Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Monday Bunday: Meet August!

So, I'm late with Monday Bunday.  I know, I'm sorry!  Things at work have been picking up quite a bit and we are getting ready to go to an event next weekend so lots of prepping and planning.  Anyway, enough of the boring stuff and on to Monday Bunday (On Tuesday)!

Meet August.

Hi!  I'm August!  Pet MEEEEEE!

We had had Heff for almost a year when I decided he might be kind of lonely during the day while my husband and I were at work so I toyed with the idea of adopting another bunny to keep him company.  I went to the Humane Society in Honolulu to see if they had any bunnies and August was the only bunny they had at the time.  When I left, I couldn't stop thinking about her and I went back the next day and adopted her.  

August has always been a little feisty.  She HATES being picked up.  I'm not sure if it has something to do with her living situation prior to adopting her, if she was dropped or something but she will do everything in her power to avoid being held, including wriggling right out of your arms.  She is pretty darn brave about a lot of things and is often the first to explore new territory.
August's first night with us.  Ever the explorer!
August absolutely loves to be petted.  She will stop whatever she is doing if her humans are offering pets!  She also loves to jump on the bed.  The last time my husband was deployed, the bunnies and I lived in a studio apartment in a barn in Hawaii where I took care of horses in exchange for rent (I KNOW, right?!)  Both bunnies are pretty well behaved so even though they have a kennel, they are rarely locked up in it.  August turned out to be a pretty great alarm clock!  Every morning around 5:30, she would jump up on the bed and stick her whiskers in my face.  If that failed to make me get up to feed them, she would hop circles around me on the bed.  If THAT failed to get be out of bed, she would zoom around me on the bed, jump down, zoom around the room, repeat the circuit a few times and then finish by jumping on my face.  Let me tell you, nothing kills the desire to stay in bed like a bunny to the face. 

It took a good 6 months for August and Heff to become friends when we first brought August home.  Heff was very convinced that the house was HIS house and August was an intruder. When we moved them to the same room they each had a large kennel that was their very own space and they were allowed out time for 12 hours each.  So, Heff would be in his kennel when August was out and vice versa.  There was growling.  There were Pee Wars.  I was getting worried that they would never learn to live harmoniously with each other.  Then when we went away for Christmas that year, we returned to bunnies that miraculously liked each other!  Now that Heff is deaf, he relies on August a lot for things like when it's time for food or treats.  She is an absolute doll and I am so happy she has a happy home with us! 
Well, the picture pretty much says it all.

"It's the biggest treat I've ever seen!"


Yummy!  NANNERS!

She's quite good at making herself comfortable wherever she chooses.

August also does contented flops on her side, but looks dead when she does it.

"I haz my foodz!"



"Are you really watching this, Mom?"
I want to keep up with Monday Bunday, is there anything you guys are interested in learning about bunnies?

Next week on Monday Bunday:  Make Mine Chocolate!

6 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness so cute!!!!!
    I am curious how you trim their nails or if you have any tricks? This is my most hated rabbit task. I took some Monday Bunday pics last night but I fell asleep on the couch before posting them. I will have lots for next Monday :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Heff isn't too hard because even though he doesn't like to be picked up, he kind of gives up after you scoop him up. With August I have to wrap her up in a towel in a Bunny Burrito to get her off the ground or she will wriggle right out of your hands. I take them into the bathroom and put a towel down on the toilet seat lid and clip their nails in there. They don't go in the bathroom other than for nails so they are usually stay fairly still. If you have someone that can help you, it definitely works best when I have my husband help hold them on the toilet lid while I clip their nails. I've tried several times to just do it when they are out wandering but they are much harder to keep still so the bathroom works best.

      Delete
  2. They jump up on your bed? How cute is that! The pee wars do not sound fun. My sisters buns were always quite messy. Do yours run free mostly-how do you clean up after them?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do! Well, Heff is not very athletically inclined so he doesn't jump up on the bed very often, but when he does it's pretty much an uncalculated launch and is hilarious to watch (his floppy ears look like airplane wings when he jumps!).

      They are confined to a bedroom and have free run of that room all the time as well as the apartment when we are home to supervise. They have a shared kennel, but they rarely get locked up in it. It's mostly just their Safe Space. They have their little box in there and water, and I typically don't bother them when they are in the kennel area so they know they have space away from the humans.

      They are litter box trained so other than litter and a few pellets occasionally getting kicked out of the litter box, they aren't too messy and use the litter box exclusively. If bunnies aren't spayed or neutered they tend to not be quite as good at using the litter box and can be more destructive about chewing things.

      As for the Pee Wars, all I can say is that I'm glad our house at the time was linoleum tile throughout. Clean up was so much easier! I understand why it was happening (working out territory), but it was a bit tiring constantly cleaning up after them. They would do it right at the edge of the other bunny's kennel like "Okay, that space is yours, but all of this is MINE!!! Don't cross my pee line!" I learned that vinegar water is my best friend when it comes to cleaning up after territorial bunnies! Once they realized that they were going to have to learn how to live together, the wars stopped and now they are Snuggle Buddies.

      Delete
  3. Would be interested on first time bunny owner tips as well as any thoughts if bunnies and dogs can co-exist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can do that! There are several great resources out there for first time bunny owners as well. I will pull some together for a post!

      Delete