Run, Don't Hop to Run for the Buns

We have some special guests here to share with us today. Rachele and Brandon are from the Sacramento House Rabbit Society to tell us all about a real neat idea and fun event to help raise funds and create awareness to help out some of our long-earred pals.  If you are not used to the idea of them as pals, here is your chance to find out more about it!

 

RS (Rabbit Slippers): Hi, what a great idea to have a Run for the Buns.

 It is the first one I have ever heard of! What can you tell me about the "Bun Run"?

R& B (Rachele & Brandon): Run for the Buns is a family friendly event that we put on each year and is hosted by Healthy Habits Studio. It's fun day with lots of activities, adoptable bunnies, a ton of bunny info, and yummy treats! There are several variations to the event: timed or not and different distances. The event is taking place:

March 25th, 2012

The time of the first race starts at 8am.

RS:  Tell us a bit more about the organization , what it does, who and what it helps.

R & B: Sacramento House Rabbit Society is the Sacramento chapter of House Rabbit Society. We advocate for keeping domestic rabbits as house pets, work on being an educational resource for the public on how to be responsible bunny care givers, and rescue rabbits from local shelters. We rely on our wonderful foster homes to be able to provide shelter & love to rabbits while they await adoption. One of our most important roles is just to provide care information for people who have bought rabbits and did not research their care & now don't know what to do for care or behavior issue.

RS: Is this the first Run for the Buns?  If  not, how many others have their been?

R & B: This is the fourth or fifth RFTB.  The idea came from Rose Zahn, owner of Healthy Habits Fitness Studio in Midtown. Rose is an avid rabbit lover & wanted to make a contribution to our organization.  She suggested family-friendly event in the Spring to promote awareness of pet rabbits to contrast with the Easter stereotypes. Along with our Fall "Hoppy Hour", these events provide the bulk of our fundraising.

RS: I like the fact that there are different levels of physical participation too.  I see categories set up for those who want to walk, but don't  want to do a serious run, to very serious marathoners and everything in-between. I think the variety is inviting to make people more interested in participating. My guess is this will raise more money. Is this the intention?

R & B: Of course our end goal is to raise as much money as possible to support our rescue and outreach efforts, especially with this being our biggest fundraising event of the year, but we also want for everyone to have a lot of fun and to make the event accessible for almost anyone that is interested in participating. We have many families that anticipate and participate in our event every year. People run with their dogs and baby strollers.

RS: How would somone  register to participate in this run?

R & B: They can register on the Healthy Habits website at www.healthyhabitsstudio.com (the online registration form should be ready by the time this is published, but if not, they can call (916) 444-7729 or email frontdesk@healthyhabitsstudio.com

RS: Are there deadlines?

R & B: For discounted rates, yes

Individuals: $35 donation / includes t-shirt ($45 after March 15)
Family: $60 donation / includes 2 t-shirts ($70 after March 15)

You can also register on the day of the event

RS: Are there any requirements for participation?

R & B: You should be physically able to participate in whichever activity you choose (we want folks to be safe and happy) but even those that choose not to run or walk should come on down and enjoy refreshments, silent auction, and much more!

RS: Do participants receive anything such as a tee shirt?

R & B: Yes, we have some very cute t-shirts that you will get with registration, plus there are fun activities planned for after the races.
We sell past years shirts at the event, for very discounted prices, so you can keep your collection complete. Our graphic designer has created some really unique work.

RS: Tell us a bit about the rabbits your organization helps.

R & B: Most of our rabbits come from local shelters but we also have special cases, such as Timothy, that just tug at our heartstrings.

Timothy's story is here:
http://www.allearssac.org/fostergallery.html#timothy

Timothy

There are always more rabbits than there are homes for, so we can give a few rabbits more time to find the perfect home. We also try to create demand for pet rabbits by educating people if a rabbit might be right for them. We also socialize the rabbits from the shelters, so they can relate to people better and be a better pet. We make sure they are all spayed or neutered before they are adopted & that they are all litter trained.

RS: What is the mission (goals) of your organization?

