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.

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....

Goodbye Mr Chips

Sad news I'm afraid. On Sunday afternoon we decided it was time to take Mr Chips to the vet to be put to sleep. He had been steadily deteriorating over the last few weeks, finding it more and more difficult to hop and balance while scratching. On Sunday morning he was a bit stiff, I picked him up and checked him over, the mass across him chest was very hard and large. By the afternoon he could not stand or roll over, I knew it was time. I cried and cried. Mr Fink arranged the vet and off we went. The vet was very kind and allowed me to hold MR Chips while she gave the injection, she agreed he didn't have much time left and that it would be kinder to end his life at that time rather that let him get into breathing difficulties later. the injection was given and Mr Chips slipped away so gently I couldn't tell when he stopped breathing.

I will miss him as will the other Finks. We have yet to see if this has an effect on Billie.

It's Official - Summer is Here

The Finks had their first BBQ of the season yesterday - AND IT DIDN'T RAIN! So that means Ched is the 'rain bringer' and not Mr Fink's BBQ!

Mr and Mrs Hammer came over and we enjoyed lamb burgers, chicken kebabs and snorkers all cooked by Mr Fink.

Little Fink and Marsha engaged in some bunny training and had the rabbits show jumping!

We rounded off the night with an impromptu "Name That Tune" which Mr Hammer was very good at, especially the film themes.

Today we have Nanny and Shouty Grandad round for dinner. Enjoy

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.

Fingers Crossed

This is Billie, say hello to Billie, she was left in a box on a rabbit owners doorstep in a nearby town. Billie will be coming to join the Fink family after our holiday. I'll be trying to introduce her to Mr Chips over the 3 weeks of the Summer Hols. "How did this come about?" I hear you ask.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeell. As you know, after the Blue Cross fiasco of finding a friend for Mr Chips I kept looking through the Tinternet and came across Agatha's Annex. A lady who lives not far from me who has been rescuing rabbits for a number of years. I contacted her, visited her and had a lovely afternoon surrounded by bunnies and guinea pigs. Agatha even showed me how to groom Mr Chips. what a lovely lady (and her hubby too!). Unfortunately circumstances were such that there mere no suitable companions available for Mr Chips there.

The next evening as i was doing my usual 'bum-check' on RabbitFink, I found fly eggs, the first stage of Flystrike' which is a serious/fatal disease for rabbits, where a fly is attracted to a rabbit because it is dirty for whatever reason and lays its eggs on the rabbit, near its behind, after as little as 12 hours, the eggs hatch and the infant maggots start eating the rabbit. Needless to say it is a distressing and terrible death for a rabbit. I have always prided myself on the fact that my rabbit was clean and well cared for, so it just goes to show, it can happen to anyone. With the help of Mr Fink, I removed all the eggs, cutting away some of Mr Chips' fur to make sure they were all gone. Mr Fink phoned our vet and was told the fee would be £105 as it was after hours - that was just to open the doors, we would have to pay the consultation fee etc. on top. Well, I was certain Mr Chips was now out of danger, so I left the visit till the morning. the vet kept Mr chips in, shaved his tail and bum (the rabbit's, not the vet's) and painted him with a medicine called, "Rearguard" to protect him from flystrike for the next 8 weeks. All to the tune of £80. Now you know me, I love my animals but why do I always feel ripped off by this Vets? On the itemised bill it showed the medicine cost £15. That's why.

Rant over.

The lady who has Billie contacted Agatha to try and find Billie a home as Billie doesn't get on with her 2 rabbits (they have the most beautiful Beagle there too - i fell in love with him!), so Agatha told me about her.

So cross your fingers that Billie and Mr Chips like each other!!

There will be no posts for 2 weeks as I am on holiday in Weymouth. Do you remember, years ago when the daily newspapers used to offer a £5 prize to anyone who could quote the phrase of the day to Chalky White carrying the newspaper? (The Sun or The Mirror I think). Well, if you spot me, Mrs Fink, in the next 2 weeks, and you say, "My word Mrs Fink, you are looking slim and gorgeous." I will reward you with a big smile and a firm handshake!

No rain dances now - we're camping!

