The Secret Voice of Rabbits

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Preface 

So my colleague, Thumper S. Thompson, has lit a fire under my battooskie to get me working on a new blog post, my first post here on Running Bun Magazine. In my first post, I should unequivocably state that I am a hooman! Yes, that's right, there are hoomans involved with things here at Running Bun Magazine but only as much as is simply unavoidable. As an animal photographer of cute and fluffy beings (and of the occasional not so cute but still awesome being), I expect my little, and sometimes big, models to do their job, that is, to look cute. Their job is to arrest the camera and thus the viewer of the result.

Consider yourself under arrest. I mean really, the camera is like my Bobbie stick. I use it to capture and detain many widdle cyoot bunny rabbits who've run amok, all those irreverent lagomorphs out there marauding in the street, fields, and in our homes (yes, in our very homes right under our noses!) wanton, flagrant perpetrators of being criminally cute! It's must be stopped and I must stop it! And so I do; usually with f11 through f16, or so.

Magic Secrets Revealed!

I have a big black barrel, a Nikkor 18-200mm actually, and I aim it head on at those little twitching noses. They know when they see it that I mean business. I have a lot of help with the bunny shoots. First order of help comes from MagicMan, my rabbit herder, cat herder, and all around handy magician. Oh yea, and I'm married to him. He corrals the rascally rabbits for me and places them up on the shooting stage. I know it all sounds like one of those attractions at the board walk or carnival where one pays money to shoot at targets and win a plush toy. Guess this is kind of similar in that we, MagicMan and I, did pay a lot of money to do this shooting! There's about $10-12,000 worth of ammo, or studio photography equipment contributing to each shot! That's a lot of dough, ain't it? And we did it for free, free for the bunnies, I mean. Not free for us, we didn't make any money off their photo shoots at all...and we had to take care of the bunnies for a long time until they got adopted. Take them to the vet, pay for their food and lodging, fill the gas tank to take them to bunny matches, it just goes on and on. So can you blame us for trying to recoup some of that? We never really could but we're going to try and hope bunny peeps out there will have sympathy for us because we really blew a wad on them and there's literally nothing left for us.

After MagicMan rounds up the little bunnies and places them up on the shooting table, he bribes them with carrots, kisses, and papaya tablets. There it is! The secret! Yes, we really do use a carrot and stick to get a lot of these shots! But that's really only a minor part of the whole secret to a successful bunny rabbit photo shoot. There is a lot of animal communication going on. Also a lot of fear factor. Truth be told, at first the bunnies are all mostly terrified. Time was, almost every single studio shot we've ever done was benevolently presided over by a couple of large soft, peachy, pink parrots, our two fabulous Moluccan cockatoos, Happy Amadeus and Mrs. Mozart!

Mrs. Mozart sits only feet away from the shooting table.
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That's only one secret behind our rock star rabbit photo shoots. In subsequent posts, the ones that I will write, not ones written by Running Bun Magazine Senior Writer Thumper S. Thompson, I'll tell a little more about each the many secrets behind a successful bunny photo shoot, ok? So y'all be sure to stop by regularly and check it out! Yea, but I guess those are the first two secrets; that I have a photographer's assistant helping me, MagicMan, and that I have a magician's assistant helping me, too, Mrs. Mozart, Moluccan cockatoo! I do really mean a magician's assistant too as Mrs. Mozart lived with a real, professional magician for the first 17 of her now 31 years and she brings much magic to the entire household here in this outpost of strange and wondrous things on the edge of reality! And, by the way, Mrs. Mozart is a rescue Moluccan cockatoo, as is her neighbor, Happy Amadeus.

And the secret voice of rabbits mentioned in the headline? What was that all about? The secret voice of rabbits is only partially heard through a type of morse code pounded out with their hind foot and the other part ever so softly heard with the feather soft up and down rustling of their whiskers through clock-like positions, each of which has very specific meaning. Their secret voice is a real, spoken voice. But it's so soft, barely audible, and the room must be so very quiet for it to be heard. No I'm not talking about their snort, or growl, or contented tooth purr. I am talking about their voice, about what I have observed as a result of living with both parrots and other animals and the species jealousy which parrots arouse in other animals when they shout out, "Hello!" That jealousy causes other animals to work with their mouths as best they can to also produce a garbled, "Hello" or some sort of audible sound.

I'll detail these stories in future posts, stories that read like those of Mischka the famous talking Husky of YouTube, or the many famous Siamese cats who are trained by their breeder to yell, "hello!" at cat shows, and so on. But that's all I'm going to say for now. (At least it should be clear why the heck I use an alias for me and my husband! Ha!) Follow me (said the white rabbit), follow this blog, and I will make good on my promise to reveal all of these secrets in time. If you were a true white rabbit of the rabbit cyber multi-verse, you could have already dug up all of these secrets, as they lie in wait, an excavation extraordinaire hidden forever in the labyrinth of the ether.

So for now the secrets revealed are that I have a second hooman helping me and that I have a former magician's assistant, a Moluccan cockatoo, blowing kisses at the bunnies when I ask her to calm the bunnies down. They're all scared of those huge parrots at first but then I tell Mozart, "blow kisses, Mozart, please," and she throws the sweetest kisses imaginable. If you know cockatoos, then you know they can sound sweeter than anything on Earth when they choose. And so, the bunny photos are proof positive of that.

Lighting setup is something else I'll discuss in future posts. And you might even see a video of a shoot now and then. Here's some teaser photos of my shooting table.

Tread Lightly.