R & B: HRS is committed to educating people about the unique nature and proper care of these wonderful, intelligent companion animals. Our goals and mission are spelled out right at the top of our homepage: http://www.allearssac.org/
 



RS: Do you also have any messages for people about the run and your organization?

R & B: Run for the Buns truly is fun for the whole family and it's a great way to get to know our organization better and meet some of the folks that keep us going. Adoptable rabbits will also be at the event, so you also just drop by learn about rabbits as housepets at a fun event. Often people just stop by to hold a beautiful, sweet, soft bunny on a cold morning.

Rabbits are the 3rd most surrendered pet at local shelters, a fact many do not know and this fundraiser is not only fun, but helps us to be able to save bunnies from shelters who otherwise wouldn't have a chance at finding a forever home.

RS: If people are interested in learning more about adopting rabbits or anything related to rabbits, how can they get in touch or find out more?

R & B: Our website is at www.allearssac.org

We are also on facebook www.facebook.com/allearssac and on twitter at www.twitter.com/allearssac and on google plus
+Sacramento House Rabbit Society

RS: Feel free to share anything else you may wish to share!

R & B: There is a great misperception about rabbits. Many people had them in hutches in the backyard & never interacted with them. We really strive to make people aware that these are complex, social animals with brilliant personalities that may be the ideal companion  for people if cats or dogs don't fit their family or lifestyle. All of our volunteers and fosterers are just amazed at the positive effect rabbits have had on them. They wouldn't trade it for anything.



RS: If people can't participate in the Bun Run, what other ways can they help your organization? (ie., volunteering, donations, etc.)

R & B: We always could use volunteers, foster homes, and donations, yes please! :D We do offer a yearly membership option for people that want to help, it's a once-a-year donation and you also get a copy of our bunderful newsletter mailed to you. We'll have membership applications at Run for the Buns, and you can also download a copies from our website.

Watch our website; we will have an all-volunteer meeting in May if you would like to learn about volunteer opportunities or get involved somehow.

RS: Thank you for joining us and sharing all about the Run for the Buns! It sounds like such a fun and exciting event.

Rabbit Slippers has a new e-mail address rabbitslippersblog@gmail.com if you want to e-mail any ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns or share anything. 

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Thank You!
Please visit the Rabbit Hop Shop at the following link (Rabbit Hop Shoppe link) for rabbit themed items and gifts!  Please also "like" the Rabbit Hop Shoppe Facebook page. Thanks!

Butterscotch's Neutering Adventure part 1

My boy Butterscotch....the buzzing bunny  

He liked to hump human hands and feet, stuffed rabbits, oatmeal canisters....well, you get the picture. He also would thump at any perceived sleight from my husband or myself. Very territorial, demanding, cage bar chewing, etc. He was also stressed out, not sleeping very much, always had boundless energy he couldn't focus on anything. He would sleep a little but seem to be breathing heavy. Butterscotch seemed to be extra hormonally charged than even other un-neutered bunnies from my experience.

We went to one vet months for a pre-neuter check up and it took four of us to hold him down. They  declared him healthy enough for the surgery.  One of their vet techs would not go near him afterward. She was terrified of him. He basically tried to jump out of everyone's arms. The approach wasn't too good there. Strangely, it was a vet office we were using for years, but they had not kept up to date with much and didn't inspire my confidence much. We decided to try another vet that is further away. Here is my general experience there (click here) .

Butterscotch still moved around a lot but was calmer than the visit at the other vet.

He likes the spotlight and also likes to know what's going on around him.

Many photos of him are blurry because he moves so much.

If he were a human, the pharamcies & doctors would probably push ritalin on him.

At the new vet, Butterscotch did really well. The tech runs a rabbit rescue, the vet not only specializes in rabbits (they have three rabbit/ small animal vets in the practice!), but he owns some too! Butterscotch was almost as close to calm with them as he could be with my husband or myself!  I wouldn't say he was "still", but he was a lot more cooperative and appeared my comfortable with the new vet and in the new atmosphere. The energy of the place was calmer than the old vet.