You've Been Framed!

I sent this video of Rabbitfink playing with his pots to "You've Been Framed!"
Do you think they will pay up?

Mr Chips the recluse

I must be utterly mad.
One line on a rabbit welfare leaflet said, "Rabbits are social animals and for them to be truly happy, should be kept in groups or at least pairs, never singly."
Vet check up = £60
Skin mite treatment = £10
Further checkup prior to neutering = £20
Neuter rabbit = £80
Myxy jab = £20
Larger Hutch £35

All for nothing. I took Mr Chips to the local Blue Cross (much more approachable and sensible than our local RSPCA) to meet his potential friend, Millie today. (I took the afternoon off work - my boss said it was the most bizarre reason for someone having time off - bunny bonding).
This was the second time he met her. The first was on Saturday. Neither meeting went well. Millie was overbearing and territorial (who does that remind you of?) despite us trying 3 different, neutral locations for the meeting and Mr Chips just lay down, desperately trying to become a blade of grass. Alas he is to spend the rest of his life alone. Never mind, i suppose there is a lot to be said for one's own company?

Bunny Buddies

I have been reading up on how to keep a happy bunny. As you may know, we acquired a big black rabbit from Freecycle in Nov 2006. We were allowed, by Mr Fink, to have a rabbit one one condition - that it was not kept in a cage - Mr Fink does not like animals in cages.

So Mr Chips, the big black bunny lives his life freerange on our garden. He has eaten all the flowers and manages to keep the lawn grass short (but not under the climbing frame for some reason??).

According to the Rabbit Welfare Society, one of the most important things a rabbit needs for his wellbeing and mental health is a companion. Rabbits are social creatures and not made for solitude. Many people put a guinea pig with a bunny for company but this is not idea for reasons of health (guinea pigs need daily vitimin C, rabbits do not) and safety - the bunny might just get 'too friendly' with the guinea pig and do it an injury. So, being a responsible bunny owner, I have been reading up on what I need to do to get Mr Chips a pal.

According to the leaflet - and this is all true - the bunnies need to be neutered and to meet on neutral ground, the leaflet suggests placing both rabbits in a confined space which has neither rabbits smell on. They suggest the bathtub. (the regular followers of this blog will remember - as will BigMac! that we had the bath removed last Summer). They also suggest that when the bunnies are used to each others company, to get them to bond, they should be placed together in a situation of mild peril! The leaflet suggest placing both rabbits in a carrier and taking them for a drive in the car. The unfamiliar surrounds, noise and motion will encourage the rabbits to huddle together for mutual comfort and bond as buddies for ever. Imagine the scene, me driving round in a bright green car, rabbits in a box in the back, stopped by the Police, "Good Evening madam, might I enquire as to your business being out on a night like this?". I can see him getting the straight jacket out of the car as I reply, "Do you mind officer, I'm in the middle of the delicate process of 'bunny-bonding."

The officer will say, "I thought she made a New Year's resolution to be more sensible this year." As they lock me up and throw away the key.

It's Official, "It's a Boy".

Not the cow in the picture - that's a girl (having said that, the next time the Dairylea cows are on the TV, check them out, they have boy's voices and girl's 'bits' as do the Cravendale cows?? wierd??)
I've just come back from the vet, well not me, Mr Chips the Freecycle-freerange bunny. He has had his check up - all good. We found out that he is a boy, but not how old he is.
Isn't it funny how you never hear of a poor dentist or vet? Isn't it funny how the vet never says, "There is nothing at all wrong with your pet, there is nothing I can give him that he needs."
When I used to take Harry, our huge, male, black, British Shorthair cat to the Spanish vet, she would charm him by saying - in her Spanish accent, "Hhhhello Hhharry, you are soooo hhhandsome." he would go all gooey and roll on his back for her and show off his tummy, putty in her hands.
Mr Chips the rabbit (also black but bleached to marbled brown in the sun) saw a male Spanish vet but was not wooed like Harry. Mr Chips was well behaved though. The vet gave Mr Chips an injection to combat skin mites?????? When I went to pay (£60 in all, with the prospect of a return visit in 2 weeks - I don't think) the receptionist said, "The vet has accidentally charged you for 2ml of injection when it should only be 1ml, I've charged the original amount back and corrected it." "Thank you." quoth I. How much do you reckon I saved? £10? £5? .... nine pence. NINE PENCE. How can that be right?
As I go on in life I get more and more fed up with EVERYONE (shops, councils, governments, services etc.) wanting their pound of flesh. Why does everything have to cost the earth? Even the free car park at Gadebridge - this week they have put up a sign saying "Car Park free at all times, persons found parking on the grass will face a fixed penalty notice of £60" How long that space will remain free is anybodies guess. You pay to park, you pay to use a trolley (ok so you get the pound back at ASDA), in some shops you even have to pay to shop there (Matalan - and no, I didn't go back) you can't turn round without having to put your hand in your pocket. OK rant over - we do manage to do some things for free, walks in the park or down the canal and trips to the old fashioned seaside (no arcades or amusements if I have a choice). Oh well back to the 12 hour days and second job just to pay for the holiday!

