The Bun Life - Like The New Logo?

I figured it was time for a new better logo/header for the blog, so I just designed the one you see now, tell me what you think about it. I like it, the only thing that bothered me a little was the amount of pink in it. I wanted a bit of pink, and I didn't want to look like a girl had designed it too much. I am still not sure if I will remove the pink border of the bunny circles yet.

Edit 9/26: I did go ahead and put the teal circle shadow instead of the pink, but I left the ears pink.

The Bun Life - Bunny Butt???

I was talking to my friend Catherine, who is also a Bun Life groupie, and I was telling her how Thumper went psycho when I gave him a Craisin. He has always been friendly, but once I gave him a few Craisins, I then had a 24/7 shadow with floppy ears. He would lick my shoes, start to tunnel in my pant leg when I fell asleep on the couch, crawl on me as if maybe if he dug far enough into my chest he could find the secret Craisin storage area, and then sniffed the air on his two hind legs as if he was tracking the Craisin criminal. I have a choice to make, either keep giving him Craisins and possibly have to enter the Witness Protection Program, or stick to carrots and bananas as treats.

Catherine then said something I never heard before, she said that her bunny gets "Banana Butt" when she gives him a piece of banana. Boy, what a visual depiction that sparked in my mind, I pictured Frannie running around with a gaggle of bananas sprouting from her rear-end (also known as butt). What in the hell is "banana butt?". Apparently, according to her and what she says many others, some bunnies butts start shaking when they eat banana. Not the rest of their body though, just the butt. Now I had an Aunt that could do that trick, and she was damn near 500 pounds, but I never heard of a bunny doing that, have you? She said only some bunnies do it, of course mine don't, they don't do anything cool like that, other than digesting my furniture. Do your bunnies do it? If so, do you have a pic or video of it? Good, burn it. No just kidding, send it to me and I will post it here!

The Bun Life - Certified Nail Clipper

It's been a bit since my last post, been pretty busy with work, etc. Also, I don't just blog for the sake of blogging, either. Some bloggers resort to telling people all the mundane details of their lives, as if everyone wants to hear how little Johnny pissed in the closet for the last 2 months while sleepwalking, or the progress of Josefina's root canal therapy.

Yesterday was the dreaded "nail clipping" day, which I am sure all of you bunny people just love, right? Wrong. I must say though, I am proud of being able to clip all of their nails, when I first got a bunny I couldn't even envision being able to handle a bunny that well. After years of training, I have finally completed Bunny Nail Clipping school. I received my diploma and certificate in the mail today. Here, I scanned it for you, so you can look at it, click on the pic to bring up a larger version.

Neat huh? I even got a lifetime supply of styptic powder as a parting gift. You should see me now, I am a real pro at clipping. Seriously though, for those of you not yet efficient at clipping your rabbits' nails, maybe the following pointers will help you:

Update 9/24/11

I just wanted to add a note here about what Styptic Powder is, just in case anyone reading this doesn't know. In the store, it looks like this:

Styptic Powder is what's known as an Anti-hemorrhagic (or hemostatic), which means it assists the body in stopping or slowing the bleeding from an open wound. It does this by various mechanisms, from promoting coagulation, increasing tissue contraction, to increasing platelet stickiness in the surrounding area. Sounds really healthy huh? Don't worry, it is virtually harmless when used according to instructions. It can be used on your bunny if you accidentally clip the nail's wick, which will start bleeding when cut. Don't misunderstand me, if you've clipped the wick, you've made a mistake. It is painful for the bunny. To put it in perspective for you, how painful do you think it would be if I pulled your tooth's root out far enough where I could then clip it with a pair of cutters, without Novocaine? Yeah, it'd probably sting a little I bet. So, do your best to spot the end of the wick and cut over it. If you can't see it, have someone else look, if you absolutely must cut because the nails are exceedingly long, then leave extra room above where you think you should cut, to be as safe as possible.

