Psycho-Billie Rabbit

(this is not my rabbit!)

Today dear friends, I set myself a task. Nanny and I were having a quiet moment in the sun shine in the garden when I had the bright idea that I would brush our rabbit, Billie.

Billie has never been tamed or handled by people. She was found on a lady's doorstep abandoned in a cardboard box. the lady, an experienced rabbit owner could not handle her so she put Billie up for adoption, as luck would have it, I was looking for a friend for my Freecycle bunny, Mr Chips. (A more friendly and loving rabbit you will not find. May he rest in peace.) Billie on the other hand is like a whirling dervish if you try to pick her up. She stamps her feet, lunges forward with claws showing, growls and bares her teeth. the one time I did manage to pick her up, she lifted her back end up over her head and raked me with her powerful back feet.

I took Billie (named after Billie Piper, popular Doctor Who sidekick) home and Mr chips and she fell in love. she, however did not fall in love with us. She's now been with us for 3 years and I have held her only once, a couple of months ago when my rabbit-guru, Agatha, groomed Billie for me.

So today i tricked her into the hutch, picked her up (wearing the thickest jumper i own) and cuddled her close, Nanny got the brush and did the deed. There was fluff EVERYWHERE. I haven't stopped sneezing. Afterwards I tried to make peace with Billie by offering an apple and a cream cracker but she turned her nose up. She did however cave in at the bag full of dandelions a little later.

I surveyed the damage to my skin and Nanny said, "Are you up to date with your tetanus?" cheers mum. I feel lockjaw coming on as I type!

Catch Up!

Well, What a bizarre and busy half term I have had!
MONDAY - came back from a lovely weekend in York.
TUESDAY - household chores, spring cleaning.
WEDNESDAY - spent a lovely afternoon at my friend's house, was looking forward to a curry with a work colleague in the evening but when I arrived, they were just starting on the mints and coffee - Oops - how embarrassing!
THURSDAY - Went to the V&A in London with The Glums, very amusing day, the children were not keen on the museum so by way of a bribe we said we'd go and have a look at Oxford Street and shopping afterwards! Mrs Glum's son, Bambino (son of Bambi) said he would like to visit the Gibson guitar store near Bond Street if possible. So I looked it up on me superduper Myphone, 23, South Molten Street, just round the corner. We looked and looked, number 23 is 'Brown's'. We found a bobby, he said there was no guitar shop in South Molten Street - pah - what did he know? We found 'Gibson & Sons' at 1st floor, 23 South Molten Lane. I rang the intercom and we waited expectantly. No one responded, we tried again. still no answer. I checked the internet again, only to find out it was Gibson & Sons ESTATE AGENTS. Oh how embarrassing - we ran back to Oxford Street. (but if you type 'gibson guitar shop' into Google, it shows that address????)
FRIDAY - Took Billie Psychorabbit to Agatha's Annexe where she was groomed (Billie, not Agatha!) and she behaved perfectly, I even had a little cuddle.
Little Fink and I took the rats and Harry the cat to the vet. He wouldn't go in the cat carrier, kept spreading his arms wide, then sticking his head out so I couldn't shut the door. He yowled, all the way to the vets, becoming more and more insistent - I realised he had done a wee in the box. Oh the smell! We got to the vet's, I tipped the box up on it's end to empty the urine, that wasn't soaked into his coat, into a drain.
The vet diagnosed Harry the cat had fractured his lower jaw requiring it to be wired together for 4 weeks. Poor old boy! Later, dropped Little Fink off at overnight Scout camp - just as the heavens opened, then headed off to The Horn Reborn in St Albans for an 80's tribute band The Nearly New Romantics. FANTASTIC night.
SATURDAY - Made it home by 2.30am (designated driver) and was up again at 7.30am to pick a very muddy, but happy, Little Fink up from Lees Wood in Rickmansworth. Picked up Harry (£80, which I didn't think was bad, considering.)
I think I'll go back to work for a rest!

It's a Holi Holiday

This is the sight that greets me most mornings, Billie The Bunny waiting patiently for her treat. Yes, she is sitting on the skateboard. Stuff like this just seems normal here these days!
Well, we're almost packed and ready to go oop North for our week's holiday. Just the final bits and the packed lunch to sort out. We've invited Little Fink's pal Marsha (my surrogate daughter) to join us this year and the highlight of their trip is to go horseriding down the beach at Silecroft on Thursday. Hopefully it won't rain as hard as it did last year, but if it does - so what. We're not camping so I don't really mind! We'll be collecting Little Fink from Nanny and Shouty Grandad half way up the M6. Not at Sandbach services this time though, at a lay by chosen my Shouty Grandad. Why would he choose the layby instead of the services? I don't know, I can only think he is saving diesel and wear and tear on the camper van by avoiding the extra 16 miles, yes 16 miles, to turn the campervan round on the M6. Who knows?
Anyway, Haverigg here we come!

