The Bunnymad nest is emptying

‘Baby Servant 3’ heads to university

The youngest of the bunnies’ ‘Baby Servants’ has left home for university. 

The past fortnight has been a whirlwind of lists, shopping, and gathering, whilst at the same time adjusting to the idea that she’d be moving away. That pre-university cocktail of practical and emotional stress, which is experienced by many, was, for us, more of a neat pour: just 16 days to prepare, when our daughter decided at the last-minute to apply for accommodation rather than commute from home. We’re extremely excited for her, but will miss her as we navigate this next chapter. 

With our eldest settled in his own home, our middle child looking to move out soon, and now, our youngest away at university, it may soon be just the two of us ruled by the bunnies here, as it was when we created Bunnymad back in 2002. Here, we look back at our experience of living in a home with rabbits and children. 

Bringing up children alongside bunnies

Originally, our blog chronicled the life of Neroli, our houserabbit, recording anecdotes of her encounters with ‘Baby Servant’, our first child, from when he was born and entered our home – the world where she was ‘The Princess’. However, when we were expecting him, the rabbit in our home was a mini lop called Charlie. It never crossed our minds that there would be any problem in bringing a newborn into a home where a free-roam bunny lived. Instead, we were excited and started introducing Charlie to the new baby equipment, to prepare him for the arrival. We’ve never understood why so many people rehome their rabbits when have a baby – a rabbit is not a disposable item, and Charlie was a member of our family.
Sadly, Charlie suffered a fatal bout of stasis, just a few months before our baby's due date. We were heartbroken that we'd lost him and that our first child would never know him, but we also didn’t want a rabbit-free home, and agreed to adopt a baby Dutch rabbit, Neroli, so that she could be settled in our home before the baby arrived. 

We never encountered any problems in coordinating our life with a bunny and a baby. We tried to keep Neroli’s routine, and didn’t restrict her in any way. 

A tickly kiss for Baby Servant 1

Between us, we managed to give her the same attention as always. We allowed her to sniff our newborn as soon as he came home, and included her in everything, as usual, although we decided to discourage her from ‘helping’ at bath-time, after she tipped the ‘top and tail’ bowl of water over the carpet. She soon realised she could get away with more mischief if I was stuck feeding the baby, so it was best to distract her with a treat at feeding times. She quickly became accustomed to his crying, and the noises of various toys. 

Nelly and Baby Servant 1 sharing a rattle

Nelly and Baby Servant 1 sharing mischief

She learned to dodge splaying and kicking arms and legs when he was lying on the floor, and later perfected keeping just out of the reach of grabbing hands when he started rolling then crawling across the floor. If she really didn’t like something, she was able to move away to one of her safe hidey holes. 

Neroli had a companion for only a couple of years of her life – a mini lion lop, Rosie. Rosie joined us when our son was 18 months old. She didn’t enjoy cuddles from us, but she would let our son stroke her – he knew to approach her quietly and calmly, and she would allow him to sit close to her, whereas she did not tolerate us! Our son was only three-and-a-half when she died, but still remembers her.  

Nelly, Rosie, and Baby Servant 1

Nelly giving a visual demonstration of hierarchy to Baby Servant 2 –
the Princess is always higher up than the servant

'Nelly' not only met our first son when he came home from hospital, the day after his birth... she also saw a second son and a daughter arrive in the family, and they all came to love and respect her. Their first crawls and first steps were taken towards Nelly, but we're proud to say that not one of them ever attempted to pick her up. Our daughter did, however, love to try Nelly’s food – we discouraged it, but were not especially bothered, as there is no health risk. 

Baby Servant 2 helping Nelly to find the tastiest bits of grass

Baby Servant 3 tries to steal one of Nelly's treats

Nelly retaliated by nibbling a toe off our daughter’s doll – a good motivation for tidying away toys! They learned how to give her the cuddles she enjoyed, on the ground, but if they approached with too much enthusiasm, she gave a gentle growl or boxed them, and they left her in peace – they didn't need to be told twice! She taught them the language of rabbits before they could speak their own language. 

Nelly listing her treat expectations to Baby Servant 2

  

Nelly frequently featured in their drawings and schoolwork. During those early years, she inured an utmost respect for all creatures, in all three children, and did indeed train her three ‘Baby Servants’ to become ‘good and proper bunny slaves’, as per her intention. You can see some excerpts here about how Neroli trained her first servant: The Tale of a Princess and her Baby Servant. 

