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Charliesangel

Warren Veteran
What is your bunny routine???? What time do they come out to play? What time do they eat? Do they do anything silly? The more detail the better your routine will be :D
I know there have been a few posts like this before, but I just love hearing the stories about what you do everyday!!!

The idea for this thread came from this. It is SO cute, its a must read!! :D

What It's Like At My House
Mary Alexander
Alabama EARS volunteer
Story Editor: Laura L. Barnes

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared in the Alabama
EARS newsletter. For more information about Alabama EARS, visit
http://www.alabamaears.org/. For those who don't know what a
binky is, see
http://www.paperglyphs.com/rabbits/rabbittalk_binkies.html
for a definition and descriptive video.

Most people are surprised when they find out I have house
rabbits. "You've got to be kidding!" is usually the standard
reply. Followed by, "They actually use a litter box? Like
a cat?"

The Easter holidays presented many opportunities for me to
talk to people about having house rabbits as pets. After
getting over the shocking revelation that bunnies can and
will use a litter box, many people wanted to know what they
are really like as a pet. The common perception is of a
bunny sitting in a cage, nose twitching. You feed him a
carrot, scratch his ears, close the cage door, and move on.
But rabbits can be as fun, interactive, and entertaining as
any dog or cat you've ever known. All you have to do is
bring them inside and spend some time with them. A friend
asked me, "What's it really like at your house?"
So I told him.

I usually get up at 6:30am, and there's no need to set the
alarm. Sophie, my three year old dwarf black and silver
female, will rattle the door to wake me if I'm not up by
7:00 am. She and JJ, her 5 year old, chocolate brown,
dwarf male companion, have their own bedroom, next door
to mine. Answering my "wake up call," I'm greeted with
some nudges, perhaps a few tugs on my socks or pajamas,
before we venture to the kitchen. While I start the coffee,
JJ and Sophie dance in the kitchen doorway, waiting for a
slice of banana. Then I take my coffee, and sit on the
stairway, with a clear view of the living and dining rooms,
and "let the games begin."

Each of my bunnies has their own morning routine. Sophie
prefers to run wide open, making a figure eight pattern around
the dining room table and through the living room. This is
punctuated with sideways binkys and "cannonballs" when she
explodes out of her cardboard tunnel. She frequently kicks
out while binkying, effecting a 360 turn that completely
disorients her. After a few figure eights, she comes,
still running wide open, to sit by me on the stairs.
There, she "presents" for her morning petting session.

JJ's routine is slightly more subdued. He hops along at a
slow pace, slows to a stop, and then calmly pops straight up
into the air. He loves to get behind the living room chair,
and run as quickly as he can to the armoire and back. This
is only about a 5-foot space, so he frequently crashes into
the wall before finishing his morning work out. Then JJ,
followed closely by Sophie, return to their room for their
breakfast of pellets. Since rabbits mostly sleep during
the day, both JJ and Sophie begin a grooming session before
settling under the bed for rest time. Sometimes Sophie feels
the need to pitch in and help me with my own morning routine.
She'll come hopping into the bathroom, nudge me on the ankle
(very helpful when applying mascara), and beg for a raisin.
At times she helps me with housework by grooming the toilet
or bathroom cabinets before returning to her room.

JJ's territory is under the bed, and he guards it ferociously.
That's the interesting thing about JJ - somehow, somewhere in
the grand scheme of things no one informed him that he's a
three pound, six ounce, cute-as-pie bunny with short stubby
ears. Interred in that little body is the heart and soul of a
Rottweiler, intent on protecting his territory (along with
any broccoli florets and banana slices he can find) from the
evil empire. I tried to explain JJ and his territorial wisdom
to a friend who offered to bunny sit for me: how, when you're
feeding his greens in the evening, when you least expect it,
he'll lunge at you from under the bed and bite you on the
ankle, and run back under the bed to hide. She rolled her
eyes in exasperation and said, "Come on, he's a bunny!
How bad can he be?"

Her conclusion, following the bunny-sitting event, was that
we should all be like JJ. She said, "He did just what you
said – he ran out and bit me. And you know what? I actually
ran from him. He weighs three pounds, and I ran from him.
Which just goes to show you: if something's important to you,
go after it, no matter what. It's all about attitude."

