Spoiled HouseBun likes getting in the way
I haven’t shown any pics lately of our bunny. Here he is on the painted concrete floor in Arizona, when I was making myself another custom quilting table.
He likes to play in Audrey's dollhouse
He loves fresh oranges!
Sacked out on a hot day
Judy says
What inspired you to want to keep a rabbit instead of the more traditional dog or cat?
Marguerita says
Hi Judy,
The rabbits started with Sarah, at age 9, twenty years ago. She wanted a pet for years and one day her dad brought her home with a pet shop rabbit that was slightly malnourished and had never been out of a cage. I refused to let her keep it caged and that began our journey into learning to live with a rabbit in the house. Chewed clothes, shoes, phone cords, carpet, electrical cords and a ton of laughs and a little bit of crying. Our first bunny died very quickly and unexpectedly and when she was gone the hole in our house and hearts was huge. After a week of moping we brought home another rabbit, who lived with us for about 9 years until old age took him. During that time we acquired a few more rabbits – I can’t honestly say how that happened! – and even today Sarah and I both have “adopted” rabbits that live on our homes.
The one I have now was rescued from being killed by a feral cat, by a (now deceased) lovely lady that lived down the street and who kept free range rabbits in her yard. We swear that this one, now 5 or 6 years old, will be our last indoor rabbit, however there are many semi-wild rabbits that live in the woods and brush around our neighborhood that we look after and that we consider to be “under our wing”. They are defenseless, funny, silly and very preyed upon here, so they come and go regularly, but I’ve made friends of several over the years and I do cherish them. I really enjoy watching them and they know that I am good for a chunk of apple or carrot any time they see me. The inside rabbit only has to bump us with his nose to get a treat 🙂
Margaret says
What do you feed him? We have so many jackrabbits and bunnies out here in the country, I often want to leave something for them, but don’t want to attract other critters.
The jackrabbits are so large the other day a baby deer was chasing one thinking it was a friend.
Marguerita says
We buy a blend of rabbit food that we like at the pet shop for the indoor rabbit. It has a lot of Timothy hay and other roughage, and we feed him a lot of raw foods, carrot, apple, dandelion, and when we went to Arizona, he helped himself to oranges and lemons that were in a bag by the door. We were shocked 🙂 The outside rabbits, which are many year descendants of some abandoned tame rabbits, are left large feeders filled with commercial grade rabbit food. They mostly eat bark, grass, dandelions and other wild fare. These rabbits are not native to the area at all – but it’s been 20 or more years since someone dumped them, and they have continued to breed and exist in downtown Seward, on empty lots and backyards. They are just adorable. In Arizona we don’t feed the wild rabbits at all. We leave water out, that’s all. It attracts the quail and the rabbits, but only for a few seconds, and then they are off.
kate says
Hi Marguerita, I love your blog and youtube videos! Have you ever read Amy Sedaris’s Books? The best one is “I Like You, Hospitality Under the Influence”, which is a comedy book about hostessing. If you have a slightly “off” and silly sense of humor, it’s HILARIOUS. Anyway, she’s a spokeperson for the house rabbit society. See her video here:
http://www.myhouserabbit.com/blog/2011/07/05/new-house-rabbit-society-video-with-amy-sedaris/
since you’re a seasoned house rabbit person, the info will be old hat to you, but I thought I’d share the link for anyone thinking of getting a rabbit. Amy also has a book on crafting (humor) but it’s even more off-color than the hostess book so I’d try “I like you” first. 😉
Marguerita says
Oh thank you! I need a good laugh and my sense of humor runs in the Eddie Murphy and Eddie Izzard line so I am sure I’ll think she’s funny 🙂
If anyone ever asks me about getting a rabbit as a pet, I do all I can to discourage them – especially if it’s for a young child. They take an uncommon amount of sensitivity to put up with, and are physically so much more delicate than normal house pets. Tom’s mother had a pet rabbit as a child and she’s still traumatized, 60 years later, over what happened to it.
Marguerita says
Wow – awesome video! Thank you so much for sharing it!
Judy says
I’m so glad you shared the great photos of Bunny and the posting of how he came into your home. I fell in love with him last summer. My Dad made a squirrel feeder for our backyard fence, complete with two side rails for easy access. Our neighborhood squirrel promptly discovered the cache of peanuts and has laid claim to 15 lbs. of whole unsalted peanuts since May of this year. I can hardly keep up with the little pig but he is so fun to watch. He teases the dogs along the fence line as he makes multiple runs hauling off nuts to store offsite. My folks have two neighborhood squirrels they call Samson and Delilah. I’m hoping to come up with a cute name for this one besides just calling him ‘squirrel’. Wildlife is certainly entertaining at times.