We hadn't intended to get rabbits, we'd had hamsters and guinea pigs for a few years but found ourselves with only fish as pets after they'd all died. Back in 2008, on a visit to a local pet shop for fish supplies, we saw the cutest little baby Rex rabbits. There were about four little brown ones and the softest, cuddliest little grey one, all brothers. I'd just come back from a weekend trip to London with work and feeling guilty at having left Daniel and Eleanor at home with Mick, my defenses were down. It didn't take much of Eleanor's nagging for me to crumble and allow her to choose one of the litter to come home with us. Her choice was the little grey rabbit which she named Sammy.
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It was the following day that Daniel decided that he'd quite like a rabbit too, so back to the pet shop we went and one of the little brown bunnies came to join Sammy. Daniel named his rabbit Monty.
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Originally, we'd hoped that they'd live in a hutch together, and they did whilst they were babies. We had them neutered thinking it would calm them down and that they'd live in harmony, but it just didn't work, they really didn't get on together so they now live in separate hutches and have separate play time.
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Sammy is the softest of the two, he likes to be held and cuddled and doesn't hop too far away from his hutch when it's play time, but Monty is the most nosey, inquisitive rabbit you're ever likely to meet. He's such a character and makes me laugh how he gets his nose in to everything.
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When I eventually stopped working, we got the dog which Eleanor was still nagging for. Archie goes to see the rabbits when they're in their hutches or their runs and they sniff each other through the bars, the rabbits don't seem to be nervous of him at all. I always keep him indoors when they're having a run around though, you just never know.
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My very favourite photo of Monty is this one which I used on my Coming...Ready Or Not post back in 2009. I think he looks so cute.
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Last year, when I was choosing my seeds in The Garden Centre Group sale, I came across this seed mixture for rabbits. On the back it says A mixture of seeds for sowing as living pet food which has been specially formulated to supplement the diet and suit the natural and nutritional needs of rabbits. The seeds can be sown in containers or in the ground and the rabbit can eat the plants directly or they can be harvested, washed and dried before being given to eat. I thought I might sow a couple of small trays and then once they've grown, they can be given to Sammy and Monty as a treat.
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Sammy and Monty are six now. There's no way of knowing really how long they'll be with us. Some information I've read states that the average age of rabbits is between six and eight, other information states eight to ten, yet I've heard of rabbits living for twelve years and beyond. The vet always says they're in very good health when they go for their annual vaccinations and health check so I can't see any reason why we shouldn't have them for another six years.
Lovely post on you children's rabbits. I like the idea of growing some food for them.I have been investigating something similar for when I get my chickens, due to the veg patch we have now lawn in the back now so I had though of growing a few trays of green stuff for them.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the chickens will eat any sort of left over greens you grow in the veg patch, but it would be nice to grow some grass for them. You could scatter grass seed over seed trays and grow it that way, I'm sure they'd love to scratch about in it.
DeleteA lovely post, and I can see why that Monty photo is your favourite.
ReplyDeleteI was lucky to catch Monty just as he was having a wash, giving the impression that he's hiding his face. I think he looks so cute.
DeleteThey are gorgeous Jo, love how they will get home grown food too! And lucky they do not have free run of the allotment..
ReplyDeleteWe do have pampered pets, even down to growing their food. It is a good job they don't have free rein at the allotment. We've never had problems with rabbits on the plot in the past, I'm waiting to see what happens on the new site.
DeleteSammy and Monty are gorgeous and sound like real characters. I was interested to see the special Italian mixed grass seed for 'little friends'.
ReplyDeleteThey each have their own individual personalities, they're real characters. I hadn't seen seed such as this before, but there's a whole range for all different pets, guinea pigs, hamster, tortoises, even budgies and parrots.
DeleteI hope you do manage another six years - they are lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I do too. It's a shame that they won't live together as rabbits are social animals and prefer company but we make sure that they get lots of attention from us instead.
DeleteI guess it's male rivalry. maybe after a few scraps they would sort out a pecking order. The trouble is risking letting them.
DeleteOooh, you should see them fight, it doesn't make pretty viewing. I wouldn't dare let them sort it out between them, I'm sure one would kill the other.
