Moonstone
Warren Scout
A few days I went to see an animal communicator (someone who communicates with animals telepathically). I wanted to move Archie and Millie out into the garden, into her former home, but bonding them has often been one step forward and two back. It was a bit of a last resort really, but it was compellingly accurate and my bunnies have been much happier since. You might have to walk on by this thread if this seems nutty to you but I wanted to write about it in case it could help some of you too. I’d never met the animal communicator before, she didn’t meet the rabbits, she just worked from a photo of them. She mainly did the talking, I just added or explained things sometimes.
Archie came through to talk first because he’s the boss and the first thing he said was “I’m not cute and I’m not fluffy”. Guilty as charged! I’m always calling him my cute, fluffy boy, I knew that in his own head he was more mature and dignified than that but I didn’t think he could hear me! He explained that he is a dominant buck and his breeding gives him authority and power.
He also said that he is not a bad tempered rabbit. The vet suggested to me that he was bad tempered and I refuted it. I think it’s because he put up a fight when they were trying to take a blood sample but I don’t blame him for that. I haven’t experienced him as being aggressive, just very humpy to the point of driving Millie half mad.
He said Millie had been telling him off for chasing and humping her so much. He said she means the world to him but as a male it’s in his nature to dominate her. He has what the communicator called ‘species memory’ and said in the wild he would have more than one lady bunny and it’s because he only has Millie that he overwhelms her. He said sometimes he lets her hop away because he knows it’s too much (I’ve seen him do this).
He described kicking, or moving with his head, a wooden thing in a corner to make a lot of noise. They had a little wooden house and a batten was missing from the roof meaning that he could move and remove the roof. He banged it loudly, particularly in the mornings and knocked it off so many times that I removed it entirely because I was afraid he would hurt himself or Millie. He said he wanted to explain it to me. He had been using it to make a loud banging noise because he needed to tell any other rabbits in the area that this burrow was taken, that it was run by an alpha male and they should stay away. He also described falling over backwards and hitting his head which he’d done a few days before (I’d witnessed it), he said it wasn’t serious, it just hurt.
He said he waits for me to come home. During the day a lot of noises frighten him and he gets tense in his neck, stomach and across the shoulders. When I come home I make it better and I make him feel important which he likes. He loves me stroking him and fiddling with his fur, it takes away his worries. He said I’m so calm and compassionate, I’m like an angel to him. He said that I love them both unconditionally and that’s how angels love. I was so moved by this. I think it’s true of many of you on this forum as well, I’ve read so many posts on here of people loving bunnies beyond unwelcome behaviour or an apparent inability to love you back.
Archie said that while I’m stroking him he is telling me all about his day. So that’s why his teeth are moving?! I asked why he sometimes didn’t want me to stroke his head and he said that when he’s telling me about his day he doesn’t want his head stroked because it makes him feel that I’m not listening (I’m not, I can’t understand a word of it!).
He said one of his front teeth feels a bit under pressure and he’d like more to chew on. And that his skin is sometimes ichy. Generally he is in very good health. He also mentioned that he likes the little biscuits I give him (they are fenugreek crunchies). He said not to give them too much dried food.
Most of what he said to me was about noise and about the atmosphere/vibes he senses around him. The animal communicator is used to working with horses, cats and dogs and at first she thought the things he was describing were very near. He made it sound as though the front door opens onto the pavement for example, but then she said she thinks it’s because he and Millie are so sensitive, everything seems nearer and more threatening to them than it does to us.
He described people going by in the street (that he can’t possibly have seen). An old lady with a shopping trolley on wheels that make a horrible noise. Teenage boys being aggressive to each other. Neighbours bickering about a hose. He said traffic fumes were coming under the door, they are very strong and horrible, he feels poisoned by them. I live in a village without much traffic, there’s more a peek times but still not much, they aren’t stationary.
There were lots of noises that were bothering them. He described rain on the roof as being unbearable (it is very loud in the conservatory, next door to the room they were in). We have a garden gate on a spring that people just leave to bang shut and they hate that too, the vibration travels through the floor. They also don’t like people eating crisps, someone snoring (that’s my husband, I can’t stand it either!), traffic noise, footsteps... he said in a burrow you wouldn’t have to hear any of that. Noises make him feel unsafe.
He is very much aware of other animals in the vicinity. Cats and dogs (the dogs are the other side of a field), he says he knows that they are little and other species don’t think they really count. They make him feel he and Millie are vulnerable.
