The Truth About Bunnies - Busting The Myths

It's around this time of year Peter Cottontail loads up his Easter basket and takes to the bunny trial. I know this because Twisk auditioned for his job one year and lost on a technicality (Peter thought his ruby red eyes were more suited to Christmas than Easter.) Anyway, this is also the time of year people start looking for rabbits to put in their children's Easter baskets. The goal of the Make Mine Chocolate campaign is convince people to choose any kind of bunny but a live one. 

Having a little experience with bunnies I thought I would put in my two cents in support of the campaign by dispelling a few myths surrounding them.

Myth #1 Bunnies are cuddly

This can be true, but isn't usually. Bunnies love to be petted, yes, but being held is a different story. Consider the fact that rabbits are prey animals. Any action that grabs them and lifts them into the air (picking them up to put them on your lap or in your arms, for example) is reminiscent of being picked up to be carried off and eaten. They automatically - genetically - are afraid of this. Most of them will tolerate this behavior in us and some of them will learn to trust us enough that they overcome their natural fear and enjoy being held, and some are just bold enough not to mind as much. But the majority of rabbits will not learn to like it. They will simply endure it and be relieved when you return them to their pen or cage. (Whereupon, having reached the safety of their home, they will want you to pet them.) 

Myth #2 Bunnies are sweet.

Well, this one is true but it doesn't presuppose that bunnies can also be pretty vicious. I submit to you Exhibit A)

St. John

My arm after it met St. John's teeth.

This cute little guy is St. John (Sinjun.) This was the first (bad) bite he gave me but it wasn't the worst. The worst one nearly sent me to the emergency room for stitches because he tried very hard to help me commit bunny-assisted suicide. After that I brought him to Dr. Bruce to be neutered in the hopes of not having to put him down. He gave me still another scar for my collection later but has since - finally - calmed down enough to enjoy petting and not try to kill me most days.

Yes, the truth is bunnies bite. Having been bitten - numerous times - by bunnies I can tell you with authority that if a bunny bites you the severity of the bite will tell you what kind it was: a warning, a reminder, a forceful objection, or an outright attack. Warnings and reminders are bunny's way of telling you something important like "You're trespassing," "I'm done," "Get out of my space," "You're hurting me," or, "Not today, I don't feel like it." They don't break the skin usually and they don't really hurt but they don't tickle either. If you ignore these love nips you'll likely get something harder and more damaging. Something that will cause bruising and bloodletting. 

Bunnies are often possessive of their space. Putting your hand into their cage or enclosure, even if you're only trying to fill their food bowl will likely make them growl and sometimes lunge at you. These are usually just warnings but if you persist in messing about in their space you'd better be wearing gloves. I've learned not to take bunny grumpies personally - it's how they communicate. But I also don't trespass without being respectful either. 

Myth #3 Bunnies are pocket pets.

Before I had bunnies the idea of taking one to the vet was ... I admit it ...absurd. Little did I know that owning rabbits would put me on such friendly terms with my vet. Lucky for me he's a really nice guy but exotic animal vets, particularly ones who  know a lot about rabbits, are difficult to find. Rabbits are subject to a host of ailments from colic to colds to injuries. If treated most are surmountable but if left untreated rabbits quickly die. I have used more of  my nursing skills treating rabbits than I ever did as a licensed nurse. Fergal is my only special needs rabbit but he requires ten times as much care as the others. I have to grind his pellets three times a day. Often I have to feed him with a syringe, give him injections or other meds, give him fluids through a sub-q line, and bring him back and forth to the vet every month to have his teeth trimmed. Even with the support of my wonderful vet taking care of Fergal is costly both monetarily and emotionally. Bunnies require every bit as much time, energy, and money as pets like cats and dogs. Sometimes more. 

All rabbits should be neutered, which is costly. Males who haven't been neutered are given to spraying those they love - that's you hopefully. Yes, I said spraying. With pee. 'Nough said?

Myth #4 Bunnies are children's pets.

For all the reasons I've already listed bunnies are not great pets for kids. Two of the bunnies I currently care for were a child's cast-off. The reason? They weren't cuddly. Also, because bunnies are prey animals they are very good at hiding illness and injury. It takes an observant adult to realize when a bunny is ill and needs medical attention. Otherwise bunny goes quickly from just fine to dead. As in, "Honestly, he was just fine a couple days ago and now he'd dead."