But JJ has his softer side, too. When you pick him up and
cuddle him, he'll close his eyes and purr with contentment.
He loves to help out with my Pilates workout, by being underfoot
and looking for an opportunity to dig or tug on my sleeve,
then he'll take off and binky all the way back to his favorite
chair. During a bad thunderstorm, he'll hide in my lap –
so much for the big, bad Rottweiler!

Most people are surprised to know rabbits can learn tricks.
I taught Sophie to go on piggy-back rides, so she'll crawl
on my back, or shoulder, at every opportunity for her "ride."
I also taught her to sit up on a small stool. It's amazing
what you can teach them with a little patience, repetitiveness,
and a slice of banana or a raisin!

Sophie is as sweet as they come. She never meets a stranger
and goes to great lengths to ensure all guests in my home
are properly groomed and chinned. She even groomed the phone
company repairman, while he was troubleshooting my phone
problems! I'm sure he appreciated her efforts. When I was
sick with the flu, it was Sophie who would come in to check
on me, and give me a nudge and groom me a little.

For all her sweet qualities, there's a devilish side to Sophie.
She's been known to gather all her favorite chew toys and
hide them from JJ. While JJ's territory is under the bed,
Sophie's territory is the bed itself. That's where she naps
during the day. One morning recently, Sophie didn't greet me
at the door. I couldn't find her anywhere, but became
suspicious when the pillow sham began hopping towards me
on the bed. Sure enough, Sophie had crawled inside.

In the evenings after work, I let the bunnies have the run of
the house. My home is bunny proofed – all electrical cords
are covered in plastic tubing, there are cardboard "corners"
taped to tempting furniture pieces, and plenty of bunny
chew toys and cardboard boxes scattered about for entertainment.
Sophie and JJ usually come downstairs around 7 pm. They
each have a favorite spot they go to for their evening
"salads," then they have to explore the house to ensure
nothing has changed since that morning. Usually, Sophie
joins me on the sofa while I watch TV or read. At times
JJ will join us, but often he's too busy dragging around
a basket or toy. Then it's upstairs for bedtime, where
they get a slice of banana and a few more pets before
evenings' end.

That's what it's like at my house. Quite different from
the "bunny in the hutch" scenario, and much more fun.
Yes, it can get messy dealing with hay, litter boxes,
bunny fur, and bunny proofing the house, but they're
well worth the effort. The companionship and entertainment
they provide far surpass any inconveniences. Besides,
how can you top having bunny personal trainers
for Pilates?

So, now that you've read what the routine is at her house, whats yours??

xxx
 
I'll go first :D

A typical weekend for Leah, Blaise, Daisy, and Oliver:

Like the story above, I am woken up by the sounds of chewwing on bars, rattling toys, and a very hungry bunny looking at me :D Thats my Oliver!! I dont even need an alarm clock anymore because if I sleep past 6:30 he'll go nuts!! I usually ignore him until 9:00 though!

I drag myself out of my bed and he gets a very excited look on his little face. I take him out of his cage and we snuggle on my bed.
Then, I put up the fencing around under my bed (if he gets underthere, I'll never see him again :shock: :lol:) and make sure everything else in the room is bunny-proofed. I set up his tunnel and hide outs, and he gets his time out of his cage.

Then its time for the down stairs buns, Blaise and Daisy. I go down and give them their breakfast of pellet, fill water bottles, and clean litter trays.
When I let Daisy out, I work with her on a new trick I am teaching her, to stand up. She gets some snuggles, and then scurries off behind her cage :roll:
When I let Blaise out, I give him pet on the head and run for the door (he is not the nicest bun in the morning :roll: :lol:)

Then its back upstairs to check on Oliver and give him his breakfast. He ignores it because he is too busy running around and chewwing my clothing!!

At around 12:00 I go back up to my room to check on Oliver once again, and I put him away for a rest.

