someone! Caption this! 







:dutch:confused2:


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## Dragonrain

Haha that's so cute!


----------



## kirbyultra

Penny has been in another one of her moods that piss me off... she's taken up digging again! Because of her current set up, digging causes minimal damage but it's a habit I still don't want her to think is ok. Unfortunately I had just changed my clothes, and of course now that I had on clean furless clothing I had to pick her up and sit her on my lap to try to snap her out of digging mode. And while I had her, I thought, what the hey, I'll just clip her nails. 

After that I was so furry that I thought, oh well, might as well do Kirby's. And that went so smoothly that I decided why not go all the way and do Toby's too? 

All the buns fussed a bit but they each got 2 pieces of papaya when they whined. Cooperation can be bribed! 

I got to squeeze and hug my babies all over during the pedicure. I just love cutting their nails.


----------



## Dragonrain

Ick I hate cutting my bunnies nails. I'm always sooo nervous that I'm going to cut too short and hurt them, especially with Barnaby because his nails are black and I can't see the quick.

If you find a way to get Penny to stop digging make sure you share! Berry is obsessed with digging and so far I haven't found any way to convince her to stop.


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## MILU

haha I love the pic with Penny covered in hay! I think it should go to the caption contest, it's so funny! We'll never know what's in her mind though. And I wonder how she did that - how did she lift all that hay and how did it all go to her back??? 
It must be some sort of magic 
:bunnyheart


----------



## kirbyultra

I went to grab my camera when she was completely covered. She was totally under the hay, like she was digging for treasure. You couldn't see her. The picture would have been Kirby sitting next to a mound of hay. But when I came back with the camera, there she stood with only a small cape of fur. I suppose the rest of it fell off? I don't know. All I know is she's ridiculous.


----------



## kirbyultra

Dragonrain wrote:


> If you find a way to get Penny to stop digging make sure you share!Â  Berry is obsessed with digging and so far I haven't found any way to convince her to stop.



I just try to shake her out of the digging mood. Whether it's distracting her with food, or locking her out of the area where the litter box is, or just plain picking her up so she spends time away from the dig site... it works temporarily, until the next time she feels like digging. But if I leave her to her own devices, she would dig and dig until the litter box was in shreds and garbage was everywhere.


----------



## Dragonrain

Yup yup that's what Berry does too - makes a huge mess digging up all the litter all over the place...even when every little speck of litter is out of the litter box she'll still dig dig dig against the plastic bottom of the box. Crazy girl. Distracting her works temporarily I guess but it doesn't usually stop her for long enough to even be worth it - as soon as I leave her alone or the food is gone she goes back to digging.


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## MILU

LOLOL _ I'm laughing so much imagine the scene of Kirby aside a bunch of "hay" hahahaha
How great it must be to have those 3 bunny stars at home! The days are never the same, there's always something new (and cute!) going on...
You should post a video of Penny digging. My internet has been working better, I'll be able to see it


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## myheart

"But Honey, it's the latest fashion rage. Toby said he sawmodelswear this on that program he likes, 'America's Top Model'..."


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## MILU

hahah - Janet, you're so right! Rabbits obviously know more about fashion than we do!


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## kirbyultra

March 26, 2011 - Hey! I'm back

Haven't I been just awful!? Yes, I totally have. Shame on me. Bad blogger. Bad!

So, important items first: Toby turned 2 on March 15. Yeah! He's two years old. My baby bunny! He's growing up so charmingly. He had a great time. I made him some Toby cookies of course. He gobbled up many of them. 

baby:





now: 




Aw, ain't he handsome?!

All the buns have been super duper lately. No major changes in their lives or set ups or anything like that. I've been happily cruisin' along, enjoying their wonderful company  Look at them! They're so silly. They bring me uber joy in life.






















It's spring time so I figured it was appropriate to grow my buns some wheatgrass. I also wrote an article in the NYC RRR quarterly newsletter, which is coming out soon!





More of my beautiful Toby





Kirby getting more love





Kirby has been flopping a LOT lately. Penny seems less than impressed.





Kirby is so comfy that he doesn't even care that his feet are sticking out of the pen.






:dutch


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## funnybunnymummy

Omigosh, look at the happy little rabbits! Love Toby's little spot on his nose. And LOVE all the pics of Kirby and Penny snuggling. So sweet! Makes me want a little wife for Gus all over again. :bunnyheart

Rue


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## Wabbitdad12

:birthdayHappy belated BirthdayToby!!!arty:





I love this picture of the King and Queen.


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## myheart

I was going to say that it seems like Kirby is flopping more than he did pre-Penny. Good for him being so relaxed and in love. That's the way it should be... My Patrick would have agreed that somebun special make the world so much better.

Toby is so darn sweet. It is hard to believe he is two years old already! Such a fuzzy-baby-bunny picture!! Don't you wish they would stay small and fuzzy like that? Glad to hear he had a good birthday with lots of nibbly goodness.

:balloons:*Happy Birthday Toby!!
*


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## hln917

I love Toby's picture when he was a baby. He still has the baby face, which is what makes him so cute!

Think you should start a garden on your rooftop!


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## kirbyultra

Thanks for all the comments! 

Yeah, Toby was very baby-like when he was little. He still has a darling little baby face, though. When he sleeps, he looks just like he did when he was a wee lad.

This is my fave picture of Kirby. He looks like he could not be happier.


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## JadeIcing

Hey how are you guys?


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## myheart

*JadeIcing wrote: *


> Hey how are you guys?



:yeahthat: 

:wiggleTalk about _my_ needing to add pics to _my_ blog.... 

(Sorry, I'm not on FB to friend any-bun to see pics.)


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## MILU

[\quote]
baby:






now: 




Aw, ain't he handsome?!

[/quote]

Aw, Toby was the CUTEST baby bunny ever, and he is still the cutest baby bunny ever! 2 years old, he is still like a baby bunny! Really cute! I love all other pics too, esp. of Penny with Kirby laying down with his feet out of the pen.
:dutch 

HAPPY BELATED B-DAY, TOBY!!
:balloons: arty: :birthday :balloons: et:


----------



## Wabbitdad12

Happy belated birthday Toby, you are such a handsome guy.


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## kirbyultra

LOL you guys are killin' me!   

I miss you all. The bun buns have not gotten their due attention from their fans. I am to blame!

Here is a Toby pic to tide ya over.

"ehhh...what's up doc?"





By the way! April 4 was Miss Penelope Anne's gotcha day! It was Penny and Kirby's 1 year anniversary  The happy couple is getting more loving every day  :hearts

:dutch


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## JadeIcing

Aww happy gotcha princess. Look at that mouth. Toby perfect like always.


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## MILU

Yes, Helen, we all agree that the bunnies need to be shown more  and need to have their stories told more too, because they're simply too cute and the world needs to see them more, and to know more of their stories! Facebook is ok, but Rabbits Online is where aaaaall the bunny lovers are!


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## kirbyultra

Whee! Video of Kirby on the day of my birthday :biggrin:


[flash=425,344]http://www.youtube.com/v/FfLZUx0R3RE&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]


----------



## MILU

Kirby is such a handsome bunny, I love his pics and I'm glad I can watch the video.
He's enjoying his meal and he eats so fast! Oops, I hope I didn't spoil it for those who will still watch it, hehe


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## myheart

Such a good eater he is!! Kirby is actually a dainty eater. My foster boy Oliver will take almost all of his cilantrointo his mouth at one time!!:shock:It's quite funny to seesooo muchcilantro sticking out of his mouth. I always tell him to be careful with such a mouthful, but he handles it just fine.


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## kirbyultra

Oh my, it looks like I will be traveling again. I've been totally traumatized since the last time I went on vacation. I fell so ill while on vacation last September that the thought of going away made me feel sick to my stomach for months after. It's only in the last few weeks that I've seriously entertained the thought of going away.

My hubby got a new job! We've both officially left hell (since we both used to work at the same firm) and he is looking towards a better future hopefully at a company nearby. Before he starts working there, we're going to visit his mom in Asia. And the timing really oddly worked out because she has been feeling really sick lately herself, and we happen to have this time to travel. She has a painful chronic condition and she's been pretty stubborn about sticking to her alternative treatments. I hope that we can help her when we are there. If nothing else, just to be supportive. I am not good with talking to humans. I am much more of a bunny communicator, really. I can look at the eyes of a bunny and more or less figure it out these days but set me in front of a depressed human being and I don't know what to say or do. I always just kind of end up feeling awkward and at a loss for words, or blurting out the wrong thing.  

The upside is that hubby owes me a lot of favors and a birthday present, so we are stopping over in Hawaii for a couple days on the way back. I hope I make it all the way because I'm really nervous about traveling still. I'm going armed with a lot of medications, that's for sure. And at least we speak the language where we are going and Hawaii is in the great United States of America! LOL

So that leaves just me and the anxiety that overwhelms me whenever I need to leave my buns... Time to set up the bunny webcams again!

What's been up with Toby? He's been a great bunny lately. He's truly becoming such a human-social bunny. He gets lonely when I am not around. Even when hubby tries to play with him, he sits there and tolerates being petted but after a few minutes he'll go searching for me. He tooth-purrs when I pet him and he really hunkers down for some lovin'. Toby is an unbelievably sweet rabbit these days. And he still has that famous baby face to boot! *swoon*:biggrin:

The only odd thing is that Toby has been peeing in the corner where his hay rack is located. He has only done it once ever before and it was months and months ago. I don't know what's triggered it but he's done it a few times lately... I'm gonna clean it up really well tomorrow and hope it erases whatever he is trying to cover up with his scent over there!

Miss Penelope Anne aka Pan-Pan, aka Penny, has been so god-awful about her litter box habits lately. I blame my hubby for ruining her routine one night and she's been having her own private pee-fest ever since. She's ruined the floor multiple times a day and she's peed all over her cage daily. Don't know what her deal is but literally 1 year ago when she came home with me she did the same thing. Maybe it's Spring Fever! 

And last but definitely not least, King Kirby... He is gorgeous and he's absolutely wonderful. He hasn't changed an awful lot in the last few weeks. He's just maintained his beautiful self and continues to be a happy, healthy, lovely bun bun. He still melts my heart in an instant. When I look at him, I know perfection exists in the world. 

And so, it's always hard to go on vacation, for any reason, to any destination. Leaving the buns for any amount of time is excruciating. I leave Tuesday... here goes nothing! *sigh!*

:dutch


----------



## Dragonrain

Good luck traveling! I hope things go well!


----------



## Wabbitdad12

I am glad every bunny is doing ok. Congratulations on your hubby's new job! That is great.

I am sure things will be ok on your trip. Sounds like a wonderful time ahead for you and your hubby.


----------



## kirbyultra

Thanks!!


----------



## MILU

Yesterday we went to the pet shop that sells bunnies and I told everybody about this website with cute bunnies and this one extra cute bun who once dressed a shark costume... heheh Toby is so cute! I told them about Kirby and Penny too, I told the stories about how bunnies live overseas (hehe) it was nice. 
Enjoy your trip and stay safe!
Did Toby get back to his usual w.c. routine?


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## kirbyultra

LOL Vivian, did the pet shop think we were crazy? 

Toby has not peed in the corner since yesterday. His carpet is still drying after I cleaned it so right now he is slipping and sliding inside of his Chateau de To.  Hopefully it'll be dry before I leave Tuesday so we can put it back. And then _hopefully _he won't pee outside his litter box again!!


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## kirbyultra

April 24, 2011 - Happy Easter!

I have pictures! But sadly, not great pictures. I did the most bizarre thing and busted up my DSLR's zoom lens. The lighting and focus is all messed up. But... here are the more acceptable ones.

Kirby and Penny didn't quite fit in the basket. Penny sat in there all freaked out for a minute but Kirby wouldn't have a moment of it. Toby is small enough to fit :biggrin:























And, for fun: Easter from 2 years ago:





Enjoy!

:dutch


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## Wabbitdad12

The pictures look great!, such cuties.

Happy Easter to you also.


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## MILU

My internet is crazy... sometimes it shows me the page without my post, so I write it again - if I repost, it's not my insanity, it's my internet!!

Btw, I guess I forgot to say congrats for your husband's new job!

Everybody liked the stories of your buns, I guess esp. the Halloween costumes part.  
They told me in the store that a lot of people buy bunnies for their kids thinking they're toys, then want to return them when they find out they got to eat, etc! I asked them to get my phone number but they didn't....  I'd gladly take one of those poor bunnies if I knew where they are! 
Anyway - It's always nice to hear the stories of the Rabbit Nation. I love your buns!!! They always put a smile on my face!

It's good to know Toby's alright with his restroom again 
I guess he wanted some more attention


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## hartleybun

am a FB fan of Sir Toby..tho' dont tell him Kirby and Penelope are just as adorable

oops..i mean Penny!


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## kirbyultra

April 26, 2011

Away I go! I already miss my furbabies


----------



## MILU

Enjoy your trip!


----------



## SOOOSKA

Have a great trip. 

Love the new pictures of your Beautiful Babies.

Susan


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## kirbyultra

May 15, 2011 - The Slaves Return!

I had a great trip this time and took many beautiful pictures to remember it by. I tried not to miss the bun buns too much. I think the only one who really missed me was Toby. Kirby might've missed me a little but he and Penny seemed to have bonded more in my absence. Since returning I've noticed that those two spend more day time hours together than they used to. It's incredibly cute!

Toby and Penny started to shed while I was away and they continue to shed now. I'm on high alert as a result, and watching both bun buns very carefully. So far so good. I got a batch of Kleenmama's 2nd cut timothy hay last week and I must say it is pretty excellent! Much better than my last box of orchard grass from them. The buns are eating it up like crazy and not a moment too soon.

Here are some of the pics of my trip... there's no particular theme or anything to them. I just thought these were pretty.




























But really, who cares about vacation photos when there are bunny photos!? 
Not a lot this time, just a couple ones I took this evening. 

Toby eating in his incredibly cute manner.





Kirby taking down a large piece of kale all by himself.





And that's all that the bad night time lighting would let me take this evening. I came home and literally the next day succumbed to cold and flu germs that were probably just waiting for the right moment to strike. I am glad I didn't come down with something while I was away and I made it all the way back before this bug took me down like a sledgehammer. I'm slowly getting better and just now able to get photos outta my camera and such  My bunnies are happy I can play with them again after being in bed so much the last few days! So I promise, more pics to come soon!

:dutch


----------



## myheart

So glad you're back!! I was thinking about you yesterday, maybe your return is why you came to my mind.

Good for you having a better time and not getting sick while away. I hope you managed to get a few things done before the flubug hit you. There is alway so much to do even after a _weekend_ away. 

Aren't bonded-buns beautiful?! I could never get enough of watching my kids snuggle. It is so comforting to see them happy and content. I bet Toby missed you, his girlfriend, terribly so. You're gonna have your work cut out for youself getting back on his good side. It's so special to be some-buns girlfriend...


----------



## MILU

Wow, those pics are very beautiful - not only the pics of the bunnies, hehe
I'm glad that the bunnies are happy, and after this trip, you must be too !


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## Wabbitdad12

I am glad you had a great trip.


----------



## kirbyultra

May 23, 2011 - 

All is going well in the bunny world. Better and better all the time, it seems. I hope I don't jinx it! There's been some increased digging but I think the buns need new toys or something. They might be bored! 

My husband found a bunny mama's day present for me on redenvelope.com and I absolutely love it. I got the 3 bunny version of this necklace. I love that you can pick 1, 2, 3 or 4 baby bunnies for the necklace pendant. Sorry Ali, they really couldn't fit any more than 4 bunnies on that pendant. LOL










:dutch


----------



## MILU

What a wonderful present that was!!!! What a great idea to give you a necklace like that!
I'm really happy to see pics of your buns, it's great to see happy animals being loved and taken good care of. I've recently got to know about animals (in general) for the food industry, I thought "farmers" would do whatever they could to ensure the animals had a great life (what else - in my mind - would make an animal strong and healthy if not love??) and I've found out that the truth is HORRIBLE! I'm shocked and want to help those animals... I'm willing to become a vegan and to do whatever else I can. I'm so sad to know that most people don't know or care about how animals are treated... but RO helps me smile and it's really nice to see pets like Toby, Kirby and Penny and I think and hope that some day everybody will treat animals as respectfully as you do.


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## JadeIcing

That is awesome. I would choose the one with three bunnies, for the three I have lost.


----------



## kirbyultra

*JadeIcing wrote: *


> That is awesome. I would choose the one with three bunnies, for the three I have lost.


That sounds good, Ali. :hugsquish:


----------



## kirbyultra

June 5, 2011 - Toby Attack

Prepare for photo barrage!













^^This one cracks me the heck up ^^









hee hee!

:dutch


----------



## MILU

We want more pics and updates about the cutesy bunnies of the world!!
:big kiss:


----------



## Wabbitdad12

In some of those photo's Toby looks like "mom, not when I have food in my mouth!" Very cute pictures of Toby though.


----------



## kirbyultra

June 21, 2011 - Toby Goes on a Date

So... the latest news is that I took Toby on a date with a nice girl named Autumn. She's a very wonderfully mannered, shy girl with short hair. Brown fur, white belly. She's super cute! 

Toby was scared out of his mind the whole trip to Petco where Autumn was up for adoption. He spent the entire time at Petco being cooped up inside a litter box and refusing to leave. There was a lot of commotion and my poor Toby has never heard so much noise before in his life. He was terrified and I was beside myself. I just wanted to scoop him up and take him home. Autumn got mad that Toby was sitting in HER litter box (she decided both litter boxes were hers) and she snapped at him twice. Toby was so scared he didn't even fight back. He tried to run away but you could tell that he was too scared to move out of the way. It's *very* unusual for Toby to be too scared to defend himself. Autumn backed off a few times and laid nearby him. She just kinda sprawled out, pretty relaxed. Toby was frozen solid in his spot. It was heart breaking to watch. 

So the date didn't go as bad as I thought it would. But it certainly didn't go "well". I'm in knots about this but I think maybe it isn't a good match. Toby was so frightened by the whole thing that he hid in a corner that he hasn't hidden himself in for years, the entire rest of the afternoon. He wasn't back to his old self till late last night. My poor baby   

I think I'm gonna back off of the 4th bunny thing for a while. I know Toby is lonely sometimes but I don't know if he is looking for rabbit companionship. He always was more of a people-bunny. And I am his person. :hearts

:dutch


----------



## hln917

Poor Toby. Hope he's back tohis normal self soon. Do you think you can bring Autumn home for a play date instead of taking him there? I'm sure the trip itself was already traumatizing for him and like you said all the noise at Petco afterwards. Perhaps he'll do better on a date in his own environment.

Then again if you think he's ok being independent, why cause disruption in his "land." :biggrin2:He sounds very much like Baci who is also a people bunny. Their are times when Baci checks out the girls thru the playpen and then I'm looking thru Petfinder for a friend. But as long as we play with him when he demands attention, I think he's fine being a bachelor.

Does hubby know you'reToby's :hearts?


----------



## MILU

I agree that maybe it's better to get a date for Toby at his own place, and that the trip as well as the noise and a strange place make bunnies feel awkward. Whenever I tried to make MILU socialize with other pets in strange places, it didn't go well and he got scared. I never had the chance to bring a bunny-friend to him here though. I hope everything is ok, Toby must be happy with all the love he gets from you


----------



## kirbyultra

Unfortunately dating at home is the worst possible thing you can do with Toby. He would be very territorial. Ihave some other ideas but will wait a while before pursuing a bun again. This Saturday is annual check up day for bunbuns... so I'm sure Toby will be upset again. Maybe a few weeks later.


----------



## hln917

You're taking all 3 buns? Good luck! Are you going to Dr. Gil? Took the girls to him last week. I really like that man. He's so patient and has a way with the girls to calm them down especially the"wild" one Cappy.:biggrin2:


----------



## kirbyultra

hln917 wrote:


> You're taking all 3 buns?Â  Good luck! Are you going to Dr. Gil?Â  Took the girls to him last week.Â  I really like that man.Â  He's so patient and has a way with the girls to calm them down especially theÂ "wild" one Cappy.Â :biggrin2:


Yep, all 3 to Dr. Stanzione! He's so much more affordable that we're willing to make the trip out there. We're going early morning so the traffic should not be bad at all. I like him better than my first vet as well. He seems to really get it and he never rushes you out of the office or anything.


----------



## Wabbitdad12

Its always nice to have a vet that is actually concerned instead of getting you in and out as quickly as they can.


----------



## MILU

Good luck there!


----------



## kirbyultra

September 15, 2011

It's been too long since I updated this blog for Kirby. 

Tomorrow I go away on a 4 day trip so the royals are going to have the court jester (their uncle) serving them for that time. I sure hope everything will go smoothly and no one gives me any heart attacks while I am unable to be with them. Toby finished his molt (whew! it was a long one!) but Kirby and Penny are still shedding around their bums, and a lot of furballs come off daily. Hopefully it'll be fine. If there's one thing Penny's taught Kirby, it is that eating tons and tons of hay is a good thing.

How's Kirby been? King Kirby has been doing spectacularly well. He is getting more royal by the day. Truly, everyone around him serves him more and more diligently as time goes by, including Penny. He is such a sweetheart. We all do it willingly  

He spent his 5th birthday being very, very happy being doted on by all the slaves. He got a big chunk of banana as a special treat. With every passing birthday, I get more and more somber. It is a reminder that my favorite boy in the entire world is getting older. I try not to think about it, but on birthdays it's hard to ignore. He is generally still quite active. He binkies when he is in the mood, but he doesn't bop around all over as much as he used to. I think in part it is due to him getting a little older, but also in part because he is just so comfortable with his environment. I haven't done any major rearranging of the rabbit nation in a while and there is no need for him to re-inspect his territory for approval. :wink He is just happy and healthy with life, I think. So for that, in this very moment, I am thankful. 

Penny is still on and off naughty, leaving her poops and urine here and there sometimes. But she has gradually improved overall. She is still a sweetie to people and to her beloved Kirby. My husband thinks there is something fishy going on between Toby and Penny because Penny often hangs out by the baby gate on one side and Toby hangs out flopped on the other side.... Curious, no?

And of course, Sir Toby has been living the fabulous life of young royalty. Toby is very lively and loves his human slaves more all the time. He loves to wait by the gate for me and he sometimes follows me around. I hit a really tough patch in my life lately and spent many, many days at home feeling down in the dumps. It was as if he knew I was sad. He was extra sweet, super well-behaved, and he always knew when I was saddest because he would come and beckon me to play. Toby always knows how to make me smile. He is a very special creature and there will always be a special place in my heart for this beautiful bun. It is really amazing to think how far he has come since he was a wascally wittle baby bun bun. :hearts

So I did my normal checks on all the buns today to make sure they were ready for my trip. Toby's nails were _really_ long so we had to clip them. While I was at it, I figured I'd do Kirby and Penny's too. Kirby went last and for some reason my husband clipped too close and Kirby freaked out. But Kirby often freaks out during nail trims so I thought nothing of it... until my shirt was covered in his blood! I was so scared, and my husband felt so terrible about it. He stopped bleeding pretty quickly and honestly he took it very well. We ceased trying to clip the rest because we felt so awful! Poor Kirby... I think he will be ok, but it breaks my heart to see him bleed!!! And tomorrow I have to get on a plane and not be able to see him for 4 days. How cruel! :X

:dutch


----------



## myheart

Hi Helen!!! :wave2

I was thinking about you lately, and here you are!! It's so cool when that happens; kinda freaks me out a little. 