Day Two of Bunny Wrangling

Thursday I managed to pick Billie up. she struggled a little but Mr Fink was able to get the cream on. Friday was a different story. I had spend the time between finishing work and taking Little Fink to the school school disco, expanding Billies run and cleaning out the hutch, making it all clean and tidy. When I went to pick her up, she ran round and round my feet trying to get away. I finally managed to put my hands round her and she lunged toward them as if to bite me. then every time I put my hands near her she was lunging and boxing her feet at me. I gave up in the end. I'll have to take her to the vet on Monday and ask them to help me put the cream on.

Day 1 of the Bunny Back Rub

Day one of the treatment of Billie. I've been worrying about it all day - what would happen, how would I hold her, at what point would I give up - how would I get her back better if she wouldn't let me hold her?

I need not have worried. This time at least, I shooed her into the hutch, shut the door, lifted the lid and as she cowered in the corner, I picked her out, supported her weight, chatted to her and held her to me. Mr Fink was ready with the cream, administered it while she shivered in my arms.

When he was finished, I placed her back in the hutch and shut the lid, fed her and told her how good she had been. It could not have gone better. Let's hope the good stuff continues....more tomorrow.

The Big Test

I had to take Billie The (Unsociable) Bunny to the vet to get her back end checked out - I noticed it looked a bit dirty as she was bouncing around the garden. Yesterday I took the plunge and cornered her and picked her up. In the 4.9 seconds I had to check her before she bucked free, I saw she had not been cleaning herself. there was no way I could hold her to clean her so off to the vet she must go.

The vet slid her (the rabbit) out of the carrier, she was incredibly well behaved. The vet agreed she needed treating and I left them to it.

I collected her after school and the nurse told me Billie has a 'hot spot' on her back and jumped up when brushed there. I looked and it is red raw. the nurse told me I have to apply steroid cream to it every day. Oh dear. I also saw the Rabbit Guru at the vets and we discussed what I can do to get Billie more friendly. I've even asked her to take Billie on but she has so many rescues at the moment it is not feasible. The Rabbit Guru suggested I confine Billie and not give her the run of the garden for a while, so I have created a run in front of the hutch and she is confined to quarters. This will also make it easier to catch her when I have to apply the cream tomorrow.

Anyone got any body armour? To be continued....

1. Open mouth, 2. Insert foot

Mr Chips and Billie are at the vets, they are being treated to prevent flystrike - a very horrible thing to happen to a rabbit. I check Mr Chips morning and night in the summer. Last year I checked him in the morning, he was fine -in the afternoon, he had fly eggs in the fur round by his bottom. (see "Fingers Crossed" separate blog for the full story). So to prevent all this unpleasentness I put Mr Chips in one box and tricked Billie into the other one. (She has the right name as she was furious to be in the box - Billie Fury???!) She was stamping in the box so hard it shook. i took them to the vet recommended by Agatha (rabbit rescuer) and they (the people at the surgery) were lovely. Mr Chips is to have a lump removed from his side, have a Myxy jab and be treated against flystrike (last year this involved having his bum and tail shaved and goo painted on his bottom - very undignified). Billie will have the Flystrike treatment and have the matted fur on her bib removed - this is from all her digging and having the shortest front legs known to man/rabbit which means she cant clean it properly! They are being kept in overnight so they can have the treatments after Mr Chips' operation.

Mr Fink was talking to his Big Sis on the phone (also a rabbit owner) and describing the flystrike preventative treatment. "The vet shaves their bums and paints it with goo," he explained. "You can get your hubby done for free, Mr Fink is booked in for next week!" I chirped in humorously. (I thought). Big Sis said something to Mr Fink, he relayed, "Do you have the HDVBG (or similar) as well?" I thought we were still talking about hair removal so I said, "What's that? A back, sack and crack wax?" They both heard me and a horrified husband said to his sister, "You're alright, I have to live with her." (She had been talking about another vaccination you can get for rabbits." Oh bruther!

Stalemate at the Battle of Trampo-line

I've just remembered the other bizarre occurrence from today. For the first time I found myself in a battle of wits with my black rabbit, Mr Chips. The trouble is, I think he is winning.