• Relax. Your bunny is naturally paranoid about everything to begin with, they can sense your apprehension, and most likely they will jerk back right as you are about to clip the nail. Try to be confident, or at least fake it as good as possible, believe me.. it makes a big difference.
• Let There Be Light. Since your bunny's comfort largely depends on you missing the wick of the nail, it is vital that you give yourself enough light so that you can spot the end of the wick. This is even more important with dark nails. Aside from room light, I keep a mini flashlight nearby, so I can get up close to the nail if need be.
• Don't rush. I never rush it anymore, I put the bunny up on the counter, and then I spend about 10 minutes petting them, scratch behind the ears, etc. They begin to relax, then I begin the nail trimming. I try to make the experience start and end on a good note.
• The hind legs, or hocks, are the most stressful for the bunny. They use their front paws to manipulate their surroundings all the time, but they do very little with the hocks other than move and scratch. So, they simply aren't used to having their hocks touched, let alone clipped. My trick is to wait until I do the front paws, then I pet the top of the hocks, just like I would when petting them on the head. Most will jump at first, but that is okay, the more you do it, the more accepting they will be of it. This works great for me.
• You're In Charge. You have to be persistent as heck with some bunnies, Thumper is a perfect example. I lift his leg to cut the nail, he pulls away, so I do it again, and he pulls away, then I keep doing it until he resolves to himself that he won't be done until I am able to clip the nail, then he relents. Frannie doesn't mind being clipped at all really, she is great with that. Sydney is tough but he is a lot smaller so he is easier to keep still.
• No Frills Kills. A nail trimmer for a rabbit must be of good quality, and sharp. Otherwise you will be crushing the nail instead of cutting it, which is very painful for the bunny. The nails can splinter and hurt the bunny, as well as infection of the wound. Get a quality trimmer, and keep it sharp, your bunny will appreciate it.
• Water. I keep a glass of warm water nearby, so I can dip my fingers into it and just wet the little bit of fur around the nail, which gives you a better view, and less of a chance to clip hair along with the nail, which is painful.

The more you practice doing the nails, the easier it will be. Don't resign to the fact that you can't clip them yourself, because you can. Best of luck!

The Bun Life - Heartbreaking News About My Frannie

It is with a heavy heart that I am telling you all this, I am so upset about it that I can barely type at all. At 12:30 PM yesterday, Frannie’s application to the Ohio College of Clown Arts was rejected indefinitely. This means that she can’t even apply again, I wonder what happened that caused this harsh of a reaction. One of their stated reasons was that none of the clown shoes fit Frannie’s feet. Also, she can’t ride a unicycle either.

Oh well, I guess the positive way to look at it is that now Frannie can devote all of her time to practicing for the 2011-2012 Mrs. Oxbow Plumpers Division beauty pageant. I’m sure she will grieve for a while, but life will eventually go on for all of us. We’ll never have closure though, we will just learn to live with the hole in our heart.

The Bun Life - When New Bunny Becomes Old Hat

Bunnies are like children. When you first get them, everything they do is new and exciting, then you spend the remainder of their life wishing you never had them. Whether it is asking for the car keys on a Friday night, or turning your couch into the latest construction (demolition actually) project, a pain in the @ss is a pain in the @ss, no matter how you slice it.

Seriously though, I noticed today that I am always hurrying to do this or that, and am preoccupied with a million other things. I reminded myself today that neither we or bunnies are here indefinitely. Don't get me wrong, I love my rabbits like they were my children (eww, not the best analogy after me trash talking children above huh?). Their presence is such a stable, permanent part of my daily life that I could feed them and clean their litter boxes without even realizing what I am doing, second nature like.

So I am going to do one new thing for my rabbits today, I'll build a new cardboard fort for them, just something different than the other one. I know they love to explore new stuff, and they deserve the attention because they have definitely affected my life in a very positive way. I urge all of you to do the same, do something new for your bunnies today, or tomorrow, or the next day.