Good to hear that every-bun is doing well. Might need a photo update though.... 

Sorry to hear that you were not doing well for a bit. I hope your friends and family were able to help you through it all. You know that you always have your friends on RO to help, if we are able to.

So where are you off to now? I am going toward Madison, WI this upcoming Sunday. Another one of my foster-bun-kids will be going to her forever home. This one is so bitter-sweet because she is such a funny/nice bunny that I am going to be broken-hearted when I leave her. One day I decided that I did what I was supposed to do in her life, said it out loud, and someone inquired about her shortly after. I almost wish I could take my words back....

I hope you have safe and fun travels. Be good to yourself!!

myheart


----------



## Wabbitdad12

Its always nice to get an update on the royals.


----------



## SOOOSKA

Hi Helen, great update, glad to hear all Bunnies are doing well.

I agree with Janet we need some new photos.:biggrin2:

Susan


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## kirbyultra

September 24, 2011 - When It Rains, It Pours

So I've just gotten back on my feet recently and feeling pretty ok. So as I mentioned before, my husband and I decided to go to California as planned, and visit my Mother in Law. While we were there she got a ton of bad news about her health so now we are having to travel back and forth between NY and CA to help her, until we figure out what to do long term.  Wish her the best of luck, everyone.

The bun buns are doing well but they are not liking the shortage of staff lately.






"Who's leaving this time?"





"I hear pineapples come from california! take me with you!"


















"I am very busy cleaning my coat" 





Toby gets more handsome by the day.





Miss Penny





Kirby heard that apples were in season. Bring them hither!





Something you almost never see. Kirby stealing from Penny's dish!





Honeymooning


----------



## Wabbitdad12

Great pictures and captions! I hope your mother in law gets to feeling better soon. 

I hope the care situation for her can be worked out without so much traveling for you and your hubby.


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## MILU

How I missed the Rabbit Nation, the stories and pics of your bunnies!! They're more and more beautiful! 
Lol it seems like you captured a very rare moment when Kirby ate from Penny's plate! Usually she's the one breaking the law and the order in the Rabbit Nation. It seems though that she's been playing according to the rules lately? 
Poor Kirby with his nail trimmed too short... sometimes it happens that we can't see well where to cut them... but nothing really bad happens because of that, just some discomfort. I bet he doesn't remember that anymore.
The pic of the honeymoon makes me laugh so much!! haha 
And Toby is always handsome, but even more when he's in a suitcase... haha
Keep posting, I love your blog!


----------



## jeanluc_pippen_merry

<3 your blog! 

Long live King Kirby! :biggrin2:


----------



## MarisaAndToby

Apparently all Toby's love suitcases 





I love the royals, and the "shark Toby" picture makes me laugh so hard everytime I see it.


----------



## kirbyultra

*myheart wrote: *


> Hi Helen!!! :wave2
> 
> I was thinking about you lately, and here you are!! It's so cool when that happens; kinda freaks me out a little.
> 
> Good to hear that every-bun is doing well. Might need a photo update though....
> 
> Sorry to hear that you were not doing well for a bit. I hope your friends and family were able to help you through it all. You know that you always have your friends on RO to help, if we are able to.
> 
> So where are you off to now? I am going toward Madison, WI this upcoming Sunday. Another one of my foster-bun-kids will be going to her forever home. This one is so bitter-sweet because she is such a funny/nice bunny that I am going to be broken-hearted when I leave her. One day I decided that I did what I was supposed to do in her life, said it out loud, and someone inquired about her shortly after. I almost wish I could take my words back....
> 
> I hope you have safe and fun travels. Be good to yourself!!
> 
> myheart


Janet, I hope your foster kid went to a beautiful home. The impact you have on the bunnies you foster are a gift from above to them.  It's hard to let them go, I know.

I was thinking of you and your sweet Patrick a lot right before I left for California, actually. You may not have seen it but there was a big ol' thread in the Rescue Me forum about a bun that a friend of a friend rescued and needed a long term foster home. I was scrambling for a couple days to try to set something up before I remembered the miracles that happen on RO. When I got the picture of Houdini, it just killed me because he was a brownish dutchie and so sweet. I have a soft spot for your sweet angel bun Patrick, and I still wonder if my life would have been different if I trekked out to you and scooped up Andy. I really wanted to just have Houdini for myself because it just seemed like it was meant to be that these people came to me, but the realistic part of me knew it wasn't the right time to bring a 4th bunny into my life. And thank god I did not because lately the stuff going on with my mother in law has us all scared and on our toes. It's hard enough if I had to arrange bunny sitting for 3 buns, but 4? And the 4th one being new and still adjusting...It would have been a disaster. In the end, Houdini ended up with our very own JimD, and *that* arrangement was a match made in heaven. I hope everything goes spectacularly there  But yeah, the whole time when I didn't know what would happen to him, Houdini was ripping my heart up with memories of Pat and Andy.


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## kirbyultra

*Wabbitdad12 wrote: *


> Great pictures and captions! I hope your mother in law gets to feeling better soon.
> 
> I hope the care situation for her can be worked out without so much traveling for you and your hubby.


Thank you, Dave  More tests and scans are being done tomorrow... hope we will know more soon. Fingers crossed.


----------



## kirbyultra

*hotmaildeal wrote: *


> How I missed the Rabbit Nation, the stories and pics of your bunnies!! They're more and more beautiful!
> Lol it seems like you captured a very rare moment when Kirby ate from Penny's plate! Usually she's the one breaking the law and the order in the Rabbit Nation. It seems though that she's been playing according to the rules lately?
> Poor Kirby with his nail trimmed too short... sometimes it happens that we can't see well where to cut them... but nothing really bad happens because of that, just some discomfort. I bet he doesn't remember that anymore.
> The pic of the honeymoon makes me laugh so much!! haha
> And Toby is always handsome, but even more when he's in a suitcase... haha
> Keep posting, I love your blog!


Hi Vivian! Yes, I have been very behind posting. But I will try to keep up more often now. 
Believe me, Penny is _still_ breaking plenty of laws and causing anarchy in the Rabbit Nation. Just not as often, but she will do it when I least expect it :shock: She is generally much more manageable though. 
My bunnies are sooo comfortable and happy with their lives that I am wondering if "something" is going to hit me in the face one day! It's *too* peaceful! But I am thoroughly enjoying a mostly-peaceful life with my babies!


----------



## kirbyultra

*jeanluc_pippen_merry wrote: *


> <3 your blog!
> 
> Long live King Kirby! :biggrin2:


King Kirby is happy to hear he has gained another loyal subject reading his blog :wink


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## kirbyultra

*MarisaAndToby wrote: *


> Apparently all Toby's love suitcases
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I love the royals, and the "shark Toby" picture makes me laugh so hard everytime I see it.


WOW! Classic! I guess Toby's like to travel :biggrin2:
Your Toby is so adorable. He looks like a toy in your avatar!!! Squee!!!


----------



## myheart

Thanks for thinking of me, Helen. Patrick and Luna are always on my mind. You wouldn't believe it when I tell you that I saw a bonded pair of tortie Dutchies and my heart almost lept out of my chest with every emotion possible. Two little tortie pajama-pants running around together...!!!:biggrin2: Some day it will be a whole herd of bonded Dutchies for me!

I wonder about things like you do also. What if I had said 'no' to my very first foster, Katie.... or my second foster, Andy.... or my third foster Charlie Bear.... I would have been thrilled to have met you for an Andy adoption, but it looks like you couldn't have found a better bond for Kirby. I don't remember seeing so many dbf pics of Kirby before Penney. I think you adopted the right bunny for the right bond.

I guess in the meantime I should really make room for another bunny though.... He looks pretty much packed and ready to go visit Auntie Jan. Just tell me when and where to pick him up.


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## kirbyultra

myheart wrote:


> ...I don't remember seeing soÂ  many dbf pics of Kirby before Penney. I think you adopted the right bunny for the right bond.
> 
> I guess in the meantime I should really make room for another bunny though.... He looks pretty much packed and ready to go visit Auntie Jan. Just tell me when and where to pick him up.Â


You are right about Penny. Those two bunnies absolutely adore each other's company. Kirby is very happy and relaxed. He DBFs on his own sometimes but more often than not he does it next to Penny. One time both of them plopped down next to each other (heads and backs to each other) and it was the most hysterical thing I'd ever seen! I couldn't whip out the camera fast enough to get a picture though, unfortunately! 

Toby? Toby's not going anywhere! I'm keeping all of his identification under lock and key so he stays with me!


----------



## kirbyultra

It just dawned on me that Halloween is coming up very soon... I'm not quite sure I can outdo last year's costumes... Especially Toby's. Remember Toby the Bee?


----------



## myheart

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> Toby? Toby's not going anywhere! I'm keeping all of his identification under lock and key so he stays with me!


But.... but.....he's all packed... You don't want to break his little heart by not letting him travel for a visit, do you?


----------



## kirbyultra

myheart wrote:


> *kirbyultra wrote: *
> 
> 
> 
> Toby? Toby's not going anywhere! I'm keeping all of his identification under lock and key so he stays with me!
> 
> 
> 
> But.... but.....he's all packed... You don't want to break his little heart by not letting him travel for a visit, do you?Â
Click to expand...

Toby traveling away from me would certainly break my heart


----------



## kirbyultra

Caption! Go!

:dutch


----------



## myheart

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> Caption! Go!
> 
> :dutch



Bunny vs. Parsley stem!! Who will win?!!!!

King Kirby defends his Rabbit Nation from the invading Greens one bite at a time!!!!

Helen, how do you always manage to get such neat pics of your kids?


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## jeanluc_pippen_merry

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> Caption! Go!
> 
> :dutch


Bahahahahahahaha! I think that's the best bunny pic i have ever seen! I can't think of a caption cause i can't stop giggling!


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## kirbyultra

myheart wrote:


> Helen, how do you always manage to get such neat pics of your kids?



Janet, you have no idea how many pictures I don't post! At some point I'm bound to get a funny lookin' one :biggrin2:


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## jeanluc_pippen_merry

I've been trying to snap a pic of one of my rabbits with their mouth open, but nothing yet. They always do it when i least expect it lol. >.<


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## kirbyultra

What, you mean like these? 












:biggrin:


----------



## jeanluc_pippen_merry

YES! ROFL

Rabbits are the funniest little things on the planet! xD


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## SnowyShiloh

Wow, I've never ever got a picture of my bun buns yawning! You're either very lucky, your bunnies are very sleepy, or you follow them around with a camera all the time 

Helen, I haven't popped in on your blog in a while and I swear I haven't noticed it being updated in the blog section even though it's obvious it has been! Does your blog have an invisibility cloak?!


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## funnybunnymummy

I've missed reading about the Royals. So glad to see some updates. 

Rue


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## Wabbitdad12

Great to see King Kirby and Prince Toby.


----------



## kirbyultra

November 9, 2011 - Kirby's Third Gotcha Day

Ah, it is once again King Kirby's Gotcha Day. I am sure he has no idea what day it is but it is one of the most worth-celebrating days of the year for me. Kirby means so much to me, and I think most of the people in my life don't even know how much. He is now 5 years old, hoppy and healthy! :biggrin: 

I can never express just how much I love him... so the best I can do is give him slices of bananas with smashed pumpkin on top as a present. He nomnomnomnom'ed it all up!!! The other buns got their fair share as well. Toby was only allowed pumpkin, though. His poops are a bit small this week so no banana for him. But it is hilarious to watch Toby's butt twitch when he eats his favorite treats!

:dutch


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## piperknitsRN

Hi, Helen: This blog is absolutely fantastic! (I stayed up last night reading 2009 and 2010). Love your bunnies and their stories!


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## Wabbitdad12

Happy (very belated) Gotcha dayKing Kirby! Long live the King!


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## kirbyultra

piperknitsRN wrote:


> Hi, Helen: This blog is absolutely fantastic! (I stayed up last night reading 2009 and 2010). Love your bunnies and their stories!



Oh! Thank you  I am glad that despite me being awful at updating it lately that someone's still reading. :biggrin: 

Wabbitdad12 wrote:


> Happy (very belated) Gotcha dayÂ King Kirby!Â  Long live the King!


The king is much pleased


----------



## piperknitsRN

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> piperknitsRN wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Hi, Helen: This blog is absolutely fantastic! (I stayed up last night reading 2009 and 2010). Love your bunnies and their stories!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oh! Thank you  I am glad that despite me being awful at updating it lately that someone's still reading. :biggrin:
> 
> Wabbitdad12 wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Happy (very belated) Gotcha dayKing Kirby! Long live the King!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> The king is much pleased
Click to expand...

Your Kingdom and its amusing characters have many fans... but I fear the masses may revolt if an update isn't posted soon :biggrin:.


----------



## kirbyultra

November 30, 2011 - It's the Holiday Season!

The buns have been living a very calm and peaceful fall/winter so far. Everyone's stopped molting (cross my fingers!) and so even the human slaves are enjoying time in the apartment without being assaulted by floating bunny fur  

I wanted to update today because I read something today and it just reminded me that I need to document everything with these bun buns... Here are some really nice moments that happened in October and November 

Sir Toby surveying the land from atop his cottage





He's not fat, he's fluffy!





Nobunny else is allowed here. This secret hiding spot belongs to Toby.





Pretty sure no one has a longer neck than Penny





Kirby giving Penny a peck





Bunny snorgling





King Kirby is passed out, very happy!!!





Lately, Kirby's been so relaxed while bunny-flopped that he doesn't even get up when Penny licks him.





Classic Toby Cuteness





Binky time!





King Kirby checking out Toby's Cottage. Toby is about to be very angry.





:biggrin: What beautiful babies I have. I feel like it took us 3 years but the Rabbit Nation is finally in some golden age of peace. 

:dutch


----------



## piperknitsRN

All hail the royals!

So very nice to see them "again".


----------



## kirbyultra

Oh my. I've been seeing Toby do some pretty weird things in the living room before but this morning he did the unthinkable. 

He broke through the rabbit proofing that's been protecting him from a TON of electrical wiring underneath the couch. I had the entire bunch of cables housed inside of a "hardboard" box. Toby's been apparently working on this for a while. He finally infiltrated this morning and I happened to be several feet away. I heard some rustling that didn't sound like any bunny business I'd ever heard before. Then I couldn't find him in any of the usual hiding spots. That's when my heart sank and realized he had somehow broken in. 

*sigh* ... lately he's been chewing the cheesecloth that is under the couch (again). I've been considering blocking him out from underneath there altogether (only a section of "under the couch space" contains cables, I let him nap under the couch because it's his favorite spot). I think it has to be done now. He's outsmarted it. Took him 2.5 years but he did it. 

Lesson learned -- your animals are unpredictable. Check on your rabbit proofing regularly. Make sure they are not working on a breaking-in project. Argh!

:dutch


----------



## JjGoesBounce

I don't have to rabbbit proof! Aren't I lucky!


Jj


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## Wabbitdad12

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> Took him 2.5 years but he did it.


One determined bunny.

I love the pictures, I am glad the paparazzi is always around.


----------



## JjGoesBounce

Oh very very cute! I saw a rabbit that looks exactly like Kirby at our SPCA! Freaky!
Jj


----------



## kirbyultra

Quick update - December 14, 2011

Penny stinks. Literally. We did her scent glands today and by the time we were done, I felt nauseated.... It's *really* strong stuff. Toby's was not as bad but still stinky. Guess who's a clean rabbit? King Kirby. I love that rabbit!!!! 

Toby is still acting crazy and pawing at the rabbit proofing. He's so angry these days but I think it's because I was forced to block him out of his napping spot under the couch. It's his fault for being so smart and breaking through the proofing. But I'm sure it's my fault for being a bad slave.  Poor Toby 

:dutch


----------



## kirbyultra

December 28, 2011

I have pictures! But I will post them in a tiny lil bit, promise. 

I've been like a crazy bat lady lately, mostly because of lack of sleep. Lots of things have been happening that's making me very nervous about all my bunnies. We did a makeshift thing with our proofing so that Toby could still run in the living room and not get into the electric wires. But he has been so fixated on getting into it still. Some friends' bunnies have been ill. I had some nightmares about things happening to my bunnies. Toby just started to shed again and he seems to always have tummy problems sometime through his molt. I'm really on edge about the whole thing.

So my husband swooped in and saved the day by making another improvement to the rabbit nation. The barrier under the couch that shields the buns from wires is now made of metal baskets. No way that they can chew through that!!! It was a rather simple solution. Just cost us some money buying metal closet baskets with the right height to fit under the couch. I'll have to take some pics of this set up. It's weird but it works!

The buns had a great Christmas. They got their presents early, which were tunnels. Toby's been so nutty lately since he lost his fave nappy spot under the couch. He found a new favorite place inside one of the cardboard tunnels.  Pics of that soon.

Penny's finally _stopped _shedding. Her new coat is fantastic. She is finally what I would call "soft"!  Quite luxuriously soft, in fact, because she has a very thick coat!

So that's it for now... in a few I'll post pics.


----------



## kirbyultra

Pictures!

King Kirby, chillaxing with Penny.






Fun times in Tobyland









Toby is very angry while Kirby and Penny play













And just a random pic of my heart Kirby.





:dutch


----------



## Wabbitdad12

Wonderful pictures, I have now had my cuteness fix.

Did you buy the tunnels at a local store?


----------



## MILU

Is this Toby ready to come here? Tell him if he needs a vacation in a tropical country, I have experience bunny-sitting and I'm currently hiring bunnies on vacation to spend some time here. He meets the requirements: being cute, fluffy, adorable, etc etc etc!! 
:inlove:

And I love all the pics of the bunnies yawning, you have a lot of talent to be able to take those pics (I remember you had more, I guess on another blog here?) I could never get a pic like that. It's like you're there at the right moment, or that you can tell "bunnies, yawn now" and they do it for you..!

Btw, I hope you had a fabulous xmas, sorry for the delay.. the tunnels are awesome gifts for the bunnies!! Wow, so much fun!!

At least I won't be late to wish you a happy new year, I hope you have a very happy 2012! 

arty0002:


----------



## kirbyultra

Yes, Dave, the tunnels were purchased. The cardboard one (which is fantastic for chewers, btw) is a bit pricey but well worth the money. Binkybunny.com sells it. The plastic purple one scrunches up and is easily stored and cleaned. I bought that at my local Petco. My buns were cautious about the plastic one at first (since it rolls and is slippery if they're not careful). Toby likes to sleep in the cardboard one now.

Vivian! If Toby were to go on vacation, I'm sure he wouldn't mind a new slave pampering him  

Happy New Year everybody and everybunny! 
:toast:


----------



## MILU

Whenever any of your bunnies needs a vacation, please ship them to me!


----------



## kirbyultra

March 22, 2012 - Boy it's been a while!?

Picture and bunny update! And Toby turned 3 on March 15. He has grown up even more mellow and lovely, if you can believe it. Penny's Gotcha Day is coming up soon. Kirby is turning 6 this summer. I can't believe how fast it's all happening!!!

More exciting news: The Rabbit Nation is moving soon! Our family just purchased a lovely home in the suburbs and it'll be a couple months before we can move in but we have a lot of great plans for the buns. They will have a lovely backyard to play in (within an top-enclosed pen and under close supervision!). And they will get their own rabbit room. We're thinking of carving out enough room for a possible 4th bunny if Toby ever picks a girlfriend. I think Toby's going to be very very upset to have to share a room with Kirby and Penny. But I'm going to try and make it as separated as possible so he doesn't freak out all the time the way he used to when he was in the same room as Kirby. We're having the place done specifically as a bunny room so it is FOR them. And we can renovate the place so that fur and hay and stuff stays in there, so my husband and I can enjoy the rest of our home allergen free. But, of course, I'm making sure that the bunny room has a comfortable seat and tv so I can hang out in there with the bun buns and play with them as much as I want. Toby needs to watch Project Runway so a tv is a must  I have high hopes for the room but we'll see how budgeting goes! 

Kirby and Penny are very good. They both seem to be lazier than before but then again Kirby is at least middle aged by now and Penny isn't much younger than him. They seem happy with each other but I do still see a lot of spark in their eyes when they play and binky. Very happy and playful bunnies. Just a bit lazy!

Anyways, on with pictures.

Sir Toby, in all his glory






LOL - Kirby guarding his wooden block from Penny even as he sleeps


























King Kirby taking a bunnap in the morning on the highest part of the Rabbit Nation


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## JadeIcing

Vey nice to hear an update from you.


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## ZRabbits

Wishing the Rabbit Nation health and happiness in your new Home. 

Love your Kirby "sleepy" pics. Reminds me how comfortable Willard sleeps. 

Beautiful bunnies and truly well loved. Hope you update when you all reach your permanent destination. 

K


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## candykittten

You have beautiful bun-children


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## MILU

haha how funny that Toby has picked his favorite tv show and can't go without it... I love the pics, it's nice to see the Rabbit Nation back here!


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## myheart

Wow!! Am I behind on news!!

A HOUSE!!! How cool is that?!!! Congratulations! Are you all moved yet, since it's been a few months since you posted? I am so excited to here about the new diggs for the kids. I do hope they will adjuste easily enough.

:biggrin:Good for you!!!


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## kirbyultra

*Sooo It's Been A While!*
Hi everybun! So sorry I've been MIA for the better part of 2012. But, it's January 1st and no better time to try and start over than right now. 
First things first - the buns, of course. Kirby, Toby, and Penny have officially moved and they are now all living together in one room. The Rabbit Nation has been reunited. Toby isn't very happy about it but we've been trying to make it comfortable for him. The transition wasn't completely seamless. Kirby and Penny took the move much better than Toby did. He did give us a bit of a scare because he stopped eating his pellets a few days, then only nibbled at it a tiny bit each day for several weeks. He became noticeably thinner, but he was still eating hay and lettuce in healthy portions, so I figured it was probably just stress. Toby is pretty bonded to me and with the move, I was busy in the human parts of the house so I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked with him. It's pretty much my fault that he was a bit depressed. Poor baby Toby! 




Kirby and Penny were scared at first but Kirby was the first to bounce back. I'd never have guessed it. I predicted that Kirby would be the one to take it the hardest but he just started adapting and conquering the new land as if it was his born right (and I guess it is!). Penny was the other one I ended up being worried about. I figured Penny would just take it all in stride but when we moved, she was absolutely petrified of the new digs. She sat in the same spot for days and days, only moving to eat hay, do business, and lick Kirby. Otherwise she would plant herself like a meatloaf in her spot. She's much better now but she is much more reserved about the new space than Kirby. 

