September Story Contest
Pet Bunnies
By: Scoutgirl
Age: 11I got 2 bunnies about 3 years ago when I was nine. We thought they were both girls because that’s what the person said. We got 2 Rex Bunnies. We brought them home and built there cage then gave them food/water. A few weeks later we found out one was a boy and one was a girl! So we got another cage.
One time right before winter both of them got out at the same time but we got them back in there cages thinking nothing about it. About 1 month later we got a un pleasant surprise. My cousin and I went outside to feed them and found little pink things scattered around the cage we figured out quickly that they were babies so I ran inside to tell my mom. About a minute later she came out with a box we picked up each baby to see if any were we found 3 out of the 9 were barely. So we rushed them inside and put the hair blow dryer on low and warm and my mom gave them CPR(she used to be a nurse) sadly none of them made it.
A couple months later we Oreo (mom) and Brownie (dad) breed so we could sell the babies. A month later we got a cute little bundle of 7 kits (baby bunnies are called kits) we watched them closely for a couple days then realized she was only feeding 2 of the 7!
So we went to the store and got kitten formula (you can not buy bunny milk so kitten milk is the best) when we got home we started to feed the smaller ones with a small syringe. Before we would feed them we would have to pick up the mom and rub our hands all over her to get the scent on our hands because if you don’t the mom might kill that baby.
We fed the babies 3 times a day morning, afternoon and at night. I would help my mom in the morning and at night but I was in school during the afternoon so my mom would do that by herself. We had a lamp over them for the night to keep them warm. One day when I came home from school and found 1 baby dead probably because kitten formula doesn’t have the right vitamins in it that they need. The next day my mom found 3 more dead. Two of them because of lack of vitamins like the first and the other was one that the mom had been feeding but the light had fallen on that one or something.
After the four died we only had 3 left they were named Molly (who ended up being a boy then named Peter the Rabbit), Thumper (who thumped his foot when ever we feed him) and Pepper (who was the fattest and is the color of pepper). When we only had three kits left the mom started to feed them all. Over the next couple weeks they started to open there eyes and eat solid food (remember never give baby bunnies carrots it is bad for them).
Then came the sell day… and no one wanted them so we kept them. After awhile since the 3 were boys we had to separate them and build another cage so we built one double the size as the mom and dads cages that they could all live in. unfortunately we didn’t bunny proof it all the way so molly got out and ran away never to be seen again. Then the dad got under the fence when we let him out and he didn’t come back. Now we only have the Oreo, Thumper and Pepper.
Thumper and Pepper were almost 8 months old, and they kept getting into fights after the dad ran away. So I put Thumper in the 2 dog runs we have far away from the others. Every time I went near Thumper he would try to bite me and charge at my leg so I started to bring a rake, shovel or something long in case he decided to attack me. Any time I didn’t have a rake or something he would charge at my leg and try to bite me (but I had big boots on so he only ever bit my boots) after awhile he calmed down a bit so I would pick him up and sit on a chair with him before I let him out. Of course I always keep one hand on his neck so I could grab him quickly (that’s how you pick them up so they don’t scratch you).Well one time I did that he jumped up and bit my lip! So I grabbed his neck and held him against my leg, then he bit my leg! So I threw him down in the cage and shut the door and ran inside holding my lip and leg. After I got all bandaged up (luckily no stitches or anything) I was fine.
A few weeks later we had to get our lawn sprayed for bugs when I was at school so they put my dogs in the same runs that Thumper was in so Thumper ran out of the cage wanting to eat some grass. When I got home and realized I went to put him back in the cage (by this time my parents made me where a thick glove before handling him). But he kept charging, chasing and snorting at me. So I knew to be careful (but with the glove on I can’t grab him so I took it off. foolish choice!) when I finally got hold of his neck he turned around and bit my hand then used his claws to scratch the back of my hand he wouldn’t let go until I screamed. I threw him in the cage and ran inside and told my mom she looked at my hand (which was all torn up and stuff I had a pool of blood in my palm) we washed it and put bandages and Neosporin (thank goodness for that stuff!) on it. After a while I went back outside and grabbed a bucket and lid. And went to the cage I threw him in. I grabbed him (with the other hand of course) and put him in the bucket. I closed the bucket and took him over to his cage, and I fed and watered him before I let him out. After I was done I put him back in his cage and closed the door for the night.
Oreo and Pepper were getting kind of fat because of the small cage they were in so I switched pepper to thumpers cage and Thumper to peppers cage and put Oreo in the other dog run by pepper. Then there was a huge storm and thumper ran away. I still haven’t seen him since. Pepper and Oreo are living happy lives Pepper likes to give my hand kisses sometimes.
~Scoutgirl