However, bunnies make excellent pets for adults who enjoy quiet companions with subtle rather than demanding personalities. When neutered they take quite well to litter box training, they are amusing to watch, challenging to completely understand, and let's face it, are the cutest animals on the planet. They won't want to be your buddy, like a dog. Or make you serve them, like a cat. They'll simply keep you company, amuse you, and lower your blood pressure by letting you pet them copiously.

I love bunnies and I can't imagine my life without them. It's for that reason I dearly hope that you'll consider the ramifications of bestowing that fluffy, trusting little life to a child this Easter. Consider making your Easter bunny chocolate this year. Or, if you want something cuddly, here are three bunnies up for adoption:

To learn more about Wilson, or to adopt him go here.

To learn more about Newton, or to adopt him go here.

To learn more about Millie, or to adopt her go here.

For more information about the Make Mine Chocolate campaign go here.
If you've gotten through all that and you're still thinking about a bunny this is an excellent post about what to expect and so forth. 

Belated 4 Year Anniversary Giveaway!

I don’t know about you but giveaways are starting to have so many hoops to jump through that it’s almost not worth the effort. So I thought to celebrate the four years my fiber studio and farm have existed I’d have a simple giveaway.

In order to enter all you have to do is “like” this post on our Spindrift Studio at Reindeer Station Farm page on Facebook. That’s it! You can only enter once, but you can share the love by sharing the post. You get a chance to win these fabulous dryer balls and I get some exposure for my studio/farm. It’s a win-win! If you do decide to share, THANK YOU! Believe me, in this age of information overload I know what I’m asking. While you're on our FB page "like" it if you haven't already. Pretty soon I'll be doing FB-Only specials and goodies.

On March 1, Hamish will choose a winner. I hope it's youuuuuuuuuu!!

Can you believe it was four years ago that I sat spinning some nasty 10-year-old wool by my wood stove, longing for sheep and bunnies? (I never even dreamed as high as an alpaca and llama!) I am in fiber nirvana and I am fully aware of that and appreciate it every day, I truly do. Even when it’s 20-below outside I enjoy taking care of my animals, making sure everyone is as warm as they can be and has food and water. I love watching their fiber grow - okay, so maybe it’s more along the lines of lusting than looking but if you could see how beautiful it is as it grows you’d lust after it too.

Four years ago I didn’t even know where my studio was headed beyond writing. As I look ahead I see more writing. Hopefully not the kind with truly killer deadlines because I’m beginning to realize that it takes me away too much and too often from my own life. (Exciting news on that front very soon.) There will also be teaching because I love to teach. (News soon - hopefully later today - about a fiber retreat I’ll be teaching at. Come play with me!) There will be art of all kinds because I can’t seem to limit myself to a single medium. (And why should I?) There will be sales of vintage finds because I can’t help carting home with me items that I know have beauty and life in them beyond what others see. There will be bunny hugging because, honestly, what’s a Monday (or a Tuesday, or a Wednesday) without a bunny hug? And there will be sparkle because it makes me happy. Good times ahead. I hope you’ll join me.

So, about the giveaway. You’ll get three felted wool dryer balls and this snazzy bag to keep them in when you’re not using them. It’s plenty big in case you get, or make, more. Keep reading for a description and may the odds ever be in your favor.

“What Are Felted Wool Dryer Balls – And Why Do You Want Them? 

Instead of loading your laundry – that soft, precious fabric that touches your skin every day – with stinky chemicals that are in dryer sheets, these felted wool dryer balls will do the same job in less time. 

In a nutshell: The wool soaks up some of the moisture in your laundry as it dries, but then evenly distributes it into the air – helping your dryer stay humid longer, which exponentially reduces static cling. In addition, this “soaking and releasing” action makes your clothes dry faster. And all of these things together mean fewer wrinkles. And if you sprinkle a few drops of essential oil on them before using you’ll scent your laundry too. 

