Friday, March 21, 2008

Bunny Facts

Rabbit Resting in Yard
It's Easter -- a perfect time to learn some fun facts about rabbits:

The female rabbit can conceive a second litter while pregnant with the first. That's pretty amazing, but not an ability I'd be particularly keen on sharing.

Rabbits can see behind them without turning their heads. Interestingly, my daughter believes I can do this.

Rabbits have one of five different eye colours -- brown, blue-gray, blue, marbled or pink. I've always found those pink eyes a little freaky.

Bunnies are weaned at eight weeks. Remember when I discovered that tennis ball-sized bunny in the yard last summer? Apparently, he'd already been kicked out of the nest and was on his own.

Rabbits can suffer from heat stroke. It was a very hot day when I took the above picture of the rabbit in my yard. Since it's unusual for them to be out in the middle of the day, I figure he was probably cooling off in the shade of the cedars.

Good news -- rabbit droppings make excellent garden fertilizer. This means that not only will my gardens flourish this summer, but I'll be able to make money selling the poop the bunny has left in my yard.

Domestic rabbits can live 8 - 12 years, so if you're thinking about buying a bunny this Easter, you're in for the long haul.

14 comments:

NuclearToast said...

Hmmm, I read your whole list, and I didn't see a single Playboy bunny fact.

Lynn Sinclair said...

Sorry to mislead you, NT. Just for you, I've dredged up this Playboy Bunny fact from Wikipedia:

"Before every shift the Manager would weigh in each Bunny. Bunnies could not gain or lose more than one pound. Exceptions were made for water retention."

One of many, many, many reasons I could never qualify as a Playboy Bunny.

Jan said...

My parents bought me a rabbit one year for Easter. He was the greatest pet and he lived for over ten years.

Lynn Sinclair said...

Jan, I hear you can train rabbits to use a litter box. That would make the bunny an even better house pet.

Shannon Perry said...

This post made me laugh out loud. I've heard the catbox thing too, but only about the lop-eared rabbits, not the standard (stiff-eared? do they have a distinction?) kind. If deer poop is also good fertilizer, my parents are going to make a fortune!

Lynn Sinclair said...

Wow, Rags. And I thought mounds of bunny poop were a problem. I think deer poop tops that. The thing about poop (no matter what animal it comes from) is that it's everywhere -- the patio, grass, walkway. The animals don't discriminate.

Lynn Sinclair said...

Rags, I checked to see if I could find out if all rabbits can be trained to use the litter box. Couldn't find anything, but did discover this site on litter boxes and bunnies: Litter Training

Colin said...

Hi Lynn,

I found you through BK Birch's blog. I have two bunnies of my own and they are gerat fun, I just hope nobody erading this buys one on impulse to find out how hard work they can be - all of it very rewarding though.

Talking of rabbit poo; did you know they eat theirs to get nutrients out of it for a second time?

Also, mine are litter trained. Took a bit of time but now it's not a problem. Smart wee things when they want to be.

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

And speaking of bunnies: Happy Easter, One And All!

And let's not forget that the "chocolate" bunnies are the "cool" ones to eat.(You know what I mean...so I won't even go there)
Lapin a la Moutarde
(I think not!)

Lynn Sinclair said...

Hey, Colin, thanks for dropping by. How are things over yonder?

Now how cool is it that not only will your bunnies use the litter box, they'll actually consume the stuff too. Of course, I guess it all finds its way back out again, doesn't it?

Lynn Sinclair said...

Happy Easter to you too, Georgie. Yeah, it's far more fun eating the chocolate variety, but I imagine it's also far more fattening.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the litter training and eating poo thang...yeah, my two house bunnies are totally litter-trained. They've even been known to come indoors from the garden, use their tray and then go back outside again!!

With the eating part, bunnies produce two types of droppings. There's the standard type (which by the way DOES make great compost!) and what are called cecotropes, which is kind of half-digested poo! Rabbits have an extra part to their digestive system to ferment all that grass and hay and they eat the cecotropes straight from their bum. Which is nice... :-O

Lynn Sinclair said...

So .... what you're telling me, Paul, is that only one type of the poop makes good compost? 'Cause you just know I'm not going out there to separate the two.

Very cool about your rabbits coming in to use the litter box.

Anonymous said...

i love bunnies im doing a report on them i need more facts anyone wanna help