Rabbit Life

I read all the books and websites I could find on raising rabbits before I got Su and all of them recommended I spay or neuter my bunny when they were between 6 months and 1 year old.  Neutering male rabbits curbs behavioral problems such as aggression, marking, and helps bunnies achieve a better bond with their human companions.  Because I didn’t know how old Su was, I scheduled an appointment for a general check up with the best recommended rabbit vet in the area. 

My father gave me a small carrying cadge that he used for his cats, and I lined it with a pillow and soft cloth.  I made a him a traveling toy by stuffing a toilet paper roll with hay and coaxed Su in with mustard greens.   

Su was a little skittish in the car but when we got to the vet he settled into the pillow and started eating hay.  When it was our turn to see the vet, Su sat like a pro.  I would have thought he had been to the vet a thousand times.  The vet told me that Su was at least three years old and in full health.  He recommended that I make an appointment to have him neutered as soon as I could.

Rabbits are also creatures of habit and for the most part they are very clean animals.  For this reason, and to keep my landlords happy, I kept Su in a large cadge at night and when I was away.   His cadge was large enough for him to run around in and was stocked with fresh timothy hay and clean water. 

When I was home, Su ran free.  His favorite thing to do was run bullet lines that stretched the length of the railroad apartment – he would zip back and forth as fast as he could until he got dizzy and then he would stop abruptly, confused and out of breath.   

During the day Su’s cadge was converted into a litter box.  I flipped the top part sideways and hung his water bottle and grain dish from its bars.  The bottom of the cadge was lined with hay and newspaper, and I rewarded him with a sweet and tasty baby carrot every time he used his litter box.

I’ll be honest:  I wasn’t prepared when my father brought me the grey Netherland Dwarf that has come to be known as Sulis (or Su, for short).  Rabbits chew everything, all the time.  It isn’t a behavioral issue, rather, it’s because their teeth continuously grow and they need to chew in order to wear them down.  That meant that there were electrical chords that needed to be picked up, books that needed to be taken off the bottom shelves, and cabinets that needed to be secured if my bunny was going to be able to explore the apartment. 

My first step was to incase all of my chords in plastic tubes which I purchased for pennies at my local hardware store.  Then I tied all of my chords together with garbage bag ties and secured them as high as they could physically go.  My home was basically a studio apartment, with the kitchen, dining area, and living room all in one large room.  Because Su’s area was in the living area and not in my adjacent bedroom, I used child safety locks on all my lower cabinets to ensure that Sulis didn’t accidently eat any cleaning products or chemicals. 

The apartment had hardwood floors throughout, with area rugs in front of the couch and bed and runners along the major walkways.  I anchored all of the rugs in the apartment to the floor by attaching small rubber dots to their underside.  My total cost for rabbit proofing my apartment was under $30.

I got my first pet rabbit, a boy named Su, when I was 20.  I had just moved into my first apartment wanted a pet really, really bad.  My landlords didn’t want me to have a dog, and I’m not a big fan of cats, so a rabbit was the next logical choice.  I grew up on a small farm – what is known in our neck of the woods as a “gentleman’s farm.”  My father raised enough cows, pigs, and chickens to keep his family fed and had a collection of rare goats and sheep that people from all over came to see. 

So I grew up around animals and rabbits were no exception.  They were always around, albeit mostly for meat.  My father’s farm has always had 1 wall stacked with rabbits in their cadges as high and as wide as it could be.  They were always large rabbits that were all white with bright red eyes and lopped ears, and my father sold these lupines at auctions along with goats for hala meat.  I wanted something smaller for my place, and I asked my father to keep his eyes open for a dwarf bunny with a sweet personality. 

He brought Su to my door one week later.

I’m very excited to announce the start of my new blog: Rabbit Life.  This blog is dedicated to my house rabbits and I hope that it will become a resource for other house rabbit owners.

I have lived with rabbits all of my adult life and have been writing about them for just as long.  Living with rabbits has been a wonderful experience for me - they are low key, hypo-allergenic, and have a fundamental love for play that rivals any other domestic pet. 

This blog will explore rabbit behavior, rabbit care, and we’ll also talk about basic bunny health.  I urge you to check out other sites such as the House Rabbit Society and to always check with your vet before following advice from this or any other website.

I’d like to end today by saying thank you for the chance to share my love of house rabbits with you.  As the days go on, I’ll introduce you to my rabbits (both past and present) and tell you a little more about my love affair with my long eared friends.