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 as far 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 shady, 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 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. 

Our first houserabbit: Lupin

29 November 1998, a pivotal moment: An impulse purchase on a Sunday afternoon visit to a garden centre resulted in 27 years of rabbits in our home, to date. We didn’t discuss where we’d put Lupin, along with her hutch and paraphernalia (cost: £81.18 – a figure etched in our memory), but due to freezing weather, she stayed in our living room, and it’s never been without a rabbit since. 

  

Can you spot our mistakes?

• Bought from a store (AND without any preparation)
• Locked in a small hutch when unsupervised
• Fed muesli-based diet, carrot, apple, toast, …
• No rabbit companion
• Access to cables and houseplants (rabbit-proofed ad lib)
• Lots of picking up for cuddles
• Used a harness (at least we tried – quite rightly, she wouldn’t tolerate it)

 

But we did some things correctly: we joined the British House Rabbit Association (now Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund), applied our new knowledge to Lupin’s care, and let her steal our hearts.

In this compilation of scanned photos, you’ll see Lupin in her favourite place, on top of her hutch – she liked to jump up there to be a part of whatever we were doing, watching us at the table or joining on the piano for a duet. We only have a small collection of photos of Lupin, and many are blurry or red-eyed pictures – she lived in the days before we had a digital camera, let alone mobile phones that take photos, so these are treasured memories. Here is some of the 27-year-old camcorder footage we have of Lupin. 

 

Houserabbits and the Great Outdoors

Ebony and Snoop in their outdoor enclosure.

 

Houserabbits were a novel concept back in the 1990s. So, when we bought our first rabbit, Lupin, from a garden centre one Sunday afternoon in November 1998, along with her hutch and all the paraphernalia, we assumed she’d live in the garden. However, by the time we arrived home, it was cold and dark. After letting her hop around our living room, we kept her in the hutch in our house overnight... she stayed there the next day, as we had to go to work, and we enjoyed watching her explore the living room again that evening… by which time, we couldn’t think of putting her outdoors. Besides, the neighbourhood foxes constituted a risk... 

Some of our garden visitors captured on our wildlife camera.

  

That’s how Lupin became a houserabbit, and since then, we’ve always had rabbits in our living room... and none have lived in a hutch. 

Lupin, our first houserabbit.

Aware she couldn’t stay locked in a hutch, but wary of her hopping around on the new carpet in our recently refurbished home, we wanted to know whether a rabbit could be house trained. Today, we'd search online, but in 1998, the ‘World Wide Web’ didn’t have all the answers. However, we did stumble across the British House Rabbit Association (now Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund) website, and discovered that other people had rabbits living happily (and litter trained) in their homes. As we learned to share our living space with a mischievous little bunny, we realised how much we valued her companionship and the social interaction. She was a member of the family, and we couldn’t imagine her living outdoors. 

Our home became Lupin's home.

All our rabbits – that's seven since Lupin – have been houserabbits, not because we think it’s wrong to house rabbits outdoors (given suitable housing, care, and the companionship of another rabbit), but we love having rabbits living in our home.

Today, it’s widely acknowledged that rabbits can live indoors. However, a more recent recognition is the importance of allowing houserabbits time outside, preferably in a predator-proof enclosure. Time spent in the great outdoors offers many benefits:

• Rabbits tend to be more active outside, which helps to maintain musculoskeletal health, decrease the risk of obesity, and keep their guts moving.
• The greater variety of stimuli outside – things to see, hear, and smell – keeps them entertained and happy.
• Opportunities for grazing and foraging can be provided, through access to a lawn or planters – great for their digestive systems and teeth.
• An enclosure on grass or soil provides an uneven surface which is good for muscle tone, and allows feet to sit in their natural position, with their nails sinking into the ground, reducing risk of pododermatitis; it’s also perfect for digging behaviour. A paved enclosure with a rough surface helps to wear down nails.
• Sunlight exposure (UVB rays) allows rabbits to synthesize vitamin D through their skin (not possible from sunshine streaming through windows, as the UVB rays are filtered out by glass).