RP

The shooting table or stage with 2 of the 5 lights visible.
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Foster bunny rabbit Skennen waits for the barrel to load.
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Foster Bunny Rabbit Skennen now a Rock Star Rabbit!
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Oh, and by the way, poor Skennen here was a blue ribbon winning rabbit at a county fair one day. Later that day, his owner abandoned him and his brother, also a prize winner, at the county animal shelter. But we went and got him, got him neutered and then matched to a lovely French lop from Iowa and he continues to live happily ever after.

 -RabbitPhotog

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We Are UnDead: Zombies Unite for the Hopping Dead

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October 6, 2013

I'm sitting in my office holding my iPad tightly. The tension and nervousness is a tic I can no longer really master. It's been almost three years since I posted on this blog and the world is now a different place. This gadget I hold has replaced textbooks, cameras, newspapers, and all the employees associated with those prior technologies.

It has definitely put a dent in the Universe, Steve, this iThing. My little corner of the rabbit multiverse within the cosmos has been rocked to the core. Emphasis on rocked. I love this thingamajig. I feel like I'm living in the Blade Runner / Minority Report / Total Recall (2012, please) continuum every time I look at one of RabbitPhotog's fine art (very fine!) rock star rabbit photographs with this Retina display. As my own retina ages, it has become more dependent on the iVerse. Does that make me an android in beta? If so, then this android definitely doesn't dream of electric sheep but rather albino rabbits with eyes of all different shades of lavender and rose to blood red.

And here in my little nooky niche of the vast rabbit hole known as cyberspace, a new Running Bun Magazine cover is bursting in my head. Wriggling and binkying, it is almost ready to emerge. It's October and we all know what that means, right? Of course, it means zombies! Albino zombies, yea not Rob of White Zombie, but Shauna the Bassist and cover bun this month, an albino zombie. And so that should be a strong indicator of what's to follow...

FOLLOW ME...

Knock, knock. Wake up, Neo. How do the words go? "I am the nexus one, I want more life, I ain't done, yeah." This is what I hear when I see the sad eyes of albino bunnies gracing their angelic faces; some see a demon, I see an angel. Partially blind (human albinos are legally blind), the ones with the reddest eyes have the worst vision, the most fear, justifiably. They can sense the stupid superstitious fears of those hoomans who see only the Rabbit of Caerbannog. "That's no ordinary rabbit!" the knights yelp. No rabbit is ordinary. Red eyed whites? They're not Jackson Whites. Pink eyed whites? They have invisible angel's wings BUT you must have the sight to see them. The sight lit by your inner light which has been kindled by the grateful love of the helpless, the meek. Don't be a zombie, open the nooks and crannies of your soul to the love of an albino bunny rabbit today. And if you've read this far, your reward is code BCBUN20 for 20% off items in the Memorabilia section!

Run fast and binky hard. TST.

 -Thumper S. Thompson

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Fear and Loathing and Leporiphobia

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"You didn't think I was serious just because I carry a rabbit around?!"

Thumper S. Thompson here with more thoughts on our glorious Halloween Running Bun Magazine issue this month, October 2013.

As you already know, Shauna, bassist of White Zombie and cover bun this month, is a drop dead gorgeous albino mini-lop rabbit. She has pure, heavenly white fur and beautiful white eyes. White eyes, you say? Well, yea, because if we collectively refer to the color of the pupil of an eye to determine what the 'eye color' is, then all humans have black eyes!

Obviously, that's not the case. Albino humans, who are legally blind, don't have black pupils but rather, dark rose-colored pupils and the same goes for rabbits. The color of albino bunnies' pupils can range from bright red to deep, deep rose but the color of their irises are usually anywhere from a pastel lavender to softest pink to white. Shauna, the cover bunny girl in question, has irises of the palest rose, really white. So let's not say she has bloody red eyes, shall we? And why does it matter? It matters to me, Thumper S. Thompson, bunzo journalist.

As far as albinism goes in bunny rabbits, the redder their pupils, the more albino they are and the worse their eyesight. Again, I'll refer to human albinos, they are legally blind. So a bun with blood red pupils has very poor eye sight indeed. But almost no one shows them the same patient tolerance and required legal accommodations to which their human albino counterpart is entitled. And rabbits are a freaking prey animal, for Peter's Sake! They can barely see and so, of course, they're afraid if some hooman with fast moving hands and body is hovering over them like a darned zombie waiting to disembowel them!

But rabbits, in general, while admitting that generalizations are generally a poor way to form any kind of opinion, are a spunky lot. They'll defend themselves, for the most part, yet many times they give a very tolerant snort to warn you that they're disgruntled with your behavior. Then, if you still don't learn, there is always nature's ultra effective device, negative reinforcement. This usually results in a 'bite' which usually isn't anything more than a nip. Yet, the deliverance of such is a blow to the ego and the emotions of the receiver. Yeah, it hurts hoomans feelings to have a cute little bunny rabbit nip them when all they're trying to do is communicate that they, the rabbit, are disgruntled with the inadequate intelligence of hoomans requiring this type of education from a supposed lower species.

The reason I'm telling you this is that an actual real life phobia of such celestially beautiful bunny rabbits exists and it is called leporiphobia. Leporiphobia is named based on the root word of lepus, meaning, of course, rabbit. Now these poor souls who suffer from this phobia have my deepest sympathy because they must go through life never knowing the truth about these wonderful animals, these albino bunnies. There is something so angelic, so pure, so ethereal, so perfect, so rapturous, heck, so celestial about these gorgeous animals, that perhaps the fear of them is really a fear of something more holy unto thou than themselves. Yeah, that's it.

I think I did once actually have a friend who had leporiphobia. But that's another story for another day, and it's a beautiful story I won't tell today. Today, I wanted to talk about how one hooman may develop this phobia if they happened to watch a certain movie; that movie is Seven Psychopaths.

