Bonding bunnies

It's been a while since I posted.  But we have gotten some new bunnies. I wanted to talk about the process of integrating them together as a group.

I was in need of a male rabbit,   I found one 8 weeks old for sale near me. So I brought him home in a small animal carrier and set him in the pen. He was quickly named Thumper. If one of the adult rabbits came near him he would thump as to try to scare them. SO FUNNY!

I was able to create a pen inside the main pen to house my new bunny.  So he would have time to adjust.

Meanwhile my husband was on a hunting trip and talked to a man who was also raising Tennessee redbacks and brought home 4 babies, from 3 separate litters. SUPRISE 🤦‍♀️🥰CrAzY!!

So I decided it would be best to introduce Thumper to the other small rabbits and get them comfortable first.

In a few days they were all eating together and had stopped the chasing.

So I put them all in the mini pen and they seemed to do fine.  

The adult rabbits did not know what to think of all the intruders.

I would feed them fresh clover and treats beside the fence to encourage some interaction. 

After about 4 days I made an opening in the fence big enough so the young rabbits could get out, but the larger rabbits couldnt get in. 

There was some chasing and definitely had some fur pulled but in a day that had stopped . Now they all eat, play, and sleep together.

 Just like one big happy family!😊

What are Tennesse redbacks?

Tennessee redback rabbits are friendly and can be pets, but they are used primarily for release into the wild to replenish hunting grounds.   They are also great to populate running pens to train beagles. These are one of the closest breeds to a eastern cottontail species that I have found..  Tennessee redback is not a registered breed so it may be harder to find information about them.  The person I got mine from has been breeding them for a long time and said they have breed to the cottontail successfully. 

 Although there is no real proof, many belive that they are a product of the eastern cottontail and a swamp rabbit that are found in Tennessee. Redbacks are a medium sized rabbit. Uniquely they are all different shades from grey to reddish brown, all have the white tail and some have lighter paws. 

They are great in outdoor habitats and can be raised in colonies if you choose that method. If you have read any of my blogs you have seen my set up.  I have on occasion seen a wild cottontail out by the hutch and it looks very similar to my grey Tennessee redback rabbit. So I tend to believe they are related. 

If you have any information on Tennessee redbacks that you would like to share please send me a comment. I love learning as much as I can.

Exercise your rabbits

 Hello, Its been a few since I posted.  I recently attached a exercise pen to my hutch. The purpose was to make the living space larger, now that they have gotten full grown. It also gives them ample room to run laps. I was hoping they would have had fresh grass longer but within a few days they had munched ALL of it.  

I let them out into pen a few hours a day.  Anytime you can help your rabbit to stay heathy by getting exercise is so beneficial. When it is raining or snowing I leave them in the hutch. Rabbits are susceptible to respiratory diseases getting wet can lower their immune system. 

This is how I built my pen.  I started out trying to purchase just a pen to attach, but I was having trouble finding something that would be functional for my space.  So I seen this pen and ordered it thinking that it would work with no extra changes.

I put it together opened the hutch it seemed great, then Copper my male rabbit got his head and front paw through the openings!  OOPS! This is not for my size rabbits.  To fix this I got a roll of chicken wire.  With my husband's help we wrapped it around the outside of the pen. Then we secured the wire into place with some post.  It has been up for a few months now and has worked great! I hope this helps someone who is also looking to make more living space for their rabbits.

Please leave me comments and if you also raise rabbits and have a blog leave your link to your blog in the comments I love learning from others.

Bunnies and puppy beagles

My husband and I have had beagles for many years. We have raised several litters about 1 every other year.  I have been teased about having rabbits and beagles at the same time.  For those who do not know it is in a beagles nature is to hunt and chase bunnies.

 My husband goes to the trials and does well with our dogs. He has successfully made several into champions.  Beagle hunting is a sport that scores the dogs on their performance.  Rabbits are not harmed. Today I thought I would share some pictures of my puppy beagles and a few more rabbit pics of course:)

They found a perfect place for naps 🌻

The rabbits  are in a different part of our yard and so the puppies have not found the hutch.  Here are a few early pictures of Copper, Opal and Silvia. They have grown so much already.

What are the pets or animals you have?  If you are enjoying this blog hit Follow to recieve notifications. 😉 I hope you are having a great Sunday !