We have a large trampoline in the garden and the rabbits (Mr Chips and Billie) like to dig a hole under it. I have left them pretty much alone as I figure, they are rabbits, therefore they will dig, better under the trampoline where none of us mortal human will fall down the hole and break our ankles. Today however I decided to fight back. Over the weekend they had such a big tunnel going that they suffered a tunnel collapse and the excavated dirt was accumulating on the path, so today Ifound the yard brush and pushed the dirt back into the hole. I didn't realise Mr Chips was still down there. he popped up, turned his back on me and started shovelling muck like nobodies business. As fast as I pushed the mud in the hole, he dug it out, until I got so engrossed that Little Fink came out and thought I was trying to bury him alive in the hole! I cleared the path and gave him a good talking to and went out. He had the last laugh, when I returned a few hours later, the hole was bigger than ever and he was laid out on the grass looking very pleased with himself. Git

Doctor Who returns and so does my cold

Saturday 11th April - put the date in your diary, set your Sky+ and sit back and drink in Dishy Dave. I can't wait!

Anyway, back to more mundane things. Mr Fink kindly shared the briefest most unpleasant cold I've had in ages - thank you. I bought a steamer chair from Ebay ready for the Summer - it better not rain and the rabbits better not chew it.

It's the Easter hols, the children have 2 weeks off school, Little Fink is spending most of it in the camper van with Nanny and Shouty Grandad in Ironbridge and Tewkesbury. I shall be mostly...working, waiting for the dishwasher guy and taking rabbits to the vet. Mr Chips has had lumps and bumps on him for as long as we've had him. Unfortunately, one of the bumps has a nasty crusty appearance so off to the vet he goes. The anti-social anti-christ rabbit, Billie, is as fit as a fiddle but she must go too, to have her flystrike preventative treatment and to have a fur-matt removed from her bib before any nasties get into it. I feel sorry for the vet already - the rabbit is a maniac.

The Quiet Life

Little Fink is off with Nanny and Shouty Grandad in the Camper. She has been given a mobile phone to keep in contact - I knew i should have taken shares in Virginmobile! All is quiet here, I'm getting loads done and having a good clear out. Freecycle is a god send for getting rid of stuff you don't want, cant be bothered to sell but don't want to put in the bin.

The rabbits are fine - i think they are going to be ok, they are sitting together but not at the grooming stage, Mr Chips is still trying to mount Billie all the time but she is now declining his attempts and runs off, she is not aggressive but not putting up with any of his nonsense either! My bunny mentor, Agatha tells me this is a healthy sign and is just Mr Chips showing his dominance and Billie showing her submissiveness. All good there then. The next step is getting her to tolerate my presence. I think I may have to sit in the run for an hour or something!

I've been uploading our family snaps onto Flickr while I have some free time. I've done 2000, 2001 and 2002! Isn't it lovely to look back to when the children were little? So sweet.

I think I'll go to the gym again today. Just need to work out a program of exercise - cant find anything detailed enough on the web?? I've cracked smoking, I've cracked drinking, now for the weight loss. Look out gym, here I come.

New arrival Part 2

This is Billie the Bunny. She is a young doe who was unwanted and taken in by a fellow bunnyphile who could not keep her.

We collected her on Sunday. this will be her diary.

Day 1 - Sunday - Collected Billie and transferred her into Mr Chips' hutch/run combo. she was shaky but soon started to eat and look around. Left her completely alone for 24hrs.

Day 2 - Monday - Needed to get her into a run on grass for the day but when I approached her she stamped her feet and boxed her paws at me. Managed to usher her into the bunny carrier and transport her into the run without touching her. This is going to be fun. I can't keep a rabbit i can't pick up - you have to check them healthwise, everyday. I had a chat with Billie and said she had to buck (no pun intended) her ideas up or ship out! Mr Chips seems very keen but polite. laying next to her run, cleaning himself, nose to nose contact. I got Billie back into the hutch by the bunny carrier to save stressing her out.

Day 3 - Tuesday - I offered up the bunny carrier to Billie, she hopped in, transferred her to the run, no problems. I hand fed her cabbage while making little clicking noises, so she will associate, my smell, the noise and the food with good things. She still will not tolerate being touched yet. Mr Chips still interested. I'm off to purchase a larger run today, so I can get on with their introductions too. The current run is not large enough to let them get away from each other should they choose to. I'm getting lots of help and support from Agatha, the local bunny rescue lady. She is so knowledgeable and kind.