I'm Back!

Just wanted to let you know how my fiance did baby sitting Umbra for a couple days, not that it was very difficult. All he had to do was stop by and make sure she had plenty of water and give her some pellets.

However, Umbra's dislike of him prevailed and he called Saturday evening to tell me that he was greeted by one grumpy, growly bunny. She did allow him to pet her after pellets were administered, but the next morning he was again greeted very rudely.

Also, I made a stop in Indy to gather the rest of my belongings from my old apartment and bid farewell to my old roommates. I asked Maria (who I refer to as Umbra's Auntie Maria.. or should I say Tia Maria en espanol which is Umbra's preferred language) if she would be interested in caring for Umbra when I study abroad for a semester, but as it is 3 hours from home my mom did not like this idea much. So far this may be my only option, because I know my mom will not take sufficient care of her (beyond water and food.. Umbra thumps whenever she sees my mom anyway). Oh well, we will just have to see.

Forgot to mention that I was not welcomed home very warmly, it took a while before Umbra would forgive me for my prolonged absence and now I am being punished by nips to the shoulder.

This Weekend..

I will being going back to Indy, but only to fetch the rest of my belongings from my old apartment. I have decided to go to college closer to home.

Anyway, I'm a bit nervous for the trip because it will be the first time that I will leave Umbra in someone else's care. They only person I trust to do this up here is my fiance, who is despised by Umbra, but she will have to deal with it. I hope she only appreciates me more when I get back. It's only two days anyway.

But on the subject of bunny sitting and traveling. At my new college we are required to study abroad for a semester. The idea is scary, I've only ever been to Canada and that hardly counts as another country. But if going away for three months to somewhere I barely know the language (I will be most likely be going to Nicaragua or Peru) wasn't daunting enough I will have to spend this time away from the two loves of my life, my man and my bunny... and who will take care of them while I am gone?

Anyway its far enough in the future that hopefully a solution will present itself in the meantime.

Instagram

Oops! Sorry about the lapse in updates.

Since I have recently caved into buy an iPod, I also decided I would give in and download Instagram, despite the fact that I greatly despise it due to the fact that I am a REAL photographer. But that is besides the point. I justified this act by saying that I would only use Instagram to photograph Umbra. So if you have an Instagram account and want to see some cute bunny pics I'd appreciate some followers.

My username is Miss_Umbra.

New Pellets Update

After I posted last night I checked a couple more times to see if Umbra had eaten her dinner. At some pointed she had flipped her dish and picked out all the old pellets, but a while afterward all pellets were gone and she did not turn up her nose at them this morning.

Updates

Because I have nothing better to do, I have just updated several posts with labels in case you were looking for something specific.

Timothy Based Pellets

I know it's long over due, Umbra being a mature 1+ year old rabbit, but I have just tonight switched her to timothy based pellets (as apposed to alfalfa, the main ingredient of most pellets). To help ease her into the change, and avoid any upset stomachs, I mixed the old and new pellets for her dinner allotment. Although she at first tried to new pellets without apprehension, Umbra soon decided she didn't much like the change and has only picked at her meal since. I'm hoping hunger will persuade her soon, until then she chose hay over pellets (even though they are essentially the same thing).

About pellets: I switched from Kaytee Supreme pellets to Oxbow Adult Rabbit Blend, because the timothy pellets are less fattening. While alfalfa is fine for young rabbits who are still growing, it is too rich for one who has already matured. Also, it is important when changing the diet of any animal to do so gradually to avoid upsetting their digestion (no one likes poopy pets anyway).

Umbra's Revenge

Today heard chewing noises coming from down the hall.Went to investigate and discovered Umbra attacking the vacuum cleaner. Take that scary-noise-thing!

Also, Umbra did a little stair master workout. I heard rumors that she was quite confident on the steps, which is quite distressing for me; the basement is not a bunny-proof place. I caught Umbra half way down the steps and persuaded her to rejoin me on the first floor with some dried cranberries. At the sound of treats she zoomed up the steps like a pro! Little pooper.