This last point is significant – currently, research is limited but indicates a possible risk of vitamin D deficiency for indoor-only rabbits. Vitamin D is important for the immune system, kidney function, and cardiovascular health, and it boosts calcium absorption, which is essential if there's not enough in the diet. A deficiency may cause the rabbit's body to start taking its calcium requirement from the bones, which weakens them, and can cause arthritis and osteoporosis. Although there are many other factors involved in dental disease, a deficiency may increase the risk – with insufficient calcium, bone density decreases, and teeth can become unstable and misaligned in the weakened supporting (alveolar) bone; roots may become elongated, teeth start to wear down unevenly where they don't meet properly, and abscesses may form from the bacteria which gets into the gum in gaps between wobbly, wonky teeth. Although artificial UVB lights, sun-dried hay, and dietary supplements can also help rabbits obtain their vitamin D requirements, it seems exposure to unfiltered sunlight is significant. 

Look out for a feature on the importance of UV light exposure in the Spring 2026 issue of Rabbiting On! 

Sadly, Lupin didn’t have a chance, in her short life, to spend time in an outdoor run, but we constructed an enclosure for our next bunny, Charlie.

Charlie in our first outdoor enclosure – 
obviously not large enough by today's standards.

 

The enclosure was used for our rabbits for many years. In conducive weather, when we could be outdoors to supervise, our rabbits were placed in their carrier and taken to the enclosure on the lawn. They enjoyed grazing, and seemed relaxed, but of course they couldn’t go indoors until we took them, and their time outside was restricted to when it suited us. 

Neroli and Rosie training their first Baby Servant.

 

Two years later, and the original Baby Servant is growing up fast but there's a new one to train.

 

A third small hoomin joins Neroli's staff, and waits on her in the enclosure.

Mabel and Dijon were energetic young bunnies when they came to live with us, and transporting them to and from the enclosure was not simple. 

Mabel and Dijon (3 mths old) loved the enclosure, but not being put in the carrier.

We had an idea: we set up a temporary enclosure on the patio – one which they could access through the patio doors from the living room, without the need for us to pick them up. 

 Watch to the end to see Dijon run indoors to safety when scared by a breeze.

They loved it, and so the enclosure became a permanent fixture, clipped securely to the wall either side of the patio doors. 

Mabel and Dijon exploring new territory (June 2012).

  
We still use this enclosure today, for Ebony and Snoop. It has increased in size from one puppy pen to three linked together. We attached mesh to the bars, following Ebony’s accident with a puppy pen. Plastic clematis trellis is fixed to the top, to stop the bunnies jumping out or predators climbing in. It’s not entirely predator proof – an animal could chew through the plastic trellis, and the enclosure is not fully covered, due to the patio door, but hopefully it’s sufficient to deter predators. When the bunnies are outside, we ensure they’re within our sight.

The enclosure is on paving, so we’ve provided planters of grass and rabbit-safe plants to allow the bunnies to graze. 

Ebony inspecting the hazel prunings.

In autumn, our apple and hazel tree prunings are placed in the enclosure. The bunnies enjoy eating some of the leaves and twigs, and are kept busy by their innate need to clear the branches from their usual routes, moving them by scrabbling and chewing (which has the bonus of keeping their teeth in trim). 

 Ebony clearing some bay tree prunings.

 

They have a tunnel, a sheltered/hiding area, and a digging pit. The digging pit was made in 2021, from parts of our children’s old playhouse, to celebrate Dijon’s 10th Birthday, although he preferred to roll in the soil than dig, and Ebony claimed it as her territory, rarely allowing poor Dijon in.

Dijon having fun in his 'digging pit' 
(edit with music here).

Ebony soon took ownership of the soil, and despite watching (not always from a safe distance), Dijon never really mastered digging. Watch to the end to see how Ebony even tried bringing the contents of the pit into the house to encourage him, but to no avail… Dijon preferred rolling in the soil 
(edit with music here).

 
As a senior bun, Dijon began struggling to negotiate the threshold – his knee injury (a ligament tear) became arthritic, and decreasing muscle mass made him quite wobbly. We added a ramp from the patio door, and removed the larger planters, in case he tried to jump from one and hurt himself.

The bunnies love going outdoors, and, early most mornings, Ebony scrabbles the door to tell us to open it… whatever the weather. In fact, our rabbits spend more time outside on dull days – this could be their prey animal instinct (less easily spotted by a predator when it’s gloomy, and they don’t have strong shadows), and a preference for low lighting (wild rabbits spend their days in dark warrens, and come out to graze/forage when it’s twilight). Fortunately, we're not completely exposed to the elements, as the insulated curtain is quite effective at preventing the indoor temperature from plummeting too rapidly.

