Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Bonding Chronicles: New bunny in the house . . .

That's right: there's a new bunny in da house;)

Saturday we took Viola on another bunny date at Red Door; she had just been there two weeks earlier too meet Thumper, a black, fuzzy boy bunny who seemed very mellow and rather charmed by her. This time around, they met, they sniffed, and he came home with us.

Thus begins the Bonding Chronicles. Anyone who has ever tried bonding two rabbits can probably attest to this: rabbits do not usually fall in love at first sight. They can fight and scratch and charge and growl until finally the home bunny accepts the visitor. Ultimately, bonded rabbits are healthier, mentally and physically; rabbits are social creatures, and they do better in pairs and groups. You just have to get them there;)

Viola, usually pretty mild and nervous, has become a little warrior rabbit, charging at him, growling and stamping, territorial and pissy. Thumper, however, who we have renamed Sebastian (after Viola's brother in Twelfth Night), is mellow and easy-going, and hopefully his gentleness will eventually persuade her to like him. Until then, the gloves stay on, and he has to live in a cage for a bit.

I'll keep you all posted on the progress . . .

4 comments:

Kimba said...

I think I'm disturbed that you have named a rabbit the same name as my son. I'm just sayin'.

Ginger said...

It was either that or Orsino. Trust me, I did NOT want a rabbit named Orsino;)

Kimba said...

Do you have one of them neutered or are you planning to breed them?

Ginger said...

They are both fixed; it's the only responsible thing to do, as a bunny-parent. For female rabbits, if they are not spayed before a certain age, their chances of contracting ovarian cancer jump to 80%; for males, they can be very agressive if they're not neutured. As Bob Barker says . . . ;)