We're still fixing up the rabbit room to be the way we'd like it. There are some pieces of their Leith condos that I'd like to replace but I just haven't gotten around to it all yet. I have even ordered the replacement parts (carpets, chew guards and such) and they're all just waiting for me to get to it. The buns are getting restless and they want to explore the rest of the room, but I am just not ready to release the buns yet. With some residual construction guys running around patching things, I don't want them accidentally getting hurt. I let Kirby and Toby out for a few minutes a night to run about, but they really only run out to terrorize each other from outside their cages. :headsmack
There will be new pics and things soon. The rabbit room is an impressive part of my renovation so I'm excited to show it off a bit :clapping: The buns are still very handsome and I'm sure the forum oldies will want to see them. There are tons of new members, I see, and I'm excited to read all about you and your kiddies. I hope now that my 9-month-long renovation is done, I'll have more time to pop into the forum. Happy new year, folks!

Kirby's Mom


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## Chrisdoc

Wow, just got through the whole of your story and have loved getting to know Kirby, Penny and Toby, what great little buns. Have loved all the pictures, I just adore those of the open mouths, I´m never quick enough to catch mine doing that. 

Can´t wait to see the bunny room and hearing more about the three of them, would be great if you decided to get Toby a little wifeybun, I´m sure he´d love it. 

I´m having issues with two of mine who´ve fallen out and we´re really trying to get them to make up with each other. 

Look forward to reading more on here, I have laughed at more than one thing as I´ve read through it all. 

They are such wonderful and complicated little rascals but I couldn´t live without them now.


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## Ilovemyrabbit

Wow, I just read through your whole blog. I love them all.

And I will definitely follow this blog.


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## kirbyultra

Aw, thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed reading about my precious bun buns. They are quite something!


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## MikeScone

Welcome back!


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## kirbyultra

Thanks, Mike! 

On a completely separate topic:

I just wanted to throw this out there, in case anyone happens to come by and was shopping for commercially sold rabbit housing ideas. I went through a whole bunch of different habitats for Penny because she still randomly pees places. I settled upon this cage for her to sleep in at night and she used it for a very long time. Midwest and Precision make this side door and top door cage. 








I bought the Precision one (above). The cage is nice but the floor being that mesh wire kind of thing made it obviously unacceptable for Miss Penny's footies. I bought a sheet of coroplast from a plastic store and cut it down to the right size so that it acted as a flat floor surface and had side pee-guards. The "catch tray" that it comes with the cage was virtually useless because of the layer of coroplast. But, ya know, I'm sure one day it'll be useful for something when life changes and bunnies create new challenges for me. The cage is a wee bit small in the sense that it's only like 18" in depth. For a bun of Penny's size, it wasn't super. The small litter box that fit in there had to be changed daily. But it was only a nighttime "bedroom" for her. I leave the door open during the day.

When we moved, I ended up getting her a new, though similar, cage for her that features 2 side-by-side walkout doors and a top door. 




This new cage was nice because the doors on the side actually pop off completely for a cleaner look when I want the door open (which is 95% of the time). The doorway itself is closer to the ground (only 1-2 inches high) and eliminates the need for a ramp. Penny has a weird gimpy leg (though the vet and x-rays don't show her having any bone issue). She doesn't like climbing up and down ramps. This cage was a nice lateral upgrade for her. It came with its own plastic tray so I don't have to cut any coroplast. The company also sells urine splatter guards made of sheet metal. I ordered a couple but found that the corners of the guards were a pointy 90 degree angle. If your bunny licks/chins everything or bumps into stuff, I don't recommend it. It might be better to just toss the built-in tray and cut your own coroplast to form a urine guard. My tray was actually shipped to me cracked and the Midwest customer service replaced it for me right away, free of charge. 

If you're considering such a rabbit cage, it's really not a bad choice. But as always, consider the size of your bunny and the amount of stretch room he/she needs and any special requirements of your bun when buying a cage.


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## MILU

I missed your updates here!


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## kirbyultra

Hi Viv! I am glad you are able to keep up with my bunnies on FB because I've been so awful at coming to the forum lol

I went and uploaded over half a year of highlights in pictures 2 days ago but then Photobucket went and changed their entire interface on me and I haven't figured out how best to efficiently post everything. And I had another half a year's pic highlights to upload. Work in progress! 

Well, to give another move-in update, King Kirby finally figured out how to hop onto the couch in the bunny room. Mmmyyyeahh it did not make Sir Toby very pleased. Whenever I let one of them out to run around the room all they ever seem to do is camp outside the other one's cage and go "neener neener neener" at each other. So, like a good slave, I went to Home Depot and purchased several sheets of clear acrylic panels in the window department. They are 18x24" which is high enough to block raging bunnies and just long enough to be easily clipped on each panel of the exercise pen. 

It was very effective because now I do not have to worry about them nipping each other through the bars, and it doesn't feel like I'm blocking them off and boxing them in. They get plenty of light because it's clear. But for the buns, especially Toby when he is the one who is inside looking at Kirby taunt him, it's hysterical. Toby can SEE Kirby walking outside his pen, but he can't SMELL him and he can't touch him anymore. He keeps smushing his face and nose into the acrylic and getting confused. The first time that Toby tried to bonk his head through to bite Kirby, Kirby realized that Toby wasn't able to... and I do not care what _anyone _says: Bunnies know what's going on better than we give them credit for. Kirby just about smiled in satisfaction. Plopped his royal bum outside of Toby's pen and sat there for a while watching Toby try and try and try in vain. LOL

I'm a bad slave for enjoying it. But it was funny, ok? Don't judge


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## Chrisdoc

Can´t blame you for laughing at that, they are so smart sometimes it´s unbelievable. Must go check you out on FB. I hate photobucket at the moment, everytime I try to upload a few photos, it freezes and freaks everything out, there must be something better out there. Actually, you´ve given me an idea as two of mine aren´t getting on at the moment and besides, another has found a way to escape so that would be better as I´m using a very large piece of cardboard at the moment but hate that they can´t see through it....off tomorrow to look for some of this, thanks.


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## Chrisdoc

Can you post the link to your FB page, I have seen it on here but can´t remember how far back and I´m feeling lazy today to search through onder:


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## kirbyultra

Facebook pics, courtesy of Sir Toby: http://www.facebook.com/SirTobyBunny?fref=ts

The acrylic pieces are nice. I have found them in several different Home Depots in my metro area, and they have always been near where they sell windows, which is usually next to where they sell doors. A lot of the sales associates have no idea what I'm looking for when I ask, so you might have to look around! The clear plastic sheets come in acrylic and polycarbonate and they're used to replace glass panels in windows so they're typically cut in standard sizes (24x48, 24x32, 24x18 and the like). They also come in different thicknesses and price varies wildly. I go with the thinnest one to save some money.


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## Chrisdoc

Actually, I live in Spain so will have to have a look around although I have a builder friend who will probably have some spare or will be able to point me in the right direction. Thatá for the FB link, I´ll have a look.


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## kirbyultra

Today, I spent a lot of time in the bunny room as I had a lot of paperwork to deal with on my computer. It was nice being in the space with the buns and seeing how they nap and stuff. In the hustle and bustle of daily life sometimes you lose the opportunity to see what our pets do when they are doing "nothing". 

Well, as luck would have it, I caught Toby flopping against the wall that he shares with the other two buns. He didn't unload himself very gracefully, I must say, and so he flopped with a big "bang"! It startled Penny from her nap and she went over to investigate. She saw him there, tried to sniff, realized the acrylic wall was there and so she just licked the floor near him instead. :rollseyes I swear, if Toby would give it a chance, he'd have Penny eating out of his paw. Really, she doesn't care. But he'd beat her up if it weren't for that wall. Toby just sat there, flopped, as Penny kept trying to show him how much she would lick him.

Not five minutes later, Kirby went out and hopped by Toby's front gate. Toby zipped over and lunged at him. Again, the wonderful acrylic wall prevented fur from flying, but he was clearly upset. 

Toby would tolerate the foolishness of Penny, but doesn't stand Kirby's presence for a second. Male rivalry? I'll never know.


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## kirbyultra

Here it comes!

Kirby and Penny sharing a carrot. Yeah right, as if a real carrot woulda made it past Penny.






Sir Toby getting a head scritch... and a rare look at his very warm, fuzzy chin









Nappie time





Kirby sleeping... Penny stealing his food. 





The triangle of bunnies (Toby on other side of the gate)





"I didn't do it"





This box of hay is spoken for


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## kirbyultra

Continued (hmm the new forum apparently limits posts to 10 pics per post. Egads that's going to be tough. x_x I post so many pics...)


Nommies of lettuce





More pics of Toby sleeping. Mostly because I never get bored of watching him sleep 





Kirby dead-bunny-flopped with no cares in the world





Toby loafing


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## kirbyultra

Halloween 2012 - Oh yes, it happened. And the buns were not happy about it. Me? I was hysterically laughing.

Banana's Revenge









Tobysaurus Rex





"RAWR! Get this costume off me!" anic:




:roflmao:


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## agnesthelion

Omg I love all the rcent pics. The one with the caption "I didn't do it" is my fave! I don't know why but expression on his face is awesome.

The costumes are pretty darn cute too. The dinosaur is fantastic! Now, how mad at you were they after that??? Lol


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## kirbyultra

agnesthelion said:


> Omg I love all the rcent pics. The one with the caption "I didn't do it" is my fave! I don't know why but expression on his face is awesome.
> 
> The costumes are pretty darn cute too. The dinosaur is fantastic! Now, how mad at you were they after that??? Lol



Haha, it's true, Toby does have one of the more "expressive" bunny faces around. 

They were PRETTY mad after that. Kirby looked butt-hurt but Toby was downright angry. :nope:


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## MikeScone

I bought one of those timber hide-a-ways for Scone way back when he was small, and he never went into it, not once. It became the step between the two levels of his cage, and Natasha uses it today - and she's never gone in it, either. 

Oh well, at least it gets some use as she hops up and down from the upper level.


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## agnesthelion

Mike...neither one of mine like any houses like that either


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## kirbyultra

When we got Toby, we bought that box on the same day. We thought it was a cheapy way to get away with not having to sweet up "cardboard box corpses" from their pens, but it ended up being a "bedroom" for baby Toby when he was 6 weeks old. He fit in the palm of my hand back then, the little thing. The box used to be such a cavernous space for him, but as you can see now, it barely fits his body. He tries so hard to fit himself in there! He still does if he tucks all his footies in and sits like a meatloaf. But more often than not, he kicks his legs out and naps freely. 

He used to also have a blankie lining it but he soiled it beyond repair. When we bought a replacement blankie he hated it and destroyed it  We tried getting him a different box but he was very upset that his old box was gone, so we leave it there for him. No place like home, I guess.





Kirby has one too, in his 3rd floor suite. But Kirby doesn't sleep in it. He sleeps ON it. Yes, the king must have the highest point in the land, like a proper ruler should.


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## Chrisdoc

Ahhh, I just love all the pics and Toby is one cool bunny. I love him sleeping in his box. I have a similar one that came with my Xpen and it´s Snowy´s favourite place now to bolt if there´s something he doesn´t like. It use to be in Bandy´s cage when he was little and he used to sleep in in and on it. He fits in it now but can´t stretch out like he used to. 

And yes, the "I didn´t do it face" is a classic. I missed getting a pic of Snowy doing that the day he bit the TV cable in two.


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## JBun

Toby looks so happy in his hidey box  It doesn't even look like he has chewed on it. My rabbits would have reduced it to wood chips.


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## kirbyultra

He never chews on his wooden box... but he has chewed everything else that is wooden, including his condo cage. :huh


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## kirbyultra

Pictures from this morning... Beware. There is *tongue *action!!!!

What Kirby thinks of picture time :brat:





And another tongue shot




















Looking for something?





Toby looking so, so cute.





Thought I had a treat for him, but I didn't. lol


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## kirbyultra

After Kirby finished breakfast, he went to Penny for kisses but she refused. So he looked pretty displeased to have to give her kisses.





Penny looks like she doesn't want to have cuddle time with Toby watching from under his tent





:coolness:


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## Chrisdoc

How do you get such cute pictures. I can never get them in any pose like that as I´m on my own so it´s a bit difficult to tempt them with something and take a photo at the same time. At Christmas, when my friend was here, I wanted to do a video of them eating banana as there´s always a friendly pushing to see who gets served first. Can you believe that when I sat on the floor with the banana in my hand, they wouldn´t come and eat it. Talk about savvy rabbits, definitely weren´t co-operating. But I love those of King Kirby with his little white mouth and Sir Toby, well I just love him.


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## kirbyultra

Chrisdoc said:


> How do you get such cute pictures. I can never get them in any pose like that as I´m on my own so it´s a bit difficult to tempt them with something and take a photo at the same time.


The trick is I actually take dozens of pics and statistically I have to get one good one out of so many, right? Lol! Though truth is, I bought a Nikon DSLR camera specifically to photograph my bunnies. I always found myself missing the special moments waiting for my point-n-shoot digital to power on and slowly auto-focus on my buns. Half the time the moment is gone, the other half of the time the picture is blurry. If I ever got a focused pic of Kirby, you'd never actually see his face because it's just a blotch of black according to the camera. My DSLR takes tons of pics back to back super quickly and the colors of their furry little faces come out a hundred times nicer. 

The other tip I have is to always try to get down on the ground to photograph your buns. I go in full military crawl sometimes to get a nice shot. They come out way cuter at their face-level. 



> At Christmas, when my friend was here, I wanted to do a video of them eating banana as there´s always a friendly pushing to see who gets served first. Can you believe that when I sat on the floor with the banana in my hand, they wouldn´t come and eat it. Talk about savvy rabbits, definitely weren´t co-operating. But I love those of King Kirby with his little white mouth and Sir Toby, well I just love him.


The ones of Toby were tough. I had to stick my arm out to him and turn my camera sideways with my other hand to capture his whole body, plus hold it steady enough to focus lol. It's a maneuver, for sure! Toby often likes to come close to me when I hunker down on the ground to take his picture so often times I miss his poses. No way around it. I just have to surprise Toby! I have my camera always handy in the bunny room to catch him off guard.

And I *love* Kirby's little white lips too. I want to kiss them all the time but he never lets me


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## Chrisdoc

I had figured out getting closer to the ground is better as they´re more likely to come towards me or stand and stare. I missed two great shots today, i could myself but there´s always on the shot so I missed them. I actually read need to get a decent camera, I do take loads of shots,, have got more pics of my buns than anything else.


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## kirbyultra

Kirby almost gave me a heartattack today. He climbed up the tote box with his hay in it, then from there hopped up onto the big trash can in the rabbit room. He was basically 3 ft off the ground, on top of a no-traction surface with no safe way to get back down. I went to try and pick him up and give him a soft landing but he refused. He pretty much kamikaze jumped down to the ground. :rollseyes Would rather fall to possible injury than be held by a slave. SIGH.


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## agnesthelion

Oh my you DO get good pics don't feel bad Chris I'm not good at taking pics either  I love the one you got of kirbys tongue! I so want to catch a tongue or yawn picture. Or a stretch and yawn picture would be the BEST! But I'm never quick enough 

The climbing and kamikaze jump, lol, yeah that is scary! Agnes used to be a climber too and gave me a heart attach on more than one occasion. One time she fell off the coffee table and landed on her side and stayed there! Let me tell you, my heart dropped but she was find thank goodness


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## Chrisdoc

I have just missed a yawn, I´d just taken another photo and with the delay I couldn´t get the one I wanted hwell:

Have just on mine about kamikaze Houdini, he fell off the chair which he was hanging on with his little front paws, one of these days he will do himself some serious harm but he´s just fearless that one.


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## Ilovemyrabbit

^ I would like to take a picture of Ash yawning, I just can't get one, darn it.

Also funny you mentioned the Houdini thing. Ash tried to jump out of his exercise pen one night to get an apple, his paws were hanging on the edge and his feet were of the floor lol but he didn't make it. I still wish my camera was at hand that night, I think it would've been a funny pic.


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## kirbyultra

Haha, what's up with the bunnies going all self-destruct mode?! Don't they know their lady slaves can't take that kind of excitement? 

Sooo today, I was playing the very unpopular game "what's smelling funky today?" I found the towel that Penny has been lovin' lately smells pretty funky. So I reluctantly took it and washed it up. I am *so* beside myself when dealing with bunny fur off of garments and things now. Ever since moving, I've been psychotic about our septic system. Back when I lived in my apt in the city, we just had sewage plumbing so I really didn't care what went down the drain. But now that I have a septic tank, I am pretty paranoid. I took the towel and handwashed it in the sink that's in my laundry room. I strained out wads and wads of bunny fur from the towel. There was absolutely no way I'd put this towel in the washer! Not unless I want a plumbing issue or a new washing machine in a couple years, I think. Anyway, I got a lot of fur off and all the urine off the towel. I settled for putting the towel in the dryer because it was already clean. *sigh* I miss sewer systems...


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## agnesthelion

Aaah, don't scare me with the fur in washing machines. Is that really bad?!? I'm always washing the buns blankets and tons of fur comes off. Great. Now I'm freaking out I'm gonna ruin my washer and dryer......! Lol.


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## Chrisdoc

OMG, I hope I don´t have those problems as well. I usually get all the straw and other bits but as there doesn´t look to be loads of fur, it just goes in....now you´ve got me worried.


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## kirbyultra

I had a small single-load washer and dryer in my apartment and I was rather careless with the bunny items I put in there. I usually tried to get the big pieces of hay off but never bothered much with fur and stuff, just tossed it all in for a wash. For 4 years that I lived there my washer held up ok but it never was the same. I am willing to bet that in some of the turning points of the outgoing waste water pipes from the washer, there's probably some hay stuck in there. And you know how where the door connects with the drum, there's always a plastic thing that hugs the edge of the door? It has several folds usually. That space always had a bunch of wet hay and wet fur and after a couple loads of normal people-clothes, I'd still find some bunny stuff in there LOL So in the interest of not destroying my new washer and dryer in my new house, I'm taking extra precautions to not throw furry stuff in there as much as possible.

Besides all that, water that comes out of the washer ends up in the septic tank. Hay and fur will float and form a nasty gunk at the top of your tank or cesspool, and eventually it'll either start a septic backup (really nasty, I'm told, and very expensive to get rid of on an emergency basis) or it will diminish the effectiveness of the septic system. Now that, I really am afraid of!!!


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## Chrisdoc

Yuk, that sounds disgusting, you´ll have me rushing off now to check my washing machine...hope it´s gunk free but I will now be more careful and try and remove all the fur as well.


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## kirbyultra

It is pretty nasty  Yeah, that's why I am pretty nuts about what I put into the washer nowadays.


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## kirbyultra

h34r2


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## JBun

Poor Kirby. All he wants is a little love


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## kirbyultra

I know right? How rude  The king bunny must not be denied.


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## kirbyultra

Great news for me! I am fostering 3 adorable tan baby lops! Bad news for my existing buns. They are never happy to have guests 
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIKtlKbSqnI"]Video of the Babies[/ame]


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## agnesthelion

So cute!! Congrats on fostering what an awesome thing to do


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## Chrisdoc

They are absolutely gorgeous. What a great thing for you to do although I´m not so sure that I´d be able to let them go when the time comes, they are so cute and I love those ears. 

Can´t wait to see more of them :yes:


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## kirbyultra

They babies are too cute for words sometimes. They are like volatile little balls of energy when I take them out for playtime. They just pop all over the place! I'll get some pics soon on here.


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## kirbyultra

Life gets pretty busy with six bunnies. Yeesh! B

But they are SO cute!


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## kirbyultra




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## Chrisdoc

:inlove: these are just too gorgeous...I want them, could be some serious bunny napping here....I don´t know how you´ll be able to let them go if they find a home.


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## kirbyultra

So much has happened with the lop trio since my last post. Namely that they are no longer a trio. 

The trio consists of -- in size order -- The Big One (TBO), The Naughty One (TNO) and The Little One (TLO). I so named them because at the shelter, they were arbitrarily given names and after a couple of shuffles to different places, no one could tell who was who. They were just "the tan lop trio". It was clear to me after one day that there is one that is larger than the other two, one that was sassier, and one that was obviously scrawnier but totally has a rounder face. And so, TBO, TNO, and TLO came to be.

A couple weeks of baby lop bliss were awarded to me for my acceptance into my home. Everyone told me that they might as well get cozy and comfy because there was no way I'd ever let them go anywhere, that I was "doomed" to be a "foster failure," also known as the proud new adopted mom of three lop bunnies. I insist that this is not the case, and with my new home I intend to continue to try and be helpful to my volunteer organization by fostering. Keeping three bunnies would fully occupy my space and this just didn't seem like an option. Plus, not for nothing but three babies is a lot of work! They eat just about nonstop and they poop just as much. I can't ever fill their crocks fast enough with pellets and water. 

*All Is Not Well*
By the third week trouble had ensued. I saw TBO mounting TNO and although he was doing it wrong and humping her head, she was clearly not in the mood for it and she circled around and took some snaps at him. I picked TBO up to take a look at him for injuries and found that around his anus there was some dried, crusted blood. It did not appear to be something that had just occurred, which made me wonder if he hadn't tried to mount her before and made her bite him? Or was this something else? It was really scary and alarming for me. I'd never seen anything like it. Here was the most perfect little baby bunny and he had been bleeding on my watch? It was devastating. 

Because it didn't look like a recent injury and I know for sure he didn't have a bloody anus just a couple days prior, TBO got a trip to the vet. The vet said that it was either syphilis or a bite wound. It was quite swollen and inflamed at the time, so it was terribly hard to tell. She dosed him with an injection of penicillin to be safe, and TBO continued to get weekly shots for 3 weeks. He was also ordered to be separated from the others in case it was a bite wound, he is better off alone and away from danger. And since he seemed to be coming to maturity, it would be best to keep him away from the two girls (which the vet sexed as female) anyway, to prevent accidental pregnancies.

The day grew sadder and sadder for poor Big One. It was likely the scariest day of his short life so far. Car ride, strangers touching him all over, a big needle to the scruff of his neck... and when he got home, he no longer had the warm comfort of his siblings. I pulled out my Toby's old cage from when he was a baby and made it TBO's new home. I plopped him next to the cage with his siblings so he would have company at least. Somewhat unfortunately, the amount of space he had to lounge was overall less than his previous cage, but the entire cage would now be his alone. 

There were only 2 positive side effect of this event. One was that the buns were all a little less crowded and the scrawny Little One got a fairer chance at eating and plumping up. The second thing is that all 3 bunnies got a fecal float exam and was found to all have coccidia. This common parasite is found present in a lot of bunnies and most healthy buns could live happily without ever being truly harmed by it. The exceptions were immuno compromised bunnies, geriatric bunnies and baby bunnies. Coccidia can wreak havoc on the digestive tract and cause diarrhea which can be quite dangerous. I'm glad we caught it and treated it because I did notice that all the babies had occasionally mushy poo, more often than I considered normal. I alerted the foster parent of the trio's other siblings of a different litter, and sure enough they were dosed with Marquis for coccidia as well.