The vet tech weighed him and asked questions such as age, etc. Butterscotch is about a year old.  When the vet himself came in he directed me in helping distract Butterscotch and explained what he was doing, even though I was familiar with bunnies. He answered questions. He was willing to answer or explain anything even if I was new. He asked questions about what he eats, his living arrangements, exercise, etc. The questions were ones a vet should ask!

Groggy Little Boy!

Still Waking Up!

Trying to hold his head up.

Might as well nap on the way home.

Butterscotch has hay, water and food to make sure he was eating and okay after the surgery and anesthesia.

He said to not withhold food/hay or water, unlike humans, dogs, cats, etc. Rabbits can't throw up and wouldn't have the same problems with anesthesia as us. It can be dangerous for them to be without food or water actually for long periods of time. Then he explained the surgery a little and what to give him, food, water, a little bit of hay and something soft to lie on for his recovery time for after the anesthesia. The doctor said to drop him off in the morning and they would call and give updates. They called when they said they would and gave accurate descriptions of how he was doing. I picked a still somewhat groggy bunny up in the afternoon.

Butterscotch was so cute as a groggy little bunny. I took advantage by gently picking him up and cuddling his head between my shoulder and neck. He actually nuzzled right in. I knew the chances of this ever happening again with him in his or my lifetime would be pretty close to nil. It was sweet. He slept the rest of the day on and off. He was supposed to have fleece or something soft to sleep and play on in his living space for a few days to prevent infection or tearing where his stitches were.  Butterscotch's stitches were the kind that dissolve so he didn't need to return to have them removed either.

Butterscotch is still buzzing.  He's still been a bit girl crazy but has calmed down tremendously (we were told it may take a bit of time for the hormones to leave the system).  He has hardly chewed on the bars. He is becoming the personality he really has all over again. From day one he was a charmer. Then with puberty it went into overdrive.  Being bunny owners for over 10 years, we generally knew it was hormones. This is what impulsive bunny buyers, who don't educate themselves, tend to think of as a possessed rabbit that is evil and should be disposed of. Rabbits are beautiful creatures that are social and loving. Everyday he is calming down, but still being an active young healthy bunny. He seems more content too in general. 

They also become teenagers. Would you throw away your kids when they became teenagers? Although you may actually wish you could send them away for a while during that period, people stick it out and usually their kids' behaviors level off. Neutering with animals helps with those behaviors and also in preventing pregnancy.

The neutering process is not that difficult for us.  For more information, check out online college veterinary degrees to find classes and noteworthy studies about animal neutering. Of course you just want to find a vet that knows what they are doing. As I write this I am trying to gather vets names who are rabbit savvy, as recommended by rabbit rescues and credible rabbit owners. There are also good spay/neuter clinics that can do it at a discount, but are rabbit savvy. I hope to have a list of rabbit savvy vets and spay/neuter clinics on the resources pages of this blog soon as a reference. Otherwise you can refer to Etherbun (link in blog sidebar) or the House Rabbit Society   for more help in finding one near you.

I will be giving you some follow up in a week or two with photos and video to show the changes in his behavior and demeanor.  Please stay tuned for that in the next week or two!  : ) 

Rabbit Slippers has a new e-mail address rabbitslippersblog@gmail.com if you want to e-mail any ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns or share anything. 

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Thank You!
Please visit the Rabbit Hop Shop at the following link (Rabbit Hop Shoppe link) for rabbit themed items and gifts!  Please also "like" the Rabbit Hop Shoppe Facebook page. Thanks!

Bunnies Police Run-In

One evening in the distant past, when I was a naive bunny owner, I was renting a second floor apartment in a two family house in a small town with my new husband.  We had five fairly young neutered bunnies that stayed in a closed in pen in our kitchen in the back of the house. Not that I'm advocating this, but we were trying to also keep them a secret from our landlord, who lived on the first floor below us. We were quiet and generally good tenants, which was a relationship I wanted to maintain.

We had settled in for the night and were fast asleep.  Around 2:30am, we were abruptly awakend by the doorbell and a loud pounding on the door. I awoke easier than my husband, but he was startled too. I looked out the window but couldn't see anyone. The front door wasn't visible from the window due to the awning from the porch and our upstairs front porch. I did finally see a police man look up at the window from the sidewalk, so I ran quietly down the stairs so hoping the landlord wouldn't hear me (or the police for that matter).

