Spig and Radish

Hi,
I've been going thru my pics of sisters Spig and Radish, and would like to share a few with you.
Spig is the dark one, Radish the light one. They were born in 2005 I think, and were supposed to live with my kids, but the garden wasn't too secure, so they came to live with me.
Part of the garden was rabbit/dog proofed and a very large hutch had been previously made, but they never liked going in the hutch. It was very difficult to catch them, and i never saw them go in it on thier own when they were out. In times of alarm they went elsewhere, so when i was confident enough, they stayed out all the time. For approx the last 4 years they have been loose in the enclosure.

Pics show them together, and some burrowing in progress. Also a pic of the climbing they used to do!

the 2nd pic is prob my fave at the moment. (please say you've fallen in love with her)

Hope you enjoy as much as i have

more...

last 2 for now

lol, when one is digging, they like to have the other as a lookout. I was surprised how much they like to climb on top of stuff. Mostly used to happen early in the morning.

Burrowing goes on for hours/days, then they sometimes fill the burrow back up with soil again (???).

The main worry was cats, but i had a few potatoes at the back door to throw at any i saw, but it was usually the bunnies that would alert me.....they would be on alert way before i would see any cat.

Summer temps were also a worry for me, hence plenty of shade. They seemed to be fine in the colder weather - sitting out in the cold rather than going in their more sheltered areas, but i think in the end it was the cold weather last weekend that killled Spig. I'm not sure if it was totally the cold, or the cold and something else as well, but, well, too late now (although looking back, i know it was my fault ).

Briefly, Sat morning i brought Spig in cos she looked a bit cold, but she doesn't like it inside, so after an hour, as shee looked ok i put her out again. At 5pm i decided to have them both in for the night so i caught spig & put her in my son's bedroom in a laundry basket with some blankets. 1/2 hr later got Radish & put her with spig. checked them every hr or so and as they were settled i left them. at about 8pm i made an area in the kitchen to put them overnight and went to get them and spig had got out the basket and was lying next to it. she was concious but very floppy and i knew it was very bad. basically i called the vet for advice, but she 1/2 hr later she had a couple of fits and died in my daughter's arms. so sad.

what i should have known/done:

they were going thru loads of food in the cold weather, but Fri/Sat not so much. obvious really that 1 wasn't eating (although Fri morning Spig was grazing & nibbling high shoots OK, standing on back legs)

i could actually catch Spig...which is very unusual.

should've checked her more thoroughly when she was in.

should've kept her in Sat during the day

things can go very bad very quick. just cos everything's been ok before doesn't mean it will will continue

rabbits don't always know what's best for them.


Going thru the pics is a bitter/sweet experience but at least they remind me of the happy times she had.
At present i'm wondering how Radish is feeling about being on her own. I've no idea of course, but nevertheless, i'm a bit sad for her. They spent a lot of time apart, but as you can see from the pics, they did seem to enjoy each other's company.

Gonna take Radish to the vets today for a checkup & advice on spaying.

beautiful pictures i'm sorry to hear about spig - hindsight eh don't be too hard on yourself.

i hope radish gets on ok at the check up

Thanks .

Radish is booked in for 6pm so i got all day to try and catch her. (If she goes down a burrow, it's a 1/2hr wait again! - i don't like to block up burrows just in case they get to think they can't rely on them in a possible emergency)

She's more than a little overweight i know (the pics are not from the last year), not hugely but she's gonna go on a diet now that Spig's gone....permanant hay, but pellets limited now. Plus the usual carrot tops, parsley, sprout tops etc

Hopefully i can get her a bit tamer as well

a little note on burrowing....i was surprised to see that most actual digging is done with the teeth to actually loosen the soil to make the hole.....front paws used to start the hole off, then mainly used to move loose soil towards the back paws, and the bunny also shuffles back out the hole and uses the front paws to move the soil back with it. Back paws of course used to fling soil straight out! They love it! and it keeps their teeth & nails short, and keeps them fit.

They are lovely photos They had so much space to run around. Sorry Spig has gone but it sounds like she had a very happy life with lots to do.

just got back from the vets. she weighs 3.7kg (a bit overweight) but otherwise seems ok. She had her mixy injection & i'm considering spaying. Apparently 80% chance of problems if not, but the op is risky, especially with an older rabbit.
I'm still not decided but she needs to lose some weight before the op so i've got at least 3 or 4 months to think about it i suppose.

They are gorgeous!

The dark one (Spig?) is the absolute double of my Blossom sooo gorgeous!