At around 12:00 for Blaise and Daisy I usually take them out in their outdoor runs for a bit of fresh air and some yummy grass on weekends. Aspen'n'Company has his rabbits out in the runs next to mine so we socialize and talk bunnies for about an hour. We admire our babies and talk about the silly things they do, and chat about future plans (cages, runs, food, etc.) We usually eat lunch outside with the buns if it is nice out.

At 1:30-2:00 I bring the buns back inside and put them in their cages. I'll tidy up the bunny room downstairs and then head to the forums :D

Around 5:00 all the buns get their veggies. Oliver is taken out of his cage again when he is done eating and he enjoys time with me. He loves to listen to music so I sit on the floor with him, turn on my stereo, and sing to him :oops: :love:

Then its dinner time for me, when I'm done eating I take a shower, do some work, and return to my room to find Oliver flopped out under my chair. I snuggle him a bit more and then put him back in his cage for bed.
At this time I usually turn off my lights and watch a movie in bed with my dog.

At around 10:30-11:30 I get up for the last time, go downstairs to turn the lights off in the bunny room downstairs. I give Blaise and Daisy a snack, and click the door shut.

I head up to my room again, give Oliver a nose rub, call my dog onto my bed, turn off the t.v, and go to sleep :D :D

Most weekends I dont go out and I enjoy my bunny routines :D I do nothig but relax, and spend time with my babies :D Its what I love to do :D

xxx
 
I don't have a routine - I muddle along depending on the lousy and ever-changing weather :roll:

I feed all the bunnies their pellets in a minute, around 9am - then let Maa out if it's fine, half an hour then shut her in with fresh hay - then it's the girls turn, then Benny, then Tia. Only Tia really needs me there with her on the patio, so I leave the kitchen door open and 'supervise' the others whilst doing other chores like piggies bottles and food dishes, tidying up etc.

Then I start cleaning piggies, which goes on for ever :roll: I can only do about 4 cages a day, so just do whichever ones are next on the rota. Cleaning out the bunnies is twice a week, on a day when I've done all the piggies - so that's 6 days full-time work :shock:

And the housework just never gets done till it's desperate - our hutch is in right state most of the time :lol:

Then at 4.30 I let the rabbits out on the garden in rota, if it's dry, for an hour each - shut them up with their veggies and it's nearly dark by the time the girls go in - In winter they just have a morning run on the patio for longer.

And somehow I have to fit in a shopping trip to buy veg for them all too - that's a long walk into the bottom of the village and back up the hill...And my son is always yelling for me too - he's home educated.

I give all the rabbits their tsp of pellets and fresh hay for supper about 10pm, then cover the hutches, takes about 40mins all together - Then the piggies get their fresh hay, all is quiet except the sound of happy munching - lights off at 11pm, get my son to bed - He refuses to go to bed till I'm done :roll: He has to be reminded of everything as he's got Aspergers....

I guess I cook dinner while some rabbit or other on the grass is being 'supervised' through the kitchen door - we just eat whenever I get around to cooking...I'm worn out! :(
 
Work days.

Get up at 7 and feed buns (pellets bit of carrot and green pepper or something)

Have shower and eat brekkie and do makeup in the garden so buns can have run about for about 30 mins before i leave for work.

clean litter trays and tidy hutch and run.

Put them back in.

Come home at 6ish. let buns out in garden for about 1-2 hours put them back. Have my dinner.

10.30-11.00ish let them out in the garden again while i put their food and veg in change litter tray and change toys around. Put buns to bed and they tuck in to their grub!!!! cover them up for the night...then i go to bed.

Weekend ..similar routine but they get let out free range in garden for hours!
 
The routine at mine is this:

Weekday:
8:30am Get up, go into the living room and sort out a morning snack for the bunnies (Miles, Miffy, China and Rocket get 3 Shreddies each, Ben gets parsley), check their hay and water, then I eat my own breakfast!

8:50am O/H and I go to work.

5:40pm I get home from work, I fuss all the bunnies.

6:00pm O/H gets home from work, he fusses all the bunnies!

6:30pm We take Ben for a walk on his harness.

8:00pm We give all the bunnies another big fuss. By this point they start playing, so we play games with them too such as chasing the ball and "tag".