Whatever the weather, there's always a good reason to have the door open, even if it's just to sit on the threshold and make the hoomins cold 
(edit with music here). 

If we don’t open the door by mid-morning, the bunnies show their annoyance: chasing one another, giving us their hard stare, or destroying our furniture.

Fortunately for the bunnies, there’s usually someone at home, so during the daytime, they can venture outside whenever they wish, and (even more importantly) they can return indoors at any time. If they hear, see, or smell something they think represents a threat, they race indoors. We’re honoured to see that they perceive our living room as their secure home. We’ve realised our domestic rabbits are hard-wired to recognise predators – they’re not bothered by wood pigeons flapping nearby, squirrels bounding along the fence, or robins entering their enclosure, but if they hear a crow or a magpie, they shoot indoors. Their time outside tends to reflect their crepuscular nature – usually, they choose to go outdoors in the morning, and, in spring/summer, late afternoon.

We’ve been able to let our bunnies enjoy time in the snow, knowing that they won’t go out if they think it’s too cold, and they can come back indoors when they want to warm up. Click here for a compilation of the bunnies having fun in the snow.  

Mabel and Dijon were always very excited about snow.

 
Through observing our bunnies’ behaviour, we’ve realised it’s important for rabbits to have as much choice as possible. As houserabbits, they see our home as their home, but being able to go outdoors is highly desirable to them. Future goals? A hole through the living room wall, with tube to the enclosure… then maybe another tunnel over the garden wall to an enclosure on the lawn… 

 

 

 

Pumpkins are not just for Halloween

The bunnies aren't keen on eating pumpkins, not even the leaves, but the plants are safe for rabbits to eat, and we grow a few in our garden nearly every year, mostly for the fun of it and for the beautiful flowers, rather than the actual pumpkins. 

This year, 35 of our seeds germinated, and we planted them all, expecting many to be eaten by snails. However, we managed to succeed in protecting them against the enormous population of snails in our garden, by planting most of them in troughs which we hung from the fence. Others were planted around the outside of the bunnies' enclosure – because they are safe for rabbits to eat but not enjoyed by Ebony or Snoop, the plants could use the mesh to climb upwards. 

Our 35 plants produced just three fully-grown pumpkins, but that was plenty for us, and we enjoyed watching the plants and flowers grow from the middle of May right until October. 

 

 

 

 

Throwback: The day a piece of Mabel’s ear fell off

Back in 2016, on a very hot day towards the end of August, Mabel went into stasis. X-rays revealed bloat but no blockage – it was probably a slow-down due to her relentless carpet pulling and heavy moult, exasperated by the hot weather. 

Abdominal X-rays.

During consulation, the vet told us the bloat was severe, and odds of recovery were low, but we were not ready to give up on Mabel, and she was admitted that so intravenous fluids could be administered via a catheter in her ear. 

We visited the next evening to see her, and saw she was clearly bothered by the drip tube. The following evening when we visited, we were upset to find she was wearing an Elizabethan collar. 

Mabel with her bandaged ear and collar.

When questioned about this, the nurse said Mabel had been chewing her drip tube, setting the alarm off at frequent intervals. We said we were concerned that Mabel wouldn’t be able to eat her caecotrophs – the nurse looked blank and said she’d ask someone, and called a more senior nurse; that nurse assured us that Mabel could move freely, eat without any problem, and that rabbits only produced one caecotroph, once a day, in the morning, and that she would manage to eat it because animals usually find a way of doing what they want whilst wearing the collars! 

This experience demonstrated to us the importance of ensuring our rabbits were treated not only by a rabbit-savvy vet but also a rabbit-savvy vet nurse! 

For rabbits, E-collars should only be used when there really is no alternative – and even then, they should be soft collars, not hard plastic ones with a tab which irritates a rabbit’s neck. Collars can cause stress, limit mobility, and are more likely to increase anorexia (see Chapter 3, 3.14, ‘Elizabethan collars’ in Frances Harcourt-Brown’s Textbook of Rabbit Medicine).  