It's a great movie, Seven Psychopaths. I loved it. Our staff  photographer, Rabbit Photog, likes it too but had a rather hard time with her initial viewing of it. However, I know there were two reasons she bit her lip as she watched it and she was determined to watch it; the first reason is because there are about twenty or thirty sweet little albino mini-rex bunny rabbits in it, and the second is because her favorite leprechaun was playing the main character and that would be Colin Farrell.

The movie also stars the master of deadpan comedy, Christopher Walken; emerging comedic genius, Sam Rockwell; Tom Waits as the gentle bunny handling tour de force; Woody Harrelson as a most truly psychopathic mobster; and Abbie Cornish and Olga Kurylenko in small, short-lived but forceful roles. My favorite female character is played by Amanda Mason Warren as Maggie, the wife of Tom Waits’ younger self. Linda Bright Clay appears as Myra, Han's wife.  

As far as the rabbits go, the lovelies make their first appearance early in the movie when Zachariah Rigby (Waits) shows up at Billy Bickle's (Rockwell) house in response to an ad Bickle placed in the L.A. Times. Zach then has tea (of course! rabbit peeps only have tea! with a mad hatter, no less!) with Marty (Farrell) and ensues the story of his transition from serial killer to gentle rabbit caretaker, a role which costs him the love of his life and wife, Maggie. As Zach gets up to leave, we see one of the rare occurrences of a Hollywood film demonstrating the proper way to pick up a rabbit. Carrie, the albino bunny, has been hanging out on the coffee table enjoying a carrot while listening to her hooman recount many, gory murders he has committed. Before that, a flashback to the horrifying murder at which Zach met his first rabbit again shows the innate gentleness of Zach's character. This murder scene flashback is also graced with the twenty or thirty albino bunny rabbits, all hopping about utterly unconcerned about the grisly hooman behavior which surrounds them.

A bunny drinks the blood of her caretaker after his grisly murder by Maggie (Warren)

The bunny makes an appearance again at the movie's end, post credits, when Zach phones Marty from a phone booth to express his disappointment in Marty over a broken promise, one for which Marty agrees to forfeit his life. While Zach and Marty talk, the bunny sits on the phone book shelf of the booth and occasionally stands up to explore the glass enclosure. One can't help but wonder if this is some sort of vague homage to Farrell's stand out performance in a movie named after such an enclosure. One also can't help but wonder, are there really any phone booths left in L.A.? We're also treated to Waits' brilliantly delivered line, "You didn't think I was serious just because I carry a rabbit around?" That line is sure to find it's own place of fame in movie history.

It's not often Hollywood treats us to such a nice portrayal of the bunny rabbit, much less the beautiful albino bunny rabbit. Hence, I felt all involved deserved a shout out to help promote this sure-to-be-a-cult hit comedy, Seven Psychopaths. All brilliantly written, directed, and acted.

However, for you faint of heart peeps out there, this movie is shockingly violent, gruesome, and unsentimental BUT no animals are harmed. Nevertheless, for some, the movie could actually induce a sudden, most fierce and unforgiving lifetime filled with the dreaded leporiohobia! Beware!

Zachariah (Tom Waits) phones Marty (Colin Farrell) from a phone booth with his rabbit, Carrie

Happy October, folks.

TST

 -Thumper S. Thompson

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Growing Up Bunzo: Thumper S. Thompson as a Young Bun

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Successfully Litter Box Train Your Rabbit

How many times have I spoken with prospective rabbit adopters to hear them tell me they want to keep their rabbits in a wire-bottomed cage so their poop and pee will just fall through the wire bottom and onto newspaper or whatnot below? Too many times. So I proceed as diplomatically as possible to explain that the bunny they wish to adopt has been lovingly and diligently litter box trained since the day he first came into foster care and there is no need or rather, justification, for the cruel practice of housing a rabbit in a wire-bottomed cage - which could lead to multiple health problems including bone infection, broken legs, and the need for amputation, and so forth.

I'll never forget the one prospective adopter whose previous rabbit had been housed in a very pretty cage but which still had a grate for a bottom instead of a solid floor. I waved my arm to the cage, "Would you want to take a nap in there?" I already knew this adoption wasn't going to happen but maybe I could change this person's mind about how they kept their rabbits. At least they did keep them indoors but a wire-bottomed cage is about as archaic as you can get next to actually keeping them outside in a wire-bottomed hutch!

The woman responded to me, "Well it's better than sitting in his own pee." There was no getting through to this person. Often it is very difficult to bring a person to the conclusion that maybe things have changed since the first rabbit they had 20 some years ago, and that there are now better ways to take care of this fragile little pet. And that better way is called using a litter box.

Now this isn't to say that litter box training a rabbit is exactly the same as litter box training a cat, in fact, it is very different. The litter box to the rabbit is not only their toilet, it's also a nice place to hang out. Adopters who are neat freaks often have trouble with this concept but the fact remains that rabbits will be munching hay while happily nestled in their litter box and then they'll pause for a moment and take a leak and then keep munching hay. But they're not sitting in their pee if you've set up the litter box right!

Secrets to Success:
Inputting = Outputting = Flight Readiness

The secret is that since we know they will have stuff going in one end (food) and out the other end (waste) at the same time, you put the stuff that's supposed to go in the front end (food) in the litter box so when they pause to let some of the other stuff (waste) go out the other end, they're already in the right place to do this!

