If you have access to the internet then you know that we have BABY BUNNIES (kits) at home right now. I thought that Lola (the doe) was experiencing a phantom pregnancy. They do this, apparently. Rabbits are SUPER clever guys. She made her borrow in loops, so when I stuck my hand down I got a dead-end and assumed she was just digging because her mind had gone to the place of lost rabbits. Her borrow loops and curls to deter and confuse predators (and super intelligent human lifeforms such as myself).
She only fed them twice a day for a few minutes, then covered the hole again. Because the burrow loops and curls, there is enough oxygen in there for the kits underground, all covered up. Kits are born with no fur, so she'd pulled all the fur from her chest and stuck in down there to make a soft bed for them. Clever mama! Humans are all "Do I get cotton or fleece receiving blankets for my newborn" and mama rabbits are like "just keep quiet and take my hair".
So once I'd accepted that Lola experienced a phantom pregnancy, we all just carried on with the bunnyhood as usual. On Tuesday night I was here alone and the boys were asleep. I sat in our little garden with a drink and the silence when Lola started acting weird. She was sniffing something on the ground like it was super interesting. I saw these two black blobs like ink... No like, you know in Spider-Man 3 when that black ink creeps all around surfaces and latches on to people and makes them bad and mean? My very first reaction was "OMG Lola get away from the black Spider-Man ink!" It was dark you guys. Also, we watch a LOT of Spider-Man. See when Lola went to sniff them, they went all flat and in to star-fish mode like "we surrender dear god don't eat me". I just sat there gaping, glass of wine mid-air, expecting Lola to turn in to something from Watership Down.
But then they got up and moved around and started jumping and I was like they must be rats!! Then I was like wait, someone must have dropped baby bunnies off here - someone knew I had rabbits and didn't want them and it was like a really rude bunny stork. See Lola is white as cotton wool. The dad, Roger is also WHITE with Magpie markings. And she was running away from them. This was because they were trying to latch and then they did latch and then she stopped sniffing and growling and started cleaning them. Like a mother?
Look, you think I got a fright. Imagine you buried your babies UNDER GROUND and suddenly they were right there on the surface, running around and trying to suck milk out of you. The kits were all "we're freeeeee" and Lola was running and pacing like "omg omg omg"
I picked the babies up straight away and Lola didn't mind or reject them. Whenever I touched one she did preen it to near death because of my 'disgusting human filth hands'. She still let me scratch her and I was just loving and playing with these little guys allll night. They are so tame and super affectionate and make the sweetest baby bunny noises and high pitched grunts. They sleep upside down and in all positions and I am basically not getting any work done and don't want to leave my house. They sleep allll the time. They sleep on my lap while I work, in my armpits when I lay down, in my neck - anywhere warm and cozy.
There are only two of them and we've named them Pudding and Pumpkin for now, until they have new homes and leave us in about a month's time. I'm going to put up a post later explaining why rabbits are such great pets including information you need to understand like how long they live (10 - 12 years. This is NOT a hamster) and more about their needs and getting cables off the floor. Bunnies prefer MacBook chargers over a carrot any day. You prepare your home for any pets and rabbits need to be considered too. They get on super well with cats but not really dogs / dying. We'll talk about it later!
A great plus is that rabbits are easily litter box trained and can live indoors. Pudding and Pumpkin will be litter box ready. You can also take them for little walks and to parks with a bunny leash or harness. Roger used to sleep at the foot of our bed like a cat. It's too much! So think about it so long, and I'll put up all the pros, facts and cons for you later. Every pet has considerations, but in the meantime - look how cute they arrrrrrre. And congrats to Lola - she did the most wonderful job protecting these guys from the neighborhood cats all this time while we were completely unaware! Welcome Pudding. Welcome Pumpkin! Nice to meet you little squishies. PS Charlie is also pregnant. Expect cousins any day now.