*When Babies Grow Up*
There are days, sometimes multiple times in a day, when I sit and wonder why I took on three baby bunnies. After the whole ordeal with baby Toby (who some of you may remember reading in previous Rabbit Nation blog posts, was a complete terror of a teenage bun when he hit adolescence) I had sworn off ever getting babies ever again. But here I am, stepping up to the challenge once more, with triple threat. 

As cute as babies are, they inevitably grow up. They get bigger and start to discover more of the world, learn about their surroundings and the people who come to give them their food everyday. They are still all very adorable but now they've all grown about 20-30% in size. Day by day, I grew more and more guilty that I had them in these 36x18x24" & 30x16x19" cages. My bunnies have these massive plots of land in my bunny room, with multiple story condos, plus running space outside of their confinement. And my fosters just had their cages most of the day and some playtime in the playpen at night. I installed little wooden ledges for them to have some extra room to climb and stretch, but their size was starting to spill over those little platforms. I could literally see them outgrowing their space. 




I had no choice but to keep them in those cages so I decided to expand vertically. I'm not a real handy person so I don't have tools for cutting wood or drilling holes and such. I wanted a more ready-made solution. After scouring around, I found it at IKEA.

They make a fabulous cheap bookshelf made of untreated wood. With some nuts and screws, I attached this thing to the cage and voila, 27" of extra room to sunbathe on.




The Big One's cage is slightly smaller in both length and height, so I had to call in favors to ask someone to cut the shelf down and attach it on the side of his cage. 

Well that's all well and good... but the story of the lop trio doesn't stop there...


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## kirbyultra

The Big One eventually got a real name. We called him Charlie because the name he had at the shelter was Charles. Charles seemed entirely too proper a name for a fun-loving little guy like The Big One so Charlie eventually just stuck as a more kiddie version of the name.

The Little One and The Naughty One became Lonnie and Nala because when I asked for them to be spayed and neutered and the office was all perplexed by the names I called them. Well I didn't love "Lonnie" for Little One but it was after the fact. On adoption websites he was officially Lonnie.

The funniest part about their "official" names is that I didn't like calling them by any of their names except sometimes Charlie. I decided to call them all the Littles. They would be Charlie Littles, Little Littles and Naughty Littles. _The Littles_. I liked that.

In April of 2013, I brought all three Littles to the Petco where our rescue was holding an adoption event called "Spring into Bunnyland". The volunteers worked so hard to make the place look wonderfully colorful and spring-like. Flowers and bunnies were painted all around the store for the event and it gave the whole day a sort of magical feeling. Over 25 bunnies were brought in to meet their future moms and dads and slaves. The very first adoption that day would be Mr. Charlie Littles.

An ex-volunteer of our rescue had emailed me weeks and weeks prior with interest in the Littles. She had two bunnies and one of them recently passed away after a long struggle with stasis. Her remaining bunny would pine and pine for his friend for many weeks. He is a really handsome white lionhead bunny, very reserved. He and Charlie had themselves a speed date at Petco and they really didn't seem to care for each other, but they did not get aggressive either. Eventually, Charlie just kinda stared at him, decided he was no threat, and Charlie flopped over on the floor to relax. It was definitely positive news since no news was basically good news for first time encounters. Our adopter felt comfortable with working these two together and decided Charlie would be hers. I felt great about the adoption because being a former volunteer, she would know how to take care of my big boy. 

It was bittersweet for me. Charlie was the one I always focused on more because he was alone while his siblings had each other. He was the more mature one, quieter, but still a kid. He was the one who sat with me by the fireplace and snuggled against my neck. Charlie was unique. He IS a snugglebun. He doesn't mind sitting against my chest and nuzzling. He's the 0.01% of bunnies, the snuggly sweet bun that everyone wanted. I miss him, but I think it was my good fortune to begin with to have ever met him and been his mom for a period of time.

Weeks later I would visit Charlie in his new home. He and his buddy bonded in just a couple of weeks and he was the dominant one in the pair, but he still retained all his snuggliness. He was being taken care of by both his bunny friend and his new mommy. His mom sent me pictures of him often. He positively beamed with happiness in every photo. It was as good a home as I would ever find him, and he was happy, so that is all that mattered.


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## kirbyultra

Weeks go by... Naughty Littles and Little Littles continued to grow. I really didn't think they'd get so much bigger because I've seen their mom and she really isn't that big! But my Littles were surely on their way to 5 lbs. Little was still kind of skinny while his frame continued to grow. Naughty ate like a little monster and soon became identifiable as the larger one on sight.





























Since getting fixed at the vet, they were officially adoptable and posted online to the world as available: Nala and Lonnie, the adorable juvenile lop pair. My inbox soon became flooded with inquiries. They never tell you that becoming a foster parent entails sifting through the craziness of people who just want and want and want your babies. It was an entirely new experience and I was so overwhelmed by the whole process of screening adopters. 

There were all kinds. There were just people who randomly asked about them, but weren't really looking to adopt. There were people who wanted to meet them and didn't want to actually jump through any hoops that are inevitable when applying to adopt. And there were the people with kids who wanted a pet for their children but didn't understand the sheer amount of work a pair of baby rabbits would be. There were so many of those, and they stressed me out the most. 

Talking to families, moms especially, about rabbit care and hinting that their child is incapable of this level of care is a _very _delicate topic. I wanted to pretty much rule out all families with children under 8 years old. At about 9 most children start to grasp the idea of responsibility and the impact they have on an animal's life. Any younger, and it's really on the parents. Some people were somewhat delusional about what they and their children were capable of handling. Most people had good intentions but soon realized after I stopped sugarcoating rabbit slaving that perhaps a young rabbit wasn't right for their family. In one case, I agreed to meet the woman's children and show them The Littles. After meeting several other bunnies that we also had on display they decided that the Littles in all their baby glory, would not be right for them and they ended up adopting a really sweet, quiet bunny instead. It worked out the best way for everyone. It is really hard to find the right bunny for the right person(s). But it is implicitly what we sign up for when we foster and volunteer with a rescue. No one ever tells you just how hard it is, though.

Eventually, one very promising young woman and her boyfriend emailed us and she was wonderful. She had a bunny before, lived with her bun for 7 years. She and her family are animal lovers. She answered every question I had fully. She showed me she was very willing to make her home fitting for the bunnies to live in. She prepared everything that they would need to take them home. After a couple of weeks of corresponding with her, we met up. And the Littles had found their new mom and dad. Little and Naughty's little quirks and things were all loved. They were very entertained by them. They oohed and ahhed at everything they did. I felt good about the adoption. In the weeks to come, she would email me pictures about how they were doing, what their new home looked like, etc. I felt that I had done well by the bunnies.


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## kirbyultra

My home became Little-less and it was a little sad. Yes, it was also bittersweet. In the days following their adoption, neither myself nor my husband could say the word "little" without feeling a pit in our stomachs. We felt empty, somehow. Our nest of lops was empty.

We would have felt sad for much longer had it not for the fact that the day our Littles went home, a new baby came into our lives. A new foster came into our rescue and she needed a place to live. She was rescued by a lady from a park, but the lady couldn't keep her. Poor girl was just left in a cage at the park on a hot day... no food, no water... just stranded.

Well, my husband and I had our doubts about taking in another baby after we had just basically raised 3 simultaneously. As lovely and fun as they were, they were also a ton and a half of work daily. We were due for a break, but needy buns in the world give us no rest. Our next foster bun would come in the form of the beautifully enchanting Annie.









She kinda looked like she might be trouble! She was soooo small and soooo cute. Her markings are almost perfectly dutch. We both thought that she would be a little princess terror, but she would prove us very wrong. Upon taking her home and settling her into the Littles' old cage (after first very thoroughly cleaning it out!), it soon became clear that she was shy, but not frightened by the environment change. My bunny room is air conditioned 90% of the time when the temperature out is above 80 degrees, so she really shouldn't have been panting but she seemed to be hot. We gave her frozen bottle of ice, wrapped in the pillow case that she came with, and set it in her cage. She immediately sat down next to it and just laid there, quietly.





A few days of observing her and I just couldn't bring myself to accept that a baby bunny could be so reserved and well-behaved. She pooped and peed where she was supposed to. She kept a clean cage. She didn't tear her pillow case up. She was a perfect little lady! My goodness, what a change it was from my lively and bouncing Littles! She is such a little sweetheart. We soon found out that she didn't like being lonely. Whenever we walk by her cage, she would come and greet us by her door. It's hard to resist petting a baby bunny so we indulge ourselves and her by giving her little loving scritches on her head. She adores being petted and flattens out instantly. She even licked me and my husband several times so far. Any time a bunny licks me, I get all suckered into loving them... the last time that happened, Penny came home with me. :shock:

She eats her alfalfa Oxbow pellets all the time and she is a great hay chomper. She's really just a perfect little pet bunny for anyone! Her personality makes her extremely adoptable and her appearance is just spectacular. She's the perfect candidate, really. 






Well... it's a secret, sort of. But my husband and I are sorta considering her for our Toby. She seems laid back enough that Toby won't feel threatened by her. She is clean enough also that he won't be put off. It's hard to tell because she is so young (maybe 2.5 months right now) and hasn't hit maturity yet. But it's something we're sloshing around in our brains at the moment. Toby does seem like he wants to be with someone but the jitteriness of our Toby makes it very hard for him to really BE with someone. We'll see how it goes!

In the meanwhile, here's a butt shot! So cute!


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## kirbyultra

One of the things that has changed in my bunny room because of the Littles is that it feels like it's a lot smaller now! lol I put so much effort into designing it just right when I was renovating it, and then I go and ruin it all by doubling the bunny population! As you can see in the pics I posted of my fosters, they were just living in these really tight "starter" cages that I bought from pet stores in a pinch, and I propped them up on top of my cabinet. I was always freaking out when the Littles would binky in their cages, wondering whether they'd come tumbling down!

After Charlie got adopted, I felt even worse for Naughty and Little because they got bigger and there was just no more room in their cage. Husband and I decided to bite the bullet and just buy a permanent cage that was the right size for our fosters. With the potential adopter emails going as sloppily as they were for a while (and me being particularly picky about finding the perfect home worthy of our Littles), we weren't sure if they were ever going to get adopted. We felt guilty every day seeing how cramped they were when they were both laying down and touching their cage end-to-end. 

I did a lot of research and measuring in our bunny room and decided that the Ferret Nation was the way to go. 





Yes, I know it's not perfect, yes I know the ramp opening is very small, and yes, I know it's not enough horizontal space for bunnies to live in. But for 2 growing medium sized bunnies, it would do. They got regular play time outside of the cage so I never felt like they were "cooped up" -- definitely an upgrade from the small cage they used to live in! The Littles got both levels (and the intermediate levels in each one) but they mostly stayed together. For anyone who regularly fosters bunnies, I highly recommend it. The fully opening doors make cleaning up very easy. If you need to separate the levels, just hook up the ramp so that the bunny cannot access the upstairs, and you are set. When Annie gets bigger, she may get downstairs as well. For now she dwells in the upper level quite comfortably.

Oh, and it's raised off the ground. The bottom level of the cage is a good 10 or 12 inches from the ground so my buns are never bothered by my fosters and they don't have the chance to harass them either. I bought a piece of coroplast from Home Depot and made the bottom rack a storage shelf for newspaper that I use to line bunny litter boxes. My buns love to use this shelf space as a raceway obstacle course. :rollseyes


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## kirbyultra

It's about time I updated about my own little treasures. 

*Kirby*
My Kirby is doing very, very well. Since moving in December, he's really settled in and he even doesn't mind sharing a room with Toby. I've arranged it to so he gets to run the rest of the room during the day and Toby gets run at night. Kirby has always loved sunbathing. It's a weird thing, I know. But he does, and I can't deny the king what he wants. I often find him sitting next to the glass doors that lead to my backyard. He (and sometimes Penny joins him) sleeps there many afternoons. 

Kirby still likes exploring and conquering new land. He hasn't changed in that regard, but he's still such a cute little tentative bunny. One time I apparently left the bunny room door open and I was out like 12 hours. I came home at 10pm and when I opened the front door, I saw Kirby scurrying away back downstairs! Whenever I leave the bunny room door open, he still tries coming upstairs. He's a good bunny so I don't mind if he comes up when I am home. But I don't let him up when I'm not because the upstairs isn't bun-proofed.

Kirby went to the vet last week just to get a checkup. He's going to be 7 years old this August! I've been getting some anxiety about his growing age. He still is very active, and sometimes you can't even tell he's older than 4. He's quieter and tends to sleep more than he used to but he's still relatively active and interested in new things. The vet gave him a totally clean bill of health and he was a perfect patient.


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## kirbyultra

Hrm. Seems no matter how I link the pic, the forum reformats my picture to a little thumbnail  Gonna try to attach them instead. So sad.


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## kirbyultra

Toby's been pretty good considering he's had to share his land with not just Kirby & Penny but all three Littles and Annie. It's funny watching him watch the foster bunnies in the room. Toby has decided that if he cannot actively harass them, he'll just stare them down every chance he gets. Toby sits up on the highest place he can get to, which is the party deck of his Leith Condo and he'll look across the room at the foster buns in their Ferret Nation cage. He keeps tabs on the comings and goings of everyone in the house, and the foster buns are no exception. 

The day that the Littles got adopted, Toby just about threw himself a party. He slept so dazily that afternoon. A very contented slumber. All was right again in the world. 

Little did he know, Annie was lurking just beyond his reach on the top level of the Ferret Nation. She was so quiet the first couple of days that hardly anyone would have detected her. 

The very first time he saw Annie, he happened to be on the couch and from an angle he could just see her head as she laid by the door of her cage. He got SO HUFFY about it! He started to periscope and pace back and forth on the couch. He jumped up on the arm rest so he could be taller and get a better look at her. When he saw her and she saw him, the two of them looked at each other and Annie surely didn't know what to make of it. Toby was so furious he stomped away back to his cage. Poor kid. More visitors. Will the madness never end? Well, at least this one isn't as noisy as the last 3...


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## kirbyultra

Penny has been a beastly eater since I've ever known her. Yeah, she still needs to get locked up during meal time so that Kirby can actually eat his bowl of food. She still does occasionally pee in random places and it infuriates me. We've been keeping her weight in check because, as the vet put it, she's "pleasingly plump". She could lose about a half a pound to be at her ideal weight and we've been working on it. She's been mostly good about it. 

Since about 4 days ago I've had her on Metacam because when I told the new vet (very reputable rabbit vet that I now have the pleasure of living near) that Penny has a lot of accidents and she has always had a weird limp, she suspected that maybe something was going on. It's _possible _that nothing is going on and that this is just the way she is, or some remainder of an old injury too long ago... But we're gonna try her on pain and inflammation meds in case it is a ligament pain that we couldn't see on x-rays. She sucks down medication like it's honey, and Metacam, in my opinion at least really really stinks! At least she's easy! I haven't seen dramatic differences in her behavior but I did see her periscope the other day and there was no food in sight so she kinda did it for no reason that I could explain. She normally wouldn't! She normally hops about 50% of the time when she moves and the other 50% of the time she does this bipedal walking thing, one back leg at a time. It's pretty weird! I haven't observed her walking much differently either. Maybe she needs more time. If it was an old injury, it might take a while before she understand that the pain is subsiding.


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## kirbyultra

I don't even know what to say sometimes about Toby, Kirby and Penny. Toby has always liked to keep his eye on Kirby and Penny but lately all he ever does at night is camp outside their front door. EVEN if the other buns are already laying down next to the door on the other side (as seen in pic below). The line down the middle is the x-pen and a clear piece of plastic that I clip onto the pen so that Toby can't nip at them. BTW, he DOES nip at them if the plastic is not there. If someone walks by his front door during the day, he can and will lunge at them.

Toby just likes to tease me into thinking there's a possibility of bunny harmony between the three of them. I know better. :X


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## kirbyultra

It's a funny thing being back on the forum. It's like going back to your old college and seeing that the buildings and the professors are all the same but all the students are different. But it's a nice place to come back to and feel comfy in. And of course it's a place where I can come back and talk about stuff and people here know what I'm talking about


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## kirbyultra

The rabbit nation is constantly under surveillance because the slaves need to know when the royals require assistance. 

I'm also going away for a number of trips from now until the end of the year. So unfortunately the cams are my own way to see how they are doing when I'm not home. Good old Kirbykam has called it quits recently. It's been hanging onto its last leg for a while now. First it stopped tilting and now it's stopped panning. We took it apart to try to realign the gears inside the moving mechanism. But something just seems off, it's jittering around at best and sometimes it just stops moving altogether. It works great as a stationary camera. I'll probably keep it around in case I ever just want to monitor one spot. 

The network camera market has vastly improved since I first shopped for cameras. I used some TrendNet cameras that were cheap and quite good but unfortunately the line of cameras I liked were discontinued in favor of their new "Cloud" cameras. Not a huge fan. I bought a Foscam to try it out since the price was right but we spent like 2 hrs trying to figure out why it kept rebooting to no avail. We tried to return that puppy to Amazon but Amazon said, quote: "We cannot have you ship it back as it is categorized as hazardous material." Umm. What?

Long story short, Amazon will issue us a full refund for the amount we paid, but they do not want us to ship the defective camera back. :biggrin: I found that pretty hysterical. 

We're gonna try one of the new D-link cameras and see if that's better. 

_______________________________

Unrelated to the camera stuff... hubby bought a square ice cube maker. It's a huge... ice cube. Like a 2 inch x 2 inch sized ice cube, and he said it was for Annie since she loves her frozen water bottles so much. I asked him "what, is she gonna get her tongue stuck licking that huge ice block?" I was seriously worried her tongue would get frozen onto the ice cube and she'd rip her own tongue off. We decided that we'd just throw the big ice cube in her water bowl so it'd stay pretty wet, not cold and dry and tongue-sticky. She did lick it and enjoy the ice cold water. She's such a odd little bun in that regard. We wonder whether she will want her ice bottle even in the winter time.


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## kirbyultra

Today, hubby left a giant cube of ice in Annie's water. But he forgot to fill the bowl with water so she just had a giant block of ice. She looked at it, sniffed it, then started to chew at an edge. So funny. I saw her misfortune and immediately filled the bowl with some h2o. She licked at the ice cube then  She licked my arm and my shirt when I was petting her. Then later on, I was lying on my couch when Toby hopped on (I am his couch ) and then he started to sniff in all the places she licked. He didn't approve.


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## Chrisdoc

Your buns are so lovely and Toby is just gorgeous. I love seeing the photos of them and being able to keep your eye on them with a netcam is so cool. I´ve been watching a 24 hour webcam here about two bunnies and teaching people how they live. They actually are quite similar to Toby and I thought of him when I saw them. I´m sure we miss loads of stuff during the night when we´re asleep and they´re hyperactive. 

Amazon are sometimes a bit weird, they don´t want the camera back but will refund, I´d say that´s pretty OK. 

Have seen Toby on facebook so keep track of him on there. 

As you say, there are new faces and old faces on here but it´s always nice to come back.


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## kirbyultra

Just testing some picture uploading


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## Ilovemyrabbit

Your buns are so cute! Going to read all your updates now.


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## kirbyultra

Thank you! It's been a while since anyone new has read about Kirby and his friends


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## kirbyultra

Picture upload! Kirby looking surprised, Penny caught in a moment, and Toby looks fluffy! Then of course the beautiful Annie being ery baby-like.


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## kirbyultra

I said I wouldn't get myself into bunny overload since I learned my lesson with my lop trio. But I just couldn't say no to a bunny who was presented to me as needing a home for 2 weeks to fatten up because she was too thin for spay surgery.

I go and get her and realize the whole story is, she was either neglected or anorexic or combo of both. She is the thinnest rabbit I've ever laid hands on. She was sent to the vet where I picked her up to see if they could find out why she was so thin and not eating. She came to the shelter and volunteers found her not eating for a couple of days, thin as a rail. Normally neglected buns come to us and they eat like they've never eaten before or they'll pick out the junkiest thing in their dinner and eat that and turn their noses up at everything else because they were always fed sugary junk. Not this girl...

Dahlia, as I learned her name to be, has a protruding spine, jutting hips and a visible rib cage because she has no muscle or fat on her body. Her coat of fur is thin and rough to the touch. She has the classic look of malnutrition. I almost came to tears when I first started to pet her. She was so sad looking, so frail. I said she doesn't look like she'll be ready for spay surgery in 2 weeks. The vet looked at me as if I were crazy. She didn't know that that they asked me to foster only 2 weeks. She's severely underweight and with her eating habits, it may take a month or even longer to rehab her to a decent weight. I wholeheartedly agreed with the vet. I took the bun home armed with a bag of fresh veggies and things for her to try. The vet said they observed her for days and the only thing she'll eat is Kaytee Exact Rainbow pellets. Not exactly super great food but it bridges the gap between REALLY nasty junk pellets on the market (with seeds and sugary loops and corn bits) and actual food with the right amount of nutrition. 

Most of the afternoon she sat in her litter box. It scared me because she looked like she would keel over any minute. She was staring into space, not responding to petting. Too scared to leave her litter box, she would just occasionally peer over at her Rainbow pellets. When I moved the dish to be inside of her litter box with her, she started to nibble on them. Lightly at first, then she started to dig through the bowl to find the bits she liked. She's a picky eater. 

Later in the night she started to nibble at some timothy. Like 5 pieces of timothy. I counted. She probably didn't know what it was, had never been fed it, and did not know what to do with it. 

She finally did give me a thumbs up on the salad that I gave her. She cautiously poked around at it but then took a liking to romaine lettuce and kale. She left the parsley uneaten. Odd, I'd never met a bun who didn't like parsley. 

Much later in the night I got up just to check on her. She ignored the Oxbow pellets all day so earlier in the evening I took them out of the cage. But I decided to give the bowl of Oxbow back to her for the heck of it. Maybe she'd sniff it and give it a lick. To my great surprise she started to nibble on the oxbow young rabbit pellets! Not a lot. She ate maybe 6 pellets. But it was better than nothing. 

I feel like I'm on anorexia watch. Every calorie counts for her. Today, she ate a lot more greens than she did yesterday. She's picking at the softest part of the timothy hay (still ignoring alfalfa). But she did eat something like 1/4 cup of Oxbow pellets and a bunch of her colorful ones. She doesn't seem as shaken up and I no longer fear that she'll just keel over anymore. I think she'll pull out of it. She just needs some time and some TLC.


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## Ilovemyrabbit

Poor little bunny. Are you planning on keeping her once she's back to her normal weight? Another thing that might help her gain some more weight is oats. Bunnies LOVE oats. One time I gave Ash a tiny bit of them and he went crazy for them. I bet she'd like oats. I'd give it a try. Poor bunny! I hope she starts feeling better soon!