You might try taking a cardboard box and put magazines and paper in there. I did this for Frannie and Thumper and they loved it, they were digging in that thing the whole night. I could've sworn I even saw a utility lamp hanging above so they could work throughout the night. I can't prove it, but it was real to me! However, somehow Thumper came along with his one brain cell and mistook the new play box for a litter box. That was the end of that :)

I got the idea originally from a forum member who was trying to stop her bunny from digging to China in her living room or anywhere else he went. She created the box of magazines and paper and he never dug anywhere else after that, pretty cool. I also notice that a new toy or activity livens up the bunnies, even though they love routine and stuff not changing.

The Bun Life - Ouch!

Poor Sydney, he tore his whole nail out on one of his paws. I saw some blood so I got really worried for a min, but then was glad it was only a nail. Don't get me wrong, I know that hurts like a son of a gun. I sat him on counter, wrapped it until it stopped bleeding. Took about 10 minutes, he seems 100% again. It will grow back, I just hate to see animals in pain, especially rabbits, especially MY rabbits. I love how I am there to help all three of them whenever they need something, but they would slit my throat in a heartbeat if I came in between their food or hay. All give and no take, not fair!

The Bun Life - Thumper: Not the Best Posterboy for the Male Gender

Poor Thumps, as all 5 of you know, is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Women constantly talk about how men only care about food, sex, and sleep, and Thumps is not about to start a revolution, lets just put it that way. Even though he is fixed, he still acts like he's walking around...err..with a loaded gun, if you know what I mean. It is so funny some of the things he does, he is so predictable. Lets run down a list of Thumper's priorities, from most important to least important:

1. Food (and whoever he has to kill to get it is fair game)
2. Face Humping Frannie (she's lowered the frequency of this to only on his birthday)
3. Traditional Missionary Humping Frannie
4. Side/Lateral Humping Frannie
5. Snuffing Out Frannie's Life if there happens to be a male rabbit within sight.
6. Killing Sydney
7. All Forms of Sleep
8. Breeze
9. Scanning the room for hours for no apparent reason.
10. Plot my death
    

Anyway, what made me laugh this morning was what Frannie did. I took a few Craisins out for the bunnies, gave each of them one, then both start going frantic trying to be the first in line to get the next one. Well eventually, they wound up face to face, nose to nose like a standoff, noses touching. I was behind Thumper, he couldn't see me of course, and Frannie was facing directly at me now grooming Thumper's head. I handed her a Craisin, she had her head over his because he is the dominant one, but it worked to her advantage because she could take a Craisin, eat it, then go right back to grooming his head and he never knew what was going on. I swear, I nearly burst my spleen with laughter when I saw it. Frannie's cruelty just knows no limits!!

The Bun Life – Takes a Licking and Keeps on..Watching TV

The world didn't end, oh well. Baby Fwan (my big fat fluffy Pumpernickel bunny) was really nervous about being taken into heaven prematurely. Well, it wasn't heaven itself that bothered her, in fact she even considers herself to be "serious upper management angel material". Frannie was nervous and asked me "Wait, when we get taken into heaven, does that mean God has to reach down and actually PICK ME UP into heaven? Oh man, I hope not. Can't they just setup a ramp or cardboard steps we could follow or something?" I'm not a Psychiatrist, but something tells me that Frannie might be obsessing over being picked up just a little tad bit.

So last night I sat down to watch a movie, on the "Couch That Time Forgot" and I picked up little Sydney so he could come in and watch TV with me. He sits on my lap the whole time as he always does. He licks EVERYONE who touches him or even remotely comes near him. He likes to groom the top of my wrist, for a few minutes and he usually dozes off or whatever. Well this time he was licking my wrist, for an hour, 2 hours, I kept turning him around a few different postures and even put on a long sleeve sweatshirt. Then he starts digging up into the sleeve and licking my wrist through the sleeve, then he burrows into the inside of my sweat shirt and starts trying to get at my hands again.

