Last week, Charlie and I went to a nearby farmer to buy a couple large bags of corn. My husband used to work at the local grain elevator (before I ever knew him) so he knows most of the farmers -- that can come in handy sometimes. Anyway, the farmer was working on getting his harvest into his grain dryers when we showed up. He said he would have the corn ready within a couple of hours and to stop back and pick it up. We went off to see "The Rum Diary" (I LOVE both Johnny Depp and Hunter Thompson! I've been waiting for this movie for years!!!) then returned to get the corn. I grinned when I saw the bags he packed it into. Simple things make me smile -- including rabbits on the front of a 100 lb. sack of Michigan navy beans.
Anyway, on Monday of this week, I got a phone call from a dear friend of mine who was trying to help another friend find a home for a pet rabbit. I had been considering raising angora rabbits for their fur -- even got a book on the subject last year. I hadn't been considering a pet though. Well, the rabbit needed a good home and the gal was also giving away everything I would need to take care of it (cage, hutch, water bottle, a bag of food, etc.) so I decided to adopt the rabbit. He is a cutie pie -- don't you agree?
So, I have another animal that I can spoil rotten. Here he is helping me dispose of some lettuce -- he also gets carrots to gnaw on. He is a mini-rex and as soft as can be. Oh, and he is litter trained. Bonus!
His name is "Kee kee" (the gal tells me she got it from a school teacher -- I'm wondering if the class room kids named him?). I've started to call him "Kinker" since it sounds like his real name but it has more meaning to me. You see, whenever we play cards with my friends, Charlie calls a pair of kings "a pair of kinkers".
I'm looking for advice from those of you who have experience raising rabbits. What should I feed him? What should I avoid? Any advice about any aspect of rabbit ownership is welcome.
2 comments:
As soon as I read the title I thought of Rocky and Bullwinkle!
Rabbits have sensitive digestive tracts, so don't give it too much of something new at once. Test a small amount first. Also, keep carrots to a minimum. Rabbits should get unlimited hay for roughage. My rabbits get some pellets daily as well as unlimited hay and a snack a day, mostly greens but sometimes a piece of carrot. I like to harvest the dandelions in my yard for mine. You can find a list of acceptable rabbit treats online. They need something to chew , so a chew toy is great which serves as entertainment too. I have a block of untreated wood in my cages. My rabbits also have baby rattles in their cages, which they like to pick up and sling across the cage. I hope this helps.
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