Nelly demonstrating the art of staying just out of reach

The children experienced grief for the first time when we lost Neroli in 2011. They each chose a favourite photo of Neroli and decorated a photo frame to mount the photos in their room, and we planted a plum tree in our garden (Nelly loved plums!). You can read about our experience with childhood bereavement here.  

By then, we recognised the importance of same-species companionship for rabbits, and intended to adopt a pair of rabbits from a rescue centre. However, local centres were reluctant to rehome rabbits in a household where there were three young children (aged 9, 5, and 3 at the time). It’s not uncommon for reputable rescue centres to turn down applications from homes with small children – rightly so, as rabbits’ welfare can be jeopardised; rabbits should not be bought/adopted as pets for children (go to the end of this page for some of the main reasons.). 

Our local rescue centres didn’t conduct home checks back then – perhaps if they’d visited, they would have seen that our children already had a healthy respect for rabbits and that we, rather than the children, always took full responsibility for rabbit care. However, we respected their decision, and so we found a small local breeder, and chose Dijon and Mabel. 

With these new Dutch rabbits, our children encountered the energy and mischief of two baby bunnies in the house. As those bunnies entered their hormonal teenage months, our children were helpful in keeping an eye on them and redirecting any ‘naughtiness’. The bunnies featured numerous times in schoolwork, from pictures and descriptions of ‘my family’ in early years, to poems and even a GCSE English speaking assessment.  

Mabel hitching a ride from Baby Servant 3

  

Later, when Mabel developed a dental abscess, they were understanding when we needed to cancel family plans to attend vet appointments and spend time prioritising Mabel’s needs. Again, they experienced grief when Mabel lost her battle, but recognised that Dijon needed another rabbit companion, so welcomed Ebony into our home. They have always been patient in trying to gain Ebony’s trust (Ebony prefers not to be petted in any way, probably due to experiences before we adopted her). Over these years, our children learned to recognise early signs of stasis – these days, they’re often the first to spot any unwellness. Their biggest sacrifice was missing out on family holidays, when my parents were no longer able to come to bunny-sit. As our children retreated to their bedrooms during their teenage years, the bunnies became their main reason to enter the living room; also, they always checked on the bunnies in the living room whenever they returned to our house, before going to their rooms. It was always the bunnies they missed when they went away on trips, rather than us. 

A few years ago, our children had to cope with losing Dijon, the bunny who had always been there for them, offering cuddles (ground level) and kisses throughout most of their childhood and teenage years. Our eldest had moved into his own home by then, so it was very distressing for him, as Dijon had been doing so well when we’d spoken just two days beforehand. Ebony was lost without Dijon, so we quickly adopted Snoop as her new companion, and set up a live webcam so our son could watch from his new home as we introduced the bunnies. 

Ebony still recognises our son when he visits, and Snoop is getting to know him – he seems to sense that our son is ‘rabbit-friendly’; perhaps he can smell the scent of other safe animals, as our son and his partner now share their own home with two hamsters and two free-roaming guinea pigs, all living their best lives, with highest welfare standards. Of all their achievements, we’re probably most proud of our children’s respect for all creatures. 

Our family has now entered the world where September heralds ‘back to university’; but for many, September means ‘back to school’, and this often brings a wave of unwanted rabbits and other small creatures – those bought to keep children entertained during the long summer holidays. Some would have been impulse buys from a pet shop visits, others bought after children saw rabbits during visits to farm parks, and decided they wanted one. When school resumes, these pets suddenly become a burden, and will be neglected or disposed of. We’ve had rabbits in our house since before our children were born, and, over the years, our children have experienced living alongside six different rabbits, but we are still firmly against the idea that rabbits are suitable as pets for children. Our rabbits have never been our children’s pets – we have always been responsible for the bunnies. Sometimes it’s been a bit more work with rabbits in the house, and admittedly there have been some sacrifices and inconveniences, but we know that our children’s lives have been enriched by their experience of growing up alongside rabbits, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way. The quote below summarises our experience perfectly:

“These parents are giving their children more than a collection of toys. By placing value on relationships with living things, they are laying the groundwork for one of the few things in life that is truly permanent. Material things come and go. Toys wear out and are thrown away and forgotten; but a friendship with a live animal is remembered long after the natural life of the animal. And what lives on in the child who has experienced such a relationship is the capacity to care. 