Best of all, they’ll last up to 5 years. That’s 5 years without having to worry a single bit about static, dryer sheets, wrinkles, buying supplies, and failed presidential debates (you shouldn’t ever worry about that last thing, anyway).” ~ Crunchy Betty

(This is where I learned how to make them, but I actually adapted her process because I wanted mine to be heavier and denser than what this process would produce. I both needle and nuno felted mine. But if you don’t win - or you simply fall so in love with these you want more and want to make them yourself - there you go. If you want some nice, dense ones like mine, or you don’t want to make your own, I’ll have more up in the shop. If you make them Betty’s way you can make quite a lot in a short time. Mine take a lot longer. But I’m biased; I like mine better.)

Technology on the Farm: Looking for a Few Good (Wo)Men

Allrighty boy and girls, I'm about to go all techie on you; stand back. I have to admit, I've spent the last few years trying to get AWAY from technology and back to the simple pleasures of living in real time. I created a serious learning curve for myself which was less than fun to surmount, but I digress. Point is the bunnies have decided that it's time to get with the program. When they found out I got a Kindle Fire (after swearing up and down I'd never read a digital book. Like. Ever.) they started taking turns using it whenever my back is turned. I mean, like seriously, they hide it from each other and someone has nibbled a corner of the jacket, probably St. John. Good thing I got that super-duper screen protector. I think they downloaded Watership Down even though I warned them it had some scary bits in it. They are also very fond of LOTR because they like to imagine they are hobbits.

Anyway, it should be no surprise that they are anxiously awaiting the digital release of a book I co-wrote with Eric Stoffle. I should state now, right here, for the record, that it ends on a cliff-hanger so if you decide to read it get the sequel, Midnight Hour, before you finish and save yourself the kind of knuckle-popping anxiety that people raked me over the coals for when it came out in print and they had to wait years - yes, years! Oh the agony! - for the sequel. You can thank me later.

Anyway, Eleventh Hour is going to be released digitally on March 12 - ta-da! - and we're looking for a few good men - and women, and even bunnies - to give away some pre-release copies to in exchange for an honest review - seriously, dude, you won't hurt our feelings, we can take it, we've got big strong backs from hunching over keyboards every spare second - and post it on Amazon.com or wherever else you like to post reviews of eBooks. So if you want to be one of those people please send me an email at c.perrinowalker@gmail.com and tell me which format you'd like (I think your choices are .mobi or .epub but you'd have to ask Fergal because he's the geek in the house.)

A bunch of my other print books are about to make the leap into technology and become eBooks as well through one of my publishers, Pacific Press. As resistant as I am to change, and technology, this is actually a good thing. People often ask me where they can find some of my earlier work and a lot of it has gone out of print. Now they'll be able to get their hands on it again. Wait, maybe that's not a good thing . . . By the way, may I state, also for the record, no one, and I mean no one, has guessed who the real people were behind the characters in Playing God. No one. But if you'd like to try, you'll soon have the digital opportunity to give it a shot. Ain't technology grand?

Happy Birthday Twisk!

It's hard to believe that one year ago I stopped in to do my chores on my way to go walking and found Poppet had pulled out a bunch of fur during the night and I thought, "Could it be? Did she have her babies finally?" I had given up thinking she might. But sure enough, babies. I said to Rob, "Do you remember when they were learning to hop and Twisk was still dragging himself around by his front legs and you said it was because I held him so much he never got a chance to practice?" Sure enough, as soon as I put him down and gave him a chance he started to hop. But he still loves to be held. Raising a litter of baby bunnies is hands-down one of my all-time most favorite experiences. I still miss the four who left and hope they are enjoying their homes. If I'd had the room they would have all stayed.

Happy birthday little Twisket (though in this case "little" is not exactly literal . . . )

Millicent and the Bunny Stuffies

This is Millicent. She's one of the bunny stuffies I've been working on. She's made from old clothes: corduroy trousers, wool trousers, a silk tie, vintage buttons. The stuffies are funny because I never know what they will be until I turn them inside out. In Millicent's case I thought she was going to be a boy, but lo, obviously a girl. And shy. And girly. She wanted bows in her ears so I gave her yarn hair ties.

Millicent made her debut in the shop this week and she's very nervous about it. Stop by and say hi if you want. You'll find her here. Her brothers, Newton (who is a bit of a geek) and Wilson (a dreadful sad-sack) will be at various fairs where my creations are debuting this fall. Howard is staying home to keep me company. In fact, he may never leave. But I have my eye on this stripey cashmere sweater that may become a stuffie to replace him . . . we'll see. Oh, the drama.

