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Winter 2007- 2008
We are happy to finally be sending you our first newsletter
of 2008, it's a little late due to a terrible bout with
bronchitis this winter.
We will be covering several topics in this newsletter and
hope that you will find them of interest.
With Easter rapidly approaching we hope you will join in
and help with the Make Mine Chocolate Campaign.
http://www.makeminechocolate.org/
The Columbus Chapter of the House Rabbit Society started
the Make Mine Chocolate Campaign to bring to the publics
attention that rabbits are not toys to be given at Easter
and dumped at a shelter a few month's later when the
novelty wears off. A rabbit is a 10 year commitment or
more, and future rabbit guardians need to do research to
find out all they can about rabbits before adding one to
their household.
Please go to the link above and help share the Make Mine
Chocolate message by passing out fliers, selling See's
candy for your local chapter, writing to newspaper editors
and spreading the word any way you can.
It's time to start planning your Bunny Garden and ordering
seeds, be sure too plan plenty of extras to share with the
bunnies at your local shelter. As soon as weather permits
we'll start planting some kale, parsley, carrots, chard,
radicchio, dandelion (not the weeds),escarole, dill,
fennel, bok choy, strawberries, grapes, stringless snap
peas, and maybe a few new favorites this year.
It's fun looking through the seed catalogs to see what's
available, or going to the gardening center and buying a
few starter plants. Don't forget some fruit trees. They
are great for you and your bunny. If you plant an apple
tree you and your bunny can enjoy the fresh fruit, in
moderation, and your bunny can enjoy nibbling on fresh
apple twigs and branches. Don't feed other fresh fruit
twigs as they can be poisonous.
Willow trees of all varieties make great chewing sources
for your bunny, and they are very pretty trees. I
personally love Pussy Willow trees, and Artemis and
Einstein are wild about munching the fresh or dried twigs.
Make sure you have plenty of room though, as these trees
can reach their full height of 20 – 30 feet the first two
years. They can then be cut back to the ground in the fall
so they will once again grow and produce more willow
branches for your bunny. Willow is said to be a natural
pain reliever so it's not only good for bunny teeth, it's
apparently good for whatever may ail you.
We use all organic seed and fertilizer in our Bunny Garden.
If you can't find organic seed and fertilizer please
don't spray any pesticides, use any herbicides like Roundup
around the garden or fungicides on the plants your rabbits
will be eating. Your bunny will be thrilled with the
flavor of freshly picked food from your garden, it beats
grocery store produce hands down.
We'd also like to cover shedding in this newsletter.
Rabbit's shed about every three months. Your short haired
rabbit should be brushed weekly throughout the year, daily
if you have a long haired rabbit, this can become part of
your bonding time. When your bunny (even a short haired
bunny) is shedding you need to start brushing daily so that
you remove the hair instead of allowing your rabbit to lick
the loose hair and ingest it. When your rabbit is shedding
make sure s/he is getting plenty of hay as well as adding
daily rather than weekly Petromalt or Laxatone and some
prozyme or papaya tablets. Check your bunny's litter box
for signs of hair in the poop which will be strung together
like a little “pearl necklace”. Your rabbit needs access
to plenty of fresh hay, water, veggies and lots of exercise
to help prevent hair getting backed up in her digestive
system. If your rabbit stops eating during a shed or
anytime, be sure to contact your vet right away. Rabbits
should not go without eating, it can be a medical emergency
and even cause death.
Keeping long haired rabbits like Angoras or Fuzzy Lops
trimmed to about ½ to 1” long will not only help control
shedding but will make grooming in general much easier.
Shorter hair is less likely to become matted than long
hair, even though the long hair is gorgeous. If you can't
commit to daily brushing/combing it's easier to keep them
trimmed. If your long haired bunny does get a mat be very
careful removing it as your bunny's skin is very sensitive
to pulling and is also very thin and can be snipped easily
if you don't keep your finger between the skin and the hair
you want to trim off. If, despite vigilant grooming, you
still find a large mat on your long haired bunny you may
want to take your rabbit to a groomer or vet to have the
mat shaved off. Mats are very painful for bunnies as they
pull hairs from different areas of the body and form the
mat and can make it difficult to move around without pain.
Being a guardian to a long haired rabbit requires much more
work than a short haired rabbit. Einstein is a french
angora and is very high maintenance, and Artemis is a
Florida White and is fairly low maintenance in comparison.
Whatever their hair length, all rabbits need basic care
of weekly brushing, monthly nail trimming, teeth and ear
checks, and yearly
vet exams, or more often if needed.
Our recipe this time will have a St. Patrick's Day Theme
since it is almost time for leprechauns, lucky clovers and
St. Patrick's Day.
LUCKY CLOVER SALAD
(Serves 2 Buns)
2 cups Lucky Clovers ( since these aren't available
everywhere, watercress may be substituted)
4 Green Seedless Grapes – diced
2 Stringless Snap Peas – chopped
1 Outer Leaf of Cabbage – Cut in two
Assemble all ingredients and place half on each cabbage
leaf, using the cabbage leaf as a salad bowl.
Bun Appetite'
I'm throwing in these links that I found cute. They are
short bunny related videos. I hope you enjoy them too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE9OXATfF0o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLUAbkRUvVQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPsqp8Nrtg
Don't forget to enter our monthly contest for a chance to
win a free toy for your bunny. Congratulations to Fuzzy on
being this month's winner.
http://www.funnybunnytoyco.com/page/page/1404104.htm
Our best to you and your bunnies,
Kerry, Artemis, and Einstein
Funny Bunny Toy Company
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