We know it’s not easy to manage a mixed household of human and non-human dependants, but when parents find solutions rather than dispose of an animal for convenience’ sake and when gentle care is given to animal family-members, an important concept is communicated to the children. This is alive. This is valuable. You don’t throw it away.” 

Marinell Harriman, ‘The Importance of Permanence’ 

 

 

Why children should not have rabbits as pets:

• Stress factor: Rabbits are prey animals, skittish by nature, and easily stressed by noise and sudden movement (children are quite capable of both), which can result in the rabbit becoming ill, aggressive, or simply too scared to come out of a hiding place.
• Handling: Most rabbits dislike being picked up or cuddled (something many children want to do when they see a small, cute, fluffy animal). They need to be able to run and hide if they sense danger, rather than being restricted with their feet off the ground. They may scratch, bite, or kick to be released, or struggle and injure themselves (they have a delicate bone structure) – this is more likely when being held by a small child, who is less capable of holding them safely and securely.
• Responsibility: The responsibility of caring for rabbits is too great for a child, requiring dedication and knowledge. They are high maintenance pets, contrary to popular opinion, and classed as exotic creatures, with specific care needs. Their guardians need to understand their requirements: companionship of another rabbit, plenty of space with enrichment, a suitable diet, and suitable vet care (often expensive). A child may forget to feed a rabbit, overfeed treats, or share their own food, which could be fatal for a rabbit. Rabbit guardians need to be able to regularly monitor for signs of illness which, as a prey animal, rabbits hide, so it takes experience to be able to spot them (changes in behaviour or body language, eating, drinking, droppings). Understanding behavioural needs for a rabbit is too difficult for a child, and much of the rabbit’s body language is too subtle for a child to read (e.g. the difference between sitting still from contentment and freezing from fear). Other responsibilities include frequent changing of litter trays, ensuring the rabbit is not too hot/cold, and regular brushing. Children cannot be expected to devote this much time, or to handle such a responsibility.
• Boredom: One of the main reasons rabbits are given up is due to children losing interest. It’s unlikely a child will maintain interest in their pet rabbit as they grow up – the novelty often wears off very quickly. Child development involves learning about as much as possible, and therefore, they may treat a rabbit as they do a toy – losing interest after a while. Yet a rabbit may live for over 12 years, so their childhood pet may still be alive when they are ready to leave home (our eldest was nine when we adopted Dijon and left home just after Dijon’s twelfth birthday).

No animal, irrespective of its size, makes a suitable pet for a child. And no animal should be labelled as a ‘starter pet’ – all creatures require a high level of care, and if anything, small animals often have more specific care needs than cats or dogs.

Fifteen years ago

Today marks fifteen years since we brought Mabel and Dijon home to join our family.

We had lost Neroli in July 2011, and during her last weeks, as we cared for her (she had developed spondylosis of the spine), we decided we would adopt a pair of rabbits when the time came, rather than having another single rabbit. Our three children had never known their home without Nelly, and had utmost respect for her; however, even though they were to be family rabbits, not the children’s pets, local rescues were (understandably) reluctant to rehome rabbits in a house with young children (aged 9, 5, and 3). Rather than buy from a pet shop, we went to a breeder – something we wouldn’t contemplate now. 

We spotted the breeder’s advert in a local newspaper – last remaining rabbits from two litters for sale, Dutch rabbits, and their website stated that these were to be the final litters. 

Although it was very soon after losing Neroli, we decided to contact them, as we particularly wanted more Dutch rabbits, preferably babies (again, not the way we’d choose to select rabbits nowadays), and this seemed like a perfect opportunity – besides, we wouldn’t be collecting them for a few weeks, and might feel more ready by then. ‘Cottage Dutch Rabbits’ was a small enterprise run by two teenage girls in their parents’ back garden, in a village a couple of miles from our home. They emailed some more photos of the babies. 

 We visited, and the girls introduced us to the babies.

  

We also met the parents. The two litters shared the same father, Luigi – a yellow Dutch; the mothers were Lily – a yellow Dutch, and Coco – a chocolate brown Dutch. 

It was obvious that they adored their rabbits and were relatively knowledgeable. We chose a yellow male from Lily’s litter – Dijon, and a black Dutch from Coco’s litter – Mabel. We were told that the half-siblings would be put in a hutch together, to bond, as soon as they were ready to leave their mothers.

