Rabbiting on: Study and debate on talking to bunnies

Don't know how we managed to miss this article from BBC News, but it's well worth a read.
To quote from the report:

• Rabbits have various ways of making people aware of how they feel
• When stroked along the jaw line they grind their teeth, a sign that they are contented
• A rabbit that runs towards its owner when it sees them is another indicator of a pet that associates its owner with positive interactions
• Honking and binking (sic) means they are excited
• But one that lunges at its owner with ears back and grunting is not happy bunny 

Another way bunnies have of expressing themselves is the tail shake. Dijon is an avid tail-shaker, especially when he is being ushered back into the living room from the hall. An exaggerated shake of the tail is what we receive, a sure sign that we are seriously out of favour!

It will be interesting to see where the research leads and what conclusions it draws.

Christmas Present

OK, so Christmas was two days ago, so we're a little late in posting anything... Mabel and Dijon had a lovely time; Mabel had a few tasty pieces of carpet pile and Dijon ate a strip of a metal case from a mince pie. For Christmas they received some dried Dandelion leaves that they can't get enough of.

We also received a couple of lovely bunny-related gifts all the way from Switzerland. First, there was a handmade tree decoration in the shape of a rabbit. It's about 5 inches tall, and looks lovely when surrounded by the other tree decorations:

There were two larger cream-coloured versions of this, that are about 10 inches tall:

We're not sure where to put them, so for now they are resting majestically on the back of an armchair. They wouldn't be safe on the floor - Mabel and Dijon would take too much of in interest in them...

Pipecleaner Bunny

Just toying with a couple of pipecleaners in an attempt to fashion a bunny, and here's what was was produced (not too dissimilar from Dijon...)

Of course, if new pipecleaners had been used the bunny would have look a lot neater, but old is all we had lying around.

Chinny chin chin

Mabel's been hard at work this morning, shredding a box from the inside out...

Shredding, from the inside out

Chin up!

A Few Photos

Here are a few photos of the bunnies taken yesterday. Despite being a little chilly, they still insisted on going outside... They assume that because it's warm inside (central heating) and it's sunny outside (winter sun) then it must be warm outside.

Bunny Love -- Allogrooming

Dijon the Fluff Ball

Powder Puff Tail

Noses

Foraging in Flower Pots

Nibbles in a Tough

Tinsel town

Dijon has just paid some very unhealthy attention to a piece of tinsel this evening - not that we've put up decorations yet, merely searched out some pieces for two nativity costumes. He was reaching up for it as though it were the tastiest treat, and snuffling the floor for any dropped pieces.

We will have to keep our decorations VERY well fenced off this year!

Plastered

Whilst having a tidy up of the computer earlier today, I stumbled upon this scan of picture of Mabel and Dijon as created in February this year.

Quite an imaginative use of plasters for the ears, I think, and drawn in a way that only a 4 year old can achieve.

Lupin: How it all Began

How did it come about that we started to keep house rabbits? Well, it all began fifteen years ago to the day...

It was a cold, damp, drizzly Sunday afternoon, when we spotted the most beautiful looking lop-eared bunny. I’d promised my wife I would buy her rabbit, and that day was just the right day to do it. So, one rabbit, a hutch, and all the required rabbit paraphernalia were purchased – coming to a grand total of £18.81 (an amount neither of us has ever forgotten.)

During the drive home, names were discussed, and we came up with ‘Lupin’, and the name stuck.

My understanding at the time was that rabbits lived outdoors in a hutch, but it was such a cold afternoon, and the rabbit had been living inside an enclosure in a garden centre, that it struck me quite heartless to put the poor creature outside. So, I suggested that we keep he indoors until the weather was less inclement.

She never did go outside to live.

The first night she hutch resided on the landing outside our bedroom.

The second night it was in the kitchen.

Thereafter it was in the living room.

It was a bit of a secret, and we didn’t let many people know that we were mad enough to keep a rabbit as an in door pet. Thankfully, times have changed and as a society were are a little more enlightened.

What struck me about keeping a rabbit was just how sociable they were. Whatever we did, Lupin wanted to be involved. When I was ironing, she jumped on top of her hutch to be as close as possible to the ironing bored, and she sat there, calmly watching the iron move back and forth. When we played the piano, she jumped from the roof of her hutch on the piano keyboard.

She was an adorable rabbit, who unfortunately was only with us for eight months before she succumbed to pneumonia. But the happiness she brought, and the lessons she taught us about keeping a house rabbit, have never left us.

For some snippets of Lupin in action, view the Run Rabbit Run in the Videos section.

Box Set

There are plenty of large boxes for the bunnies to play in dotted around the the living room. they are quite happy to hop inside to rip them up, burrow, and scrabble, though we have to listen carefully to ensure they haven't broken through to the carpet.

It came as quite a surprise today when rearranging the boxes and checking them over to see if they needed replacing, to discover that one of the bunnies had managed to steal a few of our CDs from their shelf and drag them into a box. It was very much like a nest of CDs.

And their taste in music...? Surprisingly diverse: The Smiths, Eddie Cochran, and Alisha's Attic were amongst the discs we rescued.

Doctor What?

Despite the abundance of popcorn, it's clear that the bunnies are not enamoured by Doctor Who.

We were watching the 50th anniversary episode last night, the whole family sitting around the television, but  Mabel & Dijon stayed well away from us all, not at all tempted to come over and try to steal any of our snacks.

Yet, as soon as it was over, and the children had gone to bed, over they hopped as they usually do of an evening, Dijon demanding a stroke, Mabel just investigating.