From: milligan@milton.u.washington.edu (Paula Milligan)
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Re: bunny stories/ second try to post
Date: 30 Dec 1992 19:26:58 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: milton.u.washington.edu

Summary: Intro's for reluctant buns; bunny snacks
Expires: 
Followup-To: Marilyn & Ricochet stories
Distribution: world
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Keywords: 

It sounds like Marylin and Richochet are soon to be buddies.  I think the
neutral ground theory is usually pretty good, but they do have to be super-
vised.  

That article, and one of Nancy L.'s, reminded me of how I finally got
Betsy and Rocky together.  I should say, how they got themselves together,
because they were the ones who did all the talking.

When Rocky was very young (2 mos), we kept him on a large wooden table
on which was his cage, with the door usually open.  His self-imposed boundary
was the edge of the table, because it was a long way for a youngster to jump.
After about a month, he decided he'd had enough of that, and jumped down to   
explore the floor, which was Betsy's territory.  We found that out one morning
when we were awakened by the Bunny Squeal (I know exactly what you mean about
that squeal, I never want to hear it again either!).  We put him in the living
room, which is adjacent to the living room, with a dish and a litter box.  
Betsy's self-imposed boundary is the linoleum floor, so she wouldn't cross
it to get to Rocky in the living room.  Well, Rocky seemed happy enough to
have his own room, but as in the case of Nancy's two rabbits, he kept 
inching his way closer to Betsy, and after about a week, I them each lying
on their own rug, separated only by the linoleum.  A couple of days later,
I glanced over and found Betsy grooming Rocky.  Since then, they have been
buddies, and Rocky doesn't hold a grudge against Betsy about his notched ear.
Oh, I forgot to mention that once Betsy accepted Rocky and stopped beating
him up, she was kind of sorry, because he chased her all the time and tried 
to mount her.  At this point, we figured out he was about 4 months old, his
testicles appeared to be fully developed, so we had him neutered the next day.
NOW they get along famously!

About Bun snacks:  this morning Rocky tipped over the garbage in the kitchen
and scarfed up an orange peeling before I had a chance to take it away from
him.  It seemed like it might be a suitable snack, except I was concerned 
about pesticides on the skin, as with the walnut shells causing a seizure
that were mentioned a couple of weeks ago.  I thought maybe I'd find some
organic oranges to share with him.  Anybody heard of orange peels for buns?
   
Also, someone mentioned newspapers in recent posts.  That reminds me-- a
few years ago, another rabbit I had used to love to dig and scratch at
newspapers, which I didn't think would be bad.  One day, I noticed he 
wasn't moving at all, his litterbox, which had been cleaned the previous
day, was still unlittered, and he wouldn't even eat his most favorite 
snacks.  I took him to the vet, who said she felt a large blockage
in his stomach.  She put him on an IV for a day, to get liquids flowing,
then sent him home and recommended papaya tablets and pineapple.  Once more,
he got hold of some newspapers that had been carelessly left in his reach, 
and began to show early symptoms again.  This time, I knew what it was and
took all newspapers out of his reach.  He cleared up quickly, and continued
with papaya tablets as long as I had him.

Has anyone tried pineapple with their buns?  I've known one rabbit who
loved pineapple and threw a fit it he didn't get a slice every day, but
I haven't had any bunnies who would take it willingly.  When they have
blockages, I still use pineapple, but I give it through a syringe, and
only when they're sick.

I would like to add that I have only been doing rec.pets for a short while,
but I really love hearing about other people and their bunnies.  

--Paula Milligan