In preparation for their arrival, we bought a larger puppy crate as their base in our living room – in line with the welfare standards at that time! 

 

A month later, the babies were ready to be collected, and we brought them home. Here they are, exploring their cage, with our children watching. 

 

Right from the start, we could see their personalities. 

“We've named the black doe 'Mabel' and the yellow buck 'Dijon'. Even at just 8wks they have such different appearances and personalities. Dijon is very stocky already, I think he will be muscular like his father, Luiji. He's a very happy-go-lucky clown of a boy, lots of running around, crazy binkies, then flopping over on his side in a very undignified manner. Very affectionate like his mother (Lily). He is intent on coming out of the cage when we open the door, either pushing through or making a sudden run at us as we sit at the door! Mabel is very slim, dainty, with a longer nose, like her mother (Coco – a chocolate Dutch). She is gentle and quiet, not as excitable, and a bit shy. Apparently, her mother used to usher all the babies back into the bedroom part of the hutch when they ventured out and so for most of this morning, she chose to sit in the darkest corner of the cage. She loves her cuddles, and comes forward as we approach, but more carefully. I think she's the silent leader – Dijon copies everything she does!”

(Bunnymad archives, August 2011)

We followed RWAF advice at that time, keeping them in the crate for a few days before allowing them to explore our living room. Now, we remember Dijon as a big softie, and a cuddle monster, so it’s hard to believe that in those first few days, he would sometimes lunge and nip fingers! 

“I think Dijon's going to be hard work. She's a little angel, so affectionate, but he is a bundle of energy, mounting her, racing around the cage, nibbling fingers if they're poked in the cage, and this morning he deliberately bit me as I put my hand in. I caught him trying to do it a few times today but each time I've seen it coming and just cuddled him firmly instead. Have told the children no fingers through the cage!”

(Bunnymad archives, August 2011)

It was hard work, caring for two energetic baby bunnies, having been used to an elderly disabled rabbit, but they soon settled down, and saw the children through the majority of their school years… Dijon even lived to see our eldest son leave home and adopt his own four-legged small furry companion, Clementine the hamster.

Tuppence-worth

This photo, taken in the late 1950s, is the only picture of Tuppence, my Mum’s childhood rabbit. It appears that Tuppence looked a lot like Mr Snoop… although I’m certain Mr Snoop would have something to say about being wheeled down the road in a doll’s pram for his nails to be trimmed at the vet’s (my Mum says she was never charged!).

Apparently, my Mum’s friend, who attended Dartford Grammar, brought home a couple of baby rabbits when one of the classroom rabbits had a litter. She kept one rabbit, Penny, and gave Tuppence to my Mum (the babies were all named after coinage denominations). My Mum remembers buying bran to mix with warm water in cold weather, with chopped carrot and other veggies. She also recalls putting potato peelings in the oven until crisp, which Tuppence loved!

Tuppence lived in a hutch in the garden, built by my Grandad, who, each night, went out with a wooden cover that fitted across the front, for protection – obviously they loved her, and gave her the best care available at that time. My Mum was about eleven years old when she got Tuppence, and had started work when Tuppence died. It’s incredible that this bunny lived for over six years, given her diet.

I was reminded of Tuppence by a recent encounter. A friend told me that her rabbit was very unwell with stasis; however, my attempts to convince her that the rabbit needed to see a vet were futile: she was treating the rabbit at home, using her own “tried-and-tested” stasis remedy (that included pain killers for humans). From the knowledge I’ve acquired over the years, I was able to state exactly why this treatment could do more harm than good, but it did not help. Why? Because her rabbits had each recovered from stasis when she’d used this remedy in the past. I had to bite my lip, but kept thinking of the anti-elephant powder story: an old man sprinkled a white powder on the roads every day. When he was asked what he was doing, he answered that it was elephant powder. The person then remarked, “But there are no elephants!”, to which he replied, “It must be working then!”.

My friend’s satisfaction with the ‘success’ of her home remedy made me think of Tuppence: Tuppence lived a relatively long life on a diet of bran, carrots, and potato peelings; however, with the knowledge I’ve acquired, I know that this was not a suitable diet. Tuppence was just lucky, or perhaps any problems went undetected, and so her diet was never changed. The difference between these two rabbit examples is the availability of information. Rabbit care information in the 1950s was scarce and still mostly focussed on raising rabbits for meat; nowadays, we have easy access to a massive repository of specialist knowledge, and even rabbit welfare organisations. Of course, we do need to be careful when choosing which advice to follow, so it’s always safest to check the information available from the most reputable source – RWAF.