Another Great Site

Came across the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund's website today. It has great education resources, including articles, videos and posters. RWAF's main goal is to educate rabbit owners on why "a hutch is not enough". Point anyone you know who is thinking of bringing a bun into their home this way, the rabbits and humans will both appreciate it.

Helpful Hints

Found a couple of images I would like to share with you. This first one is a visual rendering of proper bunny diets.

 The second was more interesting than helpful. Everyone knows that one human year is equal to one dog year, but what about rabbits? This chart can help you estimate your bunnies age in rabbit years! I found out that Umbra and I are pretty close in age.

Disgusted

Today I went to visit my fiance at work while he was on his lunch break. He works in a factory which is oddly located in the middle of the country side. Where we live has a large Amish community, and I pass many Amish farms on my trip today (and every day when I was in high school). Although I respect the Amish way of living simply, many farms are notorious for breeding animals for the pet trade. I was disgusted to see a "rabbits for sale" sign outside one of these farms today. I have often seen advertisements at similar farms for small dog breeds, and having worked with a local bovine vet when I was in middle school I have witnessed first hand the poor conditions and disregard (or ignorance) of genetics when it comes to breeding healthy animals. I obviously can't say that all Amish are guilty of running irresponsible breeding operations, however I am still disappointed to see animals, though especially rabbits which are so misunderstood as companion animals, being handed out without regard for their welfare in exchange for cash.

Bottom line: forcing animals to reproduce for the purpose of monetary income is inhumane. There are more productive occupations than sentencing animals to lives of misery due to poor breeding and delivering them to anyone with a few bucks and most likely no education on proper animal husbandry.

Whenever I come across situations like this I nearly want to shell out all my cash to save these poor creatures, but I would only be fulfilling the goals of the breeder. People need to be educated for this problem to be resolved, but even then people need to have the compassion for all life in there heart for them to put this education to use.

Funny Bunny

So things have been pretty uneventful here, but any bun owner knows that rabbits are constantly doing things that surprise us.

The other night Umbra was sleeping on the floor while I checked my email. After a while she got up and stretch and yawned.. and revealed that she had left a cluster of bunny bombs where she had been laying. I had to laugh, I'd never seen her sleep-poop before.

Good News

Regarding the previous post concerning a family friend who recently brought a bunny into her life, I am glad to say that she has brought her fluffy friend inside from being housed in the barn. For now the move is temporary due to the heat, but it was a step in the right direction. I further encouraged her on considering house-rabbit-dom by assuring her that rabbits are easily taught to use the litterbox and are especially consistent in its use when neutered. Hoping that Coco and his new mom have a long and happy relationship!

Education!

A family friend recently got a baby bunny and was recommended to them by my aunt to give her some tips and to determine the gender of her new fluffy friend. It can sometimes be difficult to educate others about proper rabbit ownership, I'm sure people are beginning to think I'm a crazy bunny lady, but it's equally difficult to not care about the well-fare of all rabbits after sharing my home with Umbra.

For iPhone Users

I personally do not own an iPhone. I'm not crazy about bout Apple products... I am crazy about rabbits. So I thought I would share a link to this Rabito iPhone case in case any of my readers are lovers of both bunnies and iPhones.

Medirabbit

Just heard about this website on IHRS's Facebook. Its like webMD but for bunnies. I've just spent the last half hour perusing their database of rabbit health problems and tips to keep your bun healthy. I've already learned a lot in that short time and posted a nifty fact in the previous post.

Of course, no internet source can replace an experienced vet, so make sure to contact them if you are concerned about your fuzzy friend.

Did you know...?

Humans have the same number of chromosomes as hares, two more than rabbits (like the one that may be sharing a home with you and four more than cottontail rabbits.

Learn more about the differences between lagomorphs on Medirabbit.