Found Rabbit

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Kieka

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Wow. That's quite a setup! So, will the humans get to enjoy any of that lettuce? Or is Peter the lucky recipient of all the harvest?
2/3 - Peter, 1/3 - human to start with at least. The goal is to not have to buy greens at the store so it will change if Peter needs more or less once the plants are all fully grown and being harvested.
 

Kat0121

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Wow. That's quite a setup! So, will the humans get to enjoy any of that lettuce? Or is Peter the lucky recipient of all the harvest?



Oh, the poor bunny. Peter, you sure knew what you were doing when you hopped into mama Kieka Kieka 's yard, which ensured you would have a much happier / well cared for life.:bunnydance:
True. That was the best thing that could have happened to him. Every bunny should have the life dear Peter has. :heartshape:
 
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Kieka

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Evening Peter check in.

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Also, random realization, when we found Peter he would have been an adult 3-6 years old. At that time he weighed just shy of 4 pounds, at his most recent vet visit he weighed 5.7 pounds. He is not a fat bunny so he was very underweight, which I knew but seeing the numbers on his chart was a little shocking when I saw it today updating his records. Especially putting into context that he was full grown at that time. I really wish he could tell his story because I know he is a very determined little one with a strong drive to survive.
 
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Kieka

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In case anyone was curious, if you want to make a bunny mad put a hat on him.

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In other news, we've started rebuilding Peters area in the back yard to move him back now that he has his vaccine. I was looking for a new hutch with more floor space for him to stretch and enough room to stand. After looking I couldn't find one that met my expectations in all areas: wrong fencing, poor human access points or too bird geared. So I bought the same hutch he has now (his current one being three years old and starting to show age). We are going to take off the back wall and add on an enclosed run space. Here is the outline of the run space, we are putting stone along the whole bottom to make it safe and keep it cooler.

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Kieka

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Have I ever mentioned it is very hard to bunny? Peters berries are end of season and just not good enough so he had to go without tonight (as in he turned his little nose up at them). Then grandma got romaine lettuce instead of the green leaf lettuce (and the hydroponic spring mix wasn't at the farmers market). And then I moved his tunnel six inches to the left. It was just a tragic evening.

At least the water drinking, face cleaning and flop to stretch the tummy went right.

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Kieka

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We are currently expanding Peters cage. The cage is his safe place and evening spot, he gets locked in at night to keep him safe from predators. I wanted to give him more room to stretch out, space to stand and decrease the incline on his ramp to upstairs. I couldn't find anything pre-made so my Dad is customizing his existing hutch (well a newer version of his existing hutch). Once the backyard is finished being reseed Peter will move back into the yard and have a larger night time space.

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neely

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So thoughtful of your dad to help Peter out by customizing/expanding his hutch. I'm sure Peter will appreciate it too. :thumbsup:
 

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I had no desire to have a rabbit but I have acquired one. Growing up, we typically had 2 rabbits. Free range in the yard during the day, in an outdoor hutch at night. Our last one passed away 4 years ago from ovarian cancer. It was really bad towards the end. It was very hard for my Dad who was the closest to her. That last rabbit and about 50% of our rabbits before that were abandoned bunnies who we found. In all cases we did find the original owner and in all cases the rabbit was purposefully released.

Here's a sad statistic. Rabbits can live to be 10 years old, most of ours surpassed that with our last one dying at 13. Easter bunnies though? 80% of the baby bunnies given as gifts for Easter won't live a year. They get killed by poor ownership, too small cages, boredom, and lack of care in general. They get sold or given away to new owners and fed to snakes. They get let go in a park or just outside and run over by a car or killed by predators. Domestic pet rabbits are simply the wrong colors and don't have the instinct to survive.

This rabbit was found on the side of the road. I saw it at night about halfway down the street but it was too skittish. The next day on our neighborhood message board someone said the rabbit had been caught in their yard. I offered to hold it while we looked for an owner since I already have a large cage and knowledge of bunny care.

That morning I went to the pet store for food and saw a very dirty cage on the curb. My Dad went to knock on the door and ask if it was the person's rabbit. They slammed the door on his face and the cage was pulled off the curb. So we assume that they let the rabbit go. There haven't been any responses to found posters, lost posters put up, or responses to the online message board in two weeks.

We haven't decided if we are keeping the rabbit. It has a vet appointment Monday to find out gender and a pre-check to get spayed or neutered. Reproductive cancer is a huge epidemic in rabbits so whatever happens I don't want to run the risk of cancer again. Plus the only rescue in the area for rabbits only takes ones that are spayed or neutered. At minimum we will have the rabbit for the next 6 months while we wait for a space at the rescue. So I am ordering a new hutch to give it better living space and have bought supplies to last. I have a feeling though that my Dad is already getting attached.

*sigh* I don't think the rabbit is going anywhere. Sometimes I really dislike other people, especially those who just dump their pets.

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Do you still have the bunny? I only read your story today.
 
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Kieka

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Do you still have the bunny? I only read your story today.
Yes, Peter has been with us for almost 3 years now. Spoiled little bunny is in the process of getting his hutch expanded. He also got the RHDV2 vaccine last month to allow him to go back outside. And I need to go to the farmers market tomorrow in hopes of finding some greens that meet his standards.
 
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Kieka

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Peter got end of season berries and purple carrots today. I've been working Saturdays lately so I have been going to the farmers market in the last 30 minutes. Good news, I've been getting "happy hour" pricing like 3 baskets of strawberries for $5. Bad news, sometimes those berries are a little squishy since they are the last of them at the stall.

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Kieka

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Thank you!

Since the heat wave here finally seems to have broken, I decided to change the water and move some plants around the hydroponics. I lost a few plants to the heat but luckily the sprouting ones survived so they got moved.

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While finishing up, Link decided to come in and check out the area. We hadn't allowed the cats in since it is Peters space and they could carry in RHDV2 but with him vaccinated its a little safer. Peter however has gotten very protective of his space and chased Link out.

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Link was very confused by the whole thing because Peter is his buddy. But they are buddies with a fence between then and that made a difference to Peter. Plus we've been working on Peter getting used to people in his space so he's not as skittish lately. It could have been Peter playing but Link ended up halfway across the house hiding under a chair. Link got some pats and Peter got another berry.

On a totally different note, I was talking to my Mom who had taken Peter in for his last set of xrays regarding his teeth. Apparently that vet had commented that Peters bones show signs of extreme malnutrition when he was younger. Poor guy. He now gets a really wide variety of fresh foods, grass, hay and some pellets so it isn’t an issue now. But between everything his previous home really did a number on him. I've known they probably kept him in too small a space because he moves stiffly and his muscles aren't quite right but this just further confirms it. Makes me more glad that his new space is going to be a little easier to get up and down with.
 
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neely

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I guess you can't undo the past but going forward you have done everything you can to provide Peter with good nutrition and a loving spacious home. 💞
 
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