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## kirbyultra

She DOES love oats. I tried hiding pinches of oats in her pellets and she'd pick out the oats  I can't keep her, I already have my hands full with my own bunnies. She's a very temporary foster bunny. My second foster at the moment. Already have a long term foster bunny, Miss Annie Bun (the black and white dutch bun). 

Dahlia's doing well today. While still picking around her pellets and hay, she is eating salad like a champ. She really, really likes kale so I try to give her that in every mini salad. I give her multiple plates in a day instead of one big meal, as hopefully that will not upset or shock her stomach. It's better to go slow than to make her feel sick from too much all at once.


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## kirbyultra

Pictures below are of Kirby, keeping all the girls close. Next to him is of course Penny. And in the cage to his right are Dahlia (bottom) and Annie (top). Kirby likes to keep an eye on the nation.

And the second pic is of his cute little butt, which is shedding at the moment!


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## kirbyultra

First four pictures are of Dahlia. The last bunch are Annie.


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## MikeScone

I hope Dahlia finds a forever home soon - I really like her coloration. She's a beautiful bun.


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## kirbyultra

Thanks Mike. Dahlia is very pretty. She has a very interestingly shaped face. A little oval, very distinctly female looking. Her fur would be even more beautiful had she gotten the proper nutrition. We're working on that. She's shedding now so hopefully eating right will help her grow a nice new coat. 

She is ripe for a forever home, indeed. The only thing is that she needs to be spayed first before being put up as adoptable. For that to happen, she needs to gain some weight to go under anesthesia. She's working on it! She has gained 1 ounce per day steadily so far. She is eating more veggies than anything else. But I have seen her slowly eat a little more hay each day. Still not munching pellets the way I would hope but she seems to be gaining weight from the other things, so I'm not too worried. 

She seems to have gotten over the shyness of eating in front of me. She now munches on things even if I'm sitting by her, which is very often. I've been hiding pinches of rolled oats in her pellets and she digs through the bowl for them, leaving the pellets strewn about. Such a picky little girl, but I don't mind. Once she plumps up a little and goes up for adoption I bet she will be snatched up quickly.


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## kirbyultra

Dahlia gained another ounce of weight today! She really is a junk food addict/super picky eater. She knows what she likes and today she thumped and audibly whined about it when I didn't give her treats. I was putting her usual pinch of oats in her pellet bowls, then turned to give her hay. By the time I refilled her hay, she polished off the oats and she was checking to see if I had more. When she saw that I didn't have anymore oats in my hands, she started to thump and whine again. It was a heartbreaking sound. 

She ate more greens today and she's been holding steady on pellet intake. Generally she is eating more hay still, but not nearly enough. 

Her Rainbow pellets smell so delicious that every time I give her a new scoop (because she wastes so much picking out the bits she likes), my buns go nuts smelling the scent of tasty pellets that are not for them.


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## Chrisdoc

She is just adorable, I love her colouring. Can´t believe someone left her in that state but so happy to see her with you, I´m sure you´ll have her healthy and happy in no time, can´t believe your set up, it looks fantastic.


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## kirbyultra

Pics of Toby in his "I'm a proper rabbit" stance. He is too cute sometimes and when he has that puckered up look, I just wanna nom his cheeks up.


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## kirbyultra

Pictures of my Dutch fosters being all lazy... 
Here's Annie next to her favorite ice bottle. 
And below her, a shot of Dahlia starting to relax.


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## carlysoup

Wow - your rabbits are precious! I love Toby, he's such a cutie. What kind of flooring is that in the bottom of his pen? Carpet tiles? Your ideas for rabbit housing are really clever, I like how you use plexiglass with binder clips as a urine shield - I had never thought of that! Annie is really cute, I wish I could adopt her. Poor Dahlia, she looks really thin in her face. How could someone let an animal get so thin? It just breaks my heart. But, it is so wonderful to see you care for her so well. You are truly a bighearted person!


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## Chrisdoc

They´re just lovely. The dutchie is so cute, I love black and white ones and Dahlia is looking much happier. They're lucky to be with you.


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## kirbyultra

carlysoup said:


> Wow - your rabbits are precious! I love Toby, he's such a cutie. What kind of flooring is that in the bottom of his pen? Carpet tiles? Your ideas for rabbit housing are really clever, I like how you use plexiglass with binder clips as a urine shield - I had never thought of that! Annie is really cute, I wish I could adopt her. Poor Dahlia, she looks really thin in her face. How could someone let an animal get so thin? It just breaks my heart. But, it is so wonderful to see you care for her so well. You are truly a bighearted person!



Thank you so much! I consider it a hobby of mine to continually upgrade and improve my bunny room. I do more shopping for the buns than I do for myself usually! Toby is sitting on foam interlocking mats that have nylon carpet stuck to it. I was lucky enough to randomly find this at Sears and I bought out their entire inventory I think. It's really hard to find these. When I looked online back in December, it was either very expensive or out of stock in a lot of places online. They work *great* because they have that foam underneath which gives the buns' footies good cushioning and the carpet to give them traction. For my buns, I like it a lot more than the more widely available colorful foam interlocking mats (usually sold for kids' play areas or garage flooring or gym flooring) because I know my buns are fairly neat, they won't pee and make a mess on the carpet top, and in the winter the carpet offers them a little more warmth. Plus they are less inclined to sink their bunny teeth into the carpet than into the easily munchable foam. I do own the regular interlocking foam mats for my fosters. They're easier to clean. 

The clear things on the pens are a *lifesaver* in my bunny household. Toby's lifelong goal is to nip Kirby whenever he is nearby. With their cages being next to each other, I could never trust the two of them being right up against each other. I've tried wedging stuff in between to artificially create "space" between their pens but they always manage to wiggle the wedge out somehow. These plastic panels are sold at every Home Depot in the window and window screen aisle. I buy the cheapest one (they have very thick ones that are used for windows) and I also bought a plastic cutter from there to cut them down to whatever size I need. It's really neat to use these as flying-poop guards or urine guards, or in my case, Toby-Guard.


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## kirbyultra

Dahlia has been coming out of her shell. She's displayed a lot of new behavior that makes me wonder about the conditions she was kept in prior to showing up at the shelter. 

First, I am pretty sure that she was fed a lot of junk that was not meant to be fed to bunnies. Things like potato chips or candy or corn. It took her a few days to realize that the buffet in her cage was edible goodness. She now likes her salads a lot and she eats her pellets like a normal adult bunny (about 1/4 cup a day). She needs to eat more though, to keep gaining weight. She eats hay more than she did before, but still not enough in my opinion. 

She is *very* demanding of attention. I suspect she craves attention so much because she was possibly left alone for long periods of time before. Whenever my buns or her top bunk neighbor Annie run around and make a bunch of noise, she listens and pays then a lot of attention. She doesn't seem scared by it, but she loves to just track what everyone is doing. When I am in the room and she can see me, she sits right up at the front of the cage to get a good view of me. When either myself or my husband walk into the room she goes berserk bouncing around the cage and thumping until we open up her cage and pet her. She is so jealous if we give other buns in the room attention before her. She just can't stand it when I am spending time with Annie and not loving on her. Poor thing. I can't blame her for craving attention she so desperately deserves. We try to give her as much attention as we can. My voice has been hoarse the last few days because I try to just chat to no one (or no bun) in particular so she can hear my voice. I think it makes her happy and calm to know someone's around. 

She has gained another ounce. She's 3 lbs 13.6 oz today. She looks a bit fluffier than before. She's still a tragic looking rail of a bunny, but every single ounce shows on her tiny frame because she's just so thin. 

On a totally different note... Here's Kirby and Penny. Kirby, lying there, in this typical "kiss me, woman!" move to slip under Penny's lips.


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## Chrisdoc

Just had another look at all the photos, I never tire of looking at bunny pics and yours are all just so gorgeous. Love the carpeted tiles, I´ve got the foam ones although they look like wood finish, I´ve been lucky so far, they´ve nibbled the edges and left the inside alone and it is so easy to clean. I´ve just finished cleaning mine this morning and I can´t imagine have all that space to clean up so I take my hat off to you. You´re doing a great job with all of them and she´s so lucky to be with you even if it only is until she´s well enough to spay. Keep the news coming, I love coming back here for updates.


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## kirbyultra

Thank you, Chrisdoc! 

No kidding, it *is* a huge job to clean everything when it's clean up day. My husband has been a dear and lately been helping me with the daily litter box chores. But when I'm doing deep cleaning with the vacuum and everything, I end up all sweaty and fur stuck to every part of my body lol. It's not pretty!

Dahlia has been getting spunkier and more energetic. She has SO much nervous energy that I continue to wonder about why that is. I know some bunnies are just born very nervous and bolt at the first sign of trouble (my Toby is like that, but has gotten better over the years). But she is scared of so many noises it's kind of crazy to watch her reactions. It's rare that she really lays out relaxed. She is still eating a fairly healthy amount. The last few days she has gained a couple ounces. Last night she weighed 3 lbs 15.1 oz. Hopefully tonight she will break through 4 lbs!! She looks fuller but when you pet her she's still a rail.


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## kirbyultra

Dahlia has been bouncing off the walls of her cage lately. I mean, literally, bouncing off the walls! She's all over the place and she is so stir crazy. So I thought instead of having her and Annie fight over whose scent will reign supreme over the stair landing, I'd bring her outside in the yard for some grassy playtime. I normally don't recommend this to people, unless you know for sure there are no wild animal feces, chance that some other animal would bring fleas to your pet, your grass has not been fertilized or sprayed with pesticides or insecticides. I know what goes around in my neighborhood and I know what's in my backyard so I feel confident bringing the kids out with a playpen fencing them in for some stretching. 

Both Annie and Dahlia had a blast. Annie took longer than I thought to warm up out there. She was pretty cautious at first and she wasn't really moving around much but I realized that I had her in the sun too much. I moved the whole enclosure into the shady area and she had a much better time. She sniffed every inch of the space and did some binkies. She's so cute! She's likely never had this sort of playtime environment before. I know she was found in a cage in the park but I don't think she actually spent any time in the grass. 

Dahlia had a lot more fun than I thought she would. She is very easily spooked when any sudden noises happen in the house. And outside, I have neighbors doing some renovation with some machinery running, my house is also in the path of some international flights with large planes passing over once in a while. She heard it all and she processed it but she was still able to have fun. She ran around a lot and seemed to work out a lot of her energy. She has been pooped in her cage all tired since playtime! I don't know if she'll gain any weight after all the activity today. But I think running around will help her regain some much needed muscle structure in her body. 

I took a lot of pictures but I'm pretty pooped myself. I'll post some another time!


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## Ilovemyrabbit

I'm glad Dahlia is getting better! She sounds so sweet and playful. If I lived near you I would take her in a jiffy. She sounds really sweet and adorable! I hope she gains some more weight quickly! Can't wait to see the pictures!


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## Chrisdoc

Sounds like they both had a fab time. I think it´s great when they can spend some time outside in the fresh air. Mine are still a bit cautious even when it´s only the balcony but I love how they crouch then stretch and smell and just take it all in. And yes, they also get spooked with the noise of machinery, kids and any other sudden noises. Can´t wait to see the pics.


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## kirbyultra

The royals!


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## kirbyultra

Dahlia is having a great time out!


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## kirbyultra

So many pictures of Annie. She's very photogenic!


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## Chrisdoc

I´ve just noticed how similar Annie and Dahlia are but different colours. They are two lovely looking girls. 

Great that Dahlia looks to be enjoying her time outside and that last pic of Annie stretched out is too cute, whats not to love about those little white socks lol.


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## MikeScone

Great pictures! I think Dutch rabbits are especially photogenic, with their white markings and contrasting fur (no offense, Natasha).


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## kirbyultra

LOL! Yes, Natasha is beautiful in her own right. Dutch bunnies have such interesting patterns. I especially love the black and white look. Strictly speaking, Kirby has some dutchiness in him, but his white is very lopsided and the band is very small.


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## kirbyultra

Chrisdoc said:


> I´ve just noticed how similar Annie and Dahlia are but different colours. They are two lovely looking girls.
> 
> Great that Dahlia looks to be enjoying her time outside and that last pic of Annie stretched out is too cute, whats not to love about those little white socks lol.



Her perfectly symmetrical white socks just kill me every time. She is just too cute and she doesn't know it.


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## Chrisdoc

Haha had to laugh as I read your last post and then scrolled up to look at Annie again then went all the way up just to see if Dahlia had white socks as well and she does, that made me smile. I love dutchie markings as well, those two are just too cute.


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## kirbyultra

Dahlia hanging out again!


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## Chrisdoc

She´s such a pretty little girl and looks so much better. Love those little socks as well :thumbup


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## kirbyultra

I'd been warned that Dutch girls can be divas but I didn't think Dahlia had it in her. I was very wrong about her. She's not the quiet, shy soul I met. She's coming out of her shell and man is she a loud woman! She's hormonal, she's possessive (of the humans!), and she wants it her way or the highway. It's nice to see that she has the energy to be so assertive. It tells me she's a fighter and she's going to be just fine. She may eat like a little princess, but she's going to be fierce once she puts on some normal weight. It was funny when we were out in the yard, she would sit at the side of the pen closest to wherever I was. As soon as I sat in the pen with her she would start to run around me in circles and I could hear her little snorts and grunts. I used to read on RO all the time about hormonal little boy buns getting all grunty and circling because they've become little horn dogs but I didn't quite believe it until I saw it! She didn't try to hump me but she is *very* possessive. She hates it when I leave her to tend to other buns. She thumps and whines and thumps *nonstop*. She's hard to please, but who can blame her? She was probably neglected for god knows how long. 

Sadly, I do have to say goodbye to Dahlia soon. I agreed to only foster her for 2 weeks because I will be out of town and there'll be no one home for days. My buns are going to be looked after by sitters who will come by twice a day, but really, Dahlia needs more TLC than that. She also has meds twice a day. I'm still trying to settle with the other foster parents where she can stay for 2-4 weeks until she gains the required weight to spay. In case she finds a place tomorrow, I said my quiet goodbyes to her and spoiled her silly with kisses and head & ear massages. She approved of all that but I don't think she knows what goodbye is. I just know that she hates it. She protests even if I leave her to go across the room to get her food and hay. The girl is so special. I hope the next time I see her she's a plump little thing and finds herself a permanent human to love her forever. She deserves it.

Look at this face. Who could say no?


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## Chrisdoc

Aw, I don´t know how you can let her go even though she is one high maintenance bunny. She is so gorgeous and seems to have really taken to you. I hope her next foster parents give her the same TLC you´ve been dishing out or she will complain. I hope you get updated and find out where she finally calls home. Good luck Dahlia, we´ll miss you gorgeous girl.


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## kirbyultra

I'm pretty sure that once she is up to weight and spayed she'll end up at the Petco where some of our adoptables are housed for maximum people exposure. I will have to go over there on the weekends to see if/when she get adopted. She's a spectacular girl, so much fun to have around. She would be over the moon if she had her very own person to love her and only her. She deserves that much! Dahlia's going to a new foster home on Thursday. And the woman who will be caring for her has cared for bunnies of all sorts and afflictions for something like 20 years. She's going to be in great hands. I've no doubt that Dahlia will charm the daylights out of her new foster mom. Dahlia's story doesn't end here, it's really only beginning. She has a new shot at life and it's going to be great. We're going to do everything we can to get her the best home.


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## kirbyultra

Today is Kirby's birthday, everyone! Kirby is SEVEN years old! I can hardly believe sometimes. He doesn't behave like a 7 year old rabbit. Sometimes he stills bops around like he's the little 2 year old that I met. He is in great spirits most days and he has energy to go exploring all the time. To celebrate his birthday, I made bunny-appropriate cupcakes for all the buns. Banana pumpkin cupcakes with pumpkin "frosting". 
arty:

All the bunnies dove RIGHT into the cupcake frosting. They were all over it! I tried to take as much of the sweet stuff out of the recipe as possible, but thankfully the buns didn't end up eating the whole cupcake anyway. The only one who ate the whole thing was -- yeah, you guessed it -- Penny. She gobbled it all in like 5 bites. :dunno:

I just wanna say that on this day I am extremely, extremely thankful to the Safe Haven Rabbit Rescue in NJ for bringing Kirby into my life. It was a one-in-a-million chance that I would find this rescue located miles and miles away from me, and then another one in 15 or so chance that I'd walk away with Kirby as the bunny I would adopt. The wonderful woman who runs this rescue was hesitant about letting me have him because she just met me and I never had bunnies before. I literally went to Petco near her that same day to buy all the supplies, food, carrier, etc. and went back to her place to pick up Kirby. Kirby changed my entire life, in ways I can't even begin to describe. He's a very special bunny, and I can only hope that he lives many more healthy years with me. 

Love you, Kirby! Happy birthday!


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## Chrisdoc

Those cup cakes look delicious, can we have the receipe, would love to make them for my three.

Happy birthday Kirby, looks like he had a fabulous time with all the family. 


:trio:jumpforjoy::bestwishes::great:
Bunnies are like that, they just sort of get under you skin and into your heart and I´m sure that 7 years of having that wonderful boy has made a big difference in your life. I know that having mine for just over a year and a half has changed mine.


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## kirbyultra

Sure! The recipe is modified from my Toby Cookies recipe. This batch makes 5 cupcakes but I thought they were rather massive cupcakes for medium size bunnies. You can probably make 8-10 if you use the mini cupcake paper molds. 

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of ground rabbit pellet food 
1/4 cup of ground rolled oats
1/2 banana, mashed until creamy
1/4 cup of pumpkin puree (fresh or canned) - for dough
1/3 cup of pumpkin puree (fresh or canned) - for "frosting". Set aside this for the last step.


You can easily ground the pellets and oats together in a food processor. 
Preheat the oven at 325 degrees F.

Combine all the ingredients, except the pumpkin puree for frosting, and mix well until the dough can be formed into a ball. It should feel almost like playdoh, a bit hard but pliable.

Set out paper cupcake holders (5 regular sized ones or 10 mini sized ones). Use a spoon to scoop out some of the dough and press it into the cupcake holders. Try to get them as uniformly shaped as possible so they will bake evenly. Bake the cupcakes for 30-35 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 200. Bake for another 15-20 minutes. You want the cupcakes to bake thoroughly so that the insides are dried out, but not so hot that the edges start to burn. Turn off the oven and leave the cupcakes in the oven to continue to dry out for about an hour. 

Take the cupcakes out and let them cool thoroughly. Put the remaining pumpkin puree into a piping bag or just a zip-top bag and snip a hole in the corner. Pipe out the pumpkin in a circular motion over each cupcake to "frost" them. 

You can make the cupcakes bigger or smaller as you wish, just be more mindful of how long you have them in the oven. The thicker your cupcake, the longer it will take to dry out the center.

There are also lots of variations that you can do to make cookies and such for your bunnies.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/baking-your-bunny-54618/


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## Chrisdoc

Thanks for that I can´t wait to make them. My friend gave me an enormous pumpkin today from her garden so I´m looking for recipes to use it all up. I´m sure mine would love them, they do look really tasty (for rabbits that is lol).


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## MILU

Happy Belated Birthday to Kirby!! He's such a handsome bunny, and you're such a good mom making bunny cupcakes for all of them! They must be delicious, and by the pics it's easy to see the bunnies really liked them! Dahlia is cute too, sorry to know you can't keep her. This is the hard part of fostering, we want to keep every bunny but can't.. sigh..


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## MILU

:birthday:bestwishes::wave:
:great:ink iris:


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## Ilovemyrabbit

Aw, I missed this post because I wasn't on that day. I know I'm late but I hope you had a wonderful birthday Kirby!! Hopefully with many, many more to come!!


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## kirbyultra

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone. Kirby had a wonderful birthday and I wish he'll have many more great healthy ones. I've been busy the last couple of weeks and haven't been on much. I went out of town for a few days and for the first time since moving here, the buns had to be taken care of by someone else. I had a great sitter back in my old apartment but since moving out to the burbs I've had to find other means. I entrusted my buns to a mother and daughter pair who have 2 buns of their own and they do boarding bunny sitting as a business at their home. I was very reluctant to board my buns. They'd never been away from home overnight. Toby gets so stressed out by changes in environment. He's a worry wort and he lives by routine. My sitters were gracious enough to pity the poor bun and actually do in-home sitting twice a day for my buns while I was away. It was a short trip but I have a whole bunch of trips upcoming so I was trying to see if they were good. 

In fact I was very impressed with the detail and care they put into the buns' health and well being. They seem to truly care about the buns and just buns in general. Since I have to go away soon again, I toured their home to see what their boarding set up would be. I am going to give them a try for a medium-length stay. Hopefully Toby won't get into a stress stasis episode and ruin my vacation! The other buns will probably be upset and stressed by having to move a few days but I know that Kirby and Penny will have each other and probably be ok for a few days, probably be very busy conquering all the new land too. And I know that Annie is usually pretty easy going and she's lived in a lot of places in her very short life so far so it probably won't be too much out of the norm for her unfortunately.

Speaking of Annie, I'm looking to get her spayed soon. She's just about ripe for it. She's starting to do weird little things she didn't used to and I think it's the beginnings of hormonal behavior. She's also starting to grow a lil dewlap flap under her chin :clapping: It's sooo cute on her! She's still super sweet and so much fun to watch. After she's spayed and worked out her residual hormones, I am going to try and see if Toby will take a liking to her. I'm 95% prepared to fail at this because Toby is Toby and he's a rabbit-fearing, fur-biting little grouch. But I figured hey, it couldn't hurt to try a speed date or two with the sweetest bunny girl on earth. I'd be so sad if they didn't get along and I'd have to adopt her out... I guess we'll have to see.

Dahlia has gone to her new foster mom's place where she will have stability and the expert hands of a rabbit whisperer. While she was with me, she was hilarious because she'd only eat the red pellets in her rainbow pellet mix. And she ate rainbow pellet mix because she refused to eat regular Oxbow pellets except when it suited her majesty's mood to do so. Her foster mom tells me that in the last week she's made some progress: She's eating the other colors of her rainbow mix :scared::twitch: And she's started to pretty regularly chew on some Oxbow pellets. She's a very funny and bossy little girl. But we love her all the same. In the days after delivering her to her new foster home, I missed her a lot. There's something about caring for buns who are in desperate need of help that just makes a huge impression on your heart... I longed to know about her all the time. Was she eating? Was she scared? Was she happy? Was she upset to be moving again? Was she eating?! But luckily I know now that she's doing well and she's still on track to gain the weight that she needs to in order to be spayed and adopted out.


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## Chrisdoc

THat is so sweet and glad that Dahlia is doing so well, I think we´re all worry worts on here. 

It would be lovely for Toby to have a little friend so hope that sweet girl is his heart bun. Can´t wait to see how it develops. I love little dewlaps as well, we need a photo.

Boarding arrangements sound really good. I´m looking for someone over here to come in and check on mine as I want to go away for about 5 days in October. I´m so nervous that if I go for a few days, they´ll worry and miss me but it has to be done. Any time apart from them is always a drag, I will miss them something terrible.


