At Pennywell Farm in Devon, England, an unusual friendship has blossomed between William, a miniature piglet, and Charles, a giant rabbit. According to Chris Murray of Pennywell Farm, “The cheeky piglet seems to have no fear of something so much bigger than he is and he will also help himself to any food that Charles has.”
For more info: news:lite
A study by the British veterinary charity PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) has shown that over the past 5 years, dental procedures done by PetAid hospitals on rabbits has quadrupled. Many of these dental issues stem from poor diet.
I’m not sure if the increase in procedures is due to more rabbits failing in health or just that more people are actually noticing their rabbits need veterinary assistance. Either way, it should be noted that rabbits’ diet should consist mostly of hay.
For more info on what to feed your rabbit see:
For more info on the rabbit dental health study: Pet Health Care
The rabbits sat by my computer chair yesterday afternoon (usually they rest under the coffee table), so I had a chance to capture a few of their sleepy poses on camera.
(Notice the tail being completely smooshed up.)
The following is a guest post by Dominika, owner of Hoppy and Clover (seen on the photo pages). Her story demonstrates the positive effect a pet rabbit can have on a family.
There is nothing like having a bunny friend, in the best of times and in the worst of times. My bun, Hoppy helped me get through a very difficult time in my life.
Two years ago my son, who was 13 months old at the time, became very ill. He had to stay at a hospital that was two hours from our home, and I stayed there with him. It was devastating not knowing what would happen with my baby, and my husband and other son could only come on the weekends to see us.
After a couple of weeks I was very depressed, and the hospital staff kept on asking what could they do to make me feel better. So I told them I would love to have my bunny stay with us, and to my surprise they allowed her to come over. At first it was going to be only for a few days but once they met her, she was allowed to stay for as long as we wanted and ended up living in our hospital room for over two months.
Having her with us was good not just for me but for everyone, all the nurses would stop by to visit with Hoppy, and some would bring other children to see her too. When my son was more sick and had to stay in the ICU, I had nurses and even doctors offer to take care of Hoppy for me and some wanted to take her home. It really was nice to have her with us.
One reason why I wanted to tell this story is that I have come across people who feel that they need to find a new home for their bunny because they are having a baby and believe that being around a rabbit would be harmful to the baby. Obviously that is not the case and even though my son takes medications that suppress his immune system, he is perfectly safe being around our (now two) bunnies.
My son is now three years old and loves his two bunnies. Hoppy is now six years old, and she has a new friend named Clover who is about four years old. Although bunnies are not recommended for children that young, I am very careful to always supervise, and my kids have been taught not to pick the rabbits up and to interact with them on the floor. The activity that both the kids and the bunnies enjoy the most is “treat time”.
I noticed earlier in the evening that Cosette was reaching up to the top of the used litter/compost container pulling at some old hay sticking out. This was not out of the ordinary. Sometimes she likes using the container as a place to stretch (similar to a cat).
Later in the evening, she managed to knock the lid off the container. But I was surprised to look over and see this:
I guess she just viewed it as a really really tall litterbox.
Meanwhile, Coco was unfazed.
In a very eye-opening slide show, Scientific American revealed that 30% of the world’s rabbit species are at risk. The slide show profiled 6 species of wild rabbit and 1 species of hare in danger of extinction in their native habitats. Included are the European rabbit, Amami rabbit, hispid hare, lower keys marsh rabbit, New England cottontail, volcano rabbit, and pygmy rabbit.
The New York Times has reported another feral rabbit boom- this one is taking place in Okaloosa Island, Florida. Florida pet owners seem to have a bad habit of letting their pets run free. Rabbits are a new addition to a list that already includes iguanas, pythons, and peacocks.
Although many Okaloosa residents initially viewed the growing feral rabbit population in a lighthearted way, when the rabbits started causing damage to shrubs and other property, attitudes changed.
For more info: NY Times
Rabbit Bites, an online satire of pop culture starring two rabbits, has been named an honoree at this year’s Webby Awards. Congratulations to Buns, Chou Chou, and Nicholas Quixote!
For more info:
Pitchengine.com
Rabbit Bites Website
We took advantage of this sunny Friday afternoon to do some planting! We planted romaine lettuce seeds and two tomato plants in the raised bed, a third tomato plant in a large pot, and dandelion seeds in the rectangular planter box. (The tomatoes are for us.) Eventually, I’d like to add another pot of basil and a hanging strawberry plant.
Co-editor P.A. Smith and I are attempting to start a little bunny container garden. Our goal is to grow romaine and other dark leaf lettuce in one planter, and since they’re a favorite of Cosette, I thought I’d make another planter dedicated to dandelions. We are fairly new to the world of gardening, but we’ve made LOTS of compost from the rabbits’ litterbox contents, food scraps, and leaves from our yard, so we thought we’d give it a shot.
So for Phase 1 of our plan, P.A. constructed a 4′ x 4′ square bed and along with a 4′ x 1′ rectangular garden box from some wood scraps.
4′ x 4′ Square Planter for Lettuce
4′ x 1′ Rectangular Planter for Dandelions
If anyone has experience with container gardening or growing lettuce, we certainly welcome any tips!
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