Thanks to everybody who voted on the bunny’s name. We ended up going with Ivan. I know, it wasn’t even on the list…but I decided to name him after Ivan Coyote, who is one of my heroes.
GC and I built the bunny’s house ourselves. It’s a four-story condo, and it took us three evenings to make it. We’re very proud of it. And Ivan likes it.
They say you can teach a bunny to use a litter box. Bunnies will generally go to the bathroom in one particular corner of their house. That’s where you should put the litter box. I started by putting the litter box on the ground floor in the back left-hand corner. Ivan then pooped in the 2nd floor front left-hand corner. I moved the litter box there. Ivan dragged the litter box into the middle of the second floor, and continued pooping in the 2nd floor front left-hand corner. We’re still negotiating.
But you know what’s lovely about him? I feel almost blissful when I hold him. He is so soft and sweet. He snuggles in and I can feel his twitchy bunny nose on my neck and I melt.
I also like watching him eat lettuce. He just munches his way through it like he’s some kind of lettuce-eating machine. I gave him a carrot and it took him a whole day to eat it. But lettuce? Lettuce is his favourite treat. I like how easy it is to make him happy.
The other animals are quite curious about Ivan. Rosie and Duncan both visit the bunny every chance they get. When Rosie comes back from a walk she bounds straight up the stairs to see if the bunny’s door is open. (We keep Ivan in his bunny house in my sewing room with the door closed, because we don’t want the other animals scaring him; they’re only allowed to visit under supervision.)
Simon the African Grey is fascinated by Ivan. He perks right up when I carry the bunny into the living room. He comes over to see him, and he coos at him and looks at him from every possible perspective, including hanging upside down. The other birds are interested too, but not as much as Simon.
Someone expressed surprise the other day that we got a bunny. Apparently very few grown-ups get bunnies for themselves. But you know what? I think the world would be a much kinder, gentler place if every grown-up had a bunny.
This afternoon I had to call Rogers and complain about my bill again. I was dreading it because it’s so aggravating. Anyway, as soon as that call was over I went and scooped up my bunny and let him work his bunny magic on me. Within minutes I felt peaceful and happy again.
Welcome to the peculiarly rewarding world of bunny enslavement.
The House Rabbit Society is a great resource.
Don’t forget to give Ivan access to Bunspace.com
As for the litter box, just restrict him to the area of the cage that has the box and gradually increase his roaming area from there. He’ll get used to its location, and should be as reliable with the litter box as a cat (except for territory buttons in any new area)
Finally, and I do hope you’re ready for this: proper veterinary care for a rabbit it **EXPENSIVE**. (and I do mean compared to dogs and cats)
Thanks Les. I signed Ivan up to Bunspace…it’s like Facebook for bunnies! I also called around to vets and found quite a lot of variation in the cost to get a boy bunny neutered – from $380 to $580 in my city.
I’m used to high vet bills – I have parrots. After mortgage and groceries, probably my biggest budget item is vets.
Oh, and Ivan:
NICE DIGS!
BTW, if he’s dragging the litter box aside and insisting on using the corner anyway, then you’re well on the way.
Pile his previous production into the box and wire it in place where he’s been going.Most likely that’ll do the trick.
I think it’s working! He’s using the litterbox faithfully now, and I haven’t seen any poops anywhere else today. That’s pretty good for four days of litter box training!
I’m surprised more adults don’t have bunnies either. I wish I had a bunny or two, but Dave doesn’t want any more pets.
I like BIG bunnies!
Like this one Valerie? Big Bunny in Zoom’s Basement
I had a bunny once, an angora mini-lop mix. He would poop around the house (the dog would eat it
) and had one corner of the cage where he peed OUT the side. I put a disposable bed pad around that area to catch the pee. I loved to give Hip Hop a.k.a. Bunny Guy parsley stems – he ate them like spaghetti. I saved the fur from all the brushing he required and hope to blend it with wool someday and knit something with it.
I was a Science teacher for a while and one year one of the students brought in a rabbit he “found” in his neighborhood. He was a charcoal grey color and obviously not a wild thing. I think someone just let him go. We called him Charcoal and he became part of my family at the end of the school year. Charcoal was very compact and loved to run around the house. He would twist his body in joy as he ran. It was weird and funny but so joyful. He became the first of many rabbits for us.
oh so cute, so cute, so cute!!
we found some abandoned (domestic) bunnies at a nature centre this summer. why would anyone do that?? : (
glad we found them because then with the help of the humane society we could get them new homes.