10:00pm Another fuss and play with the bunnies!

12:00am Right before we go to bed, all the bunnies get pellets, fresh water, a broccoli floret, some parsley, a piece of carrot, and a loo roll tube stuffed with hay. I also clean the litter trays if applicable (every 2-3 days or so).


Weekends are the same but with less work and more fussing!! They get a good grooming and a clean out once a week too. Also at the moment I'm job hunting so spending more time with the bunnies in the week.

AMETHYST
 
how sweet! it's good to know that there are so many of us out there who are doing this routine day to day!

7am up and downstairs to put alarm off.. greeted by two happy little faces hopping around their dog crate, running up and down the ramp "Morning Mammy" ..give them a snuggle before heading upstairs for a bath.

Make up, hair etc

downstairs to change water, add fresh hay and give the little ones brekfast (pellets and veg). When i'm leaning into the dog crate, lilly runs up the ramp and proceeds to jump onto my back and have a little explore..(every morning! she is so sweet) all the while i'm trying not to move incase she falls off! She jumps back in and they eat brekie together.

get dressed and leave for work (quick snuggle before i leave...hence the rabbit fur all over my works clothes! :roll: )

Home around 5.10, the O/H is normally home before me and has the bunnies out and running around in the (bunny proofed) living room. There are cardboard boxes galore, tunnels, ramps, chews you name it spread across the living room floor and much of the night is spent lying on the floor cuddling, playing, brushing, fussing etc with Whispy and Lilly.

They jump up onto the sofa for a look about and to check up on what we are doing. they follow us upstairs and into the utility room generally everywhere!

cage cleaning time.... They lend a hand and throw the dustpan and brush around and check that we are cleaning everything to their standards. With fresh litter and more hay they jump in for a toilet break and a munch then back out a play before 10.30 pm bedtime!

weekends are much the same but now that the weather is picking up we are taking them out into the garden and they love it. it's great watching them run around on the grass. Whispy gets a look on his face as if to say "look at me go"!!

i love my rabbit mammy routine and wouldn't want it any other way!!! :D
 
Hi, my name is Jack and I'm a gorgeous dutch bunny and I live with my bunny mummy (J) and daddy (M) and my new girlfriend Milly in the dining/kitchen room.

On a morning J leaves the house at 8.15 for work and I always make sure I get a nose rub before she goes. A bit later M comes down for breakfast, feeds us fresh hay and water and plays with me. If we are good we get some treats - banana, apple or basil. Milly is very shy and tends to sit under the dining room table until J and M have gone.

Milly and I spend the day snoozing under the dining room table until J gets home at 5.45 - sometimes M comes home to but most evenings he's at work. J will come and make a fuss of us and give us treats and then start making her own dinner. If I jump up on one of the chairs I can reach the kitchen worktop and I peer over and beg for treats - I usually get whatever veggies she is chopping up ... Milly usually manages to steal them from me so I have to go back for more. She's fast that Milly!!

Before Milly arrived i would be whereever J was on an evening - either in the study or living room. Now apart from going out to help water the plants and trim the garden I have to stay with Milly in the dining room.

The garden is full of nice things to eat like parsley, Basil, Geraniums and yummy grass and lots of plant pots to run round. As soon as Milly is tame enough she will be allowed to join me.

On an evening J spends a lot of time in the kitchen with us. At 10pm its our dinner time and my favourite part of the day. For our first course we have pellets and then veggies. I used to eat out of a bowl but what with Milly being so shy about being with J and M, J now fills the palms of her hands with pellets and we eat from them. J did try to give me mine from a bowl but why shouldn't I get the same treatment as Milly!!

After dinner I have a lay down with Milly for a bit of snuggle time and J strokes me. Milly is to shy to be stroked but will now lie next to me and J. She doesn't know what she's missing! After a nap I then go a bit mad and race round the room like a looney! Its so much fun to jump over J and if I accidently land on her head it isn't my fault I sometimes mis-judge distances!

I can't wait until Milly is braver and she can play out with me and explore the living room as I miss my tubes and toys in there. J is going to buy some new toys for us though which I am very excited about.

So thats my day, thanks for reading!
 
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