I found:

• Apple
• Hazel
• Ginko
• Rose
• Raspberry
• Blackberry
• Strawberry
• Grape
• Nasturtium
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Basil

I did find a little bit of clover and a baby dandelion.

Then I wondered, which would they actually want to eat? Non toxic doesn’t necessarily mean tasty. So I gave Scamp a little bit of each to see which he’d go for first. Can you guess?

See if you got it right…

That’s a yumm to strawberry leaves, ginko, apple, clover and rose, then he decided the pile of grass from earlier was a better option and skipped off.

What’s your bunnies favourite and do you have any other plant ideas?

I should point out, at no point was Scamp shut in the carry case. He was not a poor trapped bunny that wanted to escape. Nope, he just felt that the large doorway a few inches from he tail was not the best route out and proceeded to make his own exit.

Need less to say, that means a new carrier. Whilst emergency exits are usually good for health and safety, they are no so good when trying to get a rabbit to the vet.  I considered going for an all wire mesh one but I think they are too open for a rabbit  to feel secure and the risk of him sticking a leg through the wire is too high. After a bit of browsing I decided on this carrier from Wilkos:

It has all the basics: solid sides for a feeling of security, wire door (no point in plastic ‘mesh’ with a rabbit), plenty of ventilation holes, and it splits into two so it takes up less room when not in use. All that for £14, which isn’t too bad if someone eats it again!

I’m trying to expand the advice for bunny owners on The Rabbit House, so you can read my tips on rabbit carrier selection here.

First thing you need to do with a tunnel … make a second exit.

I’ve been a bit busy with work and enjoying the warm weather in the garden. Scamp on the other hand is still busy trashing the kitchen. He’s perfected the art of jumping from floor to worktop and demonstrated by eating the electric wire to the microwave (cut out the power but didn’t zap himself – how do rabbits do that?). We are presently experimenting with nets, so far this has resulted in a net with even bigger holes and a rabbit napping on the bread board. Maybe the tunnel will distract him.

Can you spot Scamp? No, me neither, that would be because he’s sitting under the work top in the veg rack practising his “Who me?” face. The onions are safe (removed after the previous invasion) but we may need new potatoes.

He was a bit miffed at having fun spoilt:

I think most naughty bunny behaviour is just bored bunny behaviour. Wild rabbits would usually be to busy eating to make trouble, so the obvious solution for Scamp’s boredom is food too. I cut him some grass and scattered it around the floor so he could ‘graze’. It kept him quiet for a little while at least.

Look what I found whilst cutting grass…

Do be careful this time of year if you’re mowing grass, as there are frogs and soon baby froglets crawling in it looking for bugs and shade. I was using scissors so this chap hoped off safe… maybe he’ll eat some of the slugs.

I got a call in the beginning of May in 2007. My vets had given my number to a lady whose husband was working on a building site and uncovered some baby rabbits and they needed someone to take them. They babies were supposedly 3-4 weeks old, so I agreed expecting they’d be ready to pass on to a wildlife rescue for release.

When she arrived with the babies, I opened the box to find five almost hairless bundles with their eyes still closed, closer to a week old than three. It transpired that a digger had scooped up a load of sand and along with it the nest.  There was 3″ of sand in the bottom of the box to corroborate the story. The whole site was being cleared so they couldn’t be left and the foreman had suggested disposing of the babies (!). The ladies husband had refused and taken them to keep safe.

That evening involved a mad call around to find somewhere still open with replacement milk in stock. Luckily a vet across town stayed late to let us pick some up and so began the endless feeding routine.

Baby rabbits being hand reared need feeding 3-4 times per day as the replacement milk is not as nutritious as a mummy rabbit’s milk. It needs to be done very slowly and carefully, as if too much goes in the mouth at once they can inhale it leading to respiratory infection. In between feedings everything needs to be sterilized.

A few days after arrival, and quite a lot of feeds later, they opened their eyes. By this point their fur was coming in a little more too and they look more like miniature bunnies than very plump sausages. To give you an idea of size, at this point they weighed just 80-100g each.

By two weeks old they were starting to explore and feeding time turned into a crazy bunny wrangling game. They were prone to jump in random directions with absolutely no consideration for the distance or landings.

At two and a half weeks the heart break began. One by one within hours they went from happily bouncing and feeding to passed away. The vet could offer no assistance, it’s likely they had a intestinal virus/infection or just that their gut couldn’t cope.  Substitutes are just not as good as what mum can offer.

By week three there was only a single bun left, the biggest of them all. At this point I was expecting to loose him too… there were a good few weeks before I had any certainty that he would make it. Despite my worries he started eating solids and drinking his milk from a bowl, and would snuggle up for a cuddle under my chin afterwards.

And he grew (4 weeks old) …

And grew (8 weeks old)…

And grew (12 weeks old)….

Now Scamp is a wild rabbit and I would normally agree that wild animals belong in the wild and that was my original intention. However by the time we knew he’d make it, he was much to tame having had too much human company after the lose of his siblings. Right or wrong there was no way he could be released. He wasn’t meant to be permanent here either, but obviously we couldn’t rehome him until we knew he whether he was a him or a her, and then not until he was neutered and by then he’d been here a year and we were all kind of smitten. Three years on, will still are.

And that is Scamp’s story.

Both bunnies got a clean bill of health. The little spur Gypsy had on one tooth a couple of months ago hasn’t reoccurred. She’s got a little extra padding but that’s normal this time of year as I feed a little extra to keep her warm outside over winter.

Scamp has decided it’s spring and is moulting like crazy. Instead of the usual ‘go faster’ stripes he gets along his sides he’s going for a top down approach. He’s moulted out a big saddle over his back. It feels like velvet at the moment, so soft, where his undercoat has come through but not his guard hairs (the thick rougher ones). It also means he’s chocolate on top and instead of brown speckles like normal.

Gypsy assisted with tidying up outside by trying to eat the stray bits of hay whilst we swept up. Why is it that bits of hay that have been totally ignored for ages suddenly becomes a must have piece as soon as you go anywhere near them with a  dustpan?

Scamp was equally helpful inside whilst I planted seeds. I’ve sown over 200 in the last couple of days, a mix of veg and flowers.

Is any one else enjoying a bit of spring gardening? If you’re feeling a bit green fingered (and are in the uk), the BBC are offering free vegetable seeds again this year: BBC Dig In.

The new litter tray didn’t last long. I think he’s got into the habit of nibbling now. He gets a little fixated on things sometimes and once he’s made his mind up it can be quite hard to distract him.

Here’s the newly decorated old new tray:

After ignoring the sticks, the vet kindly gave him & Gypsy as a Christmas gift, for a whole month, Scamp has decided he will chew it if, and only if, you hold if for him. If you don’t he’ll eat the skirting or his litter tray instead. Yumm, stick…

And a video of stick eating. It’s not particularly riveting, but just be thankful you weren’t the one holding it for the other 20 minutes or so not on camera!