We have made mistakes when caring for our rabbits, and can certainly see, in hindsight, where things could have been improved, especially with the knowledge we have today. However, we have tried, over the years, to keep up to date with the latest welfare advice and to improve care of our bunnies as we learn. Just because we’ve always done something in the past and encountered no problems does not mean it is the correct thing to do or that it’s working. The lesson is to avoid confirmation bias, question outdated habits, and, above all, keep learning!

 

Hot cross buns

 Mr Snoop turning off his fan.

 

Today is the hottest May day on record. Yesterday, the temperature here reached around 32°C, and last night, records were broken, with temperatures remaining in the high teens. It’s currently 33°C here in southeast England, and is forecast to be a ‘tropical night’, with temperatures staying above 20°C.

As temperatures surge, it’s hard to know what to do to help the bunnies. Heat health alerts are in place for humans, but rabbits cope even more poorly with heat than we do. Anything above 25°C is too hot for them, as they struggle to regulate their body temperature. In the wild, rabbits can retreat to their underground burrows to avoid the heat (they also tend to be active only during the cooler twilight hours), but our domestic rabbits don’t have that option, and, to make matters worse, many breeds have thicker fur than their wild cousins; also, they don’t have the option to move so freely to find a place to keep cool.

In high temperatures, rabbits can suffer from heatstroke, and the heat also increases the risk of gut stasis, due to dehydration, and the risk of flystrike.

The current exceptional heat was very sudden, demonstrating that we need plans in place for making them comfortable and keeping them healthy. This late-May heatwave might be exceptional, but the temperature records are being rewritten every year now.

So, what can we do? Bringing them into an air-conditioned room is ideal, but not all of us have that option, so here are some suggestions.

Monitor

Probably the most obvious but also the most vital measure is to keep an eye on the weather, so that we can take steps in time, and to monitor our rabbits’ behaviour and health, so we can respond accordingly.

Provide shade and ensure airflow

Check that rabbits have large areas of shade throughout the day (shadows move!). The air needs to be moving to keep them cool. A gazebo could be placed over the enclosure, or a damp towel draped over (but not enclosing them) can give an evaporative cooling effect. If temperatures are high, it’s often safest to bring outdoor rabbits inside to a cool, quiet room. Sheds might seem like they offer shade, but they can become dangerously hot without appropriate measures to keep them cool. For indoor rabbits, close curtains/blinds, and move them to a cooler room if necessary. Most rabbits are sensible about moving to shade if temperatures soar, but elderly and other less mobile rabbits might find it harder to move out of direct sunlight, so they should be restricted to shady areas during daytime.

Dijon often chose to lie in full sun.

Standing an iced bottle of water in front of an electric fan can create a cool breeze, but ensure any cables are out of reach (USB rechargeable fans are best), and that rabbits can move away from the airflow if they wish. For indoor rabbits, close the windows, especially on the sunny side, during the hottest hours, and open in the evening and first thing in the morning, before temperatures rise.

Keep rabbits hydrated

Ensure water is refreshed regularly, and easily accessible, especially for less mobile rabbits. Provide a few extra bowls near their favourite resting places, to remind them to drink. It’s helpful to offer leaves which have been soaked in cold water.

Mabel was usually too busy to go indoors for water, so we provided extra bowls in the enclosure.

Provide cool items

All our rabbits have enjoyed resting against cooler items during hot weather. We use an ice pack and frozen water bottles – generally, the advice is to wrap these in old towels, so they’re not too cold, but Mr Snoop likes to chew fabric, so, for our bunnies, it’s safer not to. Ceramic tiles can also provide a patch for cooling down.

Yesterday, we bought a couple of SnuggleSafe Cool Pods – our bunnies often refuse to use anything we think is a good idea worth the price, but they took to them straightaway. The pads don’t need to be frozen – instead, they cool as the rabbit sits on/against them. As with the ice pack and water bottles, check for any signs of chewing.

Keep their trays and enclosure clean

Flystrike is more common during hot weather, especially if rabbits are sitting in a dirty area, so it’s even more important to keep their trays and environment clean.