One of the escape artists - Woody Bunny

I peeked out through the blinds, saw another officer and opened the door.  I don't think I said anything, but probably just looked at the officer quizzically.  His partner came on the porch and stood next to him, which started to make me nervous.  The officer then spoke, "Did you know you have rabbits on your roof?". I couldn't quite figure it out. Since taking in the bunnies, I had begun to have several strange dreams about them and then thought that this was one of them. The cooler night air hit me though and made me realize that I was awake.

Staring at the officer, probably looking groggy and confused, I just said, "Huh? What do you mean?".
He told me there were rabbits on our roof. On the front of the house on the roof. They were hopping about freely.  Then I remembered our little rabbits and although confused was hoping I wasn't going to be arrested for cruelty or negligence.  I didn't have my glasses on but saw movement when I looked at the roof from the sidewalk.

Sally, Domino and Woody in a hutch during our house renovation-all in the police line up.

I told them I needed to get my glasses and my husband.  I invited them up and brought them to the living room.  My husband completely woke up, came out and was just as confused as I first was. I told the police we owned rabbits and went to check on them in the kitchen. Four weren't there, only one. I got panicky now for the bunnies. They couldn't have got out.

Through the living room there was a door that led to a little balcony that goes over the front entry inside stairs. That door was ajar.  That small balcony had another door that led to a small sitting porch for our apartment.  We would sometimes let the bunnies play out there with our supervision on a nice day. Well, it seems that they liked that porch outdoors a little too well.  The door to the porch was ajar also.

This is the house with the small sitting porch on the second floor.  I tried to take a picture that would show how the rabbits could reach the roof.

The half wall that led to the roof seemed like it was too high for the bunnies to hop over, but on the porch was one little bunny, and three others on various places on the roof adjacent to the front of the house. With the help of the police, we somehow got all the bunnies back safely and carried them to cages.

Little Grumble, the only one who was a good citizen during  that night of crime.

The police told us to keep them in lock down. They couldn't stop laughing at the whole thing and said that it looked like we took good care of the bunnies otherwise. For me the tension of it all, the ridiculousness of it all and then the laughter gave me a big sigh of relief in my silly disbelief.

Since then, the bunnies never were allowed to be out at night, although we still have the occasional escape artist. The doors are all checked before going to bed.  I have no idea how they got out through the doors.  I figured they had jumped the pen enclosure in the kitchen and perhaps were either able to jump high enough onto the porch wall and the roof or jumped on furniture then the roof. I was surprised how daring they were and how they all made it.  I, to this day, am thankful they were okay.  I used to pray for God to look over them.

At the time, the landlord never seemed to be aware that this incident occurred and I was so thankful for that also. Who knows?

Rabbit Slippers has a new e-mail address rabbitslippersblog@gmail.com if you want to e-mail any ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns or share anything. 

Please follow Rabbit Slippers Blog on Twitter, too, @RabbitSlipprs . 

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You can also follow through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs, both located in the right side bar.
Thank You!
Please visit the Rabbit Hop Shop at the following link (Rabbit Hop Shoppe link) for rabbit themed items and gifts!  Please also "like" the Rabbit Hop Shoppe Facebook page. Thanks!

Ten Ways to a Happier Bunny

Here are some great ways to make your rabbits life a lot happier! To get the best, safest and most accurate information on any of these ways of how to make your rabbit happier, check out the House Rabbit Society website at www.rabbit.org .


1) Neuter your Rabbit: Neutering your rabbit will help eliminate behaviors that stress you and the bunny out.


2) Interact with your Bunny: Bunnies are quite social, but just be patient with him or her. Remember they are prey animals and take time to trust you, as opposed to a dog or cat, which are predatory animals.


3) Give your Bunny Toys: Bunnies are intelligent and like to exercise their bodies and minds. Toys can be simple things such as a corrugated cardboard box or an inner roll tube from toilet paper.



