Out of my second litter of cottontails, which was really two litters making up one BIG litter, came the cottontail who owns my heart.
When that big litter had become a few weeks old, I noticed some of the babies were missing patches of hair. Someone was pulling out chunks of fur!!! The rehabber who had been helping me, suggested there was a bully or there was just to many bunnies enclosed together and they were fighting. One evening as I sat in their enclosure at bedtime with them, I saw the bunny I considered the sweetest, chasing others around like a little dickens!!
I was particularily fond of that bunny at this point. She was a pretty girl, her fur much lighter then the others. Her and I would sit on the porch swing together, she would perch on my shoulder while I walked around the house, she would sit with me while I talked to her of her upcoming days of being a free bunny. She was especially sweet. I called her my little Buddy Bear. I sat there in shock over my sweet little baby being a bully!!! I took her out of the enclosure, away from the others and put her in a cage of her own.
Well, it only took another day for another bunny to take her place, little buggers. I only had one spare cage that Buddy Bear was in, so now that I had another bully, I took the new meanie away from the others and wondered what to do with him.
I decided that Buddy being the good little girl that she was to me, would just have to hang out in the living room and let the new bully have her cage. I dont think she minded the new living arrangements I gave her. She would come when I called BABYYYYYYYYYY, run out of hiding when I yelled 'mommys got nummies!!!' (meaning yummies in my silly baby rabbit talk). At the time, she only had the run of the living room because the steps were blocked off with the other babies being upstairs in the hallway. I also kept the dining room blocked off, she was such a little fella yet, I didnt want her getting lost somewhere you know.
When the day came to let the other babies go onto a free bunny life, Buddy Bear stayed home. The rehabber had suggested that if she hadnt wilded up yet, then dont push her out, she would wild up in time, some are just slower then others to do so.
My little baby was such a good girl, she only chewed one cord in half, she was behaving quite well I thought if that was the only damage she was going to inflict upon the house. It became routine to check under the lazyboy before you sat in it, routine to share your food with the bunny when you had nummies, routine to watch the bag of chips or the bunny was going to steal one!!! My husband use to joke that when he went free, the neighbors wouldnt have to worry about the cats getting into their garbage, it would be the bunny instead!!! Buddy eventually quit coming when I called, so one day I hadnt seen her all day. I worried but tried to contain myself............for as long as I could. Over went the couch, no Buddy, over went the chairs, no Buddy, bedrooms were checked just in case she had slipped by someone with a door open. At the time she was being blocked from the bedrooms as well. Back to the couch, as by this time I was REALLY getting frantic. Oh my goodness!!! The little stinker was under the couch the whole time!!! Well, not exactly UNDER it, but in it, up inside the bottom. I pulled her out and scolded her with kisses, as she looked at me like I was crazy for disturbing her.
For a short time before this, Buddy had also not been keen on being picked up anymore, she would struggle like most bunnies, but tolerated it once you had her. So, since I had her in my hands I took advantage of it that day. We sat on the swing again, I snuggled her and relished in the moment with her. She tolerated it, but I came to find out later that day, that she was not a happy bunny with me at all................
UPDATE* 2/24/2005 At 1o months old now, it has been suggested to me that Buddy is a girl. Her size is rather small, and someone told me I should see B*A*L*L*S by now if it was a male. I will be changing all the HE'S and HIM'S thru out Buddy's pages to SHE'S and HER'S. No wonder she always seemed mad at me, for 10 months I kept calling her a he. I thought those were dirty looks everytime I said "theres my boy!!" !!! More Update 3/18/05 |
