Day 22, Day 23, Day 24, Day 25, Day 26, Day 27
Day 22 – Sunday, 26th
I stayed at my sisters…
She was nearly out of oaten hay for the guinea pigs. She was very concerned because I told her that it is nearly impossible to get oaten hay bales due to the floods in NSW in Nov/Dec/Jan. All the hay went mouldy and they couldn’t sell it.
We were trying to work out solutions to use something else other than oaten hay.
Day 23 – Monday, 27th
In the morning, I read on social media that other people were looking for bales around Melbourne, and the comments mentioned to go to Officer Grain Store, as they had some.
Luckily, my sister lives about 10 minutes away from the grain store, and I popped in. I bought 2 bales, which barely fitted in the boot, and took one back to my sister’s house.
I left it on top of the grass hay bale in the bag, so that it wouldn’t get wet in the rain. I then raced back home.
Buttons was happy to see me again. Lunar and Maple were looking forward to hugs.
Day 24 – Tuesday, 28th
I thought about ramping up the bonding; I decided to put Buttons in the Little One’s inside pen.
Buttons sniffed around and did his own thing. The Little Ones were interested, but not scared. Buttons checked it all out, and even stared at his bed from the corner. The Little Ones ate and ignored him. Buttons was in their pen for about 10 minutes.
Afterwards, I gave the bunnies the new grass balls I had ordered online to change the subject. Buttons loved water hyacinth – which was a lot like the water hyacinth house I got him a few months ago.
I included the label from the balls in the photos below. The bunnies loved them very much.
They enjoyed their new three-way tunnel. Of course, Maple wanted to eat it.
Day 25 – Wednesday, 29th
Thunderstorms and rain all day. The bunnies stayed inside. The Little Ones kept warm under their blue blanket. Buttons murdered the rattan ball, then fell asleep in the green Zippy house.
Day 26 – Thursday, 30th
First full day of being together inside – from 8:30am – 4:30pm. 8 hours in total.
Just like kids, they got sick of each other later in the day, so I put Buttons back in his pen. He was happy to be home.
Outside they are fine together, but inside they need more time. There were a few behavioural issues with Buttons (pouncing and nipping), but that will ease once they have been together more often inside.
Day 27 – Friday, 31st
Here we are, the last day of March and I thought it would take forever to get there. The bunnies have been together for 27 days – excluding about 2. Let’s say about 25 all up. Their behaviour has changed completely together and with another month of this bonding business, they will be even better. Life is going to get so much better for them, and me, seeing that they now can be together.
I’m a little worried about winter, but they should be spending nights together by then, and we can move them into Buttons’ area, away from the wood heater. I’m going to play it by ear and see how it all goes.
I’m going to get more of those grass balls too, especially for winter, because they have all been destroyed. That happened within 24 hours of the bunnies getting them. I class that as a success.
Because it has been raining for the past few days, I decided to wash the Eglu. I’m so glad I did.
The under-side of the base was filled with slugs and their poop. It was revolting. Especially now that I know bunnies can get worms from slug slime and their poop.
I didn’t take a photo of the slugs and their poop, after I had flicked all the slugs into the neighbour’s yard and washed the base with vinegar… I learned that it had no effect at all on them.
I poured a stack of Handy Andy on the base and scrubbed.
I was careful not to put the brush on any poop. Not until the disinfectant had been spread around and left on for about 4 minutes. I hosed it off, making sure the water didn’t splat on me, because we can also get worms from slugs. The poops didn’t budge. They were stuck tight. So I used more Handy Andy and scrubbed them with the brush. I knew I had to be careful with the brush because I didn’t want the poops to stay on the brush too long. I made sure to hose off the brush often. Slugs are revolting. The poop upside down and it stays there.
Washing the Eglu is quite awkward. I find by putting it up on a higher surface you can reach into it better.
I wash the outside with Handy Andy. It gets all the bird poops, slug slime and other marks off. I hose it off really well.
I put the Eglu in the bunnies pen and dry it with a cloth. I left it in a really awkward position in the sun. One turned the right way around, the first sticky-beak came to check it out. Then the second sticky-beak came.
The bunnies agreed it was a good cleaning job. Finally, the third sticky-beak came to see if the cleaning job was good enough.
Always move the Eglu around every day. It bleaches the grass because the grass cannot get sunlight to make it green. It makes grass patchy in ugly square patterns. Unless, of course you like the grassy plaid look.
Clean your Eglu regularly, especially on the base. The last thing you want is an infestation of slugs and snails living with your precious bunnies. I’m going to wash mine every week, but check it every couple of days.
I took some precious oaten hay out of my new hay bag in my boot. That hay bag is the best invention. It was an immediate winner.
After a couple of days inside due to the rain, I had to disinfect a couple of the carpet squares.
I wet it with the hose, then put a small squirt of Handy Andy on the areas that need the most attention. Scrub it to remove the mess. Hose it off. Make sure all the disinfectant is off.
I have this weird brush my sister gave me, she uses it when brushing polar fleece to get their hair off. I use it to remove excess water from the carpet. Always brush it the same way as the carpet fibres. It gets more water out.
I hang it up on the wood pile, with a corner hanging down, that way the water will go to the lowest corner and the carpet will dry faster.
The sky started getting really dark at about 1:30pm, and the wind had an icy chill. I decided to bring the bunnies in. The only difference was, I was going to put them all in the same pen inside.
I didn’t want to spend time picking them up in the outdoor pen, and luckily they were all in the green pipes. Lunar and Maple were sharing one, and Buttons was in the other.
I picked the pipe with Lunar and Maple in it up, covering both ends with my hands, and carried it inside. I put it down in their pen, and as they hopped out the looks on their faces and their behaviour said one thing… “Whoa! It is a magic portal!” They were happy to be inside again.
I raced outside and grabbed the pipe with Buttons in it. I covered the ends with my hands and he backed up as far as he could in the pipe and rested his bum against my hand. He always reverses out of pipes.
When he was put in the pen inside with Lunar and Maple, he was also surprised. It’s amazing how a pipe can take you to a completely different realm of existence.
They stayed together all evening, until about 7pm. They even ate their greens together at 4:30pm. Their first dinner together.
I picked Buttons up at about 7pm and gave him a cuddle, he fell asleep in my arms for about 20 minutes. He was exhausted. I put him back in his normal pen and he was happy. He had a good day.
The Little Ones also had a big sleep once Buttons had gone. Maple stretched out as long as she possibly could and then rolled over onto her side. Lunar flopped against the fence and rested his head on the floor.
The end of a busy, long day, and the end of a busy, long month.