4) Rotate your Bunny's Toys: Just like us, rabbits get bored with doing the same thing all the time. If you remove toys and put out different ones regularly, they are likely to look at their old toys with a new burst of enthusiasm when placed out again. Keeping a bunny stocked up with toys and rotating them will also help eliminate negative behaviors such as chewing.


5) Bond your Bunny with a Friend: Just as much as you can be social with your rabbit, it is great to be able to bond them with another bunny, especially if you are not home often. Bonding is something that should take place slowly and be monitored. Check out the House Rabbit Society website link at the top of this article.


6) Keep Your Bunny's Environment as Stress Free as Possible: Bunnies can stress easier than many other animals, so keeping the environment more low key, less noise and quick paced young children, for example, will help your bunny feel his or her best! Reduced stress in the environment probably would help you too!


7) Give your Bunny Play Time: Rabbits love to play, are very social and quite entertaining to themselves and to us! Along with the toys and other interesting things in their environment, it is very healthy for them to give them time out of their cages (if not totally free range in the house) for play and exercise in a safe environment.


8) Give Your Bunny Play Space: Healthy exercise and play for rabbits includes having space to run, explore and hop around. Those legs are made for hopping. This will also help your bunny maintain a healthy weight and help prevent issues that come with being sedentary.


9) Learn your Bunny's Language: Bunnies, like other animals including humans, have their own noises and body language. Learning what these are can go a long way in helping you understand them and for you to communicate with them. They are intelligent, have good memories and are very social! Getting to know some of the basics and learning my own bunnies methods of communicating certain things has greatly enriched my relationships with them!


10) Keep your Bunny As Healthy As Possible: Getting regular vet checks, feeding bunnies the right stuff (such as hay being number one), getting exercise and watching your bunny for signs of sickness or different behaviors (actually anything different) can go a long way in keeping your bunny healthy. (Bunnies are prey animals and won't show being ill or in pain, but will hide it as an instinctual form of defense against predators). Healthy bunnies are happy bunnies and will make our lives fuller and happier too!

Rabbit Slippers has a new e-mail address rabbitslippersblog@gmail.com if you want to e-mail any ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns or share anything. 

Please follow Rabbit Slippers Blog on Twitter, too, @RabbitSlipprs . 

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Thank You!
Please visit the Rabbit Hop Shop at the following link (Rabbit Hop Shoppe link) for rabbit themed items and gifts!  Please also "like" the Rabbit Hop Shoppe Facebook page. Thanks!

Have you seen a Jackalope?

Editor's note: This is for fun, but as for fair warning: taxidermy and slight innuendo are in this post, if this might offend you.  Otherwise, I hope you enjoy.

Have you ever seen a Jackalope? I've seen lots of them-kind of like the Unicorn horns I saw in the Cloister's Museum in New York City, the Jackalope is more common here in the USA!  Usually, I've seen them on t-shirts and bar signs, but then when I was on vacation in the woodsy northern New England states last year, I saw a real one! That's right.
Well maybe I better back up a bit and tell you what a Jackalope is supposed to be!  According to the latest entry on Wikipedia, it is:  "a mythical animal of North American folklore (a so-called "fearsome critter") described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant's tail (and often hind legs). The word "jackalope" is a portmanteau of "jackrabbit" and "antalope", an archaic spelling of "antelope". It is also known as Lepus temperamentalus.". (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope ).

Another website describes them as: "an aggressive species, willing to use its antlers to fight. Thus, the jackalope is also sometimes called the 'warrior rabbit.'

The jackalope is the product of a male jackrabbit and a female antelope. Jackalopes possess an uncanny ability to mimic human sounds. In the Old West, when cowboys would gather by their campfires to sing at night, jackalopes would frequently be heard singing back, mimicking the voices of the cowboys. Jackalopes become especially vocal before thunderstorms, perhaps because they mate only when lightning flashes—or so it is theorized—which explains the rarity of this species." (source: http://www.jackalope.com/legend-of-jackalope/ )

Traits that are supposed to be common to Jackalopes (source: http://www.jackalope.com/legend-of-jackalope/ ) :