RabbitFink Pie for Tea

Ah the poor bunny, after the torrential rain (and snow) we had at the weekend, I was feeling sorry for RabbitFink, he was absolutely soaking this morning when I went out to feed him. I resolved to make some dry places in the garden to make life a bit more comfortable for him.
RabbitFink came to us a year ago from Freecycle (the recycling website) and has caused grief pain and amusement ever since.
He is very territorial, chases the cats out of the garden, bites your trousers and has even started 'spraying' Little Fink when she goes outside.
Tonight I set to, took the old damaged tarp off the hutch/run and rummaged about in the shed for something more suitable. I found a gazebo with I inherited from KT Wong when she emigrated. (There seems to be some corner fittings missing and the cover was still sealed in its bag, so I'm not sure what KT Wong used the bits for?) So I covered the hutch, tied it all down and made it cosy. It is bombing down with rain by this time, I'm totally wet through. The rabbit is driving me nuts running in and out of my feet, chewing the string and the gazebo cover.
I decide to use the old tarp to cover the bench to provide some more shelter for BunnyFink, tied that all off. Perfect.
I come inside to get some greens, when I return, BunnyFink is sitting under the bench - not in the dry..but right under a drip from the tarp. If it is possible, he is wetter than ever. I give up - rabbit pie anyone?

Tale of Two Hamsters (and a rabbit)

Last year The Finks and 2 other families went on our annual camping holiday to Weymouth. Before we left we had to arrange the care for our pets, 'Bunnyfink', Harry the black cat, Badger the black and white cat and a large tank full of tropical fish.


Our kind neighbour (who was worn out from decorating her hall, stairs and landing and laying a new carpet) stepped in and agreed to feed and water them, with strict instructions NOT to phone us if anything died or got run over!


The day before we were due to go, Mrs Glum (matriarch of one of the camping families) realised there was noone available to feed the Glum family hamster.


"Don't worry," I said, "bring the cage round and I'm sure our neighbour won't mind feeding one more animal." (Famous last words)


We had been on holiday for about 5 days when our neighbour phoned me,


"I'm so sorry, the hamster cage wasn't shut properly and the hamster got out, I think the cat's must have eaten it. I am so sorry, I've been out and bought another one" explained the neighbour.


I explained that (and I don't mean to be gruesome but this is what cats are like) if there were no remains of the hamster at all (feet, blood etc.) then the hamster would still be alive and hiding in the house somewhere - just watch the cats and if you see one pointing at the space under the sideboard with a knife and fork - you know where the hamster is!


Anyway a day passed, the neighbour and her family apparently found the hamster, coaxed/poked it out from under the sideboard, but were now stuck. They couldn't put it in the cage because the new hamster was in there and she didn't want them to fight/mate, so she put it in the cardboard box the 'new' hamster had come in and took it home.

In the meantime, our other neighbour (owner of 2 Staffordshire Terriers) had contacted the pet-sitting neighbour to say, when she got home from work - prior to letting the dogs out, she had found our rabbit had dug a hole under the fence and was in her garden eating the flowers, so, because she had nothing else to contain it while the dogs came out, she put it in an empty dustbin!
The pet sitting neighbour retrieved the rabbit, locked it in the hutch and blocked up all the holes.