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## kirbyultra

The Rabbit Rescue I work with entered a contest where we stand to win $15,000! This is a huge amount of money for a nonprofit organization. We are completely run by volunteers and we work with the NYC AC&C shelter so we literally have dozens of rabbits come to us every week. This kind of money can allow us to continue doing the work necessary to help all these bunnies go on to live healthy and happy lives! 

*Please help us by voting for us! It's all done on Facebook, takes 30 seconds! *



> It is really easy!
> 1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/PetsAddLife
> 2. Click on the *Shelter Showdown* button. If it doesn't work try clicking on this link: here
> 3. Enter your name, email and zipcode *10708*
> 4. Then select and vote for *Rabbit Rescue & Rehab.*
> 5. Repeat every 24 hours through the end of September!
> 6. Ask all your friends to help us, too!



This rescue brought Kirby's love Penny to his life and for that I will be forever thankful to Rabbit Rescue and Rehab. RRR is a chapter of the House Rabbit Society and this year we're rehoming a record breaking number of bunnies. They've also made it possible for beautiful bunnies who were abandoned and neglected like Annie and Dahlia to get a second chance at life. 

Buns like these girls are the lucky ones. We also get dozens of bunnies who are in horrible shape every year and spend thousands of dollars in vet fees to nurse them back to health, not to mention the sleepless nights caring for them. I know many rescues out there deal with their own share of troubles but I daresay probably none of them get the sheer volume of bunnies that RRR does just because of our location. It's like the abandoned bunnies are raining from the skyscrapers sometimes!

Thanks so much in advance to all those who help!


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## Chrisdoc

I was just looking through the rules and don't think I can vote outside of the US, am I right ?? So, good luck and hope you win that much needed cash, you really deserve it, they are three gorgeous buns who´ve got a life now they really deserve and got the chance through your rescue.


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## Ilovemyrabbit

I don't have a FB so I can't vote.  Maybe you could start a topic on RO? I'm sure many would vote!!


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## kirbyultra

It's been so busy lately that I haven't had time to update at all. 

Last Monday, I took Annie in for her spay and she did really well. The vet did a good job of keeping the incision small and the sutures nice and neat. I felt awful for Annie for the first 3 days as she was so sad and tired looking. She took her metacam for pain without protest the first day and then fought me the next 2 days. After the 3rd day I didn't want to bother her with it. She was moving about much more normally by day 4 and she seemed more in pain from struggling with me force feeding her meds so I just let her have her way. She seemed just fine. She regained her appetite somewhat by day 5 and then by day 6 she was full speed Annie again. She has even attempted her mega speed binkies again during play time. She's a darling girl and it was excruciating to watch her go through post op pain, but it'll be worth it. She does seem changed by the whole experience. She doesn't like me picking her up anymore, that's for sure. She used to not fight me and not run away when I tried to pick her up. In the past picking her up simply meant I was taking her to the play pen for fun time. She's probably afraid I'm taking her to the vet again or giving her meds! Smart girl. She learns so fast.

Kirby was blowing out his fur last week and he looked like a porcupine for many days. I finally sat and plucked him clean and now he's quite handsome again. It's tough when both he and Penny are shedding at the same time. Penny gives all the kisses but Kirby does all of the effective grooming that keeps them both clean, so I naturally worried about his fur intake when they both shed. I brushed and brushed and plucked and plucked and every day it seemed like I had enough fur to make a new rabbit. It's incredible how much fur is on such a small body! I bought a set of scrubs from Wal-Mart just to deal with grooming. Otherwise I'd be doing laundry every day. Anyway, the king is handsome and very polished and glorious-looking once again. 

Toby has been a grump lately because I've been so busy with other things and other buns. He is very bonded to me so he always feels so neglected and sad when I don't make special time just for he and I. He may be a loner bun but he craves attention for his humans desperately. It took me something like 2 years to figure this out. I used to think he was just super cranky and angry and wanted us to leave him alone. But the truth is he was just sad and dejected that we didn't pour kisses on him the way we did Kirby. Toby needs me even more than Kirby does in some ways. It's one of the biggest reasons I hope Annie and Toby get along so she can dote on him. He needs unconditional love otherwise he feels very insecure. Insecurity leads to fear which triggers him to be aggressive. Shame on me for self proclaiming to love my animals and understanding them, meanwhile it took me years to figure out that Toby was just as sweet as the others, just needed attention in a different way. I am glad we figured it out in the end.

Anyway, in a few weeks, a fellow volunteer is coming to my place to help me do the first bonding date with Toby and Annie. It's set for a few weeks later because Annie just got spayed a week ago and it takes several weeks for her hormones to fully work out of her system. I want to do things right because I only have one shot at first impressions. Toby, being as sensitive as he is, will fixate on whatever he sees the first time around so the first date will more or less make or break this! I'm so excited but nervous too. My husband is dead set on keeping Annie and he has been telling me I better make this work. I keep telling him, it's not up to me! It's up to Toby and Annie. I do love her and I want to keep her so badly. But we can't keep another single bun. I want to keep fostering so I don't want to give up the space to keep another single bun If Annie bonds with Toby then she can live with him.


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## Chrisdoc

Good that Annie´s back to normal, it´s always a worry after a spay or neuter that they won´t recover quickly or properly. 

I am so crossing my fingers that Annie and Toby get along. Bonding is always so difficult to predict and can be immediate or take ages but it´s worth the work so arm yourself with patience and I´m sure that they´ll be fine. Can´t wait to see them.


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## kirbyultra

I am an idiot. So, the buns all share the same room, but Kirby and Penny get to play outside of their pen during the day and Toby gets to play outside the pen at night. Basically the "outside" of their pen is the shared territory between all my buns. So this morning, somewhat drugged up on cold medication, I bumbled in and locked Toby's pen up as usual and unlocked Kirby. Kirby of course came immediately bouncing out of his pen. He was ferociously greeted by Toby, who was hiding under a box. I thought he was locked up inside his pen, but apparently all I'd done was lock him OUT of his pen. 

So the boys went at it terribly for what seemed like forever. They were BOTH vicious and out for blood. Toby is very agile and small so he ran circles around Kirby, nipping out mouthfuls of fur. Kirby is slow but when he pounces, it hurts! I intercepted one of his pounces and he bit into my arm instead. My arm is all bruised from it! Kirby was confused and very determined to find him. They took a quick break and just eyed each other and I tried to get in between them but they were both backing away and I couldn't catch them. 

Finally Kirby leapt at him again and Toby growled and then jumped up in the air to avoid him. I grabbed Toby by the midriff to try to get him out of his element while he didn't have his legs on the ground. He wiggled and tried to get out of my hold but I managed just long enough to get him back into his pen. Poor Kirby didn't know it was over and still snarled all around the room looking for him. 

It has been a long while since my boys had access to each other directly and got into a big fight. I figured they would have mellowed out a little since having to share a room together these last 10 months. They even sleep next to each other, albeit separated by a piece of clear plastic. If anything I think they hate each other more than ever before because it used to be Toby would chase and Kirby would run away but this time Kirby held his ground and really went after Toby! 

The whole thing was horrible and I was still so groggy from my meds, I really wasn't ready to wake up to this! Lesson learned: Make sure the bun is IN the pen before locking it up. *SIGH*


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## funnybunnymummy

Oh, dear. Sorry to hear about the fight, but glad to hear your bunners are all still doing well. Hoping good things for Kirby and Annie in their upcoming speed date!

Rue


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## kirbyultra

Annie: She's recovered from her spay like a champ. Her incision healed without any problems and the fur where they shaved her down is all grown back. She's gorgeous again. And now she's even more awesome because she doesn't have the need to do hormonal marking anymore and it's really helped make her a neater, cleaner bunny. 

Penny: I don't remember if I mentioned this but Penny has been on Metacam for her leg for a while. She's shown great quality of life improvements. She walks around a lot more often, she actually wants to hop onto the couch and follow Kirby around now. She would get up on her hind legs and beg for things. She's so much more agile and I think it's helping her weight issue. She's been slowly shedding some weight lately, along with dieting 

So I came home from a short vacation and I had all 4 of the buns boarded with a sitter for just 5 days. The other buns fared fine. Toby, however, did not. He came home and has been protesting food since. He eats hay and salad ok but he picks at his pellets, never finishing his daily 1/8 to 1/4 cup of pellets ever. It took us a couple of weeks but we're sure he's not having some other issue, probably just upset at us for the environment change and having left him a few days with strangers.

Well, we've wasted no time and now we are bonding him with Annie. Despite my worst expectations, they did really well. There is a really good chance he may bond with her! She is so eager to be groomed and so eager to have a friend. Toby is reserved, but he didn't dislike her. He's cautiously optimistic about her, I think.  Here's hoping!


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## kirbyultra

Today, we did three 5 minute dates with Toby and Annie. All three times, Annie was just explosively darting around exploring the laundry room where I've set up as the dating arena. She races around the place and then hurriedly lands herself in front of Toby a lot. The most amazing thing is she's not scaring Toby away. Her abrupt appearance in his face hasn't made him nervous or scared or defensive. He kind of just looks at her and when she tries to wedge her head under his, he shrinks his head back to deny her. I usually end up petting them both to ease up the tension. Annie's persistence in wanting to be groomed hasn't upset Toby yet, but I'm not taking chances. She also tries to loop around and sniff his bottom. He doesn't like it but he hasn't snapped at her for it. I quickly move her away before they have a chance to decide what to do about it. 

So far, no negative events have happened and I would very much want their dates to remain uneventful and peaceful for as long as possible. Uneventful is good. Uneventful is progress in disguise. I remember it took Kirby about two weeks before he got pissed with Penny wanting kisses and pawed her in the face, and those two are as civil as a pair gets! 

It's always tempting to go longer when nothing "happens" but I think I'm not going to push them further tomorrow. We'll remain around the 5 minute mark and see if they continue to tolerate the light interactions. 

Toby did some tooth purrs while their noses were touching and I was petting them simultaneously. I'm not sure what it means. Is it a happy sign the way it normally is? Is he accepting rubs thinking they're from her? I think whatever it means, it is probably a good thing. He's doing some normal stuff and in the state of mind to enjoy it. It is remarkable because I have never seen him this accepting of another bunny. I've taken out a lot of insurance to make sure this goes as well as it can, but all the rest is on the buns. Toby is taking it all spectacularly well compared to his prior date experiences. Maybe this is the right match. Maybe he's grown up and is ready for a friend. I'm going to give it my best shot to make it work for them. As much as Penny drives me nuts some days, Kirby would not have nearly the joy he has in life if he didn't have her. I want to give that kind of life changing quality to Toby too. And Annie is a joy... I can't fathom letting her go. She's a foster fail, almost without a doubt.


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## Chrisdoc

I am so happy to read this and am really rooting for these two. It´s good that there´s no aggression and I think you´re right to keep it short and finish on a good night. I do so hope that these two get together, I am so looking forward to seeing them grooming. I will be crossing everything I have and will be waiting for pics of them with baited breath lol. 

:nod


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## kirbyultra

Thanks so much!! I'm dying to see how it ends up too. We had a really positive session this afternoon and the bunnies are getting more comfy with each other. Toby wasn't even upset when she really wedged her head under his neck. They got very squishy, mushing their heads into each other. It's a fight for dominance in the most civil way that bunnies know how. They're not fighting and not getting upset at each other, so that's already very hopeful. 

Also, my goodness, I forgot to update! Dahlia, my little tiny thin-as-a-rail foster bun for a couple weeks was adopted!!!!! She was spayed not 2 weeks ago and she is doing amazingly well. I went to visit her before she was adopted and she was just a whole new bunny. She's lean, but not too thin and she ate her NORMAL pellets right away! No more colorful crazy pellet bits for her. No ma'am, she's a good girl now  Such an amazing turnaround. And the very next day she was adopted. And no wonder, she's a TON of fun!!! I'm so pleased with her outcome


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## Chrisdoc

That is great new about Dahlia, she was such a pretty girl and you did an amazing job before she left you. It´s good to hear that she´s found her forever home and I do so hope she will be a spoiled and very happy bunny.

Hope things continue to go well with Annie and Toby but it all sounds like good progress.


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## kirbyultra

Thank you! I am incredibly proud of Dahlia for being so brave and getting healthy. Lesser buns would have laid down and given up after obvious long term neglect. She is clearly enjoying life and making up for lost time. The volunteer who fostered her after me also did her adoption and well, I wholeheartedly trust that Dahlia's new mom will take good care of her and give her the attention that Dahlia demands. 

As for my up and coming celebrity couple, well, today we had some ups and downs but I think we are starting to see how they really feel about each other. I've managed 3 dates in a day, approximately 5-6 hours apart. And I did what I said I wouldn't do, which is make their dates longer. Frankly they seem to be enjoying each others presence that I didn't think it would harm anything to give them 10 minutes already. 

The lowest point of the dates were when Toby started to get antsy. They very often had their heads touching, cheeks touching or noses touching. I daresay, about 70% of the time their heads were touching each other somewhere. I'd do the petting for them to keep them interested. They have not decided to groom each other yet. My husband started to egg them on by trying to trick them and hiding pieces of craisins in the fur on top of their heads. Toby went for it and Annie seemed so pleased by it, even if it was a tricked kiss. 

Then they separated and Annie had her side to his head when he suddenly nearly headbutted her. I don't think he meant to try and bite her. He didn't get any fur and I think he only touched her fur, no flesh. She probably didn't feel anything but she saw him come at her and she didn't react. She trusts him, bless her soul. My guess is he is still not sure about her, and is a little pissed that she isn't grooming him or not giving him all her attention. On the last date he did it again after about 7 minutes into the date. He meant to knock his nose into her face but stopped short, like a fake-out headbutt. It was really strange. I know my Toby is very quick and agile. If he meant to harm her, he had the opportunity and he knows how to do it. He's lunged and bitten Kirby more times than I want to admit. But he is either just trying to show her who's boss or he is still a little scared of her. Not sure which. I'm hoping for the former. I'd rather he commit to liking her and assert his dominance to her than let him decide she's the enemy and go after her. 

I was starting to wonder whether Annie would be subordinate bun material because of how powerfully she is playing it right from the start. She's all sugar and sparkles but she shoves her head right under him every chance she gets to try to get him to kiss and groom her. Then the last minute of the last date tonight she did something on the aide of Toby's cheek that looked like she might have licked his face. I'm not sure, I didn't see that closely. Maybe it was a sniff but it might have been a lick. It's new for her. I've never seen her approach the side of her face with her mouth like that. I caught a pic of it but it is inconclusive to me still. I'll post the pic tomorrow. They are so adorable when their heads are smushed together. Too adorable for words!


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## kirbyultra

Here it comes!


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## kirbyultra

So today was officially bonding day #4. And by my count, date #11 because we've been going three times a day almost since the beginning of their bonding. It was a lot more of the same. Head nudging, nose-to-nose indecisiveness. In fact, in date #10 this evening Annie started off by rocketing towards Toby and then not only sliding her head under his belly but then she also thumped. She did this twice, which signals to me that she's kind of upset that he's not showing her any love. It's starting to get into that danger zone where the lack of action is starting to piss off one or both of the buns. I've dialed them back to 10 minutes or under. 

Just now however, I decided to see how they'd do with some new distractions. I brought their salads into the bonding with them. Annie went and stole all the parsley leaves from both plates and Toby didn't seem to be upset by it. They took a long time taking turns eating a leaf here and there, but never really eating together. They'd eat but only if the other one was on the other side of the room doing something else. They both nibbled on hay as well. They both are comfortable with facing their backs and their sides toward each other. They're not afraid that the other one will attack. I think they're building some trust. 

Annie ended the night by doing a dead-bunny-flop in which she completely keels over on her side. She often does this in her play pen after she's hopped around a lot and has tired herself out. Today was the first time she relaxed like this with Toby around. Toby looked at her and he was very alert of the fact that she was lying down. After a lot of thinking he started to approach her. He had his legs and neck and head stretched as far as it would go toward her without actually taking any steps in her direction. It was funny, you can almost see what he's thinking. He wants to get near her but he's too afraid to actually go. He finally decided he wouldn't and went back to the litter box and nibbled his hay. She didn't seem put off by it. She watched him the whole time. I decided that was as good a time as any to call it a night. I think it is really good progress. Toby's still wondering about her. He's interested and she makes him feel good, but he is still not sure how far he's willing to be at ease with her around. She really is putting it all in his court. I even think that as relaxed as she is, she may be top bunny in this duo. It's usually the relaxed, chill ones who run the house!


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## kirbyultra

Gonna keep it short. But basically, Annie licked Toby's ear a couple of times and he liked it so much. He did a lot of tooth purring and it was really nice. We did about 15 minutes and all if twas very snuggly and good! Here are some shots of Annie trying to get under him in various ways. They even sat side by side on their own!


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## JBun

That's so great! I think you have a match and are on your way to a happily bonded couple  I guess it just shows with buns that you never know who they are going to take a liking to.


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## Chrisdoc

Awww, these two are great together, they are such a good looking couple. I love little Annie, black and white dutchies are one of my faves and Toby, well he is just so regal. I think Jenny´s right, you look as though you´re on your way to having a bonded couple. I hope it´s soon. Keep the pics coming, I´m lovin them :bunnieskiss


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## kirbyultra

Day 5
The second date of Day 5 went really long. I kinda did what I said I wouldn't do and let them go as long as I thought they could stand each other. The thing that changed was Annie licked him real quick, but it still counts. Then she spent most of the time laying and flopped. Toby kept inching toward her then wussing out. Went on for 45 minutes. 
Day 5's third and last date went on for over an hour. They ate greens actually sitting with each other at the plates, and while Annie was eating hay in her box, Toby finally got the guts to go over to her and sniff around. He didn't run away when she came to him and ate his hay. Annie does a lot of abrupt movement which scares me more than it scares him and it's remarkable how well Toby's handling her juvenile energy. I never dreamed we'd be at day 5 and bonding for hour-long dates, but after the last date they look like they've been buds forever. Not quite husbun and wifebun yet. They still do the "no you first" when their noses nudge each other but their attitude is really positive. They're behaving the way Kirby and Penny did after like 3 weeks of bonding.

Day 6
This morning Annie reminded me that she's still pretty much a baby. She had so much energy and was darting around sniffing, rubbing and bouncing off of everything. It was really unnerving to watch and it scared Toby too. She landed in front of him once and he grunted at her, which she responded by promptly bouncing away. I couldn't tell if it was a hasty binky or a desperate jump. There was too much nervous energy in the air so I separated them after about 35 minutes. 

I decided it was time to swap their cages too. Since they're in my basement and their current spaces are all temporary, I figured they wouldn't mind too much anyway. They seemed to settle in just fine. 

This evening their last date went a lot better than this morning's. They ate salads together, they ate hay together. They seem to just hang out and observe each other without any issues.

............

This just in: Toby groomed Annie's face. HUZZAH!


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## kirbyultra

LOL sorry, that post was happening live as I was supervising their date. I just finished telling my husband how boring their long dates were becoming and that's why I brought a chair and a laptop into the laundry room to watch them. A few minutes after he left, he is pretty much going to regret that he did.

Annie and Toby did their nose-to-nose thing where neither wants to be the one to groom the other. But Annie really went for it this time... she didn't give up and she landed her head beside his, which he was tolerant of. Then slowly she started to snuggle her way under his head. Toby was curled up in a ball, pretty reluctant to do anything. I gave him some encouraging pets in his head. Then he kind of just... licked her eye! He licked her eyelids and a little bit of her ear.

A minute later, he licked her eyes again and she made a little noise, was slightly surprised by the sudden affection, it seems. But she didn't move away and he continued to lick her other eye and a little of her other ear too. A little while after that he gave her a few quick kisses on her head. She laid there blissfully, her eyes looking very calm and sleepy. Toby was so nervous. He was breathing hard but steadily. Poor kid was so nervous about making his move. He really likes her. I gave him some head rubs and he immediately responded with happy toothy purrs and I felt a lot of crunching from his head. 

This is a huge breakthrough. They've made great strides in just six short days. My plan is to get them more time to hang out together in neutral space. Maybe another day or two. Then I will try uniting them in their temporary cages. Since I've swapped their cages, I think it will help them acclimate to being in each other's space. And if they're totally in love in a few more days, I will try and see how they do together maybe all day under supervision. My goal is to get them solid together down in the basement before moving them back to the bunny room. The pen for them up there was solely Toby's and I don't know if he'll feel defensive about it. On top of that, Kirby and Penny are there to distract and annoy. I'm anxious to see how they react in the bunny room. But I think we are a little ways from that point. I'm going to take out some insurance and give Toby's pen upstairs all new flooring and really try to scrub it down so it's as neutral as possible. A new nest for the hopeful newlyweds!


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## Chrisdoc

I am so glad that these two are getting on so well, I just think they look gorgeous together and I think they will be so happy as well. 

I did laugh at you preparing Toby´s old pad as the honeymoon suite but I think or, at least, I´m hoping it will be pretty soon. 

I can´t believe they´ve got this far in such a short time but I am so happy for you.


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## funnybunnymummy

Yay for Toby and Annie! Definitely let them be together longer. If they're already grooming each other, they're already moving past the "tolerating" stage and onto the "madly in love forever stage." 

So happy for you and Toby!

Rue


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## kirbyultra

I believe today is officially day 11 of bonding. The buns are getting on well. Our longest date was 2.5 hours. They do really well isolated in the laundry room. They basically go about their day as of things were all normal and they lived there. I brought in some boxes and toys. They play, separately, taking turns. They eat together, though. 

Annie has no problem dead-bunny-flopping just inches from Toby. She has intentionally walked behind him and flopped down before. She also once flopped over and knocked into him!  Thankfully, Toby didn't mind and he wasn't scared by it. I'm shocked at how he takes everything she does as if it were all normal day to day stuff. Normally when he hears strange things or if people in the room make sudden movements, he's already gone, bolted away at the first sign of trouble. He doesn't seem panicked around Annie. This evening when she flopped behind him for a nap, he had his back to her but he knew she was there. He sat quietly and did toothy purrs. He has groomed her more times than she has groomed him. She presents her head to be groomed all the time. Annie loves to ham it up. Toby is still trying to gain the upper hand in this relationship but I think it's a losing battle for him. He likes her a lot. She likes him too but there's no one she doesn't like! She does like him though. She goes to him, prefers to get his attention and prefers to sit near him. 

They're a really lovely pair. I don't know what stroke of luck brought us all together. I really had in my mind a 95% failure rate already, thinking that the chances of Toby liking her were slim to none. It will still take time but I think that the feelings being so positive, Annie will be a keeper. 