Let's stop for a moment though and think about why rabbits are like this. In the wild, this animal, which is descended from the European wild rabbit, lives in large, underground burrows populated by dozens, maybe hundreds of individuals whose collective number is called a warren. Inside these burrows, each pair of rabbits, male and female, have their own little private burrow which is connected by tunnels to the rest of the warren's private little burrows. Here the kits, or babies are born, and here they and the adults will spend most of their time - underground in the dark where the climate is fairly constant year round.

For part of the day though, at dawn and dusk, they will venture above ground to dash about and stretch their legs and, of course, eat. Their natural diet is grass and leaves and so they won't have to go far to find food unless the warren is overpopulated and they have decimated the local environment - which does sometimes happen.

So there they are, sitting above ground, not far from the entrance hole to their underground city and they are contemplating the constellations in the sky or the moon's shade of blue or gold that evening. They won't venture far from the burrow for safety's sake. They'll be quiet and listen carefully to everything around them. They munch on grass, delighting in pulling the blades, roots and all, out of the ground and filling up their tummies. Then suddenly they hear the snap of a twig. What is it?

Without thinking they lift their butts and empty their bladders without moving any other muscles as that would make a noise too, like the one they're listening to. They're ready for flight if need be. But now they hear another snap and it's time to go! Time to dash back underground to safety and their bladders are already empty and thus, they are lighter and so, faster. The wild rabbit, when eating, tries to appear as motionless as possible as he sits camouflaged with his brown flecked fur sitting amongst the leaves. So in one end and out the other is not 'gross' or 'yucky,' it's efficient and it's about survival.

Back underground, the wild rabbit will deposit some of his little poops inside his private burrow as sort of a street sign - 'hey this is my house, not yours.' But he won't leave that many there; mostly, he will have deposited these little 'smart pills' here and there above ground to let the other rabbits know he was there and that he's brave enough to go this far out or that far out from the burrow - kind of a dare game. After all, when there are about a hundred rabbits living in an underground city, it's not like all the local predators don't all know about it. So poop marking above ground is strictly meaningful amongst rabbits only.

His Very Own Postage Stamp-Sized Yard

So with the house rabbit, the litter box simulates a little piece of his natural environment. Fill it with litter and then, most importantly, put hay on top of the litter so he has to sit there and eat it inside the box. Sometimes when I arrive at an adopter's house, they will have the setup all wrong. They'll have a tiny little litter box in one corner that the rabbit's butt will barely fit into much less the whole rabbit with room to spare, and then on the other side of the cage, they have a hay rack or something to dispense the hay. Then I will always get a call a week or so later asking me 'why does he poop over by the hay rack and not in his litter box?'

So put the hay in the litter box on top of the litter. Always give your rabbit the very largest litter box that you can. Even for the smallest rabbits, I always urge adopters to get the extra large size cat box. Fill this up with litter to about two to two and a half inches deep. I have to laugh when I find some adopters have a layer of litter that is so thin on the bottom of the box that you can see the bottom through it. What good does that do? Nothing! Fill that box up at least halfway full of litter! We'll come back to the reason for that shortly.

Now your box is half filled with litter; so let's put some hay on that of that. Put in about as much hay as your rabbit will need for either half or a whole day depending on how often you want to hand out the hay. Since I foster a lot of rabbits, I feed hay once a day. Don't just take it out of the bag and plop it in there. Fluff it up as much as possible! Hay is the best rabbit toy! Try to make the hay into a fluffy mountain pile of hay that your rabbit will delight in spending the day arranging and taste testing.

This is a tremendous source of entertainment for your rabbit. Both males and females alike will carefully spend the day picking out the leaves they wish to eat and strategically arranging the leaves they don't want to eat into a nice little bed. If you have any brown leaves in the hay, these will, by default, become bedding. But that's fine, this is an important source of enrichment for the rabbit to be able to do this exercise. For some of my rabbits, I like to fluff up a ball of hay in my hands and then toss it onto their heads as they sit in their box. They love this and hide under the mound of hay playing hide and seek while secretly selecting the tastiest leaves in privacy.

Layers Upon Layers
Like the Princess and the Pee

At the end of the day, your rabbit will have a layer of hay which you will see him lay on and he will stretch out his legs as long as he can and just squint with pleasure. This is important for him to be able to do this. This is also his bed. Yes, he just happens to pee and poop in a corner of it but you will notice he doesn't lay in that corner. Most likely, he will only urinate in one single corner of the box and poop there too so that's why it's important to give him as large a box as possible. That way, this particular corner will be relatively out of the way. For a really large rabbit, it can be harder to find a huge box for this. You can try concrete mixing bins of different sizes for a really large rabbit. Some adopters report to me that their bunny is peeing just outside the box but it turns out, invariably, that they are really hanging their butts over the side of the box and peeing over the edge. So these rabbits need a deeper box which they can't do this in or a high back box.

As the week goes on, the layers of hay that little bunny has discarded and made into bedding will pile up and add a layer of odor control and comfort to his little simulated natural environment. After a week, sometimes two for smaller rabbits, you can toss the whole box in a compost pile and start anew. There is nothing in his personal space that is going to be softer or more inviting for a nap than a properly presented litter box.

Litter Review

So let's talk about litter for a minute. Some litters are rabbit safe and some are not. Don't ever use clay or clumping cat litter; ever. Some animal shelters are known to use clay cat litter for the bunnies but this is most likely a budgetary restriction. The safe litters to use for rabbits are Carefresh, Yesterday's News, and aspen shavings. There may be other brands similar to Carefresh and Yesterday's News but they are basically the same. Carefresh is comprised of recycled wood chips which absorb urine and have pretty good odor control as the week goes on. Yesterday's News has a nice, waxy smell I love and it is pellets made of recycled newspapers, hence the name. Personally, I use shredded aspen. The shelter where I volunteer uses wood stove pellets which are extremely inexpensive but I don't like them; they disintegrate into wet powder. No thanks.

