Our resident bunnies have handled our geographical move well, at least that's what it appears to us thus far.
Properly named, they are;
Miss Moppy and Mr. Floppy. Can you guess what influenced these names?
Mr. Floppy
Miss MoppyTraveling in a vehicle over four hours away with two bunnies who had never traveled beyond the initial pet store drive was an experience for sure. They had to be transported in a separate vehicle than our dogs (think husky dog eats bunny logic), and their resident cages due to their large sizes had been cleaned and packed up onto the moving truck with the rest of our belongings. Both bunnies traveled separately in thick pet styled cardboard boxes we'd purchased from our vet, and their feed and other supplies were on board for the drive.
After arriving at our new home, temporary dog transport kennels were used to place each into, so they too were on board in the vehicle for required transportation to the house. They were unassembled of course as once assembled they were huge compared to the rabbit's sizes.
Since the moving truck was going to be delayed three days, the dog kennel sufficed as temporary holding homes until the bunnies' familiar cages arrived. One of the bunnies never traveled well at all. When you read the rest of this post, maybe you'll guess which one it was.
Since the purchase of our second rabbit proved interesting when the "he" turned out to be a
"she" as opposed to the store keeper's announcement, each rabbit resides in their own
"Taj Mahal" rabbit cages (had to buy another!), high atop the floor with wheels on the base legs for easy movement.
Weekly maintenance for cage care takes place on Monday mornings, and the entertainment value they offer when bouncing all about during "extended playtimes" outside of their cages individually (remember - they cannot be together!) is a bonus for all present. One of the bunnies' never fails to delight with his ball, bells and other toys. They use their nose and feet to bat things around as if to play catch with themselves, so fun to watch.
Bunnies are an easy animal to own, maintain and care for. Our young daughter has been blessed with the best behaved rabbit and even the store owners were amazed how well "Mr. Floppy" became attached to her. He is gentle and calm with her, but only with her and not anyone else. When the store keeper showed our daughter how to care for her bunny's nails, our daughter had to assist in holding her bunny for the woman because he was calmer. Now our daughter can clip her bunny's nails well when necessary, and without a battle. She loves to cuddle with him (think angora soft fur), carry him close to her chest all off and on daily, and even dress him up in her doll clothes. No matter what she does to the poor little fellow, he will not rebel against her.
In our former home our daughter took her bunny up to her bedroom, closed the door and allowed him free reign on her hardwood flooring. Did you know bunnies will toilet train themselves, at least this one has done a marvelous job of doing so, therefore I have no objection to it bouncing about occasionally indoors. In this home she has carpet in her bedroom so he is only allowed in to play on the hardwood flooring areas.
Our other bunny -
"Miss Moppy" has a character and disposition so opposite to
"Mr. Floppy", she is not a favorite or a desired bunny to play with or hold. She scratches, and even bites. She doesn't enjoy being held, at all. She is spooked easily, jiggles and wiggles her way here and there, bounding about like a rabbit with a classic case of ADD. No one considers her a fun pet because she won't allow for bonding of any sort with any of our children. She won't even play with her multitude of toys, exuding almost a PMS type of snotty behavior most days. What to do with her? Silly raskilly rabbit!
Mr. and Miss are not allowed to play together (wink) though
their cages remain side by side for distant chats and visits.As for other bunny issues; I won't kid you they can smell, rather they and their alfalfa can offer undesirable smells. Though they used to reside in our sweet red barn in our former home, they now reside in our garage. I personally wouldn't recommend them being an indoor pet myself, but as they are both "mini lop" breeds, they can tolerate all sorts of weather, even very cold weather, though we did have heaters blasting in our garage for them this past winter.
The ability to have this new pet bunny experience while living in the east has been a sincere blessing for the children. I assure you every bit of energy, time and effort has been well worth having the pitter patter of bunnies in our midst. And best of all, the children's promise of "doing all of the work" has paid off. We the parents have not had to do any of it, well except for moving them geographically and have to endure them in our vehicle. The after smell was just not very pleasant at all.
Hop along now bunnies, time for your speedy bouncy walks with your kitty leashes on for scooping up protection while lingering in the grassy areas outdoors. Though Mr. McGregor's garden is not located near to us, the coyote, wild turkey, porcupine, skunk and black bear might not appreciate you wandering near to their digs. Oh, and we must watch out for vultures, bald eagle and other assorted birds of prey.
Next up, making a wooden outdoor bunny run (divided in two), the kind with chicken wire fencing around it to protect them as they remain outdoors for the warmer season ahead.
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Remember him?
"Phantom"; Our son's pet "American Toad"
It was a good experience in the end. Within his 5 gallon white bucket abode, Phantom the toad could burrow in the deep soil to his content, and peakaboo holes were made for observing his daily habits. It soon became obvious to our son that even with the very best intentions, he would not be able to keep up his dusk foraging for the toad's food and other assorted amusements just to say he had a pet toad and could keep him alive. It was best to free the warty fellow and allow him to return to nature where he belonged.