I tried to see how they would behave if in put them together in their own temporary pens. It was easy to just join two pens together to make one big pen. Annie bolted out the door and immediately went exploring and touching everything. Toby knew something was amiss. He was hoping to ride it out by hiding in his wooden nap time box. Annie knew no boundaries and stuck her head in there. I had a real moment of panic, thinking Toby would surely take offense to her invading on his most private spot. But he shrunk back! She hopped in and presented her head again. She just wanted him to kiss her, no matter where they were. I pulled her back out because I wasn't sure how it would end in there. If Toby pounced on her, it would really hurt and it's a very small space. Toby ran out after she exited, and he kept trying to get away from her. She bounced around looking for him and exploring. She wasn't chasing him at all but all the commotion was making Toby scared/agitated. Eventually she got upset that he wasn't playing with her and he got upset she was being pissy. He took a snap at her, and she snapped back. She managed to get a half of a bite of fur off him. I broke it up then there. I don't think they're ready to share their personal space yet. So we remain in the laundry room... 

Pictures soon!


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## kirbyultra

Day 14
Today, we're taking another big step... out of the laundry room. We're back in the main area in the basement. I combined the pens they've been living in again and they didn't fight this time. Toby even gave her a smooch on the eyes at the beginning. She cornered him, he didn't really have a choice. But he chose to oblige rather than run away. It is going well! 

Here's a collection of photos I finally dumped off my camera. They range from day 1 to day 14.


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## kirbyultra

Bonding pics continued...


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## Chrisdoc

I so love these two and am so.pleased things going so well...they.are tooooo cute together 

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## MikeScone

Toby and Annie definitely seem to be getting along - and nice pictures, too!


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## Ilovemyrabbit

I'm happy those two are getting along well.  They make a beautiful couple!


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## kirbyultra

Thank you guys for your comments! When they are smooshed together, they are very, very cute. Lately things have been fairly stagnant, not a lot of progress. They're still hanging out a lot, playing in the laundry room just fine. 

The other night I made a huge mistake that allowed Annie to escape her pen. I don't know how long she was out, but we found her upstairs in the living room by morning!! She had tasted freedom and probably had a ton and a half of fun that night. By some miracle she didn't destroy anything, chew any wires nor get herself hurt. I suspect she wasn't out too long because she didnt poop or pee anywhere upstairs and I think if she spent a significant amount of time up there, she would have. And I know that once she discovered the upstairs, she wouldn't have gone back down because the upstairs is way more open and fun to run around in. She did poop all over the outside of Toby's pen, where it meets her pen. Toby bit off a few mouthfuls of her fur, likely from her head because the fur was very short. She must have stuck her head in between the bars and he must have gotten her. 

I was terrified to find her out but after inspection, she seemed unharmed and neither was my house. The only thing I wasn't sure of was whether her escape and Toby's aggression set them back. Did she hold a grudge for his biting? Did he think she was obnoxious now? 

I very cautiously proceeded with a date in the laundry room after I gave them about 36 hour cooldown period. They seem fine! Toby seems slightly more cautious around her. He was avoiding her a lot and acted very cold whenever she approached her, but he would just walk away. He didn't get upset with her and it was clear Annie didn't hold a grudge either. They just sort of needed some time to warm up to each other again. 

In the end, I placed them near each other and pet them, and they liked it. Today at Day 16, they seem no worse off than before the incident. They haven't progressed further. I think at some point one of them will have to deal with some fighting and/or confrontation. Right now, Toby still refuses to concede and Annie keeps wanting him to groom her. She's very laid back and very relaxed and open, but she is dying for attention from him. She slips her head under his head and under his butt, or between his legs every chance she gets. Toby has been walking away from her advances mostly. But one day there will have to be a face off and one bun will be top bunny. I'm just going to keep bonding them until they figure it out.


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## kirbyultra

Well, folks, Toby and Annie had been going on well over a week at a plateau of progress together. Toby seems to get fairly upset after about an hour if I bond them by combining their spaces together. As long as they're in neutral space they do fine for many hours at a time. But a sane person can only take so many hours locked up in the laundry room! I had to do something to switch things up or I would soon go crazy. Lately I have been making up any excuse to postpone bonding times and the more I delayed it, the more I feared I would undo the hard work we achieved. 

My husband has been nagging me to get the buns some time in the sun for a few days. The weather is getting cooler and so the backyard is more enjoyable for the buns. I have two fears though. One is in getting over a sinus infection that's been plaguing me for almost a month so I really don't want to get sick again and relapse. The other is I know Toby gets freaked out beyond a reasonable amount when he is in a pen in the yard so I'm not convinced that it would be productive. 

Instead, the whipped out the funny little pet stroller that I bought way ball when I was trying to bond my first three buns together. I put the little love birds in and we took a walk around the neighborhood! They didn't like it but they didn't seem to take it as badly as I predicted. When they got home I set them up in a new pen in my dining room to give them more daylight as requested. They did really well together in this pen. So today I took them on another stroller walk them plopped them into the pen in my dining room again. They did fine for over 6 hours. 

I decided to make the leap and let them stay in the pen together overnight. So far they have been a little snuggly and very nice to each other. I'm sleeping downstairs just to make sure no fights break out. 

If they do well together for over 36 hours I think it might be time for me to scrub down Toby's old pen in my bunny room and move them in there. Hopefully Toby won't get defensive that it is his old spot. Hopefully by then he'll be too in love to squabble over that. I'm replacing a good deal of the woods and floor mats in the pen with stuff that he and Annie have been sharing so maybe with both their scents on the things he won't be so sensitive I'm afraid it might be a fool's errand but frankly I never thought Toby would get this far with any bunny so who knows!

I'll have to post the hilarious pics of them in a stroller soon. 

On a sad note, I think this year despite the fact that I bought Annie an adorable Halloween costume already, I think if I over stress her by putting it on her it might mess up the bonding experience. Maybe I'll save it for next year. .. Hope she'll still got In it next year. At the rate she is eating she's going to be a pudgy little Princess!!


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## kirbyultra

Lol I have some atrocious typos in my last post. I wrote it on my new phone so many apologies!!!

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## Chrisdoc

Glad to see it´s still going well and can´t wait to see the pics in the stroller. I´m sure she´ll fit in it next year, love seeing photos of the bunnies dressed up but not sure mine would allow it. 

I do so hope these two get married soon lol. I just love a wedding :wink


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## kirbyultra

Well, two things happened during my sleepover with the buns in the living room and 2 things didn't happen:

Two things that did happen:
- Discovered that Annie binkies and does really adorable things every 30 minutes all night long
- Toby and Annie sat close together quite often

Two things that didn't happen:
- Sleep. For me. No sleep was had because of Annie binkying and chewing and running into things every 30 minutes.
- Fights did not break out 

It was overall very successful. Toby still sits in the corner very much unwilling to move for most of the day and night but I think he would pretty much do that in any strange environment. He's just not one to deal with change very well at all. He tolerated Annie's crazy antics all night fairly well though. Only at one point did I see him run after her and I think it was because she startled him with one of her Bunny 500s around the pen. They seem to be sitting closer together more often and more naturally/relaxed than they did in the laundry room. The fact that they have been together for 24 hours is pretty good already. Tonight I'm going to sleep in the guest room so I can have a little bit of a break from the smaller noises they make. Hopefully I can sleep a little! If a huge fight breaks out I'm quite sure I'll hear it from there. But I probably won't hear it from my own bedroom. 

I feel like they're really starting to get a feel for each other. Annie likes him so much, I know this already. She would make a great partner bunny for most bunnies, to be honest. She is so friendly and so needy of love. She just wants to love everyone she meets and be everyone's best friend. She's that kind of bunny! She wants so much for Toby to be her friend. He'll come around. He's accepted her into his life much more than I imagined he could. It's all progress in my eyes. I think I'll see if they fall in love some more before I move them into Toby's old pen space in my bunny room. That's the ultimate goal, to get them back into my bun room. It's a whole other challenge to get them in there because it's Toby's old stomping grounds and there are also two other bunnies who live in the same room in the next pen to distract them. I'm really hoping that they fall deeply in love while in the dining/living rm area so that by the time they get to the bun room Toby won't be too mad.


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## Chrisdoc

This is such good news, Annie sounds like a real sweetie but I do have a soft spot for Toby as well. I know what you mean about the noise. When I set up the new enclosure before I went away, I slept with them in the living room just in case they were spooked or got out and I didn´t sleep much, they are noisy during the night and active. 

I think that´s fantastic progress and I am sure Toby is already smitten with Annie, he´s just taking a little while to really show it. 

I really look forward to news on here now


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## funnybunnymummy

I would honestly call them bonded at this point. But I'd keep them together in the dining room for a week or so (though you should be able to move back to your own room after one more night.  ), before moving them into the same room as Kirby and Penny. I just worry a bit that having Kirby there will make Toby more defensive. Could be wrong, but I'd definitely let the bond solidify a bit more before the big move. 

Also, moving a girl into a boy's cage is less likely to cause a territorial problem than vice versa. Girls are the ones who tend to be territorial about space, boys get territorial about girls. 

Hope that helps!

Looking forward to more updates! (and pics!  )

Rue


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## kirbyultra

Pics that I promised!


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## kirbyultra

I have to just first of all express how much I detest both the new picture posting procedure and the photobucket layout where I host all my pics. I used to be able to insert an image and then be able to caption/talk about the picture directly underneath it, then go on to the next pic within the same post. Now it's like if I want to upload a bunch of pics, I have to post them all, and then write about it on a second post because I can't tell by looking at file names which pictures are posted in which order. It's a big ol' mess!

Anyway, the first picture is a hilarious picture I just had to snap when we were in the laundry room. Toby was sitting in "his spot" and Annie had been running around chinning stuff and climbing on everything for about an hour. She finally got tired and just plopped down next to him. She did this very, very often. And Toby sat with that look on his face every single time. It's like he's saying, "Women. Whaddya gonna do?" *shrug!*

The next pic is to show the setup I have for them in my dining room. It's 6 rubber/foam mats big and I fling in some of their toys. I make them share one litter box for now because two seemed excessive for that amount of space. Toby seemed troubled by it at first. The first 12 hours or so he didn't like going in there unless he HAD to go. And when he did, he made quick business of it and then hopped away. True to form, he is eating hay and once again not eating much in the way of pellets because it's a new place. He nibbles a few, but doesn't finish his portion. No worries, Annie always finishes them for him. 

The next pic was taken of Toby and Annie after they took the stroller ride together the first day. They had been together only about 6 hours and already they looked cozier with each other. They're so cute together, it's almost too much.

And finally, stroller pictures! The first one... I don't know if they're turning their backs at us because they are "giving us the butt" or if they're just avoiding the direct sunlight exposure. The last pic is Toby glaring at me, as if to say, "You'll pay for this, human. You'll pay dearly." He shot me that look every time I walked over to take a look at how they were doing. They always sit with one facing front and one facing back. Maybe they're partnering to "be on the lookout"


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## kirbyultra

Chrisdoc said:


> This is such good news, Annie sounds like a real sweetie but I do have a soft spot for Toby as well. I know what you mean about the noise. When I set up the new enclosure before I went away, I slept with them in the living room just in case they were spooked or got out and I didn´t sleep much, they are noisy during the night and active.
> 
> I think that´s fantastic progress and I am sure Toby is already smitten with Annie, he´s just taking a little while to really show it.
> 
> I really look forward to news on here now



Thank you Chris! Yeah, it's always hard when you leave the buns in a new place for the first time. When I tell people what I'm doing they're like... you're kidding right? No, I'm seriously going to sleep in the living room to make sure the buns don't fight each other to the death 



funnybunnymummy said:


> I would honestly call them bonded at this point. But I'd keep them together in the dining room for a week or so (though you should be able to move back to your own room after one more night.  ), before moving them into the same room as Kirby and Penny. I just worry a bit that having Kirby there will make Toby more defensive. Could be wrong, but I'd definitely let the bond solidify a bit more before the big move.
> 
> Also, moving a girl into a boy's cage is less likely to cause a territorial problem than vice versa. Girls are the ones who tend to be territorial about space, boys get territorial about girls.
> 
> Hope that helps!
> 
> Looking forward to more updates! (and pics!  )
> 
> Rue



My goodness, Rue, thank you! That really does help. I hope it is as you say. That would save me a lot of heartache and effort  

In my mind I also think that they're pretty much considered bonded. If that was their permanent home, yeah, that'd be a done deal! It's just this last hurdle. I wanted to move them into the bun room today if they did well together upstairs, but I had some stuff come up and was unable to do the scrub-down of the floors that I wanted to do in Toby's pen, so we're delayed. At this point I think I'll just leave them until the weekend. It'll give them a bit more time to solidify the bond, and me more time to get their space just right


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## Chrisdoc

That first pic is fabulous. She is totally comfy and he´s just looking on. They were meant to be together. Love the stroller, I´d love one of those to take mine out but mine do that in the carrier. The two that travel together always look in opposite directions. Maybe it´s a bunny thing. 

I´m sure that they will be fine when you finally move them, they seem really settled together now. 

And yes, my friends also look at me daft when I say I slept on the sofa just to make sure the buns were OK the first night in their new set up. What is so strange about that lol.


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## kirbyultra

Pictures from today Part One


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## kirbyultra

Pictures from today Part Two


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## kirbyultra

Day 25
I decided today was the day to take the leap. Coincidentally Halloween but I decided not to dress them up this year because Toby and Annie were already stressed out enough, no need to add costumes to their troubles. So it seemed as good a day as any to move in.

Let me begin by saying that I am officially adopting Princess Annie the Bun. She's in, she's mine, she's Toby's and it's a done deal. I just need to do paperwork and stuff but she's not leaving us! That said, of course it means that Toby and Annie are now officially an item 

They've been in the same pen upstairs living as peacefully as you could want a newly bonded pair to be for over 2 days. They've shown every positive sign of being an item and have had virtually no quarrels or hierarchy issues with each other. I felt good about proceeding. It took a _while _but I finally vacuumed all the hay and fur out of the pen (and while I was at it, vacuumed Kirby and Penny's area too). There were old pee stains that I discovered here any there and had to scrub all that out with vinegar to neutralize the space. Toby did a really severe case on the chew guards of his bi-level Leith Condo and he has peed in the corners, staining the wood. So all that was replaced too. It was a lot of racket installing new ones, which Kirby complained about all afternoon as I worked as quickly as I could. New condo carpet was laid down. New interlocking carpet-top foam mats were laid down on the floor as well. It was a top-to-bottom scrub. I also walled off the perimeter of their space with newspapers and cardboard so that they can't physically see Kirby and Penny. They know they're there for sure, but at least without visuals, they won't get as easily worked up about it.

I put Toby back in first. You could see his eyes light up and his ears perk up as soon as he realized where he was. He recognized it as home. He was eager to sniff every inch of it. He pawed around and periscoped around a few minutes but he knew it: he was home! 

When I brought Annie in, she was just exploding with happiness to have another new place to explore and bop around in. She raced around sniffing everything. It was so funny to watch them because Toby was inspecting his home and Annie was just exploring and having fun. They were both circling the place over and over discovering and re-discovering it all. To anyone who ever believed rabbits were not intelligent animals, I can tell them that they are absolutely wrong. The amount of information flashing through their furry little heads was plain. Toby was happier than I'd seen him in weeks. He was excited and he was relaxing at the same time. He even shot up in a few binkies! 

With all the excitement, I wasn't sure how it would play out when they settled down. I was most anxious to see how they would interact inside the condo. It's a tight space and if they did fight, I was scared about whether I could grab them out of there. Toby's wooden sleepy box was also inside there and it's like his holy spot. Nobody touches his box. The last time Annie tried to get into his box when they were in the basement, he snapped at her and then got very, very upset. Today, however, he just let her have it. He wasn't so concerned about her being in his spot. He was a little cautious at first, avoiding wherever she wanted to be, but after a while he just settled in and let her do whatever she wanted. He is even more relaxed and accepting of her in his own pen. I had really nothing to worry about! 

I have several shots of Annie sleeping inside of Toby's box, leaving Toby out in the cold somewhere nearby, looking. He isn't bitter about it. He doesn't seem really fazed by her being there. It's just funny and a little bit sad for me to look at how my strong minded Toby has fallen from first place in his world... but at least it's in the name of love. 

To be honest, I have no idea how Annie figured it out. How did she know that inside of that box was "the number one bunny's spot"? She's been gunning for that place for a while now and now whenever she naps, she goes in there. Toby has had to settle for being on top of her, in the "party deck" of the condo. It's a bit weird and I am still trying to reason it out. Is it obviously the best place in the whole pen? Not really... The party deck is "higher" than the box. It's not very "Toby" because I changed the carpet. There's an identical box down on the floor that my husband bought for her, but she won't sleep in there. She sleeps in Toby's! Sheesh, she's smart. That's all I can say about it right now.

How are Kirby and Penny taking it? Well, they were annoyed that I locked them in during their "out time" this afternoon because of all the cleaning I was doing. Then they were MORE annoyed when Toby and Annie were making noise zipping around next door. Eventually, Penny caught a glimpse of Annie out of a wee corner that didn't have any cardboard and Penny went bonkers boxing the pen. It was no use because of all the perimeter protection I put up, but you could tell that Penny was not happy to see Annie. This is new to me because Penny has never been immediately aggressive with any other bunny in my house. I guess girls don't like girls! Kirby also encountered Annie when he climbed up on a shelf and saw Annie from 20" off the ground. I didn't bun-proof that high, so Annie stretched herself way up on her tippie toes and when Kirby saw her, he punched her in the nose. He narrowly missed because there was about an inch of space between their pens but he went for it. Safe to say that Kirby/Penny and Toby/Annie won't be friends and I'll have to continue me strict quarantine routine of the two pens... I'm a little nervous about it in general because Annie is very young and the space is new to her. I don't really know what she's capable of. I'm not entirely sure that the measures I've taken to separate Kirby and Toby will work for Annie! I guess I'll have to be diligent in observing and play it by ear. 

By the way, Annie was up on the second level of the condo and she took one look out the open door and jumped out! She jumped like she meant it too! She landed right on her feet on the floor and was very pleased with herself. Toby saw her jump (he was on the second floor too) and he just sat there bewildered by it. She was there, and then she was not. He had never experienced this! Toby had never dared to jump. But Annie was in there for about 45 minutes and did what no bun did before! This is what I mean about being nervous for my bunny room. Annie is an unknown! I just have no idea what to expect out of her!

But it was a very good day for all of us in the Rabbit Nation overall. At about 9:30pm this evening I sat on my couch, very pleased with myself. I was listening to the symphony of 4 bunnies chomping on hay and it was quite literally music to my ears. I feel like I've achieved the impossible. I would have never guessed 26 days ago that on Halloween, Annie would be napping in Toby's box and Toby would be chill about it. Not in a million years! But I followed a set of instructions, spent a lot of time with them, took every precaution, and most importantly, I think I picked the right bun for my bun. And now, my dear little baby Toby has a friend. I think that's the best thing I could do for my Toby. As much as Penny frustrates me and makes me mad almost daily, I can tell she has enhanced Kirby's life in ways I never could. Kirby was nearly 4 years old when he got Penny, and now Toby is 4 and has Annie. I hope that all my buns live happily with my husband and I, for a really long time. It's all I can ask for in life!

P.S. Yes that's another classic Kirby dead-bunny-flop next to Penny. He's so silly!


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## Azerane

It's so good to read that Annie and Toby get along so very well, love all the pictures of them too! It's funny (though probably a little scary at the time) how Annie just leapt out of the second story of the cage, all part of the personality I suppose. You just have to hope that she doesn't teach Toby bad habits


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## Chrisdoc

I´ve loved reading about this journey and I just love these two. The pics of them together are adorable. Don´t ever make the mistake of thinking that bunnies are not super clever or they will just prove you very wrong. I have a big jumper so I know what you mean with Annie, you can never tell what she might do, you can only observe and hope for the best. 

I think that their lives are enriched by having bunny friends and I´m so glad that Toby has his own special friend now. And he must indeed be in love if he´s given up his favourite spot. 

Congratulations on your wonderful couple and will continue to follow their adventures. By the way, Kirby and Annie look pretty good too :wink


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## kirbyultra

Hee hee, thank you! Kirby and Penny is another pair of buns from which inspiring love stories stem. Penny is just the dullest little piglet of a bunny I have ever met. She's sweet to a fault, has no idea what's going on around her until it's too late, and her fixation on putting things into her mouth will drive you mad. But she _loves _Kirby. She takes all her cues in life from him. If he sleeps, she sleeps. If he plays, she follows. If he's not feeling right, she looks lost. Since she and Kirby have lopsided eating habits, she gets locked up for a few hours while Kirby gets a chance to eat. If I forget to unlock her, Kirby sleeps right outside of her cage so that they can be together. He'll even eat the hay that is sticking out of her cage so they can eat together. Kirby used to be a basket case. Every little thing startled him. It's not that he didn't want to relax. I could always tell when he was trying to take a nice nap but he simply could not help being scared. I joke about how Penny stepped into his life and he found out that if any danger came his way, he could just bolt away and offer Penny as a meat shield. It's kind of true! His worries have slowly but surely melted away since being with her. They snuggle and seem to "talk" to each other, whispering literal sweet nothings into each other's ears. I will admit that some of my frustrations with Penny come from jealousy which sounds insane, I know. But Kirby is that important to me and when he and Penny share the kinds of bunny love moments that I can't ever have with him, it's bittersweet for me. In the end, I'll always know that Kirby is 100% happier with a bunny friend and that's most important.

I won't lie and say that Toby not being the dominant bun of his new pairing isn't bugging me at least a little. I wish he was top bunny because he's always been the rebellious one. But I guess they've figured it out themselves and Toby's ok with it. I hope that Toby will be much happier with her. He seems happier already, albeit a little beside himself sometimes watching how wild baby Annie can be. If you watch The Big Bang Theory, he's like Sheldon. A big old nerd, a creature of routine. Annie is his Penny. The crazy, unruly little mess who wiggled her way into his life and has forever changed the landscape of his days. But for the better!


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## Chrisdoc

That is so lovely to read. They come into our lives, we take them on and they literally dig deeper into our hearts every day. I laughed reading about Kirby and Penny, they do look so in tune but I love Toby and Annie, remind me a bit of Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford in The way we Were but with a happy ending. She´s a bit cooky and mad but she certainly seems to love your little boy. But yes, he could be Sheldon, I do love that show. 

I do think that, in general, they are much happier having company, couldn´t imagine my boys on their own. And even when Houdini and Snowy nip and chase, you know that they do really love each other. I laughed today as I caught them just behind the sofa grooming each other and it made me really smile.


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## funnybunnymummy

I've been told the girls rule the roost in rabbit colonies and Pepper certainly does here. She steals Gus's food (he looks so confused when it happens!), demands he groom her, and generally acts like a spoiled little princess. But he looooves her so much he puts up with it. Having her around has made him so relaxed and happy so I don't mind having to share him with her. 

Can't wait for more updates on the happy couple. 

Rue


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## kirbyultra

I agree, from day one Kirby won my heart but each day spent with him somehow it's possible to love him more. All my buns are precious to me but Kirby will always be my first born.  He's 7 now. His 5th Gotcha Day is coming up very soon. He's still unbelievably baby-like but I worry about him all the time. Every once in a while he'll show a tiny little sign that he's not the 2 year old young boy I brought home. I want every day to be a good one for him and I think Penny helps with that. 