During the night, the hamster chewed its way out of the box, onto the new carpet and chewed that too. ARGH! The hamster spent the next few hours of its life in a plastic bucket.

The next day she took the new hamster back to the pet shop, reinstated the old one back in its cage, fed the cats and fish and went for a lie down.

When we returned she was treated, not to the usual Weymouth fudge, but a couple of bottles of decent Dorset cider. She is a brave lady and nothing fazes her!

The Gas Man Cometh - Aug 2007

I wanna tell you a story. If you're sitting comfortably, I'll begin.

One day, in July, our boiler broke down at 'Chez Fink'. It started to make a terrible banging noise and Mr Fink turned it all off and called the plumber - who shall be known as 'Steve'. (Smashing chap).
Steve came round and swtiched the boiler on, it dutifully started banging alarmingly, so much in fact that Steve said, "Bloody Hell, it's not meant to sound like that" and promptly turned it off and told us not to switch it on again.
Mr Fink arranged for Steve to come to 'Chez Fink' while we were on holiday in Devon and replace the radiators and boiler.
Coincidentally during this time the gas board were digging up the path in front of our house (remember this, it's important later).

Steve phoned during the week to report all was going well, apart from our free-range rabbit 'Bunnyfink' biting his trousers as he was coming up the path, and that he should be finished before we got home.

While we were finishing our al fresco breakfast in sunny Devon on the last day of our holiday, Steve phoned to say, "I have some good news and some bad news". It turned out the good news was that all the radiators and boiler had been installed and they had tidied up. The bad news was, the gas board had cut us off. When Steve said, they had cut us off, he really meant it. They had disconnected our house from the gas main, replaced the main and forgotten to reconnect us, they had filled in the hole and tarmac'ed over the top. This meant that the boiler could not be commissioned as it could not be tested.

We arrived home from holiday and admired our spanky new rads and boiler and I started making frantic phone calls to get the gas back on because 'Lance' the Corgi registered guy, was going on holiday in 48 hours - not to be seen for 3 weeks and he was the only one qualified to commission the boiler.
I was put through to customer services, they had all gone home, I tried several different ways to get hold of them - to no avail. In the end, Steve suggested I phone the "Oh my god, I can smell gas" line that is printed on the top of my gas bill. I did and got the following response.

Mrs Fink - I need someone to come out and reconnect my gas
Muppet from gas board - I can send out an engineer to see if it is necessary
Mrs Fink - I know it is necessary, I have no gas and no supply, it has been cut off underground and tarmac'ed over. Nothing, nada, neit, zilch, SIN GAS.
Muppet - OK - to get the ball rolling I need to send the engineer and for him to come, I need you to answer a few STANDARD questions
Mrs Fink (loosing the will to live) Oh if you must but it will be a wasted journey.
Muppet - Question one, Can you smell gas?
Mrs Fink (apoplectic by now) SMELL GAS! SMELL GAS! Oh that I could smell gas, therein lies the crux of my problem, I DONT HAVE ANY BLOODY GAS.
You get the idea.

Anyway, the engineer came out - pronounced that there was no gas (- SURPRISE -) (I asked him why - was it because I had not made enough cups of tea for the gang? He said, "No" probably just an oversight, they probably just forgot) and arranged for the gang to return.

The crew duly arrived the next day, dug up the road and reconnected us. I asked the foreman why we had not been reconnected to the main, was it an oversite and a mistake? He said, "Oh no, it's very complicated er, the main at this point er er...." Yeah right mate, YOU FORGOT.

The upshot is, we now have lovely rads and a new boiler. You'd think the story would end there but no - a week or so later we discovered a problem in the pipe layout (under the floors, left by the previous occupant) which meant that the radiators came on everytime the hot water was on. ARGH - Imagine spare room and bathroom with no carpet, no floorboards etc. Mr Fink came up with the bright idea, "Steve, while you're doing that, can you rip out the bath?... we never use it and the space we will gain... (cue the sound of Mrs Fink sobbing gently into her G&T) But that is another story.