Don't EVER use pine or cedar! These litters contain deadly phenols, or fumes, which cause organ damage! I really wish pet stores wouldn't even sell them but they do - which should tell you, also, that pet stores are in the business of selling you stuff and it's not necessarily good for your pet! You might have a local rabbit rescue which sells all of these litters (as well as other supplies) at a discount and the proceeds benefit their foster rabbits. Check it out!

I use aspen shavings because it is soft and also cheap and I have a lot of bunnies. The brand name litters I mentioned can get pricey if you have a lot of rabbits. But if you only have one or two, you should be able to afford it. Although Yesterday's News smells nice and waxy, it is not comfortable for the bunny to lay on. Aspen is fun to dig in and push around and shape into a little bed - and, it makes awesome compost! If you have a compost pile made from aspen shavings, hay and rabbit pee and poop, grubs will eat it and poop out the most incredible top soil! Then you can grow a nice garden for your bunnies to have fresh herbs and veggies.

I know that some of you out there are going to change your rabbit's litter box every single day or maybe even twice a day because you have a more sensitive nose than most or because you are, well, obsessive-compulsive cleaners. That's fine, I just want you to realize that rabbits are the most fastidious animals; they clean themselves constantly and are really very tidy - their poop doesn't even smell! When given a litter box setup like I've outlined here, they will be extremely neat and careful. Oh you may see the occasional 'smart pill' outside the box but that's just a greeting card. Just pick it up and put it in the corner of the box they normally use for that. Remember, the litter box is important for cleanliness but also important psychologically to the house rabbit. Try to see things his way and you will have a very happy little bunny on your hands.

The Female Rabbit's Sacred Space:
Her Litter Box

One last thing - it may drive you crazy that your rabbit seems to be wasting a lot of hay. Once they've lain on it for bedding, they will not eat it. If you are buying expensive hay via the internet, this is great but you may want to try getting some good local hay which will no doubt have some brown leaves mixed in or try some internet hay from an individual farmer like Farmer Dave or Kleen Mama. Your rabbit will meticulously pick out these brown leaves and arrange them into a bed.

I have watched in amusement many times as a (spayed) female rabbit carefully places these brown (or green) leaves around her litter box; one here, one there, oh no, they put it in the wrong place and will try it in another until they get it just so. Some of these gals spend the entire day with these interior decorating exercises so if you change their box every day, they're not going to like you too much. That's sacred ground for a female rabbit; let it sit and let her have her fun.

 -RabbitPhotog 

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B!nk(y) - Animal Welfare Advocate

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How to Extend the Life of Your Pet Rabbit

How long could your beloved pet rabbit live? The answer is a lot longer than most people realize (we currently have a 16 year old rabbit!). With proper care, good sources of information, and qualified veterinary care, your pet rabbit could easily make it into his teens.

Generally speaking, the smaller the rabbit, the longer they live. Similar to dogs; where a large dog will only live about 7-9 years, so goes for a large rabbit. Where a smaller dog may live 16 to 18 years, so goes for the tiniest rabbit!

The Netherlands Dwarf is the longest-lived rabbit breed and also the smallest.
This silver marten marked palomino colored bunny can expect to live 10-15 years.
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The smallest breed of rabbit is the Netherlands Dwarf which averages one to three pounds. The largest breed of rabbit is the Flemish Giant which averages 15-20 pounds. Both of these breeds are abundantly represented in rabbit rescue groups so you should be able to adopt either of these preferred breeds (please check Petfinder.com).

So why would someone want to adopt a large rabbit if you are looking for the longest-lived breed of rabbit? Well, along with being a large rabbit also often comes certain personality traits that are very popular such as a mellow personality, cuddliness, etc. Along with being a tiny, hyper-aware dwarf rabbit comes an increased flight response and heightened prey sense, thus, not so mellow or cuddly. However, of course, each rabbit is an individual and these personality traits can be found amongst any of the sizes of rabbits.

Now that you've found your preferred size of rabbit, how do you make sure you can provide for his maximum longevity? Provide the healthiest diet, lowest stress environment and best quality, qualified veterinary care you can. Not every veterinarian can successfully treat rabbits. Rabbits are considered 'exotic' by veterinarians, as are parrots and reptiles. These species are not covered in veterinary school and to learn about them requires internships with veterinarians who are exotic specialists. So research your vet carefully.

The Flemish Giant is a shorter-lived breed of rabbit. Being so large, often 15-20 pounds or more, they suffer from a variety of health problems including spinal concerns. They are often docile and sweet though.

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 As for a healthy diet for rabbits. Take it from me, a veteran rabbit rescuer, the healthiest rabbit diet is comprised of 90% good quality horse hay or grass hays. Timothy hay, orchard grass, or brome hay provided in a variety of 'cuttings' - different qualities and sizes of leaf width will keep your rabbit's extremely delicate digestive tract humming along like an old Volkswagen.

A rabbit's digestive tract must always be in motion or it will shut down causing the rabbit to go into shock and die within a very short time, maybe just 12 hours. You will know this is happening because his poops will get smaller and smaller until they disappear and when that happens, it's too late. The main ingredient to keep this system humming along without causing obesity to the rabbit is the indigestible fiber from the hays mentioned above. These hays will also keep your rabbit's perennially growing teeth nice and trim. Well, you're probably wondering, 'I thought rabbits are supposed to eat mainly pellets?' That credo is from the meat rabbit industry which feeds rabbits a fattening diet to put weight on them as fast as possible as longevity is not a consideration.