• Size: Males to 24″, Females to 20″
• Weight: Avg. 6 to 8 lbs. Binge up to 12 lbs.
• Horns: Up to 12 inches across; 2 to 3 points common
• Coat: Tawny-brown, lighter on chest and underside
• Disposition: Secretive, easily agitated
• Habitat: Grasslands and KOA Campgrounds
• Range: Western North America into Canada
• Diet: Grasses, beenie weenies, smores

• Mating Ritual: Only during intense lightning strikes
• Population: Less than 10,000 (2000 Census)
• Predators: Taxidermists and tourists
• Status: Endangered to threatened
• Traits: Sure footed and agile; nocturnal; opportunistic; crude ability to mimic campground chatter; fondness for whiskey and Harley Davidson oil lines; will attack if cornered or provoked. 

Now it seems many of the sources on Jackalopes call it folklore, hoax or legend.  This surprises me. But then again, people don't think Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster are real.  Or the unicorns either. Unicorns are probably just extinct.  I have found a website that examines the conspiracy of the Jackalope. It looks interesting. They have sightings, photos, video, everything to prove the majestic and very rare Jackalope really exists! I suggest you check it out for yourself and decide!  Click here for Jackalope Conspiracy website.

Now early on, I told you that I saw a Jackalope on my vacation in the woods of  northern New England. I have a photo that I want to show you that I took of it!  We got lost in the Green Mountains in the car and stopped at campground for directions. We asking for directions and there it was!  He must have been a young one because the antlers were a bit smaller than you see on some.

Okay, so it wasn't alive, but look, it's real! The store was in the woods at the Crawford Notch Campground. It all exists! Someday, I know, now really...I will...seriously see a live Jackalope. I will respect him, but I have this 6th sense for finding and befriending rabbits (he's part rabbit!)...who's to say that I won't find one and befriend him or her.  They found unicorns hundreds of years ago. I just hope the jackalope is more able to elude the humans who seek out his magic powers (his milk is said to be a great aphrodisiac, because he has antlers-sometimes called the "horny rabbit".) and not become extinct, like I believe has happened to the unicorn.


Seriously, just by googling "jackalope" you can find all kinds of fun stuff on him. Hope you enjoyed this.

Rabbit Slippers has a new e-mail address rabbitslippersblog@gmail.com if you want to e-mail any ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns or share anything. 

Please follow Rabbit Slippers Blog on Twitter, too, @RabbitSlipprs . 

Please "like" Rabbit Slippers Blog on Face Book to keep up with the latest postings & events.

You can also sign up by e-mail notices at the top right of the page. (Your privacy is important to Rabbit Slippers).

You can also follow through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs, both located in the right side bar.
Thank You!
Please visit the Rabbit Hop Shop at the following link (Rabbit Hop Shoppe link) for rabbit themed items and gifts!  Please also "like" the Rabbit Hop Shoppe Facebook page. Thanks!

Bale Me Out! All About Hay

 Hay and Rabbits

Hay is a necessity for rabbits. It is necessary for their digestion in many ways. Rabbit's teeth grow continuously and eating hay helps wear them down in the right way, compared to eating just pellets. Hay also provides fiber that is necessary for a rabbit's digestive system and also helps prevent blockages which can cause G.I. Stasis, which can be deadly. Alfalfa hay is commonly and best used because of it's higher protein and calcium content  for young growing bunnies until about 6-9 months old. They then should switch over to Timothy Hay because it is lower in the calcium and protein. Timothy Hay is also lower in calories which will help your rabbit maintain an ideal weight or lose it if too heavy. Below you will find select quotes on different aspects of  hay from some places on the web that are more expert than me. Alternatively, you can also check out online universities to find animal care degree programs that can teach you about rabbit food and diet information.