Mabel had already spent three nights at the practice, and the vet advised us to leave her there for longer, as she still hadn’t made a full recovery, but we thought she stood a better chance back home. Also, we hadn’t taken Dijon to be with her for company, and he was missing her – and there was a risk their bond would be broken. 

Thankfully, Mabel soon recovered at home. Her ear was lopped over for a couple of days, but we thought nothing of it… 

Mabel with her limp ear.

…Until a fortnight later: Her ear looked increasingly scabby where the catheter had been inserted, and felt dry, but she wouldn’t keep still enough for me to look closely, so I picked her up to examine it. There was a scar-like line, on the edge, near the base of the ear. I'd barely touched it when an inch long slither of her ear fell into my hand, and then – as I recoiled in horror – to the ground! 

The slither of ear.

It was completely hard. There was no blood, and Mabel showed no sign of pain and didn't even wash her ear when I put her back on the floor. In fact it was Dijon who showed the greater interest, looking as though he was going to eat the piece of ear! 

 

There was no blood.

Mabel was unperturbed.

The piece of ear which fell off was necrotic tissue. It had died because of the drip – the vet said they’d had difficulty finding a vein, and of course we knew Mabel had fought to remove it. It may have meant that some of the fluids weren't even getting into her system, which would explain why she hadn’t made a full recovery, and was extremely thirsty when she returned home. 

Fortunately, Mabel lost no further bits of ear, and continued to look beautiful, even with her modification!

Curtain call

Ebony displaying one of the curtains.

Today was curtain washing day, which always creates a bit of excitement for the bunnies. They like to 'help' to take the curtains down, then make sure the condition of the exposed wall is up to their standards, before assisting with the rehanging of the washed curtains. The video below captures the key moments.

 Watch here for video accompanied by appropriate music!

As the years have gone by – and that’s 27 years, to date – there has been less and less of the curtain material to wash. But why? Moths? Shrinkage? Or could it be due to the occupation of eight houserabbits over those years…

Lupin was our first houserabbit, and came to live in our recently-renovated house in 1998 – she was more interested in chewing the sofa than the curtains, and we were highly protective of our new curtains, so she didn’t have much opportunity to make her mark.  

Lupin admiring the new curtains.

Charlie, our next bunny, joined us in 1999, and showed little interest in curtains – he was more interested in other fabrics. 

Charlie would never harm a curtain...

... but thought the towel looked tasty.

The curtains still had an un-nibbled hemline in 2001, when we adopted Neroli.

Princess Neroli using the curtain to compliment her colour.

... but was she hiding a frayed hemline?

Rosie joined us in 2003, but she was a good girl... well, at least her only interest was in tormenting Neroli, and she had little time for bunstruction.

Rosie showed no interest in the curtains.

By 2009, the hem had mysteriously come unstitched… but Neroli denied the accusations, and there was no hard evidence.

Why are the curtains behind Neroli touching the floor?

When baby bunnies, Mabel and Dijon, came to live in our home (2011), the igloo hide was placed strategically in front of one curtain – with three young children in the house by then, we didn’t always have time to ensure the upholstery remained unscathed.

Mabel and Dijon, always up to no good. 

By 2016, holes were beginning to appear.

Spot the hole in the curtain.

Mabel was chief seamstress, although she preferred to work without spectators.

Mabel taking a break from her work.

Ebony inherited the post of chief seamstress when she became Dijon’s new pawtner in 2018.
Here she is, hard at work, in 2022.

Dijon was usually too busy sleeping or eating to help with the curtain bunstruction project

Dijon contemplating his next snack.

He preferred just to sit behind them in full sun, if they were closed to keep the house cool on a hot day.

Dijon had nothing to do with the new nibbles appearing.

But when Snoop arrived, in 2023, the curtain destruction reached a new level... literally. From the day he was introduced to the living room, he was obsessed (note at this point the right curtain was still mostly floor length, and there was little damage to the left curtain).

He would argue that some of the damage was caused by us, which is true – when we spotted a hole, like the one in this video, which we thought was a risk to the bunnies, we cut through so they couldn’t become trapped.

However, one way or another, the bunnies are entirely responsible for the current curtain design, and they are very proud of their work.

 

And that’s why we still have our 27-year-old curtains.