Keep on top of brushing

Rabbits shed fur as the weather warms up, but it takes time – they can’t just switch to their summer clothes. Regular brushing helps remove excess fur, and reduces the amount ingested during grooming themselves/their companions, which could lead to gut stasis when combined with dehydration during hot weather. Long-haired rabbits should be trimmed.

Ebony having some help to remove her winter coat.

Dampen their ears

Rabbits can’t lose heat by sweating or panting, like other animals. They regulate their body temperature primarily through their ears, via the network of blood vessels. So, if they’re hot, some rabbits like to have their ears dampened with a cool wet cloth or mist spray, which creates an evaporative cooling effect.

Recognise heatstroke and act immediately

Knowing our rabbits well enough to spot signs of illness is essential, as they’ve retained their prey creature instinct to hide symptoms. Heatstroke develops quickly, so it’s important to be able to spot it. A rabbit suffering from heatstroke may be weak, lethargic, and panting. Their ears will be hot, there may be wetness around their nose, and as the heatstroke progresses, they may be confused and even suffer convulsions. It’s an extremely serious condition, which can be fatal, so requires immediate veterinary attention. Rabbits should be cooled down by dampening their ears with cool water, but they should never be submerged in cold water.

Here, the bunnies have been sensible today – they enjoyed some time on the patio first thing this morning, before the sun reached it. Then we closed the patio door and the curtains, and they’ve spent the day resting beneath the table, next to the various cold items, enjoying the occasional extra bunch of wet coriander. Stay cool everybun! 

 

 

 

Vaccination vet visit

Ebony and Mr Snoop have, today, been vaccinated against the new strain of Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease. 

Mr Snoop trying to hide the dog photo on his vaccination record card.

It’s taken a while to get hold of the new vaccine – many practices have been unable to source any from suppliers, but our vet kindly managed to order a pack of 10 vials – she now needs more rabbits to be brought to the surgery for this vaccine, to use the remaining vials. 

A look of disdain as they are shut in the carrier – Ebony saw it coming and evaded for nearly long enough to make us miss the appointment. 

The bunnies are already vaccinated against myxomatosis, the classic strain RHD (RHDV-1), and the variant strain RHD (RHDV-2) (they receive an annual injection of Nobivac® Myxo-RHD PLUS), but today’s vaccine (YURVAC® RHD) is to protect them against all strains of RHD, including the new “highly virulent strain” of RVHD-2. From now on, they’ll have two vaccinations a year: Nobivac and YURVAC. 

Two cross buns on the journey home.

The new strain has been found in mainland Europe. There’s no surveillance data available yet, to confirm its presence in the UK (even with post-mortems, there’s no test to identify which strain caused death), but it’s likely that it exists here; in December, the RWAF announced reports of rabbits who were vaccinated but died of RVHD2, which rang alarm bells for us. 

RHD is a horrendous disease (read more about it here), and rabbits who are affected often show few signs of illness, and die suddenly. It spreads quickly and easily, and can enter rabbits’ homes on hay, insects, or from guardians’ contaminated clothes or shoes. Hopefully, this new strain won't take a hold in the UK but it's good to know the bunnies are vaccinated.  

Below: Ebony and Mr Snoop realising they were finally free and angrily washing away the smell of hoomins.

 

 

Ding dong Neroli on high

On Christmas Day 2001, two days after we’d adopted Neroli, we had a radio request played for her on Classic FM: 

"Merry Christmas to you, here’s one from L in Kent, who says ‘please play a piece of music for my wife D, who’s 7 months pregnant with our first child, and for our houserabbit, Neroli, whom we adopted from the RSPCA on Sunday 23rd December, who appears to have been born without a tail’". 

We did indeed think Neroli had been born without a tail, but the vet confirmed she had a very small tail, which was hardly visible!

Seven years with Ebony 'Thunder Cloud'

Ebony today, with her bunny. 

Today marks seven years since Ebony joined our family. This is the story of how she came to live here. 

At the end of November 2018, when we lost Mabel, we knew we had to find a new companion for Dijon quickly, but our local rescue centres didn’t have any single female rabbits available for adoption at the time. 

On 6 December, we saw an advert for Ebony – or ‘Thunder Cloud’, as she was called – as we browsed the Rabbit Rehome UK website (a database of rabbits, both at rescue centres and living with individuals (but not from breeders), needing new homes). We were drawn to her as she had also recently lost her partner, and was living in a home not far from us.