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ReplyDeleteBeautiful bunnies, they look so soft and cuddly.
ReplyDeleteThey're really soft and cuddly. Rex rabbits have such beautiful fur, it's almost like velvet, though you should see them when they're moulting. You can see little patches on these photos, but when the whole coat is moulting it looks like they've been dragged through a hedge backwards.
DeleteIt's great to see another rabbit owner :) The boys look wonderfully healthy and well looked after, which is always lovely to see. I hope you do have another 6 years with them!
ReplyDeleteYes, they're very healthy bunnies. The only problem we've ever had with either of them was when a piece of straw got wound around sammy's paw. It was so tight that we couldn't even cut it off so it was a trip to the vets. It all worked out ok, but we've been extra vigilant since then, it gave us a bit of a shock to say the least.
DeleteThey're adorable. I love rabbits, and I think I'd crumble quite easily and get a couple too if mine asked me. I had one when I was little and she lived until she was at least twelve if not longer. I do hope yours do too, they're such lovely pets.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely to hear of animals living such long lives. I had a rabbit when I was young too, but it wasn't the nicest pet. It was quite vicious and used to bite my hand every time I put my hand in the hutch to feed it. Sammy and Monty are much more gentle, thank goodness, they've never bit once.
DeleteCute rabbits! When I was a little girl, my father had 10 rabbits. They looked so huge. I'm not sure about the species. But they were so lovely. Your post makes me miss to pet rabbits again.
ReplyDeleteWow, ten is a lot to keep. They're such lovely animals though, it's hard to resist them when you see them needing a home.
DeleteIt's a shame they don't get on well with one another. "Sibling rivalry" I suppose. We used to have two cats from the same litter, and they were very good friends. They would chase each other, have a good rough-and-tumble and only very rarely fall out, usually when one got too boisterous.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame. I think it's more to do with them both being male and fighting for dominance rather than them being siblings.
DeleteThey are so lovely Jo, you have quite a menagerie there. The rabbits will be very pampered with their homegrown food! xx
ReplyDeleteWe've had all sorts of animals over the years, a cat, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, dog and at one time we had four fishtanks, two with tropical fish, one with goldfish and one with marine fish.
DeleteThey are incredibly cute. I'm a sucker for rabbits but having pets has never really been very practical for us. We're tempted by a dog but I think we need to sort out where we're going to be in the next year or so first.
ReplyDeleteWe've always made sure that we've had pets as Daniel and Eleanor have grown up. I think they give kids responsibility and teaches them about putting others needs before their own. I'm so pleased we got a dog, I wouldn't be without Archie.
DeleteOh I did enjoy this post. How adorable, I really wanted to stroke them. I'm all for more posts about your rabbits!!! Here's hoping they have really long lives. Isn't that rabbit seed a good idea, please keep us posted re how you get on....I may get some for the rabbits in the rescue. A wonderful post!xxx
ReplyDeleteI love stroking them, they're so soft, their coats are like velvet. I've never seen seeds sold especially for animals like this before. They had a great range for all sorts of animals, wild ones as well as domesticated ones. I'm really looking forward to trying it out on Sammy and Monty.
DeleteWhat a lovely pair Jo. They must have given the whole family much pleasure and laughter over the years. I hope thought that you do not meet their wild relatives on your new plot. I can't tell you what my last words to a rabbit were :)
ReplyDeleteWe've enjoyed having the rabbits so much, they're both such characters. I've been so lucky so far where pests on the plot go, I just hope that I don't encounter them on the new plot.
DeleteThey are adorable Jo. We used to have rabbits and guinea pigs but the children lost interest as they got older and I was left looking after them so as they passed away I didn't replace them as they weren't getting as much attention. Your grey rabbit Sammy reminds me of my rabbit Chloe, not only in colour but in the character you describe too. We had our border collie at the time and the rabbit was the one that used to do the chasing round the garden...Tessa used to give up and come and hide inside..lol
ReplyDeleteDaniel's at uni now, so we're the ones left to look after Monty. Chloe sounds like a real character chasing Tessa around the garden. It's amazing how their own little personalities come out.
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