Some interesting observations about Toby and Annie since living together. I don't know if it's because they just have "enough" space, but they seem to peacefully coexist without any strong visible signs of lovey-doveyness. Since being spooked out of "his box" Toby has stopped napping there. And since Toby stopped napping there, Annie has stopped wanting to be there too. I guess that's how she first found out that the box was a big deal, because Toby treasured it! Now Toby is playing it cool, sleeping on the Party Deck and she is content sleeping on the second floor, not necessarily inside of the box. Toby goes into his box every once in a while to check and inspect, but he doesn't stay too long. And he'll only go when Annie can't see him there. I think it's his plan to set it up as a nonvaluable location so he can steal it back later. Hah, it's a face-off of bunny minds! I wonder who will win. 

Toby and Annie sometimes eats together but they don't always do. They chomp on hay but usually in separate boxes. They use each other's litter boxes interchangeably. They don't mind each other at all, but they don't need to be in each other's faces anymore. Annie has stopped trying to present her head to Toby every chance she gets. It's a curious thing for me because she did it all the time before and now has suddenly stopped. 

My favorite thing about them living there is that Toby has relaxed _a lot_. He now lays down and kicks his paws out for nappie time. Sometimes he'll curl up like a loaf of bread, no paws visible, and sleep all afternoon. He is probably exhausted because it didn't look like he slept all that calmly for all 25 days of bonding. I came into the room yesterday afternoon and actually let out a chuckle because all four of my buns were loafing and sleeping. It was just such a normal thing and I loved seeing them all so relaxed. There's no place like home.

Myself, however, I am still having a lot of trouble sleeping. Though I've gone back to my own bed to sleep, I still wake up from every little noise, thinking something's happened to my buns and they are all duking it out downstairs! I have webcams set up all over the room and I check it like 500 times in a night. I need to relax! They seem fine. But I can't help but worry!


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## Chrisdoc

I think how you feel is completely normal. I am sure that when mine reach Kirby´s age, I´ll worry about them ageing in the same way. They seem so young now but I am so glad every morning when I go in the living room to see them waiting patiently for me to come in and feed them, I must admit it´s always a great relief. And yes, it is amazing when they are all so comfy that they meatloaf and flop with great regularity. 

I love that my boys have each other and I laugh when they chase each other or race around the room like nutters. Can´t imagine life now without any of them.


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## kirbyultra

Hahaha, "like nutters"! Yes, exactly. It's a gift to be able to catch a glimpse of the buns in their purest form. Sometimes I get greedy and reach for the camera to try and capture the great little moments they show me but more and more I feel like I miss out on stuff because I'm so busy snapping away. Though I must say, I take a lot of vacation photos and food photos but the only ones I ever look at over and over are my bunny photos. Even so, the buns get progressively more clever and I can't seem to photograph fast enough these days. It's better if I just savor the moment live and try my very best to burn it all into my memory. 

In the last year or so I have observed Kirby flop more than ever before. It's almost a given that he'll flop beside Penny once a night. I even asked my vet if it's possible he's flopping more because his joints or legs are too tired. She assured me that an arthritic bunny would not display pain by flopping. Flopping is just a happy and relaxed thing. I'm so glad 

I spied on my Web cams that the buns were all going nuts today and Annie was trying with all her might to jump over the pen. Apparently kirby and penny have been taunting them by both tippie toeing on the other side of my barrier, causing curious baby Annie to go bonkers trying to reach them. I got so nervous and rushed home ASAP to prevent her from trying to reach over anymore. Sigh. My anxiety won't subside anytime soon, I'm afraid.

I spent a little time just petting Toby today. It was nice to spend time with him alone without Annie for a change. My husband stood by and watched. Toby enjoyed it so much and was tooth purring bigtime. I suddenly realized that Toby had gotten much thinner than I remember. I'd carried him to and fro places so often lately, of course I noticed he was lighter. But it wasn't until today when I was really giving him a rub down that I realized how bony he felt. It broke my heart. He hasn't been eating normally since my vacation in September and then he recovered and ate normally for all of one week before we threw him into bonding and new places, causing him to eat very little again. He's still not eating everything the way he used to but he is eating more now that he is back in his own home. He is much happier here. Everything about him seems more natural. You can tell just looking at his positioning and stance. My husband, who doesn't even spend a ton of time with the buns, even picked up on his change in alertness and guardedness. I hope he feels better and eats more soon.


Sent from my mobile phone


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## Chrisdoc

I do so agree, I spend loads of time trying to catch that perfect bunny moment which I never do and sometimes don´t really see what I´m filming. I just find it so joyful to watch them playing, eating, flopping, binkying and just being bunnies. I panic when I can´t find them. I finished cleaning their enclosure this morning and couldn´t find Snowy, panic started to set in and then I looked in their tatty hideaway cardboard box and there he was meatloafing. I think I´ve missed most of their best moments on film but they´re not to be forgotten. 

I can well imagine Kirby and Penny goading Annie, hope she soon gets used to their tricks. I´m sure Toby will get back to his normal weight quite soon, he´s settled now with Annie and back in his own home.


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## kirbyultra

I do the same thing, I freak out big time when I can't find Kirby. Kirby is very adventurous these days so I can't leave the door open for even a second and he'll wiggle out. Then it's anyone's guess where in the house he could be! It's my fear that I'll have a dummy moment and forget the door. I have done it a few times and luckily he was sleeping otherwise he would have gotten loose. Every time I don't see him in the usual spots my heart leaps into my throat and I start to wonder whether he went out and I locked him out of the room! He's escaped and had a ball in the past but the rest of the house is far from bun proof. Annie has also escaped recently so I'm really not on top of my game!

Toby and Annie have been living like roommates. They mostly avoid direct contact with each other but settle on sleeping nearby. They know meal time and they like to be awake together and share nap time together but they don't actually touch very often. Toby's sleeping box has worn out its novelty as Toby plotted and so Annie no longer plops herself there for naps. Toby slept there all afternoon and he has been so happy this evening. I think he had a very calm and restful day's rest in his favorite spot. He was looking exceptionally handsome and sharp tonight! His eyes had a very alert and playful twinkle. I haven't seen that in him since before bonding began. He's eating a lot more hay today as well. Things are kind of getting back to normal for him. I sincerely hope that my trip in a week or so and then again in December when I must board him with a sitter again won't bother him so much. The poor boy can't catch a break lately. At least he will have Annie. Who knows, maybe the stress of being at the sister's will bring them closer. 

Sent from my mobile phone


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## Chrisdoc

Haha, I always panic the same when I can´t find one of them and wonder if they´ve sneaked out of the door when I was coming in or out and I didn´t notice. I would love to give them free roam of the house but too many things lying around which I haven´t space to clear to somewhere else. 

Yes, I saw the pic of him in his house again although Annie has left her mark just to remind him she was there. He does look happy though and I think they´re now maybe settling down into normal life. I´m sure they´ll have their "couple" moments but as long as they´re both happy, everything will be Ok. 

I will always worry when I leave them even though I know now they´re OK but I know that it does alter their routine. Having said that, they do get back to normal quite quickly.


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## kirbyultra

Annie. Is. Tearing. Up. The. Pen. 

Help. 



*SIGH* I'm much too tired today to deal with destructobun. Maybe tomorrow. :banghead:

Sent from my mobile phone


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## MikeScone

kirbyultra said:


> Annie. Is. Tearing. Up. The. Pen. *SIGH* I'm much too tired today to deal with destructobun. Maybe tomorrow.



Natasha's much more destructive than Scone ever was, too (not that he didn't have his moments, but at least he left upholstery and wallpaper alone). Does do the digging and warren construction in the wild, I wonder if it's a genetic imperative to modify her environment?


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## kirbyultra

I have noticed the girls in my household tend to be more territorial. They paw around and destroy their toys until it is satisfactorily in pieces. Penny has been known to live happily for a while, then one fateful day she'd rip up a piece of the flooring or pee all over the pen or some other such fixation. Annie has been marking Toby's pen religiously since moving in. Toby doesn't care about it either way but I always feel like I'm walking in a mine field. She's poking her nose through the pen and munching on the wooden molding. She and Penny paw at each other through the bars even though I've covered it with newspaper and a piece of plastic. Maybe it's just a female thing... I've a feeling if my girls ever got into a fight, it would be the fight of the century. Penny has size and weight advantage and brute strength behind her fat rolls. Annie has speed, agility and smarts. I chuckle at the thought but hope it never becomes reality. 

Sent from my mobile phone


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## kirbyultra

P.S. Oh yes, Penny has recently discovered cushion stuffing. I say discovered, meaning she's bitten into it through the leather and found access to the fluffy stuff. Kirby looks around nervously. When I catch them both up on the couch, Kirby always looks up at me with his shiny, googly eyes that say "it wasn't me, mom," and then he'll inevitably also take a few steps away from Penny and stare at her. I know what it means, Kirby. It was all Penny's fault. :sly:

Sent from my mobile phone


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## Chrisdoc

Oh dear, I did laugh reading this and yes, been there and done it. 

I have a cushion on one of the dining room chairs and I though they were just using it to hang out on and relax. It was only when I saw some white fluffy stuff under the table which I thought was fur and then discovered it wasn´t. Yes, it was the stuffing from the cushion. We have now gone through two, good job they are old things and I don´t mind. 

I moved the two boys litter tray on Sunday as I was trying to find a better place for their water dish. Since then, one of them has peed over the side twice. I think it´s probably Bandy, his big butt is hanging over haha. Maybe this Sunday, I´ll have to think again. They do keep you on your toes.


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## kirbyultra

Kirby and Penny! Believe it or not, this is Penny after she lost some weight. lol


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## kirbyultra

Toby and Annie

You'll see how cute they are taking turns in Toby's box. 

The last pic if you look closely, is Annie shoving her head into Toby's box while he's inside. He is kissing her, having a private moment. I couldn't get close enough to get a better angle for the pic without making noise.


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## Chrisdoc

Great pics, the last one is adorable, I love the idea of them having their private kissy moment. :feelbetter:

Kirby and Penny are gorgeous as well :yeahthat:


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## kirbyultra

Thanks, Chris. Sigh. I just came into the bun room and Toby and Annie had a huge fight sometime in the last 4.5 hours that I left them alone. There were tufts of fur all over their pen. Toby seems scared of her and is avoiding her. I did see her try to slip her head under him again and he walked away from her. She came into the litter box to eat hat and he walked out of the box. He's definitely upset by something. I wish I was here to see what happened. Poor babies.

Sent from my mobile phone


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## Chrisdoc

It does happen sometimes and lots of fur is no indication that they have had a serious set to. Pick them up and just run your hands over them to see if they have any bites. Mine have had bites from time to time but nothing serious, it´s just sometimes I can feel a little scab. It may be something really silly but just keep your eye on them, I am convinced that, in most cases, the buns can work things out themselves. My two will chase each other and nip but next minute they are sitting side by side grooming each other. I suppose they have little quibbles just like we do. 

I would hate to think that my two lovey dovey bunnies have fallen out of love :bigtears:


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## kirbyultra

My worst nightmare has come true. I really thought that yesterday's tiff was a one-time event, maybe just working out the wedding bell blues. I was wrong. 

Last time I took the time to just be with them, listening for quarrels or anything like that until 4:30am. All I got was a couple of thumps from Toby, but no actual fight broke out. My husband got up at 7:30am and all looked well then too. When I got up at 11:00am, they still looked normal. After lunch, I took a peek and they were still doing their usual afternoon snooze. Since I leave for a big trip on Thursday night I decided to start packing things and deciding what outfits to wear on which days, etc. My bedroom is directly above the bunny room so I normally can hear if the buns start to bang on the walls or the pens. (But I cannot hear them over my husband's snoring at night, so that's why when they were bonding I slept in the guest room to ensure I'd hear them). 

Sure enough at around 2:15 or so suddenly I heard two bangs. I didn't want to believe it so I perhaps didn't run but hurriedly walked down the stairs to check on them. It was an absolute disaster. Black and white and brown fur all over the floor... food pellets tossed all about... one scared bunny upstairs in the condo and one lost, confused bunny down on the ground. 

I got my hands on Annie first and she didn't look like she took any big hits. She looked scared and upset, but she didn't bleed or anything. Then I fished Toby out of the condo (not an easy feat if you are familiar with the Leith Bunny Abode). I checked his body, sifted through his fur and did see some missing fur patches (rather large, about a size of a quarter type patches). But then I was petting him to reassure him and tell him it was going to be ok, to my absolute horror I noticed a *PIECE* of his EAR was missing. He wasn't actively bleeding but it was raw, pink, and you could see some vessels intact from the flesh remaining. He didn't get a chunk of his ear chomped off, it was more like the skin and fur layer of his ear was skinned/peeled off. The wound is about an inch long by 1/4 inch wide. I was terrified, at a loss for words and panicking. 

He was already in my arms so I hurried and took him out of the pen, locked Annie in and rushed out of the bunny room. I called the vet and told them I'd bring him in as an emergency immediately. I was shaking, and I couldn't stop crying. I was trying to find his carrier to take him by car but in that moment, all I could do was stroke Toby and say sorry. I don't know how long it took me but I finally decided that if I was freaking out with an already wounded and scared bunny, he'd only feel more scared. I called my husband and told him as best I could about what happened and that I was taking Toby to the vet. 

By some miracle I managed to drive. But as I approached the vet's office and thought about where to park, I realized that the vet had send me a card in September informing us that they moved their address. They were a quarter mile away, somewhere else! *SIGH*

So then with my last ounce of strength I pulled up their new address from my phone and drove there instead. Thank god their new location has parking onsite. The vet was not the one we usually see but she seemed good. She felt so terrible about his wound and was extra gentle. She convinced me that bunnies heal skin remarkably well despite how bad it looked. She told me to give him metacam to manage the pain and she recommended HealX ointment. It's not actually an antibiotic but I have heard of its powers used on rabbits at the shelter. Our rescue uses HealX Soother on the most atrocious looking sore hocks and other various open cuts on buns. It really helped our other bunnies so I hope it does the same for Toby.

The next couple weeks I'll have to make sure Toby keeps his ear clean (he always does, he's a good boy) and that the ear doesn't become inflammed. The problem is I leave on a 12 day trip REALLY soon. I sent an email already to the sitter informing her that Toby and Annie would have to stay with her separately... logistically it looks fine. But I'm going to be worried sick not being able to nurse my Toby back to health myself. The sitter is very good and she updates me daily on my buns. I trust her, and I give her full power to take the buns to our vet if anything should happen. 

As for the buns themselves... they're separated for now. My husband immediately has labeled Annie the enemy because of how badly she wounded his baby Toby. But I realize that the mistake was really mine. I should have separated them yesterday after such a significant fight. I should have been more conservative but I let them go too far. Additionally, after we cleaned up his pen and settled Toby in, I took a closer look at Annie and it looks like Toby either scratched or bit her right near her eye. The area right around her eyelid and tear duct looks a little swollen. It looked goopy before, but I rubbed a little HealX there too. She looks a little weird in the eye but it doesn't look like anything's punctured. 

Annie is now back in her old foster cage. Toby is in his bachelor pad. Both buns look very sad and upset. Annie looks a little upset to be in a smaller space but she is finding ways to entertain herself. Toby is just scared and finding the ground beneath him again slowly. He hid up on his party deck for hours. Later he finally came down and looked around to confirm that Annie was not around. He's starting to relax a bit. 

I feel so awful about the whole thing. Toby's ear wound looks traumatic. Annie's eye is super sad too. I wish I had the sense to prevent this whole thing and separate them at the first sign of trouble yesterday. I know I can't change what's happened but I really feel like a failure. I wasn't here when the buns needed me. And now that they are hurt, I have to go away and won't be here to make them feel better. In a couple weeks when I'm back, what will Toby think?


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## kirbyultra

Today, Toby and Annie both look a little confused still. Toby is being spoiled rotten as much as possible before we have to go away. We let him play in the whole bunny room while Kirby and Penny and Annie were locked up. With pain meds, he behaved quite normally and hopped around investigating. It's been a month since he has been out and he was busy chinning up all the usual places to make sure Kirby and Penny knew he was back. He flopped at their entrance too and it was strangely comforting to see my three bunnies interacting, albeit through the safety of bars. Right now, 22.5 hours since his dose of Metacam, he is starting to brood again. I think the pain has returned and he's trying to sleep but having difficulty. He's curled up and not in a "happy, relaxed bunny" kind of way. It's hard to see him go through this. I wish I could snuggle him and make it better but he's not a snuggly bun. We pet him a lot and it likes it to a point. Shortly I'll give him more Metacam and then hopefully he'll get a bit of nice rest. 

Annie looks a bit better in the eye where Toby probably clawed at her. This morning when I came in to check on them, she was sleeping. She woke up and saw me and she murmured a funny sounding purr. Her "voice" is very sweet and baby-like. I still feel so awful about the whole thing. I hope that she'll be able to stay with us and she and Toby can reconcile one day. Toby never forgets, however, and I'm not sure if he will ever get along with her again. Time will tell, I guess.

On a bit of good news, this past Saturday was Kirby's 5th Gotcha Day. I can hardly believe sometimes that I've had Kirby for 5 years and sometimes I feel like I've had him forever, like I never lived a day without him. Most days I fuss around with the other buns, especially lately with Toby and Annie. Kirby sometimes isn't the focus of attention but I know in my heart that that's the case because he's so good and so reliable. He's my rock and he is the constant in my life of bunnies. He's still my most important bunbun. I hope I get many more healthy years with my sweet lovin' Kirby.


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## Chrisdoc

I am so sorry to hear this. It is so distressing when buns fight, I´ve been there and done it and it´s heartbreaking to separate them when they´ve been together. It is difficult to know if they´ll ever be together again, I would really like to believe they can get over this but it may take a while. We never really know what sets them off, I remember when my two started fighting after Christmas and I sometimes doubted that they´d ever be together again and now they are doing fine. They do have the odd spat but it never now gets nasty. Just really two brothers having a bit of an argument. 

I know that you want to be with Toby but I am sure that your sitter will give him lots of attention and love when you´re gone. I do hope that you´ll keep Annie. She´s a lovely bunny and I have a bit of a soft spot for her, I just love the Tobester as well. They were so gorgeous together, you have to think positive for both of them and I really believe they can do it after a little break now but bonding may take a little time this time. 

Congrats on the 5 year mark, that´s quite an achievement and he´s a handsome bunny. Hope Penny been giving him lots of bunny kisses :bunnieskiss


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## kirbyultra

It's an emotional time for me. I've been trying to spend lots of time with my buns and I think that they've enjoyed having their human bumble around. I love watching them sleep and eat hay. I'm not quite sure why but it just never gets old. 

Kirby has been a real sweetie pie. I admit that the last couple weeks I've not spent as much time as I usually do in the bunny room. The sinus issues I've been having indirectly made me avoid the bun room a bit. I also have been trying to get lots of stuff done that I've put off during the 25 days I was stuck in the basement bonding the buns. I think it was a mistake multiple levels. Perhaps if I was with them more I would have observed more and maybe picked up some hints that everything wasn't as it seemed between Toby and Annie. I just think in hindsight there was more I could have done, more that I could have figured out in order to make better decisions and prevent the disastrous fight. But despite all that, I am comforted daily by my sweet kirby. Sometimes even my husband loses perspective of how much Kirby means to me. Kirby is my rock. He's the wise old friend that you don't always have lunch with every weekend. But when you do call him, he's gonna clear his schedule for you and you have the best time together. If I try and spend every night with Kirby, oh he just can't be bothered with me. But he seems to somehow know when I'm stressed or upset. When I'm all out of sorts, Kirby sits with me and stays very close. He lets me pet him and rub him all over, whereas usually he would be annoyed if I rubbed too much of his body. He usually insists I stay near his head. But when I need his comforting, he just lays next to my lap and sits with me. We don't need to talk. He doesn't need me to do anything. He just sits and shows me that the world can still be tranquil. I don't know how he knows. He just does. Kirby and I have a special bond.

I struggle with Annie still. She's all sunshine and butterflies with me but I can't shake the image of Toby's bloody ear from my mind. She's so alone in her cage now and when I hug her she just soaks it all up. She's a special kind of rabbit. I can't help falling in love with her.

Tomorrow evening I will have to bring my buns to the sitter. I dread it. I will miss them terribly. My heart aches already from the thought of being thousands of miles away while my little baby Toby wonders where mom is.


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## Chrisdoc

I can see you´re having a hard time with it. I remember when I had trouble with Snowy and Houdini and they would get into some real scuffles where they had each other by the rump and were rolling on the floor. It used to break my heart to see them like that and you wanted to scold them like kids and tell them to kiss and make up but you can´t, you just have to try and help them sort it out. I never gave up on them though and they managed to figure it out and watching them last night sitting in front of the telly cuddled up and grooming just makes me so smiley that they´re back there again. I suppose I was lucky that there was no serious visible injuries but they did have some fairly big scabs and Houdini bled a few times. 

I´m sure Toby will recover really well and Annie really doesn´t know what she´s done, I really feel for them both. 

Your trip will give them time to settle down and I am sure they´re missing each other already. It will also give you time to put things into perspective when they´re not there in front of you. So have a rest, enjoy and come back with more energy to help these two take steps forward to where you want them to be. 

Kirby sounds like an absolute gem. I know they always say it but animals are so much more sensitive to our emotions than humans sometimes. Sounds like he´s a special bunny and knows his mommy really well :thumbup


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## kirbyultra

Oh, I've been away and I will be away from home again next week. The buns are dealing with the craziness of moving around quite well. Quick update on Toby is that his ear is healing spectacularly well. He and Annie have not resumed bonding sessions but they have been boxing through the fence, which is something that never used to happen. I'll try bonding them again probably after all the holiday hubbub.

On other news, Penny is the bunny of the month!!! What an unexpected and lovely surprise. She's getting her day in the spotlight. All 31 of them


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## Chrisdoc

Glad to hear everything is well with you and I am so happy that Penny is bun of the month, she´s such a lovely girl. I´m also off again this weekend so am a bit nervous as a friend of mine is looking after them and not the same one from the last time as he´s also away. Anyway, he´s been round already and I´ll be leaving him a long list of what he needs to do. 

Shame about Toby and Annie but the break will do them go and maybe they´ll be ready to be together again when you start rebonding.


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## kirbyultra

I'm prepared to finally start a new thread for further blogging because this one has going on since 2011! But for now, hoppy new year, everybun!!


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## Chrisdoc

Great pics. Happy New Year to you and your big bunny family and wishes for a fabulous 2014.


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## kirbyultra

Chrisdoc said:


> Great pics. Happy New Year to you and your big bunny family and wishes for a fabulous 2014.



Thank you! And I hope you and your bun family have a safe and happy new year as well :group2:


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## kirbyultra

Thanks for reading Kirby's blog from 2011 - 2013 on this page! Check out his 2014 blog here! 

Wishing all your buns a hoppy new year!

:dutch


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