He doesn’t like the dampness on the floor by the water bottle, and he said “I want heat”. And he doesn’t like me arranging hay in the litter tray because they are perfectly capable of doing that themselves.
I have to go and feed them now but I will tell you what Mille said later...
Archie came through to talk first because he’s the boss and the first thing he said was “I’m not cute and I’m not fluffy”. Guilty as charged! I’m always calling him my cute, fluffy boy, I knew that in his own head he was more mature and dignified than that but I didn’t think he could hear me! He explained that he is a dominant buck and his breeding gives him authority and power.
He also said that he is not a bad tempered rabbit. The vet suggested to me that he was bad tempered and I refuted it. I think it’s because he put up a fight when they were trying to take a blood sample but I don’t blame him for that. I haven’t experienced him as being aggressive, just very humpy to the point of driving Millie half mad.
He said Millie had been telling him off for chasing and humping her so much. He said she means the world to him but as a male it’s in his nature to dominate her. He has what the communicator called ‘species memory’ and said in the wild he would have more than one lady bunny and it’s because he only has Millie that he overwhelms her. He said sometimes he lets her hop away because he knows it’s too much (I’ve seen him do this).
He described kicking, or moving with his head, a wooden thing in a corner to make a lot of noise. They had a little wooden house and a batten was missing from the roof meaning that he could move and remove the roof. He banged it loudly, particularly in the mornings and knocked it off so many times that I removed it entirely because I was afraid he would hurt himself or Millie. He said he wanted to explain it to me. He had been using it to make a loud banging noise because he needed to tell any other rabbits in the area that this burrow was taken, that it was run by an alpha male and they should stay away. He also described falling over backwards and hitting his head which he’d done a few days before (I’d witnessed it), he said it wasn’t serious, it just hurt.
He said he waits for me to come home. During the day a lot of noises frighten him and he gets tense in his neck, stomach and across the shoulders. When I come home I make it better and I make him feel important which he likes. He loves me stroking him and fiddling with his fur, it takes away his worries. He said I’m so calm and compassionate, I’m like an angel to him. He said that I love them both unconditionally and that’s how angels love. I was so moved by this. I think it’s true of many of you on this forum as well, I’ve read so many posts on here of people loving bunnies beyond unwelcome behaviour or an apparent inability to love you back.
Archie said that while I’m stroking him he is telling me all about his day. So that’s why his teeth are moving?! I asked why he sometimes didn’t want me to stroke his head and he said that when he’s telling me about his day he doesn’t want his head stroked because it makes him feel that I’m not listening (I’m not, I can’t understand a word of it!).
He said one of his front teeth feels a bit under pressure and he’d like more to chew on. And that his skin is sometimes ichy. Generally he is in very good health. He also mentioned that he likes the little biscuits I give him (they are fenugreek crunchies). He said not to give them too much dried food.
Most of what he said to me was about noise and about the atmosphere/vibes he senses around him. The animal communicator is used to working with horses, cats and dogs and at first she thought the things he was describing were very near. He made it sound as though the front door opens onto the pavement for example, but then she said she thinks it’s because he and Millie are so sensitive, everything seems nearer and more threatening to them than it does to us.
He described people going by in the street (that he can’t possibly have seen). An old lady with a shopping trolley on wheels that make a horrible noise. Teenage boys being aggressive to each other. Neighbours bickering about a hose. He said traffic fumes were coming under the door, they are very strong and horrible, he feels poisoned by them. I live in a village without much traffic, there’s more a peek times but still not much, they aren’t stationary.
There were lots of noises that were bothering them. He described rain on the roof as being unbearable (it is very loud in the conservatory, next door to the room they were in). We have a garden gate on a spring that people just leave to bang shut and they hate that too, the vibration travels through the floor. They also don’t like people eating crisps, someone snoring (that’s my husband, I can’t stand it either!), traffic noise, footsteps... he said in a burrow you wouldn’t have to hear any of that. Noises make him feel unsafe.
He is very much aware of other animals in the vicinity. Cats and dogs (the dogs are the other side of a field), he says he knows that they are little and other species don’t think they really count. They make him feel he and Millie are vulnerable.
He doesn’t like the dampness on the floor by the water bottle, and he said “I want heat”. And he doesn’t like me arranging hay in the litter tray because they are perfectly capable of doing that themselves.
I have to go and feed them now but I will tell you what Mille said later...
Any ideas?
