Yes. James would know that he's getting two baby bunnies for his birthday on the 25th and it'd ruin the surprise. He will be extremely surprised since I've always told him he's not allowed one whenever we go to Murray Bridge and play with the ones there at mum and dads - they breed them and either give them to the pet shop or eat them and there are some gorgeous ones at hte moment, little ginger and whites and one of them is a rex! So he's getting them as a surprise birthday pressie. I know that you're not supposed to give animals as presents, but he's wanted one for years, so why not?
BUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PHOTO! PHOTO RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Meh as long as he knows how to care for them and they get the best possible care and love, what's the issue? If you know the animal is wanted, it's not bad. It's not really impulse buying when you know they have been after that animal for ages and know how to care for it etc, plus you'll be there to step in if/when it's required :)
Hahaha. I don't have photos of these ones, but here's one we prepared earlier: That was about a year ago. James hasn't cared for a rabbit before but I've grown up around them. The only thing we'll find difficult is giving them enough fresh greenery - but since he's also getting the tools to make a rabbit mansion, he'll end up building a planter box to grow some fresh rabbit greens in also (plus we grow veggies year round they can help us munch on!) I've came up with a cunning ruse this weekend to clean out our front room which is basically a corridor that goes nowhere. It has no powerpoints and is like... concrety stuff flooring. So will be rabbit proof and safe when cleaned out :D At first, bunnies shall live there, and later outside in a nice big hutch. In summer, bunnies will live inside in front of the air con. The only thing that worries me with keeping bunnies is what happens if they get illness issues. Generally if one of my mum and dads sustains a traumatic injury (e.g., broken leg), they just knock it on the head humanely and eat it for dinner. Their approach is pretty pragmatic. But they breed more for eating than anything, whilst our bunnies will be pets, not dinner. At least these first two - I can't say that won't change after we get our nice big property in several years time :)
I think it's good timing for James. Our rats are starting to get old. A couple of them have mammary cancer now. They're quite happy and don't seem to be in any pain and I know from past experience that theres not a lot the vets can do other than very traumatic surgery so we're keeping them here until they start seeming unhappy. But I suspect all of our rats will have passed away within a year at most given their short lifespans. James has a hard time with animals passing away, so having bunnies to console him will help. I'm not looking forwards to the day when our rat Twinkle passes away, she loves nothing more than to hang out with James. And since she's so aggressive towards other rats, we have to house her on her own... But she loves people so much that she spends much of her day out of the cage hanging out with James whilst I'm at work.
There are now vets that specialise in rabbits :) Check with your local vet and they will be able to help you. Vets these days focus much more on smaller animals than they used to due to their rising popularity as pets. Greens - the darker the green, the better. Try growing spinach. It grows like a weed and they LOVE it. You can also grow grass in tubs. Restrict apples and carrots - they contain a lot fo sugar which the rabbit just doesn't need. Make sure they have loads and loads of top quality hay to munch on at all times, that's very important for their system. I never fed mine pellets, just grass, hay and loads of dark green veggies, most lived to about 8 or 9 years old apart from Rosie who died of dog attack, and even so when she'd go see her vet, she was always saying how great Rosie looked. House rabbits are AWESOME fun! But be very, very careful to rabbit-proof the house. You'll be amazed at what they can get into!
Yeah, I know what to feed, it's just going to take a bit of time to get it growing. Silverbeet will grow like a weed and they like it. Mum and dads bunnies LOVE Amaranth too and get a lot of grass. Sucks living in a little unit with a bitchumen courtyard, we have to grow everything in tubs. At the moment we have plenty of broccoli, but I believe that brassicas aren't great for bunnies!
Our local vets are pretty good with small animals I think, I'm not sure about how they are with bunnies but they're pretty good with our pet rats :D I''ll have to make sure that James knows to mozzie-proof the hutch when he makes it. Mum and dad managed to lose a couple of bunnies to myxo a few years back >.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-09-14 10:02 am (UTC)Yes.
James would know that he's getting two baby bunnies for his birthday on the 25th and it'd ruin the surprise.
He will be extremely surprised since I've always told him he's not allowed one whenever we go to Murray Bridge and play with the ones there at mum and dads - they breed them and either give them to the pet shop or eat them and there are some gorgeous ones at hte moment, little ginger and whites and one of them is a rex! So he's getting them as a surprise birthday pressie. I know that you're not supposed to give animals as presents, but he's wanted one for years, so why not?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 07:20 am (UTC)Meh as long as he knows how to care for them and they get the best possible care and love, what's the issue? If you know the animal is wanted, it's not bad. It's not really impulse buying when you know they have been after that animal for ages and know how to care for it etc, plus you'll be there to step in if/when it's required :)
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Date: 2010-09-16 02:02 pm (UTC)That was about a year ago. James hasn't cared for a rabbit before but I've grown up around them. The only thing we'll find difficult is giving them enough fresh greenery - but since he's also getting the tools to make a rabbit mansion, he'll end up building a planter box to grow some fresh rabbit greens in also (plus we grow veggies year round they can help us munch on!)
I've came up with a cunning ruse this weekend to clean out our front room which is basically a corridor that goes nowhere. It has no powerpoints and is like... concrety stuff flooring. So will be rabbit proof and safe when cleaned out :D
At first, bunnies shall live there, and later outside in a nice big hutch. In summer, bunnies will live inside in front of the air con.
The only thing that worries me with keeping bunnies is what happens if they get illness issues. Generally if one of my mum and dads sustains a traumatic injury (e.g., broken leg), they just knock it on the head humanely and eat it for dinner. Their approach is pretty pragmatic. But they breed more for eating than anything, whilst our bunnies will be pets, not dinner. At least these first two - I can't say that won't change after we get our nice big property in several years time :)
I think it's good timing for James. Our rats are starting to get old. A couple of them have mammary cancer now. They're quite happy and don't seem to be in any pain and I know from past experience that theres not a lot the vets can do other than very traumatic surgery so we're keeping them here until they start seeming unhappy. But I suspect all of our rats will have passed away within a year at most given their short lifespans. James has a hard time with animals passing away, so having bunnies to console him will help. I'm not looking forwards to the day when our rat Twinkle passes away, she loves nothing more than to hang out with James. And since she's so aggressive towards other rats, we have to house her on her own... But she loves people so much that she spends much of her day out of the cage hanging out with James whilst I'm at work.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 11:30 pm (UTC)Greens - the darker the green, the better. Try growing spinach. It grows like a weed and they LOVE it. You can also grow grass in tubs. Restrict apples and carrots - they contain a lot fo sugar which the rabbit just doesn't need. Make sure they have loads and loads of top quality hay to munch on at all times, that's very important for their system. I never fed mine pellets, just grass, hay and loads of dark green veggies, most lived to about 8 or 9 years old apart from Rosie who died of dog attack, and even so when she'd go see her vet, she was always saying how great Rosie looked. House rabbits are AWESOME fun! But be very, very careful to rabbit-proof the house. You'll be amazed at what they can get into!
no subject
Date: 2010-09-17 11:57 am (UTC)Our local vets are pretty good with small animals I think, I'm not sure about how they are with bunnies but they're pretty good with our pet rats :D
I''ll have to make sure that James knows to mozzie-proof the hutch when he makes it. Mum and dad managed to lose a couple of bunnies to myxo a few years back >.