This is not to say that rabbits don't, indeed, need pellets. They just need very little. The main reason to give pellets, which should be about 5% of the daily diet, is to provide a fortified source of nutrients in case the hays you are providing are of varying nutritional quality which happens with any crop. So the pellets are like vitamins for your rabbit and if you are feeding good quality fortified pellets, you shouldn't need to supplement with any other vitamins although there are plenty of these on the market. Just make sure those pellets are made from timothy hay and not alfalfa which is too high in calcium for adult rabbits.

The remaining 5% of your rabbit's daily diet should consist of appropriate vegetables which will provide more nutrients as well as provide enrichment and, hopefully, a satisfying culinary experience. Each rabbit is an individual and will have individual tastes, which may or may not be a good thing, so you will have to find out what your rabbit likes the best. The best vegetables to try are ones which will not cause gas. Gas attacks can be fatal for rabbits. Try to avoid cabbages; yes, they are inexpensive, but they also cause gas. Avoid spinach which is high in calcium, a mineral rabbits have trouble metabolizing and could, as a result, cause kidney or bladder stones or bladder sludge (ouch!).

Stick with the best, safest and most preferred vegetables; carrots - although these are fattening and so should be given in small amounts; romaine, green leaf, and red leaf lettuces are also wonderful and nutritious. Completely avoid iceberg lettuce which has no nutritional value and can cause runny stools. Cilantro is a favorite as well. Try to give organic whenever possible and when not, wash all of these thoroughly as rabbits are highly susceptible to pesticides.

And, of course, make sure you provide your rabbit with plenty of fresh, filtered water every day. You'll be surprised to know just how much water your rabbit actually needs to consume every day. Buy him the biggest water bottle you can find and fill it up with fresh water every day. Keep the bottle clean by using a bottle brush and untreated dish detergent such as Dawn or Palmolive (no antimicrobials containing deadly triclosan) or just scrub it with lemon juice (a natural antibiotic and disinfectant). Be sure to rinse it well before filling with drinking water.

When kept in altered (spayed or neutered) pairs, rabbits live longer, happier, healthier lives. They are highly social creatures and, in the wild, live in large groups called warrens comprised of sometimes several hundred individuals.

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 Giving your rabbit a safe, warm, indoor, comfortable cage (no wire bottoms!) in a low-stress area (not too much hustle and bustle), and make sure they are spayed and neutered to prevent cancers (and bad behavior). Give him a couple of comfy litter boxes to nap in and use for necessaries. Doing this should provide your rabbit with an enriching and thus life-extending sense of happiness and well-being. Perhaps the most obvious but often most overlooked part of your rabbit's happiness and well-being is to provide them with a compatible mate of their own kind. Rabbits mate for life in the wild1 and thus having an altered (spayed or neutered) opposite sex mate keeps them happy and feeling safe and cuddling with their mate does wonders for their immune systems, just as it does for ours.


Now that you know what the keys to providing the basics required to ensure longevity for your companion rabbit, you can rest assured that your rabbit will live happily ever after.

Sources:
1 The Private Life of the Rabbit by R.M. Lockley, Introduction by Richard Adams, "They were not unusually promiscuous and in many instances retained the same mate for life."

 -RabbitPhotog
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Get the Picture? Chocolate Eye Candy!

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The Easter Bunny:
Silly Parents, Rabbits Aren't for Kids!

Every year as Easter approaches, parents and children alike get the idea that they'd like to bring the Easter bunny into their lives. Unfortunately, they often do this with little or no research, forethought, or even the idea that a life is at stake. Often the misconception is that rabbits have a short lifespan similar to hamsters or guinea pigs. Parents think they have a short-term project on their hands and that the kids will have a cute, cuddly, plush toy. Worse, some parents truly do consider this life disposable and that anything to increase their child's experience is well-deserved. The cost to the living being in question is an after thought.

In truth, rabbits do not make good pets for children. Although prey animals, rabbits will defend themselves and often kick, bite, and even scream while being endlessly mishandled by a child. In futile efforts to escape the unwanted embraces of rambunctious children, the rabbit will most likely also sustain an injury and often a fatal one at that -- such as a broken back or neck. The child also risks the potential for a very painful rabbit bite from those great big Bugs Bunny incisors.

A slightly more fortunate Easter bunny recruit may live a little longer only for the child, who is most certainly the caretaker of this little life, to lose interest in the animal and eventually start skipping feedings or allow the water bottle to remain empty or both. At long last, the bunny perishes from neglect. As a rabbit rescuer, I once took in a bunny from an animal shelter who was surrendered at age 8 years during which time he was cared for only by a very young child. He was so ravaged from this fate, it took him nearly a year and half to recover his health. He has since been adopted and is now being lovingly cared for by responsible adults.

Pinky was relinquished to the animal shelter at age 7 months. The relinquishing owner cited the reason for give up to be that he was afraid of his 5 dogs. Pinky was lucky and was rehomed with a lovely couple who are approaching retirement.

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A common complaint to be heard from children who become disenchanted with their rabbit companion is that they are just plain boring. Terrified rabbits will sit in a hunched up position when they live in fear every day of their lives and do not do much of anything else. It's easy to understand why children craving interactivity would find this boring and also easy to understand why this is a successful survival strategy for a little prey animal. Eventually the rabbit's fear will impair his immune system and bring about an early demise. This happens very quickly for those unlucky buns who are imprisoned in the traditional backyard rabbit hutch. Exposed to the elements and predators, it is only a matter of time before they either die of a fear-induced heart attack - brought on by the sight or approach of a predator - or they succumb to the heat or the cold. The least lucky Easter bunny of all is the one whose uninformed family 'sets free' to be predated upon by a long list of natural enemies including skunks, raccoons, stray dogs, stray cats, coyotes, eagles, hawks, or owls. Getting run over by a car is also a possibility for the stray rabbit. The domesticated rabbit possesses none of the instinctual survival skills his wild ancestors did and also does not possess the same physical characteristics required for a life in the wild.

