We would like to introduce and welcome our sweet, fluffy Wilbur!
He is an Angora rabbit (French and English cross). He is oh so sweet and soft. He loves to munch on grass and hay. His favorite activities are running and jumping. We hadn't planned on getting an angora rabbit, but we saw his cute face on marketplace and decided the farm wouldn't be complete without him. Angora rabbits produce a copious amount of luxury fiber. (Perfect for my yarn spinning!) For his breed and size he would be expected to produce nearly 1 pound of fiber per year. After doing the research, we learned that if his coat isn't brushed regularly to remove the hairs that have shed he can suffer from a health condition called wool block. It is basically a big ball of hair caught in his digestive tract from grooming himself. We have started brushing him and playing with him regularly so he gets used to it and enjoys the time together.
We bought and assembled his palace recently. This is only one of his properties. He also has a nice bachelor pad inside the house where he spends the hot summer days. We put together a separate pen for him to explore and exercise outside. We quickly learned that he was at the top of his class in the categories of speed and agility. He quickly hopped out of this short pen, so we had to make a few modifications to it. Just look at that ornery face!
We are so excited to have him around! Hopefully soon he will have a playmate.
Important information for anyone interested in getting rabbits:
We brought home another rabbit shortly before we found Wilbur, but she did not adjust well. When we took her home, she was a little shaky and frightened, but perked up when Dusty held her on the way home. When we finally got home we wanted to introduce her to our dogs. We thought everything would be fine, because she was in a large crate that the dogs couldn't get into, however when she saw the our dogs she let out a shriek and fell over onto her side. She was kicking her back legs (probably instinctively "thumping" to alert others of danger) and then she just continued to breathe very rapidly and wouldn't hold herself up when we sat her down. I called the vet to see what we should do and to ask if we should bring her in, but they recommended just leaving her in a dark, quiet room without any extra stimulation, which we were already doing. We occasionally went in to check on her and to try to comfort her, but ultimately after about 12 hours she stopped breathing. We attempted CPR for several minutes, but then accepted what had happened and laid to her rest.
This is a terribly sad story, but its purpose is to warn others that rabbits can literally be scared to death (and some other small animals). If you decide to bring a rabbit home, make the transition as gently as possible. Bring a toy or something familiar with the rabbit into its new environment. If you have other animals in the house make sure you introduce them very slowly. First, let them smell something that your other pet has been around. Next, let the two see each other but from a distance. If your rabbit seems okay with the other pet, then gradually increase their contact time. It also might be helpful to look up and learn about bunny body language so that you can better understand how your bun is feeling throughout the day and during certain experiences. Here is a link to a helpful website. We hope this information is helpful for someone bringing home a sweet bunny.