"Adult rabbits need a quality grass hay always available. Grass hays include timothy, orchard grass, bermuda grass, and others. You can find grass hays in pet stores, from horse farms or feed stores, at vet offices who specialize in bunnies, or online from pet hay suppliers. The trick is to find a good hay. Look for a green, fragrant hay. Most rabbits like soft kinds best, but having a mix of stalks and soft parts is great for providing the different kinds of bulk fiber that are good for teeth and digestive systems. Don’t buy hay that is all brown, dusty, has visible mold, or smells moldy. Dusty/moldy hay is dangerous for a bunny!
The most important part of a good hay is one that your bunny will eat. If you find a huge bale of timothy for $4 and bunny loves it, great! But if bunny won’t eat it, it just won’t do her any good. Picky bunnies often love Oxbow Hay brand, which can be found in some pet and feed stores, online pet suppliers, and at www.oxbowhay.com. If you can’t find it locally, ask your pet supply store to order it for you or to start carrying it!"
from  http://www.indianahrs.org/rabbit-care/food-pellets-hay.aspx



Hay (definition from wikipedia) "is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs. Pigs may be fed hay, but they do not digest it as efficiently as more fully herbivorous animals."
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay


Cuts of Hay

"Horsemen are very opinionated on which cutting is the best to buy. Although there are some differences in the cuttings, the quality of the hay is much more important than the cutting. From a nutritional standpoint, all cuttings can result in prime horse hay. With alfalfa, there will be some variation in protein content between cuttings. First cut alfalfa hay has the reputation of having large tough stems, but this is only true if the hay was too mature when cut. If first cut hay is mowed at the pre-bloom stage, the stems will not be coarse and the nutritive value will be high. Weeds do tend to appear in first-cut hay.

Second cut alfalfa hay is usually the fastest growing because it is developing during the hottest part of the season, and it usually has more stem in relation to leaf. Of all cuttings, second cut tends to be the lowest in crude protein, but its 16 percent average is adequate for all classes of horses.

Third (and later) cut alfalfa, develops a higher leaf to stem ratio because of the slower growth during the cool part of the season. Therefore, third cut hay will usually have the highest nutritive value. Horses which are not accustomed to a good, leafy hay may experience flatulent (gaseous) colic or a loose stool.

Mixed hays from all cuttings will have similar nutritional values except that with a grass/alfalfa mix, the first cutting will contain a larger proportion of grasses than the other cuttings."
 from www.horsegroomingsupplies.com


Other Links On Hay
The article at this link is probably the best on everything a rabbit owner should know about hay in relationship to bunnies! Maybe even more than you ever wanted to know!  http://www.rabbit.org/journal/4-7/hay.html
http://bunniez.hubpages.com/hub/Bunny-Care-Guide-The-Importance-Of-Feeding-Hay-To-Rabbits

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Watership Down Land is Threatened by Development

Many of us have been enchanted by the book Watership Down by Richard Adams. The rabbits in it have helped give us a more kindred feeling with those of us who have rabbit companions in our lives, or with mother nature and the threats she faces. Perhaps you or your children have seen the animated versions. The basic idea is the same,  the beautiful land that the rabbits live on is threatened by development. The story takes place in England, which I, being from the USA, picture as being the prisitine land that it is portrayed as being in the book, animations and many other movies there as well.  Perhaps, it's a romanticized version.  The land, Watership Down, is based on a real place that is supposed to be very faithful to the Berkshire Countryside of England. This land is now under a great and serious threat of development.

It seems unbelievable that of all land that is potentially under threat of development is one that helped influence protection of land and the environment in the 1970s. Here is a website where you can take action to help protect the land.
Click here: www.sayNOtoSandleford.org.uk

Here is a link to some pictures of the beautiful countryside:
Click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7360239@N02/sets/72157628025040309/with/6461287567/

I am doing more research into this, will update you and let you know what else we can do to help stop the destruction of this beautiful and inspirational land!

Rabbit Slippers has a new e-mail address rabbitslippersblog@gmail.com if you want to e-mail any ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns or share anything. 

Please follow Rabbit Slippers Blog on Twitter, too, @RabbitSlipprs . 

Please "like" Rabbit Slippers Blog on Face Book to keep up with the latest postings & events.

You can also sign up by e-mail notices at the top right of the page. (Your privacy is important to Rabbit Slippers).

You can also follow through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs, both located in the right side bar.
Thank You!
Please visit the Rabbit Hop Shop at the following link (Rabbit Hop Shoppe link) for rabbit themed items and gifts!  Please also "like" the Rabbit Hop Shoppe Facebook page. Thanks!