According to Kim Saunders, vice president of Shelter Outreach for Petfinder.com, "People know that dogs and cats end up homeless." Petfinder.com is the searchable database of homeless pets of all kinds. "We initiated Adopt-a-Rescued-Rabbit Month (February) to draw attention to the fact that rabbits are the third most likely animal to find themselves needing a new home. On any given day on Petfinder.com, there are over 5,000 rabbits available for adoption." 1 Some of these rabbits will be rehomed thanks to the efforts of shelter staff and volunteers but a great many of them will be euthanized through various methods because there simply are not enough homes for them.

Kathleen Wilsbach, president of the national rabbit rescue and education group, House Rabbit Society, informs us, "For the right people, rabbits are wonderful indoor companions. They get along with many other companion animals including gentle cats and dogs, are intelligent, affectionate and inquisitive, and can readily learn to use a litter box."

"However," she warns, "they can also be destructive. The ideal 'rabbit person,' in addition to being calm, patient and eager to get to know a rabbit on his own terms, must be willing to rabbit-proof an appropriate exercise area in the home to prevent damage from chewing." 2 

Jules was relinquished to the animal shelter at age 2.5 years because his teenage caretaker left for college. He was released to a rescue group and adopted. A high-energy breed, he is an adorable mini-lop requiring lots of attention.

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Rabbits do indeed make wonderful companions for older, more mature children whom are part of a responsible, caring family and include the rabbit as part of this family group. And while often as long-lived as a cat or dog, rabbits also require specialized veterinary care as they are considered by veterinarians to be among the 'exotic' pets such as parrots and reptiles. This is more costly than run-of-the-mill canine and feline veterinary medicine and also more challenging in a variety of ways for the rabbit caretaker. In a family where the rabbit's well-being and longevity are a consideration, a house rabbit will provide much good quality companionship and will endlessly charm his or her guardians with a happily twitching nose, bright eyes and bushy tail.

1 Petfinder.com Report of the Week, January 26th, 2008 
2 February is Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month, http://www.rabbit.org/adopt-a-rabbit-month/adopt.html 


 -RabbitPhotog
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Bunoncé - Dangerously In Love With Bun-Z

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Secrets of Bonding Rabbits:
Matchmaking for Bunnies, Part 1

Finding a friend for your altered (spayed or neutered) rabbit is one of the most rewarding things you can do for both of you. In the wild, rabbits mate for life and in captivity, the same applies. A pair of bonded rabbits are endearing to watch and care for. Care must be taken in the process of matching one bunny to another or serious injury or worse can result. In this article, I'll detail my experience as a veteran rabbit rescuer who has done dozens of successful introductions (bunny matches) and bondings.

Bugsy, the silver Dutch, was highly aggressive toward all other rabbits. He fell head over heels in love at first sight with Juliette, the golden Palomino.

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The Purpose of Finding a
Friend for Your Rabbit

Too many times I have had prospective adopters, people who have had house rabbits for many years, want to adopt a companion for their rabbit and they have no concern for whether or not their rabbit actually likes the other rabbit! They just have to have a certain rabbit and if their rabbit doesn't like the other rabbit, they want me to force the bonding. I no longer do this because of the trend I notice with these bondings which I'll mention later. What's the point of getting your rabbit a friend if...well...they don't even like each other?

Your goal in finding a friend for your rabbit should be to find the one rabbit whom your rabbit wants to be with. I have lived and live with rabbits who took a long time to find a friend because they were very selective. It's not that hard to understand the basics of what your rabbit's preferences might be if we remember a few simple rules of thumb.

1. Rabbits are heterosexual. After all the expression 'breeding like rabbits' isn't meaningless. Rabbits are characterized in mythologies all over the world as being a little too interested in procreation. So make sure both your rabbits are spayed and neutered before attempting any matchmaking!

(-update 7/4/14: we now believe rabbits can be whatever sexual, depending on their upbringing and history of treatment and altering. Regardless, it still makes sense to pursue the traditional avenues of lagomorph sexual behavior in these articles. Perhaps a Part 4 will look at the aforementioned issue, besides, I contradict myself in item 4 anyway!)

2. Rabbits mate for life. This means that your rabbit's preferences in other rabbits are probably not going to change much over their lifetime.

3. Female rabbits like male rabbits that are bigger than them. Rabbits are like humans in many ways and this is one of them. Sure there will be the occasional rabbit version of Prince (diminutive) whom all the rabbit girls will swoon over, but generally, the girls will go for a male who is larger than them.

4. Male rabbits will sometimes like other males for a friend. It's true. Sometimes male rabbits can be paired together without too much effort. Usually, though, this is true only for very young males, and of course, both males must be neutered. At other times, it's true for two male rabbits who have an omega (submissive) personality. Some people insist that their male rabbits actually prefer other male rabbits over female rabbits but this is usually because of poor socialization as a baby. That nervous, high-strung male rabbit should be with an experienced female rabbit who knows how to reassure a nervous boy.

5. Rabbits of the same breed or markings tend not to get along. Oddly enough, in my experience, when introducing a male and female of the same breed, it tends not to work out. Rabbits seem to be attracted to other rabbits who do not look like themselves - I suspect they think different looking rabbits are 'exotic' - kind of like how I think Prince is exotic (and therefore hot).