Ebony’s previous family called her ‘Thunder Cloud’. 

 

Apparently Ebony did that same feet-out flop in her former home.

 

We contacted the owner, late that night, to find whether Thunder Cloud was still available, ask for more information, and tell her about our situation and setup. We received a reply early the next morning. 

Unlike many of the rabbits waiting for homes, Thunder Cloud was by no means unwanted or neglected. Three months before, in September, her owners had become ‘accidental bunny parents’ when a small white bunny (male) had turned up at their house. Realising he needed company, they had adopted Cloud from the Pets at Home rehoming section, and bonded them. 

They didn’t know much about Cloud's background – they believed she had been one of the rabbits who had been returned to store, rather than old/unsold Pets at Home ‘stock’; her exact age was unknown, but they guessed she was a couple of years old (our vet later said she was probably younger than that). Cloud (she is black with a white cloud-like marking) was called ‘Thunder Cloud’ by their young daughter. They had been informed by Pets at Home that Cloud had been spayed and vaccinated, but didn’t have any records (we later confirmed with the vet in that store that she had been spayed, but they had no record of her vaccinations! To avoid any risk, she was vaccinated by our vet, as soon as we adopted her). She mostly had free roam of their living room, with a large puppy crate as her shelter. 

Just like Dijon, Cloud had lost her former partner (Pipkin) in the last week of November. They had noticed his teeth looked long, and their vet had confirmed it was a problem, which would require an operation to remove the teeth, then further operations each time they re-grew. Alternatively, he would need the teeth filed down every 8 weeks (possibly that was why Pipkin had been abandoned). The owners were given a stark choice: they thought the expense, and the stress to Pipkin, would be too much and made the heart-breaking decision to have him put to sleep. They were still missing Pipkin, who had been “a lovely wee spirit, a proper mad march hare, very full of magic”. 

Her owner told us that Cloud seemed fine, and was still eating well, but she knew that the pair had been close – Cloud had spent hours cleaning his ears (maybe also trimming his whiskers, as she’s done for her next partners?!). She added, “I am sure she needs another bun to cuddle up with; she has been sitting on the sofa in the spot that they used to sit together”. 

We were told that Cloud was quieter than Pipkin had been – Pipkin had been the one to binky, run in mad circles, and climb the bookcase. When we enquired whether Cloud might be bored living with a 7.5-year-old rabbit, she replied, “I don't think Cloud will mind a quiet life”! 

We learned that Cloud was a little shy, and didn’t like being picked up, but that she would allow them to stroke her ears; she loved parsley and would eat from their hands. She was “not super friendly, but not aggressive at all”. 

Cloud’s owner was still 50/50 about whether to find a new home for Cloud, or to adopt another bunny (she had also checked for rabbits available in local centres), but, after consulting her children, had decided “whichever seems best for Cloud is what we will do”. 

We decided to visit with Dijon, as we’d heard that you can tell from the rabbits’ initial reaction whether the bond is likely to work. In the end, we decided against taking him, knowing it would be stressful, but the owner told us she was more than happy to have Cloud back, if it didn’t work out. 

We arranged a date, Sunday 9 December, and agreed that if we thought Cloud was the one, we would take her that afternoon; we would also take her cage and belongings, to minimise stress of being in a new home. 

When we entered the living room where Cloud was living, she was under the sofa. Eventually, when she emerged, we saw a beautiful black, fluffy, slightly timid rabbit. It was agreed with the slightly tearful owner that we would take her home. We stressed that they were welcome to visit at any time, and that we would keep them updated. As we were about to leave, the little girl gave us Cloud’s fluffy bunny companion, to place in the carrier alongside her. We still have that bunny, remarkably unscathed, compared with everything else in our living room… perhaps the bunnies realise the significance. 

In the carrier with her bunny.

Introducing Dijon to his new partner, as soon as she arrived home... 

... but Dijon was more interested in the soft toy bunny...

... and stole Ebony's piece of kale!

Ebony spent the first couple of days in her puppy crate, alongside Dijon's enclosure.

She was keen to explore her new territory. 

 

The next step was side-by-side enclosures – Dijon was desperate to meet her properly... 

... but Ebony tormented him, by flopping by the fence with her back to him. 

 

An urgent vet visit for vaccinations and a check-up.

Queen Ebony discovering her throne 7 years ago...

... and still reigning today.