To make a long story short, I have filed an order of protection against this 1 pound furry madman licking machine, lol. He is just like the other 2 buns, at least to me, he is a great bunny with such a unique personality, I do my very best to take care of all of them year after year.

The Bun Life - Jesus Camp

I know this is a bit offbeat, but I just watched a documentary called Jesus Camp, which is basically a Christian terrorist camp where the Al Qaida operatives....I mean children are taught that the world is shit, and it is everyone else's fault but theirs. The leader, Becky, talks about the fact that in Pakistan or Whatever-stan the kids are taught radical Islam at 5 years old, and can basically hold a hand grenade before they can hold a bottle. She says that Christians today are "fat and lazy," which to be honest I found pretty silly due to the fact that she is pushing near 300 pounds herself. Who knows, maybe she isn't lazy, and that's what she meant.

Honestly, about as much good came out of that camp as did Jonestown. In the bowling alley, one little 9 year old girl runs up to a total stranger, a woman, and tells her that Jesus wants you to repent, and that she needs to follow the Lord, and on and on. Then she runs back and tells Dad what she did, Dad is happier than a pig in shit over it all. Insanity.

Look, if you want to believe in Jesus and the Born Again doctrine, fine go ahead, but don't think you have the right to tell me, or anyone else on the planet, what we HAVE to believe, and how we are not going to heaven because we don't believe in your one of 2800 religions.

More people have been killed in the name of God than for any other reason, by far. So you might ask what do I believe, if anything. The truth is that I don't believe that Jesus was the Son of God, nor that he is coming back, but I do think he was a great, wise man, and wanted peace and tolerance. I think those are good things to strive for, morals are good.

Then you have the atheist. Who believes in nothing, no purpose, no creation, we just dripped off of a faucet in a glob of goo for no reason, going nowhere, with no purpose, forever. Okay, fine. Scientific data empowers such an argument, evolution, natural selection, on and on.

The fact is that I think we were created, by some entity, for whatever reason. I also believe we are just not capable of mentally grasping that reason, but something in us beckons for a purpose. I have to admit, society certainly seems to have turned mehcanical and materialistic, where all that matters is a house on a suburban street, an IRA, 2.5 kids, a Dodge RAM Pickup and a $50,000 Suburban to take the kids to soccer practice. Maybe the world could use a little faith, maybe a lot, but we certainly don't need another group of whackos blowing up jetliners for the good of God. Amen to that Fwannie!!

The Bun Life – Par for the Course

My parents visited me the other day, it had been a while since my mother had visited last, so it was nice that she was able to see the rabbits. When she walked in, and started towards the bunnies, I fully expected Frannie to pack an overnight bag and fly to Mexico, but honestly I couldn't believe my eyes. My mother walked right up to her and bent down to pet her, and she sat there enjoying the attention.

She might as well just drove a dagger through my heart right there. What nerve! She NEVER does that for me, I bet all she thinks when she sees me coming is flashbacks of being picked up, brushed, nails clipped, all kinds of horrific atrocities.

My role with the bunnies has become like a tragic comedy, and there I sit, all dressed up with no bunnies to brush. I don't want to offend anyone in a religious sense, but this incident drove me to seek comfort in the Bible, and there was one set of verses that really touched me and helped me through it, let me share a bit of it with you now.

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Psalm 934: "Let thy hocks be guided by thou pellets"

"For art thou not art? Thy will must be thou way, for thou art not art thou ain't thy shoe. Therefore, thou must build an ark, and ark of the Lagomorph. But art, how must thou artest build thy ark?

My son, well adopted son actually but whatever, thou must build four NIC cubes, the breast of which is 9 cubits, the leg of which is 5 cubits, and if there are any wings leftover be sure to refrigerate them."

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I know you may not find that verse as comforting as I did, but it sure helped me through a bad time. Beautifully crafted, I think it is obvious that whoever wrote it was divinely inspired.