6. Rabbits who appear to be aggressive with other rabbits are highly selective. The rabbit who is highly selective is simply waiting for Mr. or Miss Right. When that magic rabbit is found, the seemingly aggressive rabbit will usually end up being the submissive one of the pair! The trick is finding the one rabbit that this highly selective one will fall head over heels in love with.

7. Love at first sight is rare. Yes it is rare and with some rabbits, you could look for years and not find another rabbit that your rabbit will fall head over heels in love with. It just means your rabbit is coy and wants to be courted; your rabbit has a Victorian sense of choosing a mate.

Teesa (white w/brown spots) snagged the highly desirable Cisero. Every female rabbit who ever laid eyes on him swooned over this little Netherland dwarf boy.

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In preparation for introducing your rabbit to potential mates, be sure you take him to the vet first. Make sure your vet is a qualified rabbit veterinarian. Have your rabbit tested for common rabbit parasites and evaluated for any symptoms of infection. Common parasites to look for are giardia and coccidia. Some vets will tell you that giardia is not found in rabbits, but it is now and being seen more commonly.

Also be sure that any rabbit your rabbit is being introduced to has also been vetted and tested for these parasites. If you are working with a rabbit rescue, make sure they are a legitimate rescue and ask if they test their rabbits for parasites prior to introducing them to other rabbits. It's not worth the risk of exposing your rabbit to sick rabbits in order to find him a mate. You could end up losing your little friend this way.

Also check any rabbits you may introduce your rabbit to for signs of nasal or respiratory infection. This includes wet fur around the nostrils or nasal discharge of either clear or white color. Many rabbit diseases are airborne and thus very easily spread. Regardless of where you obtain a friend for your rabbit, these are concerns to be aware of. All rabbits everywhere are very susceptible to these diseases.

Choosing a Bunny Marriage Broker

Try to enlist the aid of the most experienced rabbit bonder you can find. This person will most often be a rabbit rescuer who will help you with the bonding of the two rabbits. Beware of anyone who claims that any two rabbits can be bonded. While it may be true and possible that any two rabbits can be forced to coexist, the stress involved with that process can impair the immune system of the rabbits and often the rabbit who assumes the omega, or submissive, role will develop stress-related illness and not live very long. Your goal should be to find a bunny that your bunny wants to be with and doesn't need to much coercion. I always say the best bonding is a non-bonding. Your concern should be for the welfare and happiness of both rabbits.

Picking an experienced person to match and bond your rabbits is a process in itself. You should talk with this person and try to assess if they seem to have a natural affinity for animals. Does this person seem to place concern for the happiness and well-being of both rabbits above all? Or is this person trying to find out what you want? "Animal people" are often not "people people" so try to excuse any boorish personality traits which you may find annoying about this person. The important thing is that they properly assess the behavior and personalities of rabbits. I can tell just from the personalities of two rabbits who haven't yet met if they can be friends. This is because I've done so many matches and introductions that I recognize which types of personalities go together well. But as with any skill, I am still always learning and there is always a rabbit whose personality and life experience is so unique that I learn something new.

Another factor that should be important to you in choosing a bunny marriage broker for your rabbit is if the person is willing to do the match and bonding for you regardless of whether you are adopting from them or not. Some rabbit rescues will not take kindly to your adopting from another rabbit rescue but if you are adopting from a shelter and saving a bunny, they will be happy with that. However, most experienced rabbit bonders are rescue people and will not be interested in helping you bond your rabbit with a rabbit from a breeder or pet store. The idea behind the matchmaking of two altered (spayed or neutered) rabbits is to help the rescue organization save another life. If you are a member of a rabbit rescue, they should be happy to help you meet all of their bunnies but it might not work out with any of them. You might have to keep looking beyond their rescue to another rescue. Hopefully these rescues are both interested in serving your rabbit's needs. It can be a tricky situation to work with more than one rescue this way but a little tact and diplomacy go a long way.

Jenni (brown sable) violently rejected all suitors until the strapping Jar Jar came along. She charged at him intending to box him with her paws and he sat on her head. She fell in love instantly.

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Pairs, Trios and Quartets

Rabbit rescues are wonderful organizations whose mission it is to save the lives of rabbits. Rabbits are the third most abandoned companion animal after cats and dogs and so are found well represented in animal shelters and rescues throughout the US and many other countries, especially the UK. They are also euthanized in these shelters. A good strategy for these rescues is to encourage matching up multiple rabbits in pairs and trios and even quartets. More lives are saved this way. Matching and bonding trios and quartets is an entire article in itself and so will be the last part of this series. There are advantages and pitfalls of matching your rabbit into a trio or quartet and I will cover these later.

What About Your Grieving Rabbit?

A very common scenario with rabbit matchmaking is when one of a pair has died and the caretaker is seeking a new mate for the survivor. Rabbits grieve in different ways. Often when one rabbit dies, the other one may die, literally, of a broken heart if a new mate isn't found soon enough. Grieving symptoms include aimlessly staring out windows or off into space, lack of appetite or listlessness. Some rabbits need time to grieve, others will suffer if they have to wait too long for a new friend. You should know your rabbit and be able to assess when it is time. It is important too if you are grieving very hard and you need your rabbit to find a new friend sooner rather than later for your own happiness. Both of you are important and have needs. Just try to leave the matchmaking to the pro and let your rabbit choose his or her new love.

In Part II of this series, I will cover very specifically what actually happens at the match and how to recognize if your rabbit likes another rabbit. In Part III, we will discuss how to actually conduct the bonding (bunny moon) for those who do not have an experienced rabbit bonder in their area to help them. Stay tuned!

 -RabbitPhotog
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