Tru Wuv - AKA Rabbit Psychology 101

The Impressive Clergyman: And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva . . . So tweasure your wuv . . .

I'd be willing to bet money that if I asked you if you thought rabbits were capable of strong emotion you'd say not in a million years. A year ago I would have agreed with you. Two years ago I would not have expected any more emotion from a rabbit than I'd expect from a post. But now I know differently.

I'm about to tell you two rabbit stories that will sound very much like I poached them from one of those touching emails people pass around but they happened to me and my very own rabbits.

These are my first two rabbits, Merrie and Pippin. (Merrie has the darker face.) They are siblings and in the picture are young enough to be kept together. Later, when they had to be separated I put them in side-by-side cages. They were never particularly affectionate, to each other, I mean. I never caught them sniffing noses or even sitting next to each other separated only by wire. About the only thing you could possibly ascribe to an outward show of affection was that they pooped in the corners of their cages nearest each other. In my world that would really indicate the opposite sentiment, but they are rabbits, after all.

Anyway, time passed and I got more rabbits and eventually I changed everyone over to stacks of three cages one on top of another and side by side. Nine in all. In the process of relocating everyone Merrie ended up on one level and Pippin on another. I didn't think anything of it and for awhile nothing seemed to change.

Then, slowly, I noticed Pippin wasn't interested in food and he grew more listless. He didn't hop around at all just laid in his cage wheezing. I know he has a small tumor under his jaw and I thought maybe he was riddled with cancer and I just didn't know it. I didn't expect him to be with us long. He was barely pooping at all (in rabbits that's like being on your death bed.) I started the usual treatment (IV fluids and Critical Care.) Twice I brought him back from the brink of death and he started to eat a little but then he'd head downhill again.

I felt sorry for him - dying of cancer as I supposed - so I let him have extra time in the hoppy pen. That was when I noticed something strange. In the hoppy pen he acted perfectly normal, hopping around, still not eating or pooping, but certainly not laying on the floor wheezing like he did in his cage. Then one morning when I came down the stairs there was Pippin sitting up on his hind legs looking into one of the cages as if he was having a chat over the garden fence. Amused, I said, "So, Pippy, who are you visiting with?" As it hit me (like a two-by-four over the head) that it was MERRIE he was "chatting" with it also dawned on me to wonder if he might be MISSING Merrie. I figured it couldn't hurt anything if I moved him next door to Merrie so I did.

Originally his hay rack was hanging on the cage on Merrie's side and one of the first things he did was rip it off the wall (several times) until I finally put it on the other side. From the second I put him in that cage he started acting like a normal rabbit again. No more wheezing, no more listlessness. He started eating and pooping and drinking. Today he's probably the healthiest rabbit I have.

If I hadn't gone through this experience I may never have realized what was wrong with Fergal. I had put him downstairs with the other rabbits in the fall and at first I thought he was happy. He never seemed particularly unhappy. But slowly he started to exhibit the same behavior Pippin had when he was pining. Fortunately I suspected the trouble and realized he was pining too, but Fergal was pining for ME. He missed living upstairs. So I trundled him upstairs, gave him plenty of attention, and slowly he got his health back and now he's happy as a lark.

"I never realized rabbits were smart," I said to Dr. Bruce, my bunny vet, one day.

"Oh, they are," he said, "very smart. But they're subtle. They're not like a dog or cat. They won't tell you what's wrong. You have to be very observant."

Truer words were never spoke.

I'm considering a career change. I'll find a little couch and become a rabbit psychologist. I'll keep a bowl of baby carrots on my coffee table and take my notes on lettuce leaves while I ask, "And how does that make you feel?"

Not Oprah, perhaps, but maybe better.

All Together Now

It's almost moving day for the babies. Two of the girls, Wilfin Beck and MissDubh will be going home with their new mommy on Sunday and Tweed and Treacle's new mommy plans to pick them up sometime next week. I am SO HAPPY to have found good homes for my babies. And so glad I invested so much time in handling them. They are good bunny citizens and should transition well to their